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Review: Wicked Good vs. Rockwood... long post with lotsa pics, so grab a beverage.
Comments
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Pretty sweet review.Thanks.
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Thanks for testing and posting... Your results seem to be inline with my recent experiences with both lump brands. In particular, the Rockwood to me seems to light and get to temp faster when fresh vs the WG. Past that, it's more or draw when comparing temps, burn times, and leftover ash & lump.
I would still use either; but it seems like it will be easier for me to get Rockwood locally thru Firecraft rather than ordering or driving much further to get WG.MSV Chill Spot
Chester County, PA
http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/
http://edwardhardingphotography.zenfolio.com/ -
Good stuff, thanks for posting!SBGE December 2012 • XLBGE December 2013 • Yoder YS640 JulyLocation: Jasper, Georgia
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Good stuff, thanks for posting!SBGE December 2012 • XLBGE December 2013 • Yoder YS640 JulyLocation: Jasper, Georgia
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Nice review. A question about the pie pans:
Do you use them regularly or did you only use them for purposes of the test? If you do use them regularly, is it to replace or augment the Hi Que?
Just curious, because I haven't seen that before.
Thanks again - great write up
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XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
Tampa Bay, FL
EIB 6 Oct 95 -
Thanks for your time and efforts!
Steve
XL, Mini Max, and a 22" Blackstone in Cincinnati, Ohio -
@caliking-most eggcellent review. WGWW was my "go-to" lump until the QA (really small pieces and lots of dust and shake) issues of earlier this year. Since then I have found and switched to Rockwood. Looks like WGWW has solved the QA problems, as I was lead to believe via some phone calls. Choices, choices...a good problem to have.Thanks for the effort and write-up.Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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Great to know.
Thanks
Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU StoveBGE ChimineaProsper, TX -
Where's the fine print of your biased review?? Just kidding. Great review you have here, actually. Since I can't get WG anymore after ace stopped carrying it I'm going to try Rockwood though I'll have to order it from Firecraft. Still have a couple bags of old WG to burn through though... Thanks for your review.Dunedin, FL
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yzzi said:Where's the fine print of your biased review?? Just kidding. Great review you have here, actually. Since I can't get WG anymore after ace stopped carrying it I'm going to try Rockwood though I'll have to order it from Firecraft. Still have a couple bags of old WG to burn through though... Thanks for your review.
If your local Ace is supplied by the Gainesville GA warehouse, you should be able to order it in about a month. I don't know if or how far their reach extends into FL. -
Thanks for the thorough review...I was just looking at buying some new charcoal online and I think I might give the Rockwood a shot, price is good too!
Pure Michigan
Large BGE, Medium BGE, Mini BGE, Weber Smokey Mountain, Weber Performer.
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. -
OK, I figured out how to post better images of the temp plots.Y-axis= temperatureX-axis= time (minutes) elapsed since lighting.Dome temperature:Grid temperature:#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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@yzzi - no fine print, and no bias amigo I tried to control for as many variables as I could with my backyard setup. Bomb calorimetry and a lab would have been ideal, but I already bought a Sous Vide Demi this year, so I've exhausted my points with SWMBO!#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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@thetrim - the pie pans were used only for the purpose of the burn tests. I wanted the lump to be contained so I could easily weigh the ash by just lifting out the pie pan. The pan on the grid was used because i needed a flat surface to aim the IR thermo at through the top vent.I don't use a pie pan for the lump when i cook, although it may be something to consider when tailgating or camping to make for easy lump/ash removal when you need to cool the egg down quickly. Figure out how to remove a pie pan full of hot lump and ash, and a small egg will probably cool down much quicker. You could probably rig a handle of sorts on the pan with baling wire or something.#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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@lousubcap & @hapster - I had some initial concerns about the smaller Rockwood pieces, but the test shows that the lump performs well. Again, I did not dump out the whole bag of each brand to compare the sizes of the lump pieces.#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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caliking said:@lousubcap & @hapster - I had some initial concerns about the smaller Rockwood pieces, but the test shows that the lump performs well. Again, I did not dump out the whole bag of each brand to compare the sizes of the lump pieces.
Smaller pieces do not really make a difference when the carbon is so high. It will hold lower temps, so the air flow isn't as important with "charcoal" that is still wood. When I say "smaller pieces" I mean ping pong ball size or smaller--so anything smaller than that gets so close together, it can choke the airflow. You can dump those fines off to the side or in the ash pan, and you'll still get the BTU's out of it. I save mine for the wood stove.
Remember......
Higher carbon content =
- more brittle charcoal
- smaller pieces for every mile that bag bounces down the road.
- less overall burn time
- gets up to temp faster, but [some say] harder to light off initially
Higher wood content (less carbon) =
- more dense
- more smoke from the sugars, tars, etc.
- more ash " "
- less responsive
So, each has their advantages and disadvantages. I like the higher carbon content, so that's how Rockwood comes......yep, I'm selfish.
Either way, replace the grate and run a higher air flow one--then the lump size doesn't really matter, because the O2 has plenty of paths to travel.
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I've enjoyed the Rockwood we did for the Austin buy. definitely runs hot. that stuff can go inferno.....and fast. I really like Ozark Oak as well but am always glad to trade with a fellow egger and forum member. hope we can get some distro down here but I'm good for 6 months or so. I have a lot of bags and 6-8 OO bags left. And my personal favorite, I still have a 40 lb bag of "consumer commodity" (generic) mesquite charcoal from Mexico I bought at Sams for the tito's fueled Cochinita Pibil that we buried at the beach last summer. this would not have fared as well in caliking's testing )Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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@stlcharcoal - I'm not worried about the size of the pieces - I'll take the higher carbon content! I would have thought that the smaller pieces would burn up faster, but Rockwood burned just as long as WG in these tests. The VOC's and other stuff burned off significantly quicker than WG, which wasn't too bad to begin with.#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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I'm lucky to have access to Wicked Good at my local retailer, and bought 8 bags of Rockwood via a group buy. IMO, both are good charcoal, but I love the Rockwood. I only wish I could buy it local.Raleigh, NC
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queued said:I'm lucky to have access to Wicked Good at my local retailer, and bought 8 bags of Rockwood via a group buy. IMO, both are good charcoal, but I love the Rockwood. I only wish I could buy it local.
Right now, there's Rockwood in one Ace Hardware store in NC, but its quite a bit west of you most likely. I know that Ace's Gainesville, GA warehouse supplies some of NC, hopefully that line is far enough east that your local Ace can order.Wait about a month, then start checking--the 4 months of paperwork is almost finished, and a truckload be there by Feb 1 (of course, that's what I thought two months ago.)
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You open that FOGO yet caliking? IMO its better than the original wicked good even.
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@Lit - haven't gotten in to the Fogo yet. Have you seen the price on Amazon? It keeps going up!#1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February 2013 • #3 Mini May 2013A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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I participated with @Caliking in the Rockwood group buy. It seems to not give off as much VOC ( or whatever you call it) when initially lit. I find I am able to cook sooner because of that. Also seems to get the Egg to temp faster.I am sold on it.SpringramSpring, TexasLBGE and Mini
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