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Smelly Charcoal

Bought a bag of RO at Kmart yesterday and noticed the bag had an offensive charcoal smell.  Reminds me of old  burned charcoal.  I haven't used it yet.  Anyone ever experience this?

Also, this is my third year with large BGE and I've never done a clean burn.  Should I and how do you do it? Nineee 

Comments

  • Did you get the smell from the bag or after you lit it?

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • flynnbob
    flynnbob Posts: 665
    I swore that I would never buy RO again but I bought 3 bags before the Atlanta ice storm just in case.  I am burning one bag now and noticed the same smell before burning. Most of the pieces are also very small. It is OK for meat but we do not like the taste that it leaves behind on veggies.  I am returning the other two bags.  I hereby rename the product Royal Joke.
    Milton, GA.
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 
    You just don't get along with charcoal manufacturers do you?

    Guy said the bag had an off smell.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • flynnbob
    flynnbob Posts: 665
    caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 

    caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 
    It doesn't matter how hot you get it or how long you wait, it is still smokey on the veggies.
    Milton, GA.
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,174
    @nineee-Given the above on the lump smell I will offer an opinion (and we all know what those are worth) on the clean burn.  I do not intentionally do a clean burn-I run a few hot&fast cooks and consider it good.  Several swear by it-if you think the residue inside the BGE is impacting your cooks then I would go for it but absent that-why...BTW prepare for gasket replacement (unless running with Rutland or Coltronics) when finished.  FWIW-
    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.
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    @flynnbob - that may be true, but that is likely subjective. Also probably depends on the water content of the veggies - cauliflower, asparagus vs. Acorn squash, sweet potatoes.

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • flynnbob
    flynnbob Posts: 665
    caliking said:
    @flynnbob - that may be true, but that is likely subjective. Also probably depends on the water content of the veggies - cauliflower, asparagus vs. Acorn squash, sweet potatoes.
    Agreed, but it just seems more noticeable with the RO Lump.
    Milton, GA.
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 
    You just don't get along with charcoal manufacturers do you?

    Guy said the bag had an off smell.
    I get along just fine with the ones that aren't pinheads :D

    @flynnbob - Again, it could be a weird batch. Return it if you can. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
    caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 
    You just don't get along with charcoal manufacturers do you?


    He gets along just fine with me!  He send me money, I sent him charcoal.  The perfect business relationship, right??  :x  

    @Henapple on the other hand...... :P

  • Wish I could get some of yours.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • nineee
    nineee Posts: 41

    Thanks. I'm going to return the bag of charcoal.  I didn't use it yet but the smell coming from the bag was very noticeable.  Wonder if the bag had gotten wet at some time.  Not going to take a chance on it. Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Nineee














  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    nineee said:

    Thanks. I'm going to return the bag of charcoal.  I didn't use it yet but the smell coming from the bag was very noticeable.  Wonder if the bag had gotten wet at some time.  Not going to take a chance on it. Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Nineee

    I still don't follow - I mean maybe the bag got targeted by dogs or cats and therefore the paper has developed an odor, but how can lump, which is essentially 100% carbon take on an odor? OTOH you are right - take it back because it will always smell bad in your mind and I'm sure I'd be the same way!















    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Maybe there is a dog or a cat in it. :D

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 
    You just don't get along with charcoal manufacturers do you?


    He gets along just fine with me!  He send me money, I sent him charcoal.  The perfect business relationship, right??  :x  

    @Henapple on the other hand...... :P

    Henapple has a side biz. He repackages smelly RO in OO bags and dilivers it cross-country.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • caliking said:
    Royal Joke also  makes the overpriced BGE brand lump.  Could be a bad batch or you're not waiting long enough for  the VOC's to burn off? 
    I did not know that Royal Oak also made the BGE brand lump. All I have ever tried is BGE brand lump. It is all I can get locally. I will be doing a group buy of Rockwood soon. Since I have never tried Rockwood I just ordered 5 bags for me and a few buddies to try. If we like it we are then going to order a couple of pallets. 

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    @johnkitchens - if you ordered from firecraft, keep in mind that the bags may have smaller pieces than you're used to seeing in other brands, partly because the bags are handled more for shipping them out to you. I dump and light it all without sorting or anything. 

    If you are used to paying for, and cooking with, BGE brand lump, you will probably think that Christmas has come early when you get your Rockwood.  

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • Thanks @caliking. I can't wait! I hope I get it by the end of the week so I can cook with it this weekend. 

    If I like it as much as I think I will I am going to order a pallet of it. BGE is all that I can buy locally and all that I have ever used. 

    I am beyond excited to try Rockwood. 


    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • fence0407
    fence0407 Posts: 2,236
    I've ordered a few bags of RO from Amazon and have had good results so far. The free 2-day shipping convenience is good enough for me to keep using it for now.

    Large - Mini - Blackstone 17", 28", 36"
    Cumming, GA  

  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    That's not a bad price for RO delivered to your door. I think HD has the bigger  bags for about the same price per lb. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • fence0407
    fence0407 Posts: 2,236
    @caliking - I think you can get the bigger size on Amazon too with free 2day shipping - I just bought the smaller bags to give them a shot. Might go big next time.

    Large - Mini - Blackstone 17", 28", 36"
    Cumming, GA  

  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    edited February 2014
    @fence0407 - That's cool. I'm a big fan of Amazon Prime, but I'm not that keen on ordering lump from Amazon, because the delivery folks treat it poorly. Ordered a bag of lump some time back and it looked like the box had been run over by the UPS truck... more than once! Nothing but little golf-ball size or smaller pieces in the bag after that.

     I would rather pick it up from HD, where it is often still on a pallet, and so handled somewhat less. 

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    Watch "FedEx Guy Launches Boxes Off Truck" on YouTube
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw-zxJI1YOo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

    These are all over YouTube
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN