Cause of sparks when firing up lump

JMCXL · November 2016

what is the cause of the sparks when firing up the lump

BYS1981 · November 2016

I think it is a piece that isn't fully carbonized?

I have found a really shiny piece is usually the culprit - also I found it much more common in cedar lump and lower $$, like best of the west.

northGAcock · November 2016

Not using that center cut lump I would imagine.

DoubleEgger · November 2016

@stlcharcoal

ElkhornHusker · November 2016

Fire

Skiddymarker · November 2016

Moisture in the lump, it expands and causes the sparks....2nd burn lump is usuallly pretty tame, no sparks. Grab some 2nd burn stuff out of the fire box, put it on the top of the new lump from the bag and your torch will not cause near as many fireworks.

kl8ton · November 2016

How do you light? Fast and furious Mapp gas torch?

Judy Mayberry · November 2016

I've concluded it's the charcoal dust that pours out when you dump lump straight from the bag. I wear a glove and pull out the charcoal by handfuls, and don't have the sparks problem any more.

dgaddis1 · November 2016

Sparks is a problem? And here I always thought it was just part of the fun!

YukonRon · November 2016

I was standing next to a guy in a bar, and this topic came up. His explanation was gas is trapped in the wood in the charring process of making lump.
Heard it in a bar = Gospel. Good enough for me.

northGAcock · November 2016

YukonRon said:

I was standing next to a guy in a bar, and this topic came up. His explanation was gas is trapped in the wood in the charring process of making lump.
Heard it in a bar = Gospel. Good enough for me.

That is much more reliable that reading it on the Internet.

Legume · November 2016

northGAcock said:

YukonRon said:

I was standing next to a guy in a bar, and this topic came up. His explanation was gas is trapped in the wood in the charring process of making lump.
Heard it in a bar = Gospel. Good enough for me.

That is much more reliable that reading it on the Internet.

Well, now it's both, heard in a bar and I read it on the internet, so...double troof.

RedSkip · November 2016

YukonRon said:

I was standing next to a guy in a bar, and this topic came up. His explanation was gas is trapped in the wood in the charring process of making lump.
Heard it in a bar = Gospel. Good enough for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBYaP5K0AkE 

@YukonRon

Off flavors, trapped water, trapped gases, all come from the retort process. The above link walks you through the process how to make your own charcoal. Ultimately, stopping the process early (not all the gases have been burned off), not a hot enough retort fire (not driving the gases off), ambient conditions etc. effects the quality of the lump.

I'd think that @stlcharcoal has his process in a controlled environment where they can monitor such issues. Perhaps he can show us how he makes RW? I doubt it's a proprietary issue, but I could be mistaken.

JMCXL · November 2016

kl8ton said:

How do you light? Fast and furious Mapp gas torch?

I use a heat gun

Cause of sparks when firing up lump

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