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Royal Oak - change in quality?
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Jclayto
Posts: 27
I've been a red bag RO guy for years now. My past two bags have been nothing but tiny shreds of coal. I am used to seeing a decent ratio of large chunk to small chunk in the bags and realize that the small pieces tend to settle to the bottom. My last bags however did not have what I would consider medium pieces much less some chunks.
Did RO change something or did I just get unlucky on the past two?
Did RO change something or did I just get unlucky on the past two?
Comments
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Just bought two bags yesterday. Will pop one open today and get back with you.
Kansas City, Missouri
Large Egg
Mini Egg
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf -
My guess is luck. I have alternated between Frontier, BGE, and Rockwood for the last 8 months, depending on what was available and how far I wanted to drive. With each I have found better bags and worse bags. Though I must say I have only had two bags of Rockwood and their 'worse' bag was relative, still better than most of the 'better' bags of others!EggMcMcc
Central Illinois
First L BGE July 2016, RecTec, Traeger, Weber, Campchef
Second BGE, a MMX, February 2017
Third BGE, another large, May, 2017
Added another griddle (BassPro) December 2017 -
My guess is luck. Picked a bag up at HD last week at it is a majority of bigger pieces. FWIW, they had the large bags for $9.98 last week.Las Vegas, NV
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Handling has it's fair share of abuse. Maybe this pallet was a little more neglected than others
"The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota -
I think it's all down to how that pallet was handled. Last time I bought some RO it came from the top of a newly delivered pallet and was great. Well, as great as RO gets.
Time before, I bought a couple bags that had been around a while and had a lot of dust and no large pieces.
That said, the main dealer I go to got rid of RO last year and now carries Humphrey's, which I like a lot more.Cincinnati, Ohio. Large BGE since 2011. Still learning. -
I use a simple set of tools for my lump selection process...my eyes, hands and ears! Before I pick up a bag I look it over for apparent abuse in handling. Then I pick it up in the middle and make sure it feels solid and full, not at all bottom half heavy. Then I give it a gentle shake. A good bag will emit a crisp "clink clink" sound as the lump shifts - but only slightly in the bag. This practice has served me well for years! BTW I also prefer to shop where the retailer leaves the lump on the pallet on which it was shipped. When a retailer has staff stock shelves with it there is too much chance some gorillas play "bean bag toss".Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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i think it has more to do with the lumps condition going into the bag than how it was handled. i like small lump for my mini and jumping on the bag does not seem to make small lump
fukahwee maineyou can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it -
fishlessman said:i think it has more to do with the lumps condition going into the bag than how it was handled. i like small lump for my mini and jumping on the bag does not seem to make small lumpRe-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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I flip the bag over, if it sounds like a Native American rain stick, I put it back.
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I really don't judge the quality of lump by the size of each piece, rather by how my food tastes when using it. I don't think I've ever wished I had bigger pieces to burn but have broken up many a large chunk to make them smaller. I just dump it out of the bag and light it. As @Battleborn mentioned, Home Depot has the 15# bags for $9.97 this year. I think this might be a semi-permanent price decrease from $12.97. It was last year that they reduced the bag size from 17+ lbs. to 15+ lbs. but charged the same $12.97 price as before. Maybe they didn't sell quite as many as they wanted to so lowered the price. I still prefer Rockwood, but do buy Royal Oak occasionally.Greenwood, IN | XL BGE | Weber Genesis | Blackstone 28 | bunch of accessories
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Just about how I like it. If you want bigger try kamado joe. It's the largest lump I've used and I hate it. I prefer medium sized with some smaller pieces tbh.
Kansas City, Missouri
Large Egg
Mini Egg
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf -
Both royal oak bags today looked that way
Kansas City, Missouri
Large Egg
Mini Egg
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf -
unluckySoutheast Florida - LBGE
In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’ Dare to think for yourself. -
Thanks for the reassurance all. I picked up a bunch of Kamodo Joe during the costco road show so i'll be set for a while. I am glad to hear that Royal Oak is still a viable option as well.
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There was a big sale on RO at Home Depot last year and I stocked up. Some people commented at the time that there was a little offgassing of the bags. If the deal comes around again I will pass. The fire would really rage hot sometimes to the point where it felt like there was an accelerant at play.
Will try RO again in a pinch but the experience definitely reinforced that RO is often middle grade and not a sure thing top grade. -
Buckwoody Egger said:There was a big sale on RO at Home Depot last year and I stocked up. Some people commented at the time that there was a little offgassing of the bags. If the deal comes around again I will pass. The fire would really rage hot sometimes to the point where it felt like there was an accelerant at play.
Will try RO again in a pinch but the experience definitely reinforced that RO is often middle grade and not a sure thing top grade. -
It did have an off smell tonight I will say. It's been a while since I've used royal oak. My food was still good though.
Kansas City, Missouri
Large Egg
Mini Egg
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf -
My last bag of Rockwood was the same way...all little pieces at the bottom.
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Used what seems like hundreds of bags of RO without trouble. I don't understand when I see the negative comments. I have never had a hard time burning small, medium, or large chunks. The dust will even burn, go figure.
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The trick to selecting the best royal oak charcoal is to grab the bag and squeeze it at the base. There's much to tell how the contents are oriented. For example, if it rattles too much, then it can have small stuff in it. If it is a large stout monolithic (I just looked this up) non-rattle like feel, it's probably a big chunk. My guess is it's a trunk base and they are never good, plenty of stuff grows in them and then you'll have to start a thread about all the stuff in your lump, which everyone seems to find great joy and pleasure in, so maybe that's the feel you should go for, unless you want to cook stuff, then you can post something about what you're cooking, unless that's something banal, and then it'll fit in like urban camo and no one will post anything on your post, and that's kinda embarrasing, so I'd really feel that lump up something good and then you'll have something good to talk about. That's all I have. This kinda discuttion really is interesting.
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The last 3 bags of RO I've bought have come from WallyWorld and we're 15 pounders. All three have been heavy on little chunks and dust. Like @cookingdude555 said, it does all burn, but makes an unholy mess. I find the little chunks have a greater tendency to get stuck in the grate too. I've only used one bag of BGE, but I must say that it's ratio large/medium chunks to small chunks appears to have been better. Don't know if any of that truly matters though. $9.98 for 15# of RO vs. $25 for 20# at the BGE dealer.XL Central Ohio
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RO is great for the price. But you get what you pay for as they say.
Other than the dust and chunks of concrete, the only downfall is I find it much less neutral than premium brands. So I typically use RO where food more tolerant of smoke. I.E. not chicken. Perfect for low and slows though since smoking is the point.
It seems to need more time to get to a clear flame for me as wel. -
UncleBilly said:The last 3 bags of RO I've bought have come from WallyWorld and we're 15 pounders. All three have been heavy on little chunks and dust. Like @cookingdude555 said, it does all burn, but makes an unholy mess. I find the little chunks have a greater tendency to get stuck in the grate too. I've only used one bag of BGE, but I must say that it's ratio large/medium chunks to small chunks appears to have been better. Don't know if any of that truly matters though. $9.98 for 15# of RO vs. $25 for 20# at the BGE dealer."The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota -
"rebagged"? don't think so...it is made by RO for them. RO also produces private label bags for other companies, buy not a rebagging effort.Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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RRP said:"rebagged"? don't think so...it is made by RO for them. RO also produces private label bags for other companies, buy not a rebagging effort."The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan
Minnesota -
Yes, sorry about correcting you. Me bad!Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
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I just saw the lowered price at Home Depot. I'm curious if there going to phase out Royal Oak and that's why they lowered the price to get rid of stock. I'm hoping that I'm wrong it's the only lump available to me.Ewa Beach, Hawaii
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Home Depot has routinely lowered the price of RO for short periods.Southeast Florida - LBGE
In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’ Dare to think for yourself. -
SBGonzo said:My last bag of Rockwood was the same way...all little pieces at the bottom.
Kansas City, Missouri
Large Egg
Mini Egg
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf -
Not trying to Hijack but since I was loading up the grill today- and I rotate with this and RO and an occasional Rockwood. I was surprised at the size of chunks coming out.
XLBGE, LBGE, Charbroil Gas Grill, Weber Q2000, Old Weber Kettle, Rectec RT-B380, Yeti 65, Yeti Hopper 20, RTIC 20, RTIC 20 Soft Side - Too many drinkware vessels to mention.
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