two questions about charcoal

DWFII · July 2018

Hopefully, nothing too controversial...

1) It seems like all bags of charcoal have at least 25% small pieces--approx. walnut size or perhaps a little bigger. Given a choice (an empty firebox) where would be the best place for the small pieces? Bottom? Center? Around the perimeter?

2) I have several bags of RO (about the best that can be found around here). But I am running across pieces that have flat surfaces and sharp corners unlike anything in nature. Almost every brand I have tried has these super regular pieces. I suspect dimensional lumber along the same lines as the old Cowboy lump I first encountered years ago. I wonder if all commercial lump is made of dimensional lumber and if it is even hardwood?

RRP · July 2018

The tiny pieces are no problem as long as they aren't so tiny as to block the bottom grate or the holes in your fire box. They burn just as well. In fact I personally don't like those big honkin' pieces and throw them in a sack. When the sack gets full I take a hammer to them!

As for the source of wood to be used I do not believe that better suppliers are using scraps and cut offs like Cowboy did for years . And actually the CB wasn't that bad but seemed to burn up faster - probably due to having been kiln dried to start with!

I have written before on how I select my bags of lump - let me get this posted for now and then I'll holler back!

RRP · July 2018

As promised...

Here’s a list of steps I follow when buying bags of lump:

I buy from stores which keep the bags still on the pallet they were delivered on. When stores have the bags on shelves means they have already been handled by some clerks or even tossed.

2. When I pick up the bag I grab it with both hands in the center vertically like picking up a pillow. A bag which feels solid will not have small shards clear through it.

3. I listen. Shards will just sound dull as they slide to the bottom whereas with a good bag you will hear shifts and the telltale clinking sound as they fall to the bottom.

stlcharcoal · July 2018

If you have a replacement fire grate or a Kick Ash basket, you don't have to really worry about small pieces. Anything tiny falls through (and will burn in the ash), and the ash doesn't collect on that flat grate filling those holes up. If you a clean egg and some big chunks, throw the big ones in the bottom, then fill'er up. Once you start getting the fines (really small stuff), start a new bag. Then take those fines and lightly top dress each fire to use of the rest. Those will sprinkle in and burn, but you don't want to dump a bunch of them in there filling ALL the nooks and crannies.

On the dimensional cuts you see, yes, everybody in the US uses the cuts not straight enough or too knotty for hardwood lumber. Now there's a BIG difference from MILL scrap and CONSTRUCTION scrap. Mill scrap is the rough cuts on the outside of the tree, pieces that have huge knots, pieces that split or break, basically slabs......see below for a picture bundles of "slabs". Construction scrap is stuff off the job site, lumber yard, etc. which could be treated or contain pine. Either way, there's no way any company could ever afford to take down a tree for the purposes of charcoal--even if the DNR allowed it, you pay for the tonnage and charcoal is 1/6th the original weight of wood. You can get away with that in on the other side of the equator because no DNR, EPA, OSHA, prevailing wage, etc.....clear cut everything in your path for pennies, belch out the smoke, and use nearly free labor for all of it.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/4j/6kv7kua9sxp9.jpg

Mattman3969 · July 2018

DWFII said:

Hopefully, nothing too controversial...

1) It seems like all bags of charcoal have at least 25% small pieces--approx. walnut size or perhaps a little bigger. Given a choice (an empty firebox) where would be the best place for the small pieces? Bottom? Center? Around the perimeter?

I just dump n light, but I don’t burn RO. No need to stress on perfect placement. It all will burn and create BTUs.

Eoin · July 2018

stlcharcoal said:

If you have a replacement fire grate or a Kick Ash basket, you don't have to really worry about small pieces. Anything tiny falls through (and will burn in the ash), and the ash doesn't collect on that flat grate filling those holes up. If you a clean egg and some big chunks, throw the big ones in the bottom, then fill'er up. Once you start getting the fines (really small stuff), start a new bag. Then take those fines and lightly top dress each fire to use of the rest. Those will sprinkle in and burn, but you don't want to dump a bunch of them in there filling ALL the nooks and crannies.

On the dimensional cuts you see, yes, everybody in the US uses the cuts not straight enough or too knotty for hardwood lumber. Now there's a BIG difference from MILL scrap and CONSTRUCTION scrap. Mill scrap is the rough cuts on the outside of the tree, pieces that have huge knots, pieces that split or break, basically slabs......see below for a picture bundles of "slabs". Construction scrap is stuff off the job site, lumber yard, etc. which could be treated or contain pine. Either way, there's no way any company could ever afford to take down a tree for the purposes of charcoal--even if the DNR allowed it, you pay for the tonnage and charcoal is 1/6th the original weight of wood. You can get away with that in on the other side of the equator because no DNR, EPA, OSHA, prevailing wage, etc.....clear cut everything in your path for pennies, belch out the smoke, and use nearly free labor for all of it.

When I was a kid my dad used to buy that stuff in bulk (40 foot trailer load), chop it up (mostly my job on a 24" circular saw belt driven from an old diesel engine) and that was firewood for the central heating.

DWFII · July 2018

Thanks lads...

I clean out the firebox and base about every third cook so I won't stress about the "fines".

Still wondering about the source of some of this stuff, though. In the Cowboy I got years ago, I actually found scraps of plywood. No way is that gonna be hardwood...so dimensional looking pieces still make me wonder if it's pine or fir. Or somesuch.

To be fair when I was buying some Western from WM today I saw several bags of Cowboy that had tears in the bag where pieces of lump were trying to escape. Those fugitive pieces looked real good and real large. I was tempted but 30# of Western at $7.88 kept me focused.

Who makes CB now? And is it better than it used to be?

FatDog · July 2018

I tend to stack my charcoal as described in the Elder Ward method of cooking pork butts on the Naked Whiz web site. I start with the largest chunks, arranging them to cover the bottom layer in the fire bowl. I add the medium size chunks next, progressing to smaller and smaller pieces with the "fines" on the tops. Works very well for short, hot cooks as well as low and slow.

theyolksonyou · July 2018

Jesus, what a bunch of words. Dump that shît in and light it. Cook something. Holy hell.

chuckytheegghead · July 2018

The small pieces don’t burn

DWFII · July 2018

FatDog said:

I tend to stack my charcoal as described in the Elder Ward method of cooking pork butts on the Naked Whiz web site. I start with the largest chunks, arranging them to cover the bottom layer in the fire bowl. I add the medium size chunks next, progressing to smaller and smaller pieces with the "fines" on the tops. Works very well for short, hot cooks as well as low and slow.

Makes sense...mostly I would worry about the fines clogging the holes in the firebox.

The thing is that, with even minimal vibration, the smaller pieces always "sift" down through the larger pieces (it's a scientific principle), so the larger pieces will always be either at the top of the bag or to one side. If you want your money's worth you need to use those small pieces somewhere or you end up with a quarter full bag full of nothing but crumbs.

johnnyp · July 2018

Dump it and light it. It's a grill, don't overthink it.

fishlessman · July 2018

if you are cleaning it out every three cooks theres no reason to worry about it, just dump it in. i dont know when i cleaned mine out last, i just stir it up and then dump from the bag. i dont even clean out the ash under the grate, i slide a stick in there and make sure theres some air flow space.

SemolinaPilchard · July 2018

If you have the original charcoal grate, the small pieces can clog up the holes. Many years ago I made charcoal grates for the eggs out of expanded metal and have never had a problem since.

Stoogie · July 2018

theyolksonyou said:

Jesus, what a bunch of words. Dump that shît in and light it. Cook something. Holy hell.

I basically do the same. When I get to the bottom of the bag where there is basically dust and fine parts, I put the bag aside and use the bag to light the fire pit. The fines and small parts get rolling and I have nice hot coals to put wood on.

RalphieBoy · July 2018

theyolksonyou said:

Jesus, what a bunch of words. Dump that shît in and light it. Cook something. Holy hell.

Amen

DWFII · July 2018

johnnyp said:

Dump it and light it. It's a grill, don't overthink it.

By the same token, why worry about quality? Cowboy or Frontier or even briquets..."just dump it and light it."

The thing that is really mind boggling, though, is all the time people spend cleaning their grids.

Just slap that food on 'ere and cook sumpin. Don't overthink it.

SemolinaPilchard · July 2018

With all the junk that people have found in lump, including fiberglass insulation, I would never dump and light, but to each his own.

XC242 · July 2018

Buy Rockwood. Dump, Light, Cook Tasty Food, Repeat... Works Every Time.

theyolksonyou · July 2018

SemolinaPilchard said:

With all the junk that people have found in lump, including fiberglass insulation, I would never dump and light, but to each his own.

If I had to live my life with that much worry, I’d cook in the oven and never leave the house.

BigGreenBean · July 2018

Thoughts from a newbie: I clean things pretty well every time I cook. Grid, clear the ash, etc. Takes, maybe, an extra 5 min., which hardly seems excessive if you're cooking something for hours. I have only used RO so far, and what I have used seems to have a lot of small pieces in it. And it works just fine. Maybe I'll have some epiphany (yeah, SAT word, sorry!) with another brand, but I don't know. The stuff is cheap, widely available, and seems to work well. I'm not putting a man on the moon here or building a swiss watch.

DWFII · July 2018

theyolksonyou said:

If I had to live my life with that much worry, I’d cook in the oven and never leave the house.

Being prepared (sweating the small stuff) is a tried and true survival strategy. And yes, I was a Boy Scout....some 60 years ago.

"What me worry" is simply evolution in action, that's all.

theyolksonyou · July 2018

The next time I deep clean my grid will be the first time.

I poke a hole in the ash to get air flow until I’m forced to scrape some out. If I took my fire basket out, I’d be lucky to get it back in the right order.

I feed family and friends in this manner. No one has been dead or sick yet. I’ll take my chances.

Mattman3969 · July 2018

Get away from RO and Cowboy!!

I’m a good 1800-2000lbs in on RW and the worst thing I’ve found is a piece of metal strapping.

nolaegghead · July 2018

The lesser lump brands amplify poorly lit fires, but they can cook good food, just much less forgiving.

BigGreenBean · July 2018

nolaegghead said:

The lesser lump brands amplify poorly lit fires, but they can cook good food, just much less forgiving.

@nolaegghead, please expand on that for the learners -- much less forgiving how? I typically use a charcoal chimney, dump on coals, mix with ash tool, let mellow until ready to cook. Seems to be even coverage. Do tell, Sensei...

nolaegghead · July 2018

BigGreenBean said:

nolaegghead said:

The lesser lump brands amplify poorly lit fires, but they can cook good food, just much less forgiving.

@nolaegghead, please expand on that for the learners -- much less forgiving how? I typically use a charcoal chimney, dump on coals, mix with ash tool, let mellow until ready to cook. Seems to be even coverage. Do tell, Sensei...

I can elaborate later, but in a nutshell for a low and slow:

Bad smoke/flavor

1. too much lit lump for amount of heat you need

2. waxing fire

3. waning fire

4. fire below unlit lump

5. cool fire (choked)

6. new fire (not established)

7. fat in lump

Good smoke

1. just enough burning lump for heat you need

2. stable fire, not disturbed

3. established fire

So I just make sure my lump is in the egg like a good aggregate where you have different sizes mixed together to fill in big gaps. I just dump the bag in and will push it around until it looks like there are no "dead ends" where it could burn out.

I light one spot, maybe 3" in diameter, on top near the front center. Make sure you catch a few pieces on fire.

Adjust vents to what I think will be the right temp when the meat is in it. (note: it will run hotter without meat, but that is ok).

Light and let it run for an hour or so to establish. If relighting previously lit coals, it's ready almost immediately.

DIRECT GRILLING:

light all over on the top, close the bottom vent and leave the lid open until the fire crawls all over the top. Then do what you will with the vents and close the lid or leave it open with the bottom vent closed. An open lid fire with natural lump can get VERY hot, very fast. Briquettes can be a better option for this as they don't burn as hot and you can more easily have an even fire.

cookingdude555 · July 2018

DMW · July 2018

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two questions about charcoal

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