All you Royal Oak Lump diehards....

[pinkmeat]

Just wanted to let you know, I usually buy RO over Cowboy any day, BUT I opened and cooked with a new bag this weekend. It had three large pieces of pure bark, and a huge clump of what looked like burnt insulation in it.

Typically Cowboy has had smaller pieces, but it's hard to judge when you get it at Lowe's. Do they double stack pallets? We'll never know.

RO just leveled the playing field for me.

 

[billbo]

I think every bag is a crap shoot. You need them X-ray glasses to see in!

 

[rickw]

I've been lucky so far, not a bunch of scrap in what I have used. It's a matter of time, I know.

 

[alx]

Found a 3-5 pound circular rock in a bag few months back.I high heat grill with it now and again, but i can get good deals on kingsford comp briq which has burned real clean for me and longer.Insulation in royal oak seems to happen and there was joke about them following fire trucks to burning houses etc.

 

[creative rock]

Reasons like this is why I am bound and determined to get my burn barrel set up and make my own. At least that way there is no odd discoveries, unless the neighbors are missing... won't go there, will be nothing but oak, maybe some manzanita.
Matt
aka Rocky

 

[geek with fire]

I think you will find that the business of making lump charcoal, at least for the inexpensive pruducts, that this is par for the course. I'm not saying that it is acceptable, but low margin products just have some quality issues to deal with. I will say that some posters have gone back to RO with this kind of stuff and they have been quick to replace the bag. I just pick through mine before I dump it in the basket. Probably find something odd 1 in 20 times. Bark doesn't bother me, but kiln products get removed.

I wouldn't say I'm a die hard user of RO, but rather that I think it sucks less than the other stuff at the same price range. That said, I've given cowboy a couple of tries and have not been pleased due to efficiencies. There is more air in their pruduct than others of the same size. To my knowledge, cowboy uses cabinet and flooring scraps and RO uses rough timber scraps.

 

[pinkmeat]

Agreed. Well said.

 

[pinkmeat]

From what I have found, the wood burnt down to hot coals doesn't last that long, and I consume WAAAY more wood using the burn barrel method.

 

[carpetride]

In the FWIW category the last couple of smokes I have done has been with RO instead of Cowboy and I think I'm going back. I just can't seem to keep my temp down with the RO. May have to re-try the Kingsford Comp briquettes...just means I need to smoke more I guess!

 

[bigsteve]

Insulation? As in they're selling used 2x4's from old houses?



Glad I use Briq.

 

[alx]

I saw picture on another forum where it looked like house insulation,but i was joking.I believe R.O. is made in brazil and another country -plus U.S.I keep a bag around and use and quality control is issue with just about anything these days,handling etc.- from my experiences.

 

[geek with fire]

I think from what I've read, the insulation comes from the charcoal making process. Most likely the kiln.

 

[pinkmeat]

I think I kept it for schlitz and giggles, but I'll post a pic sometime. You guys can be the judge. It was blackened a bit.

 

[creative rock]

I will have to try it find out for sure, but living in the mountains, with my property and my property from my dad's estate (5 wooded acres) I have probably enough oak to last me for years as long as I don't use the oak to heat the house, lol
If it doesn't work out with the burn barrel, not much of an investment.]

Matt
aka Rocky

 

[alx]

This link discusses importance of using dry wood when making lump.It gives percentages of charcoal made after burning at different moisture content.I have few cords dry cherry and will be making some myself soon and will report findings.

http://www.puffergas.com/historic/rules/rules.html

 

[creative rock]

Thanks for the link, and future findings. Would love to have some cherry, not that common in these mountains... but did have a cherry tree that got broken down to the graph back in 97, and the graft stock is growing, so I do know it is cherry but not a producer of fruit since then. Also that reminds me, my dad did had a small orchard on his acreage and there must be some dead cherry trees in it, time for the chainsaw and split it and run through my chipper/shredder and make up some chips for the smoker... I love this forum, gets me to thinking, lol
Matt
aka Rocky

 

[rusticbob]

I know I've seen this link on the forum somewhere but here it is again...

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

This is the best Charcoal Rating and Review I have seen. Shows that there are several different types of RO Lump from different places on the globe. Interesting reading.

Bob