I am now storing all my charcoal by my furnace in the basement. I occasionally smoke some big pieces of meat outside in February. I wouldn't need this faulty performance again. I will send a note to Kingsford about the "ash" question. Thank you all for your thoughts.
-
-
I'm convinced that they have changed the formula. I've been cooking chicken halves on an open pit for years at my Legion Post. We had always used 5 bags (100lbs) and for the past couple of cooks we have needed 8 bags. The briquettes don't give off as much heat and they don't last as long.Last edited by bchapman; November 28, 2022, 05:03 PM.Comment
-
Guys, I live in Alabama, where most of the year is hot and humid. Right now it is colder and humid. I had a stockpile of about 80 bags of charcoal in a falling down garden shed at the end of 2017 (back in the days of 2 bags of KBB for $9.99, and clearance pricing of $3 per bag on Weber charcoal). And by falling down - I mean that literally - the roof was leaking and I had covered it with a blue tarp, and eventually in 2020 tore it down and put a metal shed on the same base.
I've always dumped FULL bags into the hopper on my Weber Performer, and use that until it is empty, then dump another bag in it. If humidity could screw up charcoal, I would know it, as it took me from the end of 2017 until 2022 to burn through all that stockpile. JUST THIS SUMMER I opened and used the last 2 pack of KBB purchased in 2017. Guess what? Burned just fine.
It's not humidity, and other than keeping rain off it, you don't need to jump through hoops to store your charcoal in super dry places, next to your furnace, etc. If you are having issues, it is likely this change to the formula folks are talking about, and my answer to that would be to try another brand charcoal. I've switched exclusively to B&B briquettes and lump these days, and that is the main thing I've purchased over the past 2 years, as the KBB/Weber stockpile depleted. I continued burning the KBB in the Performer, but was buying B&B lump for the SNS Kamado that I won in January 2021, and switched to B&B briquettes after the KBB ran out this summer.Comment
-
I have the problem of the B&B briquettes taking soooo loooong to light. I put KBB in the chimney for the PBC or 22" kettle with B&B in the basket/SnS or a pile of KBB over the SnapJet igniter with the B&B briquettes spread around the KBB in my WSCGC. What I'm saying is that KBB is part of the ignition system when using B&B (ditto with Weber briquettes).
You don't seem to have that problem, you lucky guy. Either that, or you're more patient than I am.
Kathryn
-
-
Kingsford sent me gift cards for 2 free bags. They apologized for my problem. Sounds straightforward to me. I'll wait & see. 55 years of using their product.Comment
-
jfmorris - I was going back through this since there was an new post and noticed that you dump your KBB into the attached bin. I used to do that too, but wound up cutting the top off a bag and just sit the topless bag of charcoal in the bin. It seems to be much easier to me to grab the whole cut off bag and dump charcoal into whatever. YMMV
Comment
-
RonB interesting you should bring that up. More recently if the bin was empty, I have taken to also dropping the charcoal bag down in there, if it will fit. That said I keep a charcoal scoop in there too, which makes it easy to scoop briquettes into the SNS or Vortex or chimney.
-
Kathryn, that seems to be a frequent tradeoff. If you look at the Naked Wiz charcoal site you will see that some of the longest burning charcoal (for example the Rockwood lump I use) is not the fastest to light. For low and slow in a Kamado that's not necessarily a bad thing - if you overshoot the temperature and get too much lit is can be really hard to get the temperature back down again.Comment
-
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments. When your out there smoking in the middle of the night. Trouble comes up your not alone. This past winter Idid no smoking. For me that's unusual. I don't mind subfreezing temps. I like cold. But that KBB problem bothered me. I usually cook 2 pork shoulders at a time . Didn't want problems with 22 # of meat out there. I'll get over it. Thanks Again folks .Comment
-
Well, glad you got over it & yer still with us & yer still cookin & you don’t mind cold, especially this time of year, yessir!Comment
-
An update on the OP's original. I bought 2 of the twin packs a while ago. Today, I finished the 2nd bag of the 1st twin. On both bags, I had more smoke in the chimney that I can recall. Then there is the burn time. Today I did beef style country ribs which call for about a total cook time of about 5 hours. I could not get 4 hours out of a full chimney. I don't know if I got a bad batch. I do now it is not what I have experienced in the past. I have had the same issue of short burn time in the PBJ. I have 2 more bags. If I have the same experience, it will be time to look at other options.Comment
-
RichieB I was at Costco just a few days ago, inquiring about their new line of charcoal.
The guy in the back mentioned Cowboy. I said I am glad you brought up Cowboy. I bought a bag of lump in the spring and there was a steel strap and a piece of concrete in the mix.
He was shocked and said bring it back and we will refund your money. Great cust service. -
One of the more interesting things about reading on the naked wiz site is that at least for lump many brands have multiple sources with different characteristics. Perhaps briquettes also vary depending on where they are made..
-
Comment