What have you found......in that bag of Charcoal?

[Spinaker]

We all find interesting things in our charcoal bags from time to time. I recently did a cook on my Kamado and I found these pieces of metal in my charcoal basket, amongst the ash. I have no clue what they are. They are metallic. One seems to be silver and the other has a blueish hue to it and I think is made of metal as well. I am guessing they melted when the heat got to them and that resulted in there current shape.

Anyone have an idea what these are?


Let's see what kind of things you have found over the years. So, what have you found?

[Mosca]

I once found a piece of ceramic insulation from a high voltage transformer in a bag of Cowboy. Never again.

[Spinaker]

Hahaha, that is a new one on me. More reason not to buy that crap.

[jfmorris]

An old ceramic insulator implies that they might have used old telephone poles to make charcoal - which are typically NOT hardwood, but creosote soaked pine, I think.

[Mosca]

jfmorris That was my thought exactly. The lump wasn’t creosote soaked pine. But it swore me off Cowboy forever. How would it have gotten there? I don’t care. There are better options.

[Alan Brice]

Yep, steel strapping material n charred shoe moulding Cowboy Lump @ Costco.

[Spinaker]

Two strikes for Cowboy.

[Spinaker]

Rocks are very common and not all that surprising, honestly. Another common one......shards of fencing.

[LA Pork Butt]

I think your analysis is correct - melted metal. I typically will find some small rocks. Did you find the metal before or after the cook?

[Spinaker]

After the cook, they were in the bottom of the ash tray, I noticed them when I was vacuuming out the Kamado.

[LA Pork Butt]

Spinaker that’s what I thought. I didn’t think the charcoal making process would melt it.

[ecowper]

Cowboy lump .... I found a nut and bolt in a bag once. Tried one more time, there were rocks and a 16 penny nail this time. So now I find myself in the odd position of thinking Cowboy briquettes are awesome and Cowboy lump is awful

[Spinaker]

Sounds about right, the Cowboy bags of lump always have surprises!

[Finster]

I'm in the same boat so don't call me odd... 😛

[dpearce]

Maybe this was some of that fencing shard you mentioned? A bag of KBB back this last summer.

I knew (KNEW) I'd get to use this pic at some point!

[Spinaker]

Yeah, you got a nail there.

The pieces of fencing I have found remind me of those pieces of fencing you used to see in the outfields around baseball fields when we were kids.....I think they call them wood snow fencing actually.

[jfmorris]

Well, Kingsford started as a way for Ford to make a profit off of all the scrap wood from their car manufacturing, and even though we know they don't use wood in making cars, I imagine Kingsford still recycles hardwood pallets into charcoal, which implies there are probably more nails in those briquettes than we would expect.

[Spinaker]

Yeah, the grinder they use at that plant is insane. jfmorris

[Ace]

Spinaker Possibly silver solder used in plumbing.
The blue one, possibly this explanation from the internet:
Silver solder can turn blue due to oxidation from heat, which forms a tarnish layer called firescale, or from chemical reactions with sulfur compounds in the air or cleaning solutions. The blue discoloration indicates an oxide layer that forms on the surface and can prevent proper soldering or require removal.

[Spinaker]

Yeah, that is what I was thinking too. Silver solder. The blue one is for sure oxidation.......I just wonder why one has oxidation, and the other one does not. I pulled them out of the same ash pan.

[Ace]

The blue one might have been exposed to more air compared to the silver one?

[CaptainMike]

Cowboy lump: nails, rocks, and once a leg/foot to a couch or some other piece of furniture.

[Spinaker]

Hahaha, parts of furniture? That is a new one.

[Oak Smoke]

I found several pieces of trim, like crown molding, in the first bag I bought. So far there hasn’t been a second bag. I suspect that trim had paint or varnish on it at one time. No thanks, that’s construction or demolition waste.

[STEbbq]

Fence posts, yep. Tree branches are common and annoying.

[Hulagn1971]

Jealous Devil XL Lump, a belt buckle and a couple teeth.

[Spinaker]

Hahaha, pictures?

[Oak Smoke]

Bar fight?

[CaptainMike]

I wondered where Steve Buscemi's character in Fargo ended up...

[Donw]

I’m jealous. All I ever find in my Cowboy brand bags are cowboys.☹️

[Spinaker]

What if you found a head in a bag, now that would make for an interesting story around the grill, eh?

[Alan Brice]

Keep lookin Boys, My horse is around here sommers.

[JCBBQ]

Hahaha

[captainlee]

Looks like coins from 1681

[RonB]

Looks like fillings to me. are you sure there were no human remains in that bag?

[Spinaker]

Dang, could have been from a lower jaw.......never thought about that one!

[Finster]

my first thought as well 😨

[jfmorris]

I found window and door moulding turned into charcoal in the only bag of Cowboy lump I ever bought. Along with a higher than normal amount of rocks. I have yet to see anything beyond a couple of pebbles as foreign material in the B&B lump.

[Spinaker]

That is pretty nuts. Just taking demo trash for making charcoal. Nice.