I got a Pit Barrel Cooker in late November of last year. It typically will cook a 4.5 - 5 pound chicken, cut into halves, in 2 hours and a 3 pound rack of spare ribs in 3 hours. However, the last couple of times it has taken much longer. When I prepared chicken the last time, after 4 hours, the chicken was only at an internal temperature of 149 degrees F, and the coals were cooling down. So I had to finish cooking the chicken in the oven. I called a friend who has had a pit barrel cooker for several years, and he said he had recently experienced the same problem. He told me that Kingsford changed the formula for their original briquets last summer and they didn't get as hot or cook as long as they did before. He said he now uses Stubbs charcoal. Has anyone else had problems recently with Kingsford charcoal?
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This is the first I have heard of this. I haven't had that happen to me.
Edit: Thanks for the heads up! When I Googled "kingsford original charcoal changed formula", I saw an ad for Walmart telling me I can get 30 lbs of KBB for $7.88!
Btw, The Virtual Weber Bullet website discusses a change in the formula in 2015, for what that's worth.Last edited by Steve R.; February 7, 2018, 01:22 PM. -
Often times I find that different reatailer will have had pallets left out to humidity, rain etc....
inhad that issue last year and it all had had to do with where I bought it. Moist or previously wet coal does not burn the same as we are accustomed.
Genereally its the elements.
so says me anyway, IMHO.Comment
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Lonestar Richard Yeah I bought a couple of bags of Weber when Lowes put them on sale for $12/bag. I'd always used KBB. After maybe a half dozen cooks it appears to me that the Weber is slower to light, but burns a little hotter and considerably longer. If it stays at $12 I'll continue using it, particularly for long smokes. A few weeks ago I watched a video of a guy who tested several different types of briquettes side by side in chimneys in a time-laps test and Weber crushed everything else as far as burn time, and if I remember even had less ash. For the life of me I can't find the video anymore...Comment
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I prefer Kingsford Professional for chicken cooks. Burns hotter and faster in my PBC.
Here are my findings (posted on another topic) with Weber briquettes in my PBC:
Things I Don't Like About Weber Charcoal in my PBC:
1. Takes for-friggin-ever to burn in the chimney until the topmost coals ash over--and this is with my short/wide CharBroil Halftime chimney, which is way faster than Weber chimneys. Takes 25-28 minutes for Weber charcoal instead of the 10-12 minutes on average for that same chimney with KBB.
2. I have yet to achieve consistency of temp with it in my PBC. I've done one short cook and one long cook with it so far. The long cook was a disaster from a temp maintenance viewpoint because I kept having to remove the meat and stir the coals to keep the temps up. The short cook went a little better, temperaturewise.
3. The ash! OMGoodness, the ash! There's so much of it that it clogs up the space under my PBC basket.
4. Its flavor is more smokey, somewhat, than KBB. I like the KBB flavor better, even though I'm a smoke flavor hound. It did not appear to burn with more smoke in the PBC, though, as compared to KBB, but that's a subjective evaluation. I did not add wood to either cook.
5. At the end of the long cook, after the fire has burned out, I have maybe 20% of the original number of coals left, either partially burned or untouched. I've never ever seen that amount with KBB or Kingsford Professional. Plus all of the partially or unburnt coals are clustered in one portion of the basket, usually furthest away from the PBC vent. I think the buildup of ash under the basket prevents a complete burn of the coals in the basket.
6. The price is too high, unless purchased on super duper sale (which I did).
Things I like about Weber Charcoal:
1. Hmmmm. Ask me later. I'm keeping an open mind until I use it on my WSCGC with/without the SnS.
2. Oh, I do like the resealing feature of the moisture-proof bag, once I wrestled the darn thing open. That "tear easy strip" was anything but tear-easy. More like swear-easy.
Since writing those findings, I have used Weber briquettes a few more times in my PBC with similar results. Winter cooks are a little iffy, though, so I'm waiting for some warmer weather cooks to see if my findings are still the same.
YMMV.
KathrynComment
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As some know I've been having a similar issue with KBB. At first I thought it was a storage issue also but this has been going on for about 3 months now with me. I bought different bags from different stores at different times and still getting this issue. They seem to be taking a long time to get to temp, only last about 1/2 as long and make a ton more ash than before.
I'm planning to do some experimenting this weekend and will reveal the results in another post.Comment
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I have found KBB to be inconsistent in terms of heat and burn time for whatever reason. I have been using Royal Oak with good results and taste.Comment
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This is good. Going to charcoal is a new thing for me. I have always preferred the smokier taste in lump charcoal but have realized it is hard to control temps. It has been an experiment with an old COS (I am learning!). Now using a Weber Kettle I have been trying to get consistency so have been using charcoal. It's also easier to get advice on charcoal. I used Weber charcoals for the first time on my last cook. I will monitor over a few more cooks and see what I think. I have used KBB but not sure I have a good comparison yet.Comment
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So much as been written about this, but here we go again !! I'm at the point of going out and trying a bag of Weber just to see if it's worth it. I really don't trust opinions because everyone's got one, and you know what I mean !! As for Kingsford professional I have no issues with it, it seems to burn hot and consistent for me in my WSMs and kettle. It does have a little more ash then I like but that's part of the deal. KBB since the change in recipe I'm up in the air about. Royal Oak, forget it. B&B, again inconsistent.
Don't know this for a fact but I believe I read where the WSMs were designed to burn KBB. I believe that to be true because I get the best results with it versus others. And bottom line, cutting through all the BS, that's what matters to me, what works !!Comment
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Troutman
Now that Weber charcoal can be had for $12 at Lowe's (and Home Depot on a price match), now is the time to pick up a bag and see what you think. I prefer it to KBB but not so much so that I won't continue to use KBB for some of my cooks. The only time I use Kingsford Professional is when I need a little extra heat over KBB, all the while understanding that it doesn't burn as long. I go through a couple of bags of Professional per year and roughly 1 bag of lump per year. Unless we have a major warm-up on a weekend, pretty much all of my winter charcoal cooking is on the Jumbo Joe and 14.5 WSM, both of which are charcoal misers.
I will say that I haven't experienced any of the problems with KBB that some are describing on this thread.Comment
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If you go to the Home Depot website and bring up the safety data sheet for Weber briquets it says the supplier is Royal Oak. Kingsford's supplier is 'The Clorox Company'.Last edited by Larry Grover; February 13, 2018, 09:49 PM.Comment
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I bought a 26 inch kettle and SNS in November and have been using nothing but KBB. During every long cook, my temps start dropping after about 2 hours, despite SNS claims of holding steady temps for 5-6 hours. Every time the temp drops there is a load of ash I have to knock down. Very frustrating. I was going to contact Adrenaline bbq but now I am beginning to think it's the KBB.Comment
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Yeah the charcoal makes the ash. You *shouldn't* have to knock the ash and sweep it until about 4 or 5 hours in. 2 hrs is too early, maybe there's something amiss with some recent batches of KBB. I haven't' bought any since Mem Day or July 4th last summer at the 50% off sale, I'm still working on that supply.
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Here is a side by side review of Kingford, Stubbs and Trader Joe's with burn times. http://weberkettleclub.com/blog/2015...coal-showdown/Comment
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That sounds plausible. I have not had that problem with KBB in my 26 + SnS. If this truly is a problem with KBB I wonder if it's a regional thing? My last KBB purchase was the Labor Day sale and I have not had any of the problems here in Michigan that others are reporting on this thread.Originally posted by ColonialDawg View PostComment
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