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Best Lumpwood Charcoal


sotv

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I must admit I  came by a large bag of restaurant grade lump the middle of last year, then I bought another large bag of quality grade lump towards the end of the year.  I have to say I was impressed with it compared with the bog standard charcoal you can buy.

Now I've used the heat beads that I bought the other month a few times, I can see me buying some more lump and doing a comparison between the two types.

We have family coming around on Sat..(one of my sons-in-law has the jig that cuts a Masons Mitre for the new kitchen worktops  m0117.gif)...so we thought as it's looking like a good weekend..at the moment..I'm going to fire up the Brinkman for a change.

 

Ice..t2043.gif

 

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All down to personal preference. i prefer lumpwood in my bullet smoker as it burns longer and more consistently throughout the cook, but can still spike and when temperature starts to drop off it is easier for the new charcoal to catch and quicker, than when i use briquettes, which are mostly a bed of ash once temperatures drop. But that may be more down to me than what other people find.😀

I have tried many brands and think the CPL Distribution Restaurant Grade Charcoal, I get delivered from coals2u via my local coalman is the most consistent in size and burn as well as best value charcoal I have tried. But always looking out for new affordable ones to try.

A basketful of charcoal will usually burn for 5-6 hours for me (depending on weather) before temps start to drop, I know a lot of people can get a little longer with briquettes though.

A few manufacturers of lumpwood whether restaurant or ordinary lumpwood don't always supply the fist sized chunks I prefer in the bag and you end up with a bag of smashed bits, that are disappointing and hard to work with. So if buying from a store, I always feel the bag, to try to get an idea of contents. Not possible with online purchases of course.I save the smaller bits for the chimney starter and keep the bigger pieces for the actual basket and cook.

I look to spend between £1 - £1.50 per kg for my restaurant grade charcoal

A few manufacturers are pushing low moisture lumpwood charcoal as burning longer and hotter than standard lumpwood at the moment. Whether this is true or a marketing ploy to sell you less quantity at a higher price, unsure yet.

We don't seem to have any local small charcoal manufacturers in my county I live in. But there are a lot of local small charcoal manufacturers out there that have their own kiln and sell to the public directly and are meant to produce some very good lumpwood to try. Worth a google to see if you have one.

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Came across this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/25kg-Hardwood-Lumpwood-Charcoal-Barbecues/dp/B01M25I523

Works out at £1.11 per kg,  but as you've said about the small bits, by the time they get thrown around what will it be like when it's delivered???

After having to clean up after my delivery of heat beads, I'd like to hope that they would turn up in a better condition.

 

Ice.

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6 hours ago, Icefever said:

Came across this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/25kg-Hardwood-Lumpwood-Charcoal-Barbecues/dp/B01M25I523

Works out at £1.11 per kg,  but as you've said about the small bits, by the time they get thrown around what will it be like when it's delivered???

After having to clean up after my delivery of heat beads, I'd like to hope that they would turn up in a better condition.

 

Ice.

Currently getting though 4 bags of this supplied direct from Big K and pleased with the quality but would say a sixth of the bag are small pieces ( so use them in a chimney starter). but the big pieces burn consistently and last well. More expensive than your option, but it is restaurant grade and vastly different to the Big K you get in the supermarkets and DIY stores and you can just order a single bag to try.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just ordered 7 bags of CPL Distribution Restaurant Grade Charcoal from coals2u and it gets delivered by your local coalman usually.

c96281159bdf814b1d40f892dce7866a0634442a

Used this last summer and was very pleased with its size and burn time. Noticed they have dropped free delivery to £30 this year, so 3 bags would get you free delivery. Delivery can take 7-10 days from order, so need to be aware of that if you needed some in a hurry.

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On 3/21/2019 at 9:00 AM, Icefever said:

Came across this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/25kg-Hardwood-Lumpwood-Charcoal-Barbecues/dp/B01M25I523

Works out at £1.11 per kg,  but as you've said about the small bits, by the time they get thrown around what will it be like when it's delivered???

After having to clean up after my delivery of heat beads, I'd like to hope that they would turn up in a better condition.

 

Ice.

I sometimes get this from ebay (same vendor I think), much bigger chunks than in the smaller bags.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162167971112

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1 hour ago, Icefever said:

Works out at £1.20 per kg, if you buy 2 bags with free P&P... maybe worth a punt??

 

Ice.

Yeah that's what I used to do, usually delivered within 2 days. Only reason I stopped using was because I used to get it delivered to my partners workplace but they've recently moved premises and they share a building with a few other companies now. Can't really get it delivered to my work place and we're both out all day. I need to sort a new delivery place so i can get some more. I've used it for a couple of years, it's good, not spitty like the blue bag stuff tends to be.

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28 minutes ago, Smokin Monkey said:

I use Restaurant Grade Charcoal on most of my cooks.

Same here but I mainly roast or grill, if smoking then I tend to go with briquettes, haven't tried lump on a low and slow yet.

@Icefever speaking to the other half this evening she reckons I should be ok to now get charcoal delivered to her workplace, happy days.

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Not had any mine arrive damp, bag and lumpwood bone dry, but I suppose how and where it is stored may affect the bag over time. So long as the lumpwood is dry, it should be fine (If the bag still has dry dust in it, I would assume the damp hasn't affected it)?. If not happy and delivered locally, have a word with the coalman and see what he says. if online vendor a bit more difficult.

I personally always transfer an open bag of CPL or any bag of charcoal into a big plastic storage box with a plastic liner as mine is kept outside in one of those plastic garden storage seats things.

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I'm afraid it has affected it,  its a b***h to light!  Wouldn't light in the kettle, wouldn't light with my electric thing, in the end I've used a whole pile of kindling wood in the bottom of the grate and had a mini bonfire to get it going.

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2 minutes ago, martin_b said:

I'm afraid it has affected it,  its a b***h to light!  Wouldn't light in the kettle, would light with my electric thing, in the end I've used a whole pile of kindling wood in the bottom of the grate and had a mini bonfire to get it going.

That sounds like an issue there. See what the company says when you complain. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
1 hour ago, tedmus said:

Ocado have the 3 for 2 deal on Big K restaurant grade on again. Combine with a 30% off your first shop discount that's 45kg @ 80p/kg.

It is good stuff but not traditional lumpwood more sticks, very good stuff but just a heads up. Photo of an earlier order of mine to illustrate

37653142.jpg

 

I am going to use this offer to try the Big K Cocoshell briquettes, though which are part of the 3-2 offer also

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