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theron theron is offline
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Default Fuel Cost Comparisons once more

This, in rich text format. I know you're more or less not supposed to do this. As the ultimate tightwad I'm always looking for the least expensive way to accomplish something comparable. I just put together figures showing cost of fuel comparisons of different charcoals versus propane. It's a bit disconcerting that the cost of fuel can exceed the cost of food at times. I'm doing 5 lb of pork shoulder with lump charcoal and the cost of pork was $.99/lb.

Fuel Cost Comparison
propane
Walmart "choice" charcoal
Trader Joe's Charcoal
"Lump" Charcoal

cost
$20.00
$5.27
$6.95
varies

weight
20
18
18
varies

cost/lb
$1.00
$0.29
$0.39
$0.55

btu/tank
420000




btu/lb
21000
9000
9000
9000

cost/10,000 BTU
$0.48
$0.33
$0.43
$0.61

Comparison to Propane
100.00%
68.31%
90.09%
128.33%

Fuel Cost per 5 hours
$2.38
$1.63
$2.15
$3.06

Fuel Cost per 10 hours
$4.76
$3.25
$4.29
$6.11



I'm assuming that the BTU per pound of different charcoals is the same, and as we know it's not. I'm also assuming 10,000 BTU per hour, which is variable, based on cooking temp, and the size of the cooking unit. I've been unable to find anything about the ingredients of the Sam's Walmart charcoal, and the Trader Joe's charcoall is claimed to be 100% hardwood plus cornstarch to bind and lump is wood.
Your thoughts??

Ed