Our Home Depot started carrying this in 15lb boxes, so I picked up two
yesterday. Dumped some in the chimney starter last night, lit the
newspaper, and was treated to a pyrotechnic show the likes of which
I've rarely seen. Tons of sparks flying everywhere; I'd have been
reallly concerned if there'd been any flammable materials around.

This is only the second brand of lump I've been able to sample, so I'm
wondering if this is normal. I mean, it was pretty and all, but kind
of unexpected.

In article >, bwillis8
@NOSPAMoptonline.net says...
>
> Our Home Depot started carrying this in 15lb boxes, so I picked up two
> yesterday. Dumped some in the chimney starter last night, lit the
> newspaper, and was treated to a pyrotechnic show the likes of which
> I've rarely seen. Tons of sparks flying everywhere; I'd have been
> reallly concerned if there'd been any flammable materials around.
>
> This is only the second brand of lump I've been able to sample, so I'm
> wondering if this is normal. I mean, it was pretty and all, but kind
> of unexpected.

Depends on the wood used to make the lump. Mequite always sparks like that
for me. Oak sparks much less. The lump will spark more if it's kept in a
high humidity environment. Absorbed water vapor from the atmosphere turns to
steam and pops off little pieces of burning wood.

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:26:25 -0800, Bill
> wrote:

> Depends on the wood used to make the lump. Mequite always sparks like that
>for me. Oak sparks much less. The lump will spark more if it's kept in a
>high humidity environment. Absorbed water vapor from the atmosphere turns to
>steam and pops off little pieces of burning wood.
>
> Bill

I think you're right, it probably is mesquite. I found a web page
(http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag) where someone with
probably way too much spare time on his hands has put together reviews
of lump charcoal. "Char Broil" is not listed, but the box looks
nearly identical to the "New Braunfels" brand, so I'm assuming a
common manufacturer. It is made in Mexico and consists of actual tree
limb pieces, so it looks like the same stuff as the New Braunfels.
Anyway, I've grilled a few more times with it since then, got a bunch
of sparking each time, but haven't set fire to the garage yet.

Thanks for the reply.

In article >, bwillis8
@NOSPAMoptonline.net says...

>
> I think you're right, it probably is mesquite. I found a web page
> (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag) where someone with
> probably way too much spare time on his hands has put together reviews
> of lump charcoal. "Char Broil" is not listed, but the box looks

Now there's a hobby. If only he would sort them by their user ratings -
that would make the site much more useful.

--
John
kc2kth

In article >,
says...
> Now there's a hobby. If only he would sort them by their user ratings -
> that would make the site much more useful.
>
>

I guess I'm too tired to be surfing the Net. I just found the link back
to the main page and found the rankings from there.

--
John
kc2kth

Bill wrote:

> In article >, bwillis8
> @NOSPAMoptonline.net says...
>
>>Our Home Depot started carrying this in 15lb boxes, so I picked up two
>>yesterday. Dumped some in the chimney starter last night, lit the
>>newspaper, and was treated to a pyrotechnic show the likes of which
>>I've rarely seen. Tons of sparks flying everywhere; I'd have been
>>reallly concerned if there'd been any flammable materials around.
>>
>>This is only the second brand of lump I've been able to sample, so I'm
>>wondering if this is normal. I mean, it was pretty and all, but kind
>>of unexpected.
>
>
> Depends on the wood used to make the lump. Mequite always sparks like that
> for me. Oak sparks much less. The lump will spark more if it's kept in a
> high humidity environment. Absorbed water vapor from the atmosphere turns to
> steam and pops off little pieces of burning wood.
>
> Bill
> --
> Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

It's always humid here and the sparks don't really begin to fly until
the chimney is poured into the smoker. It's more likely the wood.

Dan

Bill wrote:
> Our Home Depot started carrying this in 15lb boxes, so I picked up two
> yesterday. Dumped some in the chimney starter last night, lit the
> newspaper, and was treated to a pyrotechnic show the likes of which
> I've rarely seen. Tons of sparks flying everywhere; I'd have been
> reallly concerned if there'd been any flammable materials around.
>
> This is only the second brand of lump I've been able to sample, so I'm
> wondering if this is normal. I mean, it was pretty and all, but kind
> of unexpected.
>
>
Are you sure it was Char-Broil and not Charwood? I bought some
Kingsford Charwood at Walmart and it acts just like that. No way you
could cook a steak without ashes all over it. Naked Whiz has a picture
of the sparks on his website. -RP

On Wed, 05 Apr 2006 12:25:59 -0700, Randy >
wrote:

>Are you sure it was Char-Broil and not Charwood? I bought some
>Kingsford Charwood at Walmart and it acts just like that. No way you
>could cook a steak without ashes all over it. Naked Whiz has a picture
>of the sparks on his website. -RP

Yes, it's definitely Char-Broil, which some research reveals is the
company that bought out the New Braunfels company, which explains why
the box is nearly identical to the N.B. charcoal of a few years ago.
I found that the sparking was worst when it was in the chimney, and
calmed down a lot once the coals went into the grill. With the lid
down, there's very little sparking during cooking. I'm guessing it
would work okay in the smoker as well, or any use where you're trying
for a slow gradual burn.