When did Kingsford stop the 20 lb. bags?


 

W_Stewart

TVWBB Fan
Just realizing my last bag of Kingsford charcoal I am using up is a 20 lb. bag, and that Lowes and Walmart are selling 18 and 16 lb. bags. Pretty much the same money I recall paying for the 20 lb. bags (usually 2-bag deal) a few years back. Or is it that the 20 lb. bags are still available and sometimes places have it and sometimes they have the smaller bags?
 
Quite a while back Kingsford changed the formulation, claiming you'd get the same heat output from 18.x lbs. of the new formulation as you did from 20 lbs. of the old. Some years after that they changed it again, saying 18 lbs. of the new was the same as 18.x lbs. of the not quite so new. Or at least that's the way I remember it. The 20 lbs. bags have been gone for quite a few years now.

I suspect the 16 lbs. bags are just sized for a different price point.
 
Did not know about the "change in formulation." I remember when they made the change, and it was like 5-6 years ago.

I just figured it was same motivation that make it impossible to find a "half-gallon" anymore ! ! !





BD
 
Yeah, guess you can tell I haven't run my WSM much the last couple years ��. I have been running my vertical propane smoker but felt the pull of the WSM calling me. I have about an hour to go on a pork butt if all goes well...
 
I've never seen a 20# bag. I know this past years I purchased a couple of double bag packs (2X15#) fairly cheap while right next to them was a 1 bag of 15.6 (or 8)# was more expensive than the double pack.

Sometimes I think they're selling last years for cheaper to get rid of old inventory that may have absorbed water through humidity or sat outside in the rain a time or two. IMO, this c/would explain why sometimes it doesn't burn well.
 
I remember double 20# bags for $10.00! People used to think I was nuts buying 200 pound when I could now, they seem to understand the stockpile mentality I have had for lo, these many years.
Some folks still think I’m crazy but, they stop with the first mouthful...
 
I chuckle each time I buy charcoal since I see the bags at Home Depot and Lowes are not the same weight and neither one is 20lbs. I chalk it up to the dealers requesting special runs from Kingsford that they can sell at a specific price point. I simply stock up during the three big sales each year and got back to enjoying smoking and grilling.
Mike
 
I remember several years ago seeing a guy in Home Depot with one of the large flat carts stacked high with Kingsford during their early season sale. At the time I wondered what he was going to do with all that. Last year it was me loading 180 lbs. of charcoal into a cart and getting questions from other customers. I'm down to my last couple bags. Definitely will have to stock up again next spring.
 
As mentioned above, the “trick” is to buy in quantity when Kingsford is on sale. I haven’t found a serious difference in time or temp between the Twin 18 pounders vs. the Twin twenties. When you buy it on the sale days and get enough to last, at that price, who cares:eek:?

Dale53
 
This is my last bag. It has the Kingsford K shown on the briquette

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The last time I bought charcoal was over a year ago and that was 5 bags of Royal Oak from Lowes on closeout at $4.00 a bag. That was a big mistake as it doesn't burn very well at 5500 ft.
I still have about 20 bags of 20# and 18# Kingsford twin packs that I bought as long as two years ago. With the dry fire restrictions now in the summer and the fact I use my gassers more often for quick cooks of burgers and such I don't go thru it like I use too.
Almost positive I won't buy any in 2018 ether.
 
Like Gold down here in Costa Rica as yesterday I paid 15,000 Colones(around $27) for s Double Pack (2X18.6lb) Kingsford Blue Brand.
 

 

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