Charcoal in the Garage Over Winter


 
J

James Harvey

TVWBB Pro
Hi All,

I'm in Toronto and this is my first winter with the WSM. I'm wondering how charcoal fares over winter stored in the garage. We generally fluctuate from slightly above 32F to well below. I'd like to smoke all season so should I bring my fuel inside or can I leave it in the garage? I use RO lump and K briquettes. Any thoughts as I'd like to grab 20+ bags on my next trip to take me through. I'm worried that the winter moisture will affect the usability of the coal.

Thanks,

James
 
James,if you keep it off the floor,it should do fine. Either on a shelf,or on a pallet or some 2 X 4's to keep the moisture from wicking up.
 
Hi James, I live 30 mins west of Waterloo. I buy my charcoal a skid at a time, and keep it all winter long in my shed, off the floor just a bit. If I do anything, I just keep the bag that is open in an area where it is warmer and drier so that it is easier to light.


No problems in your garage.
 
James, I leave mine in a shed that is not even close to air tight and it does fine. Keep it off the floor and you will be fine.
 
Similar experience here. Live in NW Iowa and we had the most snow last year in over fifty if not a hundred years last year (if you listen to the old timers.) I pick up a "few" bags of Kingsford last winter and had most of them in my storage shed, which I couldn't get to until from Jan-Apr because of the show. I still have about a dozen bags left, used some tonight for some grilling because I was out of lump, and it's still fine. My shed leaks some (the snow last year caused some roof damage due to the weight), even had a box next to the charcoal get soaked during the thaw but the charcoal was off the ground and stayed dry.
 
I live just west of you and I keep it in my unheated shed year round without issue. As long as you keep it from getting directly wet you should be just fine.
 
Now my winter and your winter are far different, but I've never had trouble. I keep my burnables in a tin shed out back year round and have had no trouble at all. Smoke wood, lump, and briquette it's all been fine. We don't get much snow, but we have humidity that you cannot imagine.
 
James I live on Grand Island which is close to you and I keep my charcoal in a shed durning the winter months. I grill all year long and have never had a problem with the "K".
 
Thanks All. Oddly enough, here in Toronto, charcoal starts to get scarce in mid August. I was at Canadian Tire today (to grab a new gas grill) and they had a skid of K on sale. After the responses here, I'm heading back to grab what I can get. I have the skid my snowblower came on in the garage so I'll stack it there. I'm sure my next questions will deal with smoking in the winter.

James
 
Originally posted by James Harvey:
I'm sure my next questions will deal with smoking in the winter.

James
Click to expand...

Other than using a windbreak and a bit longer cooking times, it's pretty much status quo.
 
Thanks All.

Bill, I don't have Tyvek but another layer of insulation is a good idea. I have a few tarps lying around. I'll use one of the new ones.

Regards,

James
 
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