Damp Charcoal, Again!


 
Jose Suro

Jose Suro

TVWBB All-Star
Hi All,

There is a thread here started by Rich Dahl about problems with charcoal not getting to temperature. This happened to me as well and I was able to determine that my charcoal had gotten damp from a number of consecutive high humidity days while it was stored in the Performer bin. That thread is here for reference:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?55068-Second-time-on-our-new-to-us-WSM-at-a-loss-as-to-why-the-temp-problem&highlight=rich+dahl

Well, it happened to me again! This time though it was different. The charcoal was a half full bag of Kingsford blue, but this time it was stored in my "dry" garage! Same situation, we had like three days in a row of fog, rain and 100% humidity and the dampness got into the charcoal even though it was stored in the garage, away from the elements.

Same results. Cooking my Thanksgiving turkey I wanted a hot smoker and the charcoal burned normally but never got really hot. In this case my WSM 22.5 never got past 325 degrees wide open and went down from there. Normally I can peg the needle on the 22.5 wide open ~375 degrees easy. I even added more coals. those burned nicely as well but then the WSM never got past 295 degrees.

I am now assessing whether this happens only to open bags. If it happens to new, unopened bags then I feel it's unwise for me to store loads of charcoal, not even in the garage. We have a lot of high humidity days here in Florida. And, I read on the net that once charcoal gets damp it never comes back 100%. I think for now I'll stick to buying 4 bags tops at a time.

Best,

Jose
 
Jose;
I don't live in Florida, so can't use a proper comparison. However, I have learned, over the years, that most anything sitting on a concrete floor in a garage can absorb moisture. The solution that has worked for me is to place anything I DON'T want to absorb moisture on a pallet (or pallets). Conversely, you can store it stacked up on shelves. That way, I suggest might solve your problem. It's certainly worth a try. That allows me to take advantage of sales (less than half price is NOT to be sneezed at).

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
Jose, I've tried a couple of different things since that issue I had with lack of heat and have found out that using a kingsford charcoal caddy and just dumping a bag into it isn't a good idea I had couple of more cases of low temps. I realized that the caddy isn't airtight so moisture can get into it.
I now put the bag alone with the charcoal into the caddy and close up the bag and clamp it shut, not totally airtight but much better than without the bag.
I keep the caddy under the shelf of my Genesis 1000 which is on the patio and covered, so no moister can settle on the caddy at night.
I also placed my extra charcoal on pallets in the garage to get them off the floor.
So far so good been through 5 or 6 bags and no problems at all.
Hope that helps.
 
Missouri is a high humidity state, currently an all day rain here. :(
I've stored bags of Kb on the garage floor, had open bags of it sit for weeks in the Performer's bin, and never had a problem with damp coal.
So I'm not sure what's going on with some of this stuff.

to be clear, when it's been sitting open for a few weeks it just means I'm using lump, Stubbs, or something else ;)
 
Bob Correll said:
Missouri is a high humidity state, currently an all day rain here. :(
I've stored bags of Kb on the garage floor, had open bags of it sit for weeks in the Performer's bin, and never had a problem with damp coal.
So I'm not sure what's going on with some of this stuff.

to be clear, when it's been sitting open for a few weeks it just means I'm using lump, Stubbs, or something else ;)
Click to expand...

Same here. Never had damp charcoal. Mine is in the unattached garage stacked from the concrete floor on up to 6'.
 
This is pretty interesting. After reading Rich's post a while back, I did an experiment once we got some cooler wet weather. I placed 3/4 bag of KBB on my porch and left it in the rainy, damp weather for an entire week. Obviously, I didn't allow it to rain directly on the bag, but the rain was hitting the ground about six feet from it. I left the bag open at the top, not tightly shut. After the sixth or seventh day I used that bag in my WSM and Kettle for high heat cooks. Absolutely, no problem.
 
Interesting responses all. So far this has only happened with half full bags. I have never had a problem with a freshly opened bag. I of course rolled them up shut after using what I needed so they should have been the same as a new bag. And, so far it's only happened with Kingsford, both the blue and the comp. It has never happened with Stubb's or lump. As a matter of fact my lump bags can stay open for over a month because I don't use it that much - never had a problem with lump.

The stuff is definitely damp though, it burns perfectly but never gets as hot as a new bag. Takes longer to light too. Oh, and this might be important. Both times the bags sat open for two, three weeks because I was away on trips.

Best,

Jose
 
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I have been following the 'damp charcoal' threads too.
I have had a on/off relationship with charcoal for 30+ years and I have never done anything special to prevent moisture issues, at various times it has been stored on apartment patios, garages, and currently in a backyard shed.
Not sure why because I have never had any issues, but I am a little concerned and have been tightly rolling down the top of my open bags.
 
Hmm,I keep my unopened bags in the garage on plastic pallets off the floor,but I keep opened bags in a metal chest outside,along with my wood chunks and chips. It's definitely not air tight. I've never had an issue with any of the charcoal I keep in there between cooks.
 
Jose, I wonder what humidity is like during your cook. Maybe this could cause variation between what you see vs. others? ((Of course since I live in the desert I don't know anything about humidity.... plus I don't have a wsm so I really should not be adding to the mix. I just found this thread fascinating in the differing views))
 
I think it was member Bryan S who dried out his damp charcoal in a chimney on his gasser, and IIRC correctly it was Humphrey lump (which is a quality lump). I don't know if that works on briquets like K, but might be worth a shot.

Tim
 
More Research

More info. We had some crystal clear low humidity days this week, the kind that make our pool lose 1/4 inch of water level a day. So, I set the left over damp Kingsford bag out in the Sun for a couple of days to dry it out.

Tonight I did some indirect chicken thighs on the Performer with that leftover charcoal. The temp never got over 331 degrees at the grate, with all vents wide open. Now, on the Performer, with the same exact setup I would have to close the bottom vent 75% to maintain that temp, and maybe 25% of the top vent. The charcoal did not dry out. It still looked like it was burning perfectly.

Never has happened, ever, with Stubb's or Royal Oak lump. So to test this I spread the little Kingsford that was left on the bottom grate and added some Royal Oak lump that had been sitting in the garage opened for about two months (not a lot). It immediately started to "clink" and within a minute I had flames. After 3-minutes I put the lid on and the lid thermometer went past 500 degrees, all vents wide open.

I'm starting to think that Kingsford blue and comp both have some kind of additive that absorbs a lot of moisture. Once it's done that, it's never coming back. And it happens after the bag is opened.

Best,

Jose

Ps. Just checked the grill after about 20 minutes with the 2-month old (opened) lump. Still over 500 degrees at the lid, all vents wide open.
 
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