Do KBB get stale?


 
TonyS T-Bone

TonyS T-Bone

TVWBB Super Fan
I have had a hard time keeping good temps with Slow n Sear 22" kettle smokes using older bags of Kingsford briquettes. I loaded up on KBB over the past year or two and as I get deeper into the stockpile, I get this weird feeling that they get stale, damp, old, or "past their expiration date." I store them up on a pallet in an unheated garage and once the bag is open I keep tightly sealed.

I normally fill the SnS 3/4 of the way with bricks and then pour a 1/4 chimney of hot coals in to get started. During the last few SnS smokes, I have had trouble getting up to 235-ish and usually have to light a new chimney to boost the kettle temps. Yesterday it was 70 degrees, med humidity and no wind - took me 90 minutes to stabilize. Rgh!
 
To my knowledge, charcoal doesn’t “expire”. But if it has been exposed to moisture, it could affect how it burns (briquettes only.)
 
I burned some 45 to 50 year old charcoal from the 70’s. It was a local off brand “Staff” that was sold as a store brand in my area. Blue and white bag, imitation kingsford

The bag was beat up so no real value for a collector

Kind of broke up easily when I dumped it out. It lit and burned.
 
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