Humphrey's Lump Demystified???


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
Ok, so I went to a local charcoal and briquette distributor to pick up six 20# bags of lump since I've been completely unable to find it anywhere else locally.

I asked him why it was so hard to find and he said that humphrey's is very irregular in their supply, and sometimes they're aren't shipping and its hard to come by. He pointed to 10 pallets in the corner of the warehouse and said that was all he had for a delivery to a large, local grocery chain that probably has 40 stores in the area.

He suggested I try Struemph's instead since its cheaper and is actually the producer of Humphrey's. He said its the exact same stuff, Humphrey's just rebags is and sells it for a $1.50 more a bag.

I was quite surprised, so I did some googling as soon as I got back. After trying 3 different permutations of "struemphs" I finally got close enough and got the right spelling. Naked whiz had it listed (should have went there first). According to them (and other sources), Struemph's is made in MO. And when you read their review of Humphrey's, they get their lump from MO!

The kicker was that on Naked Whiz, Struemph's is listed as Fire King, the exact stuff I tried and didin't like. I find huge chunks of bark in bags of Fire King and once we had a strange nugget that oozed and bubbled black tarry stuff as it lit in a chimney.
 
I was never mystified so....
Well after 5 years of using Hump, I'll have to say never found anything like you describe
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Yes I find a rock here and there, but that's it, no big deal to me. I'll keep using Hump, as I love the stuff.
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As with anything YMMV.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I was never mystified so.... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I guess I was just surprised that in all the talk about Humphrey's (here, and at comps), I never heard anyone mention Struemphs or Fire King.

I got bags of both lump. I'll do a side by side comparison.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I guess I was just surprised that in all the talk about Humphrey's (here, and at comps), I never heard anyone mention Struemphs or Fire King. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've only been to a few comps, but I saw alot of teams using and selling Humphrey's. Seems to be the lump of choice here on the East Coast? It's very popular at New Holland PA, and I saw many teans using it at Bel Air MD last year. Looking forward to your test.
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On a side note. I read on the Whiz that there's a Dist for Dragon Breath Lump in upstate NY. I bought 6 bags last year in MD, and while it's a very good lump, it does contain a good amount of dust and small chips that's un-useable. That was my only complaint with it. Not sure if you saw any Dragon Breath Lump in your neck of the woods.
 
I did a side by side comparison of about a chimney's worth of lump. There seemed to be little visible difference between the two.

humphrey's
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fire king
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in addition I found some weird pumice-like chunks in the bag of humphrey's that were kind of like the oozer that cameout of the bag of fire king.

IMG_2850.jpg
 
A couple or more years back the PBS station in St Louis, MO aired a 9 minute story about Struemph's (Fire King).
You will have to go down the page to find "charcoal making" (past the people pictures)

http://www.ketc.org/production...STL_videoArchive.asp

It should be an interesting video for most TVWB members.

I hope to make the leap from K briqs to lump, and want to make Fire King my main coal, since it's local, small time, and not corp owned.

Kingsford has a state of the art plant at Belle, MO, so I haven't felt too bad about buying it, at least it's local.
I think Royal Oak also has plants here in Missouri.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
I was never mystified so....
Well after 5 years of using Hump, I'll have to say never found anything like you describe
icon_confused.gif
Yes I find a rock here and there, but that's it, no big deal to me. I'll keep using Hump, as I love the stuff.
icon_biggrin.gif
As with anything YMMV.
icon_wink.gif
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto - been using Humph for well over 5 years now. No ooozing anything and definitely no bark or other weird looking debris. An occasional rock here and there is the only beef. I'll keep a lookout though during the next few cooks for those "flavor crystals"
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I did address this with a fellow competitor to see if he was aware of the supposed connection between humphrey's and fire king. It turns out, that since I last talked to him, he's now officially sponsored by humphrey's. He told me that he addressed this rumor with his distributor, and his distributor flat out denied any connection to struemphs.

So somebody either doesn't have their facts straight, or somebody is intentionally trying to deceive.

I can't figure out what my charcoal guy gains by telling me that fire king is identical, he joked that it was my buck fifty a bag that I was wasting getting hump instead of fire king. Unless he gets a better margin on it despite it being cheaper than humphrey's.

He knows I went out of my way to get 6 bags of humphrey's from him, where as I know where I can get fire king. So if he convinces me to switch, he loses a customer (technically no, because he supplies the local stores with both hump and fire king, so I buy from him direct or indirect either way).
 
jb,

I don't know what you usually pay for Humphrey's but, I was at Willowbrook Farms (Food Terminal) yesterday and they had a pile of Hump Lump outside the store ~ 20 lb bags for $8.50. They also had a pile of Humphrey's charcoal briquettes for $8.00. There always seems to be some there and I think they had more inside as well.

Bill
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I don't know what you usually pay for Humphrey's but, I was at Willowbrook Farms (Food Terminal) yesterday and they had a pile of Hump Lump outside the store ~ 20 lb bags for $8.50. They also had a pile of Humphrey's charcoal briquettes for $8.00. There always seems to be some there and I think they had more inside as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

that's where I go to get briquettes but they hadn't had the lump in some time. Same goes for Niagara County Produce (transit and millersport)...hump briquettes but no lump.

I mentioned it to the distributor (who sells to both places) and he said his supply of lump has been erratic and he hadn't received a shipment of it in a while. I guess if he some to sell me he could sell it to some stores as well.

I like willow brook. They have nice prices on disposable vinyl gloves, aluminum pans, and they have black grill scrubbers that are amazing for cleaning grates.
 
There had to have been at least a dozen bags of each sitting outside yesterday. Maybe, your conversation with them sparked something
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I like the place just across the street from them, too. They don't have the meat/cheese selection that Willowbrook has but they have good prices on the rest of their stuff.

Bill
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I like the place just across the street from them, too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

help me out here. Across the street? or still in the terminal complex?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I like the place just across the street from them, too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

help me out here. Across the street? or still in the terminal complex? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sorry 'bout that .. It's the place just outside their door in the parking lot .. The building in front of the Sausage Maker and across from the beverage store. Make sense?

Bill
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Sorry 'bout that .. It's the place just outside their door in the parking lot .. The building in front of the Sausage Maker and across from the beverage store. Make sense? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

sure I'll look around for it next time I'm there, which should be soon since I burned through my box of gloves.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Sorry 'bout that .. It's the place just outside their door in the parking lot .. The building in front of the Sausage Maker and across from the beverage store. Make sense? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

sure I'll look around for it next time I'm there, which should be soon since I burned through my box of gloves. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I wish i remembered the name of the place .. Anyway, that's where I get my gloves from. They're powder free vinyl and the tight type, not the one-size-fits-all loose type that I can't stand.

Bill
 
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