Kingsford blue bag issues lately


 
D

Dave Russell

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First off, not trying to push anyone's buttons concerning good ole' Kingsford. I've been using the stuff for grilling and smoking with for a long time with little complaints. I'm quite familiar with the stuff and use it for the bargain it is.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has had any trouble keeping their K bb briqs burning lately and it might be a QC issue. I was thinking it was probably that I often cook two runs of burgers or chops, and/or veggies as well, but today I only grilled seven average 6 oz. burgers.

All were fresh ground chuck and compared to store ground, drier with less drippings on the fire. I kept vents completely open the whole cook, and moved meat around the grate when flipped to even out what little drippings there were. Still, quite a few coals on one side of my OTG quit burning. The cook started with two chimneys filled to the top of the handle and the very top briqs were probably 90% ashed over.

I hate to tap the bowl and sweep the vent much with meat on, but with Kbb I do it anyway to minimize potential ash issues. After thinking about it some, I don't believe I was having near this much uneven burning until opening the first double bag pack I bought from the Home Depot Black Friday sale a few weeks back. The briqs light just fine in chimneys though, and I'm kind of at a loss. Any thoughts? I plan on calling K to make a complaint sometime this week. I sure hope the rest of my 275lb or so investment burns a little better than it has so far.
 
I do not use kingford much any more. They seem to have ruined their reputation imo. Over priced too.
 
I've had no problems whatsoever with Kingsford.

However, I guess it is possible to receive a bad batch just like any other manufactured product?

Dale53
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Robert McGee:
I've had no problems whatsoever with Kingsford.

However, I guess it is possible to receive a bad batch just like any other manufactured product?

Dale53 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

_+1
 
Last Friday night I did a couple of butts with Kinsford and some maple and oak. I pulled the butts off Saturday mid morning and kinda forgot about the smoker till Saturday night. I went to clean 'er up and I still had semi-burned Kingsford in my basket that were still hot more than 24 hours after I started the butts. No issue for me.
 
I am on my 5th bag from the black Friday sale with no issues. I have been grilling mostly, but also I have 1 long smoke so far.

I would contact K though as if you continue to have issues with your bags, then it would be good to already have made contac with them.

I agree with above, could be just a bad bag. Could have got wet at some point when it was handled on it's way to HD. Although I have not had many issues when cc has gotten wet with grilling. Smoking on the otherhand, complete disasters.
 
On my second bag of the new HD bags, no difference noticed.
Just make sure the "K" side is facing up on all of 'em
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i picked a lot on the sale as well... and have used a few bags already. no problems at all. actually.... its burns pretty well.
 
Just got off the phone with the K customer rep. She was very professional and although she took my complaint seriously, she had no possible suggestions as to why the trouble.

All my double bags came off of a skid in front of our local HD, but I didn't notice any condensation in the plastic cover or any sign of moisture exposure. Only about one chimneys worth left in my second opened bag, and hopefully I'll notice much more consistency with the others.
 
Glad to hear they listened to you at least, I have never dealt with them.

Did she offer any solution should you continue to have the problem ?
 
I posted some pics of ribs I did Sunday. They turned out well, but I had a heck of a time with the coals. I used Kingsford Blue, and could not get the temp above 250, even with all vents wide open. I had about one chimney full in there, and I used half a chimney of lit to get it going. Also, at the end of a 5 hour cook, almost all my charcoal was burned up and my temps were down in the 220 range. Charcoal was dry, as far as I could tell. It's kept in the garage. It was very strange.
 
i haven't experienced any issues using Kingsford, i do, however, want to point out that my cocktail glass is not holding it's own while I use kingsford...
I start with a full glass expecting it to stay somewhat full during the entire cook.
Lately i've been having to refill it two, four, sometimes up to 7 times while the Kingsford is deciding to burn out or continue on...


no, i haven't experienced any issues using Kingsford.
 
Ya know it's funny Jim...now that you mentioned it I am having that exact issue not only with my cocktail glass, but with bottles of beer as well....
I thought maybe it was just me ?

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I just opened my first double bag from the recent HD sale and only used about 12 briqs in chimney. I filled the grate with older KB. No problem so far but I'll post if I have a problem with next use.
 
Folks, thanks for the feedback. These two bags probably just came from a bad batch where there wasn't enough wood char and too much of other stuff that doesn't do anything but produce ash.
If I have any issues with any other bags I'll take pics in case Kingsford wants to see what I'm encountering. I've experienced briquette inconsistencies with other brands, though, so shouldn't be too surprised. No manufactured product is gonna be 100% every time, all the time.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JSMcdowell:
Did she offer any solution should you continue to have the problem ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nope. She just wanted my address so they could mail me some product vouchers or such.

I know they probably get calls all the time from folks that spill beer on their coals and can't figure out what's going on, so I shouldn't be surprised at her lack of surprise or interest in the problem. At least she listened to me and was polite.
 
Grilled a couple runs of pork steaks (11) for supper using about 75% of the lit briqs from a new bag, and NO ISSUES!

I knocked the burnt Stubbs off the grate after supper, ran back in to finish getting ready to take everyone to a movie, and the Performer gauge was at 525* when I came back out! I took a peek at the coals after getting back, and thought to myself, "That's the Kingsford I remember!"
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