Lump vs Briquettes


 
Darrell O

Darrell O

TVWBB Fan
I typically use Trader Joe's, Stubbs, or Kingsford Comp briquettes for all nighters. I cooked an overnight last weekend with Frontier lump and I had trouble maintaining a constant temp throughout the night. The cooker was either rapidly climbing or dropping. I packed the charcoal in tight and it certainly did burn a long time, but I just couldn't keep the temperature stable when I wanted to be sleeping. Has anyone else had this experience with lump on the WSM?

Regards,
Oak
 
Hey Darrell. I have had bad luck with Frontier as well. I have been using Cowboy which isn't considered to be very good either, but I have found it to be more consistent than Fronier. I want to try Royal Oak and Wicked Good, but haven't had the chance. Maybe try another brand? Good luck.
 
Did you cook with water in the pan?

I've done ok with B&B lump, but not as steady as with briquettes, particularly Stubbs. I cook low-n-slow with a water pan, though.
 
Packed tight, minion start, water in pan, RO lump gives 12 hour cooks easily. Wicked Good is very good but RO price makes the decision easy.
 
i have only been gettin 8 hours burn time in my 22 WSM using MM. do you guys spread the coal evenly over the top or place the lit on the top center? (i have been spreading evenly over top)
 
"Did you cook with water in the pan?"

Yes I typically cook with water in the pan.

"Wicked Good is very good but RO price makes the decision easy."

Yes Wicked good is very good, but I can't afford to use it all the time. I can't find RO in my neck of the woods.

"Do you guys spread the coal evenly over the top or place the lit on the top center? (i have been spreading evenly over top)"

I typically just leave it in the center.
 
I use lump (RO or cowbay). Full ring, wood buried, foiled water pan lately, lit coals spread over the top. No problems. Consistant.
 
The thing about lump that deters me is the lack of consistency in size (naturally of course). This last bag I have has what looks like a freakin tree stump in it. What am I supposed to do with a tree stump? (ok, it's not a stump, but it's 5-6 inches wide, way bigger than everything else)
 
Originally posted by Tim L.:
The thing about lump that deters me is the lack of consistency in size (naturally of course). This last bag I have has what looks like a freakin tree stump in it. What am I supposed to do with a tree stump? (ok, it's not a stump, but it's 5-6 inches wide, way bigger than everything else)
Click to expand...

Hatchet: I keep one in my cook shack and take it with me on trips. Not only is it good for warding off the hoards, but great for making those big lump pieces small again.
 
Ahh, yes, good idea
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Do people generally mash up the lump to get it more uniform in size?
 
Don't forget a good wind-break, even if you've only got a gentle breeze. I find that really helps for the overnighters.
 
When taking a swing at lump for the first time (actually, for the first few times), you may need to spend some time getting your WSM / setup / routine "dialed-in" AGAIN.

It is likely that lump will behave a bit differently from briquettes.

Some further suggestions:

Once you find a brand of lump that you like / can readily obtain, stick with it, and do not switch brands until you learn how it tends to behave.

When burning lump, get the second charcoal grate and place at 90-degree angle (rungs) to the original charcoal grate. It keeps the small, lit stuff from falling-through and helps to keep the fire going.

Store it off the ground, in a place where it will not get damp. Mine is in the detached garage, on a shelf or in the garage "attic".

FWIW - I had bad luck with Cowboy, both in a regular grill and in my WSM. Been using R.O. and Grove, which seem pretty similar.

When using the water pan, I usually get somewhere around 8-hours out of a ring packed full of lump - although it sometimes starts to lose some heat around 4 to 6. sometimes, I just need to give the coals a stir, which will knock dust out of the bottom, improving airflow, and bring hot coals into contact with un-burned.

My usual ritual:
-Standard Start, full or 3/4 chimney of lit on top of packed ring with smoke wood burried / some on top (I have not tried using lump to start, but I've been thinking about it)
-Vents nearly open for the first 30-minutes to hour - let it settle-in.
-I usually try to orient the lid vent down-wind, to draw heat out of the top and pull air through the smoker.
-Then, depending on temp / wind, I adjust the vents to 30 to 25% open, give it another 30-60 minutes.
-If she's holding steady, I can leave it alone for a while.
-I have a nice, big, tell-tru thermometer with 4-inch probe that I stick in one of the top vents. A quick glance at it (I can see the needle from upstairs windows if I need to) lets me know if I'm "In the zone". I've debated mounting it permanently, but I like that I can "aim" it, simply tilted through the top vent hole, depending on which way the top vent is pointing.

I don't fret if my temperature is within about 30°F of my target.

Hope this helps
 
Originally posted by Ron G.:
When taking a swing at lump for the first time (actually, for the first few times), you may need to spend some time getting your WSM / setup / routine "dialed-in" AGAIN.
Click to expand...

Ron-good advice. Thank you.
 
In line with John's question...what IS the benefit you all see in using lump? I've only used K so far in the WSM and it's worked fine for me. I prefer lump when grilling though.

Thanks
 
some folks detect unpleasant flavors from briqs (i have occasionally-an ammonia like odor) and briqs also produce a lot more ash than lump i'm told (i've never used lump)
 
Lump provides a cleaner burn, and depending on the quality of the lump.... a much longer burn. I have gotten 24 hours easily out of a single load in non-windy conditions.

IMO, lump lets the wood used to be the complimentary star of a cook.
 
Lump burns long than K. Plus there's a lot less material left after the burn.

K leaves a ton of ash, whereas good lump leaves practically nothing, relatively speaking.


On a similar note, I tried Kingsford Competition for the first time, and wasn't all too impressed. It burned faaaar too fast.
 
Originally posted by Darrell O:
...
"Wicked Good is very good but RO price makes the decision easy."

Yes Wicked good is very good, but I can't afford to use it all the time. I can't find RO in my neck of the woods.
...
Click to expand...

This is last year's thread, but I keep seeing this question come up -- where to find Royal Oak lump. In one thread, Walmart was suggested as a source and that's where I found it. But it was a little difficult to find that really big stack of RO. The Kingsford was up front of the garden section with the grills, etc., but the RO was almost hidden in a back corner all by itself. All I can say is to look carefully or ASK.

Rich
 
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