Lump charcoal question for grilling folks

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  • fullmetaljesus

    Probably smoking a cigar.
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    Jan 12, 2012
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    Indy
    I appreciate that. Right now I’m looking for testers who have strong opinions about the product, I’d be happy to ship you some for shipping costs if you’re not nearby. I am near Bedford but work in Bloomington. Like I said, I know zero about it, but if I’m going to sell it I need people who know something about it.

    It’s like my scrap lumber: stuff I thrown on the burn pile goes for big bucks at Lowes. Boggles my mind. I built a gassifier for my charcoal for my projects. Never thought people would buy the stuff.
    I wish you were closer.
    I dont use any of the money sending apps so I'm not sure how I'd get the money your way.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
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    Nov 11, 2009
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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Tomorrow I’m dropping off my first two test batches to folks I solicited on FB. I see the bags sold online run 20-40lbs. I filled a 1.1cu ft box with fully carbonized. I used everything that did not make it through a 1” screen, and it weighed 7lbs so I’m thinking of a 2.5cu ft box as my standard size. Should be around 20lbs of mostly carbonized, a little less for fully carbonized. Which leads me to thinking about selling both. The boxes may cost me a little more than a bag but will reduce the crushing during shipping.

    I’m also thinking of including a small bag of smoking chips of whatever wood type. That way I can use some of my edging pieces to value-add. I’ve already got a local retailer interested in carrying it if I get it sorted out.

    I also joined a grilling fb group, and wow was there a bunch I didn’t know about the topic.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
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    49   0   0
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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Sounds like you've got yourself a business!

    Keep us posted on how things go
    Thanks!


    I don’t expect to make a lot of money on this, just trying to integrate production and make use of waste products from the mill. If it can bring a few bucks with minimal effort and virtually no outlay then I’m all for it. Our maple syrup operation dovetails nicely with the lumber operation. And all of this is just hobby stuff, I get paid really well in my day jobs!

    As if we weren’t busy enough, this year the wife decided bees were the new project.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
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    Nov 11, 2009
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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Livestock bedding might be another option to get use out of pieces too small to make into charcoal.
    I built sawdust stoves for the maple syrup evaporators and that nicely uses most of my sawdust. The real problem with any of it is volume. I only mill a few thousand board feet of lumber any given year so the volume of waste I generate is too low for most commercial operations.
     

    canebreaker

    Marksman
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    Jan 2, 2020
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    Horn Lake
    I spent the summer I turned 16 with a cousin in Bruce, MS. We worked at the charcoal kilns of E. L. Bruce Co 10 hours per day for 85 cents per hour. We made Royal Oak charcoal. A lot of it was end and bad cuts from flooring with a few pieces of log wedges.
    For $5 you could back your truck under the scrap shoot for a load of pieces to be used at home cooking and heating.
    Cooking oil came in square 5 gallon metal cans back then. My brother and I made a gassifier to make our own at home.
     

    shibumiseeker

    Grandmaster
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    Nov 11, 2009
    10,708
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    near Bedford on a whole lot of land.
    Label the lumps "artisan" and hipsters will pay double. LOL
    That was how I started it on my FB post...

    I just lit some of the stuff from Walmart. If this is the low end stuff I can see the appeal. I already like it better than briquettes. The burgers smell great!

    It appears fully carbonized, but denser than mine. This is probably a result of my pyrolyzer and the fact these first few batches were a mixture of wood including tulip poplar. I’m going to try an all-hickory batch and reduce the oxygen intake.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    May 12, 2013
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    Camby area
    And being close to B'ton You could easily move it at the farmer's market. Those liberal nutjobs would pay you far more than its worth. LOL
     

    bobjones223

    Master
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    Mar 3, 2011
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    Noblesville, IN
    First let me say...lump is the only way to go. I have been using it for about 10 years.

    Second I like the larger chunks because the small ones just fall through the bottom screen on my grill and really serve no purpose at that point.

    Can I ask how you are making your charcoal? I have lots of wood that I burn every year, I currently just scoop a load of coals out of the wood burner and snuff them out in a sealed metal bucket before I add the next load of logs.

    I recently picked up a 55 gal. steel barrel with a removable lid to try and make a huge batch of charcoal.

    What I have ready is you stack the barrel full, set the lid on it but don't seal it. Then take all your brush and small stuff stack it all over the barrel and mound it high on top. Burn your "brush" pile and once everything is burnt down the stuff in the barrel is charcoal?

    How do you do yours?????
     

    canebreaker

    Marksman
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    Jan 2, 2020
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    "I’m going to try an all-hickory batch."
    Years ago I bought a Brinkman charcoal smoker. I smoked a pork butt and liked it, just learning. Mom had a lot of trees cut from her place and the stumps had lots of new growth that I cut off and brought home. All oak and hickory that I cut into 5" sections, stacked in milk crates. 2 months later I smoked some ribs and added some of the wood to add flavor. To much flavor from green wood. 2 days later I could burp and taste the hickory.
     

    canebreaker

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    Bob, that's about how you do it. Check the drum lid, some have a rubber seal.
    With my 5 gallon can we would fill the brick yard grill with scrap wood and sawdust. The can was sit up on brick. Sawdust will burn forever it seems. We would get about 90% carbonized.
     

    pappyon

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    Dec 17, 2020
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    regular briquettes leave a funny taste. oil or chemical. We only use the wood charcoal. I wouldnt know how to make it or i would!
     

    canebreaker

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    Jan 2, 2020
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    I would fill a grill with wood about 10 am, add to it until 11:30. Family would be over about 12:30 for burgers. It was oak, hickory and cherry coals.
     
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