Rockwood Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: June, 2013 Purchased From: Provided by manufacturer Date Purchased: May, 2013 Price: $18.50 Weight: 20 pounds Type of Wood: Missouri hardwoods Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Very mild Country of Origin: USA Key Performance Indicators Chips and Dust: Lighting: Max Temperature: Burn Time: Ash Production: Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Photos of Contents: Click Here Other Photos: Click Here Photo of UPC Code: Click Here Contact Information: Click Here Rate And Comment On This Charcoal: Click Here Commentary This new brand advertises itself as being 100% Missouri hardwood charcoal. There's been a lot of good charcoal that comes out of Missouri, so let's see how this brand does. When we poured the charcoal out onto the ground for sorting, we all hardwood charcoal with nothing that shouldn't have been there. As you can see from the following chart, the distribution of sizes was exceptional with the percentage of chips and dust falling below 5%. This is very low compared to all other charcoals we have tested. The bag contained almost an extra pound of charcoal, so we ended up with almost 20 pounds of usable charcoal. Large 3.8 pounds 18.3% Medium 12.0 pounds 55.3% Small 4.1 pounds 19.8% Chips/Dust 1.0 pounds 4.6% Total 20.9 pounds Lighting the charcoal proved to be rather difficult, taking 5.5 sheets of newspaper in our lighting test which is high compared to other brands. There was no sparking or popping when lighting the charcoal in a chimney starter and the fire was somewhat slow to spread. The smoke coming off the charcoal during lighting was very mild, as mild as we think we have ever noticed. During our maximum temperature test, the charcoal burned at just over 900° which is high compared to other brands we've tested. Again, the fire was rather slow to spread and build up to the high temperature it achieved. There was little sparking and popping while the charcoal burned at high heat. When starting the charcoal with a MAPP torch, there was the occasional vigorous pop, but in general, it was fairly tame. However, always exercise appropriate care when lighting any lump charcoal with a torch. When it came to burn time, this charcoal came in as the fourth longest burning lump charcoal we have ever tested. The ash produced was very low compared to other brands. So what we have here is a charcoal that is relatively hard to start, has very mild smoke, but burns forever with little ash. So, for the small inconvenience during startup, you get a charcoal that doesn't over power the food, allowing you to control the smoke flavor yourself with chips or chunks, and a charcoal that burns a good long time producing little ash and delivering good value for money. This charcoal gets our Highly Recommended rating. To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. If you have used this charcoal and would like to rate it and leave your comments, Click Here To view reader ratings of all brands, Click Here. Other Information None Statements From The Bag "Premium All-Natural", "100% Missouri Hardwood", "Smoke the Competition", "Made in USA", "Made from Renewable Natural Resources. (Burns red hot—keeps your household green.)", "Perfect for All Charcoal Grills, Smokers, and Kamados" "ROCKWOOD IS REAL. We make our pure lump charcoal from premium Missouri oak, hickory, and maple, so it's free from chemicals, fillers, binders, and other impurities." "LIGHTS QUICK, BURNS HOT. Our charcoal lights easily and heats up in a flash, so you're ready to cook in minutes. Rockwood burns hotter, longer, and cleaner, sealing in juices for bolder, more flavorful food." "BEAUTIFULLY IMPERFECT. Unique shapes mean umatched performance. Rockwood Lump Charcoal has a distinctive appearance because it's pure, 100% wood that's never pressed like synthetic briquettes." "100% MISSOURI. Rockwood Charcoal™ is produly grown, kilned, bagged and shipped in the Show-Me State." Lighting Instructions See their website. Unusual or Unique Statements None The Ruler Used In The Following Photographs We use the following ruler in the photographs which follow. The blocks are 1 inch wide. The upper scale is in inches, while the lower scale is in centimeters. The distance between the centers of the two targets is precisely 9 inches. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Other Photos This is how the bag arrived. Photo of UPC Code Contact Information The Saint Louis Charcoal Company LLC PO Box 525 Eureka, MO 63025 www.stlcharcoal.com