Barbeques Galore Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: May, 2005 Purchased From: Donated by Barbeques Galore Date Purchased: May, 2005 Price: $12.95 Weight: 20 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Oak, see review Strange Material?: small twig, small leaf Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Mild woodsy smell Country of Origin: Mexico Quick Links Photos of Contents: Click Here Other Photos, Including UPC Code: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Contact Information: Click Here Other Information: Click Here Photo of UPC Code: Click Here Rate And Comment On This Charcoal: Click Here Commentary Well, here we go again! For the second time, Barbeques Galore has changed the supplier of their house brand lump charcoal shortly after we did a review, so we are going to have to start all over again! This is a move in a positive direction for Barbeques Galore since their previous house brand was "logs and dust" mesquite which got a pretty low rating from us. They are now selling charcoal from Mexico made from oak. They are getting this charcoal through a company you should all be familiar with, Lazzari. As to what kind of oak, this is what we found out from our contact at Barbeques Galore: "100% Oak from ecologically harvested natural tree branches. No scrap or trunk. Wood is from several species of Oak." This sounds very similar to the wood from which Sierra Madre charcoal is made. (Sierra Madre charcoal is sold in Mexico. There were plans to bring it to the U.S. but it didn't work out. We should be publishing a review of Sierra Madre charcoal in the near future for our Mexican readers. Hey, it's the world wide web, right?) The bag of lump contained no scrap, but did contain one small leaf and one small twig. What was a bit concerning was the quantity of wood which appeared to be incompletely carbonized. 3.9 pounds or 18.9% by weight of the charcoal fell into this category. You can see photos below of the pile of incompletely carbonized pieces and a closeup of some of the worst pieces. The result is that the charcoal is fairly smokey when burning. The following table shows the distribution of piece sizes by weight. The 12.6% figure for chips and dust was just slightly higher than average. As you can see, the bag contained a bit more than the 20 pounds advertised. Large 5.3 pounds 25.7% Medium 6.2 pounds 30.1% Small 6.5 pounds 31.6% Chips/Dust 2.6 pounds 12.6% Total Weight 20.6 pounds The charcoal took 3 sheets of newspaper to light in our chimney starter test, just slightly more than average, but still very easy to light. While burning in the chimney, a large number of small sparks fly out the top, but there is very little popping. When using a MAPP torch to light this charcoal, there was slightly more sparking and popping than normal. However, while cooking there was no significant sparking or popping. When lighting the charcoal in the cooker, the fire was quick to spread, but the maximum temperature we were able to achieve was a disappointing 610 degrees. When burning, the smoke produced is a mild and pleasant woodsy smoke. The charcoal burns an average length of time, but also produces a large amount of ash, which can be of concern with ceramic cookers where there is limited room for ash. In the end, we give this charcoal our Below Average 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. Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "Lump Charcoal", "All natural hardwoods charcoal.", "Lights easily", "Adds great smokey flavor", "No additives, fillers or binders", "Burns hotter than regular briquettes", "Made exclusively for Barbeques Galore", "Product of Mexico", "Lump charcoal is made from 100% natural hardwoods." "It contains no additives, fillers or binders. Hardwood charcoal lights easily and burns hotter therefore searing your meat quicly and trapping the flavorful juices inside." Lighting Instructions "Instructions: 1. Place a 'fire starter' at the base of you barbecue or pit. 2. Cover all of the starter except the outside end with lump charcoal. 3. Light the starter with a match. 4. In approximately 10 minutes the coals will have a red glow. They are now ready to use." Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Here is a closer view. Here are some of the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into large, medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Other Photos We found this twig and leaf in the bag. This shows all of the pieces that were not completely carbonized, quite a large amount. This is a closeup of some of the more obvious pieces. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information Barbeques Galore, Inc. Irvine, CA   92618 Barbeques Galore 10 Orchard Road, Suite 200 Lake Forest, CA   92630 Barbeques Galore (Aust) Pty Ltd ACN 001 354 454 www.bbqgalore.com