Papa's Hardwood Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: September, 2021 Purchased From: Food Lion Date Purchased: July, 2021 Price: $7.99 Advertised Weight: 8.8 pounds Type of Wood: Primarily Oak, with occasional bit of mesquite Strange Material: None Scrap Lumber: None Smell: Rather mild wood smoke Country of Origin: Mexico 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 Safety 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 brand of lump charcoal was suggested to us by a reader. We thought there was little hope of finding any, but son of a biscuit, dang if we didn't find some at a local Food Lion grocery store. So we figured, why not? This charcoal is made by Fiber Energy Products, an outfit in Arkansas that makes, among other things, wood pellets and smoking wood chunks. It is made in Mexico primarily from oak, although the manufacturer says there may be some mesquite mixed in occasionally. We will also point out that while there are signs of their lump and briquette charcoal on their Facebook page, there are no references that we could find on their web page. The charcoal comes in a very heavy duty brown paper bag and as far as we have been able to tell, it only comes in 8.8-pound bags. So first let's take a look at the charcoal itself. We dumped it out onto the ground and went through it piece by piece. We found no scrap or "funny stuff", but we did find one small rock that weighed about 3 ounces. Otherwise, as you can see from the following table, the size distribution of this bag was not bad with almost 70% of the bag consisting of medium and large pieces: Large 2.1 pounds 23.9% Medium 3.9 pounds 43.8% Small 2.3 pounds 26.1% Chips/Dust 0.6 pounds 6.2% Total 8.9 pounds However, we did open a second bag and the size distribution on the second bag was rather disappointing. We didn't sort it and weigh the various sizes, but it was obvious that there were no large pieces and only a few medium pieces. All the rest were small pieces. So it looks like you probably will have mixed luck with this brand. Next, on to our lighting test. This charcoal took 5.5 sheets of newspaper to get a fire established in chimney starter. This is High compared to other brands. While the fire was starting there were no sparks or pops to speak of and the smoke was a rather mild and pleasant wood smoke. In our maximum temperature test, this charcoal burned at 897°F which is High compared to other brands. Again, while the charcoal was coming up to temperature and beyond, there was very little sparking and popping. The fire spread at a moderately slow rate. The burn time for Papa's charcoal was Average compared to other brands. While lighting with a MAP/Pro torch, the amount of sparking and popping was moderate. However, we'll repeat our caution that whenever you use a torch of any type to light lump charcoal, take appropriate precautions. And finally, the amount of ash generated by Papa's charcoal was also Average compared to other brands. So to sum up, Papa's charcoal has a pretty good size distribution, but it varies dramatically from bag to bag. It's relatively hard to light but does burn at a pretty high temperature. Both the burn time and the ash production are only average. We give Papa's charcoal our 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 Statements From The Bag "Ready to cook faster!", "Ready to cook faster than standard briquettes", "No additives means authentic wood smoked flavor", "Fiber Energy Products", "See the complete line of Fiber Energy Products at www.FiberEnergy.us", "Product of Mexico" Lighting Instructions "Lighter Fluid Method Arrange Papa's HARDWOOD LUMP CHARCOAL in a pile. Follow lighter fluid container     directions. Open all grill vents and leave grill uncovered. Light the pile in several places. Spread charcoal evently after approximately 10 minutes when pile is predominantly     ashed over." "Natural Light Method Arrange Papa's HARDWOOD LUMP CHARCOL in a layer. Arrange a fire starter in the     middle of the charcoal. Add additional charcoal on top of the base and the fire starter, forming a small pyramid.     Fire starter may be completely covered by charcoal. Keep fire starter end exposed to     allow for lighting access. Light the end of fire starter with long match. When charcoal is covered in gray ash,     approximately 10 minutes, spread evenly and begin cooking." Safety Instructions None Unusual or Unique Statements None The Ruler Used In The Following Photographs We use the following ruler in the photographs which follow. The black and white segments are 1 inch long. 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 photo is an overall view of the contents of the bag. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here is a closeup of the one rock we found. It weighed about 3 ounces. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into large, medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Other Photos None. Photo of UPC Code Contact Information Fiber Energy Products 191 State Hwy AB Seymour, MO  65746 Phone: (870) 269-7930 Email: john@ozarkpellets.com Web: www.fiberenergy.us Facebook: www.facebook.com/FiberEnergy