I hit up my local Home Depot and grabbed a few bags of the various charcoals we have discussed. Ill so some tests if I have the time, but for me I just want to try them without any sort of "scientific effort" and just see if I notice any difference without paying any more attention than I normally would.
They of course carry the "Embers" brand, which as other have mentioned is just Royal Oak briquettes branded for Home Depot. I think it is a bit silly they change the name, cause Home Depot already caries the Royal Oak name in lump... Anyway, I grabbed some bags of the Embers which they have on sale for $4.99/bag (funny that it is a dollar more than Lowes has the actual Red Oak brand) and I grabbed some Kingsford comp, which I would consider worth the price difference only to get rid of the binders (which it does). Ill be using the Kingsford in a competition I have coming up, only because I am used to using it, and don't want to switch it up now, but will look into using other options after the cook. (I also grabbed the Kingsford Original cause I like to have a couple of the 18lb bags around, and 2 for 19.99 is decent. Additionally I grabbed a bag of the "longer lasting" option which says it lasts 28% longer, though there is some confusion because the comp briquettes say "Our longest Lasting briquette" on the bag, so in curious to see the bur times between the two.
I read a really good post on a comparison between KBB and the K comp, they also threw Wicked Good in there too, and the differences in burn time and heat were not significant between the two Kingsford bags, but the ash was significantly less on the Comp option, and they also give a detailed explanation about what is in them all and why. Anyway, worth a Google if you want to see the details.
I can tell you that consistency is still key when it comes to the blue bag. I am relatively new to charcoal smokers, but used charcoal in my kettle for a long time, and Kingsford blue has been the one ive always been able to pretty much calculate exactly what my temp is gonna be and for how long.
They of course carry the "Embers" brand, which as other have mentioned is just Royal Oak briquettes branded for Home Depot. I think it is a bit silly they change the name, cause Home Depot already caries the Royal Oak name in lump... Anyway, I grabbed some bags of the Embers which they have on sale for $4.99/bag (funny that it is a dollar more than Lowes has the actual Red Oak brand) and I grabbed some Kingsford comp, which I would consider worth the price difference only to get rid of the binders (which it does). Ill be using the Kingsford in a competition I have coming up, only because I am used to using it, and don't want to switch it up now, but will look into using other options after the cook. (I also grabbed the Kingsford Original cause I like to have a couple of the 18lb bags around, and 2 for 19.99 is decent. Additionally I grabbed a bag of the "longer lasting" option which says it lasts 28% longer, though there is some confusion because the comp briquettes say "Our longest Lasting briquette" on the bag, so in curious to see the bur times between the two.
I read a really good post on a comparison between KBB and the K comp, they also threw Wicked Good in there too, and the differences in burn time and heat were not significant between the two Kingsford bags, but the ash was significantly less on the Comp option, and they also give a detailed explanation about what is in them all and why. Anyway, worth a Google if you want to see the details.
I can tell you that consistency is still key when it comes to the blue bag. I am relatively new to charcoal smokers, but used charcoal in my kettle for a long time, and Kingsford blue has been the one ive always been able to pretty much calculate exactly what my temp is gonna be and for how long.
