# Charcoal Briquetts & Sulfur Smell



## barkingdognj (Feb 19, 2019)

Hi, new guy here.

I am using a Weber Kettle grill.   I picked up some Embers Charcoal briquettes at my local Home Depot recently.  I typically ignite the briquettes with newspaper & veg oil in a chimney.

This puts out a great amount of dark colored smoke regardless of brand.   What I have noticed with this brand especially is that there is a noticeable amount of Sulfur smell.

Is this typical and expected ?


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## Jeff Wright (Feb 19, 2019)

I am not sure about the sulfer smell, unless it is specific to the brand of coals.  I am curious why you use veg oil in your chimney.  I have been using a chimney for ages and have used nothing but a small amount of newspaper and never have problems getting lit.  Is there a special purpose?


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## noboundaries (Feb 19, 2019)

I have never noticed a sulphur smell or anything but blue smoke upon startup with Embers or RO Ridge (same same BTW), but I use a propane side burner on an old gasser to start my chimney of briquettes for my Weber Kettle.

Back when I used newspaper or grocery store paper sacks to start the chimney I used a different charcoal. I definitely got black smoke and various smells that went away as the briqs got hot. Does the smell go away as the briquettes ash over?


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## SonnyE (Feb 19, 2019)

I dunno.
Is it 90 weight vegetable oil?
_(80-90W Oil: Gear oil. Gear oil is a lubricant made specifically for transmissions, transfer cases, and differentials in automobiles, trucks, and other machinery. It is of a high *viscosity *and usually contains *organosulfur* compounds.)_

Back when I used a chiminey starter I, too, just used newspaper. No oils.
But if you use the new newspaper, it stinks like plastic burning, and you go through a lot of computers.


Anymore, when lighting charcoal, I simply use my propane torch.
I use it for anything I want to light up. Including ant trails around my BBQ equipment.
I lovingly call it my Camp Match.


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## barkingdognj (Feb 19, 2019)

Someone showed me putting the veg oil on the newspaper, crunching it up into a ball and putting in the bottom of the chimney.  the vegetable I guess was to keep the paper burning longer? 

I have had the same sulfur observation if I use the weber starters

I don't think the sulfur smell is related to the newspaper as it remains after the coals are hot/ashed over although its not as noticeable.  sometimes I notice the sulfur is smell is onto the food that is cooked.  

Its especially noticeable if I choke off air to the kettle and reuse the remaining coals.

Was just wondering if anyone else had noticed this Sulfur smell with that brand or if I was not cooking with enough air flow or some other cause that I could correct?


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## SmokinLogs (Feb 19, 2019)

I can’t say that I’ve ever noticed a sulfur smell when using royal oak or embers, just a little burnt newspaper smell that I start my chimney with. Ive never used any vegetable oil in the process either. I’d say try another chimney full with no oil and check for more smell. Maybe it was some kind of contaminant in the bag of coals. Hopefully it was just a fluke. Keep us posted of what you figure out.


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## noboundaries (Feb 19, 2019)

Are we talking one bag? Or have you noticed it in multiple Embers bags?

Comparing Embers to RO Ridge is it quickly apparent that Embers is a "seconds" line of charcoal, ie, briquettes on the RO line that don't pass the Ridge quality checks; busted pieces, too large, too small, etc.

If the smell is just one bag, it's probably a fluke. If others start to notice it, that means there's a change, probably in the binder. A rotten egg smell would not be good for business. Send an e-mail to Royal Oak Enterprises, tell them the details, including where you bought the bag(s) and when. We'd all be interested in knowing what they say.

Edit: I'm going to be smoking a couple butts later today for an overnight smoke. I'll fire up Embers and see if I smell anything.


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## bbqbrett (Feb 19, 2019)

barkingdognj said:


> Someone showed me putting the veg oil on the newspaper, crunching it up into a ball and putting in the bottom of the chimney.  the vegetable I guess was to keep the paper burning longer?
> 
> I have had the same sulfur observation if I use the weber starters
> 
> ...



Never used Embers briquettes so I can't comment on that too much.  As far as veg oil it would be used as an 
accelerant to make the paper burn hotter and catch the charcoal easier.  I do the same thing except I spray the paper with Pam cooking spray.  Is your oil old or rancid?  That might make the nasty smell but I'm not sure.


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## noboundaries (Feb 19, 2019)

Fired up a small chimney with only 8 Embers briqs in it. No smell. Loaded in the smoker on full load of cold Embers from two bags. No smell, other than what it is supposed to smell like.


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## gmc2003 (Feb 20, 2019)

I tried the vegetable oil and newspaper trick one time and only one time. I thought the neighbors were going to call the fire department on me. Talk about some serious black smoke. I like the Weber starter cubes. Easy to handle, lite and store. They work like a charm.

Chris


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## noboundaries (Feb 20, 2019)

Just woke up. It's 3:15 AM, 8 hrs 45 mins into a smoke with Embers/hickory and two 8.6 lb bone-in butts on the WSM.  All is good. Chamber at 224F and butts are cruising along just fine. No sulphur smell.


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## solman (Feb 20, 2019)

barkingdognj said:


> Its especially noticeable if I choke off air to the kettle and reuse the remaining coals.
> 
> Was just wondering if anyone else had noticed this Sulfur smell with that brand or if I was not cooking with enough air flow or some other cause that I could correct?



i think i experienced the same smell when i tried my first bag of Embers recently. i posted about it on the recent thread about Embers at home depot being on sale/closeout. starting a fresh pile of Embers made the smell very noticeable, but as i began to reuse the remaining coals over subsequent cooks, i noticed the smell less and less. now i hardly notice it. 

if it's your first time using Embers, it may be that you're not used to how it smells. i grew up using kingsford charcoals, so being completely new to Embers i definitely noticed it smells a lot different than kingsford.


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## fivetricks (Feb 20, 2019)

I haven't had a smell with the embers. Im also using the clearance ones from HD. Only thing I've noticed is I'm DEF not getting the BTU's out of the embers as compared to standard RO.


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## HalfSmoked (Feb 21, 2019)

I've been using expert grill charcoal made for Walmart by RO I don't notice any of odors however I don't get the btu's.

Warren


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