# Cutting Up Lump Charcoal?



## McLoven1t562 (Apr 17, 2015)

Hey I tried to search on here and Google but found nothing.  Got a couple bags of "Sonora Charcoal"  from my local grocer on the clearance rack cuz the bags has tears in them. Usually stick to Kingsford Briquettes.  but can't pass on 30 lbs for 6 bucks lol

QUESTION.....It's ok to cut pieces of lump coal to make them fit better in the chimney right?  Because this bag is filled with a lot of large pieces n it's a pain to get a full chimney lol


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## pc farmer (Apr 17, 2015)

You can cut them.  Be very dirty thou.

I take some large chunks and fill in with smaller pieces.


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## McLoven1t562 (Apr 17, 2015)

yea that's what I try to do also,  sometimes even throw some Briquettes on the bottom so small pieces don't fall through. 
but sometimes I get lots of chunks so it's difficult to mix the two lol.... think I'll cut some up n see how messy it gets. Than I can decide if it's worth the hassle.ha ha


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## McLoven1t562 (Apr 17, 2015)

Definitely a little messy,  but nothing glasses and a mask wouldnt fix.  lol,  was able to cut the biggest chunks into smaller pieces,  so at least how I don't have pieces that take up half my chimney lol


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## stanjk (Apr 18, 2015)

I've put large pieces into a heavy duty plastic bag and just went after them with a hammer; simple and clean, with good results.


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## noboundaries (Apr 18, 2015)

I stopped starting lump in the chimney.  Nowadays if I'm using lump, I put the lump in the smoker and the briquettes in the chimney.


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## inkjunkie (Apr 18, 2015)

Chimney? That's a part of a house...use a weed burner. Our XLBGE will go from ambient to 350*in under 4 minutes.


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## joe black (Apr 18, 2015)

Ditto Nobounderies,  I use my lump in the basket with a depression in the middle and briqs in the chimney.  Works great for me.


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## McLoven1t562 (Apr 18, 2015)

starter-zoom1.jpg



__ McLoven1t562
__ Apr 18, 2015






Yes,  a CHIMNEY...or to be completely accurate, "Chimney Starter" lol

and no, these chimneys are not attached to the house :P


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## McLoven1t562 (May 9, 2016)

Old thread, but I found a good way to break down some of the large chunks of lump coal --- put them into a cardboard box I had lieing around and just hit them with the back end of my hatchet or a spare hammer.....contains the mess real well, and can just easily dump them out into the grill, or whatever I am putting them in to be lit.

So far, the few bags I have bought which were Sonora somethin, and big bag from The WoodShed OC seem to both burn very fast; so I use 90% charcoal for my cooks. But when they're on sale for great prices, I'll grab a large back of lump....the size variety just bugs me, and my regular blue bag Kingsford coals just seem to last so much longer :P


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