Billy Bones B.B.Q. Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: June, 2006 Purchased From: Billy Bones B.B.Q. Date Purchased: June, 2006 Price: $10.00 Weight: 10 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Primarily Poplar, see review. Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Very very mild Country of Origin: USA Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: 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 Billy Bones B.B.Q. Charcoal first came to our attention when it became a topic of discussion on the Big Green Egg forum. Apparently made in small quantities by a small outfit up in Michigan, it drew a lot of attention. So, we ordered up some charcoal and here's what we found. The first thing that should grab your attention is the large size of many of the pieces in the bag. We found one piece that was too large to use, but this lump is fairly brittle and a large piece is easily broken into two or more pieces. You can see the distribution of sizes in the table below: Large 2.8 pounds 26.6% Medium 3.6 pounds 34.9% Small 2.9 pounds 28.3% Chips/Dust 1.1 pounds 10.3% Total 10.4 pounds The percentage of large pieces is above average compared to many brands of lump and the amount of chips and dust we found is low compared to other brands. All in all, we were pretty pleased with the sizes that come in the bag. Also, we found no scrap or "funny stuff" in the bags of charcoal. The other thing you should notice about this charcoal is that it is very "undense." (We can't think of a word for the opposite of dense, at the moment.) It is much like Cowboy charcoal in that regard, which means you can't load up a cooker with a large amount of charcoal by weight. (However see the burntime results below.) The charcoal is made mostly from poplar trees, but occasionally it contains oak, maple and hickory. The charcoal was very easy to light, taking only 2.5 sheets of newspaper to start in our chimney starter lighting test. There was very little sparking and absolutely no popping. When we started the charcoal with a MAPP torch, there was a fair amount of sparking, but again no popping. As always, we recommend you use care if using a MAPP torch to start charcoal. Once lit, the fire spread very quickly, about as quickly as we have ever seen. The charcoal burned with very very mild smoke. We were able to get it to burn at 780 degrees, which is average, right in the middle of ranges we have seen other charcoals burn at. In our burntime test, Billy Bones lump burntime was very high, while ash production was low. Hopefully, the long burntime can offset the fact that the charcoal isn't very dense, so that you can still get a long burn time out of a lesser weight of lump. We give this charcoal our Recommended 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 We received the following information in an email from Billy Bones BBQ: "We are only able produce 2500 bags yearly, more info on our website at www.billybonesbbq.com. We use poplar and standing hardwoods left behind by clear cutting operations to produce our charcoal. About ten day process when humidity is low or longer in higher humitidy conditions. We cook between closing of deer season in November and opening of trout season, third week in April. Two old retired guys oversee operation and are quite good cribbage players." Also this was posted to the Big Green Egg forum from an email: "We have just one retort and it's manned by a couple of retired guys who make charcoal in the winter, usually between the end of deer hunting season in November and the opener of trout season in April. We only produce about 2500 bags each year and always sell out. Usually before BBQ season even gets a good start. Good and loyal folks are cheering for us to buy a new retort but at $40,000 a copy it may be a while yet. We do it mainly because folks who want to do something special for their friends and still be traditional seem to treasure their yearly allotment. So you can see that we must keep the ole retort cookin as long as she will hold out. Our process essentially "cooks the wood". It is never burned directly by flames, therefore retaining a greater BTU value to be released when it is burned by you." Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "Hardwood Lump Charcoal", "All Natural Wood" Lighting Instructions None. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Those are 1 inch squares on the measuring bar. Here is a closer view. Here are 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 This is how the bags arrived. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information Billy Bones B.B.Q. 751 Saginaw Road Sanford, MI 48657 Phone: 989-687-7880 Fax: 989-687-2712 www.billybonesbbq.com