B&B Char Logs...Opinions Please...

darita · May 30, 2020

I've been looking for clean burning coals to use in my Masterbuilt 560. I narrowed it down to Weber Briquets, B&B Briquets and B&B Char Logs. I will likely still use lump as well, but I have bags of RO lump and for some reason, they have a ton of smalls and also, lump may bridge in the chute, so I'm leaning toward briquets.
Ya, the logs aren't that uniform in length, however I'm wondering if they'll settle in the hopper better than the lump, but still give as clean a burn. Thanks for your input.

rexster314 · May 30, 2020

Char Logs are great!! So great that they are getting harder and harder to find in stores

Mike in Roseville · May 30, 2020

Derek,

Did ACE have any Char Logs in stock?

darita · May 30, 2020

Mike in Roseville said:
Derek,

Did ACE have any Char Logs in stock?

Yes! They had 5 bags and I bought 2.

darita · May 30, 2020

rexster314 said:
Char Logs are great!! So great that they are getting harder and harder to find in stores

They fit well in the 560? How much do they smoke, with no chunks added?

STLBBQer · May 30, 2020

My only complaint is they’re harder to get lit and smell off when lighting. Other than that, they’re awesome. I got three 30 lb bags of them from Academy a month ago.

darita · May 30, 2020

I'm sure they do well once ashed over, but my concern is in a gravity fed situation. If they smoke off when lit, the nature of a gravity fed is that new coals are always lighting.

rexster314 · May 30, 2020

There's hardly any smoke from the char logs. That's why I like them, they give off pure heat, hardly any flavor, and lets you add whatever flavor wood you want. And the price is right for 30 pound bags as well

JWFokker · May 30, 2020

I'm a big fan of the Weber briquettes. They're legitimately premium quality. Extra large, burn super clean. Pricey though. I use them in an Akorn kamado that's very fuel efficient. I use cheap lump in everything else that burns charcoal.

darita · May 31, 2020

Tested the Weber and B&B briquets in my 560. Not a scientific test at all. Just looking at how clean the burns were and what is smelled like. Both burns had ambient temps in the mid 80s, with slight breeze. Both had controller temp set at 250* and left to burn for 1 hour. From what I could see, the B&B had a cleaner burn and mellower smell to what smoke was there. That said, both were a good alternative to lump, although Weber briquets cost more.
If B&B logs work as well as their briquets, I'll use the logs, since they are much more reasonable in price.

jzadski · May 31, 2020

I have 6 bags of KB left so it's that for now. Want to switch to B&B briquets but, can't find in stock anywhere and don't want to pay gouged pricing online. Have a hard time paying $20 for weber...ya I can be cheap

darita · May 31, 2020

If the logs work out, $20 for a 30 lbs. bag ain't bad at all. Ordered from Ace with free delivery to the store.

darita · May 31, 2020

OK...fired up the 560 @275. After about 1/2 hour, with one chunk of apple about 4" from the charcoal grate, I'm getting exactly the amount of blue smoke I wanted. No billowing...just whisps of nice smelling, blue smoke.
Here's the only caveat...some of the logs are up to 5" long. I didn't want any bridging going on, so all I did was whack 2 logs together and they broke very easily. Better that than a bunch of smalls.
If the briquets came in a 30lbs. bag for $20, I'd use those over the logs. Seeing as how the logs are a much better price, I'll use the logs. From what I saw, B&B has a cleaner burn, less smoke, than the Weber briquets and Weber briquets are a lot more expensive. That said, I'd use Weber next in line to B&B.

JWFokker · May 31, 2020

darita said:
Tested the Weber and B&B briquets in my 560. Not a scientific test at all. Just looking at how clean the burns were and what is smelled like. Both burns had ambient temps in the mid 80s, with slight breeze. Both had controller temp set at 250* and left to burn for 1 hour. From what I could see, the B&B had a cleaner burn and mellower smell to what smoke was there. That said, both were a good alternative to lump, although Weber briquets cost more.
If B&B logs work as well as their briquets, I'll use the logs, since they are much more reasonable in price.

This is interesting. I cook at 275F for most everything. Possibly the larger Weber briquettes were smoldering at low temp. Gonna get some B&B to do research now. I've been very happy with Weber briqs.

Swine Spectator · Jun 1, 2020

I like them. I start my Shirley with splits and try to cook with straight wood for 2-3 hours. Then I'll start adding char logs for straight BTU's. They also provide an ability to raise temps incrementally.

tcaton · Jun 1, 2020

I haven't use briquettes in years. My experience with them is when you shut down the cooker and smother the fire, briquettes become crumbly and generally useless for the next cook. Lump on the other hand is easy to relight and reuse the next go. Are these logs more like lump or briquettes in this regard?

darita · Jun 1, 2020

tcaton said:
I haven't use briquettes in years. My experience with them is when you shut down the cooker and smother the fire, briquettes become crumbly and generally useless for the next cook. Lump on the other hand is easy to relight and reuse the next go. Are these logs more like lump or briquettes in this regard?

No worries on that. These briquets and the logs stay intact and relight just fine.

B&B Char Logs...Opinions Please...

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

rexster314

is one Smokin' Farker

Mike in Roseville

Babbling Farker

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

STLBBQer

is one Smokin' Farker

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

rexster314

is one Smokin' Farker

JWFokker

Full Fledged Farker

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

jzadski

Babbling Farker

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

JWFokker

Full Fledged Farker

Swine Spectator

is Blowin Smoke!

tcaton

Knows what a fatty is.

darita

is Blowin Smoke!

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