I used them for grilling some cheap steaks last night. I noticed only a bit of smoke from the initial lighting of the briquettes in the chimney which settled down long before the the top coals got going. The coals seemed to burn hotter than kbb (temp gauge on kettle lid read higher than ever before, no ir gun at home to verify at the time and heat from grill felt much hotter than the other times using any briquettes). A big thing I noticed, or didn't notice, was any noticeable flavor added to the meat. No chemical or odd tastes, no wood smoke taste, just the meat. Any flavoring added was very minimal. No smoke from the kettle once the coals were added, just clear heat. Looking forward to trying them in the smoker with some wood chunks. I did buy a bunch of bags, but I'll probably go back and get some more bags too before they are all gone. I had 3-4 cups or so of ash from 1 weber chimney full.