Kingsford Charcoal are a waste of money

[Davo]

Whilst I had some success with Kingsford charcoal in the kettle Kone, I set up for my normal indirect set-up being charcoal on one side and the food on the other side of the kettle. Now normally Heatbeads will burn really hot and for a decent session, not so with Kingsford briquettes....I had to put another 20 unlit beads on top of the lit ones to give it more oomph and whilst they ashed over reasonably quick, they still didn't give me the heat I wanted to get some crackling from the pork belly I was trying to cook.

I ended up having to finish it with my Q320


So....IMHO....Heatbeads still reign supreme for the Weber Kettle in heat and consistency....


So today..i'm not a happy camper using Kingsfords Briquettes and as far as I'm concerned, I won't be buying anymore, irrespective of how cheap they get flogged off from time to time.


On a positive note....even though I had issues with the Kingsfords, the food I cooked wasn't too bad...not my finest hour mind you but it was still edible lol so all was not lost.


Anyone else have issues with Kingsford briquettes and how do you compare them to Heatbeads?




Cheers

Davo

[Simmo]

A bought a bag a while ago, cant remember where from, and had the same experience. I thought they were a little ashier as well, thought i got a bad batch, maybe not, i stay away from them just in case.

[the dane]

Even the heat beads green bag charcoal, I find do not get as hot,do not last as long. I cooked a pork forequarter roast on Saturday night in the Weber. Could not get it to crackle even turning the skin on top of a charcoal. After two and a half hours there was hardly anything left just Ash. Not enough heat to even cook the apple pies

[12x7]

They aren't that bad, they are different to the original heat beads on what they are made from:

Original heat beads (HBO): Brown coal
Green bag heat beads (HBG) : Wood
Kingsfords: Sawdust

Kingsfords light easier and burn quicker and they have a wood smell when burnt vs HBO coal smell, harder to start and take longer to heat up, burn hotter and longer. This makes Kingsford good to use for quick grills such as burgers and steaks. They are also good for roasts if you get used to how they burn eg don't mind topping up the kettle mid-cook. There are many videos of BBQ Pit Boys cooking on the kettle and every now and then you see a shot of a KIngsford bag. I'm guessing Old Dave who posts regularly some great cooks with his Cobb uses Kingsford.

Here's a video how BBQ Pit Boys cook a pork roast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZeyT5OvomE

Both Heat Beads and Kingsford are expensive if you don't buy them on sale.

If you can buy Kingsford or Heat Beads at around the same dollar per kg it comes down to what you like better and what you are going to use them for.

[cs_rlewis]

I agree I dont like kingsford, bought a couple of packs when it was on sale and I find they get ashed over quickly but they dont last nearly as long (Although seems to be the go to briquettes in the USA?)

Ive since switched over to heat beads and I find they last longer, well the orange packet does anyway. However they might take an extra 5 minutes to light.

Woolies was selling the heat beads half price the other day for $4.8 so I stocked up

[Charstone1]

Heat Beads original reigns supreme in my book for amount of heat and length of burn. Kingsfords do light a lot more quickly, but that's about the only benefit. I find the Firebrand robot turds work very well as a good substitute for the beads, so I keep a supply of both.
Cheers,
CS

[Davo]

Yep...gotta say I'm also a fan of Heatbeads for their consistency......the difference though is that heatbeads are made of fine brown coal, some of the very best available and Kingsfords are actually wood based charcoal so they are expected to light quicker. Redheads charcoal is a similar product to firebrand and are both of the robot turd shape.


Cheers

Davo

[Manfred]

There's a very good test been done between Kingsfords and Heat Beads on here.....

http://smokefireandfood.com/forum/index ... /&pageNo=1

It shows that the burn time for heat beads is far greater than Kingsfords.

[titch]

There's a very good test been done between Kingsfords and Heat Beads on here.....

http://smokefireandfood.com/forum/index ... /&pageNo=1

It shows that the burn time for heat beads is far greater than Kingsfords.

Do you have a vested interest in Smoke Fire and Food?
Your posts suggest bso

[12x7]

Lots of people in the US use Kingsford.

They have lots of good points depending on what you want to use them for:

eg easy/fast to light, burn time is good for things like burgers and steaks, wood smoke smell.

The problem is they are too expensive compared to other briquettes.

If the come down to around $1.5 to $2 per kg that would be good.