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    Know of any interesting forms of charcoal?
    Topic posted 12/7/09 by Han ChangTriple Crown , tagged new technology, novel and unique
    335 Views, 14 Comments
    Title:
    Know of any interesting forms of charcoal?
    Summary:
    novel forms of charcoal
    Content:

    Has anyone seen any new or interesting forms of charcoal or charcoal-type products? Let me know!

    Comments

    • posted 12/7/09 by marco

      charcoal is mainly from wood and all wood is renewable however the best charcoal is from hardwood, which is difficult to source and becoming scarce.. 

      I think that novel forms of environmentally sound forms of charcoal could be :

      1: walnut hulls or other nut shells

      2: certainly coconut shells

      3: wood from slash piles left by logging operations. 

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      • posted 12/14/09 by Han ChangTriple Crown

        interesting. i've heard that the economic downturn has dramatically affected wood supplies. thanks.

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        • posted 12/14/09 by marco

          I had not heard that, i would be interested to know how the timber industry has been affected by the economic downturn. Unless your Charcoal is from bitumiuos sources, i think you could use sustainable and renewable sources as i mentioned above to keep the charcoal "green".

          Also, I like the prepacked chimney idea below, which could sell a jumbo charcoal bag with several low-ash combustible chimneys with built-in fire starting material at the bottom. This would reduce packaging.    

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          • posted 12/14/09 by Han ChangTriple Crown

            see http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/charcoal.html#briquette

            please elaborate on your jumbo charcoal bag with chimney idea. are you talking about a big bag with chimneys attached, or several pre-filled chimneys somehow attached together?

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            • posted 12/14/09 by marco

              Thanks for the link .. it sounds like your charcoal is quite sustainable already using recycled materials. 

              the Jumbo charcoal bag would be your standard large 21.6 lb bag with several folded combustible chimneys in an attached or included paper bag. or as you mentioned for an outlet like costco, a 4-6 pack of pre-filled chimneys all packaged together. Also the pre-filled chimneys could have a few highly combustible "starter" briquettes at the bottom.  

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    • posted 12/7/09 by samirbWin

      From a new product perspective it would be interesting to see consumers reaction to opening a bag of Kingsford and having the pellets be in the shape of footballs or baseballs. 

      Could be a novel approach to tailgating before games.

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    • posted 12/7/09 by Mark Roser

      I believe that the nature of Kingsford's exposed individual briquettes can be presented in a different way that may allow the ingredients to be altered without alerting the consumer.  The past concept of lighting the whole bag on fire is one example.  Another example of changing the format is to sell the briquettes in pre-formed pyramids with a treated paper coating.  The coating would initially act as the chimney for the briquettes and eventually be consumed in the fire.

      I tend to get my fingers dirty each time I build my own pyramid of briquettes. So - it would be nice to ahve a pre-arranged pyramid, or at least a set of square or disc-shaped matrices that can be stacked into a mini-chimney.

      Now that the format has been shifted from a small cube to a large structure, it enables more recycled or new novel material to be mixed in.  Users will assume that changes in color, texture and graininess may be attributed to the needs of the stackable shape rather than the briquette itself. It would also allow the integration of longer-strand materials and chips that may be hard to bind within the small briquette. For example - hickory chips or such for improved smoking.

      HOpe the ideas help - Mark

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      • posted 12/14/09 by Han ChangTriple Crown

        have you seen this:
        http://gizmodo.com/394024/bbq-baja-is-barbeque-in-a-box

        i've heard the pulpboard leaves A LOT of embers and ash that fly around. i think there are a couple of similar products on the market as well as Kingsford's BBQ Bag single-use product.

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    • posted 12/11/09 by Jackie P.Win

      Mark, interesting idea on the charcoal pyramid. 

      We use a chimney to start our charcoals.  If it came in some sort of pre-packed chinmey, that would interest us.  Besides keeping your hands clean, it would be safer then what we currently do which is lifting up the chimney with lit charcoals and flipping it over into the grill.  Stand back to avoid flying embers.

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      • posted 12/12/09 by Greg PicheTriple Crown

        I agree.  I use the chimney to start my charcoal because I hate the smell of lighter fluid - and it works just fine except for the mess (dirty hands as well as the charcoal dust that gets in my face as I pour the briquettes into the chimney).  I'd be first in line to buy a prepackaged chimney.

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