Kingsford smelled like lighter fluid.

G$ · Jul 29, 2008

I thought someone mentioned this a while back, and I disregarded it at the time.

You see, I have not bought K in a long time, being that my Rancher supply held out for over a year. All good things must pass, and I was finally in need of some new briqs. I was at HD ($10 off coupon mod) and noticed they had the small (9 pound) bags of K on "yellow tag" for $2.50 a bag. This was actually cheaper per pound than the standard non sale price for the 21 pound twin pack. So, I bought a few ... errr 20 bags ... and headed home.

I used my new built in grill side burner to ignite the chimney, and was off to the races. (side note, the side burner chimney lighter is WAY better and quicker than paper wads, and even better than the brush burner, but less fun.)

Anyway, I quickly noticed what I would call a lighter fluid smell. Either I never noticed this with K before (possible) or they changed the formula in the last year or so.

By the way, about half a bag and a few wood chunks was enough for a 6+ hour burn, easy, on the medium spicewine. Plus, the small bags are easier to move around my overcrowded garage than twin packs.

BBQ Grail · Jul 29, 2008

The other thread was that it smelled like diesel.

I once bought charcoal at the store, put it the back of the car and forgot it. Getting into my car the next day I could smell the lighter fluid. I took it back to the store I bought it at.

What had happened as best as we could tell was that lighter fluid leaked onto a pallet of charcoal in shipping. Just a thought...

Barbarian · Jul 29, 2008

sorry to be dumb, but how does the side burner grill work to light the chimney?
Could not tell from the pics. Maybe a action pic would help.

1_T_Scot · Jul 29, 2008

The above suggestion about lighter fluid leaking might be correct.

Maybe the regular Kingsford is made on the same equipment as Match Light and there was some of the other formula left over.

Should have a Alergy warning on the bag like with Food processed in plants that process nuts.

G$ · Jul 29, 2008

trp1fox said:
The other thread was that it smelled like diesel.

I once bought charcoal at the store, put it the back of the car and forgot it. Getting into my car the next day I could smell the lighter fluid. I took it back to the store I bought it at.

What had happened as best as we could tell was that lighter fluid leaked onto a pallet of charcoal in shipping. Just a thought...

That's right! the other thread said diesel. This really did smell like fluid, but only on ignition, in other words the packages smell fine and I see no spills. I am inlcined to think I am just noticing something that maybe was always there?

BBQ Grail · Jul 29, 2008

G$ said:
That's right! the other thread said diesel. This really did smell like fluid, but only on ignition, in other words the packages smell fine and I see no spills. I am inlcined to think I am just noticing something that maybe was always there?

You know. I go through 20lbs of Kingsford a week at a minimum. And I've never smelled anything like lighter fluid or diesel.

isn't this odd...

G$ · Jul 29, 2008

Barbarian said:
sorry to be dumb, but how does the side burner grill work to light the chimney?
Could not tell from the pics. Maybe a action pic would help.

Any old side burner would do I think, even the kind that come with LP grills on carts. You just stick the chimney on the side burner and turn the flame up! My burner is sooooper hot, and it lights the bottom coals almost immediately even though it looks like the flame does not reach up that high. I'll snap a pic next time I light a chimney.

G$ · Jul 29, 2008

Barbarian said:
sorry to be dumb, but how does the side burner grill work to light the chimney?
Could not tell from the pics. Maybe a action pic would help.

OK, first pic is how it sits, second is me tilting it so you can see the flame.

Meat Burner · Jul 29, 2008

From what the posts I have seen...I think someone is trying to bash Kinsgord for some reason. I don't think their posts are genuine and have another angend other than bettering the honest brethren on this site. Just My Opinion.

BIGWILLY · Jul 29, 2008

Another thought here, charcoal is commonly used as a filter for air and liquids, naturally absorbing components of the median around it,

this however would be true for different brands as well, not just the 'K'

Meat Burner · Jul 29, 2008

BIGWILLY said:
Another thought here, charcoal is commonly used as a filter for air and liquids, naturally absorbing components of the median around it,

this however would be true for different brands as well, not just the 'K'

Not my point..not buying that. Maybe too cautious, just concerned

Stiltz6ft9in · Jul 29, 2008

I use K and have no problems, but that's just my 2 cents....

Smokey D · Jul 29, 2008

Thank god we have options, buy something that smells better.

G$ · Jul 29, 2008

Meat Burner said:
From what the posts I have seen...I think someone is trying to bash Kinsgord for some reason. I don't think their posts are genuine and have another angend other than bettering the honest brethren on this site. Just My Opinion.

I'm not getting it. What are you driving at here?

mbshop · Jul 30, 2008

not sure what ya mean. i bad mouth them constantly. i dislike the stuff. i dislike the company. i dislike the fact that they have destroyed my chance at a choice. i have to hunt and beg for something decent around here. that forces me to hoard and waste space. yep, i dislike them. why can't i say that ?

Meat Burner said:
From what the posts I have seen...I think someone is trying to bash Kinsgord for some reason. I don't think their posts are genuine and have another angend other than bettering the honest brethren on this site. Just My Opinion.

sampson · Jul 30, 2008

trp1fox said:
You know. I go through 20lbs of Kingsford a week at a minimum. And I've never smelled anything like lighter fluid or diesel.

isn't this odd...

I'm with Larry on this one... I use at least two bags a week and have never had an issue with odor.

osx-addict · Jul 30, 2008

I'm the one that complained of the diesel smell on a few bags of Kingsford a while back.. The testing I did was almost 2 years ago and was done with two different bags of Kingsford -- one was their regular blue bags and the other was one of their hardwood varieties.. Both had the same issue.. I've not used Kingsford since. I also had the same issue w/ Best Of the West lump as well...

I got two small bags of Kingsford older charcoal when I bought my latest BBQ (and older Imperial Kamado) from a neighbor -- my guess is the bags are 3-5 years old.. Neither appear to have the problem -- go figure.. Perhaps I just got a few bad bags -- even if they came from different stores!

Oh well..

augie · Jul 30, 2008

I usually use K for all of my long cooks on the WSM and lump for searing on the kettle, and this past weekend was the first time I'd ever experienced this.

The only other time I'd used this bag was with a standard start, all coals fully fired in the chimneys. Saturday I did a modified minion start, using a half chimney of lit.

An hour or so into the cook I went to smell the sweet blue coming out of the top vent and smelled something that reminded me of the bad old days when I used fluid to light the coals.

Hopefully it's just a bad bag, or one that had an unfortunate mishap somewhere along the way..

SpammyQ · Jul 30, 2008

I use the stuff all the time and have never had an odor issue. I tend to think it may be a production issue as well.

Jim

StayDown · Jul 30, 2008

My guess, and it is just a guess, is that it could be absorbing some odor through the manufacturing process. Maybe it is when some maintenence is taking place and that is why only some bags have the smell. Not sure but it sure is something to look into even further.

Anyone thought about calling K and explaining the issue to them?

Kingsford smelled like lighter fluid.

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