I started smoking only 3 months ago.

I’ve been using Royal Oak hardwood lump charcoal from BJ’s wholesale club. Today I opened up a 30 lbs bag and found a rock (left side, 5” x 4” x 3”), many strips of blackened metal, some wood chunks that aren’t blackened, and many very big blackened chunks (middle, 6” x 5” x 3”) (right, 6” x 4” x 2”).

Is this normal????

by sidequest2021

45 Comments

  1. Squirrelherder_24-7

    Normally you get more rocks and concrete and maybe some fiberglass insulation…

  2. DrChansLeftHand

    Apparently my hs pot dealer became a quality control manager at the royal oak charcoal plant.

    See if you can find any roaches in there too.

  3. catchinNkeepinf1sh

    Thats but a small stone, wait til you find a trophy sized one.

  4. pickledbanana6

    Yes this is normal for royal oak. It is also why I don’t use royal oak. B&B has been good for me but I’d sooner get just about anything over royal oak after too many bags worse than yours.

  5. Hobbesfrchy

    I’ve seen the same thing in Cowboy lump charcoal. Now I avoid it. If stuff like that makes it into the bag then what else gets mixed in there which shouldn’t be?

  6. Wapiti406

    I’ve found a lot of bark, rocks and tiny nails. Never a big piece of strap.

  7. worm30478

    How is royal oak still a thing? Why do people buy this shit?

  8. Murky_Coyote_7737

    You ever see Jaws when they cut open the random shark’s stomach in the beginning? Every bag is like that.

  9. skirrellyjones

    I’ve started paying up for the Fogo XL and will never look back.

  10. CranberryChamp

    Basically, last bag had a big wad of fiberglass I didn’t find until after the smoke and a couple of metal bands. 🙃

  11. Forward_Edge_8915

    You won the jackpot. I never found a tape measure in any of my bags of cement chunks.
    Made the switch from RO to Cowboy, then Cowboy went downhill, switched to Blues Hog and have had zero issues.

  12. gustave1980

    Stamped tounge and groove Wood flooring in mine. Stopped buying years ago.

  13. Daddysaurusflex

    Oh yeah royal oak is a mystery grab bag of sorts. Could be rocks or bolts you need for that next project.

  14. Disgruntledgnome14

    Royal oak used to be decent, but as of late, I noticed debris like that in the bags. I switched over to B & B natural Oak a few years ago now and haven’t looked back. It’s more expensive, but it is a better lump charcoal, in my opinion.

  15. robkurylowicz

    Last time I purchased Royal Oak it had a 2×4 it it and looked to be trim pieces. No I stick with the better

  16. mthomaspeterlambert

    Switch to Jealous Devil lump, it’s amazing.
    I also use B & B briquettes

  17. RoughOyster

    I got a bag that was mostly old Christmas trees and obviously not hardwood so I haven’t bought it since.

  18. RandomSam03

    I’ve bought RO 3 times. After buying my first smoker, I was undecided on briquettes and lump charcoal. Saw a good deal on RO, same as in your picture. It was perfectly fine. Second bag, 2×4, incomplete burn. The stamped serial number still visible. Okay, shit happens. Rest of the bag kind of fine, but a lot of tiny chips. Third bag, fucking Pink Panther insulation in the bag. I totally believe they get their materials from the garbage dump piles in front of new home builds. Each purchase was actually from a different store too. Never buying there stuff again. I’ve been sticking with B&B lump charcoal.

  19. I find rubber tire chunks in there all the time

  20. deltavdeltat

    Where’s the banana for scale?  How big are the chunks?  There’s nothing for scale. Put a banana in the picture for scale, please. 

  21. tehSchultz

    Most of it’s normal but I’ve never seen a tape measure come out of one before

  22. Trekgiant8018

    Royal Oak is garbage. Now you know why it is so cheap. Mostly construction garbage. I don’t know how they get away with selling rocks and metal as lump charcoal.

  23. dom_optimus_maximus

    Royal oak and Cowboy Charcoal are no go.

  24. Banshee251

    I just had a black JBL earphone case come out of my bag into the charcoal chimney.

  25. Aggravating_Soil5317

    Royal oak is only good for bonfires

  26. clappedoutCANAM

    I bought royal oak one time and said never again. There were six decent sized pieces of concrete in my bag and I decided their QC was absolute dog shit and I won’t support that.

  27. petula_75

    no. normally there is a pink dildo in bags I buy.

  28. Dude. I’ve found brake calipers, pallet wood, rocks, pressure treated wood in cowboy charcoal 😩

  29. 1911a1zombie

    At 1 time, they were good or decent. Then they went around the country, buying up and shutting down all the smaller regional charcoal companies. Now, since they own them all, they can put out trash products for a cheaper price and expect people to still buy them. But people are paying attention and are buying B&B , Fogo, and its beginning to hurt royal oak.

  30. JATB2021

    Royal Oak is trash. I have used it for the last few years in the Kamado Joe. Quality has severely declined. Doesn’t cook well. Last time I used it there was a legit baseboard trim board

  31. dustygravelroad

    I’m not buying anymore. Last bag was nearly all small pieces and gravel

  32. DerekTheComedian

    I thought I was crazy when I kept finding rocks in the ashes of my grill. Now I know why.

  33. Upstairs-Bad-3576

    I have never found a tape measure. That other stuff is normal for Royal Oak, though.

  34. Guangtou22

    I had a single leather glove in a bag once

  35. Gil-The-Real-Deal

    Stop buying Royal Oak you guys.

    It’s been like this for years and they don’t seem to care.

  36. whodaloo

    Keep buying it and eventually you’ll get a 10mm socket.