charcoal and braziers

[bowjock]

when at a rondezeous, is it acceptable to use charcoal in your brazier? I have found nothing in my research but the use of coal or wood in them. If you do use charcoal, how do you (contain) it so that it does not offend anyone?

 

[Norskie]

No problem, just buy 'chunk' charcoal from Kmart or other fine retailers. I think they sell it as 'Cowboy Charcoal'. Briquets might raise an issue, since Henry Ford invented them in the early 20th century.
Real charcoal should be correct back to the early bronze age.
I carry mine to rondys in a canvas bag. Others just tote it in the brown paper sacks they sell it in.

 

[George Holton]

PC Nazis strike again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Norskie]

Ain't PC so much as chunk burns better! You can burn wood, too if you keep it small.

 

[romcneil]

For the limited a,ount of cooking that i do on my brazier at rendezvous I have found it convenient to buy the mesquite chunks that stores sell for smoking meats. They are just the right size for the brazier, and i cannot justify the time to cut larger pieces of fire wood into these little pieces - although I do cut old cedar shingles to use for kindling in the brazier.

Bob

 

[Maestro]

PC Nazis strike again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why the contention? Nobody said YOU HAVE to use it but if one likes using the "lump" style charcoal because it looks more "PC" does that make them a "Nazi"?

Ain't PC so much as chunk burns better!

It also makes food TASTE better. There's lots of "filler" (who knows?) in briquettes.

You can get Royal Oak "lump" charcoal (red bag) at WalMart off season for half price.

 

The chunk stuff seems to burn about twice as hot as the briquettes. It also lasts only a short time in the brazier.

 

[Ridge]

The man asked what was acceptable to use at a rondevous. That would imply that he wanted to be PC. So what's your beef with him wanting to be PC? Does it affect you?

My friends get chard wood and us it their braziers. They buy it in large, feed sack style bags....I have no idea where though.

 

[kjmillig]

PC Nazis strike again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason just now, seeing the use of "Nazi" really struck me the wrong way. We love ya' old Bob, but I really hope you're not old enough to have experienced the Nazi regime. They were REALLY nasty folks , and it's unfortunate that we sometimes casually use that term nowadays. I'm not old enough either, but I do teach history and culture professionally. Remember, we're all tryin to help each other out here so I hope I don't offend. :hatsoff:

 

[bowjock]

Ridge, Kjmillig, Maestro thanks for standing up, but comments like that has no affect on me. I look at those knowing that the ones that say them, did not come out of the womb knowing everything about history and what is correct. More than likey, they ask the same questions to someone and got a simular response. I ask because I don't know. That is how we all learn. I will continue to ask and will also continue to get those responses,,,so be it...as long as I learn, thats all that matters to me..

 

[JWP]

Panther Primitive sells hard wood charcoal - you can also pick it up at Wal-Mart.
My wife sewed a couple canvas bags that we slip the paper bags the charcoal comes in - some people put it in chared lard cans.
hope this helps

 

[renovato]

Bob, the PC nazis are the ones at camp that give you an earful for using briquettes instead of lump, while eyeballing your accoutrements and counting the threads on your clothing to see if they can find anything else to tell you off about. The folks here are being helpful and telling us how to avoid the PC nazis. Big difference.

 

[Mad Monk]

Maestro,

Commercial charcoal briquetes are normally produced from sawmill waste. That would be bark and trimmings. Charred and ground. Then they add a good bit of a clay to it so that they are able to compressed it in molds and it will hold its shape.

From my bp charcoal work.
Different woods produce different chars with their own particular odors. These distinctive odors being added to the food cooked with the charcoal.

 

[Maestro]

Thanks, Mad Monk! Something else learned on the MLF! :hatsoff:

 

[Greenmtnboy]

what does a brazier look like?
I picture it.

 

[ameling]

Hi. Here are a couple pictures of an original Colonial or Rev War era brazier.

Most of the current ones being sold are much simpler and plainer.

yhs
Mike Ameling

 

[BillinOregon]

Charcoal will pass anybody's test. I buy it, but I also collect it from my back yard burn pile. I haven't used it in a brazier because I don't have one, but use it in my hand-cranked washtub forge with perfect satisfaction. By the way, I worked in a Royal Oak charcoal plant about 30 years ago and the main added ingredients to wood fiber were sand and borax as a binder.

 

[bnail]

Charcoal will pass anybody's test. I buy it, but I also collect it from my back yard burn pile. I haven't used it in a brazier because I don't have one, but use it in my hand-cranked washtub forge with perfect satisfaction. By the way, I worked in a Royal Oak charcoal plant about 30 years ago and the main added ingredients to wood fiber were sand and borax as a binder.

Hey Bill, I bet that was a dirty job! I can't help bet equate it with working in a coal mine.
Do they still refer to the guys in the factory as Colliers?

 

[Mulebrain]

Get real charcoal like Royal Oak. It is lighter, and burns a little hotter and does not contain heavy fillers like Kingsford product!

 

[Mad Irish Jack]

:v I use the Cowboy brand, I buy it at Lowes where I work and it helps to have an employee discount. I also burn hard woods (oak, cherry,hickory, walnut etc.). I get it from a friend who owns a pattern shop. He allows me to raid his scrap bins. I fill boxes and take large chunks because they split down easily. The light quickly and make good hot coals. If you can find a local pattern shop, ask if you can get scraps. All they can say is NO. That doesn't cost anything. And, neither will the scrap wood if they say :thumbsup: YES!
Here is a picture of my brazier. It was made by a retired river tugboat captain who's a friend of mine. It's a little heavier than most braziers, but it'll damn near last forever with proper care. I also made a stand to mount it on at long term events (something to save this old mans back).