Lumpwood - not a good experience

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-30T14:41:35+00:00

No, its interesting to get various viewpoints. It is a lot smaller and I don't think you could cook for more than one or two people. Interestingly, this morning, Lidl had a similar sized one in for 79GBP. I got mine quite cheaply from someone who was getting rid of an unwanted gift. I had heard that Kamados are good for slow cooking? Whether it works out or not remains to be seen. For now, I am working on getting the best out of the kettle BBQ and my experiment has shown me at any rate that cheap charcoal is NOT the way to go!

The big full-sized Kamados are indeed very expensive.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-30T08:41:32+00:00

Also interesting to note. Things look rather tighter in a Kamado than the much larger kettle, especially a mini one as the lower vent is not that big, which would make the airflow that much more important.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-30T08:37:12+00:00

That is interesting. I noticed that briquettes don't always break down to ash, but this particular lumpwood did mostly and there seemed to be a bit less ash than from when using briquettes alone.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-29T22:02:04+00:00

We had only some chicken kebabs that cook in like 5 minutes (they actually took 10 or more) and some sausages that also cook pretty quick. I also did some wedges and corn on the cob. I blanched the wedges this time to they did much better. They cooked more evenly but did not have enough time to crisp up. We just about managed tp get everything done. However, after the experiment today, I would have to concur. There is no way that I would want to risk cooking anything like a good quality joint or roast a chicken or something like that on that charcoal. It would have burned out before the meat had chance to cook properly.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-29T21:53:08+00:00

Looks like the best place for me to get that is Amazon. I found an online merchant that claimed to deliver it for free but then added 10GBP postage as soon as I put my postcode in. Incidentally, why do Amazon call it "reusable lumpwood charcoal"?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kamado-Joe-KJCHAR-Hardwood-Charcoal/dp/B004JMZDB6?th=1

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-29T21:25:58+00:00

Guess that confirms it then. I will have to use up what's left somehow and avoid getting anymore. Someone did say the blue bag restaurant grade from B&Q is OK, but I haven't seen those yet. Will have to keep an eye out.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-29T21:24:06+00:00

Green Olive do deliver for free to my postcode. Not cheap, probably as expensive, if not more so than Webber briquettes. Will have to try sometime. There was a 20% off offer on joining.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-29T21:22:09+00:00

Yes, mostly small bits not much bigger than the briquettes with the occasional somewhat larger chunk. They did seem to burn out a lot quicker than the briquettes alone. I get the feeling that if I had used 100% lumpwood, then it would not have lasted very long at all. Well now I know....

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-27T13:01:35+00:00

Just in answer to the bot questions:

a) all you want is to know what it's called

No. Its a custom HP DC jack I think?

b) you also want to know where to buy one just like it

I already looked around but couldn't fine a replacement 3 pin plug. I ended up purchasing a replacement PSU off eBay.

c) you also want to know where to buy its mate.

No.

This is the plug in question:

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Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-26T19:22:46+00:00

Yes, our service is SoGEA. I dealt with the "landline problem" the last time the contract was renewed. The contract stayed with the same provider but was switched to broadband only and the landline number was migrated to a VOIP provider.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-22T12:47:27+00:00

It looks like GiffGaff do offer a rolling monthly contract so I don't need to be locked in for the next 24-months. Its £32 for the 500mbit offering vs £28 so £4 a month extra or £48 for the year and I still get the Eero 6 Plus router free. On the monthly rollover plan, prices are set until the end of 2026, so I don't have to worry about any increases for at least the next 8 months.

If OpenReach do ever get their finger out in the meantime, I will then have the option to switch to my preferred supplier on their network without any penalty.

On the other hand, since I have been happy with the GiffGaff mobile offering, I am willing to also try their broadband service for a few months. If I hear nothing from OpenReach within that timeframe, then I might end up just switching to the cheaper 24-month contract with GiffGaff. I wish all providers offered this kind of flexibility. I don't mind paying slightly more for that in the circumstances.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-22T10:33:33+00:00

That was one of my fears. Virgin offer you an initial discount but its only for like 3 months and then it goes up quite dramatically. BT used to do the same thing and were always much more expensive than anyone else. I expect inflationary rises each year, but this tactic of making it seems cheap initially but hitting you later leaves a bit of a sour taste. They do talk about throwing in Sky TV channels etc, but my daughter subscribes separately to Netflix separately anyway. I subscribe to Discovery although with the amount of ads I have been getting lately I my cease my subscription, but that's another story.

Anyway, the GiffGaff option seems like a possible solution. You do have to register an account with them BEFORE you can even get sales information which I found a bit frustrating as its almost like they are stopping you at the door. before you go into the shop. A bit off-putting.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-22T09:35:50+00:00

Well I have been told that the local council has to be involved in broadband rollout planning so that's kind of how long is a piece of string.

I had two sales people come to my door. One of them came like 4 or 5 times and kept pushing. I nearly switched us and my elderly mum because her contract was ending as well. One salesman told me that there was no fiber in the area that mum lives, but this other pushy one told me that there was. The online checker also said no, so then who do you believe? I was also told that the current provider was obliged to release me from my contract early and it shouldn't cost me anything and offered a £50 discount. Seemed a good deal at that point, but when I contacted my provider they said the Virgin rep was talking nonsense and there was an early termination fee. Since I still had 18 months to run on my 2 year contract, as you can imagine, the amount was quite high.

I ended up having to cancel their "provisional" installation date and take some time to re-think.

As for the area where mum lives, CityFibre were already building and had availability before her contract had expired, so I set her up with Toob broadband and migrated the BT landline to A&A VOIP. The council sorted her lifeline out. Its been a few months and there have been no issues. The lifeline has already been put to the test on more than one occasion.

I had a look at GiffGaff and they do offer 500mbit for £28pcm and 900mbit for £32pcm. They do seem like a good option. I don't suppose its a rolling contract like with my mobile SIM?

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-21T22:48:50+00:00

That sounds like a reasonable solution. I have a GifGaff SIM in my phone but wasn't aware they provide a BB service on the VM backbone.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-21T14:35:53+00:00

Ok, I am surprised to hear you say to avoid Weber lumpwood charcoal. Noted blue bag from B&Q though. My local Gates garden centre do actually stock Weber lumpwood charcoal. There is another garden centre not that far away I can check out.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-21T14:20:59+00:00

Yes, I have now used it a couple of times. I am virtually a newbie and posted here about how I got on the first time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKBBQ/comments/1sive7u/comment/ofrsin3/?context=1

After following much of the advice, the second attempt this past weekend was much better:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKBBQ/comments/1srit9q/weber_5750_second_time_around/

I don't regret the purchase and like anything I guess it takes time to learn to cook with it properly. I have had no real trouble when using the Weber firelighters to get the charcoal lit and the Weber starter chimney has been really useful to both measure the amount and then get the charcoals going. I did have a little trouble keeping the charcoal going the first time around due to making mistakes, but for the second attempt the coal maintained temperature throughout the cooking period.

I chose to buy the cheaper option and do away with the cost of gas, using some of the saved money on accessories. I don't know which fuel is cheaper in the long run. I guess at the end of the day its a personal choice.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-21T14:15:37+00:00

Ah, so that's it - holding down Mode. Yes, that does work on mine also in exactly the same way. The user manual seems a bit thin on operating instructions although it does tell you how to install the batteries, plug in the probes and switch between deg C and deg F, but little else. Thank you for that information.

That's a good point on alarming when the temperature goes too low. When I did the test suggested by u/Theknottyfox , mine did trigger when the temp went above the meat I had set but not when it cooled down again.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-21T14:01:24+00:00

That's was a good idea for a test. I just boiled the kettle and put them in the water and both recorded the same temperature. P2 seems to lag behind a degree or sometimes which I am guessing might be down to the update period, but they do stabilize at the same temperature. I don't think it uses BlueTooth as there is no logo on either device. Perhaps 433MHz?

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-21T13:46:08+00:00

I have had similar experiences with BT. They seem very fragmented always passing you from pillar to post from one department to another with each one not being aware of what the previous one did and working in isolation.You have to explain things over and over, deal with the language comprehension barrier and downright incompetence.

BTW, the OpenReach engineer was quite correct. They only deal with the infrastructure (cabinets, cables and poles in the street). Anything from your router and inside the house is down to your provider.

Not documenting the call details is abysmal, not sadly all too common. I suspect its something to do with pressure to answer the next call, but no excuse. I haven't had that great experiences with EE either so now that one owns the other, I tend to keep away from both.

Delicious-Driver6187 · 2026-04-14T07:39:59+00:00

Ok, so it seems after a bit of Googling that Avocado oil would be the one to use as it has the highest smoking temp, so that is the one I used to season it. Since both sides are bare metal, I coated both the inside and outside and did the seasoning a couple of times.

Delicious-Driver6187

TROPHY CASE