So, How Did The Weekend Go?

We didn't get as much done as we would like, but we did get the damp charcoal experiment kicked off. Since this one is going to take at least a month to complete, it was important that we get it started. So, we now have a couple of T/RH data loggers logging the temperature and relative humidity in our garage and inside of a bag of charcoal in our garage. We have some charcoal sitting out, uncovered, in the garage and we will see if it picks up any moisture as a result during the hot humid days of summer!

We did narrowly avert a real disaster, however. If you have read our reviews of extruded coconut charcoal, you will know that we bake the charcoal in our oven at 300 degrees in order to drive all the moisture out. We have even done that with some Royal Oak lump charcoal. We won't name the brand since we feel it is irrelevant, but we were lucky to notice that the charcoal we were drying this weekend had actually ignited in one small place! We figure in another 10 minutes, the whole tray might have been glowing red. So lesson learned! Next time, 250 and more frequent monitoring.

Incidentally, we will be travelling to Ft. Bragg, NC on Tuesday to photograph a cook for the troops being run by American Spirit BBQ. This will be for the 3-27th Field Artillery Regiment. We can't say enough how important this is to the troops, so if you can find a way to donate money or your time and talents to this effort, please take a look at American Spirit BBQ's Facebook page and do what you can!

- TNW