Does Charcoal Go Bad

I’m sure you’ve seen charcoal on sale at your local home improvement store and thought about buying a few extra bags. Why wouldn’t you if you know you’ll use it. You’re saving money and probably some time as well not having to run out to get more charcoal next time your having a cookout. Then you probably asked your self but does charcoal go bad? A lot of people have had this question I know I did, so I did some research and here’s what I found.

Regular charcoal doesn’t go bad as long as it stored so that moisture doesn’t get into it. If your buying Match or Instant light charcoal than it has a shelf life of one to two years. The charcoal doesn’t go bad but the lighter fluid that it was infused with will evaporate and it will no longer be easy to light.

So that left me with a few more questions like how and where should I be storing my charcoal? Also, can someone still use the match light charcoal if you lit it with something like say a chimney starter? As well as what happens to charcoal if moisture does get to it can you dry it out? So here’s everything I found out about storing and using old charcoal.

How To Store Your Charcoal.

So if you’re like me then you’ve probably always just rolled the top of the bag down after you opened a bag of charcoal and that’s ok if you grill a lot. But if you’re going to be buying a few extra bags when there on sale then you might want to think about where you’re going to be putting them. As well as if you should put them in something to keep them dry.

If your buying extra bags of charcoals it’s a good idea to get a tote or even a garbage can with a lid to keep it in. I know it should be good just left in an unopened bag. After all what’s the difference of it sitting at your house vs it sitting at the store. Well, if there’s any rips or holes in the bag then moisture is going to find its way in. It might be on sale because there’s a known problem with them and the store wants to sell them quick. Once moisture finds its way in it can become hard to light, and if you do manage to get it lit it’s going to give off a lot of extra smoke.

The bag charcoal comes in has a coating on the inside to stop moisture from getting in. You may have noticed the inside of the bags are shiny. That’s the coating to keep moisture out. But most stores don’t tend to take good care when handling bags of charcoal. So it’s not uncommon for them to get some kind of small rip or hole in the bag. Once that happens that bag is no longer sealed and it’s now going to let the humidity from the air into it. After that starts to happen the charcoal will start taking in the moisture and that extra moisture will make it hard to light. This is because it will have to start evaporating before the charcoal starts to burn.

If you store your charcoal the right way then it can last indefinitely. So it’s a good idea to know where you’re going to keep it so you know if you need something to keep it in. If your planning on keeping it in the garage then just leaving it in the bags might be fine. Especially if your garage is heated and cooled then I wouldn’t worry about it at all. But if you’re like me and its out in your shed then you should have it in something. This way it doesn’t get ruined. Just keeping it in a garbage can with the lid on is more than enough to keep it dry.

Now don’t think of it as having a garbage can just to keep extra charcoal in. I’m not saying you can’t still use it as a garbage can. It it’s great to have a big garbage can when you have parties and your going to be grilling a lot. I just take the extra charcoal out and put a bag in and it becomes the outside garbage can. Just make sure that there are no liquids in the bottom before you put the extra charcoal back in. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of keeping it in there to keep it dry.

Now if you don’t want to use a garbage can you can always get a tote to keep it in this way you could keep it up on a shelf. It will more than likely take up less room than a garbage can and having the ability to put it on a shelf will keep it out of your way. Totes are pretty common so you more then likely have some in the garage anyway if you get one close to the same size then you’ll be able to stack them and it really won’t take up any space.

As far as the bag you have opened to grill with I’ve started using a charcoal caddy to keep mine in. Kingsford’s makes a few different sizes that you can pick from. The most common one holds up to 24lb of charcoal will set you back about 15$. If you don’t want to get a charcoal caddy then you can always use a 5 gal bucket with a lid. It is a cheaper option but won’t hold a whole 20lb bag of charcoal so keep that in mind.

Using Out Dated Match Light Charcoal

So I don’t recommend match light charcoal but maybe you got a really good deal on it probably due to the fact that it was bad or close to going bad. Or maybe you found an old bag in the shed and just want to use it up but it’s not lighting. You can still light it the same way you would light regular charcoal with paper or in a chimney starter. This might be a good thing sins that means some, if not all the lighter fluid it was infused with has evaporated. If you’re not familiar with lighting charcoal you can read my article on it by clicking here.

Why You Should Never Use Match Light Charcoal

So personally I never use match light charcoal because of the extra chemicals that have been added to it. Matchlight charcoal gets its name from the fact that you should only need a match to light it with. This is due to the fact that it has been heavily infused with lighter fluid and other chemicals. It is nice not need some else to light you charcoal with but I don’t think it’s worth the extra risk. The chemicals that are making it easy to get the grill going could be what ruins the taste of your food. If youed like to learn more about the danger of match light charcoal you can click here to read my article on it.

If you don’t let match light charcoal, or any charcoal the was lit using lighter fluid for that matter, burn long enough then the chemicals from the lighter fluid will end up in your food. This isn’t good for your health and it’s going to give the food a bad taste and I’m sure that’s going to ruin your cookout. The best way to light charcoal is with a chimney starter. It’s also the fastest way and you won’t need to buy anything extra you just need some paper.

Can You Use Charcoal After It’s Gotten Wet

So if you accidentally left your bag of charcoal outside after you got done with the grilling, and you got a little rain, all might not be lost. Before you go and throw the bag away take a look and see if the briquettes still have their shape. If not then yes all is lost there’s not really anything you can do with a bag of charcoal mush.

But if they do still have there shape then see how soft they are by squeezing a few and seeing if they crumble in your hand. If they just fall apart then they might not be savable you can still try if you want to. If it takes a good amount of presser to break them then you can probably save them.

All you need to do is to let them dry out before you try to use them again. The easiest way to do this is to let them sit out in the sun and dry off. Now I don’t mean let the bag sit in the sun your going to need to dump the bag out so that the briquettes are in the sunlight. You don’t really need to do anything after that just waite and let them dry off. It might take a bit for them to dry, charcoal is like a sponge when it comes to soaking up moisture.

Keep in mind even if the briquettes are dry on the outside there may still be moisture on the inside. The extra moisture in the briquettes will cause a few problems. First, the charcoal won’t burn as hot sins it’s going to be dry itself as it’s burning. Second, it’s going to put out a lot more smoke so you’re going to have to wait longer before you can add your food to the grill.

Conclusion

So there you have it if you find yourself looking at charcoal when it’s on sale buying a few extra bags might not be a bad idea. As long as you have somewhere dry to keep it, also knowing if you need something to keep it in as well. You might spend a little more if you need to buy a garbage can or a tote to store it in but you’ll also have it for the next time you see a sale.

Also if you do have some old charcoal laying around see if it breaks apart easy or not. If it does then you know it took in some moisture you can try letting it lay in the sun. Or just get rid of it if you don’t have the time to deal with it. If it passes the squeeze test but seems to be smoking a lot then there was just a little moisture in it. Just keep in mind it might not get as hot as your expecting it to. So you may need to use more charcoal then you normally would.

As Always, Happy Grilling!