Charcoal Testing, Setup and Ground Rules. (Part 1)

 I have moved from a gas smoker, to a charcoal grill. I love my charcoal grill. It is an Assassin 36, I can configure it with a drip pan that directs heat across to cook similar to an offset or a indirect heat grill like a Holland Gas. I can configure it with a water pan to cook similar to a classic cabinet style or bullet smoker. I can configure it with no pan in order to grill with direct heat or 2 zones, similar to the classic weber kettle or rectangular charcoal box. Lastly, I can take out the lower cooking grate and cook with wood splits. 

Check out Assassin grills here: https://www.assassin-smokers.com/charcoal-grills/

 The reason for the tests:

 I am used to getting a lot of btus for my dollar because of cooking with propane. Propane is cheap and extremely efficient. However, it leaves a lot to be desire for flavor, and I am a big believer in a charcoal bed with wood chunks added for the best flavor. So, I want the best all around charcoal for my Assassin, I want it to heat quickly, burn a long time, preferably very hot, so I can control it down to desired temperature with air flow, and leave me with as little ash as possible. I studied charcoal tests and reviews online and learned a lot about the theory, however, most tests focus on comparing different brands of lump to each other, or different brands of briquettes to each other. So, I was stuck between 3 options:

1. Nearly the cheapest and most convenient for me: Kroger briquettes, which are made by Royal Oak. Here: https://www.kroger.com/p/kroger-original-ridged-charcoal-briquets/0004126037327

2. A good natural briquet, based on what I found, the Royal Oak brand is about as good as any, and I like the transparency about what's in it. Here: https://www.royaloak.com/products/all-natural-hardwood-charcoal-briquets/

3. A good lump, after reading The Naked Whiz, (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm) Rockwood, appears to be the best or amongst the best lump charcoal in their database. Here: https://rockwoodcharcoal.com/

The ground rules: 

I will take each charcoal and fill my camp chef brand chimney to the brim, then I will dump it out onto the Assassin's charcoal tray, put a lit pine mountain wax starter in the ash tray, shut the door, leave the vents wide open, and lid down throughout. I will track temperatures with a Thermoworks Smoke. I want to see how long it takes to climb to 200 degrees. How hot it gets, and how long before it falls below 200 degrees again. If the temperature rises to 400, I will choke the vents to help extend the burn time. After logging that, I will check the ashtray and take a picture of it the next day. Each test will be started with a clean ash tray. As far as pricing, the Rockwood is more expensive per pound than both briquets, but, it is similarly priced by volume due to how dense the briquets are. So using a chimney will cause the Rockwood to have less weight in the grill, but also bring it's price inline with the briquets.