charcoal briquettes

[ford35lh]

Has anyone used charcoal briquettes among their tools to absorb moisture ???
Probably in a confined space (drawer or cabinet).

Did they work ???

[Peterooster]

My wife uses them in the basement of our home to get rid of odors, they get moldy green fast. Pete

[easyspeed]

I’m sure they would work, but may cause more of a mess than what its worth. As a machinist, I have saved most of the silica packs I’ve came actoss. I throw them in the back of my box drawers.

[51504bat]

Years ago when my parents moved to California from the east coast the movers told us to put charcoal in the fridge to keep it from developing an odor while it was closed up during the move. No smell when it was off loaded but I'm not sure how long they would have lasted.

[tubman]

Make sure you use "KingsFord" briquettes!

[GordonC]

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LOL! Now thats funny!

[Pete]

Originally Posted by GordonC

LOL! Now thats funny!

What is so funny?

The Ford Motor Company sold more than one million Ford Model Ts in 1919, and each of those Model Ts used 100 board feet of wood for the parts such as frame, dashboard, steering wheels and wheels. Because of the amount of wood that had to be used in the cars, Henry Ford decided he wanted to produce his own supply. He enlisted the help of Edward G. Kingsford, a real estate agent in Michigan, to find him a supply of wood. Coincidentally, Kingsford’s wife was a cousin of Ford - making the partnership a reality.[2] In the early 1920s, Ford acquired large timberland in Iron Mountain, Michigan, and built a sawmill and parts plant in a neighboring area (which became Kingsford, Michigan). The mill and plants produced sufficient parts for the car but generated waste such as stumps, branches and sawdust. Ford suggested that all wood scraps were to be processed into charcoal.[3]

A University of Oregon chemist, Orin Stafford, had invented a method for making pillow-shaped lumps of fuel from sawdust and mill waste combined with tar and bound together with cornstarch. He called the lumps “charcoal briquettes.” [4] Thomas Edison designed the briquette factory next to the sawmill, and Kingsford ran it. It was a model of efficiency, producing 610 lb (280 kg) of briquettes for every ton of scrap wood. The product was sold only through Ford dealerships. Ford then named the new business Ford Charcoal and changed the name of the charcoal blocks to “briquets”. At the beginning, the charcoal was sold to meat and fish smokehouses, but supply exceeded demand.[5]

By the mid-1930s, Ford was marketing “Picnic Kits” containing charcoal and portable grills directly from Ford dealerships, capitalizing on the link between motoring and outdoor adventure that his own Vagabond travels popularized. “Enjoy a modern picnic,” the package suggested. “Sizzling broiled meats, steaming coffee, toasted sandwiches.” It wasn’t until after World War II that backyard barbecuing took off, thanks to suburban migration, the invention of the Weber grill and the marketing efforts. An investment group bought Ford Charcoal in 1951 and renamed it to Kingsford Charcoal in honor of Edward G. Kingsford (and the factory's home-base name) and took over the operations. The plant was later acquired by Clorox in 1973.

[fordor41]

Originally Posted by easyspeed

I’m sure they would work, but may cause more of a mess than what its worth. As a machinist, I have saved most of the silica packs I’ve came actoss. I throw them in the back of my box drawers.

They(silica packs) can only absorb so much. throw them in the oven to dry and use again

[Crankster]

I was always worried about charcoal briquettes getting wet and then spontaneously combust.

Yeah, I'm probably paranoid. I thought the piles of coal would do that, at the power plant. Can't remember how they prevented that, by compacting it or somesuch. Maybe misremembering. Activated charcoal is supposed to be good at filtering odors and such. What "activated" means, I don't know. It doesn't look very active.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by Pete

What is so funny?...

Pete, You beat me to it, but my source wasn't nearly as detailed as yours! What was your excellent source, pray tell?

[RobR'35]

I live within 35 miles of the Iron Mountain, Ford plant.
Henry really enjoyed the (U.P.) Upper Peninsula Michigan.
During WWII they built many gliders here as well.
He owned around 400,000 acres of timberland,
a couple iron mines, multiple sawmills, among other things.
There's rich history of Henry Ford up here.

[flatford8]

This talk of charcoal, grills and picnics is making me wish for summer......and making me hungry!!!......Mark

[Lenny51]

I use charcoal in all my tool box draws in the garage also have many open bags in the garage to absorb the moisture & a small box of charcoal in the car & trunk

[corvette8n]

https://www.thehenryford.org/collect...tifact/343852/
Looks like the picnic grills were produced from 1935-45, has anyone seen one for sale?

Originally Posted by Pete

What is so funny?

The Ford Motor Company sold more than one million Ford Model Ts in 1919, and each of those Model Ts used 100 board feet of wood for the parts such as frame, dashboard, steering wheels and wheels. Because of the amount of wood that had to be used in the cars, Henry Ford decided he wanted to produce his own supply. He enlisted the help of Edward G. Kingsford, a real estate agent in Michigan, to find him a supply of wood. Coincidentally, Kingsford’s wife was a cousin of Ford - making the partnership a reality.[2] In the early 1920s, Ford acquired large timberland in Iron Mountain, Michigan, and built a sawmill and parts plant in a neighboring area (which became Kingsford, Michigan). The mill and plants produced sufficient parts for the car but generated waste such as stumps, branches and sawdust. Ford suggested that all wood scraps were to be processed into charcoal.[3]

A University of Oregon chemist, Orin Stafford, had invented a method for making pillow-shaped lumps of fuel from sawdust and mill waste combined with tar and bound together with cornstarch. He called the lumps “charcoal briquettes.” [4] Thomas Edison designed the briquette factory next to the sawmill, and Kingsford ran it. It was a model of efficiency, producing 610 lb (280 kg) of briquettes for every ton of scrap wood. The product was sold only through Ford dealerships. Ford then named the new business Ford Charcoal and changed the name of the charcoal blocks to “briquets”. At the beginning, the charcoal was sold to meat and fish smokehouses, but supply exceeded demand.[5]

By the mid-1930s, Ford was marketing “Picnic Kits” containing charcoal and portable grills directly from Ford dealerships, capitalizing on the link between motoring and outdoor adventure that his own Vagabond travels popularized. “Enjoy a modern picnic,” the package suggested. “Sizzling broiled meats, steaming coffee, toasted sandwiches.” It wasn’t until after World War II that backyard barbecuing took off, thanks to suburban migration, the invention of the Weber grill and the marketing efforts. An investment group bought Ford Charcoal in 1951 and renamed it to Kingsford Charcoal in honor of Edward G. Kingsford (and the factory's home-base name) and took over the operations. The plant was later acquired by Clorox in 1973.

[Don Rogers]

Here's a few images from the archives.

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by corvette8n

https://www.thehenryford.org/collect...tifact/343852/
Looks like the picnic grills were produced from 1935-45, has anyone seen one for sale?

I doubt if any were made during the war, the decision not to resume production made in 1945.