The charcoal when burned releases an even hot flame, no smoke and burns almost completely. The only residue is a little ash. It takes approximately 4 pounds of wood to make a little more than 1 pound of charcoal. So far, we have been talking about pure charcoal. You can tell the difference quite easily.
Most briquettes consist of extenders.
After the fire has been burned, take a look at the ashes. If there is a heaviness when cleaning out the ashes, then you are probably removing clay and other particles called extenders. If on the other hand, the ashes are light and almost want to float away when disturbed, then you have been burning true charcoal. Look at the packaging. You will be much happier with the results of using real charcoal.