Fire Starters - what are you using?


 
I had a few sterno cans leftover from a party. Someone on the old board mentioned using them to light a chimney,, cheap and reusable.
I tried it once and it did work, but I was uneasy using a metal can with gelled fuel under a glowing red hot chimney. I had a few hot embers drop in and I thought I was making a napalm bomb.

The better choice for under a chimney is the type of sterno can with a wick in it. Will burn like a candle for many many hours. Can stays cool to the touch and no chance of tipping over the burning liquid and starting an inferno.
 
JKalchik said:
That's actually an old Boy Scout trick. Divide your dryer lint between paper-machiere egg cups and saturate with melted candle wax to make your own fire starters.
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J, I was roundly shouted down when I broached that method!
As I recall it was something like “I have NO interest in lighting my fire with the mix of poly cotton lint from my clothes!”
As for lighting fire pits, I just use a torch anymore.
 
Tim K said:
Cotton balls with a little coating of vasoline. If you're looking for a great way to start a fire that's reliable and cheap, look at how many cotton balls and a jar of vasoline you can get for just a few bucks.....
Tim
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How many cotton balls do you use? 1 - 2?
 
I use an electric wand starter, for 7.5 to 8 minutes, then hang it up out of the reach of kids, dogs, inebriant vagrants, etc. I no longer have to buy any supplies other than charcoal, briquettes or chunk!
 
J Hasselberger said:
I have a gas Performer as well and it works great. I use a chimney with the insert grate flipped over ... as shown below. Lights up well in very little time.

Jeff

Chimney flip by Jeff Hasselberger, on Flickr
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Why flip the grate over.. Other than getting you coal closer to the flame I can't see a benefit...

Tom_M said:
I use pieces from empty charcoal bags under the chimney.
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That's a neat idea... ^^^^^

I am on what I hope will be my last box of Weber cubes. The little bits that fall all over are a pain. I have a few boxes of Tumble Weeds a grabbed on the cheap at HD, but the Grill Trade Firestarters look like a good option when the TWs are used up.
 
I usually have some wood chunks too old and dried out to be good for smoking.
I put one in the bottom of the chimney, top with charcoal, then use the gas assist on my Performer for just long enough to get the chunk burning.
 
MichaelM said:
Why flip the grate over.. Other than getting you coal closer to the flame I can't see a benefit...


That's a neat idea... ^^^^^

I am on what I hope will be my last box of Weber cubes. The little bits that fall all over are a pain. I have a few boxes of Tumble Weeds a grabbed on the cheap at HD, but the Grill Trade Firestarters look like a good option when the TWs are used up.
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Michael, With the briquettes considerably closer to the flame, they light much faster.

Jeff
 
I have a Smokey Joe kettle that use exclusively for getting the chimney started. I use a propane torch and light up a few small branches and twigs collected from my yard. I find the branches burn longer and put out more heat than crumbled newspaper.
 
Michael, With the briquettes considerably closer to the flame, they light much faster.

Has this been proven? I think we need to validate this with extensive scientific trials.

Coals closer seems like a good thing. But presumably Weber thinks that having the grate point up provides some benefit -- like allowing the lighter flame and air flow to get further up into the coal pile and light up more edges...?

Flipping the chimney grate to point down would seem to make the big chimney a MUCH better tool for lighting small amounts of charcoal. To light small amounts, I've used the big chimney turned upside down. But that makes the coals much further away from the lighter flame.
 
Jim C in Denver said:
Michael, With the briquettes considerably closer to the flame, they light much faster.

Has this been proven? I think we need to validate this with extensive scientific trials.

Coals closer seems like a good thing. But presumably Weber thinks that having the grate point up provides some benefit -- like allowing the lighter flame and air flow to get further up into the coal pile and light up more edges...?

Flipping the chimney grate to point down would seem to make the big chimney a MUCH better tool for lighting small amounts of charcoal. To light small amounts, I've used the big chimney turned upside down. But that makes the coals much further away from the lighter flame.
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Jim, I'm not too terribly far up the road from the Texas State campus, so maybe I'll go down and apply for a study grant (although A&M might be a more appropriate institution of higher learning for a study of this magnitude). This is, after all, a burning question. :)

It seems to me that Weber raised the grate and pointed it up so that you had room to stuff a wad of newspaper in the space below. Since I'm lighting this on a Performer gas assist, the flame is farther away than a flaming local pennysaver would be. And you are correct -- it is a better tool for lighting smaller numbers of briquettes. Until Constable Weber comes along and forces me to flip the grate back to its original intended position, I'll continue to operate outside the law.

Jeff
 
I normally use my Performer with gas lighter. However, many times I will be using my other performer without a gas starter. Then, a single Weber cube fire starter on top of an empty tuna can (puts the fire up into the chimney) does a fine job.

I admit the Rutland Fire Squares are interesting in that the price is about 10 cents a block compared to 20 cents each for a Weber cube.

FWIW
Dale53
 
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