Starting without a chimney


 
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FredM

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Lid open for air flow or closed for max heat when starting charcoal without a chimney?

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Touche George, my nieghbor refuses to use a chimney, and I just shake my head as he pours half a bottle of lighter fluid. Oh well, to each his own
 
Did you use newspaper to light the fire?

I too have started getting away from the chimney and gone to the Weber firestarter cubes. I just light em and let em roll.
 
Originally posted by FredM:
Pretty large item to carry.
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When portability is key, I like to use aluminum foil to shape a chimney. If you double over the pieces, it's plenty strong to make a cylinder that will hold your coals. Just have a pair of tongs and another piece of metal so you can remove the foil when ready.
 
I don't use a chimney. Just a few blasts from a propane torch.

Question though about paraffin. Those starter cubes are fine, but they contain paraffin, also known as lamp oil. I think it's fine to use. In teh past I would keep a piece of charcoal soaking in odorless paraffin in a glass jar and it would make a great fire starter.

Any opinions about scents from paraffin being a bad idea?
 
Originally posted by John Noble:
I don't use a chimney. Just a few blasts from a propane torch.

Question though about paraffin. Those starter cubes are fine, but they contain paraffin, also known as lamp oil. I think it's fine to use. In teh past I would keep a piece of charcoal soaking in odorless paraffin in a glass jar and it would make a great fire starter.

Any opinions about scents from paraffin being a bad idea?
Click to expand...

I'll take your word on the ingredients of the firestarter cubes (i have no idea what they r made of). I always make sure they burn completely before cooking and find they do not leave any flavor.

I like em. They are just too easy and cheap (about $0.15 apeiece)
 
I always use my chimney, and sometimes both (I have two). But I've always wondered about the paraffin cubes. I have only used the Lightning Nuggets Firestarters:

http://www.amazon.com/Lightnin...id=1287111421&sr=8-4

They're about $0.25 each, but it seems the paraffin cubes are cheaper. I'll probably check those out when I run out of the box of firestarters I already have....

Barret
 
You could go old-school with an electric starter.

Any way you do it, sans-chimney, I find that it works best to make a pile of coals in the middle. Get 'em going. Then, spread them out once most of 'em catch.
 
I use a weed burner, sometimes I add two or three of the instant light briquettes that I got free and save a little time and propane.
 
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