lighting charcoal brickets.

[canned o minimum]

Good thin g is..I'm NOT an idiot..a little cautious maybe, but not off my rocker. So it's carbon MONOxide and yes it IS dangerous.

Jus please be careful peeps !!

[doitright]

. So it's carbon MONOxide and yes it IS dangerous.

Jus please be careful peeps !!

That is true CO is carbon monoxide, also called carbonous oxide. It is one carbon atom and one oxygen atom. It is deadly, colorless, odorless,and tasteless gas. JUST EASY TO PUT (CO). Yes people know carbon monoxide and may not understand (co).
doitright

[john warren]

yup a wad of paper in the bottom of that chimney thing and it works great.
if you a cheapo like me you can use a large coffee can with top and bottom cut out. or a salvaged hunk of stovepipe, or a tin ollive oil can from restraunts.
sort of fun to pull out something like that and have a dandy fire going in just a few minutes time

[bobhenry]

For a couple of years I used a tomatoe juice can with a smaller can dropped inside to raise the coal bed. I think the little squatty can was a beef stew can but I know a la choy chow mein can fits nice.

Got out a can piercer and went crazy around the bottom side of the juice can then pierced holes around the bottom side and the top outer edge of the little squatty can.

I simply dropped the paper in first and loaded the charcoal and lit a small tail of the paper it made a great little chimney !

[bobhenry]

For a couple of years I used a tomatoe juice can with a smaller can dropped inside to raise the coal bed. I think the little squatty can was a beef stew can but I know a la choy chow mein can fits nice.

Got out a can piercer and went crazy around the bottom side of the juice can then pierced holes around the bottom side and the top outer edge of the little squatty can.

I simply dropped the paper in first and loaded the charcoal and lit a small tail of the paper it made a great little chimney !

UPDATE WITH PICS











takes about 4 minutes start to finish to make one. All you need is a can opener , a can piercer , and a pair if tin snips.

To start your charcoal just drop in the paper then the little can as a stand off then your briquetts. This one holds eighteen

Now just light the paper thru a hole at the bottom of the tomato juice can and stand by.

I found the brooks chili bean can also fits. I got clever and cut top and bottom out of the this one and used it as an extention to the top to add additional briquetts to the now taller chimney.

[CAJUN LADY]

I don't know if it's just my imagination or not but I do notice a difference in the coals when we use charcoal starter instead of starting them in the chimney. The coals seem to burn hotter with the starter and more smoke comes out when cooking. I didn't notice it the first time but definately when I cooked a steak it didn't seem to smoke very much and it took a little longer. The charcoal isn't old so that is not a factor.

Hmmm...

[dratkinson]

For a couple of years I used a tomatoe juice can with a smaller can dropped inside to raise the coal bed. I think the little squatty can was a beef stew can but I know a la choy chow mein can fits nice.

Got out a can piercer and went crazy around the bottom side of the juice can then pierced holes around the bottom side and the top outer edge of the little squatty can.

I simply dropped the paper in first and loaded the charcoal and lit a small tail of the paper it made a great little chimney !

UPDATE WITH PICS
...



...

Your's sounds like a good idea to save some money by not needing to buy a chimney charcoal starter.

I understand the larger can's air holes (and solid bottom) are on the bottom for air vents.

But after that, I become confused.

My confusion is:

Charcoal.

Do you put the charcoal in the little can on top, or is it placed on top of the paper in the bottom can?

From raise the coal bed I think you are putting the charcoal in the little can on top.

From your picture (above), the top can's open bottom is downward, so I think the charcoal is placed on top of the paper.

Top can.

Is the little can on top used to create a chimney, or does it hold the charcoal?

Is the little can's closed end (with holes) on top or on the bottom?



Sorry to be so dense.

[Mikka]

That's what I use...
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page ... 44822&ap=1

[mikeschn]

Why doesn't anyone use charcoal lighter any more?

It does burn off after the first few minutes ya know, and then it's as clean as if you had used newspaper or similar method...



Mike...

[caseydog]

Why doesn't anyone use charcoal lighter any more?

It does burn off after the first few minutes ya know, and then it's as clean as if you had used newspaper or similar method...



Mike...

I sometimes use it in my chimney starter, but instead of soaking all the charcoal, I just soak a few briquettes, and put them at the bottom of the pile.

Honestly, the fluid does burn off, but I only use lighter fluid is it is all I can find. I find that a parafin cube under a chimney starter is flat out the best method that I have found to get a good pile of charcoal evenly lit in a reasonable amount of time.

Charcoal starter fluid works, but in my experience, the chimney starter and a parafin cube just works best.

CD

[campmaster-k]

I dont use lighter fluid any more because sometimes I spill it in the living room and the carpet and couch catch fire. Even when Im real careful it leaves a big black soot ring on the ceiling.

Having a BBQ in the kitchen is like have a bon fire in the study. It does not matter what you are burning. Putting a BBQ in your van or tent is like putting a hose from your exhaust pipe.

[Dusty82]

I don't use lighter fluid because I'm Scottish (cheap.) It's just one more thing to buy. I get newspapers (the local classified paper, at least) for free, so I use those in my chimney.

[chartle]

If you put a little cooking oil on the newspaper it burns better and longer.

[Thawley]

That's what I use...

Harbor Freight has them too. Got mine for $20 on sale. It's loud, dangerous and hot. But when I want hot coals NOW, it's the way to go.

A $3.00 garage sale hair drier is also handy with the charcoal chimney. Once the coals are good and started, some forced air from below really heats them up in a hurry.

(A pair of Harbor Freight welding gloves can help keep the blistering down using this technique.)

[john warren]

We don't use a chimney from the store. We use a coffee (large) can like this:


I usually like to put a loop of wire to act like a handle. When the briquets get up to speed, I pull the chimney off using a stick or something mostly fireproof. When the can wears out, we recycle it and start with another. If it gets lost while we're camping, I make another. They're cheap and work like the 'real' ones from the store.

thats the ticket, works just as good as the storebought and its free with every can of coffy purchased. i use a churchkey to make a half dozen holes around the edge before i cut the bottom out.

but u have recently discovered meijers matchlight and am sold, one less thing to carry around can't be bad.