Masters of the Trade, I had some very good results from my first attempts to get back into Char grilling. The only thing is that I seem to do something wrong to light the charcoal. I suppose the firefighters I use might be the problem, but I used the old way of using kitchen paper in between the coals. The lighters go out before the flames establish burning, with all vents etc open. Any tips here please?
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I use the firestart cubes from Walmart with a charcoal chimney and works like a charm. Others use the side burner of a gas grill with a chimney to get charcoal going. -
Dryer lent in a paper egg crate the pour paraffin wax over it. Cut each cell out and the are good starters. Honestly I use them to light the fireplace, and just use a chimney with waded up charcoal bag under it to light it.Comment
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500k BTU weed burner!Comment
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Old firelighters possibly or could be kitchen paper placement is restricting air flow especially if briquettes are tightly packed already.
* I suppose the firefighters I use might be the problem *
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​​​​​​​PS. Not advisable to use firefighters to get things going their practice is putting them out. CaptainMike will confirm this.Comment
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Crumpled up newspaper under a chimney. 3 or 4 sheets does the trick.Comment
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Dear all, thank you for replies and good tips. I am maybe old fashioned and favor, as Draznni, the newspaper. It does get little messy form time to time. Thanks again, I sure will come up with a good solution for me.,Comment
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I guess I'll be the non-purist here
I use a chimney, place a piece of a brown paper bag on the bottom, set approximately 12 briquets on the bottom and give them a squirt of lighter fluid, then fill to the top with dry briquets. Usually starts well and I've never noticed a lighter fluid taste on the food
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You are using a chimney right? I keep the paper towels I wipe up grease with in a gallon ziploc in the outdoor fridge. They light up like madComment
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Zip fire cubes and lighter fluid here.
Then the burn unit....Comment
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I use lump in a ceramic grill (Primo XL) and a cheap kettle (less often). For the Primo I just use a propane torch and then a hand cranked blower to get it going fast, or if I really want to get a big fire even faster the $10 harbor freight heat gun set to high works. Not only will the heat gun start a charcoal fire, but it forces air on the fire as well, getting it going FAST.
With bricks I use the chimney and the heat gun. Hold the chimney up, heat gun goes under it, and then there is a hot fire soon enough. Newspaper also works, but who still gets the paper delivered? Its all gone digital here. Junk mail is abundant, but most of it is glossy print and I am not sure that should be used? It burns, but what is in the ink? On the other hand does it matter, because fire and all.
Sounds like you are using the older method of making a charcoal pile then lighting that. It works, but get a chimney. It works better. And faster. You do not really need firestarters. You can use them of course, but really they are not needed. The advantage to the chimney is that the charcoal is contained in a cylinder and the fire is started from the very bottom. The thing is designed for maximum airflow and the fire burns straight up. No coal is left unburnt. No fluids, no burn units, no "hold my beer and watch this" inscribed on gravestones. Kind of takes the fun out of starting the fire, but it is a better method.
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I have used cotton balls soaked in wax, oh no, that was camping.
I just press a button to light my Traeger. starts right up. I guess that is no help. 😁Comment
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I think I just discovered your problem. " I suppose the firefighters I use might be the problem" Most of us you some kind of " fire-lighters". If you are using firefighters, well you're just defeating yourself.
glad to be of service.
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