Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Charcoal Grilling & BBQ => Topic started by: crazej36 on April 02, 2014, 07:06:25 AM
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What do you guys use for lighting up a chimney ? I have been using the side burner on my gasser but I don't think I'm going to refill the tank again.Guess I'm back to newspaper but I get the confetti all over. The cubes seem a tad expensive per use. Has anyone tried sectioning up a smaller starter log? Did it add any unwanted taste?
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I typically use newspaper, but it is a little messy. If the chiminea happens to be lit I just set the chimney on top, and the charcoal is going in no time!
I know a lot of people skip the chimney altogether and use a weedburner attached to a 20 lb tank.
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I used to use the newspaper method. Now I use my weed burner. Works great!
(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n615/MacEggs/Miscellaneous/IMG_0083.jpg) (http://s1142.photobucket.com/user/MacEggs/media/Miscellaneous/IMG_0083.jpg.html)
cbpeck beat me to it by mere seconds. ;) ;)
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I hate using newspaper due the black confetti thing. I love the parafin cubes, but you are right that they get a little expensive once you do the math. I bought like 5 boxes on clearance last year for under a $1 a piece so at least I'm good for awhile.
My long term plan......I have a crappy Char-something stainless steel gas grill taking up space on my deck that needs to be scrapped. The only thing that hasn't rotted out is the side burner. I'm condsidering a mod to my OTP to replace one of the side tables with that working side burner. Now all I need is some free time and a little ambition ;D
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Over the past winter I used my performer for lighting the chimney. I had a close call using my gasser side burner when a gust of wind knocked the chimney off the burner, so be careful with that. Once I start cooking beyond my backyard again, the lighter cubes will go with me. Being cheap, I have sliced them in half with a razor blade and they work just fine.
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A couple paper towels with a drizzle of cheapo Olive Oil works for me. The paper towels burn up too fast if you don't put some oil on them. And only 1/100th of the amount of ash confetti that newspapers cause.
Or the weber cubes.
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A couple paper towels with a drizzle of cheapo Olive Oil works for me. The paper towels burn up too fast if you don't put some oil on them. And only 1/100th of the amount of ash confetti that newspapers cause.
Or the weber cubes.
Yup +1! You can pick up one of those food service squirters for a dollar to apply oil to the paper towel without much mess too.
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I like to use a paper bag because they burn longer and hotter than paper. I pull the corners down to the bottom and make it into a loose ball. Then just lite a few spots and you should be ready to go in about 10 to 15 minutes.
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I like the little weber cubes myself. I used to use newspaper, even drizzled with some oil. It just got annoying having to keep check it or add another sheet.
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I have used every method I have ever heard or read about, and keep coming back to Weber branded fire starter cubes and a weber branded chimney.
They are $3.29 for 24 of them. Sometimes, if feeling frisky, I cut them in half and use half of one, so my average cost per fire is a little over a dime or so for the cubes.
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I'm partial to the cubes as well. I'm gonna try to cut them in half now.
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As Cuda Dan mentioned, the brown paper bags, like from the grocery store, are much better than newspaper. And it's free! (try not to use the plastic grocery bags)
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Good call on the 1/2 cubes.
If I am using a pair of baskets I prefer to use two mini-chimneys instead of one large chimney 3/4 full. The only down side has been using two starter cubes instead of one.
I will try this tonight!
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When I use half cubes, I often set them atop a piece or two of previously used charcoal to raise them closer to the bottom of the chimney.
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I get these from an amish store that we go to every so often.
$1.85 is not bad IMO.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7214/13586878383_e034ffd3d7_z.jpg)
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usually cubes here, but mainly i use the performer..
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I have used every method I have ever heard or read about, and keep coming back to Weber branded fire starter cubes and a weber branded chimney.
They are $3.29 for 24 of them. Sometimes, if feeling frisky, I cut them in half and use half of one, so my average cost per fire is a little over a dime or so for the cubes.
Every word of this!! ^ ^ ^ ^
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I use the performer exclusively. I was using newspaper or the side burner but clean up sucks. The otp mod with a side burner sounds like a great idea.
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Some great ideas .The weed burner looks cool but I would eventually do something I shouldn't with it. I will give the paper bags and the half cubes a try.Ten cents a light isn't horrible.My problem is I've been getting the sunday paper free for a year now and they have piled up. I hate to spend money to replace something I threw away. My wife says I can use the leftover cooking oil and bacon grease jar . If I can get the grease to soak evenly ,I could create some kind of "drippings torch" that might not produce the confetti. Time for some R&D!
Thanks for all the ideas.
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I use all the methods. Chimney with news paper, with cubes, with performer gas assist, baskets with cubes, with gas assist, basically you name it I do it. I keep going back to my performer gas assist with either a chimney or baskets or my all time fav the chimney and newspaper. I just make sure not use paper that has colored ads or print or the slick paper adds that come in the mail as junk ads or in some of the sunday papers. Slick paper and colored ink paper tends to stay together and create more paper ash to deal with. Also I have found believe it not using more paper is good to as the fire gets hot enough to burn the ash of the paper into a fine ash
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I hate using newspaper due the black confetti thing. I love the parafin cubes, but you are right that they get a little expensive once you do the math. I bought like 5 boxes on clearance last year for under a $1 a piece so at least I'm good for awhile.
My long term plan......I have a crappy Char-something stainless steel gas grill taking up space on my deck that needs to be scrapped. The only thing that hasn't rotted out is the side burner. I'm condsidering a mod to my OTP to replace one of the side tables with that working side burner. Now all I need is some free time and a little ambition ;D
How about some inspiration? ;D
(http://www.jimbloomfield.com/Barbecue/side%20burner/img_0016_std.jpg)
from here: http://www.jimbloomfield.com/Barbecue/side%20burner/index.htm
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I use the lighter cubes. It's just easier and no fuss. (http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/04/03/y8adetu7.jpg)
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I find that there is no muss either.
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Oh, I almost forgot....
When I only need a few briquettes lit, I have been known to use my old Coleman camp-stove to start the coals. It's nice because the width of the burner gets them going better than just a small concentrated weber-cube. Here's a (pretty bad) pic where you can see a chimney sitting on the Coleman stove in the foreground.
(http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Grilled%20Food/Blizzard%20Butts/LightingCoals.jpg) (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Grilled%20Food/Blizzard%20Butts/LightingCoals.jpg.html)
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I use butcher paper since I usually get the big ass rolls for wrapping BBQ.
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Weber cubes. Which reminds me that I need to get more before Saturday.
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I hate using newspaper due the black confetti thing. I love the parafin cubes, but you are right that they get a little expensive once you do the math. I bought like 5 boxes on clearance last year for under a $1 a piece so at least I'm good for awhile.
My long term plan......I have a crappy Char-something stainless steel gas grill taking up space on my deck that needs to be scrapped. The only thing that hasn't rotted out is the side burner. I'm condsidering a mod to my OTP to replace one of the side tables with that working side burner. Now all I need is some free time and a little ambition ;D
How about some inspiration? ;D
(http://www.jimbloomfield.com/Barbecue/side%20burner/img_0016_std.jpg)
from here: http://www.jimbloomfield.com/Barbecue/side%20burner/index.htm
Holy crap! That's very nicely done! The table is somewhat less useful with that burner in it, but dang, that's a pro job at every detail! I'd love to see this done with a SS under the trap door, in place of the charcoal bin. ;D
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+1 on the cubes. Easy and no half burnt paper blowing around the yard.
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usually cubes here, but mainly i use the performer..
How long do you leave the gas on when using your performer? It seems to me that the chimney sitting down in the kettle doesn't get as much oxygen as when I use a cube sitting on a concrete paver. I may be imagining things, but it seems like I have to leave the gas on much longer than the time it takes for a cube to run out and get better results with the cube.
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I love the Weber cubes and haven't found anything more convenient. However, if it gets "pricey", how about the old Girl Scout fire starter method? Save up the dryer lint and ball it up into (12) 2" pieces. Put these into an empty cardboard egg carton and pour some melted paraffin over them, leaving a little bit of the dryer lint sticking up. When the paraffin cools, you will have 12 home-made "cubes". 8)
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I use my Plumbers torch the one with the click start. It gives me a quick easy start, no paper ash, and if Im in a hurry I can juice it up through the side ports in the chimney.
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^^^^That is probably the cleanest way to go.....torch, Coleman stove (neat idea Sax !) gasBq sideburner, cubes are all better than the original paper thing......
My Dad built a chimney out of a 3 pound coffee can that had a flap built across the inside about 1/4 of the way up......don't remember exactly how it worked, just that after the coals were burning all good, he would reach down in with ViseGrips & pull out a wire & they would all dump.......this was a good 10 years before I ever saw a chimney.......done on a red 3-wheeler, too............ 8)
For a long time, I used 198 proof isoprophanol.......burns clean & you're going in 5 minutes..........
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/Veg%20cook%207-10-2011/VegQ7-10-2011001.jpg)
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+1 on cubes. My other alternative is the home made chimney starter mod. I don't have a pic handy but you can see it here.
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/ss-performer-bowl-repurposing/msg57327/#msg57327
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I use the burner for an old turkey fryer or a side burner to light my coals.
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(http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/everclear_poster_motifake.jpg)
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i make my own fire starters, super cheap and I can control how long they burn for (when I make them)
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Troy - you're not talking about a bag of black jelly beans and mouth full of ghost peppers are you? Granted the combo would make for a cheap and highly flammable byproduct, but you wouldn't be able to sit down for a month!
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Troy - you're not talking about a bag of black jelly beans and mouth full of ghost peppers are you? Granted the combo would make for a cheap and highly flammable byproduct, but you wouldn't be able to sit down for a month!
no, much less painful!
egg cartons, dryer lint, old candles are the only supplies :P
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Fwiw, I used a single match light briquette yesterday under my chimney and it worked fine. I had white coals in about 30 minutes. Cost per briquette must just be pennies.
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I used two brown paper lunch bags and it lights up well every time. I stuff them really tight into the bottom and through into where the coals are.
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My Performer's bottle ran out recently and I've been using a local free classifieds under the chimney. Three wads and I'm in business. Almost no ash. Free.
Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle
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How I start my chimney with a paper bag.
1. Put charcoal into chimney.
2. Open the bag.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/2_zpse88c233d.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/2_zpse88c233d.jpg.html)
3. Pull corners down.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/3_zps8b8d416f.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/3_zps8b8d416f.jpg.html)
4. Fold side back over the bottom (inside out) direction.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/4and5_zps05de523d.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/4and5_zps05de523d.jpg.html)
5. Make it into ball shape, but keep loose so it can light easily.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/4and5_zps05de523d.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/4and5_zps05de523d.jpg.html)
6. Insert bottom of bag into the chimney.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/61_zpsa86a09b3.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/61_zpsa86a09b3.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/6_zpsa86a09b3.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/6_zpsa86a09b3.jpg.html)
7. Light at least 4 or 5 the edges of the bag.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/7_zps11c1161b.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/7_zps11c1161b.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/72_zpsc835c14b.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/72_zpsc835c14b.jpg.html)
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/73_zps4048286c.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/73_zps4048286c.jpg.html)
8. Then hold the chimney at an angle to start the bag.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/8_zpsb9bd1ea2.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/8_zpsb9bd1ea2.jpg.html)
9. Then set it down on the grill when light (please don’t burn yourself ).
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/9_zpsf64dbf2a.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/9_zpsf64dbf2a.jpg.html)
10. Set a timer and it should start in 10 to 15 minutes.
(http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Cuda_Dan/chimney%20lighting/10_zps6312e4ab.jpg) (http://s1311.photobucket.com/user/Cuda_Dan/media/chimney%20lighting/10_zps6312e4ab.jpg.html)
Good luck
Dan
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I will give this a try , thanks Cuda Dan. also kudos on the step by step how to , very nice.
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That's a lot of steps. I did laugh at the second picture prior to scrolling down. Does the bag methods leave ashy embers floating around? As a guy that uses greAse to slick my hair, that is a concern.
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Yes you will have ash, but you have to let the bag burn down.
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I'll tell you what doesn't work. Crayons. It was my wife's suggestion, and we have a ton of crayons.
Now that my Performer's up and running I find that a decent stack of charcoal, sans chimney, works OK, too, and there's no fear of freeing loose embers on my plasticized deck surface during the pick-it-up-and-turn-it-over procedure. 1buckie: I like the trap door plan your dad had!
That said, I like the Weber cubes a lot. Not a fan of paper very much. I've used Matchlight pieces under the chimney a few times in desperation.
One thing I wouldn't do, is light with the Performer gas-assist and place the kettle lid on. Well, when I say "I wouldn't do" I mean you shouldn't do. I did that once in damp weather, thinking it would heat up faster, and came back outside to see the kettle lid lifting off of the kettle. It kept popping up!
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Awesome Technique. I will try this weekend.
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... My Dad built a chimney out of a 3 pound coffee can that had a flap built across the inside about 1/4 of the way up......don't remember exactly how it worked, just that after the coals were burning all good, he would reach down in with ViseGrips & pull out a wire & they would all dump ...
I saw something similar at Home Depot yesterday. I forgot the brand, and it's not on their site. The briquet grate is flat (not coned like the Webers) and has a leg that, when setup on a grill, supports the briquet grate inside the can. The briquet grate is hinged.
So, you load newspaper/other fuel into the bottom or start your wax flame, placing briquets into it ONLY while the can is sitting down where it'll be working. When ready, you pick up the can, the leg and briquet grate gives 'way and coals fall out the bottom.
Neat idea, especially for those of us with composite decks that melt from sparks and hot charcoal embers. I played with this thing. Aside from the fact that the briquet grate is flat, so you lose efficiency, it easily and completely can fall out of the can and the whole affair is painted steel. Piece of junk.
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I tried most of the methods everyone posted . The cubes are by far the easiest with no mess. Should have bought them sooner. Cutting them up works great. The gasser is being moved to the shed.
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Up to this point I've been using newspaper, but this thread reminded me of the old boy scout fire starter of cotton balls and vaseline. The idea is dipping 4/5 of of the cotton ball into melted vaseline leaving a little dry top part to light. They burn for almost ten minutes and should accomplish the job.
Does anyone think the vaseline would impart a bad flavor or have some unintended consequence?
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Had much success with a ball of any paper & (empty) vertical TP tube in the top half.
Or half paper towel roller, Whatever is available...
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Metal Mike,
Look at page 3 to see how I use the bag to start my coals. With the paper bag it burns hotter to start the coals faster.