Newb chimney question..

[EricD]

What do you guys use to start your charcoal.   I've been using a chimney stuffed with a couple pages of newspaper.  It works well, but.....I get a ton of smoke pouring out of it.  I assume it's the newspaper.  It's not that bad, I'm just wondering if you guys have another method that works well.
Thanks, Eric

[Jeep]

Weber starter cubes... $3-4 bucks for a 24 pack.  Pop it under your chimney.

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7417-FireStarters-Lighter-Cubes/dp/B001AN7RGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432056361&sr=8-1&keywords=weber+cubes

Easy as PI.

-Jeep

[addicted-to-smoke]

I like the Weber 7417 starter cubes too. Directions say to use two but many times you only need one. Available lots of places, and leaves pretty much nothing behind afterwards. They stay lit long enough to get the job done. Don't confuse them with crayons or candle wax, which only melt.

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7417-FireStarters-Lighter-Cubes/dp/B001AN7RGG

Some other (gas) options for using with your chimney:
Weber Performer
a gas grill's side burner
a turkey fryer's base unit (in other words a standalone, larger burner ...)
a weed burner/LP tank with the chimney propped up on cinder blocks

You'll see these pictured here if you run a search.

[pbe gummi bear]

I have good results with the weber firestarter wax cubes. My only gripe about them is that the packaging is cheesy. They are in a thermoformed tray with a foil backing that you pop the cube out off. The foil is super flimsy and breaks apart after minor handling. I usually cut the tray into 4 3x2 packs and place them into a ziploc to make handling them easier/cleaner.

[MINIgrillin]

Pubic cubes.

[Troy]

I make my own starters with dryer lint, empty egg cartons, and paraffin wax.

If i'm all out I'll use a paper towel with a bit of canola oil.

Newspaper makes smoke and leaves weird floaty ash.

The smoke may be coming from the charcoal too... Kingsford makes lots of nasty white smoke while its starting to ignite.

[Josh G]

I never need more than one cube.  I hate using the newspaper.  Apparently Doritos work well but no one on here has any to spare.

[pbe gummi bear]

If i'm all out I'll use a paper towel with a bit of canola oil.

This works very well at the slight drawback of oil drippings being a little messier. One of these days I'll get our of those food service squirt bottles to use strictly for supplying the oil to the paper towel.

[heart of coal]

i like newspaper.  it's free for the most part.  i spray a streak of oil on it as a "candle".  the smoke doesnt bother me.  it's like an announcement to the neighbors to get their noses ready for some good smells.

[WNC]

I used to just use the charcoal bag as I went, but I've been using coshell and the bag seems less like natural paper so I've switched to three crumpled up paper towels drizzled with oil, works great.

I'm with others on the weird ash newspaper leaves, so I don't use that anymore.

Also, thinking about using Troy's method of the homemade firestarter

[Jason]

I have used the brown paper grocery bags with great success. I tear them in half, then tear three equal pieces out of that, crumple them up and stuff under the chimney. I have never needed any oil to git er done. I only use HALF of a bag per chimney, so get two starts out of one bag. "Slightly" less ash chaos, compared to newspaper!

Now I pretty much only use the gas assist on my Performer...

[EricD]

Thank you all. I think Im gonna get some Weber Firestarter cubes and work on Troy's homemade ones too.
@Troy, Do you have a pic or 'recipe'? how much do you fill the egg carton?

[toolhead]

Used to use newspaper...same issues..lots of smoke..nownuse gas assist...no mess and another toy to play with.

If i didnt have gas assist..being cheap..would go back to any paper lying around including newspaper or charcoal bags

[blksabbath]

Two pieces of newspaper. Not one nor three.  Avoid the colors, stay black and white.  One other little thing, only do half the chimney then top up...that worked for me.

Now its all gas assist on my performer and i love it.

[mrbill]

when using the performer, I take advantage of the gas assist and use that to start the chimney. when not using the performer, 1 weber cube under the chimney does the trick unless the wind is blowing too much. when there is too much wind for just the cube- I give the coals a very short squirt of lighter fluid over the coals(in the chimney). by very short I mean super quick squeeze on the bottle(just enough for a mist to hit the coals). let it soak in for about 2minutes and then fire up a cube underneath. once the chimney is going, let the fire go until there is no more petroleum smell to the fire and the coals are not producing any discernible smoke. once that happens, empty the chimney and carry on.