Carts Vermont SS Charcoal Starter

[ffej]

So I bought one after that thread was started last week.

First impressions. Build quality is nice. Performance was a complete disappointment so far.

The SS Charcoal Starter holds probably about a dozen less briquette
I filled the SS Charcoal Starter and a Weber chimney starter with the same amount of charcoal
I lit a single Weber lighter cube under each chimney starter on the charcoal grate of my Kettle
After about 15 minutes flames were coming up the top of the Weber.
It took about 35 minutes for flames to start coming out the top of the Carts Vermont SS Charcoal Starter, 40 minutes to really get going

I think I found out why it's on sale? Maybe the lighter cube was a dud? Doubtful. Unless there is a better way to light it. Or maybe drill some holes in the side for more air?






After the initial lighting


About 15 min in


About 20 min in


About 30 min in


And 40 min in

[Cellar2ful]

Nice review ffej. Amazing how simple engineering differences in the design can impact the results.

[kettlebb]

Thanks for the review. I think the Weber chimney is called the rapid fire chimney yes? They got it right.


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[varekai]

@ffej , thank you sir for that review, i do believe you saved mike and I about $40...LOL

[Uncle Al]

Thanks for the review. That was perfect doing them side by side. I agree, holes are needed on the side like the Weber chimney. I added holes to my the sided of my homemade vortex and it definitely made a difference in getting things up to speed quicker. 

[ffej]

Thanks for the review. That was perfect doing them side by side. I agree, holes are needed on the side like the Weber chimney. I added holes to my the sided of my homemade vortex and it definitely made a difference in getting things up to speed quicker.

I was thinking, how do people light the Vortex up when it's full of charcoal?

As this has a flat solid plate on the bottom with a few holes vs the wire mesh of the Weber that's in a cone shape. I'm thinking that may be part of the issue as there isn't enough flame coming up from the lighter cube to the charcoal. Maybe drilling some more holes there or just putting the lighter cube in the chimney may help.

And I will eventually drill 3 holes on each side of this to mimic the Weber and retest. Not sure how soon that will be though.

If I can at least get it close to the Weber in time I won't consider it a total loss.

I did contact the company to see what they had to say.

[mrgoodbar67]

Great review.   

I see it this way....if there really was a "better" shape to use for the the chimney starter, then Weber would've used IT instead of the current one. 

Stay away from the gimmicks, shiny, sparkly stuff.   All that glitter is not gold.

Webers chimney starter has been proven over and over and over again. 

Only thing I see making any other chimney starter better than the Weber is MORE AIR (insert Tim Allen Grunt here)....but that can be done to the Weber chimney stater too.  So I say stop wasting your money.

As attested by many of us, and on a thread here,  the Webers last for yeeeeeeeeeaaaaars!!!

My two cents


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[Speedster]

Go Weber!! Drop the mic


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[kettlebb]

I haven't tried it but I've seen a few chimneys here with the bottom coil taken out and inverted. It allows the charcoal to sit closer to the flame and I think it also increases capacity. Now I have a new chimney from Christmas I'm going to try it on my old one.


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[ffej]

I drilled some holes in it, similiar to how the Weber is. Didn't help a whole lot. I did reuse the charcoal from the last test, not sure how much of an effect that is. But I think I'm giving up on it, don't feel like drilling the bottom out more.

[HoosierKettle]

Nice review and experiment.

This is my weber chimney after 10 years hard use and always left in the elements. I had to bolt the top but it still gets used. I have a couple now. Nice to have a back up.





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