DIY chimney starter

[cafe-con-leche]

So this may not be directly about Weber, but certainly started with Weber. So I already have a Weber Genesis gas grill which had been my main grill, never had charcoal grill as I thought it was too much trouble for a social griller like myself. But my friend has been getting really flavorful results from his Weber kettle, so finally I have decided to get one. But consider I have already spend $600+ on that brand new Genesis just 3 years ago, and my wife has already complained I kept too many stuffs around the house, I can't really justify another $150 for a new grill and chimney without getting bitched at. So my best fail safe idea is to spend as little money as possible, that way if I decided not to keep it, I won't loss much. Lucky, after 2 months of constantly checking on Nextdoor, finally got a free Weber kettle from a neighbor. It's circa 1999, heavy used, but well taken care of (no scratch, no dent, minimal rust), but just a lot of grease built up. Spend few days scraping and scrubbing the bowl, lid, and grate, replaced the rusted sweeper for $15, sand and stain/seal the wooden handles, polish the legs, add a OTG from a donor, this kettle is ready. Since restoring vintage kettle is like a norm thing on this forum, I won't go into details.

But I am still missing a chimney. Since I am trying to minimize my spending, the point is all about saving money, not saving labor (apparently my wife would nag if I buy a new chimney, but she is fine if I spend hours building one that's worth just $15), so I start searching for things around the house that I can build a chimney with. Lucky, we had a party a week ago and there is a mini keg that I haven't throw away, which is perfect size as a chimney starter, spent a lot time try to open the top and bottom lid, after that, the rest are easy, just drill bunch of holes with titanium drill bit and hole saw, there are some sharp edges, but Dremel took care of that. Couldn't find any 6" round cooking grate as the bottom, so went scavenger hunt at Goodwill, and found this pan with some holes (i think it was part of a hummingbird feeder, but it was a loss item at Goodwill, $1). Mount the pen with some spare 12AWG sold copper wire. As for the handle, I have this driftwood I got from the beach 10+yr ago, it was never appreciated as a decoration item on the shelve, so it's time to repurpose it. Bought couple of 6" carriage bolt and nuts/washers for $2.50. Found a steel plate laying around from previous project to be used as heat shield. So here it is........ The chimney of real (poor) men.... 

Will try to see if I can get some friends to have a grill party next week to get this kettle and chimney started.

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[YardBurner]

So this may not be directly about Weber, but certainly started with Weber. So I already have a Weber Genesis gas grill which had been my main grill, never had charcoal grill as I thought it was too much trouble for a social griller like myself. But my friend has been getting really flavorful results from his Weber kettle, so finally I have decided to get one. But consider I have already spend $600+ on that brand new Genesis just 3 years ago, and my wife has already complained I kept too many stuffs around the house, I can't really justify another $150 for a new grill and chimney without getting bitched at. So my best fail safe idea is to spend as little money as possible, that way if I decided not to keep it, I won't loss much. Lucky, after 2 months of constantly checking on Nextdoor, finally got a free Weber kettle from a neighbor. It's circa 1999, heavy used, but well taken care of (no scratch, no dent, minimal rust), but just a lot of grease built up. Spend few days scraping and scrubbing the bowl, lid, and grate, replaced the rusted sweeper for $15, sand and stain/seal the wooden handles, polish the legs, add a OTG from a donor, this kettle is ready. Since restoring vintage kettle is like a norm thing on this forum, I won't go into details.

But I am still missing a chimney. Since I am trying to minimize my spending, the point is all about saving money, not saving labor (apparently my wife would nag if I buy a new chimney, but she is fine if I spend hours building one that's worth just $15), so I start searching for things around the house that I can build a chimney with. Lucky, we had a party a week ago and there is a mini keg that I haven't throw away, which is perfect size as a chimney starter, spent a lot time try to open the top and bottom lid, after that, the rest are easy, just drill bunch of holes with titanium drill bit and hole saw, there are some sharp edges, but Dremel took care of that. Couldn't find any 6" round cooking grate as the bottom, so went scavenger hunt at Goodwill, and found this pan with some holes (i think it was part of a hummingbird feeder, but it was a loss item at Goodwill, $1). Mount the pen with some spare 12AWG sold copper wire. As for the handle, I have this driftwood I got from the beach 10+yr ago, it was never appreciated as a decoration item on the shelve, so it's time to repurpose it. Bought couple of 6" carriage bolt and nuts/washers for $2.50. Found a steel plate laying around from previous project to be used as heat shield. So here it is........ The chimney of real (poor) men.... 

Will try to see if I can get some friends to have a grill party next week to get this kettle and chimney started.

Wow!  Lovin that chimney

We used to just make em outta #10 cans and a pair of vise grips.  Yours kicks that version to the curb.  I sense a little cottage industry in the making.

$30 a piece on Etsy.
And you get to drain the keg!

Sent from my XT1650 using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[Darko]

That looks awesome.

[JEBIV]

That is frickin cool

[toolhead]

nice diy build man...and its a special edition "heineken logo edition "

[michaelmilitello]

Nice diy project!   Your Genesis might not see too much use in the near future. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TXFlyGuy]

That is pretty cool. We just use the throw and go method...place the charcoal into the desired location, add some lighter fluid, strike a match, and you are there in a few minutes with a hot, ready to grill fire! No, the lighter fluid does not add any off flavors. None. Period.

Years ago we had one of those chimney starter things. Gave it away. Never looked back!

[firedude5015]

That's damned cool!!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J727A using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[captjoe06]

Very cool.  Great conversation piece for shizzy.

[dbhost]

So do tell how well is that working? I'm sort of wondering how suitable aluminum is for a chimney. It looks awesome

[cafe-con-leche]

It worked great! Though the first time firing it up the paint all burnt, had to brush and shake all the burnt flasks away before use the coal. After use, the body still feels pretty solid. I was expecting it may feel weaken or less dense, but no, it is still the same as before.

[XRichard23]

I gotta say that's pretty damn sweet. And it held up after use!


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[james1787]

That is pretty sweet! Nice work!

[dbhost]

Okay, that's awesome!

[Darko]

It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.