I light my chimney(s) using the SSP gas assist. I either leave it there or use a paver. My patio is exposed aggregate and obviously don’t want to harm it. I’ve pondered a torch but the SSP has assist/chimney is quite fast and my grills are spread around the patio.
Btw, lighting a kamado is quite different than a kettle. For the Kamado, I use a mini chimney with very little coal, let that get hot and then dump it in the summit. With all the vents wide-open on the summit, it basically acts like a chimney. With a Kamado, you need to start with a small hot fire, not a big hot fire and slowly let your temperatures build, but that happens fast because the Kamado acts like a chimney with the top vent wide open.
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