BBQ Dragon Fire Supercharger - Has anyone tried one of these?

KermitTheEgg

I am a newer Egghead, and am still having trouble starting the egg.  I honestly have the best luck with using paper towels soaked in Vegetable oil.  I have also tried several different types of firestarters, but nothing really seems to have taken off the way I would like for them to.  I noticed the BBQ Dragon Fire Supercharger on Amazon.  Has anyone tried one of these before?  I actually went and purchased a cheap hairdryer from Walmart, but I really don't want to sit over the egg the whole time with the hairdryer. 

http://www.amazon.com/BBQ-Dragon-Supercharger-Summer-Seller/dp/B00FPZY92A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448991472&sr=8-1&keywords=BBQ+Dragon

Thanks,

Q

slovelad

Just go to home depot or lowes and by a hand torch. I use propane, some use map. Propane is much cheaper, only about 2 dollars for refills.

RRP

I looked at the Dragon but decided against it for safety sake. It is designed to clamp on and be turned on. I did not like the chance I could walk away while it was blasting away as sparks fly causing a chance for fire while unattended. Instead I bought one of these much cheaper FiAir blowers. It has sufficient air flow without blasting. It is a deadman switch so if I'm not there it's not blowing!

matt121966

I do just fine with news papers balled up and shoved under the charcoal grate. If I have some old coals up top, I stir a little bit knocking down small pieces and increasing air flow. I lite it and walk away - make a little drink sometimes.

Dondgc

@KermitTheEgg - your current method is pretty popular.  A hair dryer will really get the hot hair flowing when inserted in the bottom vent.  I wouldn't try using one as the primary ignition source though...

allsid

Lighting the egg becomes a matter of personal preference. I use a $10 electric immersion starter and it works fantastic.

I own a BBQ dragon and it is great. The dragon will take a few poorly lit coals and make them go crazy in no time flat.

 Where it really excels is when you need a little extra horsepower for the third of 4th pizza or when you are looking to do your second or third round of cooking at a party on some coals which have been going most of the day. Also crummy or wet lump with the dragon set on a low setting makes a challenging cook much easier. 

The clamp and flexible positioning make it easy to run handsfree. 

For the price, its a good buy if it it fits your needs.

Toxarch

I just leave the lid open and the bottom vent wide open. It gets hot in time for my cook.
The digital controllers just use a 5 cfm fan for a large egg. Just get one of those and point it at the bottom vent and I think it would speed up the coals.

pgprescott

I just brought one home to put through the paces. I haven't used it yet. I think @paqman is an avid user. I did demo them in Nashville at the HBPA show. I was impressed. you can either set them up to blow in the lower vent or from the top. Also can use to start fires in a fire pit. The fan is infinitely variable I believe, therefore you can sail it down pretty darn low if you want. If you are in a hurry raising a family, I would think this is a good possible choice. There are other ways tof. 

stlcharcoal

I have a BBQ Dragon.  Thing works great.  With my weed burner, it takes about 1 minute for every 100F (i.e. 700F in 7 minutes.)

The best part is the adjustable fan speed.  So if you have a bunch of ash or don't need a rip roaring fire, you can just set it to the minimum.  I bought two dozen of them, but they're hard to move since Amazon has them at $40 shipped.

The only thing I thought was a little deceptive was the "rechargeable" aspect.  It doesn't come with rechargeable batteries nor a charger.  All it has is a charging port (USB micro) that feeds to the battery.  So if you have four AA batteries and a charger for something else, you can make this "rechargeable".  Otherwise AA alkalines work just fine.  I've had mine since June, and I've replaced the batteries once (and that's because I left it by accident.)

SmokininCT

I have one as well and like for those times that you need to get get things going quickly. Yesterday, I received an e-mail with promo code "cybq9" for $20 off. Not sure if that helps you at all.

paqman

I like it a lot.  It allows me to start cooking on the egg within 10 minutes.  It is a lifesaver on work day evenings.  At 40$,  I would not hesitate for once second; I paid a lot more than that in Canuckistan.

I had a problem with the charger port (micro USB) on the first one I received.  I sent an email to their support and received a reply within a few minutes. They replaced the defective unit no questions asked (including shipping).  The battery cover is flimsy but the rest of the unit is well built.

Without it, I would not be cooking on weeknights.

Skiddymarker

Son has one and likes it, he uses it for lump in his kettles. matt121966 said:

I do just fine with news papers balled up and shoved under the charcoal grate. If I have some old coals up top, I stir a little bit knocking down small pieces and increasing air flow. I lite it and walk away - make a little drink sometimes.

@matt121966 - the best way to light an egg is from the top, towards the front. The fire will follow the air down thru the lump. Better control and better even burn. The egg is not a big charcoal chimney. To avoid sparking with any lump, keep some second burn stuff around, toss it on top of the new lump and hit it with a torch/electric whatever. Using the dragon will bring it life much faster. 

stlcharcoal

I got roped into cooking last minute a park pavilion with the in-laws.  Those things are hard to get a good fire going on since there's no bottom grate, just charcoal sitting on cold metal which acts as a huge heat sink.

No chimney starter, torch, paper, cube, etc.  I had a demo Dragon in the back of the truck.  I put a couple pieces of kraft paper from the charcoal bag on the bottom, made a big pile of Lay's potato chips in the middle, and built a charcoal pyramid around it.  I lit the paper and turned the fan on low.  Once the chips lit off, I turned it up to high and had a pretty good fire going in about 15 minutes. 

Everybody thought I was nuts with the chips, but they are an excellent accelerant........plenty of grease and lots of surface area.

onedbguru

If I need to speed up the startup, I just use my leaf blower - much more fun...  and amazing blue flames shooting out the top.

Homebrewguy

Check out the Looftlighter.

Eggcelsior

paqman said:

I like it a lot.  It allows me to start cooking on the egg within 10 minutes.  It is a lifesaver on work day evenings.  At 40$,  I would not hesitate for once second; I paid a lot more than that in Canuckistan.

I had a problem with the charger port (micro USB) on the first one I received.  I sent an email to their support and received a reply within a few minutes. They replaced the defective unit no questions asked (including shipping).  The battery cover is flimsy but the rest of the unit is well built.

Without it, I would not be cooking on weeknights.

Agree on the battery cover. One of the prongs broke on mine so I have to hold it to get it to run. I need to contact CS.

DMW

Eggcelsior said:

paqman said:

I like it a lot.  It allows me to start cooking on the egg within 10 minutes.  It is a lifesaver on work day evenings.  At 40$,  I would not hesitate for once second; I paid a lot more than that in Canuckistan.

I had a problem with the charger port (micro USB) on the first one I received.  I sent an email to their support and received a reply within a few minutes. They replaced the defective unit no questions asked (including shipping).  The battery cover is flimsy but the rest of the unit is well built.

Without it, I would not be cooking on weeknights.

Agree on the battery cover. One of the prongs broke on mine so I have to hold it to get it to run. I need to contact CS.

Or duct tape.

McStew

I can't find the thread on it but he made his YouTube video at my house for the BGE BBQ Dragon how to video nice guy.  I still use it when I'm short on time 

KermitTheEgg

Thank you guys so much for all of the advice.  This forum is so helpful.  I am most likely going to buy myself one.  Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your week.

Egg On!

SmokeyPitt

SmokininCT said:

I have one as well and like for those times that you need to get get things going quickly. Yesterday, I received an e-mail with promo code "cybq9" for $20 off. Not sure if that helps you at all.

@KermitTheEgg don't overlook this code.  They have a holiday special that includes batteries, charger, a box of starters, and a grill brush.  The coupon worked and I got all of that shipped for $40.    Thanks @SmokininCT. 

http://bbqdragon.com/shop/all-in-one-special-package/