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Goodbye fire starters & oil napkins

cazzy
cazzy Posts: 9,136
After my fire starters ran out, I started using oil soiled napkins to light the egg.  I didn't feel like fooling with it anymore so I picked up this lil bad boy:

image

Outside of the expected ember flying around the egg, it was very easy to get the fire started and got up to temp much quicker.  I wonder how long the bottle will last though...
Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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Comments

  • cazzy said:
    After my fire starters ran out, I started using oil soiled napkins to light the egg.  I didn't feel like fooling with it anymore so I picked up this lil bad boy:

    image

    Outside of the expected ember flying around the egg, it was very easy to get the fire started and got up to temp much quicker.  I wonder how long the bottle will last though...

    they last forever. i bet I have 50 starts on mine and it's still going strong. Sometimes I use it to light cubes or oil and napkin so I guess that does not count. They do last a very long time though
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Where did you get it and how much was it
    Life is short,love what you do or do something else
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Agree with CT...they last a long time. I have at least 50 starts as well plus a few camp fire starts.

    Tip: when u strart lighting hold the flame back from the coals a little. As the coals start glowing gradually move a little closer. This seems to help with the pops and flying embers.


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • I don't like to get as close so I use a weed burner.  During the summer, I light the Egg and while waiting for it, I go torch some pesky weeds.  I'm about out of my second cylider since June.  Not bad.
    Flint, Michigan
  • bigphil
    bigphil Posts: 1,390
    I don't like to get as close so I use a weed burner.  During the summer, I light the Egg and while waiting for it, I go torch some pesky weeds.  I'm about out of my second cylider since June.  Not bad.
    +1 i use the benz-o-matic have lit hundreds of fires with a small bottle plus the hose for my weber Q grill fits it so with a 25pound take and the small bottles i have am set for hundreds of fire starts 

    Large Big Green Egg , XL Big Green Egg . BBQ Guru, Weber Kettle, Weber Q grill for road trips.
  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200
    Very cool. I've got one of those on my short list now that I have a mini.

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

  • jlsm
    jlsm Posts: 1,011
    I have one but find oiled paper towels more effective for getting larger areas lit. The sparks can be really nasty; I switched when my husband caught a spark on his lip. If you don't wear glasses, I would recommend safety glasses. 
    *******
    Owner of a large and a beloved mini in Philadelphia
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    The popping lump seems to be somewhat dependent on the brand. All will spark some, but every now and then, a whole lump will shatter. Repeated brief touches w. the flame seems to reduce the popping.

    I use maybe 2 a year. My usual method is lite 3 spots, 45 - 60 seconds total.
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136

    Where did you get it and how much was it

    I picked up from Home Depot for $65. They have cheaper ones that lack the cord but I'd rather not have direct heat over a tank. Lol

    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Lots of good info here. I'll pick up some safety glasses for sure.

    @SmokeyPitt Thanks for the tip...makes a lot of sense!
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • BENTE
    BENTE Posts: 8,337
    +1 on the saftey glasses. i wear my sunglasses even in the dark. i had a friend who got hit with a flying ember in the eye. for two weeks he had to put drops in every thirty min. he had to set a alarm at night to wake up every thirty min to put drops in. made a believer out of me to use saftey glasses.

    happy eggin

    TB

    Anderson S.C.

    "Life is too short to be diplomatic. A man's friends shouldn't mind what he does or says- and those who are not his friends, well, the hell with them. They don't count."

    Tyrus Raymond Cobb

  • agree on the safety glasses. I use ozark oak and it rarely sparks. last night, it went nuts and burned a hole in my shirt. It was going everywhere for 30 seconds then stopped
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    BENTE said:
    +1 on the saftey glasses. i wear my sunglasses even in the dark. i had a friend who got hit with a flying ember in the eye. for two weeks he had to put drops in every thirty min. he had to set a alarm at night to wake up every thirty min to put drops in. made a believer out of me to use saftey glasses.
    Same thing happened to a friend of mine:D

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669

    I only use it for the Mini (would work just fine for the Large) but use the weedburner on the Large.

     

    image
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • probe1957
    probe1957 Posts: 222
    Funny because I went from using a MAP torch for the past 5 years ago to the oil soaked paper towel.
  • DocWonmug
    DocWonmug Posts: 300
    Why is that probe1957? I use the oiled paper towels and they are fine. A little messy....
    LBGE
  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
    I use a Wagner heat gun...no gas needed.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
  • My heat gun died (still under warranty at Harbor Freight though).  Oiled paper towels don't always work for me.  I love the Weber cubes (even better than BGE starter cubes, blasphemy I know).

    Anyone know a place to get what is pictured for a lower cost?

  • brycos
    brycos Posts: 137
    I've started using newspaper in the bottom ash chamber with great results - like a chimney starter.  Is there any reason not to do it this way?
  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,432
    brycos said:
    I've started using newspaper in the bottom ash chamber with great results - like a chimney starter.  Is there any reason not to do it this way?
    Hmm, have to try this next weekend!  
    _____________

    "I mean, I don't just kill guys, I'm notorious for doing in houseplants."  - Maggie, Northern Exposure


  • Ellis
    Ellis Posts: 195
    brycos I have also been usung the newspaper in the ash chamber. 1 1/2  sheets with a little veg. oil on the paper it works great. $65.00 that is a 6 mo. subscription for the local fish wrapper :)
  • JeffM
    JeffM Posts: 103
    I had a torch but found the vegetable and paper towels were just as quick, and easier. newspaper sounds interesting
  • NibbleMeThis
    NibbleMeThis Posts: 2,295
    I've used cubes, paper towels, etc but have preferred MAPpro gas since you could still actually buy real MAPP gas. 

    But just like cooking barbecue, there's no "right way".  If you like cubes, use cubes.  If you like soaked towels, use them.  That's the great thing about grilling and BBQ.  It's all good.
    Knoxville, TN
    Nibble Me This
  • Ellis
    Ellis Posts: 195
    JeffM you need the High Q grate for the newspaper to work, for the XL you can use the fire grate from the 22 in. webber grill.
  • Zick
    Zick Posts: 190
    I have a looftlighter.  Clean and doesn't run out.
    When was the last time you did something for the first time? - Zick Boulder, CO
  • DonWW
    DonWW Posts: 424
    Zick said:
    I have a looftlighter.  Clean and doesn't run out.
    +1.  60 seconds and the first fire is going.  Repeat in other areas of the lumps as needed.  Love it.
    XL and Medium.  Dallas, Texas.
  • I may get the looftlighter at some point but the Weber cubes are pretty cheap and it's so darn easy to put one in the middle of the coal...light it and give it a coal "roof" and it's good to go in a matter of minutes.
  •  @Stargaze, can you explain this "roof" concept a little bit more?  I want my grill up going as fast as possible with the cubes.

    Stargaze said:
    I may get the looftlighter at some point but the Weber cubes are pretty cheap and it's so darn easy to put one in the middle of the coal...light it and give it a coal "roof" and it's good to go in a matter of minutes.

  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    edited October 2012
    I call it the coal teepee (tipi?...you know, the native american cone-shaped structure). 

    I think that is what stargaze is gettin at.  Once you get your starters (or oiled napkins or whatever) lit, bridge a few pieces of lump balancing on one another...like a little campfire.  

    Idea is not to smother the lit fire, but get some lump above it that will burn.  

    FWIW I still do this even with the MAP torch.  I dig a lil hole, get a spot lit, then build a tipi over it. 

    Here is a good video from Fred's
    (about 1 minute in).





    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,830
    The bottles last forever....

    Only real issue is once in a great while little spiders make a home in the nozzle.  Not sure how, but they mess with the ignitor.  Quick spider eviction and clean up and you're ready to go again.   t
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.