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electric starter or chimney starter?

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Mark
Mark Posts: 295
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
ive been reading reviews of both and i dont see any reason one is better than the other. basically they both take around 15 minutes to get the charcoal burning nice and good.[p]i do like the idea of just lighting a couple pages of newspaper and letting the chimney do the rest. i guess you save on electricity? thats the only plus i see for the chimney though its a minor one i guess.
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  • Mark
    Mark Posts: 295
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    oh by the way if i decide to get the chimney does it make sense to use on a mini egg?
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  • egger ave
    egger ave Posts: 721
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    mark,
    The electric starter is $30.00 and works until you break the heating element which is easier than you think. The charcoal chimmney works so do the starters. I have been a propane torch.
    1 Large BGE, 1 Mini BGE, 1 Minimax BGE, Original wife and 3 dogs living in the heart of BBQ country in Round Rock Texas. 

    "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

    Albert Einstein
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  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
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    mark,
    I use an electric starter. Not the bge. I like the electric because I can start a small area of lump for long slow and low. I submerge the starter into the lump rather than drop the burning coal on top or try to stack on it after it's lit. I've never had a fire go out and they always burn extremely even, making accurate temps simple to maintain, not to mention how easy it is to stage when the chunks of wood will light during the cook. I've tried chimneys, I've got a torch, but for ME, I use the electric. HTH.
    Big'un
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    mark,
    Try this before buying either. I got it off this board a couple weeks ago and it works great. Take 2 paper towels with a little vegetable oil on them and stuff down into the lump, near the center, but a few inches apart. Light the paper, push some lump up to the burning towels and go in and get a beer. By the time you come back out to check, you will have a lit egg.
    Al
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    mark,[p]In my experience electric starters die within a year. I've given up on them after having two disintegrate in less than twelve months each. I'm using Duraflame Quickstart wedges. I break a little bit off and it starts lump charcoal just fine.
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