Another Lump Starter Question

I am not sure on the torch question but I use vegetable oil and a paper towel as a started. If you search for oil, paper towel you will find a post by Stike, here is the link I found and it works like a champ

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http://www.greeneggers.net/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=281016&catid=1#281016

Lazydog

That is correct that some torches will not work inverted. I have a propane torch that cuts off if I invert it.

I use a weed burner. It costs $20 and runs on a tank of propane like a gas grill would use. One tankful last you long time.

It lights the lump very effectively and evenly and quickly. Either method works, I just like toys.

MAPP gas burns considerably hotter than propane. You will need a torch head rated for MAPP gas to use it, but these torches will work with popane. Don't use a propane torhc with MAPP.

I use MAPP gas to start both BGE and campfires.

I have 2 small children too, and they have received a no-nonsense block of instruction regarding the cooking equipment.

Like anything else capable of shooting out 300,000BTU blue flames - heck yea it's dangerous, but properly managed there should be no worries. My kinds know not to touch it and they stay away when I am lighting the eggs. Sparks can be a concern, especially with some brands of lump - so gloves and eye protection aren't a bad idea.

They make a self-igniting model for another $5 I believe. I would have bought that model but I figure those things always give out over time anyway.

Michael Morton,
I'm sure you have quite a few responses on the new forum. New Forum . As far as posting pictures see link below.
[ul][li]A good Ceramic cooking site.[/ul]

that weed burner will light the egg better than a mapp torch without even pulling the trigger. and it allows you to stand back from the egg for safety. not saying you wont pull the trigger though, take the dome gage out first, it can ruin the calibration on some gages.

I use a weed burner on all my cookers, I don't get quite as western as Fidel, but they are the way to go in my book.

I have a couple of new videos on my site, one shows a weed burner in action starting lump. Others show peppers roasted with one. Here is the direct link to that page.

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/video-page.html

I use a MAPP torch for all of my low-n-slow cooks (and most anything under 350 degrees) since it is easy to light two or three spots and easily adjust the dampers as it comes up to temp.

Everything else I use the big weed burner like Fidel has. That sucker is a fast way to grilling temps or even nuclear where you want all the coals glowing.

I have several eggs and cook at least 3 or 4 days a week. It took me over 9 months to empty the first bottle. That was before I purchased the weed burner (from Harbor Fright) and was used to light all of my cooks. It was even passed around a bit at the last Octoberfest and can be seen in the video being demonstrated by Chubby.

Michael Morton,
MAPP gas is liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) mixed with methylacetylene-propadiene. MAPP is the tradename for a product of the Dow Chemical Company. In Australia it is known as RazorGas and is a trademark of ELGAS.[p]The gas is used for welding due to its high combustion temperature of 2927 °C (5301 °F)[citation needed] in oxygen. Although acetylene has a higher welding temperature (3160 °C, 5720 °F)[citation needed], MAPP has the advantage that it requires neither dilution nor special container fillers during transport, allowing a greater volume of welding gas to be transported at the same given weight. Also, MAPP is advantageously used in underwater welding, which requires high gas pressures (under such pressures acetylene transforms explosively to benzene, making it dangerous to use).[p]The gas is also used for brazing and soldering, under combustion in ambient air, where it has considerable advantage over competing propane fuel due to its higher combustion temperature. A typical MAPP gas brazing operation would involve using it to silver braze (sometimes colloquially and inaccurately called silver solder) steel parts together.[p]Plumbers use both MAPP gas and propane for pipe soldering and brazing, but MAPP gas's higher combustion temperature makes such jobs quicker. MAPP gas is also popular among glass lampworkers, for instance glass bead makers.[p]The biggest disadvantage of MAPP gas is cost; it is between two and four times as expensive as propane (depending on quantity, supplier, and bottle size). While nine kilogram propane cylinders are common, the largest MAPP cylinder available in Australia is three kilograms. Additionally, MAPP gas torches often cost more than propane torches, around 3 times as much.[p]MAPP is colorless in both liquid and gas form. The gas has a pronounced garlic or fishy odor at concentrations above 100 ppm and is toxic if inhaled at high concentrations