lighting fire

modirtfan

best way to start green egg ?

modirtfan

whats  best way to start grill

 

ChokeOnSmoke

10 people will give you 10 different answers and none of them will be wrong.

I've tried quite a few methods and so far found the electric starter to be the best/cheapest/easiest.

rfc64

home depot has an electric starter for 12 dollars, it is strait but you can plug it in and when it gets hot bend it over a peace of pipe to get the right angle.

banzaitoyota

Weed burner torch with MAPP gas is my choice

burr_baby33

The wax starters work fine.  A mapp torch with flame on the lump works fine.  Believe it or not rubbing alcolol poured on some of the lump works fine, but be careful of flare up.  I've used all these with no problem at all.  Just keep the vents open like Tweeve said and you are good to go.

stike

-wax starters: what's good> they're somewhat easy  what's bad> they go out easily; bad smoke-bad flavor if cooking too soon (or they go out prematurely); sometimes seasonal availability
-mapp: good>handy/cheap  bad> stand around aiming in multi-spots for couple minutes
-napkin/oil: good>handy/cheap/fast-fire/always on hand  bad>need to make them yourself, possible mess
-weedburner: good>fast, quick to temp, looks all 'tuff-guy'  bad>need storage area
-electric starter: good>predictable, cheap  bad>can forget it and leave in the egg only once; can go on the fritz; need electrical outlet
-95% isopropyl alcohol: good>fairly cheap bad> need to futz with syringe, fill it yourself; possible mess
-gel starter: good> squirt and light, nothing more than alcohol in gel form bad> seasonal
-crumpled newspaper : good> can go under the grate, too; semi-fast; can be vastly improved with mist of oil bad> lots of ash (unless misted with oil); dense charcoal can require many (4+) sheets

all of them work, all of them have benefits, none is the best

FWIW one damage the egg or cause the firebox to crack. it's  been said alcohol would cause the firebox to crack.  um, in a word:  'no'

fishlessman

store the weed burner
)

stike

i have one in the cabinet next to the egg.  still use paper-napkin-with-oil about 75% of the time. 6 of one, half dozen of the other.

fishlessman

at home i leave the weedburner out. at camp ive been leaving the oil out but i dont think that will work with winter coming. no more carrying an oil soaked napkin thru the house

stike

do you get so drunk you need to write stuff on the oil bottle?

fishlessman

it would get tossed at the camp if it werent marked. that oil went rancid for some reason, smells like putty. you probably use the expensive stuff, extra extra extra evoo

Squeezy

LOL !

burr_baby33

gotta be the most entertaining post of the day

fishlessman

stike...i do have a bucket that says leaks on it, just dont try and take one in the bucket, theres a surprise that follows
)

Shiff

There was one post that said that with alcohol you have to fuss with a syringe.  I don't use a syringe when I start with alcohol,

I start my charcoal using 91% alcohol purchased at Walmart. I use a pencil to poke a tiny hole in the seal and then  squirt a little alcohol in 4 places in a circle about 4 inches in from the outside rim of the charcoal. Then a little squirt in the center.  Wait a few seconds then toss in a match.

Alcohol burns clean and quickly starts the charcoal. It is very safe as long as you stand back a little when dropping in the match.  The warmer the day, the more  it evaporates before lighting and can cause a flash.  In the winter, it doesn't evaporate and I actually have to hold the match at the squirt points.

stike

shiff.  glad to hear it.

the originator (or the guy who posted most about it originally) seemed a little OCD about his method.  a youtube video showing how to light with alcohol was something like 8 or 9 minutes long, involving syringes, graduated cylinders, discussions about atmospheric pressure, ambient temps, angle of the sun's rays, and isolating the system from RF and microwave interference.  made it seem the most complicated thing.  i had a feeling you could squirt and light.  glad it's true.

fwiw, i'm a napkin and oil guy. i always have napkins or paper towel, and always have oil nearby when cooking.

but as i tried to say, they all work. there're just plusses and minuses for each method

bigdtd

wax and paper starters

paulheels

"fwiw, i'm a napkin and oil guy. i always have napkins or paper towel, and always have oil nearby when cooking."

Me too. Its easy and both are always available.

Trailblazer1229

I go with the chimney starter. Seems to work well in my windy location.  I have tried them all and if the little holes on the bottom of the grate are clogged with ash, nothing seems to work.  Give the left over charcoal a good swirl to knock the loose ash to the bottom.

paulheels

I always swirl my ah before lighting. Good tip trailblazer

ribmaster

I use a chimney when direct grilling(more coals burning). I used an electric until it burned up. I keep starter chunks on hand and have used one. it work faster than I thought it would.

pappachris

Looftlighter, only way to go!

http://www.amazon.com/Looftlighter-70018-Fire-Lighting-Tool/dp/B000WYY65Y

TRPIV

Just to add one more redundant reply to the mix...

For over a year, I used to use a mapp gas torch. One morning (at 4am) I went to light the egg and didn't want to wake up the entire house/neighbors with the torch, so I went with the paper towel with olive oil on it. I could have used cheap oil, but it was.. 4am.

I put that sucker in the middle of the lump, lit it and went about doing some other stuff. I came back and the coals were going. I've never used the torch to light the egg sense. I have used this method when lighting royal oak and similar lump.  There are some brands which are supposedly harder to light, but I've yet to find them.

Best of luck,
T

TRPIV

shiff.  glad to hear it.

the originator (or the guy who posted most about it originally) seemed a little OCD about his method.  a youtube video showing how to light with alcohol was something like 8 or 9 minutes long, involving syringes, graduated cylinders, discussions about atmospheric pressure, ambient temps, angle of the sun's rays, and isolating the system from RF and microwave interference.  made it seem the most complicated thing.  i had a feeling you could squirt and light.  glad it's true.

fwiw, i'm a napkin and oil guy. i always have napkins or paper towel, and always have oil nearby when cooking.

but as i tried to say, they all work. there're just plusses and minuses for each method

LOL - that's awesome. I need to find that video, if for nothing else but for a good laugh.

TRPIV

LOL. That is awesome.

Amazong how far we've come from simply lighting a fire in a cave 'eh?

T

Squeezy

Love the gold egg ... there are so many well intentioned morons out there...

Has anyone seen the guy that makes BBQ ribs by rolling them up and putting them in a crockpot?

Only after that, they go on a grill with some BBQ sauce ....

:-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVg1t3K27eQ

Bama J

Academy Sports $9.99