Oh, so that's what the problem was

SaltySam

Last night I went through my standard process of stirring the leftover lump, topping it off with fresh lump, and then wiggling the electric starter into the pile.  I plugged everything in, set the timer to 7 minutes, and headed inside to start prepping the steak.  When my timer went off, I went outside and immediately noticed that the coals weren't hot.  I checked to make sure I had everything plugged in properly, and then went into the garage to check the GFI, since the outlet on the back of the house is part of that whole circuit.  Sure enough, it had tripped.  I unplugged the sprinkler system, re-set the switch and went back out to check the starter.  Again, it wasn't heating up.  Back to the garage, and it had tripped again.  I couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong.  Finally, I just gave up on the starter and pulled it out of the lump.  This is what I found. 

99% of the time, I've kept the starter inside a dry bin, out of the elements.  One time I left it out in the rain (unplugged, at least) and apparently that was enough to make the heating element rusty/brittle.  By jamming it into the charcoal over, I snapped it.  No wonder it wouldn't work. Thank God for GFI, huh? 

Skiddymarker

Now that is what I call a cattle prod. GFI did what it is supposed to. I use an electric as well, will be a little gentler on ramming it into the lump. 

khristyjeff

I broke mine the same way and I had never left it in the rain. 

Charlesmaneri

I have one also never broke it thou but now I use either my Looftlighter or my Mapp gas torch both work well I found the regular electric lighter to be a pain in the ass the cord is so short that I always needed a extension cord and it took between 7 to 10 mins with the others it's almost instant fire 

six_egg

Looftlighter here too and Love it.

SaltySam

The Looftlighter is pretty sweet, but it's a bit on the pricey side for me.  I actually ended up using a rolled up paper towel dipped in vegetable oil.  The coals were hot within minutes.  Dirt cheap and effective. 

nolaegghead

nuffin' a little duct tape can't fix....

JohnInCarolina

six_egg said:

Looftlighter here too and Love it.

I may be in the market for one after watching this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow7Lm6_bCf0