lighting charcoal

SkinnyV

If you have an outlet nearby…. My BGE electric starter is going strong 5 + years and counting. 

njl

Paper towel with bacon fat buried in the center as close to the fire grate as I can get.  It works well enough, and is free.

RRP

njl said:

Paper towel with bacon fat buried in the center as close to the fire grate as I can get.  It works well enough, and is free.

LOL - bacon fat is too precious to me to waste that way! I save every drop of bacon fat to use in my chili and to sauté onions.

Eoin

Orsi said:

Thanks everyone for the input.  Guess I need to be a little more patient.  Will try the paper towel with vegetable oil or maybe bury the electric coil a little deeper.  I do remove the daisy when first starting the charcoal.  

I roll up paper towels, tie a knot in the middle to hold them together and stuff them in a jam jar. Pour on some oil and it spreads evenly over time. 20 or so lighters for a few pence and they work really well.

nolaegghead

I take old cotton t-shirts and soak in a 1:1 mixture of hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, then do some various rinse procedures 

What am I making?

Botch

Tie-dye?  

dbCooper

A visit from one of the "Three Letter Agencies"!   🙂

nolaegghead

dbCooper said:

A visit from one of the "Three Letter Agencies"!   🙂

Depending on use, quite possibly.  Gun cotton.

njl

RRP said:

njl said:

Paper towel with bacon fat buried in the center as close to the fire grate as I can get.  It works well enough, and is free.

LOL - bacon fat is too precious to me to waste that way! I save every drop of bacon fat to use in my chili and to sauté onions.

I'm not wasting it.  Every time I cook bacon, when it's done, it goes on a plate lined with a paper towel.  Those paper towels get folded in half twice and stored in a ziplock bag in the fridge.  Those are my egg lighting stash.  I save my bacon fat too and cook with it.

dbCooper

nolaegghead said:

dbCooper said:

A visit from one of the "Three Letter Agencies"!   🙂

Depending on use, quite possibly.  Gun cotton.

Taking that concept to an extreme, I recall a web video from probably 20 or more years ago.  A college professor demonstrated liquid oxygen properties to students by using LOX to start charcoal grills.  I think a good time was had by all.

WeberWho

Weed torch from Harbor Freight. I hate lighting the egg any other way. Just my opinion.

nolaegghead

dbCooper said:

nolaegghead said:

dbCooper said:

A visit from one of the "Three Letter Agencies"!   🙂

Depending on use, quite possibly.  Gun cotton.

Taking that concept to an extreme, I recall a web video from probably 20 or more years ago.  A college professor demonstrated liquid oxygen properties to students by using LOX to start charcoal grills.  I think a good time was had by all.

I started a grill using pure oxygen.  Melted a hole in it (piece of crap metal grill).  That's back in my college days.  I'm way less dummer dumber now

Gulfcoastguy

nolaegghead said:

I take old cotton t-shirts and soak in a 1:1 mixture of hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, then do some various rinse procedures 

What am I making?

Nitroglycerin? Meth?

nolaegghead

Nitrocellulos aka gun cotton 

danhoo

Tablesoon of bacon fat in a paper towel times three

Put under chimney, light. Close lid. Return 10 mis later. Dump chimney. Done. 

nolaegghead

Air

Teefus

I use a regular propane torch applied to four or five spots until they're glowing good and red. Then I shut the lid, open the air vent all the way, and remove the daisy wheel so the Egg breathes easy. In 10 minutes it's burning hot. At that point I stir the coals a bit, add the plate setter and grate, close the Egg and let it settle for another 10 minutes or so to get to my desired temp. With a fresh load of lump I'll often let it go a bit longer. It's an effective process. Remember that it's not a race.

dstearn

I have been using the Looftlighter for years. When it bit the dust the good folks at Looftlighter sent me a new one at no charge.

SonVolt

I like to get a bon fire ripping hot, let it burn down a few hours until I have a nice bed coals, then pluck one out (careful, use a pair of tongs) to light a paper towel soaked in bacon fat, which is immediately tossed under a chimney starter until the charcoal (briquettes only) is blazing hot enough to ignite my propane torch, which makes quick work of a single BGE branded starter cube placed directly in the center of my lump. Works every time. 

RyanStl

I need to get a weed burner. I feel like I'm missing out on that add a bit more lighter fuel from my Weber kettle days.  We all need some excitement.

Teefus

SonVolt said:

I like to get a bon fire ripping hot, let it burn down a few hours until I have a nice bed coals, then pluck one out (careful, use a pair of tongs) to light a paper towel soaked in bacon fat, which is immediately tossed under a chimney starter until the charcoal (briquettes only) is blazing hot enough to ignite my propane torch, which makes quick work of a single BGE branded starter cube placed directly in the center of my lump. Works every time. 

Old school. I like the way you roll.