BGEer wanna be

Ray

I finally seen a BGE upfront and personal for the first time this past weekend at a local bbg competition. The guy that was using it was very informative, but the only thing I forgot to ask him was how do you light these units. [p]Any other comments or info. would be appreciated.[p]Thanks

LasVegasMac

ray,
My method is simple - load it up with lump - and I use about a 1/2" square of the generic charcoal starter - the saw dust, compacted looking logs. I just slice 'em into little cubes.[p]I always put mine on top of the lump. Some folks start their fire from below. 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. I think the only time it really matters is if you plan on doing a long cook (butt, shoulder, etc) - you want to start it on top. The lump then has to burn down and out to the sides, as opposed to starting from under - all the lump above the fire wants to start. Not good for a long and low temp cook. Just my opinion - there are others here that have way more experience with the BGE than I do.[p]Buy one, awesome cooking utensil!![p]LVM

nikkig

ray,
There are many different ways of lighting your lump. Like LVM mentioned, some use the starter cubes. Others use newspaper wads, electiric starters, propane torches, MAPP gas. I personally use the starter cubes, but that MAPP gas sure looks fun!

Earl

<p />ray,[p]Mornin Ray:[p]I am sure that we talked last weekend & i see you found your way here. I use small fire starters when i cook on the road, but use an electric starter at home.
Ask away, lots of help here for sure. If you need more help, e-mail me or give me a call.[p]Earl

Shelby

ray,
I prefer the electric starter but have used the little white starter cubes as well and keep some just in case I wear out the electric one(again). Any method is fine...except charcoal lighter fluid. And in case Earl didn't mention it, we use lump charcoal, not briquets.
Ask away if there's anything else you have questions about and trust me, once you get one, you'll have plenty of questions and everyone here is more than willing to help.

The Naked Whiz

ray,
And of course, you can use the charcoal starter chimney. Lump will start in no time, compared to briquettes.[p]TNW

Unknown

ray,
While it initialy seems a bit on the more extreme side, I, like many here, have recently discovered the joys of the 5000 degree MAPP gas torch.[p]Yes, I resisted for a little while. I've used electric, chiney, and cubes. They all work, and they all get you going pretty quick. [p]However...[p]This MAPP gas torch is amazing. You get a spot of glowing coals in seconds, a low and slow dome temp in a few minutes, and you *can* get to a steak searing 600 degrees in about 10 minutes.[p]Even more importantly to me, is that firing up that MAPP gas torch sounds like a cool little jet flying right over my deck. Very important.[p]I can very easily get my Egg up to temp significantly faster than I can get my indoor (admittedly cr*ppy) electric oven up to temp.[p]Of course depending on the cook, you may still want to give the ceramic a bit to heat up, and/or the lump to burn off the initial ickies and get to that blue smoke.[p]My long winded point being that there a multitude of ways to get up to temp, and any of them that dont include chemicals are the *right* way.[p]Fire away,
bc

Big-R

ray, given the fact that a BGE is a large initial investment I haven't gotten to the BGE toys yet (temp probes, MAPP gas, plate setter)... I use the newspaper method. I take one full sheet of paper. Wad it firm and allow it to expand slightly. I make sure I have a "tail" of paper to light.... Place the wad of paper in the center of the grate. Pile the old lump around the paper covering it all but the tail. Add new lump to about 2/3's of the fire ring. Light the tail and let it flame well and the lower the lid, open the vent and away it goes. Low tech but effective. Start time are about the same as everyone else. Slower the gas but way faster than briquets. [p]Good luck and take the plunge....

Jethro

ray,[p]Like the others have said there are many ways to start the fire.[p]Man I can't beleive it Ray Basso, finally converted!!!![p]Jethro