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Starter "Cubes"?

Rascal
Rascal Posts: 3,923
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I was at my local BGE dealer today (Ace Hardware) and was looking for what I believe many here have described as "starter cubes". I found 2 varities, but both contained 1/4" slabs that looked like giant candy bars (with no score marks). Do you all use a product similar to this (cutting it up in pieces) or should I be looking for something else. I often use a MAPP torch or alcohol (not my breath) for starting and was wondering about an alternative. As always, thanks for any life-saving tips!!~~ 8 - )

Comments

  • Joel
    Joel Posts: 74
    With exception to the weed burner (which I hear is the best approach), I have tried everything and always go back to Weber's FireStarter Lighter Cubes (http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7417-FireStarters-Lighter-Cubes/dp/B001AN7RGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305653976&sr=8-1). They are very resilient and work extremely well.
  • Photo Egg
    Photo Egg Posts: 12,110
    The Weber cubes are my choice as well.
    I normally stock up towards the end of the year when the go on sale for 2-3 dollars a box.
    Thank you,
    Darian

    Galveston Texas
  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    Like Joel & Photo Egg above, I always used the Weber fire starter cubes, that is, until I discovered the electric starter.

    I know it sounds crazy, but an electric starter is the easiest, cheapest and least messy way I've found to get a fire going in the egg. It cost $8 bucks, lasts for years, and only takes 8 minutes to get the lump blazin' (starts a much larger area than the cubes).

    I never thought I use an electric starter but I'm totally sold!
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    I use the BGE electric starter. Easy to use and always ready to go.
  • Weekend Warrior
    Weekend Warrior Posts: 1,702
    Problem with the electric starter is that sooner or later you'll put it in the egg and forget about it because of a telephone call or other distraction and then it's toast and a melted plastic gooey mess inside your egg. Bought 2 of em years ago and toasted 'em both within weeks of each other.
  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    yo, Mark - get me email yesterday?
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    Weekend Warrior wrote:
    Problem with the electric starter is that sooner or later you'll put it in the egg and forget about it because of a telephone call or other distraction and then it's toast and a melted plastic gooey mess inside your egg. Bought 2 of em years ago and toasted 'em both within weeks of each other.

    Alzheimer's hasn't set in yet. I'm good with the starter. Cordless phones have been around for decades.
  • Capt Frank
    Capt Frank Posts: 2,578
    Hey Rascal, I started w/ the BGE cubes for the first year or so and still keep some on hand. They are some sort of pressed paper saturated w/ a parrifin based substance. They work well, have a long shelf life, and are probably the safest method to use. I use two cubes, cut them in half diagonally, and stick them down in the lump in four places.
    I imagine the other brands you are looking at are pretty much the same.
    Nothing wrong with them at all but about a year ago I bought a MAPP setup and that is my preferred method.
    I got a Bernz-o-matic torch that has a 5ft hose between the tank and the nozzle. I am still on my first "fat boy" tank :)
  • icemncmth
    icemncmth Posts: 1,165
    Just buy a Dura Flame fire starter log and hack of small chunks!. A heck of a lot cheaper.
  • reader40
    reader40 Posts: 69
    i just bought a pack of those starter sticks that you might use for camping. They come in a pack of let's say 12, long brown kind of furry sticks.

    I used one the other day, broke into 3 peices and seemed to work pretty good. It was like $2.45 or something at Shopko here in WI


    Next go might be a weedburner though just to try it :evil:
  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    Ace carries "Rutland" brand cubes which are identical to BGE cubes. They come in a box of 144ea, and can be cut in half to start 288 fires. A box is about $10-$12 making it a very cost effective way of lighting BGE's. Occassionally on a lo/slo I will light in 2 places(1 cube)but even that isnt necessary.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    starter cubes are paraffin and paper (or sometimes wood chips/dust).

    i bought a two dollar paraffin fireplace log once, let it sit out in the sun on a warm summer day, then chunked it into two two-gallon ziploc bags. used three or four to start my fires, and they did great and lasted a few seasons. they too have a tendency to puff out and stop burning well, unless they get lots of air. i have switched over to oil and paper napkin, myself.

    but you can't get much cheaper than the same materials as the starters, only in fireplace log form, and purchased in the summer when they are on close-out.

    (and no, there are no evil chemicals lurking within them. even the 'color' logs merely use salts for the colors. all of which would burn off by the time the food hits it anyway if there were chemicals in it. which there ain't :laugh: )
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    If one is going to use starter cubes, why not just pick up a 'starter log' for fireplaces and then cut pieces off as needed. For a few bucks one would have probably over a hundred bucks worth of cubes. The light is the same, not sure about the fillers.

    Oil and paper towel is less expensive and works as well with no 'left overs' smoldering in the lump. It offers as fast a light as cubes and MAPP

    Alcohol is extremely clean as quick as a light as the above.

    Just some thoughts...

    GG
  • jaydub58
    jaydub58 Posts: 2,167
    At the recommendation of the dealer who sold me my BGE, I started out with the electric starter, but have just recently switched to alcohol. At this point, I'm pretty happy with it.

    :cheer:
    John in the Willamette Valley of Oregon
  • So glad you posted the Amazon link.

    I haven't seen them in stores for 3 or 4 years.

    Spacey
  • aem
    aem Posts: 146
    I like alcohol too, but sometimes it burns off too quickly. So the Weber Cubes are my backup.
  • Kailas
    Kailas Posts: 146
    jaydub58 wrote:
    At the recommendation of the dealer who sold me my BGE, I started out with the electric starter, but have just recently switched to alcohol. At this point, I'm pretty happy with it.

    :cheer:

    Oh the horror! Wasting perfectly good alcohol!

    Wait... are you talking about ISO Alcohol?
  • jaydub58
    jaydub58 Posts: 2,167
    I'm ALWAYS happy with alcohol!
    No, I don't waste the good stuff!

    ;)
    John in the Willamette Valley of Oregon