Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Electric lighter or Wax?

Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Curious what most true eggers use? I am a wax guy, but admit the electric route is intriguing....it just seems like a bit of a production.

Comments

  • Smokin' Todd
    Smokin' Todd Posts: 1,104
    allfuel_04_large.jpg
    <p />1BADHOG,
    Just cant go wrong with these...

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    1BADHOG,
    used to use parrafin/sawdust sticks. they had a match-stick self-strike tip. they were big, meaning it took a LONG time for that thing to burn off. and there were maybe 12 for $4.[p]i started breaking them up, into thirds.[p]then i realized that a sawdust parrafin log that i saw at the grocery store was the same thing, and was $1.99.[p]it was a cheapo no-name brand. took one home and broke it up with a flat-head screwdriver. yielded two (2) two-gallon ziplocs filled with jegged little chunks which light quick and burn off in five minutes after starting the lump. no chems, no long wait to get cooking, and if i want a sear real quick, i can light five at a time without wasting any $.[p]that one log will light 6 months worth of cooks.[p]cheapest option i could find. tried mapp, but i don't need the shower of sparks, and from what i hear the electric igniters fritz out after a while.[p]

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • edbro
    edbro Posts: 300
    1BADHOG,
    Weber starter cube at the bottom of a chimney. Fast and consistent.

  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    1BADHOG,
    I've used electric, weber cubes, chimney starter, propane torch, mapp torch, sawdust/parafin starter, BGE/Rutland starter, ocote sticks, newspaper, and I think that's about it. I think most true eggers use one of the above, lol!
    TNW

    The Naked Whiz
  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Posts: 319
    1BADHOG,
    Anything but lighter fluid... take your pic. They all work great. I personally use Big Green Egg starter cubes, but have used them all and all are similar.[p] I even made my own once. Took a pound of paraffin melted and dipped strips of old newspaper in it and rolled up tightly (with gloves on) and they worked. Not worth the hassle, and they are a bit messy.

  • jwirlwind
    jwirlwind Posts: 319
    1BADHOG,
    This is my method of lighting the fire. I don't think there is a better way. Very quick and efficient. [p]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=91037[p]Chef Jerry

  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    SuperDave,
    LOL - the timing couldn't have been better/or worst for that matter! - just this afternoon I was cleaning a corner of our basement and found a 20 pound block of pure virgin paraffin that my wife purchased at least 3 decades ago to make some artsy-craftsy gawd knowes what project! I was just contemplating throwing that out on Friday and now you tell me I could make a life time supply of starter cubes??? Oh crap...what shall I do?

    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • 1BADHOG,[p]Apply a 3480 °C (6296 °F) flame invented by Thomas Wilson for 320 nano seconds.[p]P1010249.jpg
    [p]P1010251.jpg[p]E

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    RRP,
    sure
    cheap tin foil pan, sawdust, parrafin.[p]you can EAT parrafin. ain't nuthing toxic in that mix.
    melt it up, pour it in the pan with the sawdust and yer good to go

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
    1BADHOG,
    Lately I've been using a product by Lignetics, a fire starter made from wood chips and paraffin. A good pinch under the chimney starter gets it fired up fast.
    Clay

  • HolySmokes
    HolySmokes Posts: 446
    1BADHOG,
    for me, no question. I started with wax/sawdust starters, and stayed there for quite awhile. Then I got a chance to
    use a 'golf club' with a propane tank from the bbq guru boys... still have a couple chunks of wax starters left,
    but haven't found the need. Some profess the need for more heat than propane, but I've usually got five minutes
    to spare to get things warmed up :)
    best, HS[p]

  • jake42
    jake42 Posts: 932
    1BADHOG,
    I mainly use electric unless it raining or wet outside then I use starter sticks. I like the electric starter best because even though the sticks are suppose to be "all natural" they still give off an unpleasant smell in the beginning.
    That's just me though.

  • Smokey
    Smokey Posts: 2,468
    Eggecutioner,[p]That sure is a hard core way to get a fire started! LOL!![p]Smokey
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,666
    e915bd30.jpg
    <p />Jwirlwind
    i had mine for just about a year, when it burns out ill get a new one. very fast and efficient.

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Buzz
    Buzz Posts: 63
    I've been using wax cubes. Easy, cheap, and they work fine.[p]I recently bought something that I thought was another brand of wax cubes, but turned out to be some kind of soft white cubes. I opened the pack, put it into the Egg, and lit it. It took me a second to catch a whiff of that nasty fuel smell on my fingers.[p]My God... that stuff was awful. The smell was horrid. It had to wait a long time before putting anything on the grill.[p]
  • 1BADHOG,
    One of the reasons I got the egg...it was incredibly low tech. Keeping with that theme, I was a longtime afficianado of newspaper. But I've strayed to wax cubes in the past year. They are more consistent and leave less (no)ash. I've tried the starter log thing...that works well too. My wife brought home a bag of fatwood sticks a couple of months ago. Anyone used these? I tried them a couple of times. Nasty black smoke. What do folks do with these things anyway?[p]Paul

  • Clay Q
    Clay Q Posts: 4,486
    Eggecutioner,
    You and fishlessman, pyro engineer, volcanologist, thermodynamic scientist??? he he he

  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
    1BADHOG, I'm a mapp gas user.

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Essex County,
    paul... i still have a bag of fatwood starters.[p]those i've come to realise, are just for good old campfires, or the fireplace.[p]they are so big, that using them to start a fire for food means they'd take forever to burn.[p]the smoke is from the sap, which is what makes them light quickly.[p]J

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Eggecutioner,
    just wave that thing over the steak and forego the whole charcoal/ash/grill foolishness

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • stike,[p]Funny you should say that, I have used a torch to cook food when I was working in a shop. We cooked taco meat on a bent disk of metal with a hand crafted metal spatula tool. The disk was heated with an acetelene torch. If I remember correctly, it was a pretty good lunch.[p]E
  • ClayQ,[p]
    he he he Fire is COOL he he he[p]

  • Rich
    Rich Posts: 67
    1BADHOG,
    I seem to be in the minority here, but I use an electric starter. Stick it in the lump, plug it in and take it our 8 minutes later. I put the hot electric starter in my old unused gas grill until it cools down. I keep wax starters for backup.
    Rich

  • CyberDawg
    CyberDawg Posts: 38
    1BADHOG,[p]I'm a firm believer in electric. Easy as pie. Just stuff it in the coals and walk away. No fumes and greater spread of ignited coals. It seems to light a bit slower at first, but because the electric lights more coals, the total fire gets up to speed just as fast as with other methods. And I never have to worry about running out of electricity right before a big cook. :-)
  • Spring Chicken
    Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
    stike,
    Or just get some cheap plastic ice trays and fill 'em up.[p]You're welcome.[p]Spring "Thinking All The Time" Chicken
    Spring Texas USA

  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    stike, will do! Curious though...what % of saw dust? A lot vs. a little? Will the parafin just burn by itself or does the saw dust serve as the accelerant?

    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Spin
    Spin Posts: 1,375
    1BADHOG,[p]I'm a MAPP gas user. Start the torch and 30 seconds later I have a reliable fire. Simple and very dependable regardless of weather.[p]Spin
  • Rich,
    That’s the nice thing about the cubes, you don’t have to remember to go back in 8 minutes to pull out the electric starter. That might sound silly at first but I often set my vents where I know they should be, throw in 2 starter cubes and go about my business. 30 to 60 minutes later I come back and am ready to go. I have gotten distracted before and forgot to go back and pull out the starter……total inferno.

  • NCEgger
    NCEgger Posts: 67
    149711_3.jpg
    <p />1BADHOG,[p]I use a MAPP/Propane Torch. It has a hose so I don't have the gas canister inside the egg. I got it at Home Depot for $25. I got it in January and I haven't had to buy a refill yet and I cook a lot.
  • 1BADHOG,
    Wax blocks!! i just don't understand how someone can be in such a hurry that he needs an "instant propane" lighter. now don't get me wrong, I've seen them used, and yes, they are cool, but it's just that...well.....I'm not..........i gues It's a little like......ummmmm....anyway........