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New Egg - Fire Starting Tips/Products

Unknown
Unknown
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
Hi, I wanted some feedback on what people use and how they start their fires.[p]Do you start your fire inside the egg or in a chimney starter?
I know you can’t use lighter fluids inside the egg but can you use starter gels? How about Weber fire starter cubes, can these be used?[p]I would prefer to light the lump charcoal inside the egg but wanted to confirm the type of products I can use.[p]Thanks

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Comments

  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
    AUGrilling,[p]I am very interested in this topic as well. I have just gotten my BGE.[p]I will be using the fire starters that came with it to begin. However, I do not know if I should continue using these,[p]BTW, what is a chimney starter?[p]Thanks,
    Greg
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  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    AUGrilling,[p]Starter cubes or gels are fine. Electric starters work well too, but tend to wear out pretty quickly.[p]A lot of eggers use MAPP torches or weed burners.[p]Some use chimney starters, just light it on the fire grate, then empty.[p]I use a paper towel and some vegetable oil to make my own starter. Pour a little oil on a paper towel or two, tuck them into the lump, light, and walk away. Not my method, I learned it from stike who posted it here, but it works great and is a lot cheaper than the commercial cubes.
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    AUGrilling,[p] Many of us have MAPP or Propane torches to light our eggs. You can use the Weber Starter Cube, BGE Starter Cubes or even a knotted paper towel soaked in vegetable oil.[p] Some people use a Chimney to start the lump.
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  • Rick's Tropical Delight
    Rick's Tropical Delight Posts: 816
    21jan07-003.jpg
    <p />AUGrilling,
    weed burner.[p]flame on!
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I use firestarters. Just about a 1" cube. Did down the middle of the pile and place it, light it, and cover it back up. Cooking in 10 minutes.[p]Bill3508
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    AUGrilling,
    only thing faster is the weedburner. but i kicked the propane habit and got rid of my gas tanks....[p]01.jpg[p]02.jpg[p]03.jpg[p]04.jpg[p]05.jpg[p]...and then i toss a couple pieces of lump over it all. 750 in fifteen minutes, for me anyway. corn oil or olive oil work well. not soaking wet, just damp.[p]06.jpg
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
    Rick's Tropical Delight,[p]You are the man who definitely lives by "a picture tells a thousand words"[p]Isn't it ironic to use a product driven by a propane tank to light a charcoal grill?[p]The weed burner looks like a cool toy.[p]Greg
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Bill3508,
    i used to buy a cheapo fireplace log kinda thing and leave it in the sun for a couple hours, then chunk it apart with a flat head screwdriver. the log is two bucks, and will last a lot longer than the starters, which are essentially the same thing. you get two one-gallon ziploc bags full from one log.[p]my only complaint with starters is that they can go out, and stop flaming, and just smolder if there's not a lot of draft.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    AUGrilling,[p]I just got a MAPP torch this past weekend. It works much faster than the start cubes that I had been using.
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    Rick's Tropical Delight,[p]FIRE,,,,FIRE,,,, FFFFIIIIRRREEEE....[p]I'm lovin it.[p]Mike
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    East Cobb Eggy,
    This is a chimney starter. You can get one from the Big Orange Home store.[p]I used mine occasionally when I want a real hot fire quickly. Jus light with one rolled up news paper come back in 10-15 min and hot glowing coals.[p]HTH
    Mike
    [ul][li]Chimney starter[/ul]
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    Mike in Abita,
    That should have said. One sheet of rolled up newspaper

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  • HungryMan
    HungryMan Posts: 3,470
    AUGrilling,
    MAPP abd it lasts a long, long time.
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    Fidel,[p]I second your recommendation. I had to use this last week at a friends house. He thought I was completely NUTS. Afterwards he was very impressed.
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  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
    Mike in Abita,[p]Thanks for this.[p]I have heard a lot of people referring to the chimney starter and had no idea to what they were referring.[p]I am learning a lot through the forum but have so much more to learn.[p]Thanks a lot to everyone for the help.[p]Sincerely.
    Greg
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    stike,[p]Yep![p]This is the olde standard -- and one of the best![p]And the cheapest! I love it![p]~ Best[p]~ Broc[p]
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    East Cobb Eggy,[p]Ask all the???? you want. Everyone here remembers what it was like to be the new guy. I still find myself being the new guy on a lot of different things here. With out the help of Celtic Wolf, Big'un, Naked Whiz, Mad Max, Egret, AZRP, WessB, TJV, Car Wash Mike, Smokin'Todd, Spring Chicken,RRP, Bordello, Stike, Ricks Tropical Delight, and any other I have forgot to mention I would be completely lost. [p]This is the forum about good cooking, and more importantly good friends. Just remember to never repeat NEVER ping WessB.[p]Mike
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  • East Cobb Eggy
    East Cobb Eggy Posts: 1,162
    Mike in Abita,[p]Okay, you got me curious. Why shouldn't I ping WessB?[p]I did check out his website, which is pretty cool. In fact, I believe that my first cook could be one of his rib recipes. Very descriptive and with cool pics.[p]Thanks,
    Greg
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  • Mike in Abita
    Mike in Abita Posts: 3,302
    East Cobb Eggy,
    That's a ?? better left asked of him. [p]Mike
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  • Flashback Bob
    Flashback Bob Posts: 519
    stike,
    Your photo documentary on the process should be posted somewhere (hint, hint, Mr Whiz).
    It's excellent at conveying how damn easy this method is![p]
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Broc, just across the Muddy Mo from Omaha,
    it's an old trick that certainly predates me and the egg. i cribbed it from a guy here that posted one time about it. he lights (lit?) his egg like this all the time. i don't recall his handle, and don't think he posts here much anymore.[p]...so i've taken on the role of proselytizing for the oil-and-paper zen crowd.[p]though i'm envious of the giant ball of flame from the weedburner. just one more thing for me to find a place for. ask flashback bob. we live in tiny 20's era houses. i don't even have a closet on the first floor. hahaha
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • Beanie-Bean
    Beanie-Bean Posts: 3,092
    AUGrilling,[p]I bought a box of the BGE starters last weekend when I bought my egg, and man do those thing kick up some smoke! But the charcoal does get lit. Next fire, I'm going to try the vegetable oiled napkin method to see how that goes. For the low-and-slow I'm planning this weekend, I'm going to use a chimney starter, which is what I used for my Weber Kettle. That way, I can spread the coals out evenly for a more uniform burn. I'll let you know how those go.

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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 317
    Fidel,[p]Great recomendation but DON'T walk away from you egg until you know more what you are dealing with. An egg can get to 1000° pretty quickly.
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  • JollyGreenEgger
    JollyGreenEgger Posts: 3
    I have used the Weber starting cubes for over a year now. I take a putty knife and cut 2 on a diagonal. I then place 3 halves in the lump, right after lighting I cover with lump. After 5 min I close the dome and the temp. comes up fast.
    Kevin
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  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
    AUGrilling, mapp gas

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    stike,[p]Since we parented five children, we have a 4-bedroom house, all on the second floor. When my mother-in-law was getting quite old, we converted out 24x24 garage into living space for her, and built in a nice cozy room w/fireplace and a closet [water-type].[p]The main-floor water closet is all torn up -- It is my Winter Task to rebuild it -- Bay window [!], tiled floor and tiled wainscotting. Right now, everything is just jammed into the room -- ya can't even get in! Have-ta remove everything to gut it![p]After the Holidays...[p]So, now with Margaret gone, we have two living rooms -- and all our kids are grown. But my wife wants to keep the house... so we pass like two ships in the night. I'm ready to step down to a small two bd slab... so long as there's a place for my Eggs on a back deck.[p]~ B

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  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Beanie-Bean,[p]The thing about the OO and paper towels [napkins] is that there isn't stinky-smoke... Everything's "clean."[p]
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  • Lord of the Eggs
    Lord of the Eggs Posts: 5
    AUGrilling,
    Geez, nobody mentions an electric starter. That's all I use.
    Works great. I put it in, plug it in, leave the top open, and set the timer in the kitchen for 5 minutes. Come out, take it out, close the lid with the top and bottom open, and set the kitchen timer for 8 minutes. I have complete ignition and no smoke at that point. If its fresh, the temp will be up to 700 already. If I just stirred the lump to sift the ashes, it will only be up to 350 or so. I like it cause it starts the lump from the bottom up, not just on the top or on one spot.
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  • WileECoyote
    WileECoyote Posts: 516
    I didn’t want to use charcoal lighter fluid or other similar liquids since they can generate residue, odor, or toxic fumes and they can be expensive. I didn’t want to use an electric coil since it would be slower and is not very efficient, plus it would be a hassle to run an extension cord out to the back patio every time I want to grill. A charcoal chimney, kindling, or natural fire-starter would work but they would be slower and they would add more ash and soot to the firebox.

    After some scientific research, reviewing MSDS data sheets, reading a number of grilling forums, and experimenting with my BGE I have determined that Isopropyl Alcohol makes a good cheap fire-starter which works equally well with charcoal or wood. Ordinary “rubbing alcohol” usually contains 60-70% isopropyl alcohol and the rest is water. A 16 ounce bottle of rubbing alcohol costs less than $1.00 and you only need about 1-2 ounces to start a full load of hardwood charcoal in the BGE. It lights very quickly and burns super hot, thus the charcoal is started in record time. Primary byproducts of combustion are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide which are normal byproducts of most fires. It has no special odor when burning and won’t add any residue to the firebox or flavor to the food.

    Be careful not to use too much, maybe only 1 ounce at first until you are sure how to use it. Sprinkle it evenly across the charcoal and let it soak in for 1-2 minutes before you light it. It evaporates quickly so if you apply too much or light it too soon then the vapor can flash up. I applied about 2 ounces to a full firebox of natural hardwood charcoal, waited 1 minute, tossed a match in, and closed the lid. The BGE reached about 700 degrees within the first 2 minutes while the fluid burned off, then it dropped to 200-300 degrees and gently climbed back up. The coals were fully red and ready to cook in less than 10 minutes. Has anyone else ever tried anything like this?
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