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Alternatives
To Newspaper One
complaint about using newspaper in a chimney starter is that the leftover ashes can
blow around in windy conditions. If this bothers you, there are several alternatives to consider.
Paraffin cubes
like
Weber
Lighter Cubes burn at 1300°F for 10-12
minutes (Picture 1). Light 2 cubes under the chimney (Picture 2) and you're good to go.
Alcohol-based liquid gel
starters are squirted onto the charcoal
and lit. Gel starters should not be confused with charcoal lighter
fluids, as they contain no foul-smelling petroleum products. Brands
include Stove Bright Fire Starter and Duraflame Fresh Light (Picture
3).
Sawdust starters are
made of recycled sawdust and paraffin wax. Cut or break into chunks,
place several pieces under the chimney, and light. Popular brands
include Rutland SafeLite Fire Starters, Duraflame Quickstart, and
Duraflame Firestart (Picture 4).
Diamond Strike-A-Fire
(Picture 5) is "The 12-Minute Match/Fire Starter In
One." It consists of a thin sawdust/paraffin strip with a match
head coating on one end. Strike against the lighting strip on the box
and place under the
chimney.
Wick chafing fuel,
such as Sterno Wick (Picture 6), is designed to heat food in a chafing dish,
but some folks swear by them for lighting a chimney. Light the wick
and place under the chimney for 10 minutes. These disposable units
burn 2-6 hours and can be purchased wherever catering supplies are
sold.
A few sheets of
paper towel sprayed with non-stick cooking spray will will get your
charcoal started, and since it burns more completely than newspaper, it
makes less of a mess.
Some folks
light chimneys over the gas side burner on a gas grill or over a
turkey deep-fryer burner. Be careful when using a gas side
burner...if you leave the chimney on too long your side burner may
experience a meltdown!
Finally, there's always a
weed burner.
Photos of exploding concrete patio: 2007 by Greg Caesar
Photo of cutaway chimney: 2005 by Weber-Stephen Products Co.
Photo of Sterno Wick: 2002 by Candle Corporation of America |