The Best Charcoal Chimney Starters for At-Home Grilling Projects

Byamazingfoodstv


Equipment expert Adam Ried shows host Julia Collin Davison his top pick of chimney starters.

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48 Comments

  5. The collasible one is TRASH. It rusted out in 4 months. I mean COMPLETELY RUSTED, like a '72 Vega. And the handle melted.
    I also had the 'beefy one', he favors — it rusted also, and some of the handle rivets popped.
    I searched for a STAINLESS STEEL one, bcuz I got tired of wasting money.
    I got the OKLAHOMA JOE XL FIRESTARTER. Absolutely the best, incredible build quality.
    Good luck finding one, they're always sold out/backorder.

  9. So you all didn’t actually mention how the BBQ Dragon actually works. The chimney has a fan port; it’s not made to work by convection. BBQ Dragon makes the fan, it’s sold separately. In 10 minutes or less, the coals are ready. The fan by itself can make all of the other chimneys MUCH faster. Zero integrity.

  14. I'm fully disappointed In your testing of chimney firestarter, almost like someone had a stake in whom should win ….All these chimneys take 15 to 20 mins to catch properly … The BBQ DRAGON INSANITY CHIMNEY STARTER has a Video showing a full chimney fully engulfed In 2 minutes 30 seconds poured out ready to go and grill… Even if it wasn't enough charcoal for you it could do 2 rounds of started charcoal in less than 5 minutes which is still much faster than any of your WINNERS or for that fact any of your contestants at all … AND , if you were Adamnant about testing ONLY No Attachment Bare Bones Chimneys you still didn't test the BEST ONE …There is another simple Bare Bones Chimney that has a double handle with a Trigger that opens the bottom as a Trap Door to empty the Hot Coals out into the Grill so there is no dangerous tilting & dumping motion to be done to empty out the fiery chimney … I've come to expect much more of you than this …But JULIA , you & BRIDGET ALWAYS do a great job , it seem though that Every time this guy in this video gets involved I always find some fault with his test methods & findings …Like you can feel he has ulterior motives involved here for whatever reason … He seems a little sketchy to me ., nothing personal but seems ethically sketchy at least to me …. I won't be viewing any more videos with him involved but I will continue watching You & BRIDGET …. SORRY , But thought you should know… I do appreciate & love YOUR TEST KITCHEN VIDEOS though …

  15. made one in 10 minutes out of a furnace pipe 6 in. the handle is a chunk of 1 in branch from the brush pile a little wire and 2 strips of metal that were stuck to the pipe some bracket . excited to see how it works.

  22. As a kid in the 60's – when you could get real 3lb coffee cans – we cut off both ends of the can. Then use a can opener to put a series of triangle holes around the bottom. Put in the grill, add some oiled paper to the bottom and fill with charcoal. Light the paper thru a hole and Bob's your uncle. Need a bigger hotter fire? Yup, we'd pull out a second can. 😀 Pair of bent pipe pliers pulled the hot cans out of the grill. Then arrange coals. The plastic coffee containers today just don't hold up to this use. 😉

  24. i've been using the Weber one for 11 years. One of the rivets rusted out, i replaced it with a bolt/nut and it's still rocking. Search for the Alton Brown video where he actually cooks his steak directly over top the chimney.

  27. Sold! I have the smaller one wood handled one, and not only does the whole middle of the thing glow reddish orange when in use, but it RUSTS because the metal is weakened!

    How does the winner compare as far as holding up with regular use? I need a new one before mine falls apart. 😢

  28. I own both the Weber model you rated number 1 and the BBQ Dragon. I don't own the BBQ dragon attachment blower but I do use a small handheld leaf blower that works great with it. With that combo I can easily ready my coals in 1/3 the time the webber takes. Partly because it holds less charcoal and secondly because the additional air flow is MUCH more effective. However, the build quality of the weber is better than the Dragon. I'm on my 2nd dragon and they seem to last me about 2-3 years each. I live in snow country so grilling is only a 3 season affair. I have used the leaf blower trick with the Weber and it does improve it's lighting time but not like the Dragon which is specifically built to use forced air ventilation.

  30. Mine is homemade: 4 panels tapering from about 10-11 inches at the bottom to about 7-8 inches at the top. 2 or 3 pop rivets per seam. one small "foot" per corner. Put four crumpled sheets of newsprint in the bottom, fill it with charcoal and you got yerself a FIRE. I put a steel wire bail on mine to pull it out once the fire got going.

  33. Hello. I have been looking for a recipe from the South, my grandma used to make it for me. I want to know if you know about this or can get it for me. And the recipe is called Cream potatoes & peas. My favorite. By the way my grandma was born in Louisiana with 15 brothers & sisters. I keep asking cooks who have programs and I guess it is not important enough or can't find it. Anything would help. Like the recipe or sorry we looked but could not find it. And thanks in advance.

  34. DON'T BUY A CHARCOAL STARTER FROM WALMART! The rivits that hold the bottom on will fall apart after a few times of starting a fire. I almost burnt my legs and took it back and the second one did it too. The brand is called "Expert Grill". I hope I saved you a nasty burn.

  41. I love my Weber fire starter. For complete disclosure, I do think you should have spoken about the features of the bbq dragon, which has a fan attachment which lights the coals much faster. I still love my Weber but would have liked for you to speak about the pros and cons of that starter.

  47. I love your equipment reviews. I have already bought quite a few of them, including this one, and I can't be more satisfied with your choices. Thank you for guiding us in such a great way. You guys are the best.

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