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I'm a big food Network fan and my favorite guy is Alton. What I saw on one of his shows was the most awesome advice for this device. Take ONE, that's right, ONE piece of newspaper and sprinkle a few drops of vegetable oil on it; then put it under your chimney starter (outdoors, please, eggman if you're reading this) and fire it up with a full can of any kind of charcoal. You won't believe how well this works. One more thing; DO NOT set a chimney starter on a gravel driveway when you start it. For some reason, the heat transfers much easier through gravel than concrete. Just put the thing on your grill grate and wait for 20 minutes. You'll have smokin' hot coals that will be almost too hot for smokin' food. I even saw Alton searing tuna on top of one of these things.
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This is the absolute best way to get your grill going. Unlike the little chimneys sold at Lowe's, this holds a lot of charcoal, enough to fill an entire kettle grill, and the airflow through it is very efficient. Two sheets of newspaper and a match, and your briquettes will be ready to go in 10-15 minutes.
The aluminized finish on this resists heat and rust quite well. Other reviewers have commented on the helper handle, but the really key feature of this chiminey starter is the conical wire grid inside that holds up the charcoal. Unlike perforated metal plate inside the no-name chimeny starters, this wire grid lets all of the flame from the newspaper through to the charcoal, resulting in the charcoal lighting in half the time.
All of that, and it isn't any more expensive that the no-name brands. Bigger, faster, and more durable. What more could you ask for?
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I usually cook in small batches, so I have a small Weber Smokey Joe. Since the grill is so small, I figured I could get away with using a perforated coffee can as a chimney starter to save the $13. I took the can, removed both ends with a can opener, and made a bunch of holes along the bottom with a bottle opener. I then put a sheet of newspaper inside, pile the coals on top, and light it. The can worked, and I used it for over a year, but then I finally decided that this starter was cheap enough that I should give it a try.
The difference is night and day -my coals start in half the time with the Weber, are much hotter when started, and, if I need to, I can start a LOT more coals at once. When they call this "Rapidfire" they mean it. If I had known what I do now, I never would've gone the coffee can route. This thing is so cheap, and works so well, that everyone with a charcoal grill should have one.
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I've had several of these. They are great. Word of warning when done dumping coals look into the chimney to be sure all coals are gone. In the process of transporting my chimney to bare ground, I hadn't noticed that a small piece of coal dropped out and rolled near the house on my deck out of sight. Dog woke me up at 2AM my deck and house were on fire. Got it under control and repaired. Very thankful to my dog and that my home is brick. Since then I have seen coals stuck in the chimney grate after pouring. Please be careful folks. I was fortunate to have a persistent dog. Still use one today.
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This starter is bigger than I thought it would be when I ordered it. It is big enough that I have never filled it more than about halfway with briquettes. Even at about half-full it is enough to supply two dutch ovens (12 inch and 14 inch, stacked) with enough firepower to cook a good meal.
I really like that this requires no lighter fluid and will start the charcoal faster than the lighter fluid ever could. Applying a little cooking oil to the paper you place in the bottom does seem to start the charcoal faster, although it will temporarily smoke a bit more. Without adding oil I have found that I sometimes need to wait 10-12 more minutes longer or add more paper to the bottom before the charcoal is fully going.
To stress again the size of this, filling the starter completely as shown in the picture would probably use between one-quarter and one-third of a 20 pound bag of charcoal.
By consistently filling my it to approximately the same level (between the second and third holes on the side) my starter has developed a nice dull ring around it from the oxidation of the aluminum at high temperatures. Yes, the can was red hot (actually glowing). This does not in any way affect function and is almost certainly the reason for the aluminized steel, since this layer of oxidized aluminum will help to prevent oxidation of the steel (rust). I suspect that this would extend to cover the whole can after several years of use or a few big barbecues where the whole can is filled.
