Customer Reviews

Lodge Charcoal Chimney Starter

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The other reviewer pointed out some safety issues. These are valid for any chimney starter and are best solved by keeping in mind that there's a fire going in the chimney.
There are a few things I really like about this model. 1) Lots of ventilation to get oxygen to all of the coals, even when totally full. 2) You can easily lift it up and put new paper under it if your paper fizzles out (happened to me) and you need to restart. The small holes in the side also help you see what's going on as the heat rises. 3) Most important, it gets charcoal good and hot good and quick.
Now for what I don't like. 1) Lodge coated all of the metal surfaces, including the grill inside, with some kind of coating. I guess it's supposed to make it look like "nice" unfinished metal. Problem is, this coating isn't very heat resistant and quickly melts/evaporates, leaving odd streaks of exposed metal after just a couple uses. A better approach would have been to leave the metal alone. 2) Even a large charcoal briquette can slip through the grill in the bottom. Not sure how I'd fix this and keep the system well ventilated. 3) It only holds enough to cook a crowded meal for 2 on charcoal. Easiest way to solve this is buy 2 or more, depending on how much you plan to cook at a time. This seems to be the case for every starter I've seen. They're all basically the same size.

This charcoal chimney starter is effective and performs as described in the product description.

There are two flaws in the design that relate to safety:

1. The metal handle is exposed in the separation on the sides of the 2-piece wooden insulators. Conceivably, a bare hand could be burned when grasping the handle to dump out the prepared coals. Be sure to use an insulated glove or potholder.

2. The spacing of the outermost ring in the bottom grate sometimes allows a briquette to fall through and out of the chimney. This can occur when a briquette is oriented edge-wise down. A user typically has his/her attention on the open end of the chimney when pouring hot charcoal. A hot briquette could fall out unnoticed from the other end when tipping the unit. My personal experience is that a briquette fell out of the bottom when I dumped the coals into my grill. It landed on the plastic top of a patio table. I did not discover this until the table top had been partially melted and deformed.

Use with caution. Supervise youngsters.

My old chimney, same style, lasted for twenty years. I'm glad they haven't changed the style. It works.

This would be 5 stars if Lodge could have made a grate that didn't allow charcoal to fall through. I used a current name brand charcoal and tried to light three chimney's worth this weekend. About 10% of the bricks will fall through during the pouring in (annoying) or pouring out (dangerous). Why in the world would you not make the grate smaller? Unless I modify it myself, it is too annoying to use. Thanks, Lodge.

Wow, talk about an item that does exactly what it is supposed to do!
12 minutes for 30 regular Kingsford charcoals to be fully ready to cook. This is with three newspaper sheets, one match and NO FUEL.
The only negative thought is the top rim is extremely sharp and could pose a cutting danger to the user. The bottom rim seems to be better rounded and does not pose this hazard.

you never want to be without one. This is a fantastic way to start charcoal without a fluid starter which I think leaves a taste and a terrible smell. I LOVE this charcoal starter. It really does start with just a small amount of paper pushed into the bottom portion. 15 minutes later - you're ready to go with perfectly lit charcoals.

I have always considered Lodge to be bullet proof. I suspect this item was not really manufactured by Lodge nor made in America. The first chimney sent from Amazon arrived without a bottom. The replacement arrived with the bottom uninstalled. I installed it, but it is clear that this chimney will not last long.

On the plus side, the design is good and the extra ventilation allows for a large amount of charcoal to be started quickly. It has a wooden handle which is far better than the plastic in the Weber version (it melts).

On the negative side, the bottom is secured to the chimney by tabs perforated in the tin, and they break easily. I expect to have to jerry rig fasteners in less than a week as I use this on my Big Green Egg 5 days a week.

Too bad - good design, poor construction. Way too much time spent describing the quality of a $19 item.

After years of using starting fluid which gives food a petroleum taste (to say nothing of the health implications), I came upon this chimney starter and was surprised at how quickly and efficiently such a simple product could get charcoal to cooking temperature.

I have used charcoal briquettes (impregnated starting fluid definitely not needed, though it works too), as well as hardwood charcoal in the chimney starter with good results.

Note that this product works best with pulpy newspaper as a starter in the bottom (surprisingly little is needed), and paper with even a little shine (such as is used in advertising circulars) can be difficult to work with, as it leaves ash which blocks air flow.

Note, too, that turning the chimney over to dump the burning charcoals kicks up cinders, which rise on hot air currents, and that considerable heat comes from both ends of the chimney.

I have never been able to start a fire in the grill with success. With the Lodge Charcoal Chimney Starter...I have never failed.
Buy this thing now!

This is an awesome item to have, especially if you want that charcoal to be ready in a hurry, and you know it takes forever and your hungry. I use mine for my dutch oven, so the coals are ready in a jiffy. I first saw one used in Boyscout training camp. I couldn't believe how fast it was ready