This product borders on miraculous.
I have been grilling for nearly twenty years but have never thought to pick up one of these. Everyone has their little tricks to get their BBQ lit and fired up. But lets face it, we've all been failed by our little tricks more often than we'd like to admit. Like many of the other reviewers listed here, I too saw Alton Brown, from Good Eats, highly praise the magic of a charcoal chimney; and yet I still wasn't motivated enough to order one of these. However, my mother was kind enough to order one for me as a gift (although she did ask me to show her which brand/model I wanted).
I've only had this thing for a little over a month but I simply can't remember what my BBQing/grilling life was like before I owned this magical tool. It works so well, efficiently, and effectively, that I swear it borders on voodoo. It really is as simple as dumping your charcoal into the chimney, wadding up two pages of newspaper and stuffing it under the chimney, then simply lighting the newspaper. That's it! No lighter fluid whatsoever. None. Zero. In 15-20 minutes, you'll have perfectly red coals and you're ready to grill. It really is that easy.
I have used it around ten times, in all kinds of weather (strong wind, dead calm, pouring rain with high humidity, single digit freezing temperatures) and it has never failed me. In fact, not only has it never failed me, it has never failed to impress me. Each time I think, "Alright, the last couple times must have been flukes. There's no way it's really this easy. It's got to fail this time." The sad truth is, it makes me feel stupid for not having used one for the last twenty years. And that's why I think every man should be born with one of these in his hands. It really will make your life easier.
Now, some stuff about the product and its usage:
It's made of nice thick metal that feels sturdy (but not so heavy as to be awkward to handle). Not flimsy in the least. It feels like it's built to last.
The wire grate at the bottom (that keeps the charcoal from falling out) is also made of very thick wire. And as stated in the description, has a cone shape to it, which increases the real estate of how much charcoal is exposed to the flame from the burning newspaper (which helps the charcoal take the flame that much faster).
There is a separate flat sheet of metal between the chimney and the handle, which acts as a heat shield, protecting your knuckles from the heat high heat that's radiating from the chimney. (While not necessary for this application, I also have a pair of full-arm-length welder's gloves when I BBQ, to protect my hands, arms, and sleeves from the extreme heat while I'm rearranging the hot coals in my BBQ. And I recommend the gloves to everyone! They're cheap, effective, and add an extra level of safety.)
There seems to be a lot of discussion about where to place your chimney when it's in use (on cement is an obvious choice, on a wooden deck not so much) When I light my chimney, I like to set it in the BBQ on the fire grate (the grate that you ordinarily put the charcoal on), because it's obviously designed to take the heat, and I don't have to worry about it leaving any black scorch marks on my cement walkway. That being said, there are times when that's not an option. Such as:
One of the things that really makes this gizmo shine is the versatility it offers you when grilling. For example, if you're grilling a large piece of meat that won't be finished before your coals burn out, the chimney comes to your rescue! As your coals start to die down, simply put a new load of fresh coals in your chimney and fire it up. 15-20 minutes later, you have a whole new batch of red coals that can now be dumped into your BBQ, with no loss of cooking time, or dealing with the hassle of trying to light new charcoal in a BBQ that already has meat on it. The only catch, is that you'll obviously have to sit the chimney somewhere else while it warms up, other than the BBQ, and a patch of cement is the obvious choice.
It really all comes down to this: A charcoal chimney is one of those things that will make your life easier and (and if used properly) safer. It's dead simple to use, and hard to screw up. But most of all, it's one of those very few magical products that not only do what they promise to do, but they do it so well that they exceed all rational expectations. And hey, you can't beat the price either.
I did a fair amount of research and comparison shopping before deciding on this particular charcoal chimney model. When comparing the known brand names, the remarks made by previous buyers, and of course the price: I found this one to be the best buy. And I have no regrets (other than not getting it sooner). I could not be happier with my purchase.
I strongly recommend this product to everyone that cooks with charcoal. You will not be disappointed.
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Honest Review of the Char-Griller Charcoal Grill Chimney Starter
✅ The Schneiders ✅
Totally and 100% worth it to add onto the Weber Charcoal Grills! Super easy and fast!
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2016
I bought this as an add on to the Weber Premium Charcoal Grill and boy are we glad we did. I got this grill as a gift for my boyfriend who is the gourmet cook in this family and I don't cook at all. I figured he'd want a charcoal grill so that food is authentically grilled and much to my surprise he has little experience using charcoal grill. So we've been cooking on it nonstop since last weekend and learning from awesome dishes and failures how to become better at it and I don't know where we'd be without this starter. It's LARGE and holds a lot of charcoal. I ordered the starter cubes, but they haven't arrived, so we used standard charcoal and just filled it up and lit through the holes as directed. Large flames shoot off the top when it catches, so be sure that you have the starter placed on the bottom grill and not the cooking surface so you can easily pour the coals and spread them out as desired. This makes life a LOT easier and I imagine we'd have spent a lot more time trying to start the coals evenly and get cooking without this. The handle stays cool no matter what and you can easily fit enough coals in this to cook for hours without refilling it. I really recommend this over the smaller one because if you're going to do it....do it right. Why have to cook up two batches of coals just to cook your chicken and burgers? This gets your grill up to 500 degrees and ready to cook pretty fast compared to doing it the old fashioned way. Just paper and coals works fine if you don't use any starter cubes or other items. I am thrilled I chose to add this onto my gift, otherwise I think he'd have been too stressed to cook off a first meal!
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2016
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Top reviews from other countries
M CHRISTIAN ALBINA
Très pratique
Reviewed in France on August 12, 2023Size: StandardStyle: Chimney OnlyVerified Purchase
Enrico
Geniale Erfindung
Reviewed in Germany on July 18, 2023Size: StandardStyle: Chimney OnlyVerified Purchase
Juanjo
Qué chulada papá
Reviewed in Spain on November 4, 2021Size: StandardStyle: Chimney OnlyVerified Purchase
JCue
Extremely helpful. Saves loads of time.
Reviewed in Canada on July 11, 2020Size: StandardStyle: Chimney OnlyVerified Purchase
