How it works
A chimney starter is a steel cylinder that stacks charcoal vertically over a paper or firelighter base. When you light the bottom, hot air rises through the stack, so each coal lights the one above it. In twelve to fifteen minutes the whole chimney is lit, evenly, with no fuss and no chemicals.
Why it beats lighter fluid
- No chemical taste: lighter fluid leaves petroleum residue on the fuel and in your food.
- Faster and more reliable, even in wind and cold.
- No dangerous flare-up from squirting fluid onto lit coals.
- It doubles as your unit of measurement: a full chimney is high heat, half is medium.
How to use one
Fill it with charcoal, put a couple of wood-wool firelighters or some crumpled newspaper in the bottom chamber, and light it. Wait until the top coals are grey and ashed over, then tip them into the grill. That is the entire skill. There is genuinely nothing to it once you own the tool.
Once you think in chimneys, charcoal quantities stop being guesswork. A full chimney gives high direct heat across a 57cm kettle; half a chimney gives medium heat or a good two-zone fire; eight to ten lit coals tipped onto a bed of unlit ones gives you low and slow.
The verdict
For around twenty five pounds, a chimney starter removes the single most common reason people dislike charcoal: the faff and the chemical taste of lighting it. Buy this before you buy a better grill, better tools or anything else. It is the highest-value purchase in outdoor cooking.
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