The big Weber chimney is great for lighting a lot of charcoal, but I am finding that lighting a small amount of charcoal is a lot of work as most of the charcoal ends up at the edges, and needs to be moved around to get lit.

The obvious solution would be a smaller diameter chimney, has anyone found one of these anywhere? Alternatively, has anyone tried building one?

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Wagg:
The big Weber chimney is great for lighting a lot of charcoal, but I am finding that lighting a small amount of charcoal is a lot of work as most of the charcoal ends up at the edges, and needs to be moved around to get lit.

The obvious solution would be a smaller diameter chimney, has anyone found one of these anywhere? Alternatively, has anyone tried building one?

---When I want to light a few charcoal briquettes(around 15) I turn my Weber chiminey upside down and has worked great!

Richard

WSM Classic, OTG 22 1/2" with Smokenator

I have a smaller on -- not a Weber -- but I found it at the local hardware store. It used to be hard to find Weber chimneys locally but now I see them all over, but I would think places like Wal-Mart would have the smaller off-brand chimneys.

Never underestimate the power of Google. I found something that I think is going to meet my needs perfectly.

I took an old coffee can, cut out the top and bottom, put something flammable at the bottom and filled with charcoal.

Light this, when the coals are ready, just lift off the coffee can. This is going to work great for my portable grill, as well as short cooks like fish, or steak.

I am trying it out right now, I think that a few holes drilled halfway up the can would help the top coals get lit, but otherwise this is working great.

Chris

Ok, I have found that a coffee can doesn't hold enough charcoal. I am thinking a juice can or a very big coffee can might be necessary.

The web sites I found all indicated that punching holes in the bottom of the can was not neccessary, any I would agree with that, however I do think that a few holes drilled half way up the can would help ignite the top half of the charcoal.

To some this might seem like an insignificant "modification" however, I have found myself avoiding quick cook items, steak in particular, because I don't want to burn an hour's worth of charcoal for a 10 minute cook. I should really get myself a Performer, save myself all the aggravation.

Chris

Are you using the "3 lb (usually 32 oz these days)" coffee can?

Pat

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pat Smith,

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Wagg:
The big Weber chimney is great for lighting a lot of charcoal, but I am finding that lighting a small amount of charcoal is a lot of work as most of the charcoal ends up at the edges, and needs to be moved around to get lit.

Or you can flip the grate in the Weber chimney, upside down. Then the small amount of charcoal funnels in the center of the chimney. Pic of the Weber Charcoal Chimney Mod for you. Also this makes lighting on a side burner of a gasser so much easier. It puts the coals right on top of the burner for easy lighting.

thats what i did and find it works great for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Wagg:
The big Weber chimney is great for lighting a lot of charcoal, but I am finding that lighting a small amount of charcoal is a lot of work as most of the charcoal ends up at the edges, and needs to be moved around to get lit.

Or you can flip the grate in the Weber chimney, upside down. Then the small amount of charcoal funnels in the center of the chimney. Pic of the Weber Charcoal Chimney Mod for you. Also this makes lighting on a side burner of a gasser so much easier. It puts the coals right on top of the burner for easy lighting.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Wagg:
Ok, I have found that a coffee can doesn't hold enough charcoal. I am thinking a juice can or a very big coffee can might be necessary.

The web sites I found all indicated that punching holes in the bottom of the can was not neccessary, any I would agree with that, however I do think that a few holes drilled half way up the can would help ignite the top half of the charcoal.

To some this might seem like an insignificant "modification" however, I have found myself avoiding quick cook items, steak in particular, because I don't want to burn an hour's worth of charcoal for a 10 minute cook. I should really get myself a Performer, save myself all the aggravation.

Chris

bake some potatoes with the steak then you need the extra time

I find that closing off the bottom and top vents leaves the coals large enough to either fire a few new and start them, OR pour them back into a chimney and fire them up again

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dan {dutch oven Dan},

I tried the coffee can method, but it melted! ( Sorry, couldn't resist)

when I was eight years young (1966), I thought my dad invented the charcoal chimney.... HONESTLY!
He used two big coffee cans wired together and somehow (I was too young to figure this part out) wired a grid to hold the coal three or so inches from the bottom, and put paper under the short portion of the chimney to start the fire.
Neighbors that saw this, I remember, followed suit.
Yes, my dad's name IS Ray Lampe, and sad to say.... Dad passed away in 1999.
Not the BBQ Dr. Ray Lampe many of you know, nevertheless...
In my heart, he instilled in me the art, or FART, of barbecueing. And I'll never forget the day he brought home OUR first YELLOW 18" Weber grill.

Yeah, he probably burnt the burgers.

"The big Weber chimney is great for lighting a lot of charcoal, but I am finding that lighting a small amount of charcoal is a lot of work as most of the charcoal ends up at the edges, and needs to be moved around to get lit.

The obvious solution would be a smaller diameter chimney, has anyone found one of these anywhere? Alternatively, has anyone tried building one?"

Another potential solution that might be worth thinking about is a charcoal chimney geared toward Dutch oven cooking. They are shorter (usually about 9" tall)and about the same diameter as a Weber chimney. The concept is to have all the coals ready at about the same time and burning at the same rate. Taller chimneys give you the effect of the coals on bottom being nearly exhausted by the time the coals on top are ready. The Dutch oven type chimney has worked very well for me for a small batch of coals also. Might just fit your bill...here is an example of what I mean:
Link

I remember when a coffee can was the standard method for lighting coals. A long time ago I remember going to a friends house for a party and a couple of his buddies were razzing him because he wasted his money on a charcoal chimney and coffee cans were free.

I've made quite a few chimneys out of ventilation pipe with bicycle spokes for a grate. Here's a picture of my current chimney family:



The grate is made by drilling small holes all the way around the pipe and passing bicycle spoke through. The spokes have an elbow at one end and, once they've been passed through the holes, the other ends can be cut to length and bent over to hold them in place. Here's a photo:



I find that they don't need handles because they're small enough to handle using tongs.

-Mark.

For those of you that have done it, how do you flip the grate of the Weber Chimney. I think this is a great idea, but I had trouble when I tried. The grate is in there pretty good...

quote:

For those of you that have done it, how do you flip the grate of the Weber Chimney. I think this is a great idea, but I had trouble when I tried. The grate is in there pretty good...

I use a heavy duty straight blade screwdriver. Where the grate tab fits into the cylinder slot, pry the tab inward just enough to push down on it. Repeat this step on a second tab. The grate should be removeable at this point. Invert the grate and push it into the cylinder. I admit this is easier to do when the starter is new, but not to bad even if its well used. I've done this to nine of the Weber starters so far.
Good Luck,

Thanks boss, I really appreciate it, I'm always using the minion method with just a few coals..