EGGARY - yeah, I only hit a spot for about 20 seconds of so. I guess it really depends on the kind of charcoal now that I think about it for a bit. For my regular FOGO brand charcoal, I hit a spot for about 20 seconds. However, when I use CoCoNut Extruded Charcoal, because of its density, it does take longer to light. I'll probably hit a single spot for about 30-45 seconds, at the max. I always try and hit a jagged edge on the CoCoNut where I broke it. That works infinitely better than trying to light a side or an end of a piece!