Marksj Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 am a new grill owner. Didn't get gas starter. Anyone have suggestions as to how to best start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Starting a KK There are many ways to light your KK. paraffin cubes, Guru golf Club, Mapp torch, electric lighter, charcoal chimney. Do not use any type of lighter fluid. I have settled on the electric lighter because I have an outlet handy, it can be set in the coals and forget it 'til you see smoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 I've had a ceramic cooker for sometime, and only today discovered the wonders of a chimney starter. Where has it been all my life! Lighted lump in a matter of minutes. Amen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 I use one paraffin cube (1x1"). I open front draft door 1/2" (top right corner) and open the top draft 3 turns. When temp gets to 200 I close the front draft door to just over 1/4". (I don't use the dial knob) The top vent I close all the way then reopen it 2 turns. By watching the temp gauge I can control the temp by opening or closing the top vent accordingly. As the mass heats up I adjust the top vent. I would think that different locations might find the open draft measurements a little different but close. For hot cooks the vent openings are larger. Dennis once told me that as long as the top vent is open just a small bit the fire wont go out. As a result I started using it for temp control. Happy cooking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_R Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 I also use the chimney to get things started (with gas torch to get the bottom few coals going). For slow cooking I only light a few lumps and then dump that onto the top of the pile in the KK. This ensures that only a few coals are lit at any one time (no run away temperatures). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dub Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I use a big Weber 'chimbly' starter for grilling. So far it's lasted for nearly 18 years. I use the 'green goo' gelatinized alcohol for lo-n-slo starts.(available only at Barbecues Galore anymore it seems.) Booos and hisses to WalMart for not carrying the green goo anymore and booos and hisses to Lowe's for not carrying Weber cubes anymore (especially at the $1.99 a pack they sold them for.) If anybody can find better sources Puhleeeeze let me know. dub(aggravated with my big borg box stores) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Alcohol starts I use the 'green goo' gelatinized alcohol for lo-n-slo starts.(available only at Barbecues Galore anymore it seems.) Huh. Didn't know there was such a thing. While I tend to use either mapp torch (very directed, starts fire under my smoke pot, to spread over 24 hours for low & slow) or chimney or electric starter, I've also been a big fan of alcohol starts. One needs as close to 100% alcohol as available, not the 80% stuff. I pour it on, get ready to close the cooker, light with a torch, close and back off. The womp can cause birds to fly away in the neighborhood, like in the movies. All show, I've never been hurt. A serious advantage is that unlike lighter fluid, this burns off completely with no aftertaste. It's all about where you are in molecular weight; petroleum byproducts are heavier, nastier molecules. Even parafin is a petroleum byproduct. It doesn't smell nearly as bad as lighter fluid, but it isn't my choice. Alas, the disadvantage is that drugstore alcohol isn't ethanol. (One can buy large cans of denatured ethanol at hardware stores, but seldom as cheaply.) Ethanol is the lightest alcohol molecule, it burns safefly into water and carbon dioxide. It also doesn't kill you when you drink it because as it breaks down, it has nowhere to go but safe. The drugstore rubbing alcohols burn less safely, with carbon monoxide as a byproduct. In your body they can break down into some nasty byproducts, which is why you don't drink the stuff. Nevertheless, this is fear-mongering. Charcoal itself produces plenty of carbon monoxide, which is why we don't use it indoors, and one can simply clear the area while the fire lights. (I hold my breath as I walk away, so I don't have a bad math day.) No one was planning to drink the stuff, and it wouldn't be legal for sale to rub all over if this had the same effect as drinking it. Once the fire gets up to speed, the alcohol is gone. Period. End of story. A purist wanting an accelerant would light their fires with pure ethanol, and view any solution whatsoever involving heavier molecules as inferior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maherussell Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 In the Seychelles they have these white chemical laden brickettes that smell of something non-descript. Since I have some bees wax, I soak brown paper strips from the charcal sacks and roll them cigar style. They work perfectly for my home made chimney, but lousy in the charcoal basket of the KK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Syzygies, How much alcohol? And does the amount needed to get a good start vary between ethanol and isopropanol? Maybe its time to get a fuel ethanol permit..... Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dub Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 GREEN GELS Shows and tells: http://www.greenheat.co.za/Products.aspx?CatID=8 Was sold at Wal-mart 4-5 years ago. Now, sadly discontinued. I think the BBQ Galore brand is called Eco-Start, IIRC. (their site is zero help here) They both consist of simply ethanol + enough starch to gel the ethanol + green coloring + Bitrex(to keep the Listerine and Sterno drinkers at bay). A quart bottle lasts me 2-3 years. Hmmm I definitely need to cook more barbecue..... dub(behind the curve on lo-n-slos lately) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartanvet88 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 I use the 'green goo' gelatinized alcohol for lo-n-slo starts.(available only at Barbecues Galore anymore it seems.) Hey what about using the gel in those "Sterno" containers. A small amount seems to go a long way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Hey what about using the gel in those "Sterno" containers. A small amount seems to go a long way? Ain't napalm grand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouterpf Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 Go to a camping goods store and ask for 'fire starter' in a tube. The boy Scouters that I camp with refer to it as "snot", what it seems to be is a gelled alcohol. for our KK I use a long handled propane fire / weed burner (don't have to reach in the KK). The electric also works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rorkin Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 Re: lighting the grill am a new grill owner. Didn't get gas starter. Anyone have suggestions as to how to best start? Bernzomatic Weed Torch.. Quick- and multi purpose http://www.amazon.com/Bernzomatic-19425 ... B00008ZA0F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryR Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Weber Cubes Those of you who have or are using Weber cubes how are you using them, in a chimney or just setting them on or in your lump in the KK? I love these little suckers, just picked-up another 5 boxes at Lowes today. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer John Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Man go to harbour freight tools the weed torch is the only way. Hook it to a 20# tank and it is like a flame thrower. Full lit grill in 10 minutes max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryR Posted May 1, 2010 Report Share Posted May 1, 2010 Stop and drink some wine or beer I've thought about the flame thrower aproach but a fire ready in 10 min means too little time to enjoy an adult beverage or four . If it takes me an hour or two on a Sat. to get Hestia going I'm great with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 My favorite BBQ tool.. a cheapo hair dryer. For years I used a simple Bernzomatic propane torch.. but ACE hardware stopped importing the blue bottles.. I thought my life was over. I had always laughed at the lil paraffin cubes thinking that you would have to start your cooks days before.. How wrong I was.. those lil cubes get plenty of charcoal burning to take advantage of my favorite BBQ tool.. a cheapo hair dryer. The huge volume of additional airflow gets what's burning raging and glowing at such high temps that it easily ignites the charcoal in the surrounding area. Brings out the 10 year old pyromaniac in you also.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Re: lighting the grill Bernzomatic Weed Torch.. Quick- and multi purpose http://www.amazon.com/Bernzomatic-19425 ... B00008ZA0F Here's another vote for Rorkin's torch, which I use as well. One of the great things about this model is that is has an igniter which you can see in the picture half way down the torch, so you don't need a flame to light it. You attach a small cylinder which costs a couple of bucks at a hardware store (and lasts a llooonnngggg time),turn the knob on the cylinder and hit the igniter and you immediately have a big strong flame shooting out the bottom. And its just the right length for the KK so you don't have to bend over to reach the charcoal. You just need to be careful not to light too much charcoal for a low temp cook because it gets hot really fast. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcoliver Posted May 2, 2010 Report Share Posted May 2, 2010 Dennis, I use the paraffin cubes as a back up to my propane in case it goes empty on me. I have never had trouble getting a good fire going with those and I don't even use a hair dryer, just open up all the dampers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
