tony b Posted December 6, 2016 Report Posted December 6, 2016 Amazon has a 94% 5 star rating (117 reviews), so Doc's on to something here. Per their listing it's - "All natural, eco-friendly materials (soy/paraffin wax, cardboard and newspaper), no harmful chemicals and won't flavor food" I just ordered some. https://smile.amazon.com/Walden-Natural-Starters-Charcoal-Lighters/dp/B01C3KO7X0 And if you needed another reason, there's this - "Made with pride in the USA by adults with disabilities. We thank you!" So, I ordered 3 of the gift packs for Xmas gifts to my grilling buddies. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EIE8JR4
mguerra Posted December 6, 2016 Author Report Posted December 6, 2016 I didn't see that gift bag before. That's a pretty good little gift! Yeah, I got them because of the made in USA by disabled people thing. Just wanted to try something new after watching Baby Back Maniac (Hogsfan) videos.
Aussie Ora Posted December 7, 2016 Report Posted December 7, 2016 They look like they do a good job I just use a natural fire starter. If I want things quick I go the Dennis way hair dryer gets me to grilling Temps real quickSent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
tony b Posted December 7, 2016 Report Posted December 7, 2016 I've been struggling lately to get to higher temps (> 450F), so I thought that I'd give these a shot, along with going back to regular Royal Oak lump. I'm getting tired of having to break up those humongous pieces in bags of Fogo and Quebracho, especially now that it's getting colder weather - just want to dump some charcoal into the basket, light it, and duck back in the house as quickly as possible. 1
mguerra Posted December 7, 2016 Author Report Posted December 7, 2016 The hairdryer trick is super fast. I use it often. These Walden starters are so fast I may not need the hairdryer as often. One thing to get a fire FAST is to use Royal Oak as your starting fuel. You may have noticed I used a 1/2 chimney of Royal Oak for starting and dumped that out on to a bed of Fogo. 1
tony b Posted December 8, 2016 Report Posted December 8, 2016 Thanks, Doc! Might have to try the "hybrid" of Royal Oak and Fogo, as 100% Fogo has been problematic for me in hitting higher temps, owing to the bigger chunks of charcoal. Even when I take a screwdriver and rubber mallet to them, they're still baseball sized chunks.
Aussie Ora Posted December 8, 2016 Report Posted December 8, 2016 Medium to small chunks are my preffered lump. I don't want or need half a tree. In saying that I have a reciprocating saw that I have used to cut up chunks on larger pieces works great. If you have a band saw even better just watch your fingers lolSent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
tony b Posted December 8, 2016 Report Posted December 8, 2016 9 hours ago, Aussie Ora said: If you have a band saw even better just watch your fingers lol Hence the reason that I WON'T be using one to cut up lump charcoal anytime soon! 1
Poochie Posted January 10, 2017 Report Posted January 10, 2017 What's faster than the hair dryer trick? A $22 Wagner heat gun. No starter cubes, no nothing. Fill the coal basket, insert the nozzle of the heat gun in the middle of the pile. Turn it on and it'll light the lump in about a minute and a half. Low and slow? Light one spot. Higher heat cook? light 3 spots. I use it to light the lump every time and it's hasn't failed me. I added a $9.99 Harbor Freight heat gun to the team and it works great too although it's a little slower getting the job done. Royal Oak lump is still king here and I've used a few.
tony b Posted January 10, 2017 Report Posted January 10, 2017 Been happy with these starters. I even snuffed one out from Sunday's cook and re-used it last night. It was a tad difficult to re-light, but once it was lit, it blazed up like new! Only time that I plan to use them, so far anyway, is to light a 1/2 chimney to dump onto the charcoal basket to get up to grilling temps really fast. When it's 20F outside, you don't want to dawdle around. Would be overkill to use them to start a low and slow cook. I'll stick to the MAPP torch & FiAir blower for those.
billg71 Posted January 10, 2017 Report Posted January 10, 2017 Side burner on a gasser works really well to start a chimney of charcoal. Just wear shoes when you walk that chimney over to the grill(don't ask)!
Poochie Posted January 10, 2017 Report Posted January 10, 2017 I have some starters that I bought at Academy. They work very well but I'm just using them now for the fun of it. Most of them are compressed sawdust held together with paraffin. They have a certain smell when burning but it does go away after a short while. Best to let the pit have lots of air while using them or they'll smolder for quite a while.
