British BBQ Society Forums

Has anyone any experience using a paint stripper gun to light charcoal / briquettes? it seems a logical choice and much cheaper than the Looftlighter that is designed for lighting fires. The one I have been looking at heats air to 600oC which is surely enough to ignite charcoal?

Would have thought so.

Yes, it works very well, but takes time and creates lots of sparks. Nowhere near as effective, easy, safe or quick as using a chimney starter. (Paint stripper was my lighter of choice before I discovered chimneys)

In the 80's we used to have an electric charcoal starter which was basically a raw element which you put right into the coals. Worked very well, but I think a chimney starter is best now.

after investing in what I used to think was an overpriced weber chimney starter, I now could not imagine being without it, it is so good i cant contemplate any other method!!

They are good.

I do use a chimney starter, it's just I can never get the paper to stay lit long enough without spraying it with oil. Which leads to oily spills on the patio and noxious grey smoke for the first 10 minutes until it burns off. What I am thinking of is getting one of these guns which will free stand, pointing the element upwards, and placing the chimney over it.

I use these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flamers-Natural ... B007Y4C7S8

I pick them up at a local Wyevale garden centre.

One or two is all you need in the bottom of the chimney. They are tinder dry, always light first time and give a long enough burn to get the charcoal going.

Newspaper works for lumpwood charcoal but I have found it doesn't for briquettes. However I've never had a funny taste to my food when using a weber cube firelighter or similar types when using to light briquettes in the chimney.
Failing that I have a plumbers has torch which does a decent job of light any type of fuel.


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I've just bought one of these to place my charcoal basket on to set it away.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cookout-Portable-Gas-Stove-Furnace-Split-Burner-Butane-Cookware-Outdoor-Camping-/291468363827?hash=item43dcde4833