Chimney Starter

I'm new to smoking and have recently bought an Amigo. Have used it three times with excellent results so far (possibly more luck than judgement!). My question is regarding the chimney starter I also bought. The instructions say "Requires no lighter fluid or cubes, just a couple of bits of scrunched (is that a word?) up newspaper is all it takes"

What am I doing wrong then? I've needed copious quantities of firelighters to get the charcoal going.

I was using normal (supermarket) charcoal which was fine once it had got going.

Do you think it was poor quality or is there a bit of technique involved in stacking the chimney or what?

Thanks

Get some newspaper, 2-3 sheets, scrunch it up a bit then flatten it out again & roll it, sheet by sheet into sausages about 8 inches long. Curl these around the inside of the bottom (the shallow end of the chimney starter, leavening a bit of an air gap in the middle. Get 2 house bricks & place them about 4 inches apart, so you can put the chimney starter on them & still allow the airflow through. Put as much charcoal in the top (the deep side) as you need, & set fire to the newspaper in the bottom. Put the starter on the bricks & leave it to go, it'll take about 5 -10 mins to get the coals all going, be careful not to pick the starter up while the paper is on fire, it'll just drop out the bottom!

Good luck

Thanks - I'll give that a try

I find the key to the chimney starter is making sure there is airflow through - not too much paper balled up, not to much coal in the starter, and I find it works better with briquettes rather than lumpwood, as wood has a tendency to create more dust and small pieces that obstruct airflow.

It is also best to start with fresh briquettes for the same reason. many grills let you close the vents to put the fire out. While it may be tempting to reuse the small part used coals, they obstruct airflow in the chimney starter.

Paul.