Grillfinity 530103 Electric Charcoal Starter

I have a Big Green Egg and had been using their charcoal starter cubes. They worked OK, but if it was windy it could be challenging to start the grill. I bought this charcoal starter for the same price as one package of the BGE cubes. The first time I used the electric starter I fell in love. Within five minutes I could see the warm glow of the fire. I removed the starter, closed the lid and within 15 minutes my Egg was at 700 degrees. I'll never go back to the starter cubes. It could be improved with a silicone handle and a longer chord. It's great to be cooking within 30 minutes of getting home.

It works as expected. I purchased this to start charcoal inside a green egg. The only problem is that the starter, due to the overall length, has to be placed inside the egg on a steep angle. It would be nice to have one that has an angle bent in front of the handle, allowing the heating section to be placed horizontal position under the charcoal. So, I am thinking of buying a chimney charcoal starter that would allow me to use this electric unit a horizontal position, then transfer the charcoal into the egg after it is fully lit. With that said, there is nothing wrong with this unit, just not great for use inside the green egg.

Burned out on the first run - And yes, I followed the instructions exactly."Place the lighter into kettle so that handle rests outside kettle rim..." - Check.It's a BGE so it's not outside, but well above the fire ring."Do not place any charcoal on or beyond the support bracket..." - Check.Actually, the bracket had no fire marks nor did any of the plastic even looked touched by heat."Within 6 - 8 minutes, unplug..." - Check.This is my first Kamado grill, and as such first time using an electric starter, so honestly I was watching it like a hawk to make sure and not mess up. I plugged it in, walked inside to grab my grill brush and a drink, came back out in less than 5 minutes and was pleasantly surprised to see my coals were already lit! Wow! Unplugged it and laid it on the patio. Very nice.3 days later I plugged it back in for a company potluck... Nothing. Burn-out. What... the... F.The reason I'm giving this 1 star is because: Yes - I understand these things go out. But this is EXPENSIVE for one of these to be so sub-par. The 6 foot cord looked nice, and for the price, I expected it to be higher quality and less prone to burn-outs.Wrong.That night for the potluck I made a mad dash to Home Depot before close and bought a different one of these with a short cord and a 25 foot extension cord for the same price. Learned that lesson. Just go buy this retail in case it does burn out on you, it's not even cheaper online.

I have one of the larger weber grills, and using this, it has to be on the edgewith charcoal piled on it. Only minor complaint, is that it starts one section of the grill,then I have to try to spread the hot coals across the rest of the area and wait for it toheat up. If the element to the shield that rests on the side of the barbecue were longer,it would be perfect. Good quality, think of where you will put this glowing hot starterafter using it.

This has made lighting coals a breeze. Just put some coals on top of it and plug it in. In about 5 minutes or less you have your coals lighted.I use it with lump charcoal in my Big Steel Keg. I check on it frequently and remove it as soon as I get flames. I figure removing it before it is in the flames too long will prolong the life of the element, who knows...Had it over 1 year, works great, good lenght of cord, and very convenient. With proper care, I feel that it will last many more years.

I really like this product. It makes lighting your charcoal a breeze. I must add I do use a charcoal chimney. Without both products neither is as good. I load my chimney with the leftover charcoal from last time I grilled, then the charcoal starter, then some fresh charcoal. I remove grill rack, set chimney in grill with top off. Plug in for 10 mins, remove charcoal starter, put in safe place (very hot). Then I just let the charcoal go for a few more minutes until coals are perfect. No lighter fluid, no paper ash, good food pretty fast.

I know we're not supposed to be grilling out any more for health and earth reasons, but I still love to do it from time to time. I love this charcoal starter. I had one for ages that died and this has been a fine replacement. It gets the coals going without chemicals, and I don't have to keep chemicals around. Woohoo! Build a pyramid with the starter intersecting the middle. Pile the coals around it so as many as possible are touching it. Set the timer, and your fire is underway.

I purchased this electric lighter because I wanted my food to taste like charcoal, not lighter fluid, and it reliably ignites the coals every time (I've used it both with and without a chimney). The chord is a little short, but I've plugged it into a heavy-duty extension chord without any problems. One note -- I've found it harder to light a small amount of coals vs. a large stack because the product itself is rather large.