BBQ Dragon - Charcoal Chimney Starter for Coal Grill (Extra Large)

As you can probably tell from the photos: it's a charcoal chimney with a twist - it has tube in the base.The idea is you take a source of forced air, intended to be the BBQ Dragon fan but it could be about anything, and blow air through the tube and thus up through the charcoal. i.e. you're creating a mini coal-powered blast furnace at home. The forced air makes the charcoal start much faster.As a chimney *without* the BBQ Dragon or other fan/forced air source: zero advantage over the average one you find at the hardware store. A little nicer, and with cool lettering. But it won't do any better at lighting your charcoal.As a chimney *with* the BBQ Dragon or similar: GAME CHANGER. This chimney plus the BBQ Dragon on max blast really does light your coals to the point you can cook on them in 5 minutes or less. That means BBQ, steaks on the grill, smores, whatever in much less time.For best results:* use the chimney first with the BBQ Dragon as instructed* use the Dragon on max for about 2 minutes. You're instructed to not go longer because you can damage the chimney, or even melt it. I believe it. I left it on for 2-3 minutes and burned off the anti-rust coating on the dragon. Why? Remember what I said earlier: at-home BLAST FURNACE. It's not a joke* pour out the coals in layers. The bottom half are completely lit and blazing hot. The top coals are partly to completely unlit - the base gets too hot. So get a layer of unlit coals on the bottom, then top with a layer of lit coals as you pour out* then take the BBQ Dragon fan (or whatever you're using) and blow on the coals for another 1-2 minutes. In practice you stop because the heat coming off of blown coals starts burning our hand. I reiterate: BLAST FURNACE.In total this process takes about 5 minutes if you have all the materials at hand.Alternatives to the BBQ Dragon: I consider the fan to be the weak point of this setup because it costs an eye-watering $60. If you're getting an upscale gift for a grill enthusiast it's worth it. Otherwise there has to be a better way. And I think there is: LEAF BLOWER.* loosely place paper into the hole/tube and light it* point the leaf blower on low toward the hole, the fire will quickly propagate to the rest of the paper an on through and up the tube to light the coals* as the paper burns down (this happens quick, especially under forced air) get the blower closer to the hole and turn up the power* you'll know when the coals are ready about 1-2 minutes later just the same as with the BBQ dragon: fire spitting out the top* you REALLY know when it's ready when the side walls of the chimney start glowing a dull red. Because I repeat for the final time: BLAST FURNACE.Don't have a leaf blower? Use the hair dryer. The wife might try to kill you, but you're now armed with hot coals. I give you a 50/50 chance of survival.Honestly, it's worth the $40 just for a pre-made mini blast furnace. So much fun.PARTING WARNING: forced air through lit charcoal = a volcano of sparks. Part of the fun. But if you're in an area with high fire risk and lots of dry tinder easily set on fire with sparks, this is NOT a good idea. Test at home for sure before taking it camping. Kingsford charcoal seems to spark less, while Fogo charcoal (way better than Kingsford for cooking btw) seems to be about 20% charcoal and 100% made of sparks. I know that adds up to more than 100%; that's how extra the sparks are.

You have to have this for searring your steaks.I know, I know, their are lot of different ways to sear meat, but nothing gives the flavor of charcoal. And since your meat is already cooked, you just want it to be HOT and sear it quickly, so as to not dry out or further cook your meat.BTW, I had my first one of these fir 3 yrs... No telling how many times I used it... 100+ ?I often left it outside in the rain, and rust finally got it... Probably more than the fire. But that's okay. I definitely got my money's worth of use out of it.Didn't think twice about ordering a new one today 🙂👍Oh btw, charcoal chunks, never briquettes 👍

Powerful fan!!! Had my charcoal lit up within 5 minutes. Worked great when deciding to reverse sear a steak. The chimney is also very large! Can't wait to try this on my Santa Maria grill!!! Very easy to use, time saver, lighting was simple & quick. I highly recommend this for the day to day griller!!!

Bonus here is it's made from stainless (I'm guessing 409 by the color) so assuming they didn't lie, it should last a long time and not burn out like the carbon steel ones. My only problem with this unit is it's too small. my older paper chimney would hold 30-40% more charcoal, so when I throw it in my grill, I have a nice base that fills the tray... this thing heats them up good with the blower, but when you dump the coals out, it kinda fills the middle of the pan, but the edges are empty. Handle is good, you're not going to get burnt or anything like that.If I get annoyed enough, I'll grab a piece of stainless flue pipe and remake this thing 4 inches taller so it's the same. Is it that big a deal? Not sure... but it's annoying to have red hot coals and then have to add another quart volume of unlit charcoal and spread it around and wait for that to light before starting to cook. I can't even pile them up higher at top.For a smaller grill it's probably fine, but my grate at roughly 12x18 inches is too sparsely filled to do the job on one load.As far as light it off goes, if you're using the blower, just leave it on low and make sure you put the bale of pine shavings in sideways so there's more surface area facing the tube... if you put it in long axis in, it'll burn, but you're not going to get the heat production.

When used with a blower fan, your colds will be ready to cook in less than 5 minutes. The heat that comes out of this thing is amazing

Do you NEED this? No... Do you WANT this? YES! I'm of the belief that if it ain't broke don't fix it. I've got a good chimney that I've used for years. That being said I bought the BBQ Dragon blower and chimney combo for my friend and it starts a roaring fire in like 1 minute when it's done right. First you want to put in your coals. Make sure to space out the coals so it can breath. If you suffocate the chimney, the fire can't get through and it won't circulate properly. I use a dense rolled up piece of newspaper or mail and shove it in the pipe hole. Light it, then start the fan on low, completely insert the fan in the pipe hole, then progressively turn the speed up until I get a good fire. When done't right, it wont take long. I would recommend hand/eye protection because the fire will get crazy if you let it.

Before I got this chimney for my husband we were eating any meal that came off the grill a solid hour after the "estimated dinnertime". Now it only takes a few minutes to get the grill ready instead of several beers- I mean minutes. If you are also sick and tired of your husband taking forever to do everything, I highly recommend buying him this chimney