Steven Raichlen Signature Series SR8041 Ultimate Charcoal Handle Chimney Starter, Extra Large, Black

Big & sturdy. Handle is handy.

As we all know, real grilling requires charcoal, not gas. Therefore, you need to figure out a way to quickly and easily light the coals. Using a charcoal starter is way easier than using charcoal lighter fluid. I've been using this Raichlen Ultimate Chimney Charcoal Starter for several weeks now, grilling about 4-5 days a week. I think it's awesome. It's big and gets the coals burning quickly. I just put one Weber 7417 FireStarters Lighter Cubes, 24 Count in the bottom of the starter (see photo) and light it from underneath the chimney.It's ready to go in about 15 minutes. If I want it to be ready even faster, I use two cubes. The charcoal starter seems well constructed and it has held up just fine so far. Two cautions. 1) If fully loaded, it is heavy for a smaller person to lift and pour out the coals. 2) It does get hot. I wear my Char-Broil 4226594 High Heat Leather Gloves for Grilling and the heat is not a problem. I recommend this product.

I have used this all summer multiple times a week. Hot coals in 15 to 20 minutes. After the initial paint peel nothing has deteriorated further. It seems like it will hold up for a couple of years. I will never go back to lighter fuel. Add a couple sheets of newspaper underneath and your all set.Know that the Paint comes off after 1 use. The main Handle gets very hot and you'll need to use a cloth or mitt to pour the coals into the grill. Don't even bother with attaching the second metal handle, that's a severe burn waiting to happen.If the handle didn't get hot and the paint hasn't come off it would get 5 stars. But ultimately it performs its intended job very well.

I've been using these charcoal starters for many years. As far as I know this is the only square shaped charcoal starter made. I use the starter as a small camping grill. I purchased an 8X8 inch adjustable,and flippable, grill top with a handle that fits perfectly on top of the starter, The first time I use a new starter, I fill it to brim and burn off the paint. After the inside paint is gone, I use one newspaper page, and about 15 competition briquettes that easily cook a one inch thick steak. The briquettes are ready to go in about 3 minutes. One of the things that makes this starter nice is, all of the heat is concentrated under the food, very little heat is wasted. The chances of burning hands when flipping food is next to nill. It's light weight and has a small foot print. I put it on top of my old Smokey Joe so the ashes fall into the Joe. I wish they would stop painting the starter though.

Only use it twice but very impressed. Four times a year I feed 20-30 people 3 meals a weekend at the racetrack with just an average sized barrel grill. I need all the fire box hot and staying that way for about 90 minutes. This totals out to about 16#'s of charcoal but with every other chimney that meant only a 1/3 of the charcoal could be started so I had a 20 minute wait after dumping the chimney until the grill would hit 300 f. Not a problem with this chimney. Added bonus, the large slot in the base make it easier to a fireplace lighter in to light the paper...a requirement when it is raining sideways.

Great chimney so far I’ve had it three months and it works great, I use it frequently. After the initial lighting there hasn’t been much change in the overs all appearance of its chimney. I love the fact that it hold quite a bit more than the Weber version. Being square shape it allows to pour the coals from the corners for greater precision in placement.The only negative is that the wood handles (not Bakelite plastic) do not cover all of the metal handle frame. This is dangerous to any one not wearimg safety heat resistant gloves or mits.Please where gloves when dumping hot coals.

First, my mistake for buying something that is painted. I thought if they painted this item it has to be just to make it look good and it will burn off after the first use.This horrible creation put off the most nauseating smell while heating and it never went away. The smell transferred from the chimney to the coals and was obviously unusable. Toxic would be the best word to describe the smell.I tried to burn the outside paint off with a torch to see if this scrap metal could be salvaged. The smell was 100% confirmed from the coating they put on this. Burning the coating off is not the answer due to safety concerns. I was using a very large torch that should have made very quick work of this. My breathing and the neighbors breathing became more of a concern.This is going straight into the trash, DO NOT BUY

I remember driving through Dallas once and thinking that they intentionally made some of the highway ramps ridiculously large because "everythings bigger in Texas" whether it needs to be or not. [Don't really know if that's true, it was just a thought going through my head].When I received this chimney and the rib rack from the same brand, I had a flashback. They're ridiculously large, almost gratuitously. The rib rack doesn't fit in my smoker at all (well, not if I want to actually close the lid and smoke) and guess what; this barely fits the firebox on my Silver Smoker. I can just barely squeeze it in there, and I definitely can't close the lid over it.I guess "bigger is better" for some, and if you have a really large grill or smoker and always wished for a bigger chimney, this may be the one for you. Frankly, I think it's a tad overdone and regret being stuck with it.