nate Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Not sure if anyone else out there has tried something similar but I thought I'd mention it. The other day I was trying anything to get my coco's to light a little faster and started to use an air pump (that came with an exercise ball that i have) and the thing worked wonders.. blowing on them while they were on the burner made quite a mess, but after about 5 minutes i took them off and partially wrapped them in tinfoil and continued to use the pump until they were glowing red. If I had a dedicated burning i'm sure i could jerry rig some kind of pseudo fireplace for them which would be ideal.. It's better than using you mouth to blow on them, so hopefully some other people out there find this useful. For me, my burners are quite large and i just feel like it's a waste to leave them on to light one or two little coals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 [quote name='nate' timestamp='1296965969' post='496930'] Not sure if anyone else out there has tried something similar but I thought I'd mention it. The other day I was trying anything to get my coco's to light a little faster and started to use an air pump (that came with an exercise ball that i have) and the thing worked wonders.. blowing on them while they were on the burner made quite a mess, but after about 5 minutes i took them off and partially wrapped them in tinfoil and continued to use the pump until they were glowing red. If I had a dedicated burning i'm sure i could jerry rig some kind of pseudo fireplace for them which would be ideal.. It's better than using you mouth to blow on them, so hopefully some other people out there find this useful. For me, my burners are quite large and i just feel like it's a waste to leave them on to light one or two little coals. [/quote] Get a coil burner from walgreens. I am not sure about using an air pump for those things though, the increase in temperature might affect the life of the coil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcane Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 i use canaries and only have the burners on for 2-3 minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magick777 Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 [quote name='nate' timestamp='1296965969' post='496930'] Not sure if anyone else out there has tried something similar but I thought I'd mention it. The other day I was trying anything to get my coco's to light a little faster and started to use an air pump (that came with an exercise ball that i have) and the thing worked wonders.. blowing on them while they were on the burner made quite a mess, but after about 5 minutes i took them off and partially wrapped them in tinfoil and continued to use the pump until they were glowing red. If I had a dedicated burning i'm sure i could jerry rig some kind of pseudo fireplace for them which would be ideal.. It's better than using you mouth to blow on them, so hopefully some other people out there find this useful. For me, my burners are quite large and i just feel like it's a waste to leave them on to light one or two little coals. [/quote] Sounds like a lot of hassle to save a minute or two (or tuppence ha'penny in gas); personally I find it easiest to leave coals in the flame until they're heated through and will tend to prepare a bowl, put coals on while making tea, let them sit in a flame for as much as ten to fifteen minutes (for natural lump coals), serve the tea, and go back for coals. It does not have to be a powerful flame, but, time is what works for me. When I don't have fifteen minutes to light the coals, I resort to olive wood finger coals that will light in five minutes. Some other options you might like to be aware of: 1) Tried a heat spreader as used for tagines and the like, provides hot metal in contact with the coals and does speed things up - but not by enough to justify the hassle of digging it out, putting it on the burner and dealing with the red hot lump of metal afterwards. 2) What I want to make (but haven't got round to it) is a charcoal swinger as used in the Middle East - basically a tall metal pot or tin, with holes in the base and around the bottom of the sides, plus a handle or chain arrangement to swing it around. Coals go in, heat it up until the coals begin to glow, then take it outside and swing it around until the coals glow throughout. This is particularly relevant for lump coals, and I doubt I'd bother for shaped coconut coals. Again, though... how much time or gas is this going to save? Sure, if I were a shisha cafe serving 50 bowls in a day I'd be bothered about time and fuel efficiency, but I have no problem using the gas for 10 minutes to cook pasta or for 2 hours if I'm making a soup... never seen a pressing problem with using it for 10 minutes to light coals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chreees Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Hybrid coal burner, anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no longer welcome Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 with my recent move i have gone from the outside gas grill on my bbq, to a coil burner, the old bbq had a gas line, so it never ran out, the new bbq has a propane tank, which is just a hassle. i have 2 coild burners, one on my balcony and one where i work in the garage that i use for anywhere else. i'm still getting used to them. i really don't care for them, but it's the best solution for lighting coals right now. i'm going to a family friends house today for superbowl, last time i talked to them i asked about their coal consumption as all they get are ch ql's, but this family consumes, they buy by the case and go though a 250g of af each day, yes, according to them, each day. anyhow, my gift to take over is a box of nats and...a coil burner. ql's are great and for convenience, also, if you are a once a week type smoker, but if you are smoking hours throughout the day, it's time to get a coil burner and nats. I've seen lounges that run a fan over lighting lump coals in bulk, and it's hot, messy and windy. the best i've seen is this one lounge that has a super industrial glass top, they were so proud of it and showed me that they can light a ch nat in under 2 minutes. 1 of the 4 burners has cracked since, but i hope it lasts them. that is the most ideal way i've seen to light coals. gettting them partially lit, and if you have the time an patience is all you need. let them sit in a well ventilated area for 10 minutes and they'll be ready. the only drawback is the smell of non fully lit coals, hence, "well ventilated area" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertLovesMagdyZidan Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 [quote name='HookahJohn' timestamp='1297024183' post='496993'] with my recent move i have gone from the outside gas grill on my bbq, to a coil burner, the old bbq had a gas line, so it never ran out, the new bbq has a propane tank, which is just a hassle. i have 2 coild burners, one on my balcony and one where i work in the garage that i use for anywhere else. i'm still getting used to them. i really don't care for them, but it's the best solution for lighting coals right now. i'm going to a family friends house today for superbowl, last time i talked to them i asked about their coal consumption as all they get are ch ql's, but this family consumes, they buy by the case and go though a 250g of af each day, yes, according to them, each day. anyhow, my gift to take over is a box of nats and...a coil burner. ql's are great and for convenience, also, if you are a once a week type smoker, but if you are smoking hours throughout the day, it's time to get a coil burner and nats. I've seen lounges that run a fan over lighting lump coals in bulk, and it's hot, messy and windy. the best i've seen is this one lounge that has a super industrial glass top, they were so proud of it and showed me that they can light a ch nat in under 2 minutes. 1 of the 4 burners has cracked since, but i hope it lasts them. that is the most ideal way i've seen to light coals. gettting them partially lit, and if you have the time an patience is all you need. let them sit in a well ventilated area for 10 minutes and they'll be ready. the only drawback is the smell of non fully lit coals, hence, "well ventilated area" [/quote] actully, i do that with both wood coals and CCN. get a coil burner and a small fan(electric fan not one of those portable fans) put it close to ur coals and remember sparks will fly so becareful about that but u can lightly light CCN on one side and flip em and the rest will be taken care of Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Hey thanks for the replies. I realized that it probably wasn't that original of an idea, but thought if i mentioned it some other people might contribute some good ideas, which you did! It's not the money on the gas that concerned me, but just the waste. It's generally something i try to avoid with anything, but I guess there may be no other option in this situation. Thanks all for the comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indian_villager Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Get some form of tin can and build a smaller version of this http://www.amazon.com/Weber-87886-Chimney-Starter/dp/B00004U9VV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 [quote name='nate' timestamp='1296965969' post='496930'] Not sure if anyone else out there has tried something similar but I thought I'd mention it. The other day I was trying anything to get my coco's to light a little faster and started to use an air pump (that came with an exercise ball that i have) and the thing worked wonders.. blowing on them while they were on the burner made quite a mess, but after about 5 minutes i took them off and partially wrapped them in tinfoil and continued to use the pump until they were glowing red. If I had a dedicated burning i'm sure i could jerry rig some kind of pseudo fireplace for them which would be ideal.. It's better than using you mouth to blow on them, so hopefully some other people out there find this useful. For me, my burners are quite large and i just feel like it's a waste to leave them on to light one or two little coals. [/quote] never thought of that particular solution. We just used to have a small 3" fan pointed down at the burner in the Bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaffaaf27 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 i get them half lit in my coal holder, on my gas stove, then pop them into the monster coal holder john sells. Then i swing it round and round outside. After 5 mins of gas and aout 30s of swinging, the coals are red hot and on fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 wow, that thing looks impressive. nice find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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