Charcoal Chimney vs. Lighter Fluid: The Five-Minute Fix

If your grilled food ever tasted faintly of chemicals, lighter fluid was the culprit. The fix costs $20 and takes five minutes to learn: a chimney starter lights charcoal with nothing but a sheet of newspaper, and it does it better than fluid in every way.

This is the easiest upgrade in all of grilling, and it is the one experienced cooks recommend first. Here is why the chimney wins and exactly how to use it.

The five-minute fix

A chimney starter is a metal cylinder with a handle and a grate inside. You fill the top with charcoal, put a couple sheets of crumpled newspaper or a fire starter cube underneath, and light the paper.

The chimney draws air up through the coals like, well, a chimney, so the whole load lights evenly from the bottom up. In 15 to 20 minutes the top coals turn ashy gray and you pour them into the grill, ready to cook.

No fluid, no chemical taste, no waiting around wondering if it caught. That is the entire pitch.

Why lighter fluid is a problem

Lighter fluid is a petroleum product, and some of it burns off while the rest soaks into your food. That faint acrid taste on fluid-lit food is the leftover chemical, and once you notice it you cannot unnotice it.

It also lights unevenly. You douse the coals, light them, and the fluid burns off in a couple of minutes, often leaving half the pile unlit while you add more fluid and chase it around.

And it is the source of most backyard fireballs. Squirting fluid onto lit coals is how eyebrows disappear, so it is a safety issue on top of a flavor one.

What a chimney costs

A chimney starter runs $15 to $25 and lasts many years, since it is just steel. That is a one-time cost lower than a single bag of premium charcoal.

Compare that to lighter fluid at $6 to $10 a bottle that you buy again and again. Over a couple of seasons the chimney is not only better, it is cheaper.

There is no premium version you need. A standard-size chimney holds enough charcoal for most cooks, and the cheap ones work as well as the expensive ones.

How to use a chimney, step by step

The method is simple and hard to get wrong.

Fill the chimney with charcoal from the top. A full standard chimney holds roughly 100 briquettes, which is enough for a hot two-zone fire on a normal grill.

Crumple two sheets of newspaper and stuff them loosely into the bottom chamber, or set one fire starter cube there instead. Set the chimney on the grill grate, light the paper or cube through the holes at the bottom, and leave it alone.

Wait 15 to 20 minutes. When the top coals are covered in gray ash, the whole load is lit. Grab the handle, pour the coals where you want them, and put the cooking grate back on.

How much charcoal to load

Match the load to the cook, and you will not waste fuel.

For a hot two-zone fire on a standard grill, fill the chimney full, about 100 briquettes, and pour them onto one side. For a smaller or gentler cook, fill it halfway.

For low-and-slow smoking, light a smaller amount and add unlit coals to extend the burn. You rarely need more than a full chimney at once unless you are running a large grill.

No chimney yet? Your options

If you have not bought a chimney, you still have good alternatives to fluid.

Fire starter cubes are cheap, about $8 to $12 for a box, and food-safe. Tuck one or two under a pile of charcoal, light them, and the coals catch with no chemical taste, though it lights a little less evenly than a chimney.

An electric charcoal starter, $15 to $25, is a metal loop you set in the coals and plug in. It glows hot and lights the pile in about 8 to 10 minutes, which is handy if you have an outlet nearby.

Both beat lighter fluid. But the chimney is faster and needs no electricity, so it is still the one to buy.

A worked example: lighting a two-zone fire

You want steaks tonight. Fill a chimney with charcoal, stuff two crumpled sheets of newspaper underneath, set it on the grate, and light the paper.

Eighteen minutes later the top coals are gray. You pour the full load onto the left half of the grill for a two-zone fire, drop the grate on, and in five more minutes you are searing. No fluid, no chemical taste, no fireball, and it cost you $20 once.