Yet another Technique for lighting a grill...

Lighting the coals is easy when you know the basics. Fire is contagious. Keeping the briquets close together will help the fire spread from coal to coal easily so they’re ready to use faster.

Lighting the coals with a

chimney starter

This simple device uses paper — most commonly newspaper — to light the coals, which are held within the confines of a metal cylinder. The coals sit above the flames, so the edges light quickly and help ignite neighboring coals.

image: https://www.kingsford.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kfd-howtolightthecoals-Chimney2_0038.jpg

Step 1. Fill the chimney with charcoal.

Fill the chimney with the appropriate amount of charcoal. A standard chimney holds about 100 briquets. But you may not need that many. Learn more at our Coal Configurator.

image: https://www.kingsford.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kfd-howtolightthecoals-Chimney3_0070.jpg

Step 2. Add newspaper and light it.

Add one or two sheets of newspaper, following the instructions on the chimney. Light the newspaper in several spots. As the newspaper burns in the chamber below, the flames light the edges of the charcoal above. Peek through the vents of the chimney to check if the coals have started and the edges of the coals have turned gray. If the coals have not started, burn another piece of newspaper. You can also drizzle the newspaper with cooking oil before lighting so it burns longer.

image: https://www.kingsford.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kfd-howtolightthecoals-Chimney4_0117.jpg

Step 3. When you see flames up top, pour out the coals.

After about 10 minutes, you will see the coals starting to glow through the vents and flames starting to flicker over the top layer of coals. Pour them out into a pile and wait until the coals are mostly covered in ash and gray in color. Then spread the coals out. The entire process takes approximately 15 minutes.