Rapidfire Chimney Starter for Charcoal Barbecues/BBQ Accessory, Lights Charcoal Briquettes Quickly Without Lighter Fluid, Aluminised Steel, 6 L Capacity, 32 cm x 20.5 cm x 32.5 cm

Excellent BBQ accessory – 5 stars all the way. Very impressed with the quality and sturdy build of the Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter. It lights charcoal briquettes quickly and evenly without needing lighter fluid, which makes barbecuing much easier and cleaner. Simple to use, reliable and saves a lot of time when preparing the BBQ. Good size capacity and feels built to last. Excellent value for money and highly recommended for anyone who enjoys charcoal cooking.

I'm new to BBQing and this is an absolutely magical item. You simply put charcoal into the top, some sort of firelighter (or even paper towel soaked in oil) underneath, and in 15-25 unattended minutes you have red hot coals! It's enabled me to do way more midweek BBQing - I even fire up the grill just for a couple of steaks in winter now as I much prefer keeping all the smoke and grease outside instead of in the kitchen. One thing I'd say is to be aware of just how large this is. Obviously this is a great thing for filling a large BBQ with hot coals but it is quite large to store, plus you have to light quite a few coals at once. I've found if I only need a few briquettes to do a couple of steaks, it's best to stack them on one side of the chimney starter and position the firelighters under that side. Spreading them evenly around the bottom doesn't always seem to get an even light when there are so few. But other than that, it really is foolproof. No lighter fluid, no waiting 45 minutes for the grill to be at temp, just blazing hot coals in 20-25 mins max. It is really great.

I treated myself to a new barbeque this summer and up until now i've always used instant light charcoal bags to get things started. However after researching things I felt it was time that I got myself one of these so I have a bit more control on starting the fire. The product works great and after about 20 minutes my charcoal was burning lovely and ready to be added to the barbeque. It does produce a lot of smoke when first started but that might be down to the charcoal I was using. Its well built and holds more than enough to get a fairly large barbeque going, The extra wire handle thing seems like it gets in the way but once you go to tip the charcoal out it makes a lot of sense and really helps with that process. The price is good and I imagine it will last me many years. All I can say is that having some heat proof gloves while using this is a must.

Great product. Works very well. This filled with charcoal will fill my main bbq and the smaller smoker on the side. If your tempted, make sure you check the size. It's quite big which is perfect for a larger bbq but possible overkill for a small bbq.

It took a while to get the coals to full temperature roughly 30 minutes, mostly briquettes. I timed 15 mins from lighting and it was getting warmer but not hot enough to cook on by a long way. (Photo here after 25 mins) however it did a very good job of heating the coals consistently throughout and was simple to light. Zero effort once lighter cubes were lit. It's a decent size and catered for 4 adults comfortably, but any bigger you'd need to add more coal.

I received a CosmoGrill for my birthday and trying to get the hang of bbq’ing without my old Lotus Grill, which circulated air. Looking for an appliance to help with the coal burning, I came across this. It looked like the bigger version of the internal burning cylinder of the lotus grill, so decided to give it a try. The instructions were simple to understand and that night, best bbq ever! Using just 3 cubes of firelighter, I filled the cylinder to 3/4. Lit the cubes, placed this on top and perform exactly as stated. Initially a lot of smoke and then the flames built up in a controlled way. Within 15 minutes, my coals were ready to be tipped and spread across the bbq. Closed the lid and waited until the internal temp reached 260 degrees C and started cooking. Not only had I got a full bbq on the go in 15 minutes, it was evenly cooking across the whole grilling area. Even if you think you are great at bbq, I am 100% sure this will make your life much more easier. No more shuffling charcoal and having to watch it constantly, this has taken all the problems out of bbq’ing!

This is amazing - buy it now! Just stuff some newspaper in the bottom, add the coals, light the paper and walk away to get a beer! 15-20 minutes later the coals are glowing red hot. I've been known as the BBQ King for years by friends and family and love nothing more than entertaining whilst cooking on the BBQ. Cooking is the enjoyable bit, making sure everything is cooked perfectly so everyone is happy. The only issue I've had is finding the perfect way to light the coals. This has been a lifelong quest to find the best possible solution. The best way to stack the coals, which firelighters to use, fire gel or liquid, which coals, ways to let enough draft to the flame, but not let it blow out... You think you've found the right combination, but next time it's all different again. Unfortunately, factors such as the quality of the 'flame retardant' coals or firelighters, too much wind that blows the flames out or 'just one of those things' means that what should have been enjoyable ends up being a stressful hour wasted wondering if it'll ever light. But not anymore! Using this Weber Chimney starter was fantastic! So easy and so fast! As a first test run I did a really small BBQ for 3, something I often wouldn't have bothered doing as the hit and miss time it takes to light can seem a waste for such a small BBQ. That'll never put me off again. After 15 minutes I could have emptied it out an cooked on it. In fact, a word of warning: the coals were so hot in such a short time from lighting that the only issue I had was that I wasn't ready to cook on them for about another 30 minutes or more - as I was busy doing other jobs and perhaps drinking a beer! By the time I got to cook on them they were actually starting to lose some heat. But it was only a test, so not to worry - it gave me the excuse to light another small batch and in under 15 minutes they were perfectly hot and ready to cook on. So you can pretend that it's the manly 'fire starter' thing to do to have to spend the best part of the day stressing, lighting, re-lighting, wasting fortunes on fuel and firelighters, stinking of smoke from standing over it for so long and then feeling vaguely satisfied when you've at last managed it. Or you can get one of these and feel incredibly pleased with yourself that you've done your research and actually know how to light a BBQ the right way - with a single strike of a match you know it's all going to work perfectly to plan and in under 20 mins you'll be ready to cook. Leaving you more time to enjoy yourself while the chimney does its job! (Unfortunately, it may mean you're asked to help out in the kitchen, but you can always pretend it's harder than it looks!) I've not compared the Weber against any other slightly cheaper brands, but seeing as it's not that expensive, looks good and well built, will hopefully last forever, be a real talking point when friends come around, I think it's well worth the extra few quid to know you've bought the right one. IF YOU BBQ YOU NEED ONE OF THESE! Enjoy :)

I’ve been using for a while now, and it’s easily one of the best BBQ accessories I’ve bought.