Quick Intro
A charcoal chimney is an easy and efficient way to get charcoal hot and ready for your next BBQ. This innovative Chimney made by Sandbar is constructed of 4lb stainless steel with a solid wooden handle, it holds 450 cubic inches of coals and get this, when packing up for traveling it folds to 1.5″ inches tall.
Video Review
Experience
First off for those not familiar with what a charcoal chimney does, it eliminates the need for lighter fluid as the design in a chimney is to allow the coals to start burning much more rapidly in a tight container vs. lying on the bottom of the BBQ. Most designs for chimneys are cylinders, with vents at the bottom, a handle for pouring the coals. They are easy to light, simply fill, put some newspaper under the chimney, light and wait 10-15 minutes.
The problem I have noticed with the other chimneys is that because of there round design they are not ideal for taking along on an adventure. The other thing I have noticed with other chimneys is there typical cheap construction, checking out a couple at the Home improvement center the other day I quite astonished at how poorly made they appeared compared with the FlatFire.
The FlatFire is well constructed of Stainless steel, and nicely folds flat for travel and storage purposes. I got a chance to test it out a couple of times and have to say it was a nice and fun way to light up a BBQ Grill. I say fun, simply because watching the coals go from smoky to blazing hot is fun for most boys to watch, I think we all have a little pyro in us.
During the video review of the FlatFire, the December Temperature was around 20 degrees and the coals had been stored outside. It took roughly 15 minutes from the initial lighting to the point of having hot coals ready for the grill. I think it could get closer to ten or twelve minutes if it was the summer time. A nice side-effect of using a charcoal starter like this is you don’t have to use starter fluid, thus you can avoid the fumes and flavor of fuel. We will continue to test The FlatFire with a it’s companion grill next month.
The Good
- Solid Stainless steel construction
- Compact Fold-Flat Feature for Travel/Transportation
- Cool Wooden Handle
- Saves Time when Lighting Charcoal
The Bad
- More Expensive then other brands (but a great value at the same time)
