Weber mini chimney? I never knew such a thing existed!

sincitydisciple01 · Nov 18, 2013

The Better Half dragged me to a hoity-toity home furnishing store this weekend. One of those places that sells a $25 rubber spatula with a smile... When going to such places, my focus is two fold: find the grilling (or guy) stuff and DON'T BREAK ANYTHING. So I mosey back to the small corner dedicated to grilling and what do I see? A mini Weber charcoal chimney. I showed it to my wife and she gave a passing "That's cute" on her way to checking out $12 napkin rings.

My knee-jerk reaction was that it was kind of silly. But then figured it would be a good fit for a Smokey Joe where a full sized chimney would be way too much.

Then I started thinking of my drums. I rarely use more than a dozen or so coals to get my drums up and running. When I start the coals, they barely cover the bottom of the chimney. Because of the conical "spring" in the middle of the chimney, I rarely fill the chimney past the point of the "cone". As a result, the coals around the perimeter ignite, but don't exactly ash over.

A smaller chimney may actually work like a charm, but is it a Man Card violation?

aawa · Nov 18, 2013

Definitely no a man card violation. It is handy when you want to light off small amounts of coals.

I use my regular weber chimney and turn it upside down so the coals are funneled to the middle to light off.

nucornhusker · Nov 18, 2013

Nope. They came out with that about a year ago. I can serve a purpose.

Is the bottom still conical on it?

sincitydisciple01 · Nov 18, 2013

nucornhusker said:
Nope. They came out with that about a year ago. I can serve a purpose.

Is the bottom still conical on it?

Pretty sure it was.

peeps · Nov 18, 2013

It is still conical. I bought one to use when lighting a small bit of coals so they are more tightly packed and light faster than loosely packed coals in the regular version. It also fit inside my mini WSM between the grates when packing it up in the car.

savageford · Nov 18, 2013

aawa said:
I use my regular weber chimney and turn it upside down so the coals are funneled to the middle to light off.

Brilliant, the answer has been staring right at me. Thank you.

Diesel Dave · Nov 18, 2013

No man card violation there. It's a mini for the mini........the right tool for the job.
Any tool is NEVER a violation :laugh:

gtr · Nov 18, 2013

I saw one of those over at Phubar's a couple years back and got jealous. When they came out with them over here last year I snapped one up and I use it all the time - great for many applications - it's my go-to for the smaller cookers and minion method cooks. The right tool for the right job is always manly.

tnjimbob · Nov 18, 2013

I flipped the conical screen over in one my Weber chimneys just to start a few coals for smoking. Works great.

Phubar · Nov 18, 2013

Yeah,this one came out quite recently.
Don't understand why Weber came out with these huge starters and didn't come out with the smaller one years ago.
I have mine (different brand) for about 4 years now and that is the one I use the most...for the WGA and UDS'.
Most of the time I only lit 15-20 coals.
I only use the big starter (which is smaller than the big chimney from Weber) if I'm gonna lit 2 BBQs.

Pic stolen...

cpw · Nov 18, 2013

That's a great idea. I rarely light more than a dozen coals for my Backwoods.

sliding_billy · Nov 18, 2013

I like it. Does it sit any closer to the ground than the big one (to get closer to a starter cube)?

peeps · Nov 18, 2013

It has similar proportions, so I'm pretty sure. I can take some measurements tonight if you like...

el_matt · Nov 18, 2013

Congrats on your new tool, I love my mini chimney. It fits down inside my UDS without issue. If you use newspaper to lite the mini, make sure you pour a little cooking oil on the paper. If not, it's a bit difficult to keep it lit.

Matt

rehless · Nov 18, 2013

Recently bought one for camping. Have a fifth wheel rig and weight matters. Will be going to Mexico with me soon.

cholloway · Nov 18, 2013

This is my solution for smaller cooks.
A 1 lb. coffee can that sits inside the larger chimney.
Just fill the coffee can and light as usual.

sliding_billy · Nov 18, 2013

peeps said:
It has similar proportions, so I'm pretty sure. I can take some measurements tonight if you like...

Yes, please.

sincitydisciple01 · Nov 18, 2013

cholloway said:
This is my solution for smaller cooks.
A 1 lb. coffee can that sits inside the larger chimney.
Just fill the coffee can and light as usual.

May have to give this a try! I've done the upside down full sized chimney a few times and for whatever reason, just haven't had much luck with it. Seems like every time I try it, the newspaper burns up and "falls" down in the chimney before the coals are adequately lit.

peeps · Nov 18, 2013

sincitydisciple01 said:
May have to give this a try! I've done the upside down full sized chimney a few times and for whatever reason, just haven't had much luck with it. Seems like every time I try it, the newspaper burns up and "falls" down in the chimney before the coals are adequately lit.

buy the weber cubes. One fits nicely at the bottom of the cone

LanceM88 · Nov 18, 2013

How do you guys light your chimney? Newspaper, cubes, torch??? I had an electric element and it lasted like 2 times before it melted. lol Probably should have been paying better attention. :laugh:

Weber mini chimney? I never knew such a thing existed!

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