Weber 87886 Chimney Starter

...OR...

Just spend the very reasonable about of money and buy this product! No rolling the paper JUST right - just wad it up and stick it in the bottom. No concern with keeping the air holes uncovered - a grill inside holds the charcoal. Put the Vise-Grips back in the tool box - this has nice handles. And don't worry about mixing the charcoal - it all lights up evenly.

When I first opened the box, I thought, "Wow! This thing is huge!" Made my two coffee cans seem small, but it is supposed to light a grill-full of charcoal at once. I got the Weber because with all of my research on grills and accessories, Weber products are always recommended above all others. This item seems well-built, and I expect it to last a very long time. After using my homemade charcoal chimneys, which I got pretty good at, I was ASTOUNDED at how quickly this lighted, how quickly it got the charcoal up to temperature, and amazed at the orange inferno it created!

I've been around charcoal grills my whole life (but don't have one myself. Yet. I got this for Dutch oven cooking.) and have never seen a charcoal chimney! I've seen people nearly kill themselves with charcoal starter and ate plenty of charcoal-starter burgers. I don't know why everyone with a charcoal grill doesn't use one of these.

Get rid of storing the starter in your home and transporting it in your car. Get rid of the explosion when you light your grill. Get rid of the starter by-products in your food. Do get this charcoal chimney and get the most easily-lit, most consistently-burning charcoal you can.


Top of the line, practically starts the fire by itself   November 12, 2000
Alfred M. Neill (Goochland, VA USA)
143 out of 145 found this review helpful

I have used other chimney starters, and in fact have even written favorable reviews for another model on this site. Well that was before I broke down and bought the Weber model.

I love this chimney starter, it really is better than the others.

- charcoal capacity seems greater than other brands

- The coals get going an glowing faster than with the other model

- Fire has not yet "gone out" (sometimes with other brands I have had to put in more newspaper and start over, or relight the newspaper.)

- the extra handle that swings up to make it more stable when you are dumping the hot coals is a nice feature.

All in all I wish I had gotten this model of the starter much sooner, it would have saved me a few headaches. Add in the fact that it is actually cheaper (at least on amazon.com) than the other brand of chimney starter, and I think you have to admit it is a win-win.


Perfection found   February 23, 2002
61 out of 65 found this review helpful

I've been using this style of starter for 14 years now going through 6 including many "Brand Names". I grill or BBQ on a weekly basis. Recently I stepped up to the Weber 87886 Chimney Starter. This is the best I've ever used. It has a heavy duty convex wire cone in the bottom that makes for an easy start with two sheets of newspaper no need to add paper as I used to do with the brand names. Capacity is there is you need it more than with the competitors but it will also do a great job with a small amount of charcoal. The Plastic handle is bonus and stands up to the weather better than wood. The only way I can see melting the handle is using lighter fluid or self starting charcoal or having it too close to flammable material. The barrel is made of a heavier gauge of metal than the competition and others thinner metal gets weak with repeated heating and cooling. The lifting handle is a nice to have feature with a full load of briquettes. Although do yourself a big flavor treat and try Lump Charcoal, also if using briquettes adding unlit ones to a grill in use gives a flavor to the food I don't care for.


I hate being redundant but, yeah, it really is that good   May 22, 2006
A photographer (Planet Earth)
28 out of 28 found this review helpful

Just like everyone else has said, this is a winner.

I've owned a few different chimney starters over the years and just never could get them to work reliably. I always ended up going back to lighter fluid. Yes, it stinks and it's expensive and it can ruin the taste of your meal if you don't let the charcoal burn down for a long time but it worked every time. Those Brand X chimney starters didn't always get the charcoal going.

The Weber is larger and the design is well thought-out. Instead of a few holes in the bottom of the charcoal section, it has a grate. And the grate is kind of reverse-cone shaped so more charcoal comes in contact with the burning newspaper. The result--it lights pretty much perfectly every time. All it takes is two broadsheet pages of newpaper stuffed in the bottom. That's two broadsheets--the equivalent of eight pages of your morning newspaer. You can also use paper towels--they create less ash. If you want, you can lightly spray the newpaper or towels with a little Pam or the like. That's gets the paper to burning quickly.

Don't bother with those small, poorly designed, no-name (or even big-name) chimney starters you see around. The Weber is the one to get.


Nothing Short of a Miracle   November 12, 2001
James M. Henry (Elgin, SC United States)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful

The 87886 Chimney Starter is nothing short of a miracle. I first saw one at a friend's house. We were about to grill some hamburgers and my friend went to start the fire. He pulled out this contraption and filled it up with charcoal. I watched with some amusement, thinking to myself that this will never work. He placed two crumpled sheets of newspapers under it, lit the paper, and left it alone. Much to my amazement, 15 minutes later the charcoal was perfect. No lighter fluid, no re-lights, no fuss. Being an avid griller, this product consumed my thoughts for the next several days. Finally, I had to have one. After buying one of my own, I was so proud. Honestly, everytime someone would come over to my house, whether we were grilling or not, I would show them the Chimney Starter. I recommended it, and still do, to anyone that would listen. This is literally the best thing since sliced bread. My dad was so impressed with mine, that I gave it to him, thinking that I would just goto the store to buy myself another. The store I went to was out of the Weber version (I guess people were actually taking my advice) so I bought a "generic" version, thinking it would be the same. I couldn't have been more wrong. The middle section of the weber is cone shaped wire, the middle section of the others I have seen is flat sheet metal with some holes cut into it. Apparently the design of the middle section makes a HUGE difference. The "generic" version I bought didn't work well at all. I was constantly having to babysit it and add more paper. The first time I used it, I was so accustomed to the Weber that I lit the paper and left it alone, expecting to start grilling when I returned 15 minutes later. Unfortunately, the coals weren't ready, in fact they weren't even warm, the paper underneath burned and the charcoal didn't. I thought this must be an isolated case, but it wasn't. Moral of this story is DON'T be fooled by imitations. I finally found another WEBER after a couple of months, and chunked the other one (I wish I would have known that I could have bought one off of AMAZON) The design of the Weber is what makes it such a great product, as I said earlier, it must have something to do with the middle section where the fire and charcoal meet. It is slightly larger than the others I have seen, which means it will hold more charcoal for those "big" cook-outs (if you have a smaller grill, don't fill it up). The best part is the meat you cook won't even have a hint of lighter fluid taste to it. That's because you will NEVER use lighter fluid again. I don't even use my gas grill anymore. The chimney starter makes grilling so convient, why settle for anything less than that great Charcoal flavor that only Charcoal can produce. Another reviewer commented about the handle melting, I've used mine well over 100 times (I grill almost daily) and I have never had any such problems (DO NOT USE lighter fluid in this thing, it doesen't need it and it is a SERIOUS FIRE HAZARD to do so). Also, after you dump the charcoal into your grill, the Chimney Starter is VERY HOT so have a safe place to set the Chimney Starter while it cools. Bottom Line is: I GUARANTEE you will love this product, or give it to your Husband or Father (or anyone else you know who loves to grill) for Christmas and this will be their FAVORITE gift, and the one they will actually use for years to come. And all for (a good price). Nothing Short of a Miracle.