In article ,
says...
No, it's not off topic.

Maybe everyone has one of these and I'm the last to find out......
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/a.../chargear.aspx
Scroll down to the chimney starter.

A couple of my boating destinations involve bringing charcoal and fluid for
the end-of-day feast, typically Nathan's hot dogs, the food of the gods. I'm
not crazy about transporting lighter fluid, or the charcoal with "built in"
fluid. So, I blew ten bucks on this chimney starter. Charcoal goes in the
top and 2-3 sheets of crumpled newspaper go in the bottom. You light the
newspaper, wait the usual 30 minutes, and you have a fire. What's
interesting is that the resulting coals end up more evenly lit than those
done the normal way. Must be the shape of the thing, because the newspaper's
gone in under a minute, so that can't be a factor.

After I got sick of lighter fluid I used one of those electric jobbies
until I witnessed a neighbor using a chimney.

Bought the Weber and never looked back. Coals are ready quickly and
evenly. Great device.

jps