Mike S. wrote:
> I recently purchased a charcoal chimney starter, followed the
> directions, and it basically did nothing. I stuck 2-3 pieces of wadded
> newspaper in the bottom, filled the top part with charcoal (not to the
> the very top), then lit the newspaper on fire in multiple places.
> 20-30 minutes later the whole thing was barely warm. The bottom
> charcoals were barely warm.
>
> What happened? Any ideas? I'm thinking that it may be the charcoal.
> The kind I'm using is 60% bigger than Kingsford's charcoal which is
> probably the standard size. Although, I really don't see how the size
> of the charcoal would make that much difference. But, this year I've
> had problems with the charcoal not getting hot enough with lighter
> fluid. I didn't have this problem last year. When using lighter fluid,
> I use two different brands and sizes of charcoal. But I still never
> had this problem last year.
>
Sounds like you're using that Walmart stuff. Don't matter to me, but
try this:

Light it off just like you described, and when it burns out, be ready
with another 2 sheets.

I store my charcoal outside, where it picks up moisture. It usually
takes 2 burns to get it going. 15 minutes after the second burn, I have
a small volcano going.