Chimney starters
Oklahoma Joe’s 100 briquettes, 12 × 15.4 × 7.8 in
A wide, short stainless starter for up to 100 briquettes, claiming half a standard chimney’s time.
Specifications
- Capacity
- Up to 100 briquettes — about 6.25 lb at an ounce each
- Also for
- Lump charcoal
- Dimensions
- 12 in L × 15.4 in W × 7.8 in H — wide and short
- Speed claim
- Ready in half the time of a standard chimney starter
- Material
- Heavy-duty stainless steel
- Handle
- An innovative design, stated to stay cool in use
- Geometry
- The only starter here that is wider than it is tall
- Weight
- 1406 g (49.6 oz)
- Vents
- Not described
- Lighting method
- Not stated
- Lighting time in minutes
- Not published — only the comparative claim
- Warranty
- Not published by the maker
- Amazon reference
- B06WGY2WYM
- EAN
- 0047362481252
What you are getting
A heavy-duty stainless steel starter measuring 12 long × 15.4 wide × 7.8 inches high, holding up to 100 briquettes, with a handle stated to stay cool.
The only one on this shelf that changes the geometry
Every other starter here is a tall narrow cylinder, because that is what creates a draft: air enters the base, heats, rises, and in rising pulls more air through the coals.
This one is wide and short — 15.4 inches across and 7.8 high — and the claim is in the name: ready in half the time compared to standard charcoal chimney starter.
A wide bed exposes far more charcoal surface to the starter flame at once, rather than relying on a fire climbing a column. The trade is less chimney effect, which is why this is the only shape of its kind here.
Four listings on this shelf publish a time, and they agree on 10 to 15 minutes. Half of that is five to seven.
A hundred briquettes
One of only three capacities published here, and the most useful unit. A standard briquette weighs about an ounce, so a hundred is roughly 6.25 pounds — the same class as Amazon Basics’ 6.6 pounds, and well above Eau’s 4.
Perfect for lump charcoal too, which is harder to light.
Stainless
One of three stainless bodies on this shelf, against seven galvanized ones. The Bincho Grill is the listing that explains why that matters.
What is not published
No vent description. No lighting method. No weight beyond the catalog’s 1,406 g. No warranty.
Availability
On sale at around $35 on the American Amazon store at the time of checking.
Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 4 October 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
The questions that come in
Why is it wider than it is tall?
Because it trades the chimney effect for surface area, and that is the whole design. Every other starter on this shelf is a tall narrow cylinder — Weber’s Standard is 7.5 inches across and 13 high — because a tall column of heated air rises and pulls more air through the coals behind it. This is 15.4 inches wide and 7.8 high, which gives far less draft but exposes a much wider bed of charcoal to the starter flame at once, so more of it catches immediately rather than waiting for a fire to climb. Hence the name and the claim: "ready in half the time compared to standard charcoal chimney starter". Four listings here publish 10 to 15 minutes, so half is five to seven.
Will it fit on my grill?
Measure first, because 15.4 inches is wider than some grills are. A chimney starter has to stand somewhere while it burns, and that is normally the grill grate. On a 22-inch kettle this sits fine; on an 18-inch kettle it covers most of the grate, and on a 14-inch tabletop grill it will not sit safely at all. For scale, the compact starters on this shelf are 5.7 to 8.1 inches across — Kingsford’s Compact is the one that warns "not a full-sized chimney" and names the small kettles it suits. KU-koruo raises the other half of this question, which nobody else does: a chimney has to stand without tipping, and its hexagonal body with a wide base is its answer.
Is stainless worth it here?
It is the durability answer, and three of the thirteen starters on this shelf use it. The Bincho Grill is the only listing that argues the case explicitly: its stainless is "uncoated and unplated with no paint or zinc finish to peel, flake, or burn off over time". That matters because a chimney starter is the one barbecue tool that routinely runs at the temperature of burning charcoal, and the interior of a galvanized body — seven of thirteen here — does degrade, going dull and flaky over a season or two. The stainless bodies are this at $34.99, KU-koruo at $29.99 and The Bincho Grill at $43.73, against galvanized starters from $13.80. You are paying roughly double for a body that will outlast its own finish.
