Masterbuilt 1050 startup problems

[ksmith9]

Hey everyone,

I'm hoping I can get some help here. They say the 1050 can get to 225 in 7 minutes. Anyone have any sure fire methods to get the charcoal lit. I've done strike-a-fires, paper towel soaked in oil, and it seems I can never keep my starter lit long enough to get the charcoal lit the first time. It usually will take me close to an hour to get it going. Once it gets going I love that smoker, so any tips to get past that annoyance would be greatly appreciated

 

[rbnice1]

hmmm unless it's old charcoal that I put out and been sitting in the hopper for a while in the summer mine ussualy is at temp in 10-15 mins.

I use a starter, pick what ever you want.(I have used super cedars i trimmed with a putty knife to be thing enough, or tumbleweeds)
Then use the same torch I use to warm my wood stove flue and start fires. (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bernzoma...lJo6o079Kr2U2sbHodEaAhXGEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds)

Torch from below with the top open for a minute or 2 then close it up after I turn it on.

Not if the coals have been int here for a while in the muggy summer it can be a pain to get them to start. Im currently trying lump charcoal and it seems to start faster, but burn a bit hotter.

 

[RCAlan]

Hey everyone,

I'm hoping I can get some help here. They say the 1050 can get to 225 in 7 minutes. Anyone have any sure fire methods to get the charcoal lit. I've done strike-a-fires, paper towel soaked in oil, and it seems I can never keep my starter lit long enough to get the charcoal lit the first time. It usually will take me close to an hour to get it going. Once it gets going I love that smoker, so any tips to get past that annoyance would be greatly appreciated

I start my CG 980 using a chimney starter and by dumping in 2 pre-lit loads of charcoal into the charcoal hopper and then I top off the rest of the charcoal hopper load with unlit charcoal and some hardwood chunks mixed in. I know, Masterbuilt and CharGriller do not recommend starting their smokers this way, perhaps for safety reasons, but I’ve never had an issue and my grill will come up to 225*-250* degrees in minutes. Even Myron Mixon recommends starting his Gravity Feed Smokers using a chimney starter. Here’s his how to video.
Start the video at the 4 min. and 10 second mark….
Here’s another video from Mad Scientist BBQ starting/lighting his gravity feed smoker. Start this video at the 7 min. mark.



Starting your smoker this way is completely up to you. I know your owners manual may say to light the smoker by placing a food safe fire starter at the bottom of the charcoal shoot and lightning the unlit charcoal from the bottom. This way works as well, it just takes much longer to get going. I hope the tips help and Good luck. .02

__________________
Char-Griller 980 GF… Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[lilhef]

Make sure that you shake all of the ash off of the grate first. That alone can make a difference. I shake the ash, use two folded up paper towels with some veg oil on them and it starts right up.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

I've been using these for starting my charcoal in a chimney starter, they've always worked well for me. They're a significant step up from the Weber starter cubes IMO / IME. These ZIP cubes (12 / box) are larger than these Duraflame cubes (18 / box). Otherwise they appear identical.

Robot or human?

Robot or human?

 

[RSK]

I use a tumbleweed starter that I flatten before sliding in the holder. Only time I've had an issue starting is when I forget to remove the metal slides for the fan and manifold.