Looftlighter Classic - Electric Charcoal Starter & Fire Lighter, Superheated Air Technology, 1300°F in 60 Seconds, for BBQ Grills, Smokers & Fireplaces

I have been an avid charcoal griller for decades and have used a variety of different products and grills. Lighter fluid pollutes the food. Charcoal starters which require to be lit by a match have been a pain and unreliable. Reviewer must understand that I grill live in SW Michigan and grill outdoors all year. In the winter I start the grill in the garage and then heat it outdoors. Electric starters work but may require monitoring to determine if they ignited the charcoal and can be time consuming. Some of the cords have been damaged by heat ( OK that can be my fault). My wife bought this for me as a Christmas gift. It is amazing. Hardwood charcoal glows in 30 seconds; has flame in a minute and flame is alive and spreading in 2 minutes. 15 minutes later and no trips outdoors in 30 degree weather; the grill is ready for cooking.

Works great to quickly start wood or charcoal.

Failed on first use. It worked for about 45 seconds and then failed. I tried other outlets to make sure it was the unit and not a power issue. Very disappointed. I still believe that this will be a valuable tool for grilling. It appears to be well made and capable of doing what it's supposed to. Lemons happen. I will update this review when the issue is resolved. I contacted Looft customer service to see if I was the cause of the problem by misusing the device somehow. They immediately sent me a new one. Wow! I thought that kind of customer service had long gone out of style. I will update once again after a few uses. Final Post: Looft sent me a replacement. I received it in 2 days. The new one works great!!! Hate that I had to start out with a rare dud but I am delighted with this product.

Worked well briefly but the over-temperature sensor began to shut off the unit in under 2 minutes after 4-5 uses. It took too long to reset to be able to start the charcoal. I tried several things to work through it but it was not usable. Switched to a butane kitchen torch. Maybe I got a bad one but don't want to pay a premium (again) to find out.

This is an excellent product for those folks who grill food often; it is a real time saver in terms of igniting the charcoal. You won’t be disappointed.

A family member recommended this Looftlighter for our Kamado Joe Jr. grill. I balked at the price, but after using starter blocks and another brand electric lighter, I decided to give the “real deal” a try. I am not sorry. This is a wonderful product to start a charcoal fire. No chemicals, easy to use and it produces great results. You MUST follow directions in order to get the most out of it. I bought a heavy duty extension cord as our deck does not have an outlet. This lighter fires up around 1500 watts, so if you must use an extension, get a good one that is heavy duty and rated for outdoor use. Place the charcoal to your liking with a bit more at the center of the pile. Touch the Looftlighter directly to the wood and wait for sparks and a glow. Immediately pull the lighter back a few inches concentrating on the same spot. This will allow the fire to come up quickly at a nice burn rate. If you want to speed things up a bit, you can light another section in the same manner. You do not want to keep the lighter touching the wood directly for a long time as you will damage it. The fire will spread on its own. Timing and temperature is up to you according to how you use your grill. On the Joe Jr., I close the lid after it gets going with top and bottom vents fully open until it reaches the desired temperature. Then I adjust the control tower and bottom vent to stabilize. By the way, I am a 74 year old woman completely new at this. If I can do it, so can you. I highly recommend the Looftlighter as a great accessory for grilling. It makes Kamado grilling pure joy!

Had the Big Green Egg version of this. That last several years and finally died. Bought this to replace it. It takes anywhere from 20 seconds to 40 seconds to get the lump charcoal to start to light (will start seeing some red sparks coming from the lump). Keep applying this for about another minute and the lump should be burning fine. If in a rush to get the fire started, you can move to a different location and start the lump at a second location. From my experience, it is best to use some new lump charcoal where starting. New lump charcoal has sharper edges and will catch on fire much quicker then leftover lump charcoal which is rounded off. The reason for knocking off a star is that this model does not have just a 'fan only' position which is great when you just want to blow air over the fire after it is lit. It is either off or on (heat and fan).

This has been my husband favorite tool when he is starting the grill or prepping the smoker!