Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

EDIT: fixed my calculations for volume For my grill the easiest way to control the heat (225F for long smokes) is to limit the fuel. I have a full size chimney and found myself only filling it to 1/3 full (33 Kingsford Original briquettes). I decided I wanted half that and found that so few briquettes didn't catch on fire as well. I use the Minion method of using the lit coals to light unlit coals over time. So, the question is does this smaller compact chimney starter work for 15-20 briquettes? Here are the numbers: The full size chimney starter is 12 inches high, 7.5 inches in diameter. The interior cavity is 9 inches deep. There is an internal grate that provides air space under the charcoal about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom. It's conical in shape but I'm ignoring that; I don't think it makes much difference. Total volume is 126.6 cubic inches (or about 2 liters). The compact chimney starter is 8 inches high, 5.75 inches in diameter. The cavity is 6.25 inches deep. The total volume is 51.7 cubic inches (or 0.85 liters). 1 full compact chimney starter fills the full chimney starter to 1/3 (33 briquettes as it happens). This is going to be perfect for me. With my usual load of 15 briquettes they didn't even cover the whole bottom of the full sized starter. I made this measurement because briquettes aren't fluid and don't flow to fill all available space. I was concerned that the briquettes would not pack as well into a smaller volume. There is some discussion of the compact chimney starter not firing up coals as well. The volume beneath the coal grate that allows air in is smaller than the volume beneath the full size chimney starter. That's obvious. I just lit a 15 briquette load. Fifteen minutes, same as the larger starter. The charcoal in the compact starter is more uniform gray and better started. I think this is because a small load stacks better in the compact starter and you get more of the chimney effect. In the larger starter, they don't even cover the bottom. Since I don't intend to light more than about 33 briquettes I'm better off with the compact starter. If you need 50 or more briquettes to get your grill going the compact chimney starter is too small for you. If you are invested in the Minion method or in using a charcoal fuse or snake (look it up) then the compact chimney starter might be just what you need. When I'm doing a long smoke I have to add coals every hour or so. The small chimney is great for adding lit coals to a waning fire. Adding unlit coals produces too much smoke and takes too long to get the temperature back up if it dropped. 2014/08/09: I tried the small chimney starter with lump charcoal and I have to agree with Chris. It is too small for something as irregular as lump charcoal.