ok, back to science class, all of you know that you will need the combination of fuel (charcoal), heat (fire) and oxygen to successfully start a fire and have a good burn...
fuel (charcoal)
all of us buy "ready to use" charcoal packs in super marts, petrol stations or grocery shops out of convenience. however, these bags of charcoal are usually kept in a corner of the store where the package may have trapped some moisture over time. plastic-lined packaging to prevent smaller pieces and charcoal dust from slipping out the package makes it easier to trap moisture. a simple way to rid of all these moisture is to sun the charcoal like keropok for a few days before using it for the bbq event. this simple step of sunning the charcoal is akin to what my malaysian brother in law did to the belts of fire crackers before the big day of firing up the fire crackers. the drier the fire crackers the bigger the bang. similarly, the drier the charcoal, the easier for it to catch a fire and burn...
heat and fire starters
traditional fire starters and moisture do not mix. keep them away from getting wet at all cost.
hexamine solid fuel tablets can be considered for use as a fire starter. hexamine fuel tablets are not affected by wet condition and has a long burn and greater firing intensity. the downside is, when burned. the chemical oxidation creates a noxious fumes which contradictory to what is commonly believed, the fumes is not poisonous. however, hexamine solid fuel does leave behind a sticky residue on the grill... to avoid getting the bottom of the grill sticky and having the noxious fumes on the bbq food. start the bbq fire without the grill or "chicken wire". only place the grill or chicken wire when the charcoal is burning well and the hexamine solid fuel has completed its burn.
oxygen
to the layman, it is commonly known as air. proper ventilation will allow the charcoal to burn well and completely. if you are using a portable bbq stove or griller. positioning the grill or bbq stove in a favorable position that allow some wind to assist the burning of the fuel and more importantly to ventilate the grill will help reducing "smoke out" situations. opening up all the venting holes in a bbq griller will assist in starting the fire. experiment with opening up or closing some of these venting holes to understand and control the rate of charcoal burn during bbq.
how to begin
now that you have a grasp how fire will start and burn more efficiently. let us apply these principles into practice. most folks have a lot of trouble getting the fire started because they just simply pour out the charcoal, place some fire starter amongst the heap of the charcoal and hope that it will start and burn. well, at times it will work but most of the time it may not...
chopchopkalipok would like to recommend the following simple steps to get started and it always works.
1. pour out the charcoal on the bbq pit. take a little time to sort out the larger pieces from the smaller ones and set them aside.
2. "position" largest pieces of charcoal in the frame work of a rectangular shape (much like the 4 walls of a house). allow plenty of gaps in between the largest pieces to facilitate ventilation.
3. place the fire starters within the "framework" (walls of the house)and light them up.
4. stack the smaller longish pieces of charcoal in a criss cross fashion over the lighted up fire starters using the framework as a support (like placing a roof over the 4 walls as support) . do not over stack till it fills and chokes up all gaps in between the "roof" or worst, the roof collapses.
5. allow the "roof" to burn properly before adding new pieces to create bigger fire if needed.
6. when the roof is burning nicely and in hot embers. you may want to spread out the "roof" within the "4 walls". reposition the "4 walls" if necessary to accommodate the wider spread of hot charcoals.
7. start cooking.
8. when the "roof" is about to burnout, the "4 walls" should be ready to use. shift the "4 walls" in, break them up if necessary and use them to grill. "replace" the 4 walls with some large pieces of charcoal.
In this simple "clockwork" fashion, the bbq fire can be kept up as long as there is charcoal available. have fun folks.
joe
