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

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.

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.

Just what I needed,works perfectly

Works great for a few months, then overheats and stops working after a few minutes of trying to light your charcoal.Not worth the money for something that is only going to last a few months.

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!

LooftlighterBy way of background, we've owned the Looflighter for a month now and have used it 3-4 times per week. We've owned a Kamado Joe Classic ceramic egg for about a year now, and we've become grill hounds. Our Kamado Joe has is our summer oven. They're a wonderful device!I'll cut right to the chase: Every ceramic egg, whether a Kamado Joe, Green Egg or whatever the name, should NOT be sold without a Looftlighter. Period. Please read on.Forget the paraffin "fire starters." They're difficult to light and STINK once lit. And they produce OILY SMOKE. Conversely, the Looftlighter is an amazingly clean, simple, 100% reliable tool to start your fire AMAZINGLY FAST with consistently successful results no matter what the outdoor conditions. I used to dread starting our Kamado Joe, cursing my way through each charcoal lighting evolution. No longer! The Looftlighter starts the charcoal in a matter of 2 minutes. But don't believe me. Go to Youtube and watch all the Looftlighter videos from satisfied customers. They're all as stunned as I was regarding how well this thing works!PLEASE folks. Do yourself a favor and splurge on a Looftlighter! You'll enjoy your ceramic egg SO much more!

I bought this for my new Big Green Egg and it works as advertised. It pumps out a good steady stream of heated air and it can get my BGE going in about 5 minutes. It took some time to get my technique right. I tried to decide between this and the ring based coil heater option. I opted for the Looftlighter because I didn't have to bury it under the coals and leave it there for 15 minutes. All you do is aim and fire with this guy. And you can use it on other grill types (not just charcoal).Pros:- VERY hot in almost no time at all.- Good long cord for when an outlet isn't right next to the grill.- Simple usage... only one button: ON.- Good, solid build quality. Made out of high grade aluminum so the tip cools quickly.- Hefty in the hand and well balanced.- No burying required and multi use.Cons:- There's no lock for the ON button so my thumb gets very tired after a few minutes of heating.- No hand shield to protect your knuckles from sparks and reflected heat.- Expensive when compared to coil-based igniters.Conclusion: If you can swing the $75 price tag, it's worth it. The extra 5-10 minutes this saves you is welcome, especially in inclement weather. I would have given it a 5-star rating if I hadn't burned my knuckles the first time using it. Now I know to back off on the coals a bit earlier. Bonus use: I sometimes use it to cook off meat left on my gas grill's surface.