Patent ID: 7823576

Claim:
An apparatus for lighting charcoal, comprising: a substantially combustible tubular body having a base end and a second end distal from the base end, a support for supporting a desired amount of charcoal within the tubular body in a position spaced apart from the base end such that a volume of air is defined between the support and the base end, ventilation structure provided near the base end for providing an air supply to the charcoal, an easily combustible fuel source substantially centrally positioned beneath the support in the volume of air for lighting the charcoal disposed above the support, the easily combustible fuel source being spaced apart from the sides and base end of the tubular body such that a volume of air substantially surrounds the easily combustible fuel source; the tubular body being spaced apart from the fuel source such that the ignition of the fuel source will not ignite the tubular body, and being constructed of a sufficiently fire resistant combustible material to maintain structural integrity while the charcoal on the support is being lit and until the charcoal in the tubular body is substantially lit, said tubular body being sufficiently combustible to collapse and be substantially combusted after the charcoal is lit.