This is an interesting discussion. And there are many ways to light your fire....This video is close to what I do, except I roll the newspaper from corner to corner, and little tighter than in the video. It provides a bit more air passage thru the middle of the charcoals. And then I use a MAPP gas torch ( or propane ) to light the paper thru the holes around the bottom part of the chimney. Also - note that this guy is using a different brand and type than KBB - but the principle applies to both lump and briquettes.
Why do it this way?
1. I am cheap. Why buy lighter fluid - when I always have newspaper.
2. All news print ink is now a bio degradable soy based ink.
3. I do not like lighter fluid's potential of mess, and taste. Yes - I can taste it, even after complete "burn off". Lets call that my "anomaly". But, if I don't have to add more petro chemicals to my cooking...I feel better about it too. Just my opinion, and I respect that yours may vary.
Now:
We know that charcoal - like any fuel source - has a finite amount of stored energy we call BTUs. From the time we light the charcoal - we are using those BTUs.
So the question is at WHAT point do we dump the charcoal into our PBC ( if you are using the charcoal chimney ) or when are they ready to cook on?
I think there are a couple of things to consider in answering that:
1. Do you have starter fluid that you want to burn off? I am going out on a limb and saying the universal answer is YES.
2. If using the newspaper method - How long before the charcoal is ready to charcoal pour into the PBC charcoal basket ?
I find that usually within 10,( and less than 15 minutes even in cold weather ) of lighting my chimneys - I can look down into them, and see the coals near the bottom are glowing red, and the edges of some of the coals on the top are beginning to get white edges. Just barely....So I pick them up, give them a couple of shakes -
Then - I dump them in the basket. And by the time I walk into the kitchen and bring the meat I am going to cook - I have for a pit that is up to temp or will be once I put the lid on. If I wait longer - I am only allowing those BTUs to be expended/burned - and I will not get the temps or times that I want. If I were to wait until ALL of the charcoal is ignited and glowing - I will not get as much heat energy - for as long.....Because some of it has already burned away.
So, I am suggesting that you may want to re-examine the length of time you are waiting, your methods of lighting - and it's relationship to the temp/time you are getting from your charcoal. It may be worth trying some other methods.....