Can electric charcoal starter element be used for anthracite?

I just bought a house and it has a Harman Magnum Stoker. It's been taking a while learning how to use it, and getting some parts of it fixed (just got the gaskets replaced on the doors), but I'm almost there.

Starting it is a real pain. I build a small fire in side and keep adding coal til the coals are hot enough to keep new coal burning. Takes a half hour or more to really get going, maybe an hour.

I've seen electric charcoal starters available on amazon. I was wondering if I could just pile in some anthracite and put one of these inside with the door propped open to start it. Probably a bad idea, just thought I'd ask about it.

Regardless I'm kind of hoping to get used to this thing, cause, well, its kinda cool cause its old school. I like old school stuff. Stuff that's hard.

I use a brown paper lunch bag filled with about 1.5 inches of lump charcoal and a little anthracite. Roll up the bag and put the rolled edge on the bottom. Push it into the coal bed near the top air holes and cover with a little coal. I turn on the stoker and use a propane torch to light the entire bottom edge of the bag along with the charcoal. shut the door and wait until the lump charcoal gets going good. Add coal on top of the charcoal once it gets going good. Has worked every time. (Hardwood lump charcoal is the key to success with this method)

Here's a thread using an electric starter...

Post by jimbo970 - My Christmas present to all who have trouble lighting your stoker...

Welcome to the forum!!

Some folks use wood pellets, some use cowboy charcoal, some use that stuff in a small can or the paper bag method described above. Personal preference rules the day!

It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes from light up to a grate full of burning rice coal no matter which way you do it.

Quite a few good threads on here on starting the stoves. Coal Mice, homemade coal starter bags, or as stated above, etc...
Your Local wood stove or coal stove store usually has the starter bags, our local hardware store carries them, $1/ea I think. probably get online too. I use shredded paper from my paper shredder and some broken up charcoal and either wrap in newspaper or brown paper bag.

Thanks for the replies. I actually found a bag of matchlight coal the previous owner left behind. It was too old to start on its own so I started a fire, then put some of the charcoal in place, and after a while it was started.