Homemade Charcoal?

[Wubby]

Hey guys does anyone know any alternative for charcoal? I'm all out and i was wondering if there were anything else or anything cratable i could make?

Thanks for any input guys

[bkag]

I have heard of people taking apart a hair dryer and laying the filament in place of the coals, you could try that, at your own risk

[RayVer]

I've thought of making my own before but havn't finalized on a concept before.

I once saw some dude online post up how he cooked his eggs and bacon in a pan using a bunch of old Cyrix cpus tied with a power supply as a heatsource. If you use one of these cpus (which I have a ton laying around) with an aluminum plate and some Artic Silver inbetween I'm sure you can produce a high enough heat source to burn the shisha up for smoking. With a voltage regulator you can adjust the heat.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

[bkag]

I think that in theory it would work just as well as coals do, but I read somewhere that when the writer tried it, there was significantly less smoke produced and didn't work well as a permanent solution.

[RayVer]

I think the main difference between a coal and a non-coal alternative is coals generally heat up when you suck on the hose since it forces more oxygen to pass through the coal. an alternative source would remain at generally the same temperature.

I think this temperature change from sucking in when using coals make the whole process better because the higher heat when sucking in allows for more smoke (due to more burning) but a constant burning temperature may burn out the shisha. Edited October 14, 2007 by RayVer

[olooko]

I have heard of people taking apart a hair dryer and laying the filament in place of the coals, you could try that, at your own risk

You need a variable capactor. i just tried it. I tided the coils to a metal screen and no capactor. The coil fused to the screen. I got a big spark and I scared the shit out of my girl friend. LOL

[RayVer]

I was thinking of getting one of those resitors that get real hot...

anyways so I'm guessing what you did didn't work? whats a capactor anyways? do you mean capicitor? those tend to blow

[olooko]

I was thinking of getting one of those resitors that get real hot...

anyways so I'm guessing what you did didn't work? whats a capactor anyways? do you mean capicitor? those tend to blow

Yea, Can't really spell late at night.

[bkag]

You need a variable capactor. i just tried it. I tided the coils to a metal screen and no capactor. The coil fused to the screen. I got a big spark and I scared the shit out of my girl friend. LOL

Ha Ha that sounds awfully dangerous to me! Edited October 15, 2007 by bkag

[sguittap]

yea ive come across teh same problem. so i started using "natural" coals. like burning wood. let it ember nicely and stick it on top. however, use a lot less holes and make them small. because coals burn around 200 F and i havent really temp tested what wood burns at however i can say its hotter. so you can either put a good chunk of it on top, or you can put small pieces on. careful not to put to much cus when you inhale it will cause it to get super hot and catch fire and then you fucked up your shisha. soo, in the name of experimenting...you have to see what works and what doesnt.

[mathuv]

yea ive come across teh same problem. so i started using "natural" coals. like burning wood. let it ember nicely and stick it on top. however, use a lot less holes and make them small. because coals burn around 200 F and i havent really temp tested what wood burns at however i can say its hotter. so you can either put a good chunk of it on top, or you can put small pieces on. careful not to put to much cus when you inhale it will cause it to get super hot and catch fire and then you fucked up your shisha. soo, in the name of experimenting...you have to see what works and what doesnt.

when has a shisha ever caught fire??

[olooko]

You need a variable capactor. i just tried it. I tided the coils to a metal screen and no capactor. The coil fused to the screen. I got a big spark and I scared the shit out of my girl friend. LOL

Ha Ha that sounds awfully dangerous to me!

Yea, it one end of the coil spot weilded it self to the metal screen.

[HookahReviews]

So far it looks like everybody is reccomending alrtificial methods for home-charcoal making. One cold winter night, a friend of mine and myself were out of coals, and wanted to light up a hookah. What we did was go out back and rummage through the hardwood that was cut down a few months back. We took some of the chips and branches and put it into the burning wood stove. Let them sit there for a while until they turn into embers, pick them up, and place them on the hookah like a normal coal. These work really well!

Note:

Make sure you use HARDWOOD, softwoods excrete a substance known as creosote which is really, really bad for you. Dont try this unless you are 100% sure the wood you are using is hardwood.

Oak and Applewood are two great woods to use

List of common hardwoods:
http://www.am-wood.com/wood/woodlist.html

[MagicHookahs]

I have used hardwoods aswell. If you actually take the time before hand and cut 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick slices of 1 inch diameter round hard wood. These slices look just like coals a work really well. Make sure the wood is extremely dry or it is prone to crack.
Hope this helps, as the previous person said.....HARD WOOD ONLY!