Ash - The Thing What You Leave Behind

[Poro-]

This is gonna be a strange topic, but there is a point behind all this.

The professional smokers on this board probably know the mystics behind heat management, and they are not burning any of the shisha. Beginners are usually not so succesful, and get some burns.

So, I would like to see some pictures of perfectly managed pipefuls, and how the ash looks like. Of course people can describe the ash. Is it hard? Soft? Smells like... what? Is it completely black? and so on...

First my notices: I have noticed that on first couple bowls my ash got too close to foil. When I removed foil, all leftovers were attached to foil. Now I have improved my packing, and tobacco stays in bowl after I remove my foil. Ash looks completely black and dry, smells like too-much-cooked bread

So, pictures and stories about ash here!

[boulderkid303]

I think its mechant or someone who is like me and will rarley move coals. If you can get great smoke and its not harsh, and it doesn't get harsh for some time then you know what ur doing.

Ive also heard the more white the ash is the better the coal, don't know if its true or not, but exotica's ash pure white pretty much. PS they are the best.

[gaia.plateau]

When you say "ash", are you referring to spent shisha? I will assume this for the clarity of this post... because as far as I know, it's impossible for ash to be black.

Shisha will stick to your foil if it is touching it when you pack your bowl. In my experience, there is a congruence between a harsh smoking session and the use of fully-packed bowl, but it is by no means frequent or consistent.

The shisha still stick to the foil because of the glycerin melting and sticking to the foil: it is not an indication of your burning the tobacco, and it will not likely make your smoke harsh.

I am currently smoking a bowl of Tonic Cactus Pear which was just slightly touching the foil - because Tonic has a relatively high glycerin content, I expect that it will be stuck to the foil - it has been an entirely pleasant smoke.

Fully spent shisha is usually quite crisp, though pliable, because you've cooked all the moisture out of it. The only problem with a session that you would be able to detect by looking at the spent shisha, would be a layer of soft tobacco underneath the cooked stuff, retaining its colour, which would indicate that you did not manage the coals well enough for even cooking.

In conclusion... no harshness, no burning, no problem.

[Poro-]

When you say "ash", are you referring to spent shisha? I will assume this for the clarity of this post... because as far as I know, it's impossible for ash to be black.

Yes, I ment spent shisha. Sorry for my bad english

[lonasindi]

My spent shisha is generally uniformly dry with a little bit of moisture at the bottom, probably because I rarely stretch the bowl as long as I could. There's usually a little stuck to the bottom of the foil, and it's generally turned darker than it was.

[EvansLight]

When im doing good its just a black dry puck at the end.

[MechAnt]

Boulderkid is right. Him and I rarely move the coals. I rotate it maybe twice during a session if at all. Ash doesnt really mean too much seeing each brand is a little different.

[EternalSoil]

looks like a crispy dough nut with a little bit of moistness at the bottom

i never move coals after i put them on

only change in coal position was when i added new sets after the ones on there were gone.

[mathuv]

looks like a crispy dough nut with a little bit of moistness at the bottom

i never move coals after i put them on

only change in coal position was when i added new sets after the ones on there were gone.

yeah +1 to laziness.