Questions About Coals

[mattarios2]

I researched a bit on the forums and found that instant lights can increase the amount of carbon monoxide and all the chemicals are no good. I have been looking into natural coals and seemed to have found the cocoNara coals a Lebanese coal work wonders. But they take 8-12 min to light. Are there any instant light coals that are low in chemicals or is there a specific natural coal that takes a little less time than 8-12 minutes?

What do you guys recommend?

Thanks

[r1v3th3ad]

I'm a fan of exoticas, but some people had a bad run in with them...i wont diss it till i try it. Have you looked into golden coals(quicklight)?

[jfaltous]

I'm not familiar with the coconara coals in particular, but I've used several kinds of naturals and found that they usually take about 5-8 minutes to light on a hotplate, and from the forum I've gathered that if you use a coil burner its even faster. To be honest, that's really not all that long... just throw the coals on and then set up your hookah, by the time you've filled it with water, packed your bowl, and assembled everything, the coals will be ready to go. Check Rayver's how-to vids and look at the little oven-dome-thingy he made out of tin foil to make the coals heat up faster, use one of those and the coals will be ready in no time.

Plus, there are other advantages to naturals... for example they last a lot longer, meaning you spend less time lighting QL's and more time smoking, which helps make up for the longer initial startup.

[hinrg]

I use golden coals at home right now since I don't have access to a hotplate or coil burner. I find that they take just as long to get going (till all the black stuff burns off of them and they ash over) as the Coconara coals I just got last week. Saturday I took a box of Coconara coals to my friends house and threw them on his stove. By the time we were done packing the bowl the coals were ready to go. Also, they had no charcoal flavor at all and we ended up putting them out with a glass of water an hour into the session (we were ready to go to the bar). I'm almost certain that these coals after drying could have been relit and used again!

To sum up, I have experience with both Coconara and Golden Coals, and would not hesitate to recommend either one depending on your situation (hotplate available or not).

[zeppyrkr]

there are some chemicals, not sure if theres enough for anything in them you gotta worry about, i like goldens, but i used exoticas, i can break them in to cubes, lmao ...

[Dom]

my personal favorite natural is this bag of Olive wood coals that i got from my hookah lounge. they aren't really "coals" by definition, so they don't have any smell when lighting them. however, they are just pieces of wood, so you make a mess trying to break them apart and since they are chunks of limbs, they can roll off your bowl if you are not careful. also, the olive wood will go out if you leave it unattended.

exotica finger coals are all-natural. easy to break into pieces and they don't roll off your bowl like olive wood does. the #1 coal in america, i think. they take a while to cook (like 8 min), but it's worth it. be sure to flip if over half way to be sure it's lit all the way. good stuff. nice, long even burn. nice ash. good coal.

[ZenSilk]

Golden Coals.

[shoresidejake]

naturals take too long for me, however, i am going to be picking up some soon just because they do last longer and reduce that "coaly" taste you get with QL's.