Troubles with naturals...

[Aggroman]

Since good quicklights are near impossible to find around here I've
been forced to use bulk natuaral coals and I've had nothing but
nightmares getting it to burn right.  I usually fire it up in one
of those metal pots with holes on a gas stove for about 8 minutes and
then set it outside. Even if all the coals start out red
hot, after about 10 minutes I end up with only half of them staying
lit.  The rest seem to always go half or completely black. 

Am I doing something wrong, or am I just using bad coals?  I've
tried two different kinds now with the same pitiful results.

Any advice?

[HookahDuck]

I have the same issue. All of the smoke shops in town only sell Rolland quicklights... *shudder*.


I buy Golden's online from hookah shisha. I think a 50 pc box was only 7 or 8 bucks plus shipping. Say goodbye to your problems.

I've never been a fan  of natural coals. They're nice, but a
serious PITA. Naturals dont yield any better smoke/taste than Golden's
IMO. Rollands? Well, thats another story.

[Lakemonster]

It could be that you are starting out with too large of a coal....
I'm not sure how small you are breaking them down to before putting them on your heat source. I get that sort of thing when I use a big piece.
The other thing is that if you have a largish piece of coal sitting on a flat surface (lit) that the underside wont get any agitation and will turn black on you. You will need to turn the coal.
I dont let them sit after removing them from the heat source.. I get them where I want them on the stove and they go straight on the head.
I dont use a piece of coal that is over 3/4-1" thick one way or the other. If it is.... I break it down. It can be longer than that.. but I dont get very lucky if its thicker than that.

[Doc Psycho]

I just can't use naturals at all as they give me terrible headaches, my
heart starts racing, and I feel like I am going to pass out :-(  I
tried them a few times and I just couldn't do it.  I started using
3 kings and I have no such issues any longer

[Aggroman]

I've been breaking it up very small.  I'm even learning to swing
the pot like the guys at the parlours... a bit of a risk inside, but
willing to take my chances for a good smoke.

Funny how different coals affect different people.  Makes you wonder how much bad sh*te we're all ingesting...

I'm thinking I might buy a fan to keep air blowing on the coal after
taking it off the stove (direct from the stove is way too much a pain
in the butt for me as I'll be running back and forth all the time).

I'm having a little more success from a bag of coal a local parlour was
kind enough to sell, but with my broken arabic it was a hell of a time
explaining that I wanted to take the unlit stuff with me.

"Indak fahm?..... la, fahm ana manzin!... la... Indi shisha... fahm ana manzin..."

lol

Does anyone use a special container to keep their lit coals in that allow the right amount of air to flow through? 

[yashman19]

Nour makes a brand of natural coals thats different from their fingers,
and I decided to give them a try. When I opened the bag, they were
these huge coals that look like they came straight from the tree. They
were deformed looking, and all different size/shapes.

I too had a very time trying to keep these guys lit, and ended up just throwing them out.

Natural coals are not bad though, you just gotta get the right kind.
Order Nour Finger coals online if you can't get them local, they work
really well.

[Aggroman]

I'll probably go the online route... planning on making a ma'assel for
quicklights swap with a fellow Canadian on here in any case.

Still, it's frustrating that I can't make good use of the same coals
that work so well at the local shisha parlour.  There has to be
something I'm doing wrong.

[MR Bubble]

[quote name='Doc Psycho']I just can't use naturals at all as they give me terrible headaches, my heart starts racing, and I feel like I am going to pass out :-(  I tried them a few times and I just couldn't do it.  I started using 3 kings and I have no such issues any longer[/quote]
Hey Doc, what brand of naturals you been trying? I think I have a clue.
MR Bubble

[[LB]]

i started with instants, used naturals for about half a year and since
they were so unbelievably inconsistent switched backed to goldens. They
have the benefit of a cleaner less nauseating smoke yes but they are a
royal pain in the asssss to deal with. They cover my kitchen in ash too
and they are just a bitch in general- id sometimes wait 1 hour just to
get the charcoals perfect, and by then theyd be burnt out and just
extinguish completely. Not to mention, my palms and fingers are
completely caliced and scarred from handling them, i can basically touch coals now.

try hookah shisha, bnn import and southsmoke or social smoke they all
have boxes of charcoal golden or three kings. Also you can get them big
instants i like those ones cause they are like 3 times the size of a
regular. so the moral of the story is, use instant lights! they may not be as healthy, but they are damn convient compared to naturals

[[LB]]

SORRY to be a doushe guys but after checking the prices i found that the best price for charcoals is BNN import. 10 bucks for 10 rolls of three kings

Hookah kings sells 10 piece LARGE charcoals for 2.50

[mushrat]

this is what i keep my natural bulk charcoal stuff going in:
 
 

and from the top:

 
It's the inner part of an old/new enamel coffee pot. I mix the coals occasionally, stack em up to keep them going and they get air from the bottom through the holes.
 

[yashman19]

Ahh mush, that looks like a great idea. And the metal helps insulate I bet and keeps the coals nice and hot.

[mushrat]

AND....
I can hit the coals directly with my torch (creme boule butane kitchen torch, not full size mapp gas type) in the holder and not worry about melting anything. If you want to be real carful you can attach a flat piece of something to the bottom to catch the occasional ash and to prevent tipping (i've only ONCE had someone tip it over, outside, in the dark)
If the coals start to dye out, hit em with the torch, add new coals when the ones inside start to burn out and they light themselves...though a touch of the torch helps right before you need to put it on the head.

[Aggroman]

Brilliant, Mushrat!  Looks like a fantastic piece of
equipment.  I'll be looking to pick up some parts to put something
like that together come payday....

Incidentally, I found that part of my problem was that I was keeping
the coals on the stove too long and they were getting exhausted on the
burner.  If I let them cook for about 4 or 5 minutes and set them
outside I get a lot more good coals out of my pot.

Hopefully if I can rig a holder like that all my problems (aside from
the mess and hassle that lebaneseblonde so perfectly describes) will be
solved!

Shukran!

[slayman1]

hi guys,in regards to natural coals,im a very lucky person.i use the exact same natural coals that they use in lebanon from my village.its 1000% natural wood charcoal thay they burn and cover with sand to make it black then i relight it and mate does it burn like a dream.Ive used alot of natural stuff but its all crap,you've gotta keep giving them air or they turn offWhat i do is use a portable gas burner and i use tyhos charcoal holders and i put in big pieces and let them sit for over 10 minutes while i prepare the shishawhen i go to use them,they always stay red red hot and never turn off unless i take them out of the charcoal holder which i use to light the charcoal.If you leave them inside i,they keep each other alight and i always have them sitting upright to stay lit,happy shisha smoking

[Doc Psycho]

[quote name='MR Bubble'][quote name='Doc Psycho']I just can't use naturals at
all as they give me terrible headaches, my heart starts racing, and I
feel like I am going to pass out :-(  I tried them a few times and
I just couldn't do it.  I started using 3 kings and I have no such
issues any longer[/quote]
Hey Doc, what brand of naturals you been trying? I think I have a clue.
MR Bubble[/quote]

Hi Mr. Bubble . . . it was the Nour Finger Coals.  They stayed lit
no problem and worked great, just may me feel orthostatic . . . not a
nice feeling!

[ahwahoo2006]

[quote name='Doc Psycho']I just can't use naturals at all as they give me terrible headaches, my
heart starts racing, and I feel like I am going to pass out :-(  I
tried them a few times and I just couldn't do it.  I started using
3 kings and I have no such issues any longer[/quote]

sounds like carbon monoxide poisoning

[Doc Psycho]

[quote name='ahwahoo2006'][quote name='Doc Psycho']I just can't use naturals at all as they give me terrible headaches, my
heart starts racing, and I feel like I am going to pass out :-(  I
tried them a few times and I just couldn't do it.  I started using
3 kings and I have no such issues any longer[/quote]

sounds like carbon monoxide poisoning

[/quote]

While that is completely possible, I think I am having some sort of
reaction to some of the ingredients used in the Nour coals.  If it
were Carbon Monoxide poisoning, I'd suspect that I would get close to
the same feeling even with the quick light coals (provided the
environment and all other variables are held constant). 
Regardless, I've smoked numerous times at Hookah/Shisha Bars with no
problem, and now that I switched to 3 kings I have no problem, so I am
really suspecting the Nour Coals. 

[ahwahoo2006]

true.  could be an allergic reaction to something in the coals themselves

[mushrat]

Whatever they use for a binder perhaps.

[MR Bubble]

Hey Doc, Give me a while and I'll post something here about Nours and other "finger" styles I've found.
MR Bubble

[MR Bubble]

Doc, this is a little something I posted in response to a question mushrat had about nours. I get the creeps thinking about them. Here goes:
 
Mush, I did some research on coals that are supposed to be made from olive. Trust me when I say Nours are of this type. Here's what happens:
Olive trees are in such high demand because of the uses for the olive like olives, olive oil, small wooden trinkets, and other neat things they make out of pits in the Middle East.
It is not cost effective to make coals out of the wood, being the trees are so small to begin with, and as said before, there are better things to do with them besides smoke them.
There is one problem concerning the olive industry: What do we do with all these processed pits? Smoke THEM! The actual process is unknown to most people including myself due to business competition, but they take the olive pit waste, stuff it into some kind of tubes and heat it up  super-hot until you have charcoal fingers. Miost people do fine with this stuff, but I cannot. I have tried several types of "olive coals" and become very ill from these. That is what prompted me to research this. So chances are you aren't smoking wood coals, but cellulose-based, waste olive pits. THAT is why they are so cheap, you lucky farts.
MR Bubble
 
Doc, here's what I have found: If it says "olive wood coals" then it is going to be of this type. One brand is from the Bilal olive press company in (I think) Jordan. They don't look like fingers. Instead, they look like 1 inch "thumbs" that are oval insead of round on the ends. I found out they are the same as any other "Natural olive wood coal." Not really wood afterall.
The information I gathered was taked from an online BBQ magazine in which a journalist was doing a piece on different types of natural (meaning non-petrolium containing) charcoals. He had sources in Jordan who gave a very brief explanation of this process. And after all the high BP attacks, and migraines following smoke sessions with these, I just had to believe him!
I feel your pain,
MR Bubble

[cobrabyte]

Yes, the finger-type coals that claim to be made of olive wood are, in fact, most of the time the pits of olives.  I was quite surprised to find this out, myself.However, if you go with the olive charcoal that is lump (actual wood, like we carry), you'll probably not get the headaches.  I very-nearly always get headaches from quick lights and finger-type coal.  That's why I stick with the all-natural lump charcoal.  It may be a little more difficult to light and require an Old Smokey ... but it seems healthier to me.I suggested in another thread that mesquite and oak lump charcoal are great alternatives.  Stay away from Royal Oak and shoot for B&B or Best of the West.Oh well, just my .02-Chris

[Aggroman]

Problem solved!!

Here's what I do now:

I took a soup can and punched a bunch of holes in the bottom and sides
with a screwdriver.  Then i fastened a coathanger a hole on the
top. 

I load the can about 3/4 full of small chunks of coal, light it on the
stove for 5 minutes and swirl it around in the air with the coathanger
like an angry ninja until it's burning like mad. 

Then I hang the can from the balcony and leave it sit for 10
minutes.  By that time about 75% of the coals are burning
beautifully with a nice white ash coating.  PERFECT.

Incidentally, I managed to find some 3 Kings here and after using them
again, I've realized that there really is no comparison to the taste
between quicklights and naturals.  The naturals are FAR superior
and I can definitely taste something "unnatural" when I use the 3
Kings.  I guess I never noticed before when I used them because I
didn't know any better.

Got some Al Fakher Gold "green" apple and it's smoking like a dream.

I'm finally happy again!

[Doc Psycho]

[quote name='MR Bubble']Doc, this is a little something I posted in
response to a question mushrat had about nours. I get the creeps
thinking about them. Here goes:
 
Mush, I did some research on coals that are supposed to be made from
olive. Trust me when I say Nours are of this type. Here's what happens:
Olive trees are in such high demand because of the uses for the
olive like olives, olive oil, small wooden trinkets, and other neat
things they make out of pits in the Middle East.
It is not cost effective to make coals out of the wood, being the
trees are so small to begin with, and as said before, there are better
things to do with them besides smoke them.
There is one problem concerning the olive industry: What do we do
with all these processed pits? Smoke THEM! The actual process is
unknown to most people including myself due to business competition,
but they take the olive pit waste, stuff it into some kind of tubes and
heat it up  super-hot until you have charcoal fingers. Miost
people do fine with this stuff, but I cannot. I have tried several
types of "olive coals" and become very ill from these. That is what
prompted me to research this. So chances are you aren't smoking wood
coals, but cellulose-based, waste olive pits. THAT is why they are so
cheap, you lucky farts.
MR Bubble
 
Doc, here's what I have found: If it says "olive wood coals" then it
is going to be of this type. One brand is from the Bilal olive press
company in (I think) Jordan. They don't look like fingers. Instead,
they look like 1 inch "thumbs" that are oval insead of round on the
ends. I found out they are the same as any other "Natural olive wood
coal." Not really wood afterall.
The information I gathered was taked from an online BBQ magazine in
which a journalist was doing a piece on different types of natural
(meaning non-petrolium containing) charcoals. He had sources in Jordan
who gave a very brief explanation of this process. And after all the
high BP attacks, and migraines following smoke sessions with these, I
just had to believe him!
I feel your pain,
MR Bubble[/quote]

MR Bubble,

Thanks for the info!  And it is "nice" to hear that I am not alone in my reaction to these coals :-)

Doc