Sieg Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Hi! I'm new to smoking Hookah and wanted to get some input on the difference between natural coals and quicklight. What is good, what isn't, any particular brands? What about different size tabs and coals as they relate to bowl sizes? Thank you! Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom1 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Naturals taste better and last longer, quicklights are more convenient. Most natural coals are ok, I've only had a few kinds of bad wood coals. Coconara/CH hookah are the best brand of naturals, quick light CH hookah coals or 3kings are the best for the quick lights. I don't know for sure what you mean by coal size in relation to the bowl, But if I had to guess I would say you use a proportional amount of charcoal to the size of the bowl. For example, three coconara's to a phunnel and two for a standard MYA bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nars2k Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Tom pretty much said it. The difference between the two is that with natural there are no chemicals. Because there are no chemicals you do not get an altered taste. Naturals also tend to last longer and in most cases burn hotter. Quicklights are better on the go or a quick session. They have chemicals to make them light faster, which, in some cases causes a bad taste. Quicklights tend to light within a minute with a lighter, where naturals take a few minutes on a coil burner. Naturals are the healthiest choice. Best Natural: Coconara, CH Coals, Exotica, Luxor Best QL: Three Kings, CH QL Coals, Holland QL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sieg Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Size to bowl, I mean like should I use a 33mm tab for a mall to medium bowl etc. What size bowl would a 40mm tab work for, assuming i'm not into breaking tabs apart? I'm having harsh smoke issues due to heat management and indirectly, coal size which is why I'm picking the brains of you good peeps T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom1 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 [quote name='Sieg' date='11 February 2010 - 04:09 AM' timestamp='1265879395' post='450903'] Size to bowl, I mean like should I use a 33mm tab for a mall to medium bowl etc. What size bowl would a 40mm tab work for, assuming i'm not into breaking tabs apart? I'm having harsh smoke issues due to heat management and indirectly, coal size which is why I'm picking the brains of you good peeps T [/quote] What size bowl are we talking about here? I rarely use 33mm's (or QL's for that matter) but when I do it takes at least two of them. Pictures help if you can't really describe it or find a similar picture online. If you're getting harsh smoke it could always be you're not packing it correctly. I dunno... [img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/scratch_one-s_head.gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sieg Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 My bowl is a ceramic 20-25g bowl. I pack it a lil over halfway an try to fluff it decently, double foil it shiny side down. My air holes are many around the middle and few around the edge. So it would be classified as a medium bowl I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codename067 Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 Natural [size=5][b][color="#FF0000"]> [/color][/b][/size]Quick Lites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antouwan Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 my advice if you're dead set on using qls is that you better 'get into' breaking the tabs apart. it's just that simple. i'm not trying to sound like a dick or anything but you have to keep in mind that the round instant light coals you're talking about were not and are not intended to be used for hookahs, they were designed for use with incense. that means that you're going to have to do a little DIY in order to tailor them to your needs. i think most people here will say that, on average, one should use between 1.5 to 2 of these 33mm firecracker-powered coals, broken into halves spread around the head - so, 3 to 4 halves spread, preferably around the edges, around the head. a single coal, placed in the middle is simply not capable of giving you the proper distribution of heat needed for a good session. if i still haven't sold you on the idea of breaking your coals up - and you haven't yet acquired gloves - an alternative idea (if you have plenty of coal to spare) is just to put 2 33mm coals opposite one another on the head with about 1/3 to half the coal hanging off of the edge. if that isn't enough heat (i imagine it would be for a 20 -25g head) try using 3 coals, evenly spaced, in a triangular pattern also with the edges hanging off of the rim. YET ANOTHER option would be to stagger the coals. what i mean by this is putting one 33mm coal on the head, off centered and then placing the lip of a second coal on the the first one. use your imagination here but it would roughly look something like --\ with the two minus signs being the first coal and the slash being the second coal - just make the angle more reasonable. John's Chronicles (-les) Hookah coals are by far the best in the realm of QL's (and i would say that his new naturals are at least on par with cocos if not better, but we're talking about smoking a hookah by means of black cats so i'll save the charcoals au naturel for an other post) and due to their almost cube-like shape can also be placed in a more efficient variety of ways that the gun powder disks in question. i hope i that i have successfully illumined you to this topic and removed an obscurity on the matter, all whilst keeping you somewhat entertained with some rather flippant humor. also: reconsider your packing method Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sieg Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 The reason I use QL's for now is I need the ability to start on the fly at the moment. I think my problem boils down to heat management as it was pointed out that 1 tab in the center wouldn't cut it, not mention the inherent heat sink. So for now I'll start breaking them and placing the pieces around the edges and see how that works for me. thanks, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venger Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I use 3 kings 33mm on my vortex and modern.HD foil break them in half and put all 4 pieces on the four "corners" of the bowl. work great. They snap in half really easily once you get your technique down. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sieg Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 On that note, where is a spill out of these different types of bowls I keep hearing about? I went an got myself a med 25g clay today, broke my coals and placed apart. It worked awesome! A great smoke in a longtime! T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcracer_tx Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 [quote name='Codename067' date='11 February 2010 - 05:07 AM' timestamp='1265886478' post='450914'] Natural [size="5"][b][color="#ff0000"]> [/color][/b][/size]Quick Lites [/quote] x100000000 Go buy a $10 open coil burner at walgreens, and some naturals and you will never go back to QL's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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