Reviewing Scalliwag's natural coals

[Scalliwag]

All of the testers can post results here. This is the baseline structure for review but in the overall at the bottom of the review anything not covered in the base questions are more than welcome. So far only Skimo has got them and tested. His review is on the first thread. Since we are 5 pages deep over there a thread of it's own should alert those tired of checking back that coals are sent out and being received by the testers.1)Hookah type and size of bowl- 14", 29", small or big bowl. Whatever best way you can describe it.2)Brand, flavor and age of shisha- 3)Ease of lighting and method used- (electric or gas cooktop, propane torch, pen torch/ how long to get a useable coal)4)Weather- (hot, cold, humid, dry)5)Smell or taste- (any noticable taste or smell? Good/Bad?)6)How long coal lasted- (how long was the coal useable or before you had to add another coal?)7)How much ashing or moving the coal around- 8)How long it took to smoke good- 9)Comparison with other coals- 10) Size and shape of coal tested- (disk, finger, oblong 1", 2")11) Screen or foil- (if foil, how many and how big were the holes?)12) Headache or ?- (anything feel different than your current favorite coals?)13) Overall judgement- Go into detail the likes and dislikes and reasons and anything that could make it better. Hopefully this is a good method of review. Any ideas are more than welcome.

[Scalliwag]

Skimo's first and second review from other thread:First:Hookah type and size of bowl- Widow Hookah w/ large clay bowl Brand, flavor and age of shisha- Romman cherry, just bought it yesterday Ease of lighting- I set it on the stove for about 5 minutes. It seemed to be nice and red but I could have left it on longer for it to have fully burned, my guess would be around 8 minutes to get the whole coal nice and red Weather- Kind of dry and warm, I do live in Texas lol Smell or taste- The only smell was from the lighting; once I got it on the hookah I couldn’t smell anything. There wasn’t a taste to it either; I just got this wood taste from time to time but not to noticeable How long coal lasted- around 30 minutes, I picked a small coal thinking it would put off a lot of heat but I could have used another How much ashing or moving the coal around- Little moving around. I guess I didn’t get it fully lit so I blew on it from time to time to get it hotter How long it took to smoke good- Once I put the coal on it was nice, pretty thick smoke until the coal started going out Comparison with other coals- If I would have used a bigger coal it would have been a lot better but compared to my quick lights its defiantly up there with it The coals seemed to be rather nice, being my first time using them I think it was mostly my mistakes that made them not work to their potential, Ill try another bowl in a couple of days with a bigger coal and fix what I had problems with next time. I think you could put these on the market though, they would do pretty well. Second:well im back, i think im a phene or somthing but anyways i smoked yet another bowl and this time it was bad ass. so heres the review Hookah type and size of bowl- Widow Hookah w/ large clay bowl Brand, flavor and age of shisha- Romman cherry mixed with bannana, just bought it yesterday Ease of lighting- This time I held it over the flame for about 5 minutes, they got pretty red on one side so my guess is they were as hot as they were going to get Weather- Kind of dry and warm, I do live in Texas lol Smell or taste- This time I could kind of taste the coals in the back of my throat, I used 2 coals this time so it could have been there was to much heat and it was just a bit harsh, not to noticable but it was still there none the less How long coal lasted- around 30 minutes, I didnt fully smoke thought because the smoke was pretty thick and after my 2nd bowl and that much smoke it built up a buzz fast How much ashing or moving the coal around- Touched the coals maybe twice just to burn different parts of the bowl, it ashed itself, litterally the ash from the coal fell onto my tray without me touching it How long it took to smoke good- Once I put the coal on it was nice, pretty thick smoke Comparison with other coals- This time I wouldnt use any other coals lol, I was impressed with the smoke density so much I would never buy quicklites again, these put off the most heat from anyother coal Ive seen Overall- Pretty nice I was deff. impressed with them, only downfall was the taste. Maybe it was just to hot I dont know, anybody else have this problem?

[40 Thieves]

[quote name='Scalliwag']All of the testers can post results here. This is the baseline structure for review but in the overall at the bottom of the review anything not covered in the base questions are more than welcome. So far only Skimo has got them and tested. His review is on the first thread. Since we are 5 pages deep over there a thread of it's own should alert those tired of checking back that coals are sent out and being received by the testers.  1)Hookah type and size of bowl- 14", 29", small or big bowl. 28" hookah w/ big bowl  2)Brand, flavor and age of shisha- new havana lemon-lime  3)Ease of lighting and method used- (electric or gas cooktop, propane torch, pen torch/ how long to get a useable coal)- torch -> hotplate  4)Weather- (hot, cold, humid, dry) dry  5)Smell or taste- (any noticable taste or smell? Good/Bad?)Neutral  6)How long coal lasted- (how long was the coal useable or before you had to add another coal?) 20 minutes  7)How much ashing or moving the coal around- none  8)How long it took to smoke good- 10 minutes  9)Comparison with other coals- pain to light  10) Size and shape of coal tested- (disk, finger, oblong 1", 2") 2inch  11) Screen or foil- (if foil, how many and how big were the holes?)Screen - med/holes  12) Headache or ?-  (anything feel different than your current favorite coals?) no  13) Overall judgement- Go into detail the likes and dislikes and reasons and anything that could make it better. Coal lit for 20 minutes - went to get coffee for a customer and it was out.  Hopefully this is a good method of review. Any ideas are more than welcome.[/quote] Answers are above - these are from my biz partner though - I'll give them a try tonight.

[Scalliwag]

Well that was not good, but honest. Lighting on a hot plate though? How thick was the coal. 20 minutes makes me think it was a pretty thin one.

[40 Thieves]

Okay I was told that the coal was attempting to light for 20 minutes - not burning for 20 minutes - so I'll have to check it out tonight and see whats up.

[Halon]

Can't wait to try the coals!I'll stop by tonight, Chris, and I'd be glad to be a guinea pig for ya if you want.TYLER

[40 Thieves]

Word - see you there.

[Scalliwag]

[quote name='40 Thieves']Okay I was told that the coal was attempting to light for 20 minutes - not burning for 20 minutes - so I'll have to check it out tonight and see whats up.[/quote] The hotplate is not doing the trick. I have used my stovetop and the sideburner on my grill. The sideburner on the grill gets them going the quickest mainly because my my stovetop is ceramic on my range. It's a highend Jenn-Aire though so as much as that cost it better light a damn coal! Is a hotplate the only heat source you have? How did you light your's Skimo?

[Skimo]

the flame from my stove, setting them down in the middle takes longer so i held them directly over the flame which got em a really nice red in about 5 min. im smoking another bowl tonight, just gotta find somthing to use as tongs cause i lost mine haha, u want another review?

[Scalliwag]

I use Ms. Scalli's salad tongs when she ain't look'n

[Skimo]

so you want me to write another review? lol u could always pm ya number and we could smoke a bowl and discuss....im not sure but hookah always brings up talk haha

[Scalliwag]

I am gonna put one of these out by the hot tub..... [url="http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44893"]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=44893[/url][img]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/44800-44899/44893.gif[/img]

[Skimo]

yeah hotplates arn't the best way to light a natrual coal, use a flame and hold it right over it, should only take 5 minutes max to have it glowing red

[Bleeding_Heart1]

my stove works great. I think id rather have a hot plate. I tried a blowtorch once... never worked.

[Scalliwag]

This little guy here is nice and portable. They sell an adaptor for refilling from a standard propane bottle for $10. Put a little metal tray that would sit in it and get them coals going good [img]http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/91600-91699/91613.gif[/img]

[novicafe]

a blowtorch will work. thats what we use at work.

[Bleeding_Heart1]

ah maybe the coal was to thick.

[Scalliwag]

[quote name='novicafe']a blowtorch will work. thats what we use at work.[/quote] Hotplate= 20 minutesBlowtorch= 20 secondsI think I need to send you some of these to test after all PM your addy

[Lakemonster]

Get you a Bernzomatic MAPP gas torch with the push button start and and the rose bud tip. Mere single digit times.

[DizzyGuy]

If only I had 20-30 bucks to shell out for one of those, Lake :/

[nuschultz]

Better stock up on bernzomatic stuff, their plant is in my home town and is closing december 06.I got my coals today. Slight mesquite smell from the bag, havent had a chance to smoke them yet.

[Skimo]

ok i set my coal on my cousins grill cause i was smokin outside, it burned really good on the outside but the inner part wouldnt glow to good, the smoke was ok but overall they coal seemed to be to thick. so was it just me or was the coal to thick to fully light?

[DizzyGuy]

I had a fiasco trying to light the coals. heated the stove to max and long story short, burned the crap outta a hot pad and didn't get the coals to light fully and ended up using quick lights. Props to all of you who use natural coals, but I just can't do it. Scally, I thank you so much for the oppertunity to try them, but I don't think it'll personally fit my smoking style. I am willing to ship the coals to someone else to try if they will review them for Scally, of course with Scally's permission unless you want them back.

[Scalliwag]

[quote name='skimo']ok i set my coal on my cousins grill cause i was smokin outside, it burned really good on the outside but the inner part wouldnt glow to good, the smoke was ok but overall they coal seemed to be to thick. so was it just me or was the coal to thick to fully light?[/quote] There should have been a pretty good range of diameters and thicknesses. If it was on a grill it may have been too high above the flame. The edges do burn easier.So do you think your earlier success was due to the way you lit them or was there something different (thickness) about the coal?

[Scalliwag]

[quote name='DizzyGuy']I had a fiasco trying to light the coals.  heated the stove to max and long story short, burned the crap outta a hot pad and didn't get the coals to light fully and ended up using quick lights.  Props to all of you who use natural coals, but I just can't do it.  Scally, I thank you so much for the oppertunity to try them, but I don't think it'll personally fit my smoking style.  I am willing to ship the coals to someone else to try if they will review them for Scally, of course with Scally's permission unless you want them back.[/quote] So is all you have ever used been quicklights? Feel free to let a member or friend have them. If there is a local lounge let them have them and tell them the background. I got a small bag of Al-(something) natural coals and I am going to see if they light any easier or harder in the same situations. The big question I have is if people having trouble would have had trouble with other natural coals.