So I Bought A Smokerlyzer

[Chreees]

With the technology we have already in vaping, you'd think it'd be easy.

[mattarios2]

That is exactly what I said the other night.

 

For cordless you would need an insane battery so you would either rip through batteries or have to charge it quite often I would think.

 

I'd prefer wired and just have an extension cord, as long as it doesn't pull down easily and be a risk of falling.

[Hassouni]

I suppose, keep in mind that's a tiny coil heating a tiny amount of just liquid, quite different than a bowl of tobacco

[Hassouni]

That is exactly what I said the other night.

 

For cordless you would need an insane battery so you would either rip through batteries or have to charge it quite often I would think.

 

I'd prefer wired and just have an extension cord, as long as it doesn't pull down easily and be a risk of falling.

 

I'd be down the frequent charging, frankly

[Chreees]

Oh for hookah it would definitely need to be something corded, not cordless, to be able to heat up a bowl of tobacco. And I'd be totally fine with that.

[Hassouni]

Really, with dogs and babies and all that going on? (or in my case, drunk Russians)

[Chreees]

Really, with dogs and babies and all that going on? (or in my case, drunk Russians)

 

Yes, because I'm smart enough to not smoke around them. :) Boyah, you know I have an entire room dedicated to my nasty habits!

[joytron]

John, would you be willing to send out the device to someone when you are done just to see how other people's results compare?

[mattarios2]

Yes absolutely, Stuie wants to try it first.

 

So here is the result from the Japanese coals

 

Keep in mind I started with 3ppm before smoking and usually I am 1ppm. I don't know how that effects the end result but I just subtracted 3 from my results and here they are:

 

3 hits = 1

15 hits = 13

27 hits = 16

40 hits = 27 (bolded for reference further down)

60 hits = 39

 

So it is lower, especially in the mid range compared to the coconut coals which for reference even though they are in this thread are the following:

 

ALSO KEEP IN MIND I USE HALF COALS WITH COCONUT COALS SO I SAVE ABOUT 1 COAL PER BOWL SO OTHERS WHO USE WHOLE COALS WOULD HAVE EVEN HIGHER #'S THAN WHAT I AM REPORTING BELOW:

 

3 hits = 3

15 hits = 16

27 hits = 23

40 hits = 37

60 hits = 44

 

So overall if you just add up both and divide (not sure if that is actually how it should be done or if you should just compare the end result) you get a 28% decrease of CO with the Japanese coals. Also the ash is BLACK with Japanese coals, coconut coals are gray which means fillers and sulphur are added to the coals in coconut coals where as the japanese coals based on the ash look completely natural. SO there are obviously other crap you are inhaling from the coconut coals that a CO detector clearly can't detect.

 

ALSO NOTE: I used a wind cover the entire time with the Japanese coals because they are low heat and I needed more heat. (NOTICE HOW I BOLDED THE LAST 2 RESULTS FOR THE JAPANESE COALS read the next sentence) - Also 2 friends left early bc they were tired so it was just me and 1 other person for the last 30 minutes so I was hitting it pretty regularly where as normally in previous testing I didn't AND NOTICE how the number jumped drastically from 27 to 39 which is when my friends left. (so maybe that skewed the results if more constant pulling does effect the intake of CO) We won't know until I get more coals and test again.

 

I will definitely need to get more Japanese coals and do more testing because I was unfamiliar with the heat output and I definitely overheated the bowl at least once.

 

So in conclusion, the things that went wrong or that I had to do because of unknown heat output on the Japanese coals can make the numbers worse, so if anything, the numbers would be better than what I have reported with perfect management of the Japanese coals or stay the same. The numbers looked WAAAY better until the end (I was hitting the hookah 3 times at a time and getting the hose after 1 minute, normally i wait 3 minutes to get the hose back from friends.

 

Lastly, a friend of mine, healthy kid, but does not work out, hit 72ppm for his max on the smokerlyzer, where as I hit 39. And I work out 3-4 times a week 2-3 hours total for the week. He smokes every time I smoke for the past 2 years so there is no questioning of oh is he not "acclimated" to the CO the way I am (some studies have suggested that could be a factor). Also he said they have a gas stove at there house that uses natural gas, I won't know if that effects him or his environment in general until I have him do the test when we haven't smoked for 24 hours. Note that he lives 8 minutes away from me so our environments outside are very similar.

 

Once again I am not saying I KNOW this is correct more just my thoughts for all of us to discuss.

[mattarios2]

Another thing to consider: When I light coals and put them on the bowl, once they get small and I light new coals, I keep the small pieces and add new fresh coal. I wonder if dumping the small ones and using just whole coals (possibly 1 more than usual to make up for the few small ones) would reduce the CO ... just brainstorming here ... could quite be the opposite .. I don't really know when coals give off the most CO, beginning, middle, end, etc.

[joytron]

I think you should not use the windcover and just substitute with more coal to help keep things consistent and reduce the issue of oxygen being the limiting reactant. 

[joytron]

I think comparing the levels you should just divide the final CO levels since the levels in your system are already cumulative. So, instead we would be looking at a 11% decrease.

[mattarios2]

Ok sounds good. One thing to think about though is, while smoke majority of the time the levels were far lower until the very end when it spiked. So when you think about it that way ... WHILE smoking most of the time my levels were lower but then at the end they spiked which I think had to do with my friends leaving and me taking more frequent hits.

[mattarios2]

I will tell you all this, I will be making the switch to Japanese coals, I will also be selling them on the forum for the MOST reasonable price possible.

 

Here are some things I noticed that have no proof that they do actually matter but here goes:

 

1.) I noticed that the Japanese coals cook the tobacco slower and more efficiently. When I was done with the bowl the tobacco was just dry not crunchy and cooked to shit. That has to help with chemicals etc because the hotter a tobacco gets the more likely it is to give off cancer causing stuff and harmful stuff.

 

2.) After the amount we smoke regularly I always wash my pipe. EVERY SINGLE time I wash the pipe green stuff comes out from the copper oxidizing. Now that I used Japanese coals, when I washed the pipe no green came out. Now call me crazy but copper oxidizes when it comes into contact w foreign particles/substances to protect itself. When I used the Japanese coals no green, does that mean there is less shit in the Japanese coals not causing the pipe to oxidize? I am TELLING you, EVERY TIME the pipe turns green, quite a bit comes out, had no green last night washing the pipe after using Japanese coals.

 

3.) The ash is black as night which makes me much more comfortable using them vs coconuts gray ash.

 

4.) Lastly, in the middle of smoking and at the very end, if I run up my stairs I am kind of out of breath for a few breaths. When i was running up and down the stairs to get a snack or go to the bathroom or whatever, I had no loss of breath and no pumping heart for a few moments like I did when using the coconut coals.

 

Call me crazy, but I am very observant , and these are things I have ALWAYS noticed after smoking, and last night none of them happened with the Japanese coals. So even if with more testing the numbers are only 11% lower (which IMHO I think will be even lower once I figure out how many coals to use and no wind cover etc) I will still be sold on them.

 

If it is only 11% that still makes a huge difference because by morning I reach the very light smoker range of CO, with that added 11% with coconut coals I stayed in the medium or high level smoker range for 14 hours, with the Japanese after 11 hours I am in the low range already.

[Codyb88]

You said you've been testing in a basement with no airflow right? I'd like to see the results from an area with airflow.

[indian_villager]

Thanks for the update. If possible may I try the unit after Stuie? I'm willing to set up a controlled experiment. 

[mattarios2]

Lol we will need to make a list or something bc jess asked too. Keep in mind fellas these units cost $700-1100 each.

 

My guess is with proper technique with the Japanese coals I think we could see a 20-35% decrease in CO based on the data before my friends left and I was hitting it more and based on too much coal etc. I just ordered from fumari, so hopefully I have them by the beginning of next week.

[Chreees]

But I don't want to light new coals every 20 minutes!!! :girl_cray:

 

For me to make the switch, you'd have to offer them for a very reasonable price. I just can't justify buying a box of 96 japs that only last 30 minutes tops when I can buy a box of 108 cocos that last upwards of an hour for less.

 

We need more jap coals on the market so that the price can come down! Then I will have no problem making the switch.

[Codyb88]

Can you test exotica sliver tabs? They're around $5 a box. I'd like to see data on fumari, golden canary and exotica please.

[mattarios2]

But I don't want to light new coals every 20 minutes!!! :girl_cray:

 

For me to make the switch, you'd have to offer them for a very reasonable price. I just can't justify buying a box of 96 japs that only last 30 minutes tops when I can buy a box of 108 cocos that last upwards of an hour for less.

 

We need more jap coals on the market so that the price can come down! Then I will have no problem making the switch.

 

I will do my best on pricing, once I have them in hand and can weigh them I will let you guys know. I will also do a discount tier scheme like I do with the tobacco.

 

What I am prob going to do is toss 4 on a smedium phunnel, then after 10 min add 2 more, and that makes the bowl cook for a solid 45 min with no touching it. I look at it as first round of coals is to start the warm up period and after 15 min or so when they shrink add a couple more and then you are good for quite a while. Once the bowl is heated up really well, they actually last longer than the 15-20 minutes the manufacturers say.

 

I must say, and this is coming from a nakhla smoker which can handle the heat ... a lower heat coal is SOOOO much better, you can actually put the coals dead center in the middle of the phunnel trench and use the coal effectively and efficiently and the flavor is a tad better.

 

Can you test exotica sliver tabs? They're around $5 a box. I'd like to see data on fumari, golden canary and exotica please.

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND. Lol sorry man, if you want me to test specific coals you gotta send them to me.

[mattarios2]

You said you've been testing in a basement with no airflow right? I'd like to see the results from an area with airflow.

 

I keep windows open and the bulk head cracked, there definitely is sufficient air flow, plus it is a 800sq ft basement, not small.

[Hassouni]

Not that it's a primary concern but how was the smoke volume with the Japanese coals on Nakhla? I found using very light heat (with split up coconut coals) on DA gave a MUCH better flavor, but very thin smoke

[Chreees]

Not that it's a primary concern but how was the smoke volume with the Japanese coals on Nakhla? I found using very light heat (with split up coconut coals) on DA gave a MUCH better flavor, but very thin smoke

 

I also would like to know this. I remember trying japs on Nakhla and the result wasn't too great (low vapor volume). What do you do for the cloudage, man?

 

Also what makes black ash better than gray ash? Natural wood coals ash gray, is why I ask.

[mattarios2]

 

Not that it's a primary concern but how was the smoke volume with the Japanese coals on Nakhla? I found using very light heat (with split up coconut coals) on DA gave a MUCH better flavor, but very thin smoke

 

I also would like to know this. I remember trying japs on Nakhla and the result wasn't too great (low vapor volume). What do you do for the cloudage, man?

 

Also what makes black ash better than gray ash? Natural wood coals ash gray, is why I ask.

 

 

To answer your questions, I pack it the same way I always do in a phunnel and just use roughly one extra coal and the clouds were excellent, actually better than coconut because since they are low heat you can manage it better so you can get closer to overheating it without actually overheating it. I don't do anything differently just use 1 or so extra coals vs coconut coals.

 

I also got great clouds with half coconuts. If I needed 3 coconut coals for a bowl I would do 5 halves then after 15 min add another 2 halves and that would rip for close to an hour.

 

Chrees to answer your last question, depending on what type of wood or material they use, they can have natural elements in the material that cause the coal to turn gray. Eric said either the bamboo used in japanese coals is naturally free of all of that stuff, or the Japanese coal makers do a process to remove it. Black ash is ALWAYS what you want to see!

 

So in conclusion they could be "natural" coals that ash grey bc the natural materials they are using already have "stuff" in them and they don't process it out.

[Chreees]

What is "stuff"? Just trying to understand what you mean.