When To Ash Coals?

[BattlePope]

Hey guys,

Quick question, when do you guys ash your coals? My friend and I would ash them every 20 minutes or so and it seems that often times when we ash them, we lose some heat. Does anyone else experience this? I would expect to get more heat when we ash them.

Also, if you don't ash them enough, do you suck in the extra ash and then get an ashy taste? It seems like we would sometimes get this so were pretty paranoid about ashing our coals. Is this normal?

Thanks.

[SanguineSolitude]

i dont think you need to ash them really. doesnt make much difference in my experience. i suppose when theyve halved in size i sort of scrape some ash off them but thats mainly for aesthetics. i cant taste the ash if it gets in the smoke. i dont know why you would. wouldnt the flavor of the coal be the same as the flavor of the ash?

[yashman19]

This is just in my experience, but I ash my coals roughly every 10-15 minutes. If I don't, my heat dwindles and I don't get as much smoke. I simply grab each one, drop it in the tray and tap it until the coal is red again, then place them back on my boal in a new location.

After doing this about three times though, the coals are getting to be pretty small, and I will plop another finger coal section on top of the original two in order to get it going, and ready for when the original coals get too small to heat the bowl on their own.

[web250]

I tend to scrape at the ash layer with my tongs...bad habit maybe?

wooo 500 posts!

[Erica]

Yea, I ash my coals, anytime the bowl needs a little heat managment....
So about every 10-15 minutes...

I think I lose heat when I dont ash.... I might just be crazy though....

Who knows?

[Erica]

Yea, I ash my coals, anytime the bowl needs a little heat managment....
So about every 10-15 minutes...

I think I lose heat when I dont ash.... I might just be crazy though....

Who knows?

[Macho555]

I never ash mine. I don't notice any loss of heat, and it's just a little neater to keep the things in one clump I find.

[azcoyote]

Interesting question. How does removing the ash affect heat?

Leaving ashes on coals conserves fuel but reduces heat in that ash prevents some air from getting to them. Less air equals slower combustion. When you ash them they give a burst of heat and then are consumed much more rapidly. Also the layer of ash on the bottom of the coals prevents some heat from conducting to the foil. This helps prevent scorching! Using a windscreen or facsimile also keeps more heat in and makes ashing uneccessary until the smoke thins unacceptably. Then remove ashes and replace naked coals and windscreen to get add another 10 minutes to your session. Once i have my large funnel up to temp, I can maintain it with only one or two coals if I use the windscreen. A disc of aluminum foil liberally pierced with 1/4" holes can be used to cover the coals indoors with admirable results.

Hope this adds to the discussion.

[aronparsons]

For QLs or Japanese coals I don't ash until the coals are dead and I need a new one (in which case it isn't ashing, just cleaning off the bowl to make room for another coal). I find that when I ash the coals I lose heat and about 95% of the time get some coal flavor mixed in (ick!). For finger coals, probably every 15 minutes.

[ioannisds]

For QLs or Japanese coals I don't ash until the coals are dead and I need a new one (in which case it isn't ashing, just cleaning off the bowl to make room for another coal). I find that when I ash the coals I lose heat and about 95% of the time get some coal flavor mixed in (ick!). For finger coals, probably every 15 minutes.

What he said. I only ash QLs at the very beginning, after they have gone completely gray. After that I just leave them there, and find they retain heat much better than when they are ashed every few minutes. Might just be the effect of the heat staying on the bowl the whole time too, I dunno.

[Zerodynamic]

I don't ash my coals... I dont taste a difference.