Problem With Three Kings 33mm Charcoal

[whitenanook]

Several times in the past few months, I've had an impossible time getting decent heat from rolls of Three Kings. The coal will light quickly (as expected), but the internal heat never increases as expected, i.e. instead of a nice orange glow it simply stays black with a slight glow on the edge. If I attempt to smoke from this coal, I either get no where (i.e. not enough heat to produce smoke) or, if I'm somehow able to get it hot blowing and blowing and drawing and drawing, I wake up the next morning with a very scratchy, phlem-covered throat.

To further illustrate... if you drop a normally lit coal on the ground, it breaks up into several hot pieces. If I drop one of these, nothing happens. If I step on it, it turns into a pile of black dust with *NO* hot coals showing at all.

It also seems to be roll-specific, i.e. every coal in the roll produces the same result. If I switch to a new roll, no problems. I've never had a problem with 40mm, just 33mm.

Has anyone else experienced this?
If yes, any solutions?

[HAHkoo]

hmm might wanna try putting one on the stove till it is bright orange and till there is a lite layer of ash sorta even all around. if all else fails i say switch too japanese style or try another brand of quicklights.

[mushrat]

Funny you should post this now.O had some 40 mm and some 33 mm 3 kings aroundi figured i'd try.

The 40mm's got nice and hot, turned white, nice smokes.
The 33mm's on the other hand, don't get as hot, do also stay blackish, not all white, and just don't seem to be doing the job as well. They also don't seem to belasting very long. Could be some problem with the smaller 33mms. I've yet to get any more of the 40's to see if they are still better.

Definitly going to keep with the fingercoals whenever possible...

[cymptom]

Man, that's a strange problem I've never encountered. Sounds like it's just a bad batch -- I wonder if you could get any help from the vendor?

I just bought 3 boxes of 40mms.... I hope they work okay

[whitenanook]

Definitly going to keep with the fingercoals whenever possible...

Are fingercoals another term for Japanese?

[whitenanook]

if all else fails i say switch too japanese style or try another brand of quicklights.

Interestingly, I did order some japanese style with the silver, plastic-like coating. I tried lighting them with a blowtorch like I do natural coals, but it was like trying to melt the plastic coating off a piece of wire. Is a hot-plate the only way to light these? I'm assuming they would make a huge mess if I tried to light on the stove.

[Sonthert]

The gunpowder lighting agent in the 3 Kings, according to George at Hookah Company, seems to wear out over time and when exposed to moisture. If they don't light terribly strongly, then they will not light fully. Unless 3 Kings starts putting use by or born on dates on their products, it will be impossible to know from the outside of the box or foil roll.

Japanese coals...don't worry about the silver coating, it will flake off as the coal gets smaller. Blow torches work, I've used them in the past. Hot plates are usually what I use to light them. If you got a cheap, Chinese rip-off you will find they, in fact, light no better than natural coals, because they are natural coals. Chinese knock-offs use silver paint instead of Aluminum and potassium nitrate. They also don't remove the sulfur from the charcoal before reconstituting it. For what most people pay for Chinese coals, I think they are grossly over priced. They should retail for about $4/box, I figure. Japanese are worth $13-$15.