Your Ideas On Using Exotica Coals

[liquidglass]

Hey guys I just got my first order of exotica coals from Neil yesterday and I love how they look and feel. I just haven't perfected using them on my phunnel bowl yet so I made a thread.


first off: Breaking: They seemed difficult to break but I just put one end on the table and tapped it with a tack hammer a few times and got a clean break. But I was only getting about 3 pieces out of each stick.

So the question is: how many do you break a stick into and how do you do it?



secondly: I packed my phunnel bowl with some SB last night, did the bulls eye pattern with the mod and once without.
1 stick (in 2 halves) and 1/3 of another stick

WITH the 1/3rd it was Too harsh
Without it, i wasn't getting enough smoke/taste


any opinions?

[SimplexCoda]

When I used exoticas i would take my tongs and score all sides of the coal and break it into quaters. For a regular bowl I would use two quaters, but for a funnel maybe 3.

[JillyIsJustKidding]

I get a knife (the ones with ridges on them) and I just score 2 sides of one coal (making sure it is deep enough so it won't be hard to break the up). I score the coals into 4 equal pieces. Then, I just break them up with my hands

[bjelder]

Or, consider picking up coco naras next time. Already broken into perfect sized pieces!

[liquidglass]

lol at bjelder, I was considering getting some Cocos next time, but I wanted to try both and make a fair judgment on which I like better.


Yeah I considered using a serrated edge knife, I think I might do that.


3 quarters on a med or large phunnel bowl, really? Hmm I may have been doing something wrong with heat management b/c it wasn't working for me last night

[ryno]

When I used exoticas i would take my tongs and score all sides of the coal and break it into quaters. For a regular bowl I would use two quaters, but for a funnel maybe 3.

+1 thats how I've always done mine and havent had problems. I would also suggest giving coconaras a try too, but I myself prefer Exoticas

[liquidglass]

well guys that's what i'm doing right now

Med phunnel with 3, 3rds. and it's working great so far. I guess I just messed up last night, or the mod may have had something to do with it, I don't know. Just glad it's working now

[SimplexCoda]

From what i hear the mod makes it hard as hell to manage heat.

[Victim026]

Yeah I do the serrated knife trick on 2 sides and then break them into 4 pieces. When I break into 3 they seem to get a little outta hand with the heat.

[Johnny_D]

Welll you had to figure at least one coco fan boy would pipe up

As to how to use them - same as everyone else. Use a knife score in teh brick so you can break into 1/4's. Job done

I've got a few photo's in the potion review threads showing how i place them on my everyday standard egyptian bowl.

JD

[Scoop]

i break a 4th off on the counter using leverage and my hand...

then i start the remaining 3/4 piece. when its hot, i just use tongs to break it into 3 pieces so i have 3 1/4 stick pieces.

[liquidglass]

I originally used a hammer to tap it a bit and got equal thirds, but a little sawing and taping and perfect fourths. I think I'll stick with that.


I didn't realize the mod made it difficult to manage heat, hmmm. Well last night was my first time with my glass mod, before then I had been using my foil DIY mod and it seems to work ok.

I think when I use them with a mod I'm going to use my windcover for more heat.

But tonight, I used 3, 1/4th pieces and got great smoke, only (good/bad) problem was that my shisha wouldn't burn lol I could get some flavor but I sat there for 2 hours and still had plenty of fresh in the bowl. Going to have to try it again, always something new to learn with hookah

[mattarios2]

Hey guys I just got my first order of exotica coals from Neil yesterday and I love how they look and feel. I just haven't perfected using them on my phunnel bowl yet so I made a thread.


first off: Breaking: They seemed difficult to break but I just put one end on the table and tapped it with a tack hammer a few times and got a clean break. But I was only getting about 3 pieces out of each stick.

So the question is: how many do you break a stick into and how do you do it?



secondly: I packed my phunnel bowl with some SB last night, did the bulls eye pattern with the mod and once without.
1 stick (in 2 halves) and 1/3 of another stick

WITH the 1/3rd it was Too harsh
Without it, i wasn't getting enough smoke/taste


any opinions?

Score them with a knife and then just break them off in your hand, it is really easy to crack them when they are scored and you get perfect cracks as well. I use 4 pieces per stick, 2 pieces for a regular bowl and 3 for a phunnel, just sit them on the edges of the bowl.

[Voski]

saw it into 4 pieces and use two placed on opposite ends. Add another if you need it. Buy coco-naras.

[mattarios2]

saw it into 4 pieces and use two placed on opposite ends. Add another if you need it. Buy coco-naras.

Yah coconaras are better, but I don't know if they are 6.50 a box better. Coco's 84 pieces = 14.95 ~ 17.8 cents a coal. 25 exotica sticks, 4 pieces a stick, 100 coals = 8.50. = 8 and a half cents a coal, exoticas are even less than half of what coco's cost.

I mean I will too probably be switching to coco eventually, but exoticas are damn good for the price.

[burton_o6]

I also just got my first box of exoticas. My heat management is perfect but EVERYTIME I ash them, they break up into pieces that are unusable.

[mattarios2]

lol at bjelder, I was considering getting some Cocos next time, but I wanted to try both and make a fair judgment on which I like better.


Yeah I considered using a serrated edge knife, I think I might do that.


3 quarters on a med or large phunnel bowl, really? Hmm I may have been doing something wrong with heat management b/c it wasn't working for me last night

Well its nice that coco's are pre shaped, BUT, it is also nice that you can make the coal whatever size you want w/ exoticas, that way you can customize and tweak the perfect amount of heat.

[Ehorizon]

I lay three sticks side by side on the brick hearth in front of my fireplace and score them into fourths with a miter saw, then break them up and toss em in a ziploc bag. Usually I do a whole kilo box at a time, that way I only have to vacuum up one large dust pile once every few weeks rather than getting bits of charcoal on the floor every time I smoke.

[mattarios2]

I lay three sticks side by side on the brick hearth in front of my fireplace and score them into fourths with a miter saw, then break them up and toss em in a ziploc bag. Usually I do a whole kilo box at a time, that way I only have to vacuum up one large dust pile once every few weeks rather than getting bits of charcoal on the floor every time I smoke.

I find when you do that, it makes the coals crack and split on you more often than if you only score and crack them when you are having a bowl.

If all of the coals are sitting on eachother in a ziplock bag, and are always clunking against eachother it makes the coals weaker IMHO from experience.

[burton_o6]

I lay three sticks side by side on the brick hearth in front of my fireplace and score them into fourths with a miter saw, then break them up and toss em in a ziploc bag. Usually I do a whole kilo box at a time, that way I only have to vacuum up one large dust pile once every few weeks rather than getting bits of charcoal on the floor every time I smoke.

I find when you do that, it makes the coals crack and split on you more often than if you only score and crack them when you are having a bowl.

If all of the coals are sitting on eachother in a ziplock bag, and are always clunking against eachother it makes the coals weaker IMHO from experience.

This could be my problem..I broke up about 4 sticks and now that I think about it, only the ones that I broke up days ago are breaking while ashing.

[Ehorizon]

I lay three sticks side by side on the brick hearth in front of my fireplace and score them into fourths with a miter saw, then break them up and toss em in a ziploc bag. Usually I do a whole kilo box at a time, that way I only have to vacuum up one large dust pile once every few weeks rather than getting bits of charcoal on the floor every time I smoke.

I find when you do that, it makes the coals crack and split on you more often than if you only score and crack them when you are having a bowl.

If all of the coals are sitting on eachother in a ziplock bag, and are always clunking against eachother it makes the coals weaker IMHO from experience.

Interesting....I haven't noticed any more cracking or splitting since I started breaking up a whole box at a time, but now I'll watch for it. Thanks for making me paranoid

Actually, I just got three new boxes of Exoticas today; I'll try both my method and just cutting what I need for a session for the next month and see if there's any difference. Offhand, the only thing I can think of that would cause more cracking/splitting (other than banging the full ziploc around; mine just sits on a shelf on my tiki bar) is the increased surface area in relation to the exposure to air and any local humidity. If you are in Mass. mattarios2, I know from experience how much more humid it is there compared to here in Colorado, so maybe the local conditions can affect the coals.

[liquidglass]

Hmm glad you brought this up because I was thinking about doing that too lol.

But if you wanted, you could just use small sandwich bags to store the coals 3 (1/4th pieces) per bag for each "session" it would probably keep them from bashing into one another wrapped up so small and it's like Coals to Go! in a handy hour lasting pack.

Actually I might do that Buy some exoticas, make them into 4ths, wrap every 3 pieces into some plastic wrap and sell them on here as "Exoticas to Go!"

[liquidglass]

One more question guys, how many exotica quarters would you use for a med phunnel bowl of tangiers? 3 like always?
I've got some tangiers and just haven't had a chance to really spend some time getting it ready and smoking it, want to get it right the first time.