Do You Ash Your Hookah Coal?

[Zet]

Hey, Ive been smoking Hookah for a long time now, and I got a habit of ashing my coal when I smoke.
Do anyone know if it actually helps ashing the coal? I just think that Hookah is like smoking a cigarette, and when you smoke a cigarette, you ash it.
Do you ash your coal?

[Jacob Shock]

Yep. prevents ash from falling in the the bowl and contaminating flavor.

i dont ash with a glass screen though. no need to.

[Arcane]

depending on the coals, it may be necessary to ash them...especially if the ash "sticks" to the coal, creating sort of an insulating layer...this layer seems to keep a lot of the heat from getting to the tobacco...i.e. old versions of CH QLs and CH nats, exoticas, exotica easy lites, and 3Kings...

however, some coals...the ash is very fine, falls off on its own, or just seems to disappear....these coals make it fairly unnecessary to ash...however, some people may still flip them over to put the "hot side" against the foil...i.e. Golden Canarys, AF Cocos, and Coconaras...

i have smoked with all the coals listed, and prefer the latter...i tend not to touch my coals after i put them on the bowl..

[Arcane]

[quote name='Jacob Shock' date='28 January 2010 - 10:04 PM' timestamp='1264752244' post='448331']
Yep. prevents ash from falling in the the bowl and contaminating flavor.

i dont ash with a glass screen though. no need to.
[/quote]

the ash does not alter or remove the flavor from the tobacco...

[Codename067]

Let's make one thing very clear: You[i] [b]always[/b] [/i]ash the coals.

Top reason for me: Heat Management!

Quick elaboration: When the ash builds a thick coating on the coal, it does to some extent block out some heat. Removing that ash coating will help manage the heat better on the bowl.

[Arcane]

[quote name='Codename067' date='28 January 2010 - 11:09 PM' timestamp='1264756144' post='448348']
Let's make one thing very clear: You[i] [b]always[/b] [/i]ash the coals.

Top reason for me: Heat Management!

Quick elaboration: When the ash builds a thick coating on the coal, it does to some extent block out some heat. Removing that ash coating will help manage the heat better on the bowl.
[/quote]
since when do CCNs build a thick coating of ash? or AF cocos? hmmmmmmm?

[Jacob Shock]

[quote name='Arcane' date='29 January 2010 - 01:12 AM' timestamp='1264752750' post='448336']
[quote name='Jacob Shock' date='28 January 2010 - 10:04 PM' timestamp='1264752244' post='448331']
Yep. prevents ash from falling in the the bowl and contaminating flavor.

i dont ash with a glass screen though. no need to.
[/quote]

the ash does not alter or remove the flavor from the tobacco...
[/quote]

i think it adds a taste, this could be just because if im not ashing im not doin heat manegment, who knows.

[Skoozle]

I like to leave an ash trail on the foil as I rotate. I like to think it blocks air flow to spent shisha.

[Amn_sinclair]

i flip the coals because the bottom goes from glowing to black so i flip the glowing side to the foil and i ash when i flip the coals. I could probably smoke the bowl with out ashing of flipping the coals its kind of a habit thing more then anything

[Chreees]

For Coconaras I never ash. No need to. They maintain great heat throughout the session without ashing. Other coals, such as Exoticas, you have to ash... CH coals don't give you a choice... Must be ashed.

[boludo]

I definitely ash when using quicklights (which is almost never now). When using cocos, I ash if I use the whole, but don't if I use half (no need).

[SultanofSmoke]

Ash QL's but dont flip...usually QL's have the bottom part made better for heat transfer.

[Hunkies!]

[quote name='Amn_sinclair' date='29 January 2010 - 05:42 AM' timestamp='1264772566' post='448367']
i flip the coals because the bottom goes from glowing to black so i flip the glowing side to the foil and i ash when i flip the coals. I could probably smoke the bowl with out ashing of flipping the coals its kind of a habit thing more then anything
[/quote]


That's exactly what i do, more of a habit than anything

[spectrum055]

It's just turned into a habit ... but yah I know some people do and some people don't...like with my coco's I do...with my jap coals on tang I only ash when I add the fourth coal when they are half the original size ....

[dizzbizz]

I still ash my Coconaras. I guess its habit, but I agree, the ash hinders the shisha.

[Sonthert]

If I do ash, its to, like Codename067 said, keep the ash from insulating the charcoal and reducing heat.

Ash falling in the bowl doesn't seem like it would affect much, so I don't really do anything except ash the charcoal on the bowl.

[Guest Cheng]

Pick up the coals with your thong and drop the coal on the ask tray, ashing completed

Smoke away!

It is true about ash blocking off heat, when I ask them the smoke gets more quicker after...

[Arcane]

[quote name='Cheng' date='30 January 2010 - 07:13 AM' timestamp='1264871582' post='448539']
Pick up the coals with your[b] thong[/b] and drop the coal on the ask tray, ashing completed
[/quote]
hahaha.....watch out for unsightly burn marks!!

[dizzbizz]

[quote name='Arcane' date='30 January 2010 - 01:52 PM' timestamp='1264884764' post='448582']
[quote name='Cheng' date='30 January 2010 - 07:13 AM' timestamp='1264871582' post='448539']
Pick up the coals with your[b] thong[/b] and drop the coal on the ask tray, ashing completed
[/quote]
hahaha.....watch out for unsightly burn marks!!
[/quote]
+1
Happened to me the first time I used my g-string to ash my coals[img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif[/img]

[Amn_sinclair]

[quote name='dizzbizz' date='30 January 2010 - 10:08 PM' timestamp='1264885686' post='448595']
[quote name='Arcane' date='30 January 2010 - 01:52 PM' timestamp='1264884764' post='448582']
[quote name='Cheng' date='30 January 2010 - 07:13 AM' timestamp='1264871582' post='448539']
Pick up the coals with your[b] thong[/b] and drop the coal on the ask tray, ashing completed
[/quote]
hahaha.....watch out for unsightly burn marks!!
[/quote]
+1
Happened to me the first time I used my g-string to ash my coals[img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif[/img]
[/quote]

bet it burned right through the string and ruined it huh? i know mine did

[Codename067]

[quote name='Arcane' date='29 January 2010 - 01:28 AM' timestamp='1264757321' post='448351']
[quote name='Codename067' date='28 January 2010 - 11:09 PM' timestamp='1264756144' post='448348']
Let's make one thing very clear: You[i] [b]always[/b] [/i]ash the coals.

Top reason for me: Heat Management!

Quick elaboration: When the ash builds a thick coating on the coal, it does to some extent block out some heat. Removing that ash coating will help manage the heat better on the bowl.
[/quote]
since when do CCNs build a thick coating of ash? or AF cocos? hmmmmmmm?
[/quote]


Lol. I use natural mesquite coals, which build up an insane amount of ash.


[quote name='Jacob Shock' date='29 January 2010 - 02:24 AM' timestamp='1264760690' post='448357']
[quote name='Arcane' date='29 January 2010 - 01:12 AM' timestamp='1264752750' post='448336']
[quote name='Jacob Shock' date='28 January 2010 - 10:04 PM' timestamp='1264752244' post='448331']
Yep. prevents ash from falling in the the bowl and contaminating flavor.

i dont ash with a glass screen though. no need to.
[/quote]

the ash does not alter or remove the flavor from the tobacco...
[/quote]

i think it adds a taste, this could be just because if im not ashing im not doin heat manegment, who knows.
[/quote]

For me its a must, as I mentioned, with natural wood mesquite coals, the ash is all over the place.

Besides heat management, ashing is good because they always tend to clog up the holes on your foil [I guess that's a not a problem for Eric seeing how you guys use forks to make holes on your foil lol. Fork = big holes = coals can't clog up big holes. Toothpick = small holes = holes getting clogged if bowl not ashed every 5 minutes or so].

[fillup]

I dont because of lazyness mainly. But my scientific view on it is that it causes the heat to stay in. The ash on the top actually insulates the coals and due to gravity, the burning coal falls through the ash on the bottom, causing the ash to form around it, not under it.

[Codename067]

[quote name='fillup' date='31 January 2010 - 12:18 AM' timestamp='1264925922' post='448694']
I dont because of lazyness mainly. But my scientific view on it is that it causes the heat to stay in. The ash on the top actually insulates the coals and due to gravity, the burning coal falls through the ash on the bottom, [b]causing the ash to form around it, not under it.[/b]
[/quote]

Ash on the sides, and a flat black coal on th bottom!


Flat coals tend to turn black on the bottom, which is why using natural wood coals is better because they all come in different shapes and are almost never flat any where, so oxygen is being fed to the coal from every angle, unlike coals like Exoticas and Cocos, where their bottom side turns black with in a couple minutes due to the fact that oxygen circulation on the bottom is very poor because it's so flat.

But, rotating and ashing coals often helps eliminate that problem, almost completely.

[Sonthert]

Direct contact with the foil will conduct heat away from the coal, making their surface black (although its still quite hot)...that just means that more heat is being directed to the bowl. Using coals that are uneven will have more red surfaces...it means the coal is wasting more heat and relying more on convection. Thats why lumpy coals take more coal to get the same job done than formed, flat-sided coals.

[Codename067]

[quote name='Sonthert' date='31 January 2010 - 01:24 PM' timestamp='1264973042' post='448762']
Direct contact with the foil will conduct heat away from the coal, making their surface black (although its still quite hot)...that just means that more heat is being directed to the bowl. Using coals that are uneven will have more red surfaces...it means the coal is wasting more heat and relying more on convection. [b]Thats why lumpy coals take more coal to get the same job done [/b]than formed, flat-sided coals.
[/quote]


I will disagree with that statement.

You gotta come down to LA and smoke with me one day then so you can see otherwise :]