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Lighting up "classic" coal


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I hear things .. And when I do that, I tend to act upon it. Like this
last time. Someone told me that traditional or .. classic coal is the
way to go .. so, what to do? well, I shoot out of the door, race
downtown and buy a bag of the stuff.

Now what? I need to light them up somehow, but that's not as easy as it
might seem. It takes forever to heat them up with a lighter and I might
get burned. We wouldn't want that, right?

I don't like the idea of using a hotplate to heat up the coal, so what else can I do without torching something in the process?

Let me know.
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I share the kitchen with 7 other tenants, and I'm pretty sure it might
"create a situation" if I used the stove for that purpose.

I _could_ buy a small hotplate, but I'm just trying to figure out if there is another way.
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a personal propane stove, an open flame would light them better than a
hotplate but w/e u do dont use a lighter, the lighter will overheat and
burn ur hand b4 u light the coal, and thats assuming ur using a good
lgihter, a disposeable will melt
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a lgihter shud never be on for more than 30 seconds, espcially a
disposeable, i did that once and the head melted and since the flint is
springloaded the top exploded and pieces went everywhere
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ARE YOU INSANE.....or just uninformed?  What are you trying to do, commit suicide? Do you have any idea how many TOXIC chemicals are in BBQ coal?  I heard on the news one time that 4 people took a hibachi grill, filled it with charcoal,  and decided to have themselves a little BBQ in their livingroom.  Within an hour,  they were all dead from toxic fumes.Do yourself a favor,  and go to either [url="http://www.HookahShisha.com"]www.HookahShisha.com or www.hookahkings.com[/url] and get yourself some three kings.  They're quick-lighting and will burn hotter and longer than any other quick-lighting coal on the market. Three kings are not like regular BBQ coals,  all the chemical impurities have been filtered-out,  leaving only a carbon-based coal.  Carbon is non-toxic and won't hurt you or the environment.Three Kings light within approx 30 seconds and get hot very quickly
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NERV: A regular lighter is definately out of the question. It would be
disastrous, as you have experienced, obviously :) Maybe one of those
miniature torches would be the way to go.

Mathazar: I think you misunderstand. Thank you for the warning though,
but I would NEVER use regular charcoal meant for use in a BBQ. I do
know what carbonmonoxide will do to a human :) I am of course talking
about the coal "fingers" or whatever you might call them. Coal meant to
be used in hookahs.
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As for the contention that open flames heat better than hotplates, ever since my personal hotplate sputtered out after 6 trusty years of service, I've had to use my gas burners to light my coals, which take about 4 times as long to heat the coals.
But my situation could be anomolous.
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Whats wrong with using a hotplate? What do you mean by situation? I
always light my coals on teh stove. its the quickets and easiest way to
light. it takes  minuets to light it and they last for probably 30
minutes.  But if you dont like cleaning the mess up, then buy a
portable propane burner. My hookah shop sells one for 24 bucks. But you
can get a camping one too. And set it up ioutside and light it. If you
have a propane grill, that would work as well. 
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Hey Slartie, Don't know if this will help out or not, but this is one I typed a while back:
Take a large tin can. I use a big Saurkraut can. Peel the label, punch a few holes (smallish) in the bottom, and sides, and set aside.
Break or cut a finger stick into 2 or 3 sections, about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. Cut or break each of those small sections in half until you have 3 half-round chips (or after practice tells you what you prefer best). Now, dump 3 of those little half-round chips in your tin can, place over the burner of the stove (gas or electric) and let sit on high heat until they are glowing red and have a little flame covering them. This gives you time to load and prepare your bowl of massel.
Once the coals are done, turn off the heat, place the three pieces on your hole-punched foil in a triangle pattern. That is if you look down on the bowl from above, after laying the coals on their sides, you will have a pattern that looks like a triangle. This is the coal pattern that works for ME, regardless of coal quality.
I hope it helps. It may take a little longer, but I think it's worth it. Plus, you spend a certain ammount of time loading your bowl and making precision holes, you will be able to plan things out and have hot coals when you have your tobacco ready for it.[img]http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]
That review was done for Japanese coals which are square. The chips for the fingers may be too small. I can't remember. You may need to go with the 1/4" thick full circle chips for a hotter bowl. I can't remember, but the heating process on the stove top is the same. A word of caution here: If you smoke a bowl of shisha and have a bigger head-rush or buzz than normal, or if you get a bad headache or feel like you BP is on the rise, stop using the fingers. Most people here have no problem with the fingers, but very rarely you will find some people who do have a reaction to them. If you feel weirder than normal, STOP. Try using the Japanese coals, or the Lemon wood coals instead. If you need, I'll explain later.
Good luck!
MR Bubble
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Thanks Mr Bubble! That sounds like a fantastic idea (with the tin can). I didn't think about that one, but of course it would work. Just like a regular grill starter kit.I will look out for any ill effects caused by the coal. I don't have access to more than one or two brands of coal, so if it doesn't work for me, I will stick with the quick lite ones. I get them from [url="http://www.cleopatraimports.com"]www.cleopatraimports.com[/url]Great input! thanks.
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I do quicklights - and advised the hotplate - maybe buy ones of those little ones when its a prob with the shearing of the kitchen and all.
I also said confere with the expert council - so thats where we are now
And it seems you came up with the hot plate to - with your little can add-on to the solution.
And yes we are a little group of hardcores here in the rotten state of Denmark
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And I will be purchasing a small portable hotplate from my local "hotplate-retail-place" soon :)

Furthermore, I will pay my local supermarket a visit and buy a can of Heinz kidney beans or something

Oh happy days.
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  • 1 year later...
haha i wish my mum thought like you lot - they hate the smell of my 2
hookahs after a 'session' they think it stinks and it makes my room
rancid. fortunetly me and my brother and old man are still sane. still
loving shisha !!

classic coals are great if you got enough time on your hand. if your
just doing a quick hookah session - which shud be atleast 45mins just
use good ol quick lights 3 kingz arent half bad !!
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[quote name='Lakemonster']Nows the part where everyone tells me how wrong I am..... hehe[/quote]

Heck no, these work great. I use the exact same torch, but I didn't buy
the elaborate set like that one. That one probably runs around 30 bucks
at Home Depot. I just got the plain and simple valve that you light
with a lighter, and a canister of propane for $12.

I really want to get the hose attachment. Its a standard valve but it
has a 2' hose so you can angle the flame whichever way you want. With
mine now with the standard valve, I have to hold the torch upright. If
I aim it downwards, the flame goes out.
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Will this portable burner work:?
[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-Electric-Single-Burner-STOVE-HOT-PLATE-NEW_W0QQitemZ4415762498QQcategoryZ20685QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"] [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-Electric-Single-Burner-STOVE-HO"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-Electric-Sing...Burner-STOVE-HO[/url][/url] T-PLATE-NEW_W0QQitemZ4415762498QQcategoryZ20685QQrdZ1QQcmdZV iewItem
If so, how exactly do I light the coals? Do I need to put some foil over the burner or what?  I've never used real coals, only quick light.  But the local hookah bar uses real ones and I love it.  I want to make my own.  Whats the process?
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