What is hookah heat management?

Heat management is managing the heat the hookah  coals on top of the tobacco bowl produce to get the best smoke out of the hookah. Your heat management depends on the following factors:

• Size of the bowl
• Type of coal (natural or fast burning)
• Size of the coal(s)
• Number of the coals used

Heat management consists of utilizing the following techniques in the correct way:

• Making correct holes
• Choosing the type of coal
• Choosing the right number of coals
• Correct coal placement
• Rotating the coal(s) in a timely manner to new location(s)
• Ashing the coal(s) on time
• Using a windcover

Making Correct Holes

As a rule of thumb you should make a hole in the center and make 2 or 3 circles of holes around it toward the corners of the bowl. If you are using an x-large bowl you can make 4 rounds of holes. Too many holes can let too much oxygen in and therefore the tobacco will burn too fast. Too few holes will not let enough oxygen in for the tobacco to burn well.

When making the holes make sure the holes are made all the way through. Push the hole poker all the way. This will allow for the heat to burn all tobacco (even the deep parts) evenly. Otherwise toward the middle of your smoking the top part of the tobacco will burn and the bottom part stays un-burned. This will cause the smoke to smell burned and not pleasant.

Choosing The Type of Coal

There are two basic types of coals: Natural Coals and Fast Burning Coals. Refer to the natural coals vs. fast burning coals article to learn more about them.

You can choose either one of them but heat management either one is different than the other.

Choosing The Right Number of Coals

The number of coals depends on the size of your bowl and coal(s). The following chart is a good estimate for the number of coals and size of the bowl. Use it as a starting point and find the ideal combination for yourself:

The more coals the faster the tobacco burns and the more smoke you can get. It is easy to get the wrong idea that the more coals you use the more smoke you get. Not only that is not true but also too many coals can cause very un-pleasant and burning smell.

The above chart is a good number to start the hookah with. Towards the end of smoking the hookah you may want to use less coals as most of the tobacco is already burned and less heat is actually needed to burn the remaining tobacco.

Coal Placement

Start your hookah by putting the coals in the corners of the bowl. You will be rotating them and moving them toward the center as time passes.

If you are using 2 coals put them across from each other on two corners. If you are using 3 coals make a triangle with them.

Coal Rotation

Depending on the size of your coal you should rotate your coal(s) as time passes on. An averge size coal will burn the tobacco in its immediate proximity in about 10 to 15 minutes. If you leave the coal in that area for longer than 10 to 15 minutes you will get a burned tobacco smell.

After the coal has been on one spot for a good 10 to 15 minutes move it to the next spot close to it. So for example if you are using 2 coals and they are across from each other horizontally move them 60 degrees up or down to burn new parts of the tobacco.

Once you have used all the corner tobaccos move the coals toward the center. If you are using 2 coals on a medium size bowl you should generally rotate them twice (meaning they will be on three different corner spots including the original spot). If you are using 3 coals moving them once will be enough to burn the corner tobaccos.

If at any point your coals are burned and done replace them.

Ashing The Coals

As a rule of thumb you should ash the coal(s) every other time that you move it to a new spot. So don’t ash it the first time but ash it the second time and so forth.

Some smokers are against ashing the coals in general as the ash protects the coal from burning too fast (due to the wind and air around it). After moving the coal for the first time it has already been burning for about 15 minutes. So when you move it, ash will fall all over your bowl and get in between the tobacco. Its not a pleasant smoke when you get ash in your mouth.

Using a Windcover

Windcovers are amazing because of three main advantages:

1. They protect the coals from burning too fast due to the air and wind around them and therefore saving you money and time to start new coals
2. A windcover helps better concentrate the coal’s heat. You can basically use less coals for the same amount of heat if you weren’t using a windcover. Concentrating the heat also makes for better smoking experience.
3. Windcovers can protect your carpet from randomly falling coals.