Lighting Hookah Coal - How to Do It Right

Last updated on 07/03/2023 | Reading time approx. 5:55min

Nothing works without coal! This applies to life as well as to your hookah. But the coal cubes themselves won't help you with the hookah alone! To enjoy the water pipe, you also need to buy hookah coal and light it! Exactly how to do this correctly, we'll explain in this article.

What do I need to light hookah coal?

First, you need to differentiate between the two types of coal. There are quick-light coals (also called self-lighting coal) and natural coal.

Self-Lighting Coal - Easy Lighting with a Lighter

To light self-lighting hookah coal, you only need a lighter. Hold it to the coal for 20-30 seconds, and it will start to glow on its own. So nothing more than a lighter is needed to light this type of hookah coal.

High-Quality Natural Coal - Coal Lighter Required

The second option is natural hookah coals, which are used exclusively by long-time hookah smokers. As the name suggests, these are made from natural materials. They are produced from coconut shells, which is why they are sometimes called coconut coal.

Packages of natural hookah coal

For this coal, you need a coal lighter. This can be an electric coal lighter or a gas coal lighter. Both variants do their job equally well. The costs for both are also in a similar range, around 20-25 euros.

For home use, electric variants are typically used. There are also a few different options here.

Differences Between the Types of Coal at a Glance

Lighting Hookah Coal - Here's How!

As described earlier, you can light your coal with either an electric coal lighter or a gas coal lighter. The process is relatively the same. Only turning on the lighter is a bit more complicated with the gas variant. However, once you've done it once following these instructions, it's no longer a problem.

Lighting the Coal with an Electric Coal Lighter

You can use the electric coal grill anywhere you have a power outlet. Unfortunately, there are no lighters operated with batteries or rechargeable batteries because the required power is too high, and such a device would be extremely heavy and expensive.

Place the coals on the grid and turn on the lighter.

First, place your electric lighter on a flat surface. This should also be fireproof in case the coal slips out of the tongs while removing it and falls next to the coal grill. Then place the desired number of coal cubes on the grid supplied with the lighter.

In the next step, turn on the coal lighter. This is usually done with a rotary knob. You can safely set this to the highest level. The lighter should warm up within a few seconds. After about 5 minutes, you should turn the hookah coal so that it glows evenly on all sides. After another 3-5 minutes, your hookah coals should be ready for use, and you can enjoy your hookah.

Turn the coal and wait a little longer

After a few minutes, remove the coals from the lighter and place them in the bowl

Lighting the Coal with a Gas Lighter

With the gas-powered coal lighter (usually a normal gas cooker or Bunsen burner), you first need to insert a gas cartridge into the lighter. To do this, simply unscrew the lighter at the bottom, insert the cartridge, and screw the cover back onto the lighter.

Warning! Once you've inserted the cartridge, you should only unscrew the lighter again when the cartridge is empty. The reason for this is that the lighter pierces a small hole in the cartridge when screwing it in. If you remove the cover prematurely, the gas will escape into the environment, and this is highly flammable!

After the cartridge is placed, you should have a lighter or match ready and turn the lighter's rotary knob. Now you should hear a quiet hissing sound caused by the escaping gas. You can now ignite the flame with a lighter or match.

This is how you can safely turn on the gas lighter.

After some time, your coals are ready for use.

Now you can place the coal on the lighter, and just like with the electric lighter, you should turn the hookah coal after about 5 minutes so that all sides start to glow evenly. After another 3-5 minutes, your coal should usually be ready.

What You Should Pay Attention to When Lighting Hookah Coal!

It's very important that you only remove the natural coal from the lighter to enjoy your hookah when it's completely glowing! Especially when lighting the coal, the coal cubes release a lot of carbon monoxide.

If you place half-burned coal on your hookah bowl that still has black spots, it will continue to glow, and you'll inhale the carbon monoxide. You should definitely avoid this!

Summary of Lighting Hookah Coal

As you've probably noticed, the processes for both types of lighters are very similar and can be summarized as follows:

1. Place coal on the lighter
2. Turn on the coal lighter
3. Turn the coal after about 5 minutes
4. Remove the coal from the lighter after another 3-5 minutes

Tips for Lighting Natural Hookah Coal

Finally, we'd like to give you a few tips to keep in mind when lighting your hookah coal.

• Since all objects that come into contact with the coal when lighting or transporting it get very hot, you should always be careful where you grab them to avoid burns.
• Always place a fireproof mat under the lighter so that nothing can catch fire if the hookah coal falls off the lighter!
• Turning the coal is very important if you want your coal to not be significantly smaller on one side than the opposite when all sides are glowing. Therefore, you should turn the coal after about 5 minutes so that the coals maintain an even shape.
• You can transport glowing hookah coal most safely with a coal carrier. This ensures that the coal doesn't fall on the floor on the way to the hookah. The coal carrier can protect you from expensive repair bills!
• If you light your coal indoors or in another enclosed space, you should definitely open windows or doors to the outside so that the carbon monoxide produced during lighting doesn't accumulate in the room! If you don't pay attention to this, it can lead to severe headaches, nausea, or even death. However, the amount inhaled would have to be very high for this.

FAQ: Lighting Hookah Coal Correctly