- A container
- Incense
- Charcoal Tablets
- Matches or a cigarette lighter
- A taper candle
- Sand
- Mica Plate
- A feather or piece of cardboard
-
Long handled Tweezers or needle nose pliers
* #'s 4 - 9 are recommeded, however they are non-essential.
Incense charcoal is self-lighting. The means of combustion is included in the disk. Tablet sizes vary *typically 33 - 38 mm. If you are only burning a small amount of incense, you can easily break up the charcoal disks. This way a 5 or 10-pack will last much longer.
If you have a hard time lighting your charcoal, it may be damp. Leave it out in the sun to dry.
It's always best to place charcoal on a bed of sand. It will burn more evenly and keep its amber like glow longer. In addition the sand will reduce the risk of the container cracking due to extensive heat charcoal produces. The sand layer under the charcoal should be at least 3/4-1 inch thick.
First, light you taper candle. Holding one side of the charcoal tablet with your tweezers, place it in the candle flame. The briquette should start to crackle and glow.
Next set the charcoal in your container on a bed of sand. Slowly fan or blow on the tablet. Only after the charcoal is aglow and stops crackling do you put your incense into the indentation on the top.
Be careful...it's hot. Use a knife, spoon or tweezers to drop your incense onto the tablet.
Finally, be aware of potential fire hazard. Charcoal may continue to burn for two hours after lighting - so don't just throw it in a wastebasket. To be certain it's fully extinguished, use your tweezers to extract the tablet and submerse it in water.