How to Use Charcoal Incense Burners
Being able to burn loose incense on charcoal briquettes gives you a greater amount of flexibility and customization in your selection of ingredients. You can burn a single element in a loose powdered form, purchase an incense blend, or mix your own combination of herbs, resins and essential oils.
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Things You'll Need
- Brass or earthenware incense burner
- Sand
- Small tongs
- Self-igniting charcoal
- Lighter
- Incense
Instructions
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1
Choose a container safe for burning incense. It is best if you purchase a brass or earthenware incense burner because it likely was made for this purpose. However, you may also be safe using a brass votive candle holder or an earthenware dish. You should avoid glass containers, as these may break with exposure to the charcoal's heat.
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2
Cover the entire bottom layer of the burner with at least 1/2 inch of sand. The sand will work to absorb the majority of the heat from the charcoal so that the burning briquette doesn't overheat the container.
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3
Grasp the charcoal briquette with the tongs. You can use your fingers, but the tongs give you some distance from the sparks emitting from the briquette when it is ignited. A pair of tongs for sugar cubes works especially well for this job.
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4
Light the charcoal on the end opposite the tongs. Hold the flame to the briquette until you see the sparks begin to move across the charcoal in a line.
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5
Blow on the charcoal a bit. On the end you first lit, you should see a red glow that lets you know the charcoal is burning. Keep blowing gently until you see a few small patches of red in other places.
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6
Set the briquette in the burner and place your incense on top. Smoke will curl up from it as the incense hits the hot spots in the charcoal, and, in return, the incense will promote further heating of the briquette.
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7
Scrape burned incense and ash from the top and sides of the charcoal every five to 10 minutes. Replace with fresh incense if you wish to continue a smoky burn.
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8
Allow the charcoal to burn and the ashes to cool completely before removing the debris.
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