r/Incense

Got this huge lot from Oman among many other rare resins. And wanted to share. This should be the second rarest form of hojari there is besides the converted blue sultans grade hojari. I absolutely adore the green color of this batch. And while it may not be the absolute best royal green sultans select hojari there is I think it’s absolutely amazing especially for the price I paid.
I’d love you guys thoughts on how it looks and if the quality is alright and just wanted to share my latest stash
Thanks for your help!

Got this huge batch from a friend in Oman. Never had true dragons blood before but it’s absolutely amazing especially the color
Now I need to find out what to use 500g for

I built this precision heater (aka "subitism") a few weeks ago and it's been working great. Total cost was $85. Here's all the details on how I built it. Feel free to ask questions.

##0. Safety

These DIY heaters (or even commercial ones) are inherently unsafe. Don’t be dumb. Keep away from children, pets, and anyone that can’t be trusted. Remember to shut it off (use some kind of automatic shut-off timer if you have trouble with that). Don’t use a metal tool to place incense on the heater as you could accidentally short the heater and damage the power supply. Build and use at your own risk.

##1. Educate yourself

This entire build is based on the design by Kyarazen. Do an internet search for "how to build an electric incense heater" and read the blog post. He provides a lot of good information, but also leaves out some key details. There are some posts here in the subreddit that I found helpful as well. Once you understand the basic idea of the build, this post will help you fill in the gaps.

##2. Shopping list

Holder

• I used a small 5" bowl from a china set I own.
• Something with 2" of flat space at the bottom is ideal

Raw Mica Sheets (2x3")

• Two sheets for the build and one sheet to heat on, which can be used multiple times but will need to be replaced from time to time
• Only place I could find raw mica was Etsy

Nichrome 80, 32 gauge

• You'll only need 27cm for the build
• Purchased from Amazon as a 33' roll

DC Variable Power Supply

• Adjustable voltage is key, the one I purchased is 3-24v
• Check cord length before you buy to make sure it suits your needs
• I purchased the "Shnitpwr" brand from Amazon, works fine but the voltage drifts down over time, also the control is very sensitive

Female power plug with leads (2.1mm x 5.5mm)

• Purchased from Amazon

M3 brass standoff kit

• I used four 20mm stand-offs with studs, four 10mm stand-offs with no studs, 8 screws, and 2 nuts
• Purchased from Amazon

Small neodymium (rare earth) magnets

• These are used to secure the heater to a ceramic dish and to secure your heating mica sheet on the heater
• Purchased from hardware store

2” metal fender washer

• Placed under the ceramic dish to hold the rare earth magnets to the dish
• I like this solution as it allows me to secure the heater without using glue
• Purchased from hardware store

M3 washers

• Used for clamping ring terminals and nichrome wire to the stand-off studs
• Purchased from hardware store

Ring terminals

• Crimp these to the leads of the power supply plug and then you have something that can be cleanly clamped to the stand-offs
• Any basic wire stripper tool should have a crimping tool on it
• Purchased from Harbor Freight, but auto stores probably have them, just make sure they include small enough ring terminals for your stand offs

Awl

• Very simple, cheap tool to put holes in mica
• No need to mess with a dremel/rotary tool, a sharp nail would probably work well too
• Purchased from hardware store

##3. Build Notes

Punching the holes for the stand-offs

• This is where you are most likely to break the mica sheet, so do these first before punching the much smaller holes for the nichrome wire.
• Go very slowly with the awl and test to see if the studs/screws will go through the holes before making the holes too big.

Connecting power plug leads to nichrome wire (see image #3)

• I stacked everything on the stud of the bottom stand-off post in this order: mica sheet, washer, power supply lead with ring terminal crimped on, washer, nichrome wire with a little hook to secure around stud, washer, top stand-off screwed down tightly. Overkill perhaps, but I like clean connections.
• Do this on one stand-off, then thread the nichrome through the mica sheet, and then repeat on the other stand-off.

Threading the nichrome wire through the mica

• The awl just barely needs to go through the mica to make a hole big enough for the wire.
• I made a template based off of the Kyarazen design on a piece of paper, then taped a piece of mica over the template and made my holes.
• The passes were 25mm long and 3mm between each pass, you don't want the passes touching each other.

Do you need a precision (subitism) heater?

• No, you don’t. A simple electric ceramic heater works just fine and is available for cheaper than the parts to build this precision heater. You can get an adjustable tea-light heater for even cheaper, which also works great.
• The main advantage of the precision heater is it gives you instant and precise control over the heat. This is nice as you can much more easily play with the heat and see how it changes the experience of the incense.

oriental slow burning life in middle east …

hiya!!! 2 days ago I bought this little gingerbread house incense burner. (cone not backflow) and I was wondering if anyone knows some sweet smelling incense brands I could try with it??

The “gingerbread” ones that came with my ceramic burner were mostly sawdust and smell pretty smoky, I’m looking for something with a sweet / woody taste? like vanilla or pine?

thanks for reading! love you!

First picture:

Few weeks ago someone mentioned incense to me, got stuck in my head, a few days later I was at the asian supermarket and decided to buy a pack of HEM magnolia incense, burned it at home, liked it very much, came back a week later and got a couple more, as well as some fron a Fair Trade World Store

Ratings:

Hem Magnolia: 8/10

Hem Precious Lotus: 7/10

Hem Precious Jasmine: 6/10 (these are uneven I think, sometimes they smell like burnt hair, but 5 minutes later they smell nicer than the Lotus, could be 8/10)

Not pictured: Hem Pine 7/10 & Hem Citronella ?/10, not suitable for indoors imho, will use outdoors against insects

Globo Aroma Valley Cedar Wood: 8.5/10

Cones: 8.5/10, these supposedly are 7 different smells (Rose, Jasmine, Lemongrass, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Red Sandalwood and Nag Champa) but they all smell the same, I think sandalwood and nag champa dominate but I am not sure as I have not tried these scents individually

Second Picture:

My haul from an online shop that arrived today, have not burned most of these yet, ratings only if I burned them, might comment on the "raw" smell

Ducky incense holder box: 10/10, it has DUCKS

Mukunda Benzoin & Myrrh Masala: smells nice, I didn't order these, it's a gift from the shop, which is great service

Heritage Saraswathi: I thought these were Masala sticks, but turns out they're charcoal

Tree of Life Box, whispers of nature (grey), eternal sunrise (green) 3/10, wild fruits (pink), field of flowers (blue): great disappointment, these smell like soapy candles, they look like Masala sticks (brown and powdery) but the smell is so artificial, I burned a green one outdoors, the smoke smells better than the raw stick, but still like a candle, I dont even want to try the others...

Crystal Magic Aventurine: I am absolutely not a crystal or astrology girlie, but I was intrigued. I thought there was ground crystal powder in the stick or something, turns out you get a baggie with a handful stones + incense. Smells like herbs

SAC Spring Rain Dhoop Sticks: 8.5/10 fresh and earthy

Hem cones Magnolia, Lotus & Fragipani: restock+ replacement of jasmine

I'm obsessed with those thick and very dense looking incense sticks that burn for hours !
but are they any good ? for sure i'll order some in the next future as they look really banging !!

So I burned one of my kyphi I'm maturing (wanted to see how they smell after 14 days, I'm maturing them up to 6 months, half a year) It was very lovely, and it knocked me out cold for 15 straight hours💀 Its super sedative lol

As per one user's request, I documented every note I was picking up as it burned, and the changes as it developed:

First smell- mastic pretty strongly, then it makes way to a light red, fruity smell.

30 mins

Much deeper red smell, a lot of nuances noticeable now and intensely fruity. Pomegranate, hibiscus, wine. and Im picking up more of the resins in the scent, the mastic and the frankincense are more noticeable and melded with the red fruity smells

45 minutes later:

caramelly, mellow red undertone, more sugary smell now, combining minute notes of each ingredient with a dark, slightly burnt tone hinting its close to reaching its spent point.

Clockwise from the square brown box. Kikka Senko.This is mosquito incense in coil form, much like the famous Kincho product.

Gyokuran Koh. This used to be in a wooden box and for a much higher per stick price. I wanted something easier to burn on a daily basis so I decided to give this a try. It’s pretty good Sandalwood.

Hyakuraku-kou samples, red and blue. I don’t know the difference between the red and blue but decided to try them all.

The famous HRK magnolia, never tried this before, but I bought it because of the talk on Reddit.

Sample sticks of 100% botanical sandalwood by Kikujudo. Haven’t tried this one yet.

Koyasan Taishido Sandalwood. This is a replacement/back up box. One of my favorite sandalwood I thought I needed more in case anything happens in the future. I like it at least as well if not more than the original Reikoh, in fact, the two work very well when they’re burned together.