Adjustable Incense Burner - Charcoal Free

I bought this after considering several options, for the purpose of burning bhimseni natural karpuram. It works great! I love the height adjustable feature, the perforated, removable insert on which you place the resin, as well as the solid brass metal construction. It's well made, easy to use and clean. Price point also makes this a great value. Arrived fast, well packaged. Highly recommend. Thank you!

First of all, you'll notice in the photo that I'm posting with this review that the tealight candle actually sits in a raised lip that's molded into the base, not in a separate cup as shown in the listing's photo. This is a big plus, in my opinion. In fact, I almost bought the $39 Kyphishop burner with the wooden adjustment knob, not for the knob, but for its raised lip, non-cup tealight candle holder ... which is what I now have ... for half the price I'd have paid for the Kyphishop. Also, I'm surprised by how well made this burner is. All the parts are of a nice, heavy gauge brass. Even the screen. Nothing feels like it was stamped out of a soup can. And the knurled adjustment knob's threads fit nicely into the screen holder.I'm a neophyte resin incense user, by the way. I did lots of research and watched lots of videos before making this purchase, looking into the pros and cons of charcoal, of electric, of metal adjustment knobs vs. wooden knobs, etc. I even considered - briefly - spending $55 on the Legacy Icons version of this same product, but eventually decided that was too much money for something to burn a kind of incense I couldn't be sure I'd even like. And the research has paid off, because this is the perfect burner for me. It's well made, easy to use, simple in design, and decorative in an understated way.To those of you who are concerned about the adjustment knob heating up, I'd say that's a non-issue. It seems to me that most people will find the setting they prefer and leave it there. For example, I've found that if you adjust it to its highest setting, as shown in my photo, and use a standard tealight candle, you're good to go. Any lower and you're liable to set your resin on fire. At the height I'm using it, the resin takes only 15 or 20 seconds to start smoking lightly. I don't want the thing belching out so much smoke that it sets off the alarm, just a thin stream of smoke wafting up to the ceiling. There will be no further adjustments.I also bought the 12-pack of beeswax tealight candles sold on Amazon, as well as the 6-pack of assorted resins ... frankincense, myrrh, copal, etc. My first and only burn so far was a few grains of the frankincense and I'm pleased to report that my entire 750-square-foot flat now smells like midnight mass, which was my unofficial goal. And yes, you do want to place the burner on a surface that will thermally insulate it from your table. It gets rather toasty.----------------UPDATE: December 13, 202318 months later, I think that I've graduated from the ranks of neophyte resin incense users, certainly so in the kinds of resin incense that I buy. But this is an update on the burner, so I'll limit my comments accordingly.I have only two things to add, really, other than to say that the burner works exactly as it did when it was brand new and has developed a nice patina.First, height adjustment during the life of a candle is necessary and sometimes needs to be done while the candle is burning. The trick in that case is simply protect your fingers from the hot knob with a bit of folded paper towel or cloth. Not a big deal.Second, you absolutely, positively want to line the removable grate with a piece of aluminum foil. Resin incense melts (in the case of dragon's blood and styrax, they completely liquefy) and melted resin dripping through the grate directly into the candle flame can be rather pyrotechnic. Moreover, hardened resin residue is very difficult to remove from the grate later on. I had to use a Dremel with a wire brush attachment to accomplish the task. So use the aluminum foil.And lastly, since it seems that every serious resin incense user must incorporate his or her collection of incense paraphernalia into some kind of "altar", I'm including with this update an annotated photo of mine.

You just can't readjust the height after it gets hot. I just readust it after it cools off. Eventually you get the hang of what height you like it at, for lots or little frankinsense smoke.I also put a small circle of tinfoil in the upper bowl for burning/melting the resin in, so it's easy to keep clean.

This small burner/ heater is perfection! I've excitement with many over the years & this is the only one that gives me clean, full scent without smoke or charcoal. Right now, I'm heating loose herbal incense if Lavender & Rose. With just a tablespoon of plant material in able to fully scent 300 sq.ft. in moments. The adjustment know does get hot, like people say, but once you find the right height for your desired effect you needn't move it ever again. I've spent a lot of time & money both buying & creating incense burners, this is exactly what I've been liking for over the last 12 years.

The product seems sturdy enough and is attractive, but the base consists of three brass balls, which means that it can easily tip over if you try to move it. Four balls/feet on the base would make it much more stable. In addition, the tray that holds the incense is quite heavy, and if you swivel it to the side, especially if the candle has recently been lit and is still melted, the burner easily tips over and wax and incense flies. The top tray and screw, etc., get very hot as well. It's potentially dangerous, although it may well be that all burners of this type are designed in the same way so that this one isn't any more dangerous or unstable than others.My advice to first-time users: set it up and DON'T MOVE IT ONCE IT'S LIT AND UNTIL IT COOLS! Just be very careful with it during and after use.That said, it does work to spread incense scent without smoke, so it does work and it's quite attractive.

This thing is ineffective, hard to adjust, hard to tighten. You realize it needs to be super low to be effective, but being that low puts the candle out. The top plate spins to the side for some reason, which adds to the difficulty of adjusting it while hot. And if it goes to the side it becomes too heavy and wants to tip. So it’s a fire hazard. Do not buy

Edit: this doesn't work well with long-burning, low smoke - aka "cold" - candles. To create vapor, the cup has to be in continuous contact with the flame, and at that point, it gets snuffed out from lack of airflow. Apparently, the cheaper old fashioned non-soy candles are necessary. Otherwise, some scent is released, but slowly, so the oud just dries out. Maybe a different would still work okay.For bakhoor type incense, I substituted the top of a 24 ounce NOS drink for the mesh. It does not drop into the hole; it just sits comfortably in the dish. I did not want to deal with aluminum foil.I started with the cup 2/3 of the way up the post. The contents heated up fast and produced vapors. I raised it to the top - with protection - for a less pronounced affect.I have only used this twice, so I can't say how it will hold up. While it's not heavy like vintage brass items, it seems solidly built. Nothing is cockeyed and the cup sits exactly over the holder. It does seem well-made. In my imagination, if it's vulnerable to anything it might be the base plate warping or the balls that serve as feet coming off. Right now its three feet sit solid and even on the counter.It was very securely packaged and took a sharp tool to fully unwrap.