Some More Noobish Questions

[smidge]

Ok well here it goes. Im using a hookah that is pictured below. Im using pharoahs shisha, and golden coals(which are great coals btw) I've recently been using 2 coals for a bowl. like this _\ off center. (40mm coals) And what my problems are, im not getting thick smoke... and when im done with a bowl im not sure what all the shisha is supposed to look like, is it supposed to be less then there was when i packed it or what. and thirdly, im getting alot of burn marks on my bowl... is that normal? what do i do!? please help




Later ninjas.

Edited January 26, 2008 by smidge

[Seanij]

Nice hookah, the burn marks are fine. Try breaking up the coals into pieces and place it like so.

/1 2\ That usually produces good heat with just one coal.. Shisha is meant to look like.. black shit when burnt up XD
\3 4/

[Johnny_D]

Two 40mm coals on a bowl like that? Way too much heat in my opinion - that's a hell of a lot of coal!

How are you packing your bowl - Any pics of the tobacco just sat in the bowl?
How are you poking holes in your foil?

Also - It's a bit of a generalisation - those hookah's are not the best out there I'm afraid.

JD

[mathuv]

shisha is meant to be crusty and black when burnt. is it tasting harsh? the burn marks are normal, they'll go off with a bit of hot water, just molasses... 2 40mm coals is too much for a bowl like that just pack it loosely to the brim of the bowl, dont pack it down, cover it in foil, poke holes and light the coal (not on the bowl..) then wait till the coal is completely white, place it around the outer edge and puff away..move it abit around the edge every couple mins when the smoke gets thinner/less flavourful,when the smoke gets alot thinner move the coal to the centre. hope that helps

alternatively you could break the coal into 2 pieces and put them on opposite sides of the bowl

[mathuv]

damnit JD, beat me to it

[smidge]

well, when i use one coal i get barely any smoke. and 2 coals i get smoke bu its not very thick, its really annoying me..

[Jeff_T]

Definitely using one coal on there should be sufficient. As was said, try breaking it in half or 4ths. Have you checked all the seals, etc on your setup? If there is a slight leak this may be affecting the amount of smoke too.

[HookahDude831]

get your coal red hot before you put it on, after it is red set it on the bowl and let it sit there for a couple of mins. then start taking slow puffs.

[smidge]

here are some pics of how i am packing the bowl im about to smoke right now... as johny d requested. also how should i poke holes in my foil? any tips..

please get back at me asap, so i can get my sesh goin...



Edited January 27, 2008 by smidge

[ZenSilk]

it looks fine. Dont make your holes in the foil too small, or too large for that matter. Make them aboutt oothpick sized and then change it upa s you get used to the different foil methods and get your own.

I would say that it most likely is the amount of water you are putting in the base. Make sure the water is 1'2-1" above the tip of the downstem (the stem that goes in the water). i would go with 1/2" with one of those hookahs.

You only need one Golden coal of the 40mm size, and maybe 1.5 or just one of the 33mm size. Youc an always spilt the coals in half.

Also, check your airtightness of the hookah.

[DrShisha]

that tobacco looks well dark. Is it tangiers?

I have a pumpkin and iv bashed it to bits but i can still get it smoking amazing. So the hookah shouldnt be a problem for a newbie as its something what id give to a newbie kinda thing.

what id do is (well i dont advise this) but if you arent gettin any smoke then something to do with the hookah may not be right. Put some tobacco in plop the coal right on top and see if you get smoke haha, maybe a bit dangerous but just to check the hookah is in working order, you def should get smoke then. If you do then its your bowl set up which is the problem. If the product is tangiers then i think thats a major problem for newbies aswell. Get some starbuzz or AF or something lighty juicy kinda thing, has to smoke well for sure. and dont put too much water in the pumpkin just a little, basically enough for it to bubble thats it.

[smidge]

well how should i arrange the holes that i am poking in the foil? here is a pic of the bowl and coal. i believe they are 40mm correct me if im wrong

this is how im doing it

[ZenSilk]

that looks fine. You can split that coal in 2, or leave it like that and rotate it across the top, going to the center LAST.

If your not getting smoke, it's probably the amount of water.

Cause no matter what a burning coal on tobacco will produce smoke.

[smidge]

if i split in two, should i still rotate it? so i have em on opposite ends like this | | then the opposite way, cant figure it out on keyboard lol

[cemab4y]

Take it easy on the coals. ONE coal should be plenty adequate for a bowl of that size. Do not get upset about burn marks. When the bowl is cool, you should be able to remove stains and marks with an old toothbrush.

[ZenSilk]

if i split in two, should i still rotate it? so i have em on opposite ends like this | | then the opposite way, cant figure it out on keyboard lol

Hhaa, yep, still rotate them. The reason you rotate is so the coals don't sit too long on the shisha and burn it.
Make sure the water level is correct as well.

[Nikon1323]

might want to try this but what i do is take a toothpick or like the toothpicks used for shishgabobs and i make a hole throught the shisha and through the holes on the bottom of the bowl so that the shisha smoke can just burn and go right through...i do this with my mya hookah and i get great hits and its only a 14in so....give it a try

[r1v3th3ad]

I dunno, looks to me that you've got a little much as to how much shisha you have in, would say take down the level by about 3mm on the shisha. Also, how tight are you packing it? That might affect it too. I generally give it a fluffy pack (toss it in lightly and broken up) and then gently press it down to the level I want. Sometimes I really pack it down, but when doing so, you wanna give it space to breathe.
As for water level. Everyone has their own preferences. I personally go with submerging the stem an inch, maybe and inch and a half. Works for me.

Hope this is of help.

[zeppyrkr]

not to be rude but get yourself a cheap qt, it will save you so much time and effort i have a basic modern hookah that i can't smoke for the life of me, do the exact same thing on my qt, amazing results. less quality hookahs like these tend to be very picky and take tons of time and practice to perfect, but way more power to you, i was to lazy lol.

[mathuv]

what shisha are you using? your methods seem fine, probably just too much water in the base

[qgk]

i believe i have the same problem, i just got the pumpkin shaped mini hookah today and i can't seem to get it running right...i have a larger one that i had no problems with but i wanted something i can use alone...the big one is a bit of a struggle for a one person session.

anyways i picked up pumpkin shaped one....and i set it up the same way i did it with the old one.....at first i realized i may be putting too much water (water got into the hose) so i got rid of some of it and tried again...i couldnt taste any flavour..actually i dont know what flavour i got, the lady at the store didnt know LoL but i believe its some sort of date. All i could taste is burning.... and it was harder to pull....water was barely bubbling but no more water was getting into my hose...but i wasn't getting ANY smoke....after which i gave up and turned towards here

im using nakhla, and 3 kings coal....

i also will try making the coals hot before placing them on...

(i am pretty new at this as well )