Shiny Side Down!

[ilikemyusername]

i was packing a bowl last night (dont ask the brand its just a wild fruity mix of leftovers left to mingle) and i realised that i put the foil on shiny side down. i was told to do this when i first started smoking and i questioned it at the time, but my mentor said he didn't know why its just how its done. i subconsciously put the foil shiny side down every single time i smoke, what i want to know is, is there a difference ? shiny side up has a nice ring to it.

also, has anyone else even heard of this?

[mathuv]

some say it helps reflect the heat in the bowl and keep it in. i do it out of habit, like you do.

[Johnny_D]

Allways done it.

I would suggest that to have the 'shiny side up' would reflect heat away from the tobacco. Which defeats the object.

Much better to work on your heating techniques!

JD

[NoDeadBodies]

i do shiny side down for Johnny D's reason

[r1v3th3ad]

It doesn't matter either way, both sides contain the same amount of heat...they don't do anything more special than the other

[NJE03]

Both side of my foil appear to be pretty shiny.

[*HOT&SMOKING*]

There was a discussion about this last year sometime and someone eventualy said that the foil should be the same, as the one side only gets that way whilst it is being manufactured.....

Which clears up why the one side is shiny, but still leaves open options which is better for heat...this is where I have to agree with JD and the rest that mentioned it , and that is that I do it shiny side down to reflect the heat.

-H&S

[MrMoodz]

I've always been a shiny side down person myself... but I was told by a culinary student friend that it didn't matter which side you were using; both do the same job. Supposedly it matters if you are using a non-stick foil. Otherwise, either side works the same. I went online to research this and found the same response from another forum. Check it. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index...d=1006053131974

[jfaltous]

Aluminium foil has a shiny side and a matte side. This difference in the finish has led to the perception that favouring a side has an effect when cooking. While many believe that the shiny side's reflective properties keep heat out when wrapped on the exterior and keep heat in when facing exterior, the actual difference is imperceptible without instrumentation [5]. The reflectivity of bright aluminium foil is 88% while dull embossed foil is about 80% [6].

-Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_foil#Insulation)


8% difference in heat reflectivity makes me think its worth keeping shiny side down.. but then again, one could argue that putting shiny side out will make heat management 8% easier

[garykainz]

i'm a shiny side down man too. force of habit, no real conviction

[JillyIsJustKidding]

I watched "How Its Made" on Discovery and they did an ep. on foil.

It doesn't matter what side its on, its just that the shiny side is the side that is polished

Heh, but I still do shiny side down out of habit

[ASUSEAN1]

i have never paid any attention to which way i put the foil

[ilikemyusername]

It doesn't matter either way, both sides contain the same amount of heat...they don't do anything more special than the other

that's how i figgered it myself, added to that the fact that we poke a bunch of holes in it, i could see it not making a difference

[Codename067]

Both side of my foil appear to be pretty shiny.

Its either you, or something is wrong with your foil...=p

I always, always force shiny side down. Don't ask why, I really couldn't give you an answer. More of a forced habbit than anything.

[Alademuerte]

Foil goes on no particular way for me... The only difference between the shiny side and the non shiny side is that when aluminum foil goes through the roller they pair it up with 2 sheets so it doesnt rip. The dull side is where it was pressed against the other piece.. (Or the other way around, cant remember)


Oh, and looked on Wikipedia and caught this...

[Capt. Morgan]

Always go shiny side down. Was aways told to place the foil shiny side down whe I was a cook and the habit just followed me to hookah.

[oolatec]

The shiny side reflects more heat than the matte side. Whether or not it's enough of a difference really depends on application. Smoking hookah, I doubt it matters that much... but when cooking, believe me, it does.

For instance:

Goat cheese scallop potatoes (something I make at work):

spray shallow hotel pan with cooking spray (non-stick)

line bottom of said pan with foil, shiny side down to prevent burning

spray

fill pan with yummy goodness

cover with another piece of foil, shiny side down, to reflect heat into the potatoes to help cook thoroughly

------

It really depends on application, like I said. But being a creature of habit, sometimes unable to separate work from pleasure, I do shiny side down.

[cymptom]

I used to do shiny side down, but once I accidentally packed a bowl of Tangiers with the shiny side up and it went really well. I've been doing it ever since and I think it actually improves the way Tangiers smokes.

[ganesha]

Being lazy I buy the sheets made for hookah... I can't tell a difference in the sides... It does make sense that the shiny side down would reflect the heat into the bowl... Maybe I'll have my daughter do her science fair project on this ... Measuring the temps using different brands of foil shiny side down verses "dull" side down...

[AmunRa]

I think the shiny-side-down thing is a no nevermind. It doesn't matter one way or the other, but I will admit that I put the shiny side down out of habbit.

[teq]

I always found it odd that the argument for having it shiny side down was that it would trap heat in the bowl. Wrong. There's no energy(ie; light) in the bowl that could possibly be reflected, unless of course you have a clear glass bowl, but even then it wouldn't matter.

If I use a single layer of foil, I place it shiny side down only(and this should apply to everyone henceforth) out of a matter of annoyance from the glare of the shiny side.

If I use two layers, however, I prefer to fold it so that the matte side is in between. This way, the shisha theoretically sticks less and I don't have excess heat(in the form of light) keeping the bowl warm.

[Dom]

i've experienced that for tobacco that i tend to burn easier (like tangiers in some bowls), i'll put the shiny side up, so that it's not as hot inside the bowl area and reflects more of the coals' heat outward than with shiny side down. this way, the heat is more likely to stay out of the bowl and you get almost the same amout of heat when you pull smoke through. then, when you are done pulling smoke through, the heat tends to leave the bowl easier, to avoid scorching the bowl.

[Dom]

have you ever used a space blanket? it's a paper-thin shiny plastick blanket that folds up and fits in your pocket. it is used for camping and backpacking. anyway, it can be below freezing outside and when i wrap myself in my space blanket, i am as warm as a bug in a rug. the reason for this is because the shiny material reflects the heat energy coming from my body back into me and keeps the heat inside. it works better than a thick wool blanket because of the reflective material.

the same thing happens with foil on the hookah bowl.

I always found it odd that the argument for having it shiny side down was that it would trap heat in the bowl. Wrong. There's no energy(ie; light) in the bowl that could possibly be reflected, unless of course you have a clear glass bowl, but even then it wouldn't matter.

If I use a single layer of foil, I place it shiny side down only(and this should apply to everyone henceforth) out of a matter of annoyance from the glare of the shiny side.

If I use two layers, however, I prefer to fold it so that the matte side is in between. This way, the shisha theoretically sticks less and I don't have excess heat(in the form of light) keeping the bowl warm.

[anathema]

Um, guys, the heat we're talking about, doesn't get reflected just because it's shiny. So why don't we just use mirrors in greenhouses? Or how come the house of mirrors at the carnival isn't 98degrees F? Or how come snow jackets aren't shiny on the inside if shiny-ness reflects heat?

jlatous's information from wiki, the whole 8% extra in reflectivity i would assume has to be in visible light reflectivity. Even the reynolds site says there's no difference (the source cited).

As for the space blankets, the shiny powers of the blanket do not keep you warm since your body doesn't produce any light. It keeps you warm by keeping the air that was warmed by your body in place. the blanket itself would get cold on a cold day, so if you have a thicker blanket, it'd keep you warmer than that space blanket.

[willbb123]

Sounds like an interesting experament. I have a multimeter that has a temperature probe so I could meaure the difference in the tempature. My question is where should I put the probe? I'd put it in the bowl but it would get sticky and gross. How about below the bowl just above the hookahs stem?

By the way I always put the foil shiny side down.

Will