sburke15

The idea does not involve a vacuum switch. That idea relies on the fact that heat rises, and thats about it. The valve on top just restricts this flow to allow the heat to rise and escape, but retain enough to keep the bowl warm. When the smoker inhales they draw the warm air in the cone and air through the valve across the heating element and heat the bowl more like oxygen to a coal.

The theory relies on a constriction on air flow (and rising heat), so that the heat can not escape as readily as an open design so when the smoker inhales some heat is lost through the holes but the majority is sucked through the bowl. On the top is a little valve, While thinking i was interested in doing something that operated on a slight vacuum pressure like a foil diaphram, so when the heat rose it would lift it up, and when you inhaled it would vacuum itself to a high temperature seal but figured it could be easier, and i thought that would heat the bowl up too much and burn the shisha. I was thinking the valve could be one exactly like one used on a propane furnace torch. (something i used to be interested in and have these images of chokes saved on my computer if you want more info go to http://ronreil.abana.org/design2.shtml#Additional but i'm uploading the images that pertain to this project)

This is just a concept, if you have come here expecting a full blown working electric coal, I am sorry to dissapoint but please read on as you may have something useful to contribute. I was gonna post in the previous topic but that one had wandered so far off topic and I figured this would be a nice way for a clean start. Well the design I thought up incorporates an electric heating element (i.e. Nichrome wire) and a heat resistant housing. The housing holds the heating element slightly off of the shisha with two electrodes, or leads that go from the element to outside of the housing. The housing is conical shaped with a short cylindriclal section topped with a valve. This valve is key to change the amount of heat that the bowl is subjected to not only "idling" but also when the smoker draws in. This design i feel is much "simpler" and more effecient then other designs requiring air flow sensitive valves, and heat valves and multiple elements switching on and off, etc. The design I have come up with allows the user to vary the amount of heat kept in the housing by opening or closing the valve. Becuase heat rises this will lower the temperature of the bowl allowing a stack effect to occure. This means that the heat rising up the "flue" (cylindrical piece) will cause air to be drawn in around the base of the bowl where the heating element sits on it, becuase its not perfectly sealed on there but mearly placed, The design may actually require a ring of small holes around the base to help this affect and possibly a longer "flue". When the smoker draws in the hot air is sucked into the bowl heating the shisha (like an excited coal) before it can rise. The valve adjustment here is absolutley essential, becuase if the valve open too much and the bowl will not heat up and the user will not be able to draw enough heat in. If the valve is closed too much then the hookah will over heat when not being smoked. I think with simple valve on top, and a heating element that can be varied slightly (not the large variation needed as discussed before). Well if you made it through my rambling congratulations but a picture is worth a thousand words so here it is. Please feel free to critisize, comment, whatever, I would like to keep this "electronic" hookah idea going.

I have to smoke outside, and we can't store propane in the dorms so I have to use an alchohol stove. It works alright, a windcover and a a good coal stand would probably be helpful . It takes a while and It generally takes some blowing on the coal to get it going completly, but it works. I'd recomend an updraft/chimney style stove becuase it directs the heat upward better, instead of spreading it out like the one you linked.

Me and a friend smoked hookah outside today and used a soda can stove and a piece of wire mesh to light the coals (3 coconaras), It took some coaxing and blowing to get them going once the corners were lit but it did work. Still looking for something besides a propane torch becuaes we are not allowed to store propane at the dorm.

I forgot to mention the coolest part, So the downstem goes through the clear acrylic dome, into the vase, but the vase then feeds the smoke from the water into the clear dome. So the dome is filled with swirling, dancing smoke (hopefully). Here are a little more advanced pictures. I'll upload some dimensioned ones in the near future and explain them in a little more detail later but i'm in a bit of a hurry so this will do for now. The hatched areas are the table part the rest is crucial to the hookah working. Any questoins feel free to ask. The second one with red shows the smoke's travel if you are confused. Thanks again.

Alright I think I've finalized my design. It will be like a small table, with the vase underneath of it. On top of the Table is a 10 inch clear acrylic dome. with the stem going through the direct center of the dome, down through the table into the vase. Then there will be four hose ports equally spaced around the circumfrence of the dome 3.5 inches. I've attached a quick MS paint sketch. Autocad, drawings with specs and such up soon. Thanks for all your help, If you see any issues feel free to comment.

What about using a soda (or beer) can stove run off alcohol. Like off http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm I used to make them to play around with when I was more into backpacking and such. They should work with a stand built over them for coals.

I was planning to use 304 seamless stainless steel tubing as a downstem. Brass still does not seem to be the healthiest option to me due to the zinc and lead content although historically it has been used. The hookah design will be far from conventional, which is why I had so many questions. I've been working on drawings and I will post picures soon. Thanks for all the help

Chapel Hill, but I go to school in Charlotte

Very Interesting... Why do you think The angle of the hose port effects the smoke? Also could you explain your reasoning for no aluminum in hookahs? While researching materials it seems as though a quality aluminum downstem would be a prime economical material to use. Whereas brass is comprised of copper zinc and lead, with zinc and lead having relativly low melting/vapor points and inahling lead and zinc fumes is extremly toxic. Does the size of the bell affect smoke? Also what is a good downstem size? wouldn't the larger downstem size relate to a much harder pull? Thanks for all the help. -Sean

It seems as though weight is an issue in not only quality of construciton materials but as well as for balance. In review, size of the hookah and vase does not really matter in any aspect, but the size of the internal pieces i.e. (id) of hoses, hose ports and downstem. And the purge and hoses should have a " non common bell ". Thanks

All this input has been great, becuase I have only smoked out of Mya qts which i really enjoy and they seem to compare reasonably well to other hookahs in terms of smoke but they remain small in size. SO it seems the most important factors are quality of materials (which makes sense) and the i.d. of the tubes/ports, (which once again makes sense). With larger ports on a smaller hookah, a smaller hookah can compare to a larger one, from my understanding of the posts. Does the volume of water really matter, to reasonable extents? Also the amount of dead space where smoke can collect matter? ie can it be too large or too small (once again within reason of course, if there was no space that would be an issue). Thanks for the input

Sorry about that first post guys, it just submitted before I started typing i guess i hit tab enter and it wouldn't let me edit... but this post was to ask about the chareceristics of a hookah that makes it "good". I've been reading various hookah reviews and I can't seem to find uniform charecteristics that people think make a hookah good, so I was hoping that you guys could put some input on what you guys think. Some ideas are stem i.d. stem length, water depth, vase shape and size, hose id, materials, etc. I am considering making a hookah using my research and your input so anything would be great, Thanks, and sorry about the first post, -Sean

Hey