hookah help!

[metalx]

Hello, so i recently got a shika scandallo. im using a vortex bowl. i broke the bowl it came with when i took it all out of the box sadly. but my problem is i can not for the life of me get it to smoke good.i have tried fumair, al fahker, starbuzz, trifecta, fantasia and haze. iv probly packed and tried 15+ bowls at this point while the result very by each brand the one constant is just that. nothin is constant. the smoke i get is ether thick but insanely harsh. or really weak. i have packed it all every way i can think of. different coals. diferent hole patterns. nothin seems to fully fix it. i put 3 coals. slightly hanging over the edge. after about 10 mins. smokes starts to get thin. so i move them in slightly and it smokes good for 5 ish mins then gets really harsh. i have to constantly move my coals to get it smoking good but then it gets harsh again. every time i stop and make a new bowl i look at my old one and never is my shisha high enough to get burned on the foil. also when i change my coals no matter where i put them my shisha taste burnt. for 5 mins or so then goes by to being o k but i lose a lot of flavor. i know my hookah is air tight. i can not figure this out. i love this hookah and i miss being able to just throw my coals and relax. but i find my self working to much just to get decent smoke. any tips or advice would be great!! note iv tried several different brand coals as well all nature of course

Edited September 21, 2018 by metalx

[Stuie]

Well 95% of hookah is from the bowl up. You might want to test for leaks in the hookah itself. Set it up like you would without the bowl. Put your hand over the top of the stem to seal it and take a pull on the hose if you get any air start tracking it down. 

[metalx]

the hookah is is air tight. one of the 1st things i checked. but iv figured out it is the hookah some how. i have a much smaller cheaper one i got at some smoke shop. i can smoke the same bowl with the same coal set up with no problem, so someone my big hookah is causing the smoke to become harsh.

[Stuie]

Keep in mind what I am coming up with guesses, because I am not there. Mya's tend to need to be washed before smoking sometimes they have oil and residue in them. Give it a good scrub with Dawn dish soap and some good brushes in a bath tub. Let them soak for a bit before scrubbing it out, let it air dry after in the sun.