wyteboy Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 $$$ is VERY tight right now, but that cheap hookah I bought on ebay is probably going to be a piece of not-very-good stuff that I will need to repalce in a couple months. Thinking of buying a 2nd hookah now on the cheap that I can just store away until my one coming starts sucking.... Is this one a good one to get as a replacement? I know it is small but I think a smaller hookah could be better for my smoking needs....thoughts on this? It seems to be a very cheap price for what seems to be a good hookah from a reputable company... Thanks to all! p.s. also anyone ever use a stainless steel bowl instead of ceramic? Is there a difference? [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3967495239&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT"] [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&i"]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&i[/url][/url] tem=3967495239&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypress Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 It dont look bad for the price. What I used a stainless bowl the bowl got verry got and it was easier for me to burn the ma'asell. Even with one coal. The plus side to using that is that they dont break. Ceramics and clay do break as I have broken 2 in the last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 OK thanks cypress, I think I will get it... How do ceramic bowls break? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cypress Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 The first one i broke had hair line crack at the bottom of it. Well I was a little toasty one night and forgot that it had one and i put it a little too tight on the tip of the stem. It cracked the bottom of the bowl. The next one I dropped by accident while cleaning it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linkdead Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 So you say that temperatures inside clay bowls are generally lower than inside stainless steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 a) anyone else agree that this hookah is good for the price? Ashan, I think I am just gonna get this one now since it's cheap and store it away til I need it....where you been on AIM? The weirdest thing just happened. I went to enable sigs on my hookah profile and then I could not log in or post or anything....I had to like restart and login 500 times until I could finally be recognized as a member!! odd, but glad it's fixed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahCulture Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 That's a Chinese hookah, it has the telltale stem and plain glass. They smoke OK but IMHO they look like drug tools by their size. I also think red or dark blue would be better. Another thing about the hookah in that link, that price is about what they're worth. The tall versions of those Chinese ones (same sort of stem) WHOLESALE for $25.00. Spend some money on a nice tall ornate middle eastern hookah 28-34 inches, you'll be happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathazar Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 Well, since money is an issue, I would tend to reccommend something in the price range you're talking about. But HC is right, you only get what you pay for, and those little Chinese hookahs are NOT the best. I've got an 18" Sultan hookah, and the inner tubing is made of copper, not stainless steel which it should be made of. You know, if you go a little bit higher in price, you could get a very decent rotator hookah over at www.SaharaSmoke.com I bought myself the Magi Rotator Hookah, and it was absolutely beautiful. Plus it comes with ALL the accessories you would need, along with two (250gram) jars of Hookah-Hookah ma'assel. Those SaharaSmoke hookahs are a real sight to see. They're beautiful and will likely last you many years. And not bad pricing considering it comes complete with all those accessories! As far as bowls are concerned, I say go for a ceramic bowl. They're cheap to replace and work just fine. I've only had one break in 7 months. If you get a metal bowl, just keep in mind that they get VERY hot. One time I place 3 coals on the bowl, and within a minute it had melted the rubber bowl grommet. The same goes with 2 coals. One coal should be sufficient, because the heat distribution is much more intense than with a ceramic bowl. The metal bowls are actually kind of cool looking, but you won't be able to use more than one coal. Just keep that in mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 thanks math as always!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 nice sales hookah here last time i checked... [url="http://bnnimportexport.com/index.cfm"]http://bnnimportexport.com/index.cfm[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahCulture Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 [quote name='mushrat']nice sales hookah here last time i checked... [url="http://bnnimportexport.com/index.cfm"]http://bnnimportexport.com/index.cfm[/url] [/quote] They're all small hookahs, and the Al Fakher prices are FULL-ON RETAIL! They have the Eskandrani for $15.99. I've seen it online for less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 3, 2005 Author Share Posted April 3, 2005 so I have 4 hrs left to decide.... others agree this hookah is decent for its price and will last me awhile with good hits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 hey cypress or anyone else who read this...the auction ends in 4 hrs. I assume when it says "gold" stem it refers to the COLOR...later in it looks as if it says the stem is stainless steel...any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hookahjunkie Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 i dont think ceramic bowls break that easy, nething will break if u dont take care of it. I have always had great experiences with my clay bowls never ne problems but thats just me. i think its a descent hookah and good for the price, but personally id spend a little bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Hey again Whyteboy! Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents here, as I own a very similar model hookah to the one you are looking at. The company that makes both the hookahs I refer to is Sultan. Although they make pretty poor quality massell, I really love their hookahs. Before I start talking about my experiances with this company I'd like to say that there really is no rush in ordering that hookah you are looking at. You can find it for the same price with many different color and style options at [url="http://www.tobaccoimportusa.com/tobaccoshop/index.php/ac"]http://www.tobaccoimportusa.com/tobaccosho...op/index.php/ac[/url] tion/category/id/6/ That said, I have that company's Junior Hookah Junior DM02S-50. The hookah only cost me $25 plus $10 for the Samsonite carrying case, which I must say was well worth the money. Its a great hookah for traveling and smoking outside or sitting at home infront of the computor having a smoke. I tend to smoke mine about every other day, alternating between it and my $70 single hose Sphinx hookah from [url="http://www.shishah.bigstep.com/"]http://www.shishah.bigstep.com/[/url] They both smoke very well, although each has it's ups and downs. I find that with my Sultan Junior the smoke is slightly more flavorful and tends to last longer. Plus I can take the Sultan Junior almost anywhere I want. The smoke stays fairly thick and lasts about an hour or with one Three Kings charcoal. The only downsides to this hookah are two things. 1. Depending on your personal style, you might not like the look of it as much as other more expensive Egyptian styles. Then again, Ive never had somone not want to smoke with me because they thought my hookah was "ugly" 2. Although the large bowl it comes with smokes fantasticly, it is too large to fit a steel screen. You will have to either use foil with the large bowl (which many people prefer over a screen anyway) or buy a smaller bowl that will fit a screen if you want to smoke that way. However there are advantages and disadvantages to the Sphinx as well. It smokes slightly thicker than the Sultan Junior and looks very cool with the Cobra style hose and elegant design of it all. Its about twice the height of the Sultan Junior which can be both impressive to look at but makes it more difficult to travel with. Out of the box it comes with pretty much everything you need for your first few smokes and other accessories such as a travel bag and a steel screen that stay useful long after the first few smokes are gone. All the accessories completely make up for the higher price really. The bowl is the appropriate size for a steel screen. And because it is smaller will use less massell to keep your supply lasting longer while still providing just as long and fulfilling of a smoke. In my oppinion both are good solid hookahs that will provide you with an excellent smoking experiance for years to come. What it really comes down to here is price I think. Do you want a small entry level model that lacks most standard hookah accessories but comes at a great price? Or would you prefer to have a more elaborately and traditionally designed hookah that comes with all the needed accessories but at a far higher price? Its your call really. I would say that although they are both excellent hookahs, your better off with the larger traditional Egyptian model if you can afford it. I just really love the design of it, all the accessories it comes with, the way the Cobra style hose looks and smokes, and the fact that the bowl works with the screen it comes with and uses less massell than the Sultan Junior. Thats my two cents, hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 hey johnny, thanks a bunch, your input really helps on this one!! glad to know you think they are both solid models! I actually kind of prefer the smaller simpler design to the more elaborate one, at least for now...mostly due to the budget as well! The reason I want to get it off ebay is ebcause I can pay easily with MO and it appears the price of this model hookah will be going up on their ebay store (see it says on sale) so I was thinking of getting it now. I like that it is compact and whatnot and am reassured that you think it is durable and will last me a long time (ashan told me the same thing.) I should have done more research before buying the first hookah off of ebay that I bought because it is real crappy, but it DOES come with a carrying case so I can use that case for the hookah I am about to purchase... Thanks again for taking the time, much appreciated! I'd love to hear your thoughts over in my BEST OF THE BEST topic.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 also, you mentioned screens... I heard mostly complaints about screens allowing too much heat and whatnot...do you use foil or a screen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Glad my oppinions helped! On the topic of screens I must say that I do greatly prefer using a screen over foil. The screen is easy to clean, saves a lot of time in the setup process, and can be reused for years on end. Plus I think if your going to be daily smoker the it's probably a lot safer to be smoking through a steel screen than aluminum foil in the long run. I find it rather odd that people have found the screen to make their massell over heat. When you step back and think about it then it would seem that a very thin peice of foil would allow a lot more heat to pass through into the massell than a faily thick peice of steel would. I find the screen tends to allow my massell to cook at a much slower and more even pace, so much so that I can pack the bowl quite full to the point that my massell is touching the screen and it still won't burn. As where if I had the massell pressed up against a piece of foil it would probably start to burn at some point. I really don't notice any difference in flavor between using a screen and foil either. I find that a screen just saves me the time of cutting out foil, wrapping it around the bowl, and poking the holes. Cutting 3 to 5 minutes off of the setup time can make smoking the hookah can make life a lot easier at times. It also is probably better for my health in the long run. One other thing I like about screens is that they make it easier to get a longer smoke out of your massell. Normally when I am using foil and the coal gets very small and is no longer big enough to keep the bowl hot enough to produce smoke I just have to let that last dime to quarter sized piece of coal burn out and stop smoking. But when I use a screen I can take my tongs and break the coal up into small peices, spread them out across the bowl, and keep on smoking for another 10 minutes or so. If I tried to do that with foil the pressure from the tongs would rip right through the foil and I'd have a real mess on my hands. So thats my take on screens for ya. I use foil with my Sultan Junior but I much prefer to use a screen. On a side note, I recommend that you use a clay bowl instead of a metal one. The bowl won't heat up near as much and I find that the metal bowls give my massell a strange and funky flavor that I dont get from the clay ones. Plus I think the clay ones just look nicer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 thanks again bro! well assuming I win the smaller hookah, you were saying the bowls are too small to use screens with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Actually the bowl will be a bit too large for a screen. They are much wider and deeper than the standard bowl. Theyre designed to use more massell and smoke for longer periods of time I believe. There is one thing that should be noted about hookahs from the Sultan company, and I think I talked about this a long time ago on a thread here. They tend to have a bit of a problem with the grommet that connects the stem to the vase. With the sultan designed grommets there are 4 rows of little fins sticking out from the side of the grommet that are ment to help keep the hookah more airtight. Unfortunately after about a month or so of use these little fins will start tearing off and your hookah will no longer be air tight. What you have to do then is take a pair of scissors (or an sharp knife if you prefer) and shave off the 4 rows of fins on the side of the grommet. Then pull the grommet off and wrap a little more electrical tape around the part of the stem that the grommet slides over. When you put the grommet back on the added tape will stretch the grommet out a little farther to once again give you a completely airtight seal. It will take a bit of playing around with the ammount of tape you need to put in the stem to get the seal tight enough to not let any air in but not too tight as to risk breaking the glass vase. This was a problem I had with my Junior Hookah but with the process I used it took less than 10 minutes to fix it and after that it's continued to smoke great for the last year or so. It was a small price to pay for a good hookah with a great travel case that only cost me $35 all together. I dont know if they have changed the design of the grommets since then, but if they havent thats probably somthing you should know about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 that problem sounds kinda worrisome....should it deter me from buying it? are you sure this hookah from socialsmoke would be the same type as the sultan type? here is the link if you want to see it again.... [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3967495239&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1"] [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=39674"]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...Item&item=39674[/url][/url] 95239&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 p.s. I guess I will know more when I actually get one but I don't get how to "pull off" the grommet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yup, I took a closer look by enlarging the picture and that is the same type of hookah I am refering to. Infact my Junior Sultan looks almost exactly the same except the bowl, hose, and base are blue instead of yellow. When you look closely at the picture you can see the fins on the grommet through the yellow glass vase. As far as getting the grommet off, with a little tugging you can pull it off the stem fairly easily. I appologize for not mentioning this problem sooner, as it is the one drawback of small Sultan hookahs. However if you feel comfortable handling this kind of modification project a Sultan hookah will serve you well for a long time afterwords. If you do not feel comfortable trying to modify your grommet then your best off saving your money and getting a medium sized Egyptian hookah from [url="http://www.shishah.bigstep.com/ I"]http://www.shishah.bigstep.com/ I[/url] think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 the grommet is the rubber part basically? You are saying you wrap tape around the actual STEM that slides into the grommet? Well if you say it took you 10mins to fix and has worked perfectly since then, I am gonna go ahead and buy it anyway, just expect me to be seeking your advice once it happens to me! also, zoojohnny, what is the best way you use to check if your hookah is airtight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yes, the grommets are rubber. The grommets are basicly the rubber pieces that connect the stem to the vase, the hose to the stem, and the bowl to the stem. For your question about the grommet, you will find when you pull it off that there is a decent ammount of electrical tape already wrapped around the grommet. All you have to do after shaving the little "fins" off of the grommet is wrap a little more electrical tape over the stuff that is already there. That way it will stretch the grommet a little more so it will press firmly up against the walls of the glass without the need for the "fins". Im no handy man and not very good at making things either, but this was a very easy project for me to do. So if I can do it I'm sure you can. As far as checking if the hookah is airtight, theres a very simple solution to that. After you have your hookah completely set up (stem plugged into the vase, hose and bowl plugged into the stem) just cover the top of the bowl with the palm of your hand and try breathing in through the hose. If the hookah is airtight then you will feel suction on your hand and not be able to pull any air through the hose. If there is a problem with one of the grommets (Stem, bowl, or hose) then you will be able to pull some air through the hose and probably hear where the air is coming in from. A new hookah should stay airtight for a very long time (several years) without needing any grommets replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyteboy Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 ok thanks johnny!! hey mathazar you said you own the same hookah...did you have this "fin" problem with the grommet as well?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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