New Hookah Design

[agentscot]

So, ever since I've been smoking hookah, I have been fascinated with making my own. So last summer I finally went out and got some copper piping and a flower vase and some epoxy and made a traditional looking hookah. I even made another one for my sister for Christmas.
However, about 6 months ago, I thought up a completely new idea for a hookah design. One where each hose has it's own self-contained chamber such that you don't have to plug the other hoses when someone is talking a puff.

The plan I had was far more intricate than my other homemade hookahs, so it took a while for me to settle on a design, gather the parts and hardware, and actually construct it. But now, I have a working prototype, and it is absolutely incredible.




I made the stem and connections with stainless steel piping because I was tired of cleaning my copper hookah.
Each of the 3 green wine bottles is a separate chamber that you attach 1 hose to, making it a 3 hose hookah overall. The 3 green bottles are connected to the central, blue wine bottle by pieces of stainless steel piping. When in use, smoke bubbles down the main stem into the first chamber as it would in any other hookah. But instead of going directly to the hoses, the smoke first passes through the connectors and down a second downstem, through water, and into the green bottles. The smoke then enters the hose via the opening of the wine bottle, as seen here.





The separate chambers allow you to keep any unused hose ports open and still be able to smoke. No more plugging your hose with your thumb while someone else smokes. You can also have 2 people smoke at the same time without really effecting anything.


Here's a closeup of the workings of the auxiliary chambers/bottles.



The stem is a short length of vinyl tubing (like the hoses) attached to the stainless steel with a little brass plumbing piece from lowes. And it is safe to use the vinyl as a stem only because the smoke has already been filtered through water once and should be thoroughly cooled down.


It smokes quite well, but the design does have a few flaws that I am working on. Firstly, there are no purges. I will probably add some in the near future by just drilling a small hole in each one of the green bottles and plugging it up with a small cork. Secondly, the pull is definitely harder than most hookahs. I am still working on finding the right water level so that it still works but the pull isn't too hard. Ifyou smoke with a wide hose like a nammor or a homemade vinyl one, then you barely notice the harder pull. Lastly, it's not very stable. I am thinking of building a nice, wooden base for it with big indentions in it like cup-holders so that it can all be carried around more easily. Currently, I have to pick it up by the connector tubes and walk very slowly.

[Zinite]

Needs a coal tray, but otherwise that's pretty damn cool. Try the water level at 1/2 inch above the end of the pipes, should make it easier.

[ColibriDon]

I like the idea and I think with a little bit of aesthetic work, you could have a real nice piece of work.

Pretty creative though, I like the idea of what this could eventually turn into.

[inino]

just needs an ash tray. but it looks pretty cool.

[agentscot]

yeah, an ashtray is definitely the next step.

As far as aesthetics goes, I am open to any ideas for improvement. I was kinda limited to whatever wine bottles my parents threw out. I'm 20, so I can't go into a wine store and pick out the coolest bottles, which is what I would've liked to have done, and is probably what I will do next time I build one of these. But please give your thoughts on improving the design I have now.

[ColibriDon]

As far as what you have here, you have very good proof of concept. So, I would leave the skeleton the same, but change some of the bottles.

For the center bottle, go with a nice magnum or double magnum bottle, you'll get a wider opening and really make it stand out as the center piece of the structure.

Next I would try to find different bottles for the auxiliary compartments, white wine bottles, dark red bottles, something like that. This could be a personal thing but I don't like the green too much.

Once you have the bottles, try and get an artist friend to paint them. Maybe try stylizing the connecting pipes, some creative bends or subtle curves, something like that.

These are really simple steps that I think would give you a really solid piece that you could slowly improve over time. You could also try to add some additional pipes to make it more solid. These wouldn't be functioning pipes for smoke to go through but just stability aids.

[K1024]

ive been wanting to make double filters for my hookah for a while...

a thing to try would be to fill the middle with hot water and the outsides with cold water, that way you get the best filtration with the best cooling.

[hookah hippie]

I like the design but I am curious what is stopping you pulling in air through the other bottles while smoking are they sealed off?

[agentscot]

I like the design but I am curious what is stopping you pulling in air through the other bottles while smoking are they sealed off?

They are not sealed. What stops the air pulling from them is the water in each of the bottles. Imagine taking the bowl off your hookah, attaching your hose to the top of the stem where the bowl was, and trying to breathe through the hose. it's not going to work because the bottom of the stem is submerged in water.

[agentscot]

As far as what you have here, you have very good proof of concept. So, I would leave the skeleton the same, but change some of the bottles.

For the center bottle, go with a nice magnum or double magnum bottle, you'll get a wider opening and really make it stand out as the center piece of the structure.

Next I would try to find different bottles for the auxiliary compartments, white wine bottles, dark red bottles, something like that. This could be a personal thing but I don't like the green too much.

Once you have the bottles, try and get an artist friend to paint them. Maybe try stylizing the connecting pipes, some creative bends or subtle curves, something like that.

These are really simple steps that I think would give you a really solid piece that you could slowly improve over time. You could also try to add some additional pipes to make it more solid. These wouldn't be functioning pipes for smoke to go through but just stability aids.

Yeah, I used the green bottles because they were one of the only styles of bottles that I had that had 3 of the same. I could have used clear, but I don't think it would have looked as good. I really want to get some red bottles to go around the blue center and paint some intricate designs with silver paint.

[cr15p3rz]

thats awesome dude great job

[Scalliwag]

dude that is very ingenius!!! It reminds me of how I used to bleed brakes on cars. You take four containers with brake fluid in them and push tubing onto the bleeder valves and the other end into the the brake fluid. You open all the bleeder valves and get in and pump the brakes without worrying about air pulling up into the brake cylinders.
It beat the shit out of having one person pump the brake and hold it, another person opening one valve at a time and hope the guy did not let up on the brake and pull air in. With the containers it would let the air bubble out but if it pulled anything up between pumps it would be brake fluid. You mechanic types will get that concept. Later they came out with fancy versions of the simple thing.
What you are doing works on a different principle but it is the closest analogy I have seen. I look forward to seeing more of your ideas bro. You got moxy!!!

[SimplexCoda]

Thats actually pretty impressive work. I wouldnt have thought of that design idea.

[Scalliwag]

After thinking about it here is a way you could do this that may look kinda cool too. You can get a 3 way air manifold from Harbor Freight for under $5. Instead of the bottle in the middle. Drill the holes in the bottles higher and into the curve so the angle works with the angle on the manifold. Then the pipe stem comes straight up from the main port on the manifold.
After looking at your design it is really amazing. You could have a different liquid in each bottle The manifold would also make the problem you are having with the pull go away

[EternalSoil]

with the hoses that go to the little bottles being so short wouldn't you pull water into the big base?

Have you guys ever made a double hookah?

It's 2 hookahs. one must be at lease 2 ports.
first hookah only needs to be one port.
first hookah gets attached with a hose to one of second (multihose/port) hookahs hose port.
Then the other hose(s) gets smoked out of.
Both hookahs have bowls with coals up top.

A little harder to get smoke from the first hookah but it does work!


Let me know if clarification is needed via mad MS paint skills.

[agentscot]

with the hoses that go to the little bottles being so short wouldn't you pull water into the big base?

No. The water level in the stems does rise a little when you pull, but not high enough to go into the main chamber.

[agentscot]

After thinking about it here is a way you could do this that may look kinda cool too. You can get a 3 way air manifold from Harbor Freight for under $5. Instead of the bottle in the middle. Drill the holes in the bottles higher and into the curve so the angle works with the angle on the manifold. Then the pipe stem comes straight up from the main port on the manifold.
After looking at your design it is really amazing. You could have a different liquid in each bottle The manifold would also make the problem you are having with the pull go away

That's an insane idea. The only thing I see is that I would have to permanently attach the pipes to the wine bottles for stability. The way mine is connected currently is just with rubber grommets. I didn't want to attach anything permanently in case i wanted to change things. Plus, it makes changing the water much easier.

[jschoenith]

This is one of the best looking homemade hookahs i've seen and i love how you have these connections,
i just want to know how you drilled into the glass,

this is amazing

[agentscot]

This is one of the best looking homemade hookahs i've seen and i love how you have these connections,
i just want to know how you drilled into the glass,

this is amazing

I ordered a diamond dust hole saw for glass. ran me about 20 bucks.




It was kinda tricky drilling though, because the sides of the bottles were round, not flat. I went through a lot of practice bottles till I had the technique down.

[Scalliwag]

That's an insane idea. The only thing I see is that I would have to permanently attach the pipes to the wine bottles for stability. The way mine is connected currently is just with rubber grommets. I didn't want to attach anything permanently in case i wanted to change things. Plus, it makes changing the water much easier.

I was thinking the other way around. I would use aluminum tubes instead of stainless and thread the ends and screw them into the manifold. Then the tubes push into the grommets in the glass. You could make a wood base that the bottoms of the bottles sit into for stability.
I think my shoddy MS Paint skills will help give you the visual. The bottle in the middle is farther back. It's hard for me to show depth in 2D

[chromecarz00]

stole my idea...
did the same except w/o winebottles, and by stole i mean did it way better than i did lol
i may blatently copy you on this if thats not a problem...cuz i like your implementation better than mine

[indian_villager]

your initial design looks like it could make a cool lamp.

[WoodenHookahGuy]

Well done, very inventive!!

I'm glad to hear you switched to stainless, copper gets nasty quick. I was definitely wondering about how you drilled the glass so cleanly, I see now.

I wouldn't limit yourself to wine bottles, it's unfortunate you have to wait so long to purchase alcohol but I'm sure you can find cool, less generic juice/cider/pop bottles if you look hard enough. Also believe it or not thrift stores and antique collections usually have amazing bottles.

[Scalliwag]

stole my idea...
did the same except w/o winebottles, and by stole i mean did it way better than i did lol
i may blatently copy you on this if thats not a problem...cuz i like your implementation better than mine

Agentscot needs to name his invention and we can have a contest for who can build the coolest one. I got a pretty wild ass spin-off idea that I am jazzed up to try. I just need a few parts.
"Agentscot's Triplet" would be an okay name. Or "Matrix" or "Duplicity" or "Trifecta" or ?

[agentscot]

stole my idea...
did the same except w/o winebottles, and by stole i mean did it way better than i did lol
i may blatently copy you on this if thats not a problem...cuz i like your implementation better than mine

Agentscot needs to name his invention and we can have a contest for who can build the coolest one. I got a pretty wild ass spin-off idea that I am jazzed up to try. I just need a few parts.
"Agentscot's Triplet" would be an okay name. Or "Matrix" or "Duplicity" or "Trifecta" or ?

How 'bout The Triple Threat? The name doesn't really matter to me, so call it whatever you want.

I am definitely looking forward to your spin off. I was kinda limited in what I could do because I don't have access to any real tools or materials. if I knew how to weld or how to bend or curve stainless pipe, I could have made it a lot fancier. I'd love to see where this idea goes, hell maybe a manufacturer will pick it up eventually.