Sporq

Hey, I've been doing some research into making my own electric hookah coals, by using the same nichrome wire they use for vaping, but on a bit larger scale, suspended in a wind cover over the bowl. The power would be on a switch activated by a lightweight paddle that partially or mostly covers the opening of the wind cover, so when you inhale, the paddle is sucked down, and it hits a switch to turn on the wire. I'd include a capacitor of some sort to keep the wire hot for a little bit after you're done with the first hit, but it would essentially turn off the coils when not in use, since the wire heats up quickly enough (in theory). The only issues I've run into so far are:   1) Wire temperature. I have temped my coals at around 300-350F in the air over them, but I don't quite know if that's hot enough. I've heard from a couple of people it should be more like 400 or 450F to properly heat the tobacco.   2) separating the electronic components and such from the heat. Mainly this involves the microswitch used on the paddle, which would need to be able to resist any heat transfer from the paddle to the switch. the best I've found is a few switches rated up to 300F, so I think I'll play with one of those first, and see if it ends up melting or something.   I figure with it all built into a wind-cover, the unit will work with pretty much any bowl available as long as the cover sits properly over the bowl. Might not even have to use foil, though I'm going to for the first testing iterations just in case.   Any thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas? I've had the project idea in my head for about a year or two now, but am just now getting to the point where I've actively looked into making it. I plan on using a battery for it, with possible optional wall socket power supply as well, depending on the needs of the wire for heating up right.

So I've been playing around with things that go well with hookah, and I was wondering if anyone else has been trying pairing different wines with their shisha flavors? (Not wine in the bowl, just in a glass for sipping like a classy gent.) So far, my favorite has been AF Berry with Barefoot winery's red moscato. Moscato in general seems to work well, as well as port, mead, and sweet red table wines. Anyone else doing this?

The popping is the metal expanding from heat. I went to a local goodwill and found a nice brass decorative bowl with a handle, and it works well enough for transport, and looks pretty cool too. You can find them at a lot of the thrift stores for a couple of bucks because people use them for potpourri. Just make sure to wash it out well. 

  I've broken them before and after lighting. It really doesn't seem to matter much. I haven't had any coals explode on me in the hundreds I've done so far, but I have had a few break into quarters and such or had bad breaks where I get funky shapes, but nothing with any force behind it. I HAVE had an autolight coal basically explode on me while it was lighting though. That was kinda spectacular. I'm glad I had it in my metal coal bowl that I use to transport between outside / kitchen to the hookah. 

I've managed to get decent clouds off of 1 coconara coal on my pyrex vortex bowl with this method. It saves me money, considering I smoke my hookah way too much, and saves me money on coals. First, pack the bowl by "feathering" in the shisha, making sure it is light and fluffy, and fills the area for it. then put on your foil, and punch two rings around the outside. Finally, light your coconara, and break it in half (I use an ice pick) then place both halves on one side of the bowl right on the edge, but not covering the holes. Place your wind screen on, and you can pretty much keep it on the entire session. after a few draws, you should get a decent smoke from it, and can light a second coconara for the other half of the bowl. [img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a71/heeroyuy02/photobucket-4612-1337426900820.jpg[/img] (and yes, I know I need to clean that hookah.)

[quote name='TheyCallMeDave' timestamp='1313536068' post='520105'] I don't buy multi-hose hookahs. Really good multi-hosers will have built in check valves so you don't have to thumb the tip while others smoke, something to look into. [/quote] Yeah, I know. This was initially a solution for a cheapie hookah that had check valves, but did them poorly, so the draw was difficult.

awesome

yeah, sorry, forgot to mention that I had intended it for a multi-hosed hookah, not a single

Also, using the bite valve means no ball to clean or corrode, and no moving parts in the hookah. I looked online for valves, and the official camelback ones seem to be the only all rubber valves to slip over the tip right. (I use a generic mod hose). Others, like at wal-mart, are threaded hard plastic.

So I had a small stroke of genius when trying to figure out an alternative to the ball valves in a cheaper hookah I bought mostly for looks. They were making it draw rather difficultly. I looked over and saw my camelback bite valve and decided to see if the valve would fit on the tip of my hose. It works nicely, and you don't need to put your thumb over the end of the hose when not drawing. Has anyone else thought of this, or tried other things?