First Session Goes Bad (need Help!)

[Sllappz]

Hey all,

I've been reading the forums for a few weeks and just got my first hookah yesterday. Its a 28" egyptian from social smoke. I've only heard good things about these hookahs so I figured it was a good place to buy my first one. It came with layalina watermeleon & kiwi strawberry. Now i've smoked plenty out of hookahs over in Asia but i've never had to set one up for myself. I tried packing 3 different bowls and everytime I got thick clouds of smoke but absolutely no flavor??? When i was sucking in it did feel almost like there was a leak somewhere. I opted to get a large bowl from them and it doesn't really fit well on the top, could that be the issue? Im getting plenty of smoke so i'm not sure why the flavor isn't there. I'm not really sure what to do to figure out the problem, if any? Oh ya im using kings coals.

Any suggestions on things to try wold be greatly appreciated! I'm going out to buy some different flavors later today to see if it was just the shisha.

Thanks.

[ASUSEAN1]

1. make sure your hookah is clean
2. make sure your coals are completly lit
3. are you using a bowl grommet?
4. check out the FAQ sticky

[GordonMac]

first session always goes bad. you must be patient. soon you will have it mastered

[chrisrbts]

haha my first hookah was a pumpkin hookah, you talk about a hard hookah to learn how to setup, the water level alone is EXTREMELY picky

Good luck, and soon you will get the hang of it Edited April 26, 2007 by chrisrbts

[Allia22]

Use 2 layers of foil!!! I had the same problem when I was starting out and now everything's great

[ParryPerson]

I'm kinda new to owning but not new to smoking shisha, I burnt my first bowl on top, 2nd one I got no heat and charcol bits fell in it, and my 3rd I burnt again!

Once you learn heat managment it gets a lot better.

[The King]

Wierd i guess I was lucky then, My first session was good

[Sllappz]

Thanks guys for the tips!

I've been fiddling arounnd this weekend and i'm starting to get a lot more flavor (though still not as much as I remember at hookah bars). I was using those metal tops instead of tin foil and I think that was causing it to smoke really poorly, im gonna try the double tin foil next time to see if that helps some. I also put paper towel around the bowl so it fits better. Cant wait to master this tho!

Just one more question, how much does the shape/size of the bowl have to do with the smoking experience? I sort of want to try a few different ones to see how the effect the taste.

Sllappz

[ASUSEAN1]

Just one more question, how much does the shape/size of the bowl have to do with the smoking experience? I sort of want to try a few different ones to see how the effect the taste.

Sllappz

basically the size of the bowl is just going to determine how long the smoke session is. More tobacco=Longer session


the phunnel bowl will give you the longest sessions.. 3+ hours becuase of the inverted phunnel design that holds in the juices so they don't run down the stem

[Sonthert]

Yes, I agree, the phunnel bowl is the most brilliant invention of our time. I'd like to applaud its inventor...me!

Take your hookah apart...here is what you should have:

Head (Small ceramic thing)
Hose(long, hosey thing)
Shank (Long, metal, tubular thing)
Jar (Glass/acrylic thing)
Tray (Flat, metallic tray-like thing)
3 gaskets (One very large, from the jar/shank joint, one small, from the head/shank joint and a slightly smaller one from the hose/shank joint)

Take the shank, and find the two small holes (not the big downstem, but higher up). The one that is opposite the hose port is the one you want. Plug it up with your finger and blow through the hose port. Careful! There may be sharp metallic edges! There should be no leakage. The vent valve on the other side of the shank...unscrew the top of it...make sure there is a ball bearing in it. Replace it. Take the hose, plug the stem end with your thumb and blow through the head end. It should feel tight, not mushy. (Not mushrat, silly!). Alternate sucking and blowing. There should be no leakage. Add water to the jar...check it for leaks of water. Reassemble the pipe, the joints should feel tight and solid. Don't put on the hose or tray on, yet. Put your thumb over the top of the shank (where the head connects) and suck through the hose port. It should be tight. Reattach the hose (and install the tray) and do the same thing, by plugging the top of the shank, but this time, suck through the hose. It should still be tight. You may see slight leaks as a slight "whistling" or a slight bubbling in the jar water. This hopefully will allow you to isolate the cause of this possible leak.

Eric

[Echo_419]

When I first started smoking the big holes in the tin foil didn't work great for me, I found that a sewing needle works superb just have to make more holes, when you light the coals, blow on the bottom until the outer ring is red (when I mean blow till its red , I mean when actual wind is going on the coal they turn red) Then you can just rest them on top of the bowl and wait a couple minutes. Once you see that the top of the coals are gray, take a big hit then rotate the coals and take another big hit so the coals heat the tobacco evenly. I usally rotate the coals every 3 mins. Another thing to try is filling the baseup until the stem is an inch under the water line or whatever liquid you have in there. Also I tend to pack a shallow bowl so it dosen't burn as easily. (yes its a shorter session but haveing better flavor IMO is well worth it! umm.... thats about it.

BTW props to Dr. Moobs as I've learned and continue to learn from him, and if I do say so myself his new UTG MK96 is badass!

Happy Smoking!