Having Problems With My Hookah

[Shadow786]

Hi there,

I havent smoked my hookah for a very long time, mainly because i cant get it to work.
When i first brought it it worked absolutly great it was awesome. Now however everytime i
try and smoke it, im smoking the coal and its very strong so i sit there for 45 minutes
waiting for it to cool down so i can try again. Also the foil is completly burnt on where the
QUICK lighting coal was placed upon as is the flavoured tobacco. I have waited minutes
before placeing the coal on, still to no avail.

Iirc this happened when i ordered new foil and coals and its never been the same. This is what i do.

Fill the bowl up so its 7/8 full (The pipe falls 1 inch into the water(During the smoking bliss before all this happened i used have 1 INCH of water in the base))

Made sure its airtight which it is

Place the tobacco

This is where it splits, but both arrive at the same conclusion

FOIL SHINY SIDE DOWN - 3 holes representing a triangle, the QUICK lighting coal is fully red before placing on TOP of the 3 holes
(Foil is burnt after removing the coal - burns withing 5 seconds)

FOIL SHINY SIDE DOWN - Holes placed randomly and moving the coal around the bowl - burning the foil and still not warming the tobacco and smoking in the coal.

I cant see any fault with the hookah, i thought where the problem lied was -

Foil (Changed foil yet could taste the coal)

Coal (Brought 2 different brands of quick lighting one was worser but both had the same effect)

Wasnt seal tight (It was sealtight up until the hols in the foil and the gaps for the hoses-this was not the problem)

Anyone any ideas?

Thanks <3

Ps. I have always used quick lighting coals

[Calcartman]

How much tobacco are you putting in the bowl? sounds like youre not putting enough in.
Dont worry about "burning the foil". You wont melt or hurt the foil, and it wont hurt you.

Fill your bowl up. Put the foil over it.
Poke a lot of holes.
Put a quicklight on.
Smoke.

You may want to try splitting a quick light in half lighting both halves, and placing them on opposite sides of the bowl.

[Shadow786]

I read you wasnt meant to fill it to the brim, so its not filled to the full, but when you smoke in
it causes the foil to be sucked in slightly Edited July 23, 2007 by Shadow786

[thecult]

I read you wasnt meant to fill it to the brim, so its not filled to the full, but when you smoke in
it causes the foil to be sucked in slightly

if you fill to the top the coal will touch the shisha and burn it spoiling hte taste of all of it. Leave a bit of a gap and pull the foil tight when you place it on top.

[Shadow786]

Ok also i have been leaving the holes in the bowl open (no tobacco covering them up) shall i cover them with the tobacco?
(Also read that these need to be slightly open so its easier to start the smoke)

[anathema]

You need more than 3 holes.

One instant fix would be a glass screen (if you're worried about how much to pack into a bowl) but I have no idea how well those work.

I pack the bowls to the point where at eye level with the brim of the bowl, you see no shisha sticking out.

[thecult]

Ok also i have been leaving the holes in the bowl open (no tobacco covering them up) shall i cover them with the tobacco?
(Also read that these need to be slightly open so its easier to start the smoke)

i personly place a piece of foil in the bottem of the bowl before i add the bacci to it (with holes in the foil of course) that way it should keep the hole a little more open and its much easier to clean the bowl after

[anathema]

Leaving the holes open? So you have like a little crater in the middle of your shisha leading directly to the holes in the bowl?

Just sprinkle shisha on top of the entire bowl. If you're worried about clogging the holes, hold the bowl over your head, blow into it from the bottom to clear any obstruction(shisha) blocking the holes.

[Shadow786]

ok ill try those tips out and ill update you on it - thanks

[stryet]

Yeah, everybody seems to be dead on. I'd also reccommend a lot more than three holes on the top foil. Sprinkle your shisha, tiny gap, and a bunch of tiny holes. I don't see why the foil would burn--too thin? Try a double layer.

Good luck!

[Sonthert]

I would be inclined to question the following items:

1. How old is your tobacco?
2. Have you changed tobacco?
3. Have you changed charcoal?

It is possible if you bought Brand W Charcoal, they could have changed the formula or the manufacturer, and it could be different than it was. Also, quicklites tend to get old when they are exposed to humidity for any length of time.