First Time Setting Up My Self

[amnite]

Hey, anyway this is the first time I am setting a shisha up myself..

I need some tips

This is what I got..

Charcoal:
Canary Goldens (Japanese)
3Kings

Flavours:
Al Fahker (Cola)
Dubai Tobacco (Mixed Fruit)

Mya Hookah

Im choosing to smoke Al Fahker (Cola) with canary goldens

I need some good tips please, like what sort of holes do I make in the foil for a good session *I got a little thick needle thing that came with the charcoal holder*, how much do I fill up in the base, were do I place the charcoals, and what about the silver surface on the japanese charcoal (I blow it off after its alight?) Edited August 4, 2007 by amnite

[MechAnt]

You've got everything pretty much down. When using the thick poker, just poke with the needle and don't get the entire poker in, that makes the holes to large. Personally I like you use this config of holes on a standard:


[attachment=516:holes.bmp] Edited August 4, 2007 by MechAnt

[SafeSearchOff]

i like doing the following to ppoke holes:

with the little stick on the endo f your tongs make a cross in the foil. then on the outside of the cross make a circle, with 4 or 5 pokes in each quadrant. then in the little pie shaped quads you have left, poke 3 holes to roughly make a triangle.

[anathema]

I do 4 rings of circles, each about 1/4'' apart. You have a thicker needle so put holes farther apart.

The silver foil on the coals you take off I think (i'm no pro w/ anything but quicklites).

You would place the charcoals on the outer edges of the bowl and rotate them every 30-45 min.
-How many to use? I have no idea how big the bowl is or any idea what to do with non-quiclites.

Fill up the base until the stem is 1 inch to 1 inch and a half. More water = harder pull on the hose.

[Sonthert]

Aw, just try it. Make a few mistakes, find out what works best. Don't be scared! Edited August 5, 2007 by Sonthert

[amnite]

anyway I tried Cola flavour with 3kings charcoal, I cudnt light up the japanese ones maybe my lighter wasnt good enough.. yh cola flavour was good at first but after 5 mins I hated it coz the flavour was too much, Today I woke up with this irratating cough dont know y lol Edited August 6, 2007 by amnite

[spoolinspoon]

heat management!

The shisha got too hot and thats why it was too much. try moving the coal next time. btw, what size 3kings are you using? If your using a regualr MYA bowl then a 33mm coal fits best, anything bigger 40mm.



-Eddie

[amnite]

They were 2 33mm coals, am not sure if its a MYA bowl but its about the size of 2 33mm coals in a line, loll maybe I shud try 1 next time, my older sister was like u dont know how 2 set it up and stuff so I just said ok do it your way and that was with 2 coals Edited August 6, 2007 by amnite

[quakerotis]

They were 2 33mm coals, am not sure if its a MYA bowl but its about the size of 2 33mm coals in a line, loll maybe I shud try 1 next time, my older sister was like u dont know how 2 set it up and stuff so I just said ok do it your way and that was with 2 coals

Yeah, on a standard bowl one coal at a time is the way to go. As far as poking holes in the foil, I use a push pin or safety pin and make a bunch of tiny holes in rows, probably about 100-150 holes atleast (I don't count them, thats time you could be smoking! ) But just one coal at a time will heat the shisha well enough without burning it. If you need more heat to start it out, just use a wind cover (I make one out of foil and reuse it because I'm poor) that way you can take it off if it gets too hot. But like Sonthert said, don't be afraid to try different ways everytime until you find what works best. I've been smoking for a long time and I'm still finding new ways to make sessions better. If you haven't looked already, theres a pinned thread at the top of the section we are in for "new people" or something like that, but it has some pictures in there of how much to pack, etc. All in all, have fun with it!

[Calcartman]

Aw, just try it. Make a few mistakes, find out what works best. Don't be scared!

what he said.


Just put some tobacco in a bowl, put some foil over it, poke some holes, and toss on a coal.
You'll figure it out.
pretty sure thats how most of us started.

[Xeft]

I prefer 3 Kings for coals.

For starters I recommend you practice placement when messing with the coals. I'd imagine the biggest problem beginners have is the coals and dropping them making those awesome burn marks on your carpet ;D

1. Setup your enviroment before you setup the hookah. Like setup the place where you'll be sitting, the place where you'll put the hookah...etc.

2. When lighting coals...I always use my oven, it's easy and fast. Plus a bit safer so I don't drop the coals when using a lighter or whatever else other people might do. I also place my hookah next to the oven and directly place the coals from the oven to the bowl when their ready. Then I just carefully take the hookah to the sitting location. Seeing as how your getting started here, I'd advise you put your hookah in the location it needs to be and then bring the coals with a plate or something. I wouldn't ever try the lighter method, use an oven ^^

3. water in the bowl is pretty easy. Makesure it's cold water, some ppl use ice to make thicker smoke or whatever. Water should be about 1 Inch above the that little tube you see when you put your hookah together. No need to be exact, the water just needs to be above that part. The lower the water the more smoke you get

4. For packing the shisha into the bowl. I usually take parts out of the package and sorta chop it up so their not in chunks then i just pack in in the bowl. Not to tight though, kinda just lay it on top in my increments.

5. I use foil as most people do. Some people have a metal top with holes and some people have a round glass top. Either way I feel foil works best as a cover to place the coals on top. Here was my design I made for another post on making holes in the foil.

----->


6. Depending the size of your coals. I usually chop those up too. Smaller pieces work better I think. Smaller coals I chop up in halves and bigger coals I try to chop up in 3rds.

7. Use and oven and start em up...everything else should be quite easy like counting 1,2,3.

Remember this though...

~Placement so you don't break or burn anything from not being prepared.
~Cold Water in the bowl.
~Chop up shisha so not in chunks and don't pack tight.
~Small coals.

easy stuff...enjoy ;D