gibberish Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 hi, i got a cheap hookah from a shop in my town the other day and have been experimenting with it since.the first question i have is kinda of a question and kind of a problem....when i use the screen, the tobacco takes AGES to get going... and never quite smokes properly... it seems there is too much air getting in around the edges and this stops the smoke from becoming thick. i have to suck from my lungs to get a decent amount. am i doing something wrong?when i use aluminium foil, it smokes a hell of a lot better. after 5 or 10 mins getting it going, i can smoke from my mouth and get plenty of smoke. the thing is, it tastes slightly different with foil, almost like you can taste the foil burning... surely this cant be good for you? is tin foil better than aluminium foil?i have read the guides on here and followed them... making sure to check the hookah is air tight, leaving a good gap between the tobacco and the coal etc etc...also, the bowl is really quite shallow, maybe 1cm deep in total... so i cant put much tobacco in there. perhaps that has something to do with why it wont smoke well with the screen? i recall my friends hookah years ago had a huge deep bowl on it.lastly, and not so importantly... how bad is shisha tobacco for you compared to standard cigarette or rolling tobacco? it sure seems like its actually doing me some good lol, afterwards i feel like i can breathe properly and my mouth doesnt taste horrible either... but of course i know it must be doing some damage... thanks for reading, i look forward to checking the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_D Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I would say a shallow bowl is a real pain in the ass.I think my best normal bowl is around 2-2.5cm's deep it really makes a lot of difference. 1cm deep is just way too shallow.It sounds like you have most things covered - I would look at an alternative bowl.And I don't think foil is a problem, it's mostly used in food cooking and is designed thusly so I am led to believe there are no health issues surrounding it.JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibberish Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE (Johnny_D @ Jan 30 2008, 05:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I would say a shallow bowl is a real pain in the ass.I think my best normal bowl is around 2-2.5cm's deep it really makes a lot of difference. 1cm deep is just way too shallow.It sounds like you have most things covered - I would look at an alternative bowl.And I don't think foil is a problem, it's mostly used in food cooking and is designed thusly so I am led to believe there are no health issues surrounding it.JDthanks for the quick reply again johnny d!ill hunt down a deeper bowl this afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybersist Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Yea, a bigger bowl would probably be much better for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaltous Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 The foil "taste" is probably your imagination I've used both screens and foil and every time I use a screen I find that I regret it. You're not doing anything wrong when you find you have to pull harder with the screen, chances are your screen just has too many / too big holes, plus a gap around the edge. A quick fix is putting more coals on, but the obvious choice in my opinion is sticking to foil. The coals don't burn hot enough to release anything remotely toxic from the foil, so don't worry about that... just find foil thats nice and thick and good quality and you'll be content.As far as the health risks of smoking shisha, there's varying viewpoints and studies... the best way to get an answer is to read through it all and make a decision for yourself. Use the search function on the forums to find the info, there's many posts regarding it. In fact, there's many posts regarding the difference between foils and screens, as well as the different types of bowls and their advantages/disadvantages. You can even go and check the review section to find a bowl that will best suit your needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibberish Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) thanks again!ok, while im here... one more question, unrelated to the topic but i might as well keep it here.the valve on this hookah is really weird. when i say weird i think i mean useless.i would have expected a valve to be something you can screw out in order to clear the chamber of smoke? ie when the smoke is too coaly or whatever.well this valve has numerous holes in the side, but also has a hole in the top as well lol. so really its not a valve at all because no matter if you screw it down it still lets air pass through it...i went passed the shop today where i bought it from and looked at some of the others in the window and theyre all the same???at the moment i just covered it up, not really satisfactory but it does the job.im going to buy The Emir from hookahshop.co.uk when i get paid, it looks so nice.edit: oh wait, is that valve supposed to have a ball bearing in it? thatd make sense wouldnt it. right, i gota find a ball bearing then lol.argh, yet another question.... last one i promise.when i shake the metal bit of the hookah, i can hear what sounds like sand or very very small bits of grit moving around inside it... sounds like quite a lot of the stuff too... maybe half a cup full. what is it? some kind of filter? Edited January 30, 2008 by gibberish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 just a point of observation, another reason you arnt getting good hauls of smoke is because you are only pulling into your mouth, that works for cigarettes but with a hookah, there just isnt enough vaccum created to pull the same amounts of smoke, its a very inhale-ish? piece of kit... I've never seen anyone just pull into there mouths, but correct me if I'm wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaltous Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Its a purge valve, try blowing into your hose and all (or most) of the smoke inside the vase should shoot out that little valve It7s not meant to be taken on and off (except to clean/dry out) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaltous Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE (Devin @ Jan 30 2008, 08:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>just a point of observation, another reason you arnt getting good hauls of smoke is because you are only pulling into your mouth, that works for cigarettes but with a hookah, there just isnt enough vaccum created to pull the same amounts of smoke, its a very inhale-ish? piece of kit... I've never seen anyone just pull into there mouths, but correct me if I'm wrongDifferent people smoke it different ways.. I know a lot of people who just pull into their mouth, but most seem to inhale it completely... but even just pulling into your mouth, you can get nice fluffy clouds if everything's set up right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaltous Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 For your recent edit:You really shouldn't be hearing anything moving around (except the ball bearing in the purge valve) when you shake it... chances are its leftovers sitting inside the stem from the manufacturing... as in you have a hollow stem with another tube inside it that pulls the smoke... I have a chinese one that has this "problem". I wouldn't worry about it since it will not affect how it smokes... just make sure you clean the thing out properly every so often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny_D Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 QUOTE (Devin @ Jan 30 2008, 03:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>just a point of observation, another reason you arnt getting good hauls of smoke is because you are only pulling into your mouth, that works for cigarettes but with a hookah, there just isnt enough vaccum created to pull the same amounts of smoke, its a very inhale-ish? piece of kit... I've never seen anyone just pull into there mouths, but correct me if I'm wrongThat's a pritty interesting Idea Devin......I thought most people inhale straight into there lungs?JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaia.plateau Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) I can get enough smoke for 4-5 decent rings just by sucking smoke into my mouth... but 90% of the time I inhale fully. Edited January 30, 2008 by gaia.plateau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r1v3th3ad Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 1. Get a deeper bowl.2. For the foil and the screen, its heat management. Because its a small bowl, youre probably tasting the coal with the air tight foil. With the screen, generally it takes more coals to get it going, but makes for an excellent smoke. I've been using screen since October and won't go back to foil for the most part(unless I try to set the hookah up on a road trip).3. The stuff moving around. You might be able to dissect your hookah to get at it, maybe take off the grommet. I did have this with mine( a Mitsuba), all I did was flush it through the holes that lead to the area for the hose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrysalem Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 I am always experimenting. How about BOTH foil and screen? I did this today and it was really nice! How? Put the metal screen on first. Then put your foil on top of it, wrap it around airtight as usual. Be careful as the 'ears' of the metal screen like to poke holes in the foil on the side of the bowl. Harder to poke little holes but really not bad.Advantage-the coals never come into direct contact with the shisha, thereby preventing them burning for the most part. Good foolproof method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr!m Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 QUOTE (jerrysalem @ Jan 30 2008, 05:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I am always experimenting. How about BOTH foil and screen? I did this today and it was really nice! How? Put the metal screen on first. Then put your foil on top of it, wrap it around airtight as usual. Be careful as the 'ears' of the metal screen like to poke holes in the foil on the side of the bowl. Harder to poke little holes but really not bad.Advantage-the coals never come into direct contact with the shisha, thereby preventing them burning for the most part. Good foolproof method.Hey, tat a really good idea for a nub like me. I'll have to try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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