Electric Hookah

[Plain Old Me]

Anyone know how to make a ceramic housing for an element? Seems like that would be ideal, but rather hard to implement... I am going to do some calculations and work out a triac circuit soon to control the temp of the heating elements. Will let you know what I come up with.

[Guinea_Pig]

Anyone know how to make a ceramic housing for an element? Seems like that would be ideal, but rather hard to implement... I am going to do some calculations and work out a triac circuit soon to control the temp of the heating elements. Will let you know what I come up with.

set up a 555 timer in an astable mode connect that output to a beefy FET and use the rate of the pulsing to control the temp.. run it off a 12V PSU.

i still maintain that it will take more than 3W to get things hot!

[teq]

set up a 555 timer in an astable mode connect that output to a beefy FET and use the rate of the pulsing to control the temp.. run it off a 12V PSU.

i still maintain that it will take more than 3W to get things hot!

That sounds pretty excessive. They do sell temperature controlled switches, but they're expensive. Even then, you'll still need a way of turning it off and on.

The most feasible solution seems to be something that can maintain the temperature necessary to boil the glycerin and to have it connected to a switch.

Convection is the only other cheap method that will emulate a coal.

[Guinea_Pig]

set up a 555 timer in an astable mode connect that output to a beefy FET and use the rate of the pulsing to control the temp.. run it off a 12V PSU.

i still maintain that it will take more than 3W to get things hot!

That sounds pretty excessive. They do sell temperature controlled switches, but they're expensive. Even then, you'll still need a way of turning it off and on.

The most feasible solution seems to be something that can maintain the temperature necessary to boil the glycerin and to have it connected to a switch.

Convection is the only other cheap method that will emulate a coal.

i feel like a nob now... but its soo obvious... bi metallic strip.... it would be so easy... and u could even watch it work

[teq]

Like a thermostat? Yeah, that could work.

Good luck finding one designed for 500F though

[Place_Name_Here]

well did you fire the clay befor you put the heating element inside? If thourly dried and then bisked or fired, clay becomes harder and more resistent to heat. if you create something like the bowl thats holding the sheesha but with heating element in it, it should work simmilar to a ceramic stove top

[WesleyPipes]

Guys, there is a certain temperature nichrome will get to given a certain amount of amps. The wire can only get so hot at whatever temperature you want it. Check out the max resistance it will get to and figure out the amps you need in the chart.

Diodes and transistors are the only real other option.

[Voski]

do you have any friends that are in ceramics? Have them make a clay tablet or something and fire it. Theres no way your heating element will be hotter then the furnace they come out of so they won't burn.

[mj_b90]

Snatched up an old toaster today, I'm gonna try to gut the Nichrome and give this project a shot. I wish I had access to a kiln to make a bowl to hold it.


Also- will AC vs DC current make a difference in the temperature reached and the ability to control the wire's temperature? Edited April 4, 2008 by mj_b90

[gaia.plateau]

I can't believe I read every post in this thread

I say it can't be done!

[teq]

It can, just not cheaply.... and the end result won't be cost effective...

[WesleyPipes]

I don't see how you still think it isn't possible.

When I get around to it, I will mount my ghetto shit into something and show you guys.

Right now I have a piece of wood with nails in it, and the nichrome making a grid around the nails.

It works if you do it right...this beast glows red and remains at a constant temperature.

[AzZ]

Are there still no pics of it? As far as I remember pics were suppose to be put up on a Friday like last month....

[gaia.plateau]

I don't see how you still think it isn't possible.

It's unnatural, immoral and perverse. God will stop you.

Clearly he has already sabotaged your camera.

[WesleyPipes]

Hah, well think what you want.

You obviously do not understand the chart I have given you on nichrome, or you just havn't tried it for yourself and seen that it really does work.

Go back to the chart big cat and figure it out.

[gaia.plateau]

Hah, well think what you want.

You obviously do not understand the chart I have given you on nichrome, or you just havn't tried it for yourself and seen that it really does work.

Go back to the chart big cat and figure it out.

You lost me.

[teq]

Hah, well think what you want.

You obviously do not understand the chart I have given you on nichrome, or you just havn't tried it for yourself and seen that it really does work.

Go back to the chart big cat and figure it out.

Chart or not, it seems that the most difficult part of this project is trying to adapt it to a hookah.


I think you might have to build a hookah that will support it. Either that, or mount the heating element on a tripod...

[VDDZ]

Sound's like your problem is design, take a look at mine...



Got it out of a heater. It gets hot enough, but then, after only a few puffs, the smokes gets a kind of harsh I've never had before and i can't smoke it; at this point I cant get a cloud either. What do you think needs to be done? Edited April 8, 2008 by VDDZ

[teq]

The problem is that there's no fluctuation in temperature; you're either constantly running it at the temperature the coals idle at or you're running it at the temperature in which the glycerin boils.

There needs to be a way to turn the heat up or down, depending on whether you're smoking or not.

Otherwise, you're basically turning your hookah into a big cigar.

[mj_b90]

That also has no way for air to flow in/out of it VDDZ. With some air holes and maybe keeping it a bit above the bowl rather than sitting on it, should probably work.

[teq]

That also has no way for air to flow in/out of it VDDZ. With some air holes and maybe keeping it a bit above the bowl rather than sitting on it, should probably work.

I'm pretty sure it's elevated and he's conducting heat though convection, or else he wouldn't be able to inhale at all.

[hday]

Yeah, the air should be heated and the shisha should just be warm. The heating element should be close enough to the bowl so that it keeps the shisha warm and the air doesn't cool before it hits the bowl, but too close and the shisha will get too hot. I was thinking put a soldering iron in a tube so the air moves past the heat and warms before it hits the bowl. Something like this maybe? The whole idea of an electric hookah amazes me, and I really want it to work.

[teq]

Yeah, the air should be heated and the shisha should just be warm. The heating element should be close enough to the bowl so that it keeps the shisha warm and the air doesn't cool before it hits the bowl, but too close and the shisha will get too hot. I was thinking put a soldering iron in a tube so the air moves past the heat and warms before it hits the bowl. Something like this maybe? The whole idea of an electric hookah amazes me, and I really want it to work.

Already mentioned. A 15W iron puts out the exact temperature you would need, but the tip might be too small to disperse the heat effectively.

In order to augment anything to the tip, you'd have to go to a 30W iron, as added resistance will bring the overall output of the 15W iron below an effective temperature.

[teq]

I smoked through my last roll of coals and it's too late to get more.


So, I got out my 30 watt soldering iron and popped a hole in the side of my ghetto tin-can windcover.

I didn't bother to pack a new bowl for this experiment, because I'll be surprised if I get any smoke at all. So far, it's been sitting for about 5 minutes with a definite odor to it.
If I don't die, I'll report back on my findings. Hopefully this will put the soldering iron trial to bed.



Update: The tip is definitely too small to radiate heat well. When applied directly to the shisha, it vaporized it... literally. I got the smell of the pineapple Al Amir I had been using, the smoke from the tobacco, and nothing else.

There is a good four feet of 30 AWG nichrome spooled inside the barrel... if it weren't so hard to work with, I'd take it out and mount it to a block of aluminum. Edited April 9, 2008 by teq

[VDDZ]

I put a larger clay pot over the heating element to help trap the heat and I used a common light switch to regulate the heat; still, it didn't work.