Km Finally Came, But I Now Have Problems!

[Itami]

Newbie here, been lurking for a few months now and decided it was time to try and join the family.

Anyway, a few days ago my KM tri-metal showed up with some three kings coals, along with starbuzz and fantasia shisha. The problem is, I havent gotten a decent bowl every time I've tried using it. The hookah that got donated away in honor of the KM's arrival was a 3-hose ice chamber from social smoke, and I could play around with coal and hole patterns (golden 33mm) and always seemed to get a good tasting decent bowl that lasted about an hour.

Now, I'm burning through all this stuff trying to get it right...I used water to push the stem into the glass base since that wasnt going in all the way before, that isn't a problem. Every test proves that things are airtight. I've tried less holes in the foil that are large, many holes that are small, 1 40mm 3K broken into 4 quarters, 3 quarters, 2 halves, one whole coal with it hanging off the side some, and every time I get decent taste and big clouds for about 4 hits and everything goes to hell, wispy harsh smoke that dries the mouth from then on no matter how I move the coals, add or remove coals, anything like that.

The only suspect I can think of is the water level, as my old hookah was very clear and had a line in the vase decoration that gave me a good measure to where the water should go. I get bubbles when I hit the KM, and none of it goes high enough to get up into the hose or stem. I should have pictures tomorrow when my camera battery arrives, but the big question is: would water level drastically affect the smoking experience? should I play with different water levels? Sorry for the long rant about this, but I tried to be as detailed as I could about the scenario so that all information can be taken into consideration. To anyone that can offer advice, thanks a million and I hope to be able to contribute help of my own to the forum when I become more of a "master" like you guys lol. Thanks again!

[r1v3th3ad]

if its only smoking good for about 4 hits, the getting real harsh, then the shisha is getting burnt. Either too much heat or overpacked bowl in my experience...try packing the bowl a little less maybe, make sure the foil isn't touching the shisha

as for the water level, the general rule I've seen around and that I live by is to fill the vase until the water level submerges the downstem 1/2 inch to an inch or so.

hope that helps.

Welcome to the forums, stick around a while and have a good time

[NoPeace]

Newbie here, been lurking for a few months now and decided it was time to try and join the family.

Anyway, a few days ago my KM tri-metal showed up with some three kings coals, along with starbuzz and fantasia shisha. The problem is, I havent gotten a decent bowl every time I've tried using it. The hookah that got donated away in honor of the KM's arrival was a 3-hose ice chamber from social smoke, and I could play around with coal and hole patterns (golden 33mm) and always seemed to get a good tasting decent bowl that lasted about an hour.

Now, I'm burning through all this stuff trying to get it right...I used water to push the stem into the glass base since that wasnt going in all the way before, that isn't a problem. Every test proves that things are airtight. I've tried less holes in the foil that are large, many holes that are small, 1 40mm 3K broken into 4 quarters, 3 quarters, 2 halves, one whole coal with it hanging off the side some, and every time I get decent taste and big clouds for about 4 hits and everything goes to hell, wispy harsh smoke that dries the mouth from then on no matter how I move the coals, add or remove coals, anything like that.

The only suspect I can think of is the water level, as my old hookah was very clear and had a line in the vase decoration that gave me a good measure to where the water should go. I get bubbles when I hit the KM, and none of it goes high enough to get up into the hose or stem. I should have pictures tomorrow when my camera battery arrives, but the big question is: would water level drastically affect the smoking experience? should I play with different water levels? Sorry for the long rant about this, but I tried to be as detailed as I could about the scenario so that all information can be taken into consideration. To anyone that can offer advice, thanks a million and I hope to be able to contribute help of my own to the forum when I become more of a "master" like you guys lol. Thanks again!

i cant say im honestly the best person to give suggestions since ive been having alot of problems. However, my advice seems to allways help ppl more than it helps me. I think you should try less holes that are smaller. You said u were using few holes that were big as one of ur attempts. Also make sure that you shisha is to the brim of the bowl. It can touch a little in my opinion but it cant be too low or else you get little smoke. try that. I wish i could be more help but i think i can help a bit more when you get pics up.

[Itami]

Wow, quick replies! I'll try both tactics, although I don't think I'm over packing the bowl. I sprinkle it on, and if I hold the bowl at eye level I don't see any popping out over the top. I will try to use less, smaller holes though, as that's something I haven't tried. The problem with the water level thing is that the hookah is a very very dark blue with gold all over it (I know, I know...pics lol) but that makes it almost translucent, so it's hard to tell what level the water is in relation to the downstem. Thank you both again for the insight, hopefully I can get something good going here.

[r1v3th3ad]

Wow, quick replies! I'll try both tactics, although I don't think I'm over packing the bowl. I sprinkle it on, and if I hold the bowl at eye level I don't see any popping out over the top. I will try to use less, smaller holes though, as that's something I haven't tried. The problem with the water level thing is that the hookah is a very very dark blue with gold all over it (I know, I know...pics lol) but that makes it almost translucent, so it's hard to tell what level the water is in relation to the downstem. Thank you both again for the insight, hopefully I can get something good going here.

I got that problem with mine, its dark purple that looks black. I add water and blow at the top where the bowl goes until it sounds right. Just about mastered that.

[Itami]

*smacks head* That's definitely something I should have thought about doing! I'll use that method to better verify the water level, thanks

[Rani]

I have the Tri-Metal and two other KMs and I have noticed a difference in them versus other Egyptian or Syrian pipes. The core and downstem and noticeaby wider. So you're pulling more air through. It's one of the reasons the draw is so easy and the smoke so thick. Of course that's also why we love them so much. But that means you also are going to be pulling more heat down through the bowl. I use heavy duty aluminum foil, shiny side down and start with a hole in the middle and just spiral my way all around to the outside - probably at least 50 holes as big as the middle of the toothpick I use to poke them. More holes actually means less heat because it's not being sealed in under the foil. More holes shouldn't automatically mean smaller holes. Tangiers for instance you need LOTS of big holes so it will vary some depending on brand and flavor - coffee flavors have a tendency to be extra sticky and burn easier. So more holes, not less. Interestingly enough I do not generally use funnels on my KMs. Not even with Tangiers. I use the standard Egyptian bowl, or the Mya bowl for flavors that burn easier because it's deeper and I can leave more room under the foil. I also either blow up into the bowl from underneath as mentioned before, or at the Egyptian smoke shop up the street he told me to poke down through the shisha before putting on the foil so you form some air passages through the shisha. See if any of these tricks help.

'Rani

[Canon]

did you give up your old hookah bowl too? if you get too used to packing one bowl one way and get another bowl, say more shallow or deeper then the other bowl you might find problems smoking it.

use less heat and a windcover if its not smoking properly.

[Itami]

Success!!!!!!! I verified the water level by sucking on the metal where the head goes, packed lighter, blew up into the bowl gently, and have about 30-35 tooth pick sized holes, with one 40mm broke in half opposing eachother, great clouds and great flavor, starbuzz x on the beach . I knew you guys would be able to help me out..thank you so much!

[r1v3th3ad]

awesome man, glad to help.

get some pics up of a session when you get a chance