One Way Valve Mods

[Calvin7658]

If you have the kind of hookah that has a one way valve to get the stale smoke out of the base then this is for you. My ball bering would frequently become lodged in place and as a result i would usually blow to try and dislodge it which would cause water to flow up the stem and ruin the bowl i was smoking. Therefore i replaced the metal ball bering with a plastic air-soft BB. Now the thing works like a charm, plus if the thing ever gets dirty i just throw it out and replace it with a brand new air-soft BB. Even if you don't own an air-soft gun i would recommend buying some BB for them and replacing you metal ball bering as it works insanely better. They are real cheap, you could probably buy 100 for like 3 bucks so go out and try or if you have some laying around then make the swap, you will not regret it. Let me know what you think if you've tried my advice.

[hday]

I did the same thing with mine. Before I replaced it, the cheap ball in there had rusted pretty bad, which was most of the problem. Taking some steel wool or something abrasive, and remove the junk around the little scoop that holds the ball.

But plastic probably isn't the best idea, and if you've got a good local hardware store they'll have stainless steel ball bearings which would work much better.

[1145climber]

But plastic probably isn't the best idea, and if you've got a good local hardware store they'll have stainless steel ball bearings which would work much better.

meh, I personally wouldn't worry about plastic if it's in the hose-base connection where most of the one-way ball-valves are. that area barely gets hot, so i don't think you should be worried about fumes or anything

[liquidglass]

I think he meant steel instead b/c it's heavier, which would be the only reason i would advise using a steel bb or ball bearing over the airsoft one

[craziazn1469]

Wierd, I just threw out my ball bearings with plastic bb's today. The bearings were disgusting, just used my fingers and a hose and it ended up with a pale green ball. I just took some bb's on the ground, rinsed them off, and put them in. Works fine, if anything tastes better..

gross. I was wondering why I had a slight metal taste after a while.

[VDDZ]

Haha, I've been doing this for years now. I'm brother is airsoft crazy so there are bb's all over the floor where I smoke. Once my buddy took of the valve cover and the bb fell out and bounced away so we just picked up a new one!

About plastic and hookah, geez, I'd be more worried about the fittings under the bowl. Plus the surface area is prolly close to nothing. Edited August 5, 2008 by VDDZ

[liquidglass]

I had a friend who lost his ball bearing recently I'm going to have to tell him to grab some bbs lol

[TizaNabi]

If you have the kind of hookah that has a one way valve to get the stale smoke out of the base then this is for you. My ball bering would frequently become lodged in place and as a result i would usually blow to try and dislodge it which would cause water to flow up the stem and ruin the bowl i was smoking. Therefore i replaced the metal ball bering with a plastic air-soft BB. Now the thing works like a charm, plus if the thing ever gets dirty i just throw it out and replace it with a brand new air-soft BB. Even if you don't own an air-soft gun i would recommend buying some BB for them and replacing you metal ball bering as it works insanely better. They are real cheap, you could probably buy 100 for like 3 bucks so go out and try or if you have some laying around then make the swap, you will not regret it. Let me know what you think if you've tried my advice.

I also have the rust problem all the time with my narghilah(s).I also tried the steel wool method to clean.But how often? Once I used a spray lubricant WD-40 only on the ball when it was far from the hookah, but it left a taste. Last week I went into a hardware store and they never keep them! I had a few from a hookah store, so I ordered some more.Mechanical thin oil worked with no taste.