Help With Small Hookah

[ronald_dooley]

Hello all

I have a smallish MYA Chic hookah, although the glass base is different from the one shown in the attached picture. It is 14", I believe. I use 3-King coals and Al-Fakher tobacco.

I'm having real problems with heat management. I've tried using smaller pieces of coals, smoking more slowly, rotating the pieces more frequently, etc. I've tried putting ice into the base and even setting the base into a bucket of ice and salt. Whenever I look at my bowl after a smoke, I see a blackened, hard charred lump of tobacco.

It's very hard to get good, thick, cool smoke. When I use very small pieces of coals, I don't get much smoke, and the smoke is thin and harsh. When I try for bigger pieces, I can get some thick smoke, but it is hot and harsh.

What is the problem? Do I need a bigger hookah? Do I need to do something different with the bowl/coals/tobacco? Does anyone know any tips or tricks to get good, thick, cool smoke?

- Ronald

[lancer]

less coals

[Joshmmc]

keep the same size coals but reduce amount, maybe use 1 if youre using 2 right now?

[Stuie]

Problem isn't the hookah, but the bowl and heat management.

Might want to try a different bowl. But you should use no more than 2 3 kings on a Mya Bowl.

Pack more tobacco and use less heat. aerate your tobacco with a tooth pick or poker to insure good air flow. Do a test pull by sucking on the bottom of the bowl. Bad air flow can cause burning just as bad as too much heat.

[ryno]

Are you using foil or a screen? Most likely is you are using too much coal. Some hookahs take time to find the right amount.

[ronald_dooley]

Thanks for the responses so far!

I use reynold's aluminum foil. The bowl is clay, but I'm under the impression that it's the wrong one for the hookah since it doesn't fit well on the stem, at all.

Here's how I put the tobacco in: I "drop" the fluffed pieces in until the bowl is full, and then lightly pat it down to just below the rim. That's what everyone seems to say to do.

Should I "pack" more tobacco in? How do I get better air flow? When I make my holes in the foil, should I push the skewer all the way through?

Concerning using smaller/fewer coals... how long should it take to start getting smoke? I have watched some of the instructional videos, and people seem to be getting thick smoke after one pull. I find myself taking a good 5 minutes of constant pulling and finally getting some thin, harsh, burnt smoke!

Ugh...

- Ronald

p.s. - Is it a bad sign that my tobacco after every session is a black, charred lump on top and relatively moist and good on the bottom?

[jfaltous]

From the sound of things, it might help to try and pack a little more tobacco in. After you pack it, put your foil on, and poke your holes, then flip it over and put your lips to the bottom of the bowl and blow through. You should feel a slight bit of resistance but still have good airflow.

AF is pretty forgiving on the heat management side of things... I'm going to speculate at the size of bowl you're using and say that you should use a single 33mm coal but cut it in half before you light it (so that you have 2 half-discs). Place them at opposite sides of the bowl. Take a few slow but deep pulls and it should start going well within about 30 seconds, and be going at full strength within a minute.

It's not a bad sign that your tobacco becomes a dried out lump after your sessions in the way that you describe it. The reason you still have moist tobacco left on the bottom is because you're probably getting too much heat on it, either from the concentration of the heat from the coals or from pulling too long and too hard (causing the coals to burn hotter). Try rotating your coals slowly around as you smoke, try and move them 1/4 turn around the bowl every 5 minutes or so. Experiment with this until you find something that works well for you.

[ilikemyusername]

check for a leak, check your hose, take the bowl off and put your hand over the opening, check for a leak!
sprinkle your AF in the bowl, almost all of the way up to the rim
tightly "stretch" the foil over the bowl, make a bunch of tiny holes going in a spiral from the outside in, or vice versa.
break one 3K in half and place one half on the right side of the bowl and one on the left with space between.
that should fix it.
check for a leak first and foremost, and whats the pull like on the pipe, might sound wierd but... check for a clog too

[ronald_dooley]

I checked for leaks, and there are none. It is a very tight system. I tried all the different ways of doing it with the coal... breaking into two piece, breaking into three pieces, rotating every 5 minutes... rotating every 30 seconds!

It still is a choice between thick, burning nasty smoke and thin, harsh, borderline-poison-tasting smoke.

I only get three of four puffs of good, sweet, thick, cool smoke per session!!!... usually right after I light up. Everything goes to shit after that.

check for a leak, check your hose, take the bowl off and put your hand over the opening, check for a leak!
sprinkle your AF in the bowl, almost all of the way up to the rim
tightly "stretch" the foil over the bowl, make a bunch of tiny holes going in a spiral from the outside in, or vice versa.
break one 3K in half and place one half on the right side of the bowl and one on the left with space between.
that should fix it.
check for a leak first and foremost, and whats the pull like on the pipe, might sound wierd but... check for a clog too

[Toxik916]

I have a small mya myself and usually get good smoke from it. Sometimes it does get kinda hot though. Make sure your coals are fully lit before putting them on the bowl that might be why your getting harsh smoke. Or you could just be pulling way too hard and that can burn the shisha as well.

[momatik]

Make sure the hose is clean, as well as the stem and all that.

Try using 2 pieces of foil instead of one.

Poke a lot of really small holes.

Keep the coal on the side of the hookah and move it around the sides, working it into the middle over time.

Make sure the coal is ready before you put it on the bowl.

Try instead of packing your bowl the rim, pack it lower so it isn't touching the foil.

Make sure the foil is tight on top of the bowl.

[jakescakes]

Are you using a standard Mya bowl? I hate the standard Mya bowls though, never got good results.

Experiment a few times with the tobacco level, little more or less, but keep the same coal/hole setup so you can figure out the variable. Maybe even once, try over packing it. Might sound arbitrary, but my friend use to over pack his bowls so it was like a little mound and every session we smoked was perfect. Some people blow gently from the bottom of the bowl once its packed and the foil and holes are on for better airflow.

I don't move mine but be careful when moving the coal around the bowl, you don't want any of the ash so get sucked in. Place the coal on the edge of the bowl, so it hangs off a bit (one 40mm 3Kings) If it does get harsh, or ashes fall in, a good habit is to take the bowl off the stem and blow through it gently a few times to cool it.

The magic is really all in the bowl then the coals/holes. If all else fails I recommend finding another bowl.

edit: another trick I sometimes use is I place a chopstick in the center hole of the bowl, and pack the tobacco around it. Mostly for improved airflow. Alternatively, I use to drive a toothpick through the center of the bowl, twisting it, and pull it from the bottom Edited May 28, 2008 by jakescakes