Heavy smoke...

[strangeone]

Hey, just recently bought a new hookah (fairly modern design,
triangular base, three piped) with all the accesory's, including
stoppers for when your not using the other pipes. Anyway the problem
is, when i have a good smoke, the smoke itself becomes very heavy very
quickly, im not sure how to describe it, but is almost to full to take
a proper pull, makes you cough.

Now usually i used two coals because of the large head, and the water
level seems to be about right, so could anyone give me any tips or show
me where im going wrong?

[cafedelmar]

Try cutting down your coal. If one is not enough, break another in half and use 1.5

[aykay]

you could either try to make smaller holes or when ever you feel it
becomes to heavy for you to take a puff, try blowing inside the whose (
not strongly ) that clears out the smoke from the base

[iheartvarg1]

what brand? nakhla always gives a very heavy feeling in your lungs. try
loading a little less in the bowl giving the tobacco a bit more space
from the coals. takes a bit of the harsh out

[aykay]

personally, i have never touched anything but nakhla so i am pretty much used to it.

[HookahDuck]

You simply have too much heat, and it is burning the ma'assel.


IMO, ma'assel is the best at the point RIGHT before its about to become
harsh. Thats how I get the most dense, thick clouds of white smoke.
Many people like it much more thin than this however.

[Sonthert]

Alternatively, it could be what I affectionately call "humidity" shock. If you use tubs or seal your tobacco in containers or ziplocks or whatever, so that the outside air can't come into contact with it and: The tobacco was packaged and is used to a specific humidity (probably fairly dry). If the humidity (or dewpoint) is far higher where you are smoking (South Africa?) than when it was packaged, a full nicotine brand like nahkla will absorb extra moisture from the air as you are smoking it. This extra moisture will leach out the nicotine making it "burny". This isn't a charcoal issue...you can sit around adjusting charcoal and developing superstitious practices as the problem cures itself (as follows) or help cure the problem. Put you tobacco in a large, flat open container, perhaps even a flat cookie sheet or the like...leave exposed to the air for a couple of hours. More simply, open your ziplock bag or sealed tub. The "deeper" the tobacco is in the container, the longer it will take to acclimate itself to the outside air. Stir a couple of times while its open (to churn the acclimated and non-acclimated tobacco up). If you do nothing, tyhe sheer process of opening and closing the top of the container will allow the South African humidity to take over after a time or two. If you're busy adjusting how you pack the bowl or charcoal usage, and it starts to get better you might think something you were doing is helping (When I pack the bowl naked or if my girfriend moves the charcoal), but the tobacco is changing slowly.

[mushrat]

I noticed that HEAVY feeling when we had 2 big chunks of coal on the starbuzz. Wasn't burning, no harshness, but almost knocked me off my stool when I took my usual deep lungful. we reduced the heat and managed to level it out to a nice reasonable thick smoke. I'd almost have to say that the starbuzz would be a almost fool proof beginners ma'asell. almost impossible to burn.

[killajakez]

I am almost positive that re arranging the coals, like removing some, or moving them to the side, fixes the harshness.

[HookahDuck]

The best thing you can do if it starts to get harsh, is remove the
coals and set them on your ashtray. Let the bowl cool for a minute or
two, then grab it near the bottom. Pull it off of the stem, and blow
gently through the bottom of the bowl towards the sky for 30 seconds to
a minute. When the smoke you see starts getting thin, you should be
alright. All this does is cool the ma'assel down a little and stops it
from burning. Place a little less heat on this time, and puff away!

The first time I did this at a party, everyone thought I was magic(They
had all been coughing their lungs out trying to smoke for the past 10
minutes before I got there)

[mushrat]

Now, with the starbuzz, it wasn't HARSH, it was HEAVY, like he was describing. Having experienced what he's talking about I understand, but it IS hard to describe...
Either way all the answers above work, reduce heat.
 

[iheartvarg1]

feels like it weights a ton in your lungs? thats nakhla

[HookahCulture]

Hi everyone!
Major overhaul being worked on at the moment for the site.

Anyway......

Sometimes managing the hookah is a delicate balance.
You can have a lot of coals up there, but be aware of your inhalation.
If you suck too hard, even when it doesn't seem like it, you'll get the burny flavor.
Clear the hookah, let it rest several minutes.
Suck SLOWLY so that you can hear the one bubble after another in the vase.
You should hear BUBUBUBUBUB and not BBBBBBBBBBBBBB.
You should get a nice thick smoke without the burn.

This also works well when you're using the metal screen and two chunks of finger coals covering the screen.

Slow pulls win the smoke!