Smaller ball bearings

[SmoochAHookah]

I unscrewed the hose valves of my hookah and took out the annoying
balls that were blocking the flow of air...btw SO much better...thanks

My question is...would it be a good idea to get smaller ball-bearings,
for example bee-bees, to put in the place of the large ones i took out,
or do ya think those would get stuck cuz they're too small?

Anyone with a similar problem with syrian stems have a solution? 
Or does everyone else just do away with problematic ball bearings
altogether?

What to do??

Thanks...

[yashman19]

Make sure whatever you use, it doesn't fall through the valves hole, or
else there is no purpose to having that valve or using a ball bearing.
Now is this just a standard purge valve or are these valves for a multi
hose hookah? I guess I missed your original problem and don't know what
your setup is or what the problem was orignally.

Whatever the case, use the smallest ball you can find that will not fall through the hole.

[SmoochAHookah]

It's for a multi-hose syrian hookah.  I actually left the purge valves ball bearing in place...

I just took them out of the valves out of which I desired to smoke...

My original problem was that I couldn't get a good puff of smoke from
my hookah, on one side in particular.  You'd suggested I soak it
in warm water.  Then someone else told me to unscrew the valves
and look inside...

When I did THAT i saw the balls were pretty big and covered the hole
great as far as air-tightness goes...problem was they wouldn't get out
of the way when I wanted to hit the hose...

So i just took the balls out...I'm in the process of finding a better
fit.  Any recommendations of where I could find ball
bearings? 

[Sonthert]

You need your BB! It isn't a carb, its a vent-valve. When you suck, it seals the hole, when you blow, it releases. It you take it out, you're always gonna have a air leak.

[MR Bubble]

I'd say you can get away with removing them. However, if you do, when you smoke alone you will need to plug the extra hose stems so you can enjoy a full smoke. And when you smoke with others (use the extra hose stems) the the people NOT taking a draw will need to plug their hose with a thumb while someone else is smoking. Understand?
One thing to do if the balls are sticking a little is to clean the balls and stems and add a drop of olive oil to the ball. This should help it move freely.
I take it that this is a multi-hose machine and the valve balls you are talking about are for the extra hoses, right?
MR Bubble

[brother812]

airsoft BB's
they are lighter and plastic so they wont rust on you. one of the hookahs i got came without a ball bearing so i gave them a shot and then put them in the rest of my pipes they work well.

[SmoochAHookah]

thanks for all the info. I have been just plugging at the
stem or the hose (As i would a normal hookah that never had ball
bearings)

I never took the ball bearing out of the purge valve.  Just out of the valves out of which I intended to smoke.

I will try those plastic bb's cuz I would love to have the airtightness
back.  It's annoying to always have to plug the extra hose with a
plug or thumb...that's a huge reason why i wanted the syrian stem!