New To The Hookah Scene. Have A Few Questions If You Don't Mind Helping.

[TheJoKeR]

So me and some friends decided that after witnessing the awesome that is hookah we would toss in some $ for a decent hookah for occasional use, well.......we can't stop smoking lol. We love trying flavors and whatnot and it's a lot of fun, but we are having a few problems.

Our first problem was too small of coals, we fixed that, got bigger coals, and thus far larger amounts of fluffy smoke = D

But it seems that every 15 min one of us has to pick out black shisha to clean the bowl because it starts to taste welll......ick. The hooka is a med sized Social Smoke and other than the occasional bad taste seems to be working great.........until I started reading some of the things on these forums. It seems with "Tangiers" bowls last ALOT longer than the ones we make and that there is a constant euphoric taste. I'm still unsure as to what "Tangiers" is if someone could enlighten me. Is it a brand of shisha? My friends and I use Starbuzz and like it alot. We also use the normal bowl the hookh came with and I just heard about these phunnel bowls and am curious to their nature.

Hoestly any tips and/or tricks that can be used to give us longer, fuller, tastier bowls would be much appreciated. We have some money to toss out and so anything below buying an entirely new hookah seems reasonable.

Thanks for any and all responses

[Tom1]

So me and some friends decided that after witnessing the awesome that is hookah we would toss in some $ for a decent hookah for occasional use, well.......we can't stop smoking lol. We love trying flavors and whatnot and it's a lot of fun, but we are having a few problems.

Our first problem was too small of coals, we fixed that, got bigger coals, and thus far larger amounts of fluffy smoke = D

But it seems that every 15 min one of us has to pick out black shisha to clean the bowl because it starts to taste welll......ick. The hooka is a med sized Social Smoke and other than the occasional bad taste seems to be working great.........until I started reading some of the things on these forums. It seems with "Tangiers" bowls last ALOT longer than the ones we make and that there is a constant euphoric taste. I'm still unsure as to what "Tangiers" is if someone could enlighten me. Is it a brand of shisha? My friends and I use Starbuzz and like it alot. We also use the normal bowl the hookh came with and I just heard about these phunnel bowls and am curious to their nature.

Hoestly any tips and/or tricks that can be used to give us longer, fuller, tastier bowls would be much appreciated. We have some money to toss out and so anything below buying an entirely new hookah seems reasonable.

Thanks for any and all responses

Is starbuzz the only shisha you're using? If so it should be VERY hard to burn a bowl. You should never have to unfoil it mid session.

Chances are high that you're either putting too much tobacco in the bowl or too much heat. Since it's starbuzz i'm going to assume your packing the bowls too high.

Another thing that could be cause problems is how you poke your holes, elaborate on your patten/size if you could.

[TheJoKeR]

We use a premade metal screen with.......uhhhh looks like this lol
http://www.hookahimages.com/shop/media/ima...screen_ss_s.gif


Yes, Starbuzz is all we have used, and it seems that we have to pack alot or the shisha is all gone before the coal is halfway done, but the next size down in coals only aloows like 1/4th of the bowl size before it's spent = /

[Tom1]

Yea, ditch the screen. They usually aren't airtight, sit lower in the bowl, and the holes are WAY too big so ash falls through making it taste like ass. Get some aluminum foil and a sewing needle and you should see a big improvement.

What kind of coals do you have?

[TheJoKeR]

What kind of coals do you have?

We use Golden Coals I believe. They come in a gold wrapper and we have 250mm and 350mm.

And I"ll ditch the screen. As far as the foil goes, shiny side in or out?

And if you could throw in some info on Tangiers and Phunnels that would be great lol, not trying to be pushy X D

We are heading out to the headshop tomorrow for some Mint flavored shisha to try with some altoids in the base, and it would be convenient to know what else we need if anything at all = D

EDIT: It's very possible that the bowls don't taste bad because the shisha is blackening but because ash falls through from the coal Edited July 28, 2008 by TheJoKeR

[Bulldog_916]

Every hookah smoker should have a phunnel bowl because of the improvement they can make to just about any session. Tangiers is a great tobacco brand, they make excellent product. You really need to be 100% confident in your ability to pack normal tobaccos like AF, Starbuzz, Al Amir, etc. before you mess with Tangiers. Get your technique down first, then you can smoke the big stuff. I think you mean, with the coals, 33mm and 40mm. But I could be wrong. Make sure you're heat is evenly distributed. Split the coals into 2 pieces and put them parallel on the bowl. Ditch the screen. Get a phunnel.

[Tom1]

What kind of coals do you have?

We use Golden Coals I believe. They come in a gold wrapper and we have 250mm and 350mm.
Golden is a decent brand, naturals(wood coals like coconara, exotica) taste better but are a bit more of a hassle.
For easier heat managment you might want to try breaking the 40mm's in halfs and using 2 or 3 halfs around the edges of the bowl.

And I"ll ditch the screen. As far as the foil goes, shiny side in or out?
Shiny side in. I've never really noticed a difference but it's more just habit now.

And if you could throw in some info on Tangiers and Phunnels that would be great lol, not trying to be pushy X D
Tangiers is a brand of tobacco that can be really tricky to smoke (requires acclimation(sitting in the open air), VERY different packing methods, and a tangiers bowl which you have. I really can't write it all here so it would be best to search for "tangiers tutorial" or something like that so you can see exactly how to set it up.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Tom16689

[Canon]

when its icky, use less heat. its not usually the bad shisha on the top but the fact that the bowl and everything is hot an dyou need less heat to maintain a good smoke.

[TheJoKeR]

Every hookah smoker should have a phunnel bowl because of the improvement they can make to just about any session. Tangiers is a great tobacco brand, they make excellent product. You really need to be 100% confident in your ability to pack normal tobaccos like AF, Starbuzz, Al Amir, etc. before you mess with Tangiers. Get your technique down first, then you can smoke the big stuff. I think you mean, with the coals, 33mm and 40mm. But I could be wrong. Make sure you're heat is evenly distributed. Split the coals into 2 pieces and put them parallel on the bowl. Ditch the screen. Get a phunnel.

You were right about the coal size, though we have 33mm and the next smallest I believe, I'll have to get back to you on that one XD

Can you get phunnels at your everyday headshop? If so I'll pick one up tomorrow.

As far as heat distribution goes, what are some tips/tricks and whats the best method for breaking a coal?

[TheJoKeR]

when its icky, use less heat. its not usually the bad shisha on the top but the fact that the bowl and everything is hot an dyou need less heat to maintain a good smoke.

Do you think breaking the coal to possibly even up the heat would do the job?

[Bulldog_916]

Score it on the top then break it evenly with your fingers. It might break into more than 2 pieces but that isnt a big deal. Order a phunnel online with some other stuff so that they dont screw you on shipping. I would suggest MN hookahs or Hookah Company. Most headshops dont carry phunnels.

[Tom1]

You were right about the coal size, though we have 33mm and the next smallest I believe, I'll have to get back to you on that one XD

Can you get phunnels at your everyday headshop? If so I'll pick one up tomorrow.

As far as heat distribution goes, what are some tips/tricks and whats the best method for breaking a coal?

Ahhh, I thought you had a phunnel. Chances are unlikely that you'll find one in a headshop.

to beak a quicklight coal just use both hands and put your thumbs on top, pointer index and ring fingers on the bottom, then just push down and it should break in the middle.

[TheJoKeR]

Well there are two headshops close by, I'll check for phunnels but chances sound slim = (

Until I get the phunnel, how do you pack a standard ceramic bowl? With the larger coals I have started packing to a little under the rim, but the coal has problems heating the entire bowl so we rotate the coal on the outside/middle-ish to try to even it out which probably dropped a lot of ash into the bowl XD

Any other things I should be made aware of?

Also, to all of you, thanks immensely for the help so far = D

EDIT: Also what are some good US sites to order from? I live in Texas if that matters at all. Edited July 28, 2008 by TheJoKeR

[Tom1]

Well there are two headshops close by, I'll check for phunnels but chances sound slim = (

Until I get the phunnel, how do you pack a standard ceramic bowl? With the larger coals I have started packing to a little under the rim, but the coal has problems heating the entire bowl so we rotate the coal on the outside/middle-ish to try to even it out which probably dropped a lot of ash into the bowl XD

Any other things I should be made aware of?

Also, to all of you, thanks immensely for the help so far = D

Are you only using one 33mm?

You should ash the coals when you move them, pick them up with the tongs and drop (literally, not too high though for obvious safety reasons ) then scrape the remaining ash off before you put it back on the bowl.

[Canon]

you shouldnt break quicklights, never had a good experience from doing that. either put them on opposite ends of the bowl or stack them like fallen dominos

[TheJoKeR]

Are you only using one 33mm?

You should ash the coals when you move them, pick them up with the tongs and drop (literally, not too high though for obvious safety reasons ) then scrape the remaining ash off before you put it back on the bowl.

Yes, one coal.

And where do I drop it? On the foil?

[Bulldog_916]

Fluff the tobacco into the bowl all the way up to the top, make sure you use foil. Evenly heat the bowl with your coal. Use 1, broken into 2 pieces. Use luke warm or cool water. Fill the water to 1 inch above the bottom of the down stem. Smoke happily.

If and when you can, get natural coals and a coil stove from Walgreens. It'll be the best 20 dollars you can ever spend on hookah, those 2 things.

[TheJoKeR]

you shouldnt break quicklights, never had a good experience from doing that. either put them on opposite ends of the bowl or stack them like fallen dominos

So two coals opposite each other, for best heat distribution?

Also foil wise, shiny side inside or outside?

[TheJoKeR]

Fluff the tobacco into the bowl all the way up to the top, make sure you use foil. Evenly heat the bowl with your coal. Use 1, broken into 2 pieces. Use luke warm or cool water. Fill the water to 1 inch above the bottom of the down stem. Smoke happily.

If and when you can, get natural coals and a coil stove from Walgreens. It'll be the best 20 dollars you can ever spend on hookah, those 2 things.

Can you explain a bit more as to why? Not being pushy(well maybe a little lol) just curious really.

[Tom1]

Are you only using one 33mm?

You should ash the coals when you move them, pick them up with the tongs and drop (literally, not too high though for obvious safety reasons ) then scrape the remaining ash off before you put it back on the bowl.

Yes, one coal.

And where do I drop it? On the foil?

In the tray. If you're only using one 33mm that really isn't alot of heat so your problem is definatly ash. Use 2 33's on each side and rotate or break them and use 3 halfs and you should be good.

[TheJoKeR]

In the tray. If you're only using one 33mm that really isn't alot of heat so your problem is definatly ash. Use 2 33's on each side and rotate or break them and use 3 halfs and you should be good.

I'm not exactly sure if it's a 33mm. They are abou the size of a Gatorade cap, the orange ones. Slightly smaller though.

[Tom1]

Alright then, when your packing it you should really just be breaking it up and sprinkling it into the bowl. Don't put too little in but when you foil it the foil shouldn't be pushing it down. If the tobacco is touching the foil a little it's fine. As for the 40mm's I'd start with 2 halves and add a third if your not getting enough smoke.

I'm heading to bed, PM me (or anyone in this thread) and we'd be happy to give you anymore help you might need. Good luck!

[TheJoKeR]

Alright then, when your packing it you should really just be breaking it up and sprinkling it into the bowl. Don't put too little in but when you foil it the foil shouldn't be pushing it down. If the tobacco is touching the foil a little it's fine. As for the 40mm's I'd start with 2 halves and add a third if your not getting enough smoke.

I'm heading to bed, PM me (or anyone in this thread) and we'd be happy to give you anymore help you might need. Good luck!

Thank you so much for the help and sleep well = D