foil and coal

[logan91]

hi guys, i have a few questions, please try to answer as many as you can

1) do you ever reuse the foil? not because your cheap, but just because
your too lazy to make a new one each time.



2) every lounge i have been to uses foil to cover the bowel and place
the charcoal on, but iv read on different posts that fumes form the
foil is extremely bad for you, so this confuses me, if it was so bad,
then why would loungesbars use them?  does anyone know FOR A FACT
that they are unhealth, )if anyone knows anything please answer this
one)



3)does everybody here generally agree that foil is better than
screens?, it just seems that a large majority use foil,( might be a
good poll question though).




4)what is usually the negatives of using metal screens?



5) wen using round 3 kings coals (i have read that one is usually
enough) do you put it in the center of the bowl? or break it in half
and put it on the the edges as iv seen done with finger ccoals in
lounges? thanks guys

[logan91]

i had a couple of responses, were they removed?

[Sonthert]

1. No. I use very large holes, set close together, trying to reuse it would just make the foil rip. Also, the flavor smoked last time would stick to the foil and foul the new flavor (unless they were the same flavor). 2. I don't believe in too many facts. Aluminum foil is eminantly safe, in my opinion. 3. I don't think its everybody, I think its about 60/40, actually.4. Screens accumulate flavor from the last flavor smoked, they rust, they break and they have to be replaced.5. I always center my charcoal, moving charcoal away from the center if its burning, towards the center if its hitting weakly. As new charcoal is added, I try and keep larger pieces as far away from the center as they are large, and alternate which end of the bowl the new piece is on. I hope that wasn't too confusing and that it helped. 

[iheartvarg1]

eeh... what tangiers said. jsut one thing to add.. DO NOT use heavy-duty foil. its like taking the first train out to migraine city

[NERV]

1, Yeah, occasionally. It's not out of sloth but due to the fact that I've run out of foil.

2, It's only bad for you if the foil actually burns. Trust me, if it
happens you'll know. If it gets too hot the foil basicly vaporizes, it
will make a horrible taste and smell, a pillar of smoke will come from
the bowl for about 20 seconds, and when you remove the foil a large
hole will be burned through it.

3, I'm sure most people use foil, but the people who use screen swear by them. It's just preference.

4, In addition to what Tangiers already said, they don't seal as well
over the bowl so you get more air bypassing coal so your smoke isn't as
thick. And IMO the flavor is weaker.

5, I also center my coals. But, the brand that I use is so densely
packed that air doesn't flow through it. So I slightly grind the bottom
lip with a file to make an uneven surface and allow air to flow.

[mushrat]

I'm a screen fan myself. Took a little practice to get the heat right, but now its as easy as using foil. just what ever you are used to using. With the new hookah and bowl I'm back to foil until i make an oversized screen...
A disadvantage is that it lets in a lot more head than you average foil top so it's easier to burn your ma'asell at first, but you learn with practice.
I recall there was a question of coatings ON the foil at one point, not necessarily the foil, that was of concern. We've also discussed the foil itself.
We posted some pictures a while back of foil after having been hit with a torch...i'll see if i can find that post. scary stuff.
 

[zzzzzT]

I used to use a screen and swore by it. I was getting some inconsistent
results from it. So I switched back to foil and I am very  happy
with foil. I also think wrapping foil around the bowl also helps keep
heat in the clay.

[mushrat]

oh ya..as for the poll question:
[url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1616&KW=chimney"] [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1616&am"]http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_pos...asp?TID=1616&am[/url][/url] p;KW=chimney
Wrapping the bowl in foil works great for added heat and freating an oven like effect. Alos keeps ash and sparks off your floors. I'd like to the pictures i'd posted of making a foil chimney/wind cover typedeal but they have gone bye bye. Should I repost them?

[Hexagon]

1) no

3) I don't use screens because I don't have one, so I can't compare.

5) I use one coal and put it at the center of the bowl

[ahc87]

[quote name='iheartvarg1']eeh... what tangiers said. jsut one thing to add.. DO NOT use heavy-duty foil. its like taking the first train out to migraine city[/quote]
why not? that is what ive been using for that last couple of weeks and id appreciate knowing wether or not im killing myself by doing so

[Sonthert]

[quote name='ahc87'][quote name='iheartvarg1']eeh... what tangiers said. jsut one thing to add.. DO NOT use heavy-duty foil. its like taking the first train out to migraine city[/quote]
why not? that is what ive been using for that last couple of weeks and id appreciate knowing wether or not im killing myself by doing so[/quote]He's crazy...talks to his pet angel in the mirror. I use heavy duty foil all the time, sometimes even double it! I've honestly never even noticed a difference other than the thin stuff tears easier, when you're packing a bowl. I use Japanese coals, sometimes alot when the bowl has wound down and is almost completly dried out. I have scorched the top (caused by partially burning the tobacco), but I have never melted the aluminum foil...I wouldn't even think it possible. Maybe your charcoal burn hotter than mine, but as long as there is glycerine to boil, the bowl can't get hot enough to melt aluminum foil.

[Sonthert]

[quote name='zzzzzT']I used to use a screen and swore by it. I was getting some inconsistent
results from it. So I switched back to foil and I am very  happy
with foil. I also think wrapping foil around the bowl also helps keep
heat in the clay.[/quote]actually, the opposite. It is possible (as chemical engineers learned in Heat Transfer Class) to add insulation to something that ends up cooling it off. It increases the surface area to volume ratio more (increasing heat loss) than it does slowing heat transfer. In fact, aluminum foil increase heat transfer...It has a higher heat transfer coefficient/ratio and it increases surface area, it could only increase heat transfer/loss (like a radiator or a heat sync fin). If it works for you is the important question.