Brad Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Okay, I need everyone's opinion. I ordered a Stargate hookah about 2 months ago. To start it came in the box of another hookah, which was beat up and at first had me freaked out because I thought they had sent the wrong one. Turned out okay though, and the hookah was VERY nice looking. I noticed that the base had a lot of white glue-drops on the bottom of it, and the plexiglass was slightly (very slightly) off balance on the base. It smoked great (did I mention it looked good too?) but it always leaked water from the base and I couldn't figure out why. There always seemed to be a puddle under the hookah when we were finished. Well about a week ago while smoking it we lost all "airtightness" and weren't getting any smoke. Basically, on one side of the base the plastic is a bit higher than the other and water/air is escaping through the gap.[img]http://www.templatepost.com/Stargate.bmp[/img] Now I'm sure most of you are saying, "So glue it, dumba** and it'll be fine." I'm somewhat of a perfectionist though and I really don't want to have to fill gaps in my hookah with silicone or epoxy after 2 months of taking good care of it. Not to mention, the black nickel is chipping off of the stem in one spot ...but I'm hoping it won't spread.I haven't heard of anyone else having these problems so I'm sure this is an isolated case. Taqseem, if you get this please [url="http://mailto:brad.woolgar@gmail.com"]email me[/url] or respond to my PM. I'd like to know if I can get replacement parts or if I'll just have to glue it. Either way I'd like to take off the packing tape I have wrapped around my hookah.Am I being too much of a perfectionist? Should I just glue it and let it go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioannisds Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hey Brad. I am assuming that you have tried to contact Taqseem without any luck (I saw your other post). I do not think you are being a perfectionist at all. You spent good money on that hookah, and you expect it to last a lot longer than 2 months. I would really hope that the Taqseem guys are not ignoring you (they have been on the board today). Hopefully, Samir at Taqseem will see this post and help you out. The white glue drops you mentioned on the bottom of the base I think are normal. I have those too. After having owned the Stargate for a few months, I am discovering things about it which could have been done better. The nickel finish is very soft (you mentioned the chips on your stem). I don't know if you could keep the same look and make it tougher when manufacturing the hookah. It would be nice though.The plexiglass threads on the base are going to sh*t on me any day now. I can just tell. This is another thing I would improve on this hookah. Maybe fit it with copper threads or something on the base. I think Yashman19 has used wet paper towels to seal the threads up, and according to him it works. I have tried Teflon tape, but it just comes off too easily because the threads are so big. Maybe plumbers tape? I don't know...I hope you get your situation sorted out through Taqseem. If not, I'm sure the rest of us on the board can come up with some ideas to get your Stargate smoking again. Good luck Brad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioannisds Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 By the way, you're MS Paint of the base is awesome . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 Thanks ioannisds [img]http://hookahforum.com/forum/smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]I put a lot of effort into that piece I'm at work and my coworker looks over her cubicle while I'm in paint and says "WTF are you doing?!" Was pretty funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaqseemHookahs Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hi Guys, I do come and read on here often. I only reply for support though and keep it very low do to the new policies on here I don't want any ideas that we are here for advertisement. And that’s why I stopped even posting new product photos on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 Email sent, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioannisds Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 [img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yashman19 Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Ioannisds, yup, I use wet paper towels on the threads which does seem to work quite well, but I haven't seen these other problems that you guys are getting, such as chipping or the glue spots. Thats really unfortunate because I love the Stargate. Probably just got a bad batch Brad, and like seen above, Taqseem definately cares about their customers so no fear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted January 10, 2006 Share Posted January 10, 2006 Whew!Well done, Taqseem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I had the same problem with my Stargate, as well as a few others. I PM'd Taqseem and sent two emails. In the PM he told me to email him- but the emails were never responded to.The ash tray showed up blemished(part of the finish missing about as large as a dime)The downpipe(part of the stem which extends into the water) was the incorrect size, and of a different thread count that the stem. I have to use the wet paper towel trick to get it to seal.I removed the plexiglass from the base(which leaked terribly) and glued it myself using an industrial plastic/steel epoxy.Many dings/scratches in the finish on one of the stem sections.I was really excited about this hookah and my transaction with Taqseem. Everyone seems to be really pleased with the Stargate, but Taqseem's customer service made me a little bitter. I emailed him about a month or so ago asking him about purchasing another hookah, and suprisingly it was responded to. However it only said they they were sold out of them and sent me a catalog. When I responded asking when it would be availible, shockingly I got no responce. Samir; if you are not handling your own customer service I suggest finding someone else to do it, or take care of things yourself. I'm quite unhappy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I have a Stratus, which I believe is just the stargate with a different name and different color. I had the same problem with the plexiglass and just glued it sealed. I also have white drops in the bottom of my base that I was curious about. I love the look of it, and if anyone ever tries to rob my house while I'm home I look forward to whacking them over the head with it . I also got a couple extra base extension pieces to make it a foot taller. I've had mine for three months and it still smokes like a beast, my only complaint would be the quality of the base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 The Nour Chinese ones with the threaded jars have similar problems, I stopped carrying them for retail customers. Too much crap. I like to stand behind what I sell, so I can't sell problematic equipment. I like being able to say, I've owned and sold 100 Nour Syrian Pipes and I've only ever had one break. When I can sell something nice at a good price, it makes me feel good, like the way other people feel from composing music or painting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HookahDuck Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Cal, where did you buy extra stem extensions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjt486 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 While were at it, I want to vent a bit too. When i got the stargate, all looked great. Unfortunately, only a few months later I have complaints. Leaky vase, for starters. My 2 stem pieces have seized together. The mini stem, going from the neck of the hookah down into the water, is not threaded the same as the hole it screws into. I had to rig this up with some tape to hold in place. The cover for the ball valve, stylish as it is, does not tighten down far enough. Mine is threaded completely down but the ball is able to come out of the hole, yielding a 0 smoke draw.Ive emailed taqseem to no reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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