Hookah Trouble

[CMP]

Hey guys.
Me and my friends have had a hookah/shisha for a long time now(Im still not sure if they are the same thing. I dont live in the USA and my mother language is spanish, so Im not so familiar with the name you guys use) Anyway, its the traditional hookah/shisha device.

The problem is that recenlty it just stopped working. When you try to draw smoke, nothing comes out. The coal is properly lit, and the tobaco is well placed. We have sit for about 1 hour trying to draw smoke, but it never comes out. Sometimes a tiny bit comes out, but all of the sudden it stops.

We already cleaned everything in a nearly compulsive way, so we are 100% sure there is nothing jammed on the pipes or the hose.
The only problem I can think of is the clay container where the tobaco is placed, or the tobaco itself.

The reason I believe this is because when one draws air through the hose, but with said container not on the shisha, air flows perfectly through the shisha. There are no air leaks or nothing.

Another reason because I believe it is either said clay container or the tobacco itself is that if the coal (Lit of course) is placed on top of the clay thing full of well-placed tobacco (With the aluminium tray between the coal and the tobacco of course) and one draws smoke directly from the clay thing, no smoke comes out, just hot air with some of the flavor of the tobacco.

Could anyone help me please?

[willbb123]

So what happens when you take a pull? do you get air, or nothing at all?


Its really weird that the hookah would just stop working.

[willbb123]

What happens when you take off the bowl (the clay thing)? Does it work normally?

[CMP]

What happens when you take off the bowl (the clay thing)? Does it work normally?

Yep, if I draw from the hose without the bowl (He, Im really learning some new names here) air goes through the shisha with no problems.
If I place the bowl with the tobacco and lit coal, air still flows perfectly, but no smoke, just some of the flavor the tobacco is supposed to have.

This is another one of the reasons I think the main problem could be either the tobacco or the bowl..

[willbb123]

what kind of bowl do you have? Is there something blocking the airflow in the bowl? Are you packing the tobacco too tight?

[Zyram]

What happens when you take off the bowl (the clay thing)? Does it work normally?

Yep, if I draw from the hose without the bowl (He, Im really learning some new names here) air goes through the shisha with no problems.
If I place the bowl with the tobacco and lit coal, air still flows perfectly, but no smoke, just some of the flavor the tobacco is supposed to have.

This is another one of the reasons I think the main problem could be either the tobacco or the bowl..

If you recently switched tobacco types, some take more heat than others. I have to heat some tobaccos with multiple coals for good smoke, and some tobacco's can get smoke with just one, but when I need to add more heat, I get the same thing you seem to be experiencing. Try adding one more coal and see if the smoke doesn't start coming then. If not, maybe it's the bowl but I can't think of anything that could be wrong with a bowl that wouldn't be immediately noticeable (if it's broken, you should see a break no?). That's all I can think of, heat management!

-Zyram

[CMP]

What happens when you take off the bowl (the clay thing)? Does it work normally?

Yep, if I draw from the hose without the bowl (He, Im really learning some new names here) air goes through the shisha with no problems.
If I place the bowl with the tobacco and lit coal, air still flows perfectly, but no smoke, just some of the flavor the tobacco is supposed to have.

This is another one of the reasons I think the main problem could be either the tobacco or the bowl..

If you recently switched tobacco types, some take more heat than others. I have to heat some tobaccos with multiple coals for good smoke, and some tobacco's can get smoke with just one, but when I need to add more heat, I get the same thing you seem to be experiencing. Try adding one more coal and see if the smoke doesn't start coming then. If not, maybe it's the bowl but I can't think of anything that could be wrong with a bowl that wouldn't be immediately noticeable (if it's broken, you should see a break no?). That's all I can think of, heat management!

-Zyram

The problem is that the bowl has room for only 1 coal. You mean placing two coals at once, or switching when the first one gets cooler??
I dont know if its the heat, because we spent around an hour trying to heat the tobacco, pulling air and switching coals.

If it helps, the tobacco we are using is Nakhla Orange flavored tobacco, which spent around 18 hours in a plane when it was being taken here from Germany by a friend of mine.

I will try buying some new tobacco from my local shop and see if it works.

[Johnny_D]

Two words.

Purge Valve. It's stuck.

when you blow on the hookah you can normally purge smoke through the stem base (normally opposite the position of where the hose connects to the stem).

Unscrew it. Clean it. Smoke

JD

[Zyram]

What happens when you take off the bowl (the clay thing)? Does it work normally?

Yep, if I draw from the hose without the bowl (He, Im really learning some new names here) air goes through the shisha with no problems.
If I place the bowl with the tobacco and lit coal, air still flows perfectly, but no smoke, just some of the flavor the tobacco is supposed to have.

This is another one of the reasons I think the main problem could be either the tobacco or the bowl..

If you recently switched tobacco types, some take more heat than others. I have to heat some tobaccos with multiple coals for good smoke, and some tobacco's can get smoke with just one, but when I need to add more heat, I get the same thing you seem to be experiencing. Try adding one more coal and see if the smoke doesn't start coming then. If not, maybe it's the bowl but I can't think of anything that could be wrong with a bowl that wouldn't be immediately noticeable (if it's broken, you should see a break no?). That's all I can think of, heat management!

-Zyram

The problem is that the bowl has room for only 1 coal. You mean placing two coals at once, or switching when the first one gets cooler??
I dont know if its the heat, because we spent around an hour trying to heat the tobacco, pulling air and switching coals.

If it helps, the tobacco we are using is Nakhla Orange flavored tobacco, which spent around 18 hours in a plane when it was being taken here from Germany by a friend of mine.

I will try buying some new tobacco from my local shop and see if it works.

So it's a very small bowl and the larger coals? Try breaking your coals into peices and setting them on the edge of the bowl. Also, try more holes in the foil, and if you have one, put a windscreen over your bowl. Really and truly it sounds to me like you need more heat if there are no leaks in the hookah. I often use a windscreen at the beginning of a session to help heat up the bowl and get the smoke going, then I take it off for a while, usually put it back on at the end of a session to help the last of the coals go longer. So, break your coal up (more surface area = more heat) and use a windscreen if at all possible, get that tobacco heated well and see if you get some good smoke. Also, yes, try some different tobacco, let us know what brand, someone on this forum will know if that tobacco takes more or less heat. We'll help you get back to smokin' asap.

-Zyram

[Zyram]

Two words.

Purge Valve. It's stuck.

when you blow on the hookah you can normally purge smoke through the stem base (normally opposite the position of where the hose connects to the stem).

Unscrew it. Clean it. Smoke

JD

I've had my purge valve stuck before but I could still get smoke from the hookah, can it affect your pull if the purge is stuck?

-Z

[CMP]

Two words.

Purge Valve. It's stuck.

when you blow on the hookah you can normally purge smoke through the stem base (normally opposite the position of where the hose connects to the stem).

Unscrew it. Clean it. Smoke

JD

I've had my purge valve stuck before but I could still get smoke from the hookah, can it affect your pull if the purge is stuck?

-Z

We cleaned the purge valve before trying, and no smoke came out.

I now believe it is indeed heat control. The bowl we use is not that small, and when we center the coal in the middle of the bowl, there is still some room for half coal on each side.

Also, this is the first time we use a different brand of tobacco, and the first time we get trouble. I read the pinned topic on this very same section, and learned some very useful things on how to place 2 or more coals or how to split them.

The tobacco we are using does not seem to be dry, so that cannot be the problem. The shisha is air tight, and now incredibly clean. It is not jammed, and the bowl is not cracked/broken or jammed.

So yeah, that leaves us with only the heating problem. I will try putting more coal and the windscreen, as we never use it lol.

Thanks for the advise guys. I now see myself taking big puffs out of it with my friends on a party my friend is having for his birthday.

[Priapus]

do you have enough holes in the foil? are the holes really small??

[CMP]

do you have enough holes in the foil? are the holes really small??

We tried both a tray and foil.
I punched a lot of holes in it with a big one in the middle.

Either way, it didnt worked with the tray neither the foil.

As I said, Im pretty sure its the heat, as the shisha is diamond clean, not jammed, not broken, and it was just until we switched to another brand of tobacco that we got this problem.

Another hint that it is the heat control is that we tried placing the coal directly on top of the tobacco (Pretty stupid of course, but it was to see if something came out) and we got huge puffs of smoke, but with a horrible burnt taste lol.

[billy]

Got enough water in the base? and is your hose clean and fitted in properly?

[CMP]

Got enough water in the base? and is your hose clean and fitted in properly?

Yep. The whole shisha is assembled correctly, the hose is fitted all the way in. Air flows perfectly through the shisha.

The water level is about 1/2 centimeter above the bottom end of the stem.

Again, Im 90% sure it is the heat concentration

[Johnny_D]

Two words.

Purge Valve. It's stuck.

when you blow on the hookah you can normally purge smoke through the stem base (normally opposite the position of where the hose connects to the stem).

Unscrew it. Clean it. Smoke

JD

I've had my purge valve stuck before but I could still get smoke from the hookah, can it affect your pull if the purge is stuck?

-Z

Of course it does! If it's stuck in the open position your just sucking air with a teeny amount of smoke

they can close in BOTH positions

[freezerburn456]

look at the purge valve, its the thing sticking out of the stem on the other side of where you put the hose. look in there to see if you can see a little ball bearing. if there isnt one you can simply plug the purge with a piece of foil that you force into the hole. or you can generally get a BB from a BB gun and use that for a while.

[Johnny_D]

look at the purge valve, its the thing sticking out of the stem on the other side of where you put the hose. look in there to see if you can see a little ball bearing. if there isnt one you can simply plug the purge with a piece of foil that you force into the hole. or you can generally get a BB from a BB gun and use that for a while.

Yer, I wonder if he has lost the ball bearing when cleaning it... Good call FB456

[momatik]

Sounds strange.

The missing ball bearing is a good point.

Other than that. You may be packing the shisha/tobacco too tight.

Here is a good check:

1- Pack your bowl
2- Put the foil on top. Poke the holes.
3- Now blow into the bowl from the bottom part where you connect the bowl to the stem. The air should pass through pretty easily. You should feel a little bit of obstruction, but it should not be too difficult to blow through.

Other than that, you're probably right about heat management.

[CMP]

Nah, the ball bearing is there. We where extra careful not to loose this part. Being it somewhat rusty, we have decided to swap it with a BB anyway.

We will be smoking some shisha next week on this party my friend is having, and Ill keep in mind everything I have learned thanks to you guys.

The only problems that can be affecting this matter are:
1. Heat management: I will put more coal and a wind screen next time.
2. Packing the tobacco too tight, above mentioned. I will make sure the tobacco is well pressed, but will make sure there is good airflow in the bowl.

Thanks again everyone.

[leadpipecinch21]

do you have all your grommets(the little rubber pieces that go in between all the connections)?

[CMP]

do you have all your grommets(the little rubber pieces that go in between all the connections)?

Yep. As said before, the shisha is in tip-top shape.

Only problems that make sense are the ones I specified in one of my previous post (Heat regulation or how I packed the bowl)

[joytron]

forgot the bowl grommet? maybe the bowl isnt on tight enough so you are not getting air flow? good luck