Odd Man Out?

[Sus]

So I've been smoking for about 3 years, bought mine about 2 years ago, but I feel like no one else uses rotating hookahs.

The bad news: I broke my base (which isn't really the base since it sits in the middle...) but yeah, it's gone, so I'm on a solid base one of my friends til i can find a replacement piece (hopefully the one i ordered fits (on a side note there are no emoticons for crossing your fingers)). I just constantly worry about toppling the lil loaner over (read the post of the dude who bured his floor... my lil brother burned 1/2 way through a coffee table when he didn't notice a coal fell).

But yeah, I guess I'm kinda curious if there's some stigma out there about my poor lil rotator?

[mushrat]

i agree with stuie. They have too many moving parts to go wrong and ive heard they tend to tip etc....

[Sus]

really i'm having more problems with the regular base and tipping, though i suppose it's what you get used to.

also for the sticking thing... do you mean the glass base gets stuck to the metal (rotating) base? or the rotating base sticks and stops spinning?

cause some wd-40 about every 6 months = fixed =D


and yeah, that's where I've ordered from, though i've also asked at shisha-hookah and smokinghookah .com's


ps, any tips (other than those rubber base things) to help the tipping situation? duct tape is the current, but then it's a hastle to move around / change water

[peterjmag]

I have a medium-sized rotator (or rather, my old roommate that's now in the Navy owns it and gave it to me while he's gone). Honestly, I think they're just not very well built, because almost every part of the stem (the hose port in particular) is falling apart. It really only lasted about a year before it started to give up the ghost. However, that could just be because we were new at the whole hookah thing when he got it, so it was probably abused a bit.

And yes, they tend to tip really easily.

[Stuie]

I am talking the base gets stuck to the top stem. If you do a search on the forum it's a common problem with rotators. You have to flip the hookah upside down to empty the water and fill it up from the top of the stem. Usually at that people people end up breaking the base trying to get it off and order a new one.

[SimplexCoda]

really i'm having more problems with the regular base and tipping, though i suppose it's what you get used to.

also for the sticking thing... do you mean the glass base gets stuck to the metal (rotating) base? or the rotating base sticks and stops spinning?

cause some wd-40 about every 6 months = fixed =D


and yeah, that's where I've ordered from, though i've also asked at shisha-hookah and smokinghookah .com's


ps, any tips (other than those rubber base things) to help the tipping situation? duct tape is the current, but then it's a hastle to move around / change water

No what he means is that when you skrew the downstem into the base all too often you cant unskrew it to change water.

[inino]

ya sorry, but im gonna have to say rotators are not good. i have never seen one that isnt chinese, and the the whole not being able to twist it apart is a problem. for some reason they tend to mold up too if you leave the water in the vase overnight.

WD40 just doesnt sound like a good idea either. i wouldnt want those kinds of chemicals getting into my body.

[ryno]

I honestly like rotators. Apro has one, and its perfect for when we have alot of people smoking. Much more sturdy than my KM... what rotators are you guys using?

[shisha fan]

i own two rotators and i`ve never had a problem with either one of them. it is true however that they can be slightly off axis (which shouldn`t be a problem, unless its a 40 inch model). also, the hose port and stem are very wide and the draw is effortless with a nammor hose.

i think hookah-shisha and hookahcompany sell replacement bases for them.

[Sus]

http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic.php?u=20439ILIRb&i=1119893


ok, tried to find one that looked most like mine. the base is like 7 - 8 inches in diameter and weighs about 5 pounds.

the #'s are so there are reference points, and i added some comments with them.

if people try to clean it without separating the base (glass) from 3 and 4, it's a little silly, when you do it, you can fit your hand in and clean it out with ease.

NEVER had an issue with it tipping, it'd get up on a side if you pulled it far, then the base would rotate closer and it'd stand back upright. generally your coal would fall off if you did this though and i wouldn't recommend trying to tip it over, but that's with any hookah =p

[shisha fan]

there should be a gommet between the joints at #1, so that might be your problem. you could temporarily fix this with some wet paper towels.

edit: nevermind, i see your problem is the fact that it tips over easily. you could try bending it very carefully if the foot of the hookah is off axis (that worked with my 26 inch rotator)

[Sus]

no no, i never have a problem with mine tipping, it's a 30 inch i think, but well balanced. and i've already visited hookah-shisha.com for a replacement, but mine was from a local store, so the question is if the thread is the proper size.

but yeah, i'm lookin' for what the stigma about rotators is... the tipping thing? i call myth

[shisha fan]

but yeah, i'm lookin' for what the stigma about rotators is... the tipping thing? i call myth

everybody seems to have their own opinion about that. but i`ve personally never had that happen to me. i love my rotators, and like you said the base is easy to clean due to the fact that it doesn`t have a "neck" like the base for a non-rotating hookah.

unfortunately i can`t clarify anything about the threads on the base because i don`t think there is a standardized size, but a vendor that sells them might be able to shed some light on that.

[Tom1]

I have an "old school rotator" from H-S, The metal stand is really wide so it's never tipped. The glass did get stuck in the base though, it shattered trying to get it out. H-S replaced it, but one of the welds gave out on the stem so its retired until i can find a fix.

[melanko]

I have a 26 inch rotator myself. Let's just say I only use my KM anymore.

[inino]

they also come apart in too many places. more seals, more leaks.

[Revenant357]

and they dont hold up too well when thrown from an apartment balcony by your pissed off G/F

[erufiku]

I have to admit that I've never smoked from a rotator hookah... but wouldn't putting my KM on a lazy susan amount to the exact same thing? Just a random question mind you.

[shisha fan]

but wouldn't putting my KM on a lazy susan amount to the exact same thing? Just a random question mind you.

yes it would. and some people have already done that, i think there is a topic about it in the how to section.

[TizaNabi]

I have one rotator out of my regular hookahs. I always need to keep one eye out to make sure it won't tip.

[thehelios]

My rotator was my first and still my favorite (that might change if this Mya mini acrylic somehow beats it).

Mine rotates perfectly and has NEVER EVER tipped over. The vase is at widest 5 in. and the rotator base is 6 1/2 in. across. This thing has been smoked a lot and is amazing.

Really seems like I lucked out with a very well made rotator.

[Toxik916]

I bought my 3 hose rotator from H-S without doing any research first and I must say I made a bad decision. I like the the rotating part but three hoses was a horrible mistake. Oh well for a first hookah it served me well and I had some great times with it but three hoses on a rotator is pointless. Does anyone know if H-S will sell me just a one hose stem for it?

[mbeck]

I have to say I am surprised at how much people dislike rotator hookahs. We have had a lot of experience with them and it has been nothing but good.Then again our rotators are made in Egypt so maybe thats why the quality is better, but who knows maybe we have just been lucky in our experience.

To each their own I guess.

*On a side note we have never had a rotator hookah returned or complained about.

Regards,
Mike
Hookah Life

[mattathayde]

i have a rotator and i like the way it smokes (i have h-s lunar rotator). as a design it is fine but the quality of the materials and the tolerances of the pieces suck.

if it was made from higher quality metals and the tolerances were made to good tolerance it would be perfect.

i dont think it tips very easily, the only times ive had tip overs have been from some one pulling the hose and another time from it not being on even, level ground, which would knock over almost any hookah except a shorter one that has a rather wide base.

that being said i just ordered a small mya acrylic so its easier to transport and has less pieces to take apart to clean, along with the stick in type seal as apposed to the set the grommet and screw down which has given me a little trouble with getting a bad replacement hose hub

-matt

[srawas89]

The rotators I have seen seem to work just fine and if or when they tip they were designed to keep the base from ever hitting the ground by having a wide area up near where the bowl is but than again they were rotating hookahs with ice buckets.