Question about holes in the foil

[Smashraj84]

Hey all,From what I've seen people put anywhere between 8-20 holes in their foil.  I was just wondering, do you want to make enough holes so that some are covered by charcoal and some are bringing in fresh air, or make only enough so all holes are covered by charcoal at all times or what?

[HookahCaterpillar]

i cover the entire bowl with holes. its good to have extra holes around the coal.

[Smashraj84]

[quote name='HookahCaterpillar']i cover the entire bowl with holes. its good to have extra holes around the coal.[/quote]So you do want some holes to be bringing in fresh air?How many holes do you use?

[gunsboy]

 
There some interesting links about this topic .. Some people have cool patterns too, search for it in this forum
[url="http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2684&KW=holes"] http://www.hookahforum.com/forum/forum_pos...asp?TID=2684&am[/url] p;KW=holes

[yashman19]

You want to cover the entire bowl with holes because when the time
comes to ash your coals and then put them back onto the bowl, you want
to rotate them and put them in a new location on your bowl. If you keep
your coals in one spot, you arn't going to get a nice, even burn and
end up wasting a lot of your tobacco.

I make about 40-45 holes on my bowl using a push-pin. This is what
works best for me, but everyone will vary a little bit. Just keep
trying different patterns and try using different things to make holes,
and you will eventually come across something that works best for you.

[HookahCaterpillar]

Exactly what yash said. The air intake is all done with the air valve
on the side of your hookah not with the holes on the bowl. I dont keep
count but I use a thumbtack because in my opinion the smaller the holes
the better and cover the bowls with holes so im guessing 80-100 holes.
Next time i pack a bowl i will count and let you know.I usually go in a
spiral starting in the center but thats just because im weird 
a pattern is not important but you do want the holes spaced apart dont
just go frantically stabbing the hell out of your foil and poking a
hole in the same place as you already poked one if you know what im
saying. 

[dizzing]

i'd like to point out that the "air valve" on the side of the hookah seems like a marketing myth to me.  it must be noted that when you're hitting, it is completely sealed due to the ball bearing inside.  no air is coming in.  The only air entering your chamber comes directly from the bowl, down the shaft.  there are a lot of things to keep in mind about holes.  bigger holes mean you get better airflow, and a better smoke.  these also let more ash and crap get in to the tobacco, which can smother it and lead to horrible taste.  smaller holes are resistant to ash getting in, but are prone to clogging when ash gets on them.  this leads to NO airflow, so that's bad too.  i'd say the best thing to do is just poke a bunch of medium/large holes all over the dang thing. maybe don't put any around the very edges, to keep ash out of the sides of the bowl.  that just so happens to be the pattern found on most screens, go figure.  really, the more you try and design a weird pattern, the more things will probably cancel out or even backfire.  just poke a bunch of holes and get on with it

[KBlack]

Think about it. If air came in from the "air valve" when you hit, the
pressure in the smoke chamber would not change, so air would not come
from the stem, so no bubbles/no smoke. But the valve has its use
though: it prevents water from going up in the stem if you happen to
blow in the hose, as pressure is evacuated because of the ball bearing.
Also, it serves to evacuate some smoke if one finds it is too thick,
but to me, the thicker the better.

[ghunfrytimma]

hole pattern is all in preference..i mean obviously you dont want one hole or 400 holes....but id definitly make use of the search engine on this topic and im sure you'll be able to find more than enough answers to your question....

[Sonthert]

The air is only to maintain airflow and make it easier to hit. The foil theoretically keeps the charcoal off of the tobacco and improve the heat transfer. Well actually, it really does keep the charcoal off the tobacco. I use 80-100 holes the size of a mm or so.