Vortex Bowl Dissapointment (noobified)

[baumann]

I've been smoking out of a regular bowl (diameter is wider than standard sahara bowls) for a long time and I simply can't get the vortex to work properly. I'm also having trouble with the type of shisha I'm using...so let me describe the setups I've tried.

Old setup (some of the better sessions):
-Sahara small genie with larger stem.
standard non-funnel sahara bowl.
-Packed shisha about midway to top because it would frequently get burnt when I packed to the top.
-Shisha type: typically al-waha, had good sessions with lemon mint fantasia and california dream al-waha.
-Coals: largest quicklight brand that came in the gold foil packages.
-Holes: small, and number of holes relative to size and shape of coal.
-Foil: heavy duty reynolds.
-Hoses: modified with pressure-fitted plastic tubing. They work great.

New setup (without vortex):
-Sahara medium size (old setup with new vase)
-Wider non-funnel bowl.
-Packed shisha the same.
-Sisha type: fantasia, but I am getting tired of spending so much money for so many bad sessions. I recently picked up some al-waha "Fruit's Flavour" and it sucked fat nuts. The smoke was thick but it tasted like absolutely nothing...no wait I lied, it tasted like wood.
-Coals: I recently switched to square coals (Coco or something) and tried 2-3 with the setup described above. Worked okay, but I am HOPING everything will taste better with a different shisha brand.
-Holes, Foil, Hoses: same as above

Sahara Vortex:
wtf...lol I've tried just about every setup described on youtube and none of them are that impressive. Is it simply the shish I'm using? Should I stick with a regular bowl?

Any suggestions on my setups would be helpful. I also want to say that I clean and dry the stem and hoses on a regular basis with water and a brush, so there shouldn't be any problems with rust, shisha buildup, etc. To this date, my best sessions were with california dream, lemon mint, and rasberry lemonade (fantasia), and for these I used my original setup. Should I just not bother with the square coals and vortex bowl anymore? What are the advantages of using a vortex? Thanks for any information. Tobacco suggestions would be nice too

[Zinite]

You're washing your hose with water? Unless it's a Nammor or Razan, that willl cause the metal coil to rust. Might be your problem right there...

Square natural coals are awesome... keep using them.

Most of us use Tangiers Phunnel bowls because the Vortex are notorious for flaws with the holes. A lot of them have the holes too low so that there is no air flow.

[baumann]

nope I made my own hoses from plastic tubing as described and the holes in my vortex are really high. do you think it might just be the tobacco?

[Zinite]

nope I made my own hoses from plastic tubing as described and the holes in my vortex are really high. do you think it might just be the tobacco?

Unlikely. I don't have a vortex, but hopefully someone who does can give you some good advice.

[Bye bye now have fun]

watch my video in teh howto when i used the vortex thats how i used it. it smoked great, minus tangiers

[Sahara Smoke Co]

You're washing your hose with water? Unless it's a Nammor or Razan, that willl cause the metal coil to rust. Might be your problem right there...

Square natural coals are awesome... keep using them.

Most of us use Tangiers Phunnel bowls because the Vortex are notorious for flaws with the holes. A lot of them have the holes too low so that there is no air flow.

We've cleared up all issues with Vortex bowl hole placement, our current stock all have holes on top of the spire.

[redrum10498]

I had a similar problem with a vortex bowl. Are you only poking holes through the foil?

If you poke the holes through the foil and all the way down through the shisha until you touch the bowl, you will allow more airflow through the shisha, creating more smoke.

worked for me.

[jhanzair]

If you can get some Nakhla (it's usually pretty cheap and can be found anywhere locally) and try with that, you could see if it was the shisha. With Nakhla you can screw-up heat management and packing and still get a decent smoke.