Colossal Hookah, Zero Smoke? Help Needed :(

[zoleman]

Ok, so im stuck here and desperatly need some help with my hookah. My prob is that i have an iranian style hookah and im totally at a loss at how to squeeze some smoke out of it. It looks exactly like the one on the following picture, just smaller a bit and different coloring.

http://hookahcompany.com/images_products/671_big.jpg

Asked around with friends, some of them said I need to put more tobacco in it and use even more coal, but that did not seem to work either. The problem is that all im am getting is that the top of the tobacco burning, but the rest does not even heat up properly, not to mention produce any smoke at all. It is not touching the alufoil (did at my first go, learned from that mistake) but tobacco still burns too fast, in a couple of minutes actually. There are absolutely no air leaks in it, and water level does not seem to affect it either (tried with more and less water also). I even went so low as to try and browse youtube for a solution, but ppl seem to have egyptian hookas most of the time, none iranian that i came across. On a sidenote, i did manage to somehow get it smoking like a train on my first go, but been unabl to reproduce that sadly for months now. Btw, im using wet tobacco (*el hennawy* is the vendor), not the dry ones. And for charcoal its the quicklight one (donno vendor sadly, but according to a friend its a pretty good one).

So now im at a loss. Any and all help is appreciated. Got this hookah as a gift from a friend of mine who bought it in Teheran, so i realy wanna get it fired up now.

Thanks in advance

[Tati]

What kind of hole pattern are you using and where are you putting the coal?

[antouwan]

Ok, so im stuck here and desperatly need some help with my hookah. My prob is that i have an iranian style hookah and im totally at a loss at how to squeeze some smoke out of it. It looks exactly like the one on the following picture, just smaller a bit and different coloring.

http://hookahcompany.com/images_products/671_big.jpg

Asked around with friends, some of them said I need to put more tobacco in it and use even more coal, but that did not seem to work either. The problem is that all im am getting is that the top of the tobacco burning, but the rest does not even heat up properly, not to mention produce any smoke at all. It is not touching the alufoil (did at my first go, learned from that mistake) but tobacco still burns too fast, in a couple of minutes actually. There are absolutely no air leaks in it, and water level does not seem to affect it either (tried with more and less water also). I even went so low as to try and browse youtube for a solution, but ppl seem to have egyptian hookas most of the time, none iranian that i came across. On a sidenote, i did manage to somehow get it smoking like a train on my first go, but been unabl to reproduce that sadly for months now. Btw, im using wet tobacco (*el hennawy* is the vendor), not the dry ones. And for charcoal its the quicklight one (donno vendor sadly, but according to a friend its a pretty good one).

So now im at a loss. Any and all help is appreciated. Got this hookah as a gift from a friend of mine who bought it in Teheran, so i realy wanna get it fired up now.

Thanks in advance

the tobacco used for those is not at all a 'wet' tobacco. if you notice, the bowls/heads for iranian style nargiles are metal, while those on syrian/egyptian models are clay. the meal heats up the wet tobaccos too quickly resulting in harshness and poor smoke.

why you aren't getting any smoke at all, i have no idea - you're saying there aren't any leaks but that seems to be the only problem i can think of; did you look for leaks in the hose? take off the bowl and put your thumb on the opening where the bowl should go and try to take a drag, if you hear any bubbling, something isn't air tight. for more advice you need to be more descriptive and posting pictures will never hurt...

my suggestion: buy and egyptian hookah

[K1024]

Ok, so im stuck here and desperatly need some help with my hookah. My prob is that i have an iranian style hookah and im totally at a loss at how to squeeze some smoke out of it. It looks exactly like the one on the following picture, just smaller a bit and different coloring.

http://hookahcompany.com/images_products/671_big.jpg

Asked around with friends, some of them said I need to put more tobacco in it and use even more coal, but that did not seem to work either. The problem is that all im am getting is that the top of the tobacco burning, but the rest does not even heat up properly, not to mention produce any smoke at all. It is not touching the alufoil (did at my first go, learned from that mistake) but tobacco still burns too fast, in a couple of minutes actually. There are absolutely no air leaks in it, and water level does not seem to affect it either (tried with more and less water also). I even went so low as to try and browse youtube for a solution, but ppl seem to have egyptian hookas most of the time, none iranian that i came across. On a sidenote, i did manage to somehow get it smoking like a train on my first go, but been unabl to reproduce that sadly for months now. Btw, im using wet tobacco (*el hennawy* is the vendor), not the dry ones. And for charcoal its the quicklight one (donno vendor sadly, but according to a friend its a pretty good one).

So now im at a loss. Any and all help is appreciated. Got this hookah as a gift from a friend of mine who bought it in Teheran, so i realy wanna get it fired up now.

Thanks in advance

the tobacco used for those is not at all a 'wet' tobacco. if you notice, the bowls/heads for iranian style nargiles are metal, while those on syrian/egyptian models are clay. the meal heats up the wet tobaccos too quickly resulting in harshness and poor smoke.

why you aren't getting any smoke at all, i have no idea - you're saying there aren't any leaks but that seems to be the only problem i can think of; did you look for leaks in the hose? take off the bowl and put your thumb on the opening where the bowl should go and try to take a drag, if you hear any bubbling, something isn't air tight. for more advice you need to be more descriptive and posting pictures will never hurt...

my suggestion: buy and egyptian hookah

if you put your thumb on the bowl, and can pull air through at all there is leaks.

[zoleman]

Thanks for the fast reply.
Well about the leaks, i checked it thoroughly and there is none. Tried the hose, tried the body too, and it does not leak. I plugged up those loose points when i first used it, since then i always check for leaks when i get it out of the box. I took the head off, sealed the hole with my thumb and began to blow. I stopped after a few seconds when i started getting dizzy coz there was no air or bubbling. Im pretty sure that it does not leak. Well actually there IS a little bit of smoke, but thats less than a cigarette :S Plus for some reason the smoke doesnt even build up in the bottom like it did first time (dont ask how i managed it then, i cant reproduce or even get near that since). Cant post pics till after easter coz my camera is not with me atm, but gonna give few pics next week (plus i wasnt joking, my hookah is EXACTLY like the one on the picture, aside from the coloring)

About the hole pattern, well i tried circular and random, neither seems to work. I have put holes only below the coal and tried by having some holes that are not under the coal (thus having cool air flowing in, thought its the too hot air burning the tobacco, i was wrong thou coz it did not make a difference)
edit* Im putting the coal in the middle usually, and tried putting several on the sides too, same result, burnt tobacco, terrible taste and less smoke than a cigarette.

I also know that the iranian hookas are usually used with dry instead of *molasses* (or what the heck the name is, it says here on the package that this is molasses type , but im not realy into trying hardcore stuff yet so i left the dry one for later. Yes it is a metal head, and its damn hot too, at the sides the tobacco gets burnt fast, but the rest does not seem to be heating up properly.



Is it perhaps possible that im using way too few coal? Tried it with 3, but same result, top gets burnt, rest doesnt even start to get warm. And the taste...... i could use it to torture ppl if the need arises.

Im open to any suggestions, thou i already tried a lot of the usual *troubleshooting-type* tips. My guess is that the hookah is OK, its just that i REALY cant make it work as it should (aside from a one-time lucky accident). If anyone had any experience with iranian hookahs, a few tips would be realy appreciated.


PS: I did think about getting an egyptian head, but i do wanna make this one work too if possible somehow. Edited April 10, 2009 by zoleman

[liquidglass]

well if all else has passed the air test.

*just double check the purge valve

*make sure your hose (where it connects to the stem) and your bowl are both AIRTIGHT where they connect to the hookah.
- especially the bowl b/c if the rest is air tight then that's your problem.

* Also make sure after you pack your bowl the foil is tight, if you blow through the bottom of your bowl after you pack it (before you poke holes) if you have lots of air coming from the sides of the foil then you need to try again.



Pics would help if you have a camera

[Zinite]

Buy a different bowl

[K1024]

when you take a pull off of the hookah without the bowl on...does it bubble? (i mean suck not blow)
if it does, then if you cap the top where the bowl would go, is there suction?


i realize this request seems silly, but there was another guy with a wooden hookah on here not to long ago...his hookah was literally built wrong, and we spent a couple weeks trying to figure out what was wrong till he posted pictures and i noticed that his hose port connected to his downstem for some reason...not saying thats you, but this situation is very weird at best.

this seems especially true, when you say that it smoked really well once. obviously if it smoked well once, then it should at least make smoke the second time yes? Edited April 11, 2009 by K1024

[zoleman]

when you take a pull off of the hookah without the bowl on...does it bubble? (i mean suck not blow)
if it does, then if you cap the top where the bowl would go, is there suction?


i realize this request seems silly, but there was another guy with a wooden hookah on here not to long ago...his hookah was literally built wrong, and we spent a couple weeks trying to figure out what was wrong till he posted pictures and i noticed that his hose port connected to his downstem for some reason...not saying thats you, but this situation is very weird at best.

this seems especially true, when you say that it smoked really well once. obviously if it smoked well once, then it should at least make smoke the second time yes?

To answer the first few lines, well yes, itt bubbles without the bowl on, and when i remove the bowl and plug it with my thumb, than its airtight and cant suck any air out and also bubbling stops. So my guess is its airtight.

To the other tip, well i did search around even before i wrote the topic, and my guess is that you mean http://www.hookahforum.com/?showtopic=28746 this particular dude. If yes than my hose connects exactly the same way, but that does not seem like a big deal since the hookah looks like this, i edited the pic to show the airway inside. [attachment=3395:untitled_1.jpg]


So im guessing that the structure is not the problem here. I could be wrong thou. But i have a feeling it has to do something with the bowl rather. More specifically with how im packing it and how i *should* be packing it. :S

[thecyrax]

Actually in Iran they use that exact hookah in the majority of hookah bars.
Those are the hookahs they use for moassel (the sticky, fruity, molasses shisha you're used to)
They have a separate type of larger hookahs used for Tombac altogether.

I have one of those hookahs and the way Iranians smoke from them is they use a tiny bit of shisha (5-10gm max) at the far bottom of the bowl (very shallow) and pile about a handful of coals on top of the foil.

Probably the best smoke/taste I've ever had from hookah is a product of this method, however sessions last 30 min max.

[zoleman]

Damn, this might just be it! I do remember having used only a bit of tobacco when it somehow got me enough smoke. I'm not going to be able to try it that way till next week, but friend, you might have just solved my dilemma.
Gonna post on monday how i managed with it. Again, thank you.

[delSol_si]

I took the head off, sealed the hole with my thumb and began to blow.

Could be wrong as I have never used that kinda of hookah, but on mine, I suck, not blow. If there is water in the vase and you blow, air will come out the check valve, if you plug that, you shouldn't be able to blow ie.putting your finger over the bowl hole shouldn't make a difference when blowing. Also, I probably don't know what I am talking about, but I have always noticed when I am packing the shisha, if I make sure and pack it as lightly as possible (density, not mass), it smokes better than when i really pack it in there tight. I usually just drop the shisha in the bowl and get it a VERY light tap tap taperoo just to get it level. Edited April 12, 2009 by delSol_si

[delSol_si]

The head is packed broken up and stacked high. The coals are then placed directly on the tombeik.

Not sure what the hell a tombeik is, but I am starting to think you are supposed to put the coals directly on the baccy? Or maybe you are supposed to place the coals on that disc thing right under where you put the baccy(so the coals sit directly next/under to the bowl, most likely touching the sides of the bowl). This would make it so the coals head up the sides of your bowl, which would in turn heat the shisha. Being metal bowl, it sounds logical. Sounds like this would solve your problem of burning the top layer of shisha and the rest not getting touched. Of course, if you try this method, I don't think you you would want to put foil on it. If you don't understand what I am trying to say, I can draw it out and post it.

[zoleman]

Here's a reply as promised on this topic. Managed to get some shisha yesterday, packed the bowl the way Thecyrax suggested, and only used a tiny bit of stuff at the bottom of the bowl. Well, the difference was like day and night. The hookah started smoking quite good after 2-3 minutes. It still isn't a steam-train, but far better than what i achieved yet. Still any tips on how to increase smoke output are welcome.


Thanks again for the help guys, im on the right track now.

[Canon]

windcover, if you have one use it, if not then wrap foil around the top of the bowl where it looks like this


| . . . . .|
| . . . . .| <-foil
|_____|
| . . . . .|
\ . . . . / <--bowl