oscarhenson Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 At the moment, I have an unbranded Hookah... about 19", cost me about £20 ($30) - not too bad, not too good. I use the bowl and pipe and everything that came with it. I wash the washable parts after every other use. It doesn't have any leaks or anything. I pack my bowl fine and use 2 or 3 good coals and top brands like Al Fakher, and I fill the water up so the bottom of the funnel is submerged by about an inch, yet the taste is always slightly generic and not that strong, and the smoke doesn't make those big clouds I see in all the videos.I was just wondering if I just basically need to get a better set up, like a KM, or if there's something you could suggest I might be doing wrong. Because I've seen people get better results on just as crappy set ups so...Thanks for your help in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 what flavour of AF are you smoking? not all their flavours are good and strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarhenson Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 well it's not just AF... the main ones i've been smoking are:AF MangoAF Double AppleEl Nakhla CherryEl Nakhla Sweet MelonNaklha Mixed Fruits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcbayern Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 we need more information to answer your question..What type of bowl and how are you packing it? Are you using foil? What is the hole pattern like?U said your using 2-3 good coals.. what coals are good coals? are they quick lights?Do you use a windcover?Pictures would really help.. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinamon Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 are you using 2-3 coals at the same time? what type of coals?you might be using way too much heat and burning the crap out of the tobacco which is causing it all to taste the same (burnt). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarhenson Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 it's a glazed bowl, i'm packing it quite tight but not too tight that it restricts the airflow. I'm piercing about 12 holes around the outside of the foil and then a couple of holes in the middle, and using like 2 swift-lite coals to start it off around the outside, moving them about and then breaking them in half and varying the heat if it starts to die down or get a little harsh. I don't think I'm burning it because it never feels really harsh or tastes of burning, and the tobacco's never charred when i open it up again. And yeah, I'm using a windcover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mndgame Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Does the base fill up with smoke so that you cant or can barely see the stem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarhenson Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 it gets quite smokey, but not really enough of it. it doesnt get full up, no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcbayern Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 OK It sounds like you got everything going pretty well. Have you smoked another pipe to compare yours to? Also I find that there is a direct relationship between cloud size, heat, and flavor. For instance I find the more heat I put on a bowl the bigger the clouds I get, but after a certain point I begin to get less flavor, Once that happens I know I'm using too much heat.Side note, I have never gotten really great clouds from AF.. the nicest clouds and flavor for me comes from Starbuzz. To get decent clouds from AF I usually add a little bit of honey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarhenson Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 yeah, i've smoked a bigger one in a lounge and it had a much more distinct taste and bigger clouds... it was Nakhla I think.do you think that getting a better pipe, maybe a KM one, would give me significantly better results all round? because other than size and look they must have huge benefits over a cheap pipe, surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_cool Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 QUOTE (oscarhenson @ Apr 14 2009, 09:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>it's a glazed bowl, i'm packing it quite tight but not too tight that it restricts the airflow. I'm piercing about 12 holes around the outside of the foil and then a couple of holes in the middle, and using like 2 swift-lite coals to start it off around the outside, moving them about and then breaking them in half and varying the heat if it starts to die down or get a little harsh. I don't think I'm burning it because it never feels really harsh or tastes of burning, and the tobacco's never charred when i open it up again. And yeah, I'm using a windcover.Do you mean you are putting just one ring of holes on the outer rim of the bowl + the few in the middle? Usually, on standard egyptian clay bowls, I've always put holes all over the bowl, evenly spaced. Use the same distance as you currently have between the holes on the edges, but put holes all over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mndgame Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 If its not filling up with smoke it could be your bowl grommet fitting too loosely or not enough/too much heat. Otherwise there could be leaks elsewhere in the stem between the bowl and the base (IE vase and stem grommet). Like you said, if all else fails, KM/Mya/MZ's all smoke significantly better than cheap hookahs. The benefit is that they often have better designs have few leaks and TIGHT seals. KM has some new hookahs as well that you could check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyj316 Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 If I were to venture a guess, I would say you're using too much coal. AF tends to need less heat than other brands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarhenson Posted April 14, 2009 Author Share Posted April 14, 2009 thanks for all your help... I'll try some of the suggestions and if it's still not that great I might just invest in a cheapish KM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilded777 Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 QUOTE (oscarhenson @ Apr 14 2009, 05:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>thanks for all your help... I'll try some of the suggestions and if it's still not that great I might just invest in a cheapish KM.Careful, I used to think it was my pipe too.But I'm smoking my small, no-name eqyptian right now... used to be one of the dreaded pipes (I gave the other one away, and almost regret it now); and I'm getting great flavor out of AF, and ginormous clouds (A year ago, I would have told you it was impossible with this pipe).Try this for me, just to humor another noob, follow the second bowl packing method in the wiki. Use Naklha. Be sure and blow hard through the bottom of the bowl to lossen the shisha and get the air flowing. Then use 1 coal, but split it in half right away. Put the two halves on opposite sides of the bowl. (If one coal is not going to mostly cover the entire head, you may want to think about two coals, use 3 halves to start with.)Another thing that has not been metioned (I think), is that I would look at a new hose, before I looked at a new hookah. It makes an enormous difference, if the hose that you have is too narrow. I now have 1 awesome hose (Razan), 1 damn good hose (Mya), 1 crappy hose (umm... dunno), and 1 untested hose (KM). Changing out from the crappy hose made a world of difference, even after I had learned many of the things I really needed to know about packing and heat management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 yeah, don't get a new hookah until you get this one right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erufiku Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) Try different packing methods. In my experience Nakhla likes to be pretty packed. Also, when you poke the holes in the foil, make sure that the toothpick (or whatever you're using) goes all the way through the bowl to ensure airflow. Splitting the coal is a good idea, as well as using the windcover when the coals begin to die down.The fact that your base doesn't fill up with smoke may indicate an air leak somewhere. My KMs vase is full of smoke after the first few pulls, to the point that I cannot see the stem. Edited April 15, 2009 by erufiku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now