Getting Huge Clouds

[JDHarding]

I've seen vids on youtube of people getting huge clouds from hookah, and I've never been able to do this. I got a small Tang phunnel that I pack with Tang or Nak using a fork and Eric/John's methods, 3 rings of holes in the foil, 3 of John's coals fully lit, and I'm not getting these giant clouds of smoke I see in vids. I got a KM Sig Ice pipe. I have a homemade diffuser made of metal mesh on the end of it, and I fill the water to an inch above the bottom of the downstem. I get a good amount of smoke, but nothing compared to some of the vids I've seen..

For instance, look at this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FauPSQ38gnI

I've never been able to get that many rings, and that thick of rings.. what gives? I also notice this guy uses Al Fakher coconut coals on his pipes, and they're these big coal blocks, much bigger than John's coals. He also smokes mainly Al Fakher shisha. I don't know what a Ghelyoon is, perhaps a pipe? He doesn't use a phunnel, just a regular egyptian bowl.

[JDHarding]

Oh, it seems Ghelyoon is the Iranian word for shisha. Ha.. interesting.

[hookah hippie]

heat management

the 2 magical words that get you big clouds

[JDHarding]

heat management

the 2 magical words that get you big clouds

Maybe I need 4 of John's coals, then.. though 3 can make it fairly harsh on their own.. I dunno what 4 will do. Probably kill me.

[JDHarding]

Okay, yeah, 4 coals did the trick.. it also made the flavor really intense. No harshness.. yet. So.. yay! Simple solution.

[hookah hippie]

Okay, yeah, 4 coals did the trick.. it also made the flavor really intense. No harshness.. yet. So.. yay! Simple solution.

congrats

[Chreees]

One thing you can try is cutting two natural coals in half. So you end up with four smaller coals positioned evenly on your bowl. Should distribute the heat more evenly. Try it. I'm going to tonight or tomorrow. I use Coconaras, btw.

[twoapplesplease]

sounds silly but ,put as much water in your vase as possible without putting too much water in the vase.Try it you'll see

[JDHarding]

sounds silly but ,put as much water in your vase as possible without putting too much water in the vase.Try it you'll see

This always gets water in my hose.. I fill it to almost over the lion's head on my base.. I have the lion Khalil Mamoon base.

[twoapplesplease]

Ya got a find the happy spot as much as possable but not too much so as to get water in your hose

My KM's water level is just below the "hip" of the vase on my 32' copper heart wich makes the downstem some 3 inches under water and no water in my hose.

I got the camel base. Edited September 26, 2009 by twoapplesplease

[JDHarding]

Ya got a find the happy spot as much as possable but not too much so as to get water in your hose

Hmm.. I'll try filling it up and seeing where the too much point is. Suck on the hose without coals just to see. I'm still getting used to this base. It's different from my other one.

[twoapplesplease]

Helps to use a packed bowl w/foil no coals. It helps get that perfect sweet spot as the bowl will slow down the airflow alittle.

This is the first thing I do with every new hookah.Is find its sweet spot.The extra water puts more weight on the bubbles of smoke from the extra water pressure along with alowing for more conact time with the water for cooling and also shrinks the smoke chamber providing for even better smoke yet.

[JDHarding]

Without the bowl on top, I can only get it to a little over the lion's head.. I'll try with the bowl later. Kinda buzzed right now..

[JDHarding]

With the bowl I can only add a little more water to it.. just 1/2 inch over the lion's head.

[JDHarding]

I'm smoking my newly configured pipe, with an extra inch of water in the base, and it does indeed help. Getting thicker clouds, but best of all, it's colder, smoother smoke. I had the pipe with the water in the base sitting in a cold spot overnight, so now the water and base are nice and cold too. Excellent.

[ilikemyusername]

clouds always look so much bigger when someone else makes them, have you taken a picture of your smoke yet?

[twoapplesplease]

Glad it worked.the extra water too me actually seems to make it pull easier as well.Has to do with the shape of the vase and basic hydrolics.Cooler thicker smoke is nice

[the_cool]

Glad it worked.the extra water too me actually seems to make it pull easier as well.Has to do with the shape of the vase and basic hydrolics.Cooler thicker smoke is nice

Really? I have learnt that less of the stem submerged makes the drag easier. But too little and the drag isnt satisfying. Hence why I have always been skeptical of the half inch to an inch stem submerged thing.

I still always experiment with different levels, still cant work out what I prefer! Can you take a pic of the highest water level you can put in a KM base?

[twoapplesplease]

you can't just go on a basic rule of thumb for perfect water level on a km because there all just a little different.It has a lot too due with the length of the downstem and your smoking style.The best thing to due is a test.
so setup your km like you do normally then have a bowl packed foil and holes no coals yet.And have a pitcher of water and experiment with the water level.You want it as high as possible without it getting into your hose when you pull.Once you got that perfect water level you got your bowl ready too go.And take note where that water level is for future smoking.

Happy smoking

[the_cool]

I thought looking at a pic will giv me an estimate, and the reason I dont wanna test it myself is because I cannot stand taking a pull on a shisha thats isnt smoking. I get that horrid stale taste which I just find disgusting! Maybe one day when I clean it out properly I'll try it lol

[twoapplesplease]

You could due the test with a smoking bowl just be carefull LOL!

[the_cool]

haha yeh, coal balancing FTW

[delSol_si]

always look so much bigger when someone else makes them, have you taken a picture yet?

thats what she said

[the_cool]

Well though Id try it, the draw is very hard! Probably doesn't help that im using the egyptian bowl, phunnel is always easier to draw with.

If im honest, no noticable difference yet, although my shisha has been performing crap as of late, 2 cocos and a windcover and clouds arent up to par yet. Ah wait a min they are gettin there!

[JDHarding]

I think the best position for the water is a spot where when taking a pull on the hose the water does not go up to the pipe's heart, but stays a couple inches below the heart while pulling. You'll have to put the hookah on a table and look at the base while pulling to get a more accurate guess.