cymptom Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I've seen some people mention that they periodically will remove the foil/screen while smoking to remove the dried up bits and stir up the bowl a bit -- is this a generally agreed upon or necessary technique? Lately during my smoking sessions only the very top layer of the tobacco will turn black while everything underneath stays moist and bright in color. If I add more heat, it simply burns what's on top and, no matter what, won't get to the tobacco underneath. I'm using the standard Egyptian clay bowl which came with my hookah from southsmoke.com, and I'm sure the fact that it's now cracked isn't helping airflow any (dropped it an inch into the sink while cleaning it ) The crack runs 1/5-1/4 down the side of the bowl, creating a section that is very slightly loose. But although the problem has definitely worsened since I cracked it, it has been an issue in the past, too...I thought it might be a problem that the bowl doesn't have a center hole, just 4 holes around the center. I use a screen and one Three kings 33m cut in half, and don't pack the tobacco down at all. But I guess my main concern isn't really smoking with the bowl I have now, as I just ordered a Tangiers head (along with 1250g of Tangiers tobacco, nour coals, and a new screen ). Just a few questions:Does smoking with a larger bowl mean that I will have to smoke with larger amounts of tobacco to cook the tobacco efficiently? How much will it matter if there is a large gap between the tobacco and the screen?I've seen people say they've smoked the same bowl for hours -- does this require one to mix up the tobacco from time to time and/or remove what tobacco has been burnt or dried up? Or should one just aim to gradually heat the entire contents of the bowl to a temperature just under the burning point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve07 Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I generally don't stir my tobacco I just use good heat control and everything seems to work out ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I wouldnt nesessarily mix the bowl. The baking effect of heating the bowl and having the hot air from the coals above shoudl eventually cook your Ma'asell all the way through. As you boil/cook off the liquid your flavour is going to slowly decrease no matter what you do really. Early on I was known to occasionally flip the whole puck near the end to bring the last of the moist stuff to the top. This was a short term solution at best.... I don't know about "hours" for a smoke, ive had ones go 1 or 1 1/2 hours with really good heat control and a fully packed bowl. I think there was a revent post about fuilling a bowl only half way to answer the question about large air spaces. But i believe the general concensus was that its ok to have a lot of space...the heat will do its job..trust me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aronparsons Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 The heat from the coal should heat the bowl to cook the shisha on the bottom. If that's not happening for you, try putting the coal on the outer edges of the bowl. That should heat the outside. The flavor will decrease as the bowl goes on and when it gets too mellow, just call it quits. I don't feel the need to extract every cents worth from the shisha; when it stops being "f***ing good", I'm usually good. If I want more, a fresh bowl is the way to go versus trying to smoke what didn't get cooked in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted May 19, 2006 Author Share Posted May 19, 2006 Yeah, I used to just flip the puck towards the end but lately such a thin layer gets charred that there's nothing to really flip and I've just gotta pick out the crispy pieces and mix it up. Again, I'm guessing this is just from the crack in my bowl...Aronparsons: interesting tip about putting the coal on the outer edge of the bowl to heat the outside -- I'll be sure to try it out if the situation seems to call for it. I hear what your saying about not needing to get 100% out of the shisha... I'm still satisfied if the bottom is a little moist and colored. But, of course, even more satisfied if it's dried all the way through...A question to those who smoke Tangiers: I understand the cut is much thinner... does this seem to make it easier to thoroughly cook all the tobacco in the bowl? Given that heat is managed properly, that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I used to mix half way through when I first got a hookah, now I am better at managing coals and don't need to. I am sure that with practice you will learn what you need to do to make the new bowl work out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Abides Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Yeah, what aron said. I just dance the coal(s) around the outside edges of the bowl for the first 30-45 minutes, and then move them into the middle to finish it off. Of course I have a giant Tangiers bowl which makes this process a lot easier and effecient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skiracerj1 Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Yeah I've tried the remixing mid bowl and it never does anything terribly effective, as for the whole only the top layer getting black thing, I'm not sure what to tell ya there, my bowls always cook all the way through with maybe just a hint of moisture on the bottom, perhaps your packing your bowling to tightly so that when the top gets cooked to a certain thickness it effectively acts as insulation prevent the rest of the bowl from being smokeable, so basically I'd try using a little less shisha packed looser so that heat can flow through the whole bowl. Just a suggestion, so do hold me to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted May 20, 2006 Share Posted May 20, 2006 I never have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted May 20, 2006 Author Share Posted May 20, 2006 I'm pretty sure now that my problem is just that the bowl is cracked. It's not holding in heat like it's supposed to... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzzzzT Posted May 21, 2006 Share Posted May 21, 2006 I don't mix my bowls. I just move the coals around and the tobacco should generally cook to the bottom or close to it without mixing the bowl depending how deep your bowl is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymptom Posted May 21, 2006 Author Share Posted May 21, 2006 Thanks for the input guys... I'll look forward to not mixing my bowls in the future [img]http://hookahforum.com/forum/smileys/smiley36.gif[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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