New To Hookah - Questions!

[tom]

Hey All,

I have smoked in hookah bars before, but I've never used my own hookah. I bought a little pumpkin hookah the other day:
[url="http://www.oceanmystique.com/graphics/pumpkin%20hookah1027200915321.jpg"]http://www.oceanmyst...27200915321.jpg[/url]

(I got the blue one). I have pharaoh coals, and rosetta peach passion tobacco.

we're smoking it for large chunks of time but the smoke is weak and the flavor is more or less missing. Here's whats happening;

We've smoked it twice, I watched youtube videos on how to pack the hookah and smoke it. Ive packed it two ways; loosely and not quite all the way to the top and I tamped it lightly as I filled and filled it to the top of the bowl. The airflow both times has been good.
The first time I heated up the coal with a lighter (we have a flat top stove so we can't heat it that way), and it was glowing hot and had the white ash around the outside. The second time we heated it over a fire, also glowing hot.

We set the coal on the top (I believe one coal should be enough, its a small hookah), and leave it there for a few minutes to get the tobacco burning and then start inhaling.

The smoke is thin and has some flavor to it, but it's not the full rich experience I get at a hookah bar. When we peel the aluminum back (with tons of holes poked in it, obviously), a small amount of tobacco is burned to the bottom of it but the rest of the tobacco is warm but basically untouched.

I would really appreciate any tips or suggestions, I have no idea what we're doing wrong!
Thank you in advance, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

[tranoid no ki]

Try Better tobacco, I have had similar experiences with Rosetta.

[KeepItSimple]

Im sure at the hookah bar you probably weren't smoking out of a pumpkin. My experiences with pumpkins haven't been the best, even though I haven't experienced what your describing. I hate to say this, because I don't want to assume you have the money to do this. But invest in a better hookah. Even though it will be twice as much as you probably spent on the pumpkin, it's the only way to truely duplicate or even have a better session than you had at the hookah bar. Welcome to the forum!

[TheyCallMeDave]

First of all, welcome to the forum. This is IMO the BEST place for advice on hookah smoking/techique.

As for your delima, I would have to agree with above.. The first dozen different hookah models I smoked out of, no matter what size or brand, were all better than the pumpkin I tried (several times, in fact). Always had smoke conduction problems.

And I've never tried the brand of shisha you have, so i won't knock it. On the other hand, I wouldn't take a gamble with shisha that doesn't get constant good claims to it's name. I would say try some nakhla or al fahker shisha, which in my opinion are the two easiest, beginner hookah owner's/user friendly tobaccos.

Having your first hookah is ALL about trial and error, so keep up on the experimental stage, and you'll be smoking great in no time! Edited March 29, 2010 by TheyCallMeDave

[rhineholt]

Maybe cut the coal in half. Have one half on each side of the bowl. Don't put it directly in the middle.

[fineout]

when you lit the coals, were they glowing red all over or just on one side? if these are natural coals they need to be red all over and flipped frequently to get any use out of them. If you need something to light them with more efficiently go to wallgreens or something of the nature and buy a plug in coil stove. also try adding a half coal more on top of the bowl but spread out from the other coal.

[thatonethere]

How many coals are you using? In my experience with hookah, you can get more smoke if you add each coal at a different time until you get big clouds. on my small hookah, I start with one coal, inhale a couple of times to get the shisha going, and then add another coal. Then the clouds are huge. Alternating between one coal on the bowl and 2 every so often make for good heat management.

[false alarm]

well.. I think first of all you should buy another hookah... what you have is Chinese.. I recommend you to buy an Syrian hookah.. I'm smoking for about 4 to 5 years and those hookah never disappointed me.
Syrian hookah mostly come is classic decoration (no glass figures) and there are no small hookah or as you called them "pumpkin hookah" XD.. I'm from Israel so in my country you can find them much easier.. but here are some pictures:

http://www.hookahparties.com/syrian%2030%20premium.JPG
http://www.nakhla-shop.com/pr/SURI/058.jpg

and about the tobacco.. I have no idea because I'm only using watermelon flavor "Nakhla Mizo" tobacco... one more advice.. I recommend you to use only one sort of tobacco in your hookah because then you hookah will get the flavor and you'll enjoy much more from it... if you use always different flavors then your hookah gets a little bit flavor from each tobacco and you wont enjoy it a bit.. also I recommend you to clean the hookah once in a while with: hot water, Citric acid, and a gun twig (that what I use.. I think that how it called)

sorry for my English XD
I hope I helped

[Can-O-War]

Before you get carried away with new hookahs and such, try smoking a much denser packed bowl with more shisha. It doesn't matter in the slightest if the shisha touches the foil, and i would go as far as to say it is a good thing. If that doesn't work, i would recommend a higher quality shisha. Nahkla is great shisha (especialy their mizo line), and its pretty cheap too. If all else fails, i would recomend a cheaper Mya Sarray such as the [url="http://www.hookah-shisha.com/p-184-mya-qt-1-hose-hookah.html"]Mya QT[/url], a great starter hookah. Don't expect huge amounts of smoke out of such a small hookah, but it should be comparable to a larger hookah.

Edit: Also note, the hookah i linked to includes all of the necessities including two small boxes of good shisha and some decent coals in the the price. I would recommend Ivory Coast and maybe Good Times if you like mint as possible flavors. Edited March 29, 2010 by Can-O-War

[tom]

All, thanks so much for all the advice. my first step will definitely be to go out and get new tobacco. I've been using one coal in one piece off to the side, so I'll experiment with breaking it up as well as multiple coals. The coal has been glowing red all over, I saw that question asked, and we've been moving it around the outside.

[PSU Smoker]

yep just experiment around a bit, once you get that nice session going its all the more rewarding!

[Caterpillar Puff]

[quote name='tom' date='29 March 2010 - 07:09 PM' timestamp='1269904170' post='460589']
All, thanks so much for all the advice. my first step will definitely be to go out and get new tobacco. I've been using one coal in one piece off to the side, so I'll experiment with breaking it up as well as multiple coals. The coal has been glowing red all over, I saw that question asked, and we've been moving it around the outside.
[/quote]

I have only smoked once. but you say you smoke outside? Perhaps using a wind cover could help your heat managing. Also, I heard a lot of good things from the [url="http://www.hookah-shisha.com/p-3515-econo-mya-gelato-1-hose-hookah.html"]Gelato Econo Mya Hookah[/url]. It is supposed to be a keeper, and a good starter hookah. Also, it comes with pretty much everything you would need as a starter set, and two flavors of Romman (50g each) that you can choose from a small variety.

I have never smoked Romman, but perhaps someone else from the forum can give feedback about it?

[Caterpillar Puff]

[quote name='Caterpillar Puff' date='30 March 2010 - 11:55 PM' timestamp='1270007712' post='460936']
[quote name='tom' date='29 March 2010 - 07:09 PM' timestamp='1269904170' post='460589']
All, thanks so much for all the advice. my first step will definitely be to go out and get new tobacco. I've been using one coal in one piece off to the side, so I'll experiment with breaking it up as well as multiple coals. The coal has been glowing red all over, I saw that question asked, and we've been moving it around the outside.
[/quote]

I have only smoked once. but you say you smoke outside? Perhaps using a wind cover could help your heat managing. Also, I heard a lot of good things from the [url="http://www.hookah-shisha.com/p-3515-econo-mya-gelato-1-hose-hookah.html"]Gelato Econo Mya Hookah[/url]. It is supposed to be a keeper, and a good starter hookah. Also, it comes with pretty much everything you would need as a starter set, and two flavors of Romman (50g each) that you can choose from a small variety.

I have never smoked Romman, but perhaps someone else from the forum can give feedback about it?
[/quote]

Whoops! XD I am an idiot!! lol I thought you said you smoked it outside, not you were moving the coal around the outside XD facepalm!

You can disregard the wind cover part of what I said.

[masta_mcs]

I agree with rhine holt!! try cutting the half in coal or break it whatever, and place the coal on seperate ends of the bowl, this will bring out a less strong flavour, then once thats finished, move the coal onto a different area, to smoke the unused part

[hayleekilluh]

I would start off with two coals on when first getting it going. I have a smaller hookah also (not a pumpkin), and I always start off with at least two coals. Most of the time I'll be able to get clouds before it gets a little harsh, but sometimes it doesn't go that good. Also, do you have a knob on the side? I forget what they're called, but sometimes if you open it or close it, it hella helps with the flow.