Frustated with my Hookah smoke lately

[NorthEastSmoker]

Well, let me start out by saying that I've been smoking hookah for
about 4 years, and have been smoking out of my own 28" hookah-shisha
syrian Glyph for about a year and a half now.  I've always had
GREAT smokes out of it, and absolutely love smoking it..

Lately, though, it seems, all of my smokes have had the same funky
taste, with trouble getting it to smoke well (i.e. thick smoke and full
flavor).  I seem to be getting a harsh, metallic, almost 'hot'
taste.

At first I thought it was the hookah itself.  I put a new base
grommet on, a new bowl grommet on, and put a bit of JB Weld on it where
it had been leaking VERY slightly at the bottom seam near the base of
the stem. 

The hookah could NOT be anymore airtight.  absolutely 110% no leaks.. 

Also smoking out of a 3 or 4 week old MYA hose.  I know the hose
isn't the problem, as I've smoke with it through my MYA QT and it
smoked/tasted just fine.


Then I thought it was my tobacco.  Nope.  smoked out of my
friend's 26" egyptian last night, with the same hookah-shisha standard
glazed clay bowl, and my exact same tobacco (out of my tobacco
tupperware containers), and it smoked beeeaaautifully out of his
hookah.  Same coals, same tobacco, same head.


So what the heck is wrong with my hookah lately???  I'm getting a
harsh metallic burnt taste...  Every once in a while in a smoking
session I"ll get a few good puffs with good taste, but most of the time
it has that metallic taste.

I tried a different ceramic head, and same funky gross taste.  Can't even really take a full lung-draw hit anymore.

Also, my hookah is SPOTLESS clean.  I rinse the inside of the stem
and the base with hot water after every single smoke (using the
cleaning brushes), and I wash them with dish soap every 2 or 3 smokes.

I'm baffled here..  The same tobacco (not just the same brand, i'm
talking the same tobacco out of the same tupperware container), same
glazed clay head, same exact foil (2 layers of the thin reynold's wrap
aluminum foil), and same coals (3 kings), smoked PERFECTLY out of my
friend's hookah.  Put it on mine, and bam, funky metallic harsh
taste...

Is there any special way that I need to clean the brass on my
hookah???  As I said, if you look through the stem at a light, it
is gleaming shiny clean.. 

anyways, beyond frustrated; thanks for any help.

[Catalyst Paintball]

You would be amazed with what kind of sh*t your hose can keep inside. I would wash your MYA hose out right now and let it dry. I use to have problems with horrible smoke sessions where I would pretty much gag on nasty flavors I was pulling. Cleaned out my hookah, still the same. Cleaned out my hose, made all the change. The first time cleaning it, I got some orange liquid out of it, totally gross...It seems weird your getting a "metallic" taste. Clean your hose, give it another go, and if you get the same sh*t, try a screen or new coals (pref. non quick lights)GO WASH THAT HOSE!

[yashman19]

I know you said your mya hoses are fairly new, but I can only imagine
that metalic taste is coming from the hoses. Try rinsing them out with
water really well, and even throw in a solution of water/lemon juice.
Swish em around really well, and hang them to try for a good day-three
to make sure they arn't still wet inside when you smoke hte next time.

Having a dirty base wouldn't really give you a metalic taste, so I'm
fairly certain you can rule that out, especially since you say your
base is clean.

Other than the hose, I can't think of any other things that could be
giving you problems, especially since you have been smoking for quite
some time, and arn't doing anything different.

Like I said, give the hose cleaning a shot, and see what happens.

Good luck, and report back with any info.

[myasaray.com]

[quote name='NorthEastSmoker']Well, let me start out by saying that I've been smoking hookah for about 4 years, and have been smoking out of my own 28" hookah-shisha syrian Glyph for about a year and a half now.  I've always had GREAT smokes out of it, and absolutely love smoking it..Lately, though, it seems, all of my smokes have had the same funky taste, with trouble getting it to smoke well (i.e. thick smoke and full flavor).  I seem to be getting a harsh, metallic, almost 'hot' taste.At first I thought it was the hookah itself.  I put a new base grommet on, a new bowl grommet on, and put a bit of JB Weld on it where it had been leaking VERY slightly at the bottom seam near the base of the stem.  The hookah could NOT be anymore airtight.  absolutely 110% no leaks..  Also smoking out of a 3 or 4 week old MYA hose.  I know the hose isn't the problem, as I've smoke with it through my MYA QT and it smoked/tasted just fine.Then I thought it was my tobacco.  Nope.  smoked out of my friend's 26" egyptian last night, with the same hookah-shisha standard glazed clay bowl, and my exact same tobacco (out of my tobacco tupperware containers), and it smoked beeeaaautifully out of his hookah.  Same coals, same tobacco, same head.So what the heck is wrong with my hookah lately???  I'm getting a harsh metallic burnt taste...  Every once in a while in a smoking session I"ll get a few good puffs with good taste, but most of the time it has that metallic taste.I tried a different ceramic head, and same funky gross taste.  Can't even really take a full lung-draw hit anymore.Also, my hookah is SPOTLESS clean.  I rinse the inside of the stem and the base with hot water after every single smoke (using the cleaning brushes), and I wash them with dish soap every 2 or 3 smokes.I'm baffled here..  The same tobacco (not just the same brand, i'm talking the same tobacco out of the same tupperware container), same glazed clay head, same exact foil (2 layers of the thin reynold's wrap aluminum foil), and same coals (3 kings), smoked PERFECTLY out of my friend's hookah.  Put it on mine, and bam, funky metallic harsh taste...Is there any special way that I need to clean the brass on my hookah???  As I said, if you look through the stem at a light, it is gleaming shiny clean..  anyways, beyond frustrated; thanks for any help.[/quote]
Dear NorthEastSmoker

[Catalyst Paintball]

So your saying, brass stems are better then something like, Stainless Steel stems?

[Bleeding_Heart1]

I think stainless steel is best. Ive always thought brass to corrode the easiest. Anyway, i think your problem is your stem. Its probaby corroded and gives a funkey taste. I cant exactally say thats it because you said you clean it well but cleaning it too much can cause it to corrode also. Hope this helps.

[Hookahnoob]

What about coals? Using the same? Maybe a bad batch of coal or something like that

[Bleeding_Heart1]

Its ruled out, he said he smoke at his friends with the same setup used at home on his hookah.

[Hookahnoob]

my bad.. Just though he would maybe be using his friends coals.

[Catalyst Paintball]

I am done with 3 Kings coals. I've heard enough horror stories as well as experienced sh*tty smokes myself. I still have 5 rolls though (ughhh)Moving onto Coconut coals. I'll let you all know how that goes tomorrow!

[NorthEastSmoker]

Thanks for the reply guys.  I'll definitely try washing the hose
out, as that's the first and cheapest solution to try.  Yash -
what's a good mix ratio for the solution of lemon juice and water to
swirl around in the hose?  Should I use that same mix to wash the
inside of my stem, or something different?

Also, is it true that you can clean your hookah TOO much?  I
really don't see how mine can be corroded, it looks like you're looking
through a gleaming new metal pipe when you look through it at a
light.  Like I said, spotless inside..

I'll keep you guys updated.

[Sonthert]

I agree, brass cores are the only way to go. All good quality hookahs have brass cores. Some hookahs are stainless steel over brass, which is fine too. Metal often will have a buildup that translates into hot, burning, metallic flavor...mostly steel. Run water through your hose port every time or two you smoke , in addition to running water through the main tube after each smoking.

[Enima For Your Lungs]

I've read that dish detergents can leave a residue that will translate
into a bad taste.  Try washing the whole thing with a vinegar and
water solution, that should get rid of any remaining smells or tastes,
and detergent residue, and leave it fresh.

[NorthEastSmoker]

Tangiers; that's what blows my mind and frustrates me; I run hot water
through my stem and the hose port after EVERY single smoke, within
minutes of being done smoking.  I've also used dish detergent ever
few smokes... 

However, perhaps enima hit something with that, in that maybe it's the detergent itself that's causing a bad taste...

Anyways, what's a good mix of water and vinegar? 50/50?

same question about the lemon juice and water; what's the best mix for cleaning the hoses?

[Enima For Your Lungs]

Vinegar and water mix is about 1 part vinegar to 10 parts warm
water.  You can use more vinegar and it won't hurt anything, it
just won't get any more helpful either and wastes vinegar.  I
usually use generic white vinegar.  Rinse thoroughly with water
afterwards.

I actually got this out of dog training books for dealing with puppy stains.  But it's natural, safe and neutralizes odors (and tastes) like a charm.

[Catalyst Paintball]

Oh man, vinegar and a hot water solution are a godsend when it comes to housebreaking a 8 week old Golden Ret. puppy...If it works on poo, it'll work for you!

[yashman19]

[quote name='Catalyst Paintball']If it works on poo, it'll work for you![/quote]

Oh snap, you're a poet, and didn't even know it!

You win post of the day

[Catalyst Paintball]

And I thought being a menace to society was my only strength I could use in a job interview...

[Sonthert]

Lets not run amok yet.I would suggest cleaning it with a better, safe solvent...Use straight beer or 1:4 vodka, rum or tequila to water. Rinse the whole thing out. Drink any leftovers...that weren't used to clean the pipe, silly! I like to buy a 40 for this type of job...I usually have 30-32 leftover! The alcohol is a much, much better solvent than vinegar. You also can use rubbing alcohol, straight or 50% with water. Make sure you allow a couple of hours for it to dry, more if its humid out.

[NorthEastSmoker]

Tangiers, thanks for the lighthearted comment; trust me, I have PLENTY
of beer to relax with.. My other big hobby (or second love, if you ask
my wife), is homebrewing beer..  I have several cases down in the
basement of every variety one could imagine that's allll home-made.
  You think the hookahs can be finicky to get to smoke right; try
making a beer where you have to wait 4 weeks to see if you made a
mistake.

Anyways, I just had 2 homebrews and smoked my QT after work, relaxed me noticably..

I also made a 10:1 water to vinegar mix, and let my big brass stem soak
in it for an hour..  scrubbed it with the stem pipe cleaner
several times throughout, and just gave it a thorough hot water
rinse..  The 'old metal' smell seems to be gone from the inside of
the stem, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  who knows, maybe I
had some dish soap residue, dust, cooties, random beer yeast, etc, in
there. Just frustrating when you've been smoking great for
a couple years, the you can't make a good smoke for the life of
you.  makes me want to clean my hookahs and give the habit up for
a couple weeks..  bah.. Time for a Raspberry porter or
4..

[NorthEastSmoker]

Well, here's an update from yesterday..  I spent the afternoon cleaning/scrubbing and rinsing my hookah stem with a 10:1 vinegar water mix, and then hot water rinse.  This seemed to take the metallic / old water pipe smell out of the inside.
 
So, I fired up a bowl; golden coals, standard glazed clay bowl, AF Banana and Orange mix.
 
Well, the first thing I noticed that most of the metallic taste was gone; so that's good!  However, as it was first starting, there still was a harsh taste, although I'm now 95% convinced it's burning and harsh tobacco.  After 10 or 15 minutes of thin, harsh smoke, boom, it started smoking GREAT, and I got a good 40, 45 minute smoke from there.  I've also eliminated the hose as the problem.  Halfway through smoking, I swtiched to the Washable plastic tube hose that came from hookah-shisha with my QT.  Tasted the same, no ill effects or changes with either that hose or the MYA washable.
 
 I used 1 golden coal moved around the edges to get it lit, and then 1 to keep it going, moving it around the edges, and then slowly working my way in to the middle.  This is my usual heat management, and it has always worked great for me.
Now, I used to be convinced that it wasn't my tobacco (because it had smoked great out of my friend's hookah), however, the more I think about it, the more I think it is.  When it smoked great out of my friend's hookah last week, we had smoked it outside, and at night (read; lower humidity and cooler temps).  My house only has a/c in our bedroom, and the living room where I smoke is warm, stuff, and it has been QUITE muggy here lately. So I'm thinking that's why it's been smoking harsh/burning/overall like poo lately; I've been smoking it inside my muggy stuff house.  The good smokes I've had lately (on my QT or my friend's egyptian) have all been outside, at night. 
 
Tangiers (since you seem to be quite knowledgeable on humidity effects), would a stuff/muggy/hot living room make my tobacco smoke that much worse?  Harsh, more difficult for heat management, thin smoke..  If I took a small, 1/3-1/2 draw hit, it would taste GREAT.  However, as soon as I went to take a full hit, the harshness and burnt tobacco taste would come in.  Also, this tobacco is probably 8-10 months old.  It was in my fridge for the first few months, and I've since pulled it out of the fridge, after reading on here that most people keep it at room temp.  So, i'm thinking perhaps my harshness and difficulty lately is a combination of older tobacco and humid/stuffy/warm weather.
 
Thoughts?

[Sonthert]

The thing that plays havoc with tobacco is changes in humidity. Temperature also plays a smaller part, (maybe larger, my theory is still work in progress). Burnt tobacco flavor is similar to cigarette smoke...nasty and stick in the pipe and the hoses. Perhaps your hose has burnt tobacco flavor stuck in it. If its a washable hose, do it.