What Am I Doing Wrong...?

[Yasseah]

Usually I can burn through at least two sets of 3 coco naras on a bowl before it starts getting harsh. I'm using the phunnel style bowl they sell at Hookah-Shisha.com. I'm smoking Al Fakher and Starbuzz.

But since about 2 weeks ago, it's getting really harsh sometimes on the first set of coals, not to mention my clouds aren't as big as when I first started smoking my new hookah. The top gets burned and there is still moist shisha on the bottom by the time it's begun to go harsh.

As far as I can tell, I'm doing everything the same and I don't know why the performance has gone down so significantly. Maybe the weather, humidity?

[hookah hippie]

Make sure the tobacco is packed loose enough to allow the heat to reach the bottom of the bowl but not too loose. Poke deep holes, try rotating the coals or hanging them off the edge.

[dizzbizz]

It siunds like youre not packing enough tobacco. Dont stuff it in there but make sure its full. Also try breaking the CCN's in halves.

[Arcane]

i'm offering up opposite advice. if you're smoking out of a phunnel, pack about twice as much as you normal would...

if you want to visualize, sprinkle in the tobacco and pack "loosely". then dump out the tobacco and set that amount aside. then pack it again. AND THEN, add the tobacco you set aside to the bowl. i hope that makes sense...i'm kind of rambling..

[SweetNut]

Had the same problem a little while back.... as odd as it may sound, if you have a washable hose, wash it out good.. along with everything else

[mushrat]

if the op is using the same bowl and its suddenly getting harsh it could be the coals. Charcoal companies don't necessarily have the best quality control and your batch of coals may just be burning hotter than a previous run.
Instead of doing it the way you always do, try using less coal and find the proper amount for the coals you have presently. I never just automatically use the same heat set up each time. I usually start with a safe baseline and adjust as necessary.

my .02

[Travis]

[quote name='mushrat' timestamp='1287030023' post='484999']
if the op is using the same bowl and its suddenly getting harsh it could be the coals. Charcoal companies don't necessarily have the best quality control and your batch of coals may just be burning hotter than a previous run.
Instead of doing it the way you always do, try using less coal and find the proper amount for the coals you have presently. I never just automatically use the same heat set up each time. I usually start with a safe baseline and adjust as necessary.

my .02
[/quote]

Exactly what I do,

Although i fire up 4 golden canaries when I smoke, There isn't always a need for all 4....I usually just end up setting the 4th aside and tossing it on when they begin to die out.

[pinky]

I don't know where you live, but here in Germany we feel the winter is coming. So the air gets really dry. Might be humid-dry acclimation. Sounds pretty similar to what I am experiencing at the moment.

[ih303]

I'm more or less with Mushrat on this one. What stands out to me is that you say you're smoking SB and AF and using three CCN's at a time. That sounds like way too much heat to me. I'm surprised you haven't been burning your bowls all along!

Both SB and AF are low-heat tobaccos meaning they take relatively less heat than other brands, i.e. NK, to smoke. When I prepare bowls of those brands I'll generally START with three CCN's but inevitably pull one before it gets too hot.

Here's another thought. Are you working with 250g's or 50g's? If 250g's, are you nearing the bottom of your container? and would you say the tobacco is more juicy now than you remember it before? A lot of people don't bother mixing their tobacco letting the juice settle at the bottom of the tub over time. This creates a layer of relatively dry tobacco towards the top that can handle more heat than normal. The problem is once you get to the bottom it's like soup. Packing that stuff even in a phunnel will likely give you a nasty syrup burn no matter how much heat you use.

Take a look at what you've got and get back.

[Yasseah]

Hey guys, I tried using only 2 coals and got smooth-but thin smoke. Then I tried 3 Coco's cut in half- perfect.

Thanks.

[mushrat]

cool.

[Chreees]

Sounds like you found the sweet spot!

[ih303]

So what was the problem?

[Yasseah]

[quote name='ih303' timestamp='1287500558' post='485563']
So what was the problem?
[/quote]

I'm not sure. For a while, 3 coconaras was working great. But now it's way too much, so 3 halves is working better. No idea why results would change so much when I'm doing everything the same.