Calcartman Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 I guess you guys are in the middle of an update; so I'll try this again!My name's Cal, and you'll get used to seeing me around I'm sure.I've been going to a hookah bar/restaurant down the street from my house for a few months, and its so damned expensive I decided to buy my own. (the owners charge an arm and a leg, plus your first born!)So I drove to berkeley, bought a hookah, tobacco, and coals. I don't know if its a good hookah or not; I know it paid too much but I was sick of it and it was an impulse buy. the top part it solid brass, and the bottom is red glass. here's a picture, maybe you can tell me if its a good one. [url="http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n208/cookiemonsterbmw/100_1243.jpg"]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n208/co...mw/100_1243.jpg[/url]I got 2 packs of Rolland coals, quick lighting things that spark and then they're ready?As well as a pack of Nakhla (sp?) strawberry, and Splash/Sultan cola and pina colada. I don't know if any of that means anything to you guys; but i figured you know more than me.So I go out last night and set it up; basically packing it the same way you pack other smokeables in other forms.Put tobacco in, tamp it down a little, put tinfoil tight over the top; poke a few holes in it with a little pokey thing the hookah came with, and put the coal on top.And it was great. Smoothe, and exactly like it is at the restaurant.Then today I go to smoke by myself; and its harsh as all hell! I tried cola the first time, and thinking it was the tobacco I tried again with a new bowl of strawberry (same stuff I used like 15 hours earlier) and it got just as bad!My third bowl I got it to smoke well for all of maybe 5 minutes before it got too harsh.I don't know what I did wrong! The tobacco was slightly burned on all of them, but I used the same coals, and I don't think I did anything differently. Was I packing too much in, and it was too close to the tinfoil? Or do i need to break the coal first?Any help would be great.Thanks for your help guys, and I look forward to seein you around here.-CalPS: not that it makes a difference, but last night it was 70 degrees, and when i smoked today it was almost 100. If thats the problem, how do I counteract it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheetz Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 shisha can have humidity shock which can effect how it burns and tastes. when you pack the bowl gently pack it once you have filled the bowl itself. make sure the shisha doesnt touch your foil then poke your holes and keep that coal moving around the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilotaku Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Another thing is, if your getting plenty of smoke and if its harsh. Use less coals, or move the coal onto the side where it won't heat up the tobacco as much. You can also break up the coal as well if you think its a heat issue and also remember to let the quicklights fully burn up the "gunpowder" and get fully red hot before putting it onto the bowl. I personally don't let the tobacco touch my foil/screen and try to keep it at approximately 1/2mm away from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dikydave Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 ya, you just have to keep trying it out until you get your heat management perfect, if it burns you're going to get some harshness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calcartman Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 [quote name='lilotaku']Another thing is, if your getting plenty of smoke and if its harsh. Use less coals, or move the coal onto the side where it won't heat up the tobacco as much. You can also break up the coal as well if you think its a heat issue and also remember to let the quicklights fully burn up the "gunpowder" and get fully red hot before putting it onto the bowl. I personally don't let the tobacco touch my foil/screen and try to keep it at approximately 1/2mm away from it.[/quote] Yeah; I think it must be too much heat; because there was plenty of smoke. Usually when I take a really really big pull, I can empty the chamber; and it just kept coming.I wait for the coals to be totally grey and to the point that I can blow on it and dust flies off; is that good enough?Also; part of what I worried about was the holes in the tin foil. Will too many/too big holes cause a problem? It looked like a bit of the powder from the coal was ending up in the bowl. Moving the coal only aggravates the problem as the coals seemed to practically disintigrateThanks for the responses guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 For hole, just us a pin to make the holes, and make as many as you want, that way, the holes arn't really big enough to let ash in. btw, i think your hookah stem is frikkin sexy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calcartman Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 [quote name='MrGuy']For hole, just us a pin to make the holes, and make as many as you want, that way, the holes arn't really big enough to let ash in. btw, i think your hookah stem is frikkin sexy![/quote] Thanks the stem is the whole reason I bought it; and you cant even see most of the detail in that picture because of the flash. Gotta get a pic of it during the day and outside.I've been using a match head sized thing to make holes; and I must be doing something totally wrong because even tonight with my friends we burned up the entire bowl in about half an hour. it was literally roasted; on the way to being ash.My coals cover a good portion of the foil; are they too big? Is the bowl too small? what am I missing? Cause I'm just burning the tobacco and I can't get an hour out of a bowl like I have at hookah bars.Also; the cola flavored stuff I have is terrible! I don't know if its the brand, or just the flavor, but YUCK. It was really harsh even when there was next to no heat on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 How long it burns for depends on the tobacco brand and other things. the quicklites are about 30mm i think. try breaking the coal in half (before lighting) lighting both halves, and puttin the halves round the edge of the tinfoil (so no in the middle) Match head holes might be a little to big i don't know. If it tastes like cola, but like crap, then you probably just don't like the flavour. howevre, if it tastes like cardboard, it might be humidity shock. if it's too harsh, there might be still too much heat on (some brands are very sensitive) or maybe not enough heat (i dunno if that would make it harsh) Also, it depends what speed your smoking at. (are you filling your lungs with smoke and puffing like theres no tomorow, or are you taking it slow) And your bowl size wil play a factor in speed of smoke (bigger bowl, longer it takes to smoke.) I'm sure someone with a little more experience will jump in in a minute to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilotaku Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Hmm, since you mentioned that your coal almost covers the whole entire bowl/foil i think it might be a heat issue at this point. Go ahead and experiment with breaking up the coal into maybe 1/2's or thirds and manage your heat that way. When it comes to the holes, i usually just use a toothpick if i'm using foil and do a spiral type pattern making the holes maybe a 1/4" apart. I have a ceramic bowl similar to the one you have on your table next to your hookah. I can usually get something around that size bowl to last anywhere from 45mins to a good 1.5hrs before it gets harsh. But like Dikydave said, keep messin with the heat and see what happens. You might also wanna upgrade that hose to maybe a Mya washable leather hose.I would also like to mention Paintball > Airsoft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornellius Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Some people put coals to the middle instead of to the sides of bowl thats why they suffer harsh smoke. Use 3 coals and place them to the sides of bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGuy Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 3 coals?! i'm no expert but personally, that would be waaaay too much for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macho555 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Yeah 3 coals sounds like an overkill. Two coals spinning around the bowl should do it. And I'm not sure if anyone thought of it, but maybe a bad batch of coals? I had a roll that for some reason would just absolutly torch whatever was under it, and I usually use one coal. P.S. - Damn, thats a nice hookah. P.P.S. - Second time I've used the edit button today! YAY UPGRADES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 Rollands aren't too good, from what I hear.That pipe is a Syrian Nour pipe, good metal, crummy glass. The jar screws on right? Don't trust the threaded jars...the threading tends to fall off. It does sound like a combination of too much coal (maybe) and humidity shock (PROBABLY). The weather changes, more humidity in the air or less, the tobacco will change accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calcartman Posted July 21, 2006 Author Share Posted July 21, 2006 What is humidity shock; and how can I prevent it?The tobacco stays in my house until it goes into the hookah, and goes outside; so I can't really imagine that in 10 minutes the change in humidity would dry it out?And yes; it screws on, and seems to be on the sturdy side (or at least its a bit too hard to screw together).The coals might be the problem; i have another roll but in any case I'm going to buy new tobacco soon so I'll get better coals. What do you guys suggest?Also; the bowl I've been using is the one that is in the hookah in that picture. the bowl is deeper but not as wide as the one on the counter.Since I'm on the subject; which style is better? The one in the hookah sticks into the stem, and the one on the counter goes over the top. Does it make a difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted July 22, 2006 Share Posted July 22, 2006 Tobacco slowly acclimates to changes in humidity. If your tobacco becomes accustomed to a particular amount of humidity (in a nice, air conditioned house) and then go outside into the damper air, it will experience humidity shock. In this example (which sounds somewhat like your real-life example), the tobacco would smoke heavy, the flavor would be obscured by a burning smoke that is hard to pull into the lungs. Close??People use all sorts of charcoal, I prefer Japanese coals (either Abu Hitham or Canary Goldens) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calcartman Posted July 22, 2006 Author Share Posted July 22, 2006 Yes; that sounds exactly like what is happening. It smokes fine late at night, when it is cool, or at least it smokes better.I don't quite understand how a sudden change outside affects it, but if it does it does. I would think leaving it outside would dry it out though?How can I change/fix/whatever this?I tried using half a coal and it definitely is less harsh, but its still not as good as it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alice Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Oooh. Sexy stem indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonthert Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 What's happening is that the humidity is changing throughout the day. In the morning, just before dawn, it is lowest, as the day warms up, the heat pulls more moisture from its source (The Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of California, the Great Lakes, etc.) and the humidity rises. Once the sun starts going down and the day cools off, the humidity starts dropping again. Sometimes, especially in winter, we get lucky and have stable humidity throughout the day. Most summers, too. This summer is just exceptionally annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calcartman Posted July 24, 2006 Author Share Posted July 24, 2006 Is there something I can do? Wouldn't leaving the tobacco outside dry it out? It is quite annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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