Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 So the first hookah I bought was a Mya Bambino and I absolutely loved it. I still smoke the same hookah today after 3 years and it is still the best smoke Ive experienced. But it does have some drawbacks, namely its only one hose and easily topples over. So i wanted to invest in a larger two hose hookah for entertaining. Since I have had such good fortune with my Bambino i looked to Mya for the same quality, and I purchased one of their larger hookahs. It was a beautiful piece with a red vase and it smoked great. At first. but after smoking out of it for only a couple months, I bought it in this past summer, the stem began to degrade. I am not sure on the actual metal material, I think its copper, but whatever it is, they then apply a sort of chrome coating on to the actual metal of the stem. This chrome coating began to break down and peal no matter how often i cleaned my hookah. A sand-like mold would grow inside the stem, and I would always have to clean it before i smoked out of it. Even if i disconnected the stem from the vase to make sure that it could dry and there was no moisture stuck inside. So after trying every possible method to fix the problem, I came to the conclusion that Mya uses shoddy materials for their larger stems. I was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems, and if anyone has any advise on where to purchase a hookah that is constructed out of appropriate materials, and what those materials should be. I was thinking stainless steel, but I don't even know for sure if such a thing exists. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainUM Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 i thought mya's were made of stainless steel? did you try calling mya and asking about it? also, you should clean your hookah after every session or so to prevent things growing in it, just to be safe you can always look at getting a KM that has two hoses. i think www.hookahjohn.com has some of those still, but they are a bit pricey. the best multi-hose hookahs i know of are mya's, though. maybe look into getting another smaller mya, cause a lot of them have multi-hose capabilities nowadays anyways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Mya does say that their stems are made out of stainless steel. I don't know if thats the problem or if its the chrome coating they use. Has anyone else ever had the problem I'm describing.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 And I did clean it after every session as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 The rough heart can make cleaning an issue. Once it starts to really oxidize, it seems like there is no turning back. I put a QT vase on my bambino and it is quite stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainUM Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 this is the first time i have heard of this happening, but i dont know if it is a common thing or not. hope you get this all figured out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 To Joytron, Thats the issue i noticed too its particularly prone to it on the inside of the stem, but also the chrome coating is pealing away on the outside as well. Are Khalil Mamoons made of different materials? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='Guercho' timestamp='1300824842' post='502441'] To Joytron, Thats the issue i noticed too its particularly prone to it on the inside of the stem, but also the chrome coating is pealing away on the outside as well. Are Khalil Mamoons made of different materials? [/quote] Yeah that is why I prefer the bambino to any of the other myas. KM's are not all made the same, but of the two I have owned for several years, neither have given me any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 i have been doing alot of research on the Khalil Mamoons. Do you know what the stems are made of? and if they have a direct website? I can only find vendors not a direct seller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joytron Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='Guercho' timestamp='1300825349' post='502446'] i have been doing alot of research on the Khalil Mamoons. Do you know what the stems are made of? and if they have a direct website? I can only find vendors not a direct seller. [/quote] As far as what they are made of, that is kind of opening up a can of worms. I have some argument as to what the majority of stems are really made of, but hopefully someone better educated can answer that. Some of the stems are solid or part brass while others are some kind of stainless steel or something. You are not going to be ordering direct, using a vendor such as hookahcompany is going to be your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Thats the issue i ran into with Mya. They say stainless steel, but the coating they use is garbage. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgieHC Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Getting 3 years out of a Chinese pipe is pretty good if it was in heavy use. All brass or stainless steel is much more durable material in general compared to the zink or aluminum used in some pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epoch Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 - Is it a standard line Mya? If so, the shaft should be made of chrome-plated brass. Should be excellent quality. - is it an Econo line Mya? If so, I've heard of this problem before, although I've heard claims that the shaft should be cast aluminum. As for KMs, most are brass and/or steel. Sometimes you'll find copper stems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilikemyusername Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I have a colossus, the outside of the stem is pewter I think and the inside part of the stem seems to be steel, it's too hard to be aluminum and it is silvery in color, no plating on it. Those parts stay clean but a few of my hose ports are made from some cheap ass material and some are plated brass. the cheapies get that "sandy mold" (it's corrosion) but the brass ones are great. What kind of mya did you get anyway? pics? link? Mya makes alot of pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 I will post pics as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmccoy90 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Sounds like the Econo line. I've used several Myas and none have had peeling on the shaft. The only place I've seen peeling is right underneath the cap for the purge, where the screw thread ends. The sand-like "mold" is likely mineral build-up from hard water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzbizz Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Make sure its a legitimate mya too. There are a ton of knock off myas out there. Also mya's normal line of pipes are made from brass not steel. EDIT: Also Mya backs their pipes 100% if you contact them and let them know whats going on they'll replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 Mine peels around the grommet as well as any hose ports. and i dont think its from hard water because the mold groes way up in the stem. the water barely goes into the body of the stem at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzbizz Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 [quote name='Guercho' timestamp='1300854834' post='502534'] Mine peels around the grommet as well as any hose ports. and i dont think its from hard water because the mold groes way up in the stem. the water barely goes into the body of the stem at all. [/quote] Water doesn't need to directly hit the body of the stem. Don't forget bubbles are also splashing when you take a pull. Theres a lot of moisture going on in the base area which can cause the build up. Don't let the hookah sit int he water long after a session and make sure you towel dry it after you wash it to prevent this build up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guercho Posted March 23, 2011 Author Share Posted March 23, 2011 I know ive even managed to put less water so that it doesnt bubble into the stem at all. And I've tried drying it and such after use but nothing helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushrat Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 [quote name='Guercho' timestamp='1300821611' post='502425'] So the first hookah I bought was a Mya Bambino and I absolutely loved it. I still smoke the same hookah today after 3 years and it is still the best smoke Ive experienced. But it does have some drawbacks, namely its only one hose and easily topples over. So i wanted to invest in a larger two hose hookah for entertaining. Since I have had such good fortune with my Bambino i looked to Mya for the same quality, and I purchased one of their larger hookahs. It was a beautiful piece with a red vase and it smoked great. At first. but after smoking out of it for only a couple months, I bought it in this past summer, the stem began to degrade. I am not sure on the actual metal material, I think its copper, but whatever it is, they then apply a sort of chrome coating on to the actual metal of the stem. This chrome coating began to break down and peal no matter how often i cleaned my hookah. A sand-like mold would grow inside the stem, and I would always have to clean it before i smoked out of it. Even if i disconnected the stem from the vase to make sure that it could dry and there was no moisture stuck inside. So after trying every possible method to fix the problem, I came to the conclusion that Mya uses shoddy materials for their larger stems. I was wondering if anyone else has had similar problems, and if anyone has any advise on where to purchase a hookah that is constructed out of appropriate materials, and what those materials should be. I was thinking stainless steel, but I don't even know for sure if such a thing exists. Any help would be greatly appreciated. [/quote] On the non-econo lines the cores are brass with a chrome plating. This is similar to any quality Middle eastern pipe. Mya does stand by their products and if your chrome is peeling off after a short time I suggest you contact them directly about the warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmccoy90 Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Do you wash the stem before storage? If so, that's when minerals can build up - when its in storage. The worst part is that once a first layer builds up, it builds up faster because the minerals have more to stick time. Has anyone tried running CLR through their pipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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