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Hookah Noob In Need Of Help


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I had a few questions that I was hoping to get answered here. I looked through most of the topics and did not find any answers, so I thought I'd ask (and hopefully get some answers :) ) or if you have a link to the topic page that would be great as well!

1) Everytime I smoke i get a burning feeling after a while from the smoke.This usually happens after 5 or so minutes after puting the coal on. It makes me want to cough when I try to take a big puff and not inhale more and leaves me with a burn taste. I clear out all the smoke and try it again. That works for only 1 or 2 puffs. Am i doing something wrong preping the hookah? please help this is ruining my experience and not making it enjoyable.

2) Is there a way to make hookah smoke thicker?

3) how much alcohol should i add to the base water (if any)?

4) how much fruit slices should i add to the water/alcohol? and is it a good idea to mix the two along with milk? (any combo: Milk/alcohol, Milk/fruit, Alcohol/fruit, or all 3)


Thank you so much if you can help a new person into the hookah community
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1: too much heat, reduce your heat, try again, proper coal placement. experiment

2: proper packing and heat

3: No

4: I would recommend none, simply because it'll shit up in there and doesnt add much of anything IMO, pain in the ass to clean and a waste of good fruit and milk
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1) youre burning your tobacco, use less heat! try 2 layers of foil maybe.
2) what tobacco are you using, then make sure you have 0 leaks in your hookah and finally we get back to heat management, finding the perfect amount is gonna be a challenge, trial and error is what gets it done here (and browsing the forums for tips)
3) pointless to add alcohol really, read one of the several discussions on this all over the forums.
4) mess around with these things after you got the basics down, then just experiment if you feel the need.
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1) You are burning your Shisha, I suspect by leaving the coals in the same place too long or having too many on there at once. If it is a regular bowl, assuming your using a quicklight only use one coal at a time. If it is natural lights or squares, use 2 and place them on opposate sides of the bowl. Typically the main issue is that your not rotating the coal/coals around the outer edge of the bowl, and thus burning a single spot.

2) Buy specific brands such as Al Fakher (not recommending tangiers as your a bit new from what your saying) and specific packing methods as well as heat management.

3) None unless your cleaning it, you don't get drunk, or a buzz, or anything from doing that.

4) This will all depend on how much mold you want growing in your base?
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2) I use al fakher and QL coals. Would using 2 layers of foil help? and do the number of holes matter? how will i know if its burning too cool?

Thanks everyone for all your quick responces :) ill be sure to try them tonight.
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I fold my foil so its 2 layers, also use qls, dont put the coal in teh center of the bowl, leave it on the edge of the bowl (I have one edge of the coal touching the center of the bowl and the other is a bit over the edge of the bowl). Im also a pretty much AF only smoker so generally it should work for you too. How big are your coals tho?
Pack AF fluffy and dont pack too much (you want maybe a little tiny bit over the rim of the bowl and fluffy pack), lots of small holes.
heat managment goes like this: little smoke + not much of anything really = too little heat, good smoke and taste = good heat, a lot of smoke that tastes like coal and is harsh and shitty = too much heat.
Keep in mind that a wind cover can do wonders for when your coals are dying and you need a little extra warmth.
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Haha, you're in the same city as I. But anyway, You'll know it's too cool when you're getting wispy smoke. I'm not a fan of AF or QLs, simply because QLs taste bad. When I started out first smoking, i was using QLs. And I did find that 2 layers of foil did indeed help.
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I strongly suggest just sticking to water until you can work out your issues with heat management. Either way, don't put alcohol in the base as it won't enhance the experience in any way.

I also fold over the foil to get 2 layers, and put maybe 10-12 holes max in the foil. 4 holes around the center of the foil, and then 6-8 holes between those holes and the edge of the bowl. I should note that I use a funnel bowl, but this should work either way.

Just try adding coals and move them around every 5-10 minutes until you get into the swing of things. Soon enough you'll be enjoying your hookah and looking back at this glad you persevered :)

Good luck!
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[quote name='Xres' timestamp='1317916083' post='526702']
2) I use al fakher and QL coals. Would using 2 layers of foil help? and do the number of holes matter? how will i know if its burning too cool?

Thanks everyone for all your quick responces :) ill be sure to try them tonight.
[/quote]

If your using quick lights Id make sure your using Kings as I've never really had any successful continuous use with any of the "knock off brands"

2 layers of foil will help against burning, but better than that I'd look into buying Reynolds or another tin foil in Heavy Duty form.. Then you only need to use one layer.

As for the holes, the number of them will not matter, if your extremely worried about it a way to prevent the coals from hitting any sort of shisha is to use a thumb tack and poke small holes all over the top.

Hope this helps!
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The other issue could be with the quicklites and smoking while they are not fully lit. You gotta wait until they are completely lit (no black left showing on the outside). If you smoke it before or while its still sparking, thats super bad for you.
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Yeah when you light them make sure to keep them in the tray until fully lit through, thats strait charcoal and ive had friends get sick almost instantly because they threw em up and pulled while they were lighting.

Bad news bears indeed.
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[quote name='Bawhee' timestamp='1317997391' post='526914']
fuck super bad... it tastes baaaad.
[/quote]

I just gagged thinking about it. Good lord...
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[quote name='Epoch' timestamp='1318061359' post='527095']
[quote name='Bawhee' timestamp='1317997391' post='526914']
fuck super bad... it tastes baaaad.
[/quote]

I just gagged thinking about it. Good lord...
[/quote]

i agree, it just sounds like a bad experience water + coals on the outside rim of the bowl best way to go and you will get thicker smoke depending on your lungs and how much you smoke
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