Serious One way valve question. Please help me!! Thanks

[toothhookahharp]

Ok, last night I held my hand over the bowl grommet and sucked through the hose. I noticed plenty of air coming in. That obviously explains why I've been needing to suck decently hard and keep a lot of coals on top. I kept blowing in and out and found out that most of the air coming in was from the one way valve on the side. Should that be happening? It's called a "one way" valve so I would assume not. I ended up unscrewing the valve and taking off the bead that was between part of the screw and the base and screwing the screw back in. I noticed a huge difference. No more air coming in. The only issue is that I cant blow air out either to get rid of the stale air. Anwyay, can anyone here help me out with this? Have any of you had the same problem in the past?? Is there something wrong with my hookah??? :? Thanks in advance!!!

[NorthEastSmoker]

that doesn't make sense.. you took OUT the Ball bearing that was in there, and NOW it doesn't leak? should be the other way around.

if your ball bearing is rusted up or full of crud, you can buy replacement ball bearings at your local hardware store for like 20 or 30 cents.. others recommend using a plastic airsoft bb pellet.. either will work.. make sure that the seat in the stem where the bb fits is clean of crud, to allow for a proper seal...

[Lakemonster]

Theres a couple of culprits.

1. The bearing or the orifice has become fouled and is not seating in a all the way around.


2. The face on the orifice is not smooth enough due to a rushed lathing process.

try cleaning or simply replacing the bearing with a BB or an airsoft pellet. Next inspect the orifice for buildup.... this can be cleand out with an abrasive scotch pad or some steel wool.

When the orifice is clean... try the valve out again and see how it seals up... if its still leaking, check the oriface again for deep lathe marks... if there are some, you maight want to get out the dremel tool, the cone shaped polishing head. and some jewelers rouge and polish the orifice out.

[OPR234]

The only thing I can think to say is clean it up really nice and get the ball bearing or replacement working properly again. Then just remember to keep the valve clean, I've noticed on my hookah that it gets fouled and sticky relatively easily even after just one session. Just wipe it dry with a paper towel after each session, takes like 20 secs in all.

[toothhookahharp]

Ok, the way mine is there's a screw, a bead that the screw goes through, and that screw and attached bead screw into the hookah body. I do not see any ball berring when i take the screw out. Is that the prob? Is mine different than all yours? Here's a pic that will hopefully help. The green thing is the bead I'm talking about the screw goes through before screwing into the body of the hookah.

[img]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2/toothharp/100_0464.jpg[/img]

[OPR234]

OK, leave that screw and green bead in. Grab the valve from below the green bead where those holes are and twist the metal part off, it should unscrew like a nut on a bolt. That is where it should come apart. It should be hollow, the ball bearing should be in there, probably stuck inside the part that screws off. Try that and tell us how it looks.

[toothhookahharp]

[quote name='OPR234']OK, leave that screw and green bead in.  Grab the valve from below the green bead where those holes are and twist the metal part off, it should unscrew like a nut on a bolt. That is where it should come apart.  It should be hollow, the ball bearing should be in there, probably stuck inside the part that screws off.  Try that and tell us how it looks.[/quote]Ok, I am at my office right now but will be heading home very soon and will give that a shot as soon as I get there and post what I see. THANKS!!!!

[toothhookahharp]

[quote name='OPR234']OK, leave that screw and green bead in.  Grab the valve from below the green bead where those holes are and twist the metal part off, it should unscrew like a nut on a bolt. That is where it should come apart.  It should be hollow, the ball bearing should be in there, probably stuck inside the part that screws off.  Try that and tell us how it looks.[/quote]

Ok, I finally was able to do it. I took off the part that the screw screws into with the bead attached etc. and in neither part appears to be any ball berring. I would imagine thats the prob? so since that i dropped and lost (for the time being) the bead but i have the screw screwed all the way in which apparently kepps most of the air from coming in. so should i get a ball berring and put it in that area? Im so lost!!!

Also, i've put more water in the base and its not burning my throat. I realized i needed 4 coal pieces on top to get a good smoke. DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE??? thanks!!

[yashman19]

Yes a ball bearing is what you need. Just picture the airflow. The air goes in through the top of your hookah through the bowl, and gets pulled through the stem, down into the water, and then comes up through your hose port. If air is able to enter your hookah through your purge valve, then there isn't a vaccum seal on your hookah, and you wont be able to suck in through the hose. But a ball bearing blocks that valve, so no outside air can get through. When no outside air can get through, then all the smoke you suck will go through your hose port, not the purge valve.

So yes, your hookah has no suction without a ball bearing. A lot of hookahs come without them, as people forget to simply put one in during the manufac process. Buy a bearing at a hardware store, or if you have an airsoft pellet, that will work just as well.

Edit: This would help clean the purge valve indeed Scalli, but his main problem from the sounds of it is that he doesn't have a ball bearing. So a clean purge valve wouldn't really matter

[Scalliwag]

pull the whole valve off and set it in a cup of rubbing alcohol a couple of hours. Pull it out and wipe it off and shake it and listen for rattling. Put it back on, tighten it and test it.

[toothhookahharp]

[quote name='Yashman19']Yes a ball bearing is what you need. Just picture the airflow. The air goes in through the top of your hookah through the bowl, and gets pulled through the stem, down into the water, and then comes up through your hose port. If air is able to enter your hookah through your purge valve, then there isn't a vaccum seal on your hookah, and you wont be able to suck in through the hose. But a ball bearing blocks that valve, so no outside air can get through. When no outside air can get through, then all the smoke you suck will go through your hose port, not the purge valve.

So yes, your hookah has no suction without a ball bearing. A lot of hookahs come without them, as people forget to simply put one in during the manufac process. Buy a bearing at a hardware store, or if you have an airsoft pellet, that will work just as well.

Edit: This would help clean the purge valve indeed Scalli, but his main problem from the sounds of it is that he doesn't have a ball bearing. So a clean purge valve wouldn't really matter [/quote]

OK, I got a ball berring in there and i noticed a huge difference. I also had a tear in my gasket where the top of the hookah went into base. I taped that up and now no air seems to be coming in there now either. OK, so now I am assiming that what I'm sucking through the pipe is straight smoke. Is that right? Should there be SOME air coming in from some area or another. I just notice now that the smoke it pretty harsh. I have hardly ant coals on there at all but still pretty harsh. What do you all think??? THANKS!!!

[DizzyGuy]

The only air that comes into the hookah should come thru the bowl... so basically, yes, air into the burning shisha... smoking smoke, being pulled into the base, through the water, then through the hose.

[toothhookahharp]

[quote name='DizzyGuy']The only air that comes into the hookah should come thru the bowl... so basically, yes, air into the burning shisha... smoking smoke, being pulled into the base, through the water, then through the hose.[/quote]gotcha thats what i thought. I realized that if i emptied some water from the base, the smke was less harsh. I was thinking the opposite would be the cast but apparently not.