Need Check Valves and Caps/Plugs for 4-Hose KM

[Growley Monster]

Hi everybody. New member here, first post. I just bought a 4 hose Kahlil Mamoon hookah and I am thinking it would sure be nice to have appropriate caps or plugs for unused hose receptacles, and also check valves to eliminate the bother of thumbing the hose tips. Now, I KNOW there are a lot of these hookahs out there, and I am pretty sure I am not the first person to want these little conveniences, so I am guessing that someone, somewhere, is selling exactly what I am looking for. I googled and found a few possibilities, yeah, but mostly they look like they will definitely not work for KM or other traditional type hookahs.

I know the stock advice is probably going to be to stick with a one hose KM but me and GF prefer separate hoses cause we get too lazy to pass a single hose once we are well into a bowl. I figured, if two, then why not four hoses? Guests and all. I know the Mya appliances are of good quality and are great smokers, but I just prefer the look of the KM and similar hookahs. I would rather buy four ball check valves than a whole nother hookah and anyway I like this one just fine except for the lack of modern convenience, which ought to in no way detract from the appearance.

Actually I think it would be kind of nice if KM made a multi hose hookah with removable check valves. It would definitely increase their market share. Hope I am not comitting some unpardonable offense with that idea...

So, anybody got a source for what I am wanting? Or will I have to make my own?

[Stuie]

They don't really make them. Multi hose option for me is only Mya Saray.

There are plugs to put in unused hose ports but not check valves. If I find a vendor with them, I will let you know. 

[Growley Monster]

Well, I found one solution though not a particularly elegant or graceful one. Got one of these from amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073W95VJP/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

and it fits hookah and hoses. As sort of a left handed bonus it functions as a purge valve if the unused receptacle is left open, without a hose. There are a bunch of different vendors selling similar and this one is not special... probably just the cheapest one I saw, don't remember. I guess for now I will get three more of them. But I will have created a monster... an 8 hose hookah? OctoHookah? I will probably end up 3D printing something but I just got too much going on right now.

Alternately I might just fill up three hose grommets with silicone and let them cure, and use them to plug the other receptacles. (uncured common hardware store silicone has a lot of acetic acid in it and will smell and taste like vinegar for a couple of days.)

The more I think about it though, the more I wish KM would just make a multi with them already built in or included.

[Growley Monster]

Wow I am surprised at the low interest in this topic. Anyway I tried the splitters with built in ball check valves, and they were a PITA because they would always work loose where they plug into the hookah. So I endeavored to create something myself. I considered modifying the base end of my hoses, then thought about the tip end. The thing is, once modified, it is modified. Can't undo a screwup, maybe. But I had a bunch of the big long disposable tips that are becoming popular in cafes these days. And I had a few of the smaller ones, too. Both are the male type, i.e. they are inserted INTO the mouthpiece of the hose, not over it. I fiddled around and saw right away that the small one will stick into the small end of the big tip. Further examination revealed that a metal check valve ball does not pass through a small tip, but will seat on it and seal reasonably well. So, I stuck a ball in a big tip and stuck a small one in the small end to hold the ball in. Of course the ball rolled right out the mouth end of the tip. No biggie. Come back to that later. So I cut the small end of the small tip off and left that in the big tip. Now the big tip can be inserted into the hose mouthpiece and hold a ball bearing securely from falling into the hose. I took the mouth end of the small tip and cut it short, and sort of crimped it so that the ball could not pass through it, and stuck it in the mouth end of the big tip. Now the ball is captive, seals on exhale (or on inhale from another hose) and cannot be sucked into the mouth. Or lungs. Ick. But the airflow through the tip is seriously impeded by the crimped piece, it looks sort of ugly, can fall apart, and is just generally kinda screwed up.

I thought I might just drill a hole clear through the big tip just below the big end, and glue a piece of monofilament nylon fishing line through the holes across through the middle of the tip. I couldn't find any line sufficiently big, thinking about 200lb test or bigger, for the rigidity, but all that stuff is on my boat and I am at my GF house. Tried weedwhacker string but it isn't round, and doesn't seal in a hole good without glue. Then I thought maybe a piece of the 1/16" nickel/silver rod that I use for pinning the straight razors I make, modify, and restore. Drilled the hole, stuck the rod through, cut and filed the end and wa lah. The pic below shows the finished version. Works great. I will now make them for all four hoses.

 

[Growley Monster]

Just a followup. Still using these, and they are working great.