Jump to content

Stargate hookah tips??


Recommended Posts

I just purchased the Stargate hookah from ebay
read great reviews about it but so far my smoking experiences have been very so so, and i'm using only al-fakher and romman tobacco, let me explain what i do and you guys can point out what im doing wrong, correct/add as necessary
1. Fill water to about the glass part of the water bowl, just slightly over the metal part
2. a. Using the small head, i underfill the tobacco because once when i stuffed it it just stuck to the coal and it was very harsh as i think it was just tobacco burning. This way it doesnt last very long, about 15-20 mins. This is using 1 coal
b. Using the large head, I put one coal in the center, it wasnt really burning very well, so i put on another coal, still felt weird, so i put THREE coals on simultaneously and man that was REALLY harsh my head was spinning for a good while.
3. I use the golden self lighting coals as recommended by mathazar on this forum. I use a matchstick to light em and wait till they stop sparking to put them on. I always put it on the center of the foil.
For stargate users, you guys use the smaller "funnel" like thing for the large base and the larger one for the small bowl right?
What I noticed after a smoking round, when I lift the bowl up there's a large amount of colored liquid on the bowl mount (not the actual bowl), is the flavor 'leaking'?
I make a large amount of holes in the foil in a circular format. Sometimes when I get a dense smoke i dont really get much flavor.
Very frustrated, pl help!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not recieved my stargate yet - but I will let you know when I get hands-on experience.
My guess is that what is going wrong happens in the hot area - coal/bowl area. So do you use foil og screen? From what I read you use foil - I should recommend a screen when it seems like you have to much heat.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh and another question thats been bothering me for quite some time now
when you light circular shaped coals like the golden charcoal, how do you place it on the bowl, curved side down on the foil or the bottom part (which is 'pushed' in) on the foil.
maybe im not being clear, the coal has 2 sides, one side's flat and the others curved, im basically asking which one should be placed face down on the foil for best smoking effect
 
much thanks once again
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couple things i see going wrong with your smoking experience.

1. The coal should never be put in the middle of the bowl right away.
You should place the coal on the edge of the bowl and move the coal
around the bowl as you keep smoking. The middle of the bowl is the last
place for the coal.

I use 2 coals per bowl of shisha. My first coal what i use to heat the
entire bowl and my second coal i just leave in the middle of the bowl
since the edges have already been "cooked."

A little bit of fluid on your grommet is normal because of the juices
that tend to leak down. Just make sure you clean it up so that you can
get a good seal on your grommet and bowl the next time you smoke.

The best pattern for the foil i use is a pattern i found on this forum. I forget who it was. But it looks like this.

      .  
. . . .
  . . .
. . . .
  .


That pattern is very effective and it gets the smoke real thick. I
would also recommend using a windcover to insulate the heat and keep
the bowl hot.

You do not need to put that much water in this hookah. I only fill it
about 1 inch above the stem that is submerged in the water.

I only smoke Rommann and Al Fakher too and I also have the stargate
hookah. I've only smoked about 4 bowls with it as i just got it but so
far this hookah is incredible. The build of the hookah is unparalleled.
So far all is well with it. This hookah is much better then my 3 other
hookahs ive had in the past. Thanks.

-Mark C
Link to comment
Share on other sites

appreciate the post! will try it with less water next time
also how do you clean? after every smoke i pour water through every component to make sure it stays clean, i noticed some grey stuff that looks like ash inside the stem, doesnt come out with tissue paper or water
Link to comment
Share on other sites

how good are these exactly? I am pretty happy with my mya shisha, but
saw these in my local shop, and may have to get one cos they look sexy.

Any good/bad experiences with them?

how does the hose fit in? is it a different fitting to most standard hoses (e.g. screw in)

is it fully glass base, or is it metal at the bottom?

i'm curious, cos they aint cheap, and would have to smoke well for me to buy one.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok so tried it again today, less water, wasnt smoking very good again
then i just screwed off the valve cover and covered it with my thumb, smoked a LOT LOT better, thick smoke!
i will try again this time cover the outlet with a foil!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok - you had a valve ball that did'nt fall into place - that can happen. You have been "smoking" 50/50 air/smoke.
You can test for that before smoking in a tightness test.
When you are smoking you can test it by sucking modestly - if you can without making bubbles you are having an untight valve.
A foil will of course do the trick - but try fiddeling a little with the ball and se if it just where'nt fallen into place.
King Mo - I'm picking mine up from a curier to day - I can let you know when I get some hands on experience.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks kofod will appreciate the tip.

I just like the way the damn thing looks and the size is ideal for
transportation. My mya saray acrylic base shisha smokes better than
anything I've ever tried whether in a cafe or at home, and I tried a
hell of a lot of different types in different countries.

I dont like the look of that head either, and the grommets look different .

here it'll cost me about 70 english pounds to buy, (with a bit of bargaining with the guy maybe less).

I need all the details from a hopefully satisfied customer :D

look forward to the response.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To keep it short - its awsome.
This machine is quality to the smallest detail. And it just provides a good smoke - as simple as that.
It just do what its supposed to with no problems.
Really nothing much to say when something just does the job - I'm amazed - its just THE PIPE for me.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm... this is a very interesting thread indeed!

 I've been looking at the Stargate on [url="http://www.tobaccoimportusa.com/tobaccoshop/index.php/action"]http://www.tobaccoimportusa.com/tobaccosho...ndex.php/action[/url] /category/id/6/ 
 and I find it to be very interesting. Seems like a miniature
version of the Splash Diamond (Silverster) from all outside appearences.

  However $70 seems a little expensive for a miniature when I could get the full size Diamond model for $110.

 I do like small hookahs though... and that does appear to be (as looks go) one of the best small hookahs around.

 
  I'll be interested to hear more about people's oppinions of this in the future
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok so i tried taping the valve outlet to prevent air being sucked in, exhaled and stil saw smoking come out..
now the reason i did this is cause i unscrewed the valve cap and saw there was no "ball" in there, its hollow, which means that there is probably air being sucked in, i plug it with my thumb and it smokes fine
my question to stargate owners, does the valve cap/valve itself have a "ball" in it? My previous hookah does
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well theres the answer to your problem right there Zophar!

 It seems as if your hookah must have came with a part missing, as
every should have a little metal ball inside the valve system. I'm not
sure where you can get replacement valve balls, but I do have one
suggestion to offer.

  Perhaps you could go to a store that sells ammunition for pellet
pistols and B.B. guns and try to find some large sized B.B. that would
fit it well.

 Im sure you'd have to buy a box of several hundred B.B.s to get
the single B.B. you need, but it might save you time and money on
shipping and returning the hookah in the long run.


Thats my best suggestion, anyone else have any ideas?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My guess is also that the ball is lacking - all mine came with balls - thats just the stuff that can happen. When you get it fixed one way or the other you will have a pipe amongst the best pipes you can get.
Another way to get hold of a ball of the right size is at a bike shop, cause the valveballs are actually ball bearings (for bikes - not for cars  - gotta have one damn big pipe for that )
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the help guys
what i did was pop the ball out of my old hookah and put it in this one, it seems like a pretty tight fit, fwiw my old one is the 'odyssey' hookah, ill be smoking it later on and will report my findings!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well boys and girl it still smokes like sh!t, I have contacted Taqseem to ask for an EXCHANGE not a return, lets see how they respond. I am VERY confident that I did not drop the ball bearing, it came that way. Lets see how taqseem respond.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey man,

  Another option for you is to get a set of wheels
with ball-bearings inside them, like couch or table wheels (casters),
break the mechanisms apart to get at the little bearings inside. 
Your local hardware store should have plenty of sizes available. 

  Before everyone laughs at this...I have done it to
repair an antique pipe.  The dissassembly of the bearing is
difficult unless you have access to some power tools, like a
grinder.  I took my caster outside and bashed it with a hammer
until it gave up the bearings.  The pipe works great now. 

  It's a cheap fix but it can be time consuming, I had
to use a heavy-duty caster to get the right size bearing.  It took
me over a hour of solid bashing to get the bearings out.  But the
pipe works now so it was all worth it in the end.

Good luck
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...