zophar Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 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 More sharing options...
Kofod Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 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 More sharing options...
zophar Posted March 13, 2005 Author Share Posted March 13, 2005 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 More sharing options...
Kofod Posted March 13, 2005 Share Posted March 13, 2005 You should place it on the level side and not the curved. That is most common and I should think it will gain the best result - but still its no exact science - preference and trail and error is king. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAKOOH Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 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 More sharing options...
HAKOOH Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 And about the coal, Kofod is correct. Place the coal on the flat side and not on the curved side. -Mark C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zophar Posted March 14, 2005 Author Share Posted March 14, 2005 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 More sharing options...
King Mo Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 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 More sharing options...
zophar Posted March 15, 2005 Author Share Posted March 15, 2005 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 More sharing options...
Kofod Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 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 More sharing options...
King Mo Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 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 look forward to the response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kofod Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 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 More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 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 More sharing options...
Kofod Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Ohh I think that the Stargate I have/the one we are speaking of is the same as the diamond/silvester and the one named expo stargate on tobaccoimport is a mini silvester/diamond/stargate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaqseemHookahs Posted March 16, 2005 Share Posted March 16, 2005 Kofod, happy you like yours. you are right it is the same 25" hookah no diffrent in size because we are the same company ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAKOOH Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 WOW this is an incredible piece. I've smoked at least 40 bowls on this thing and am doing about 4-5 bowls a day. I love the way this thing smokes and how easy it is to clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zophar Posted March 19, 2005 Author Share Posted March 19, 2005 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 More sharing options...
ZooJohnnyZETA Posted March 19, 2005 Share Posted March 19, 2005 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 More sharing options...
Kofod Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 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 More sharing options...
zophar Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 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 More sharing options...
zophar Posted March 20, 2005 Author Share Posted March 20, 2005 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 More sharing options...
RuarriP Posted March 20, 2005 Share Posted March 20, 2005 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 More sharing options...
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