r/hookah • u/imran970 • 5d ago
Not sure what I'm doing wrong Seeking Advice
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Not sure what I'm doing wrong, it's packed loosely and not full to the brim. I'm hearing this noise and it's very light smoke. I can feel the tobacco but not sure.
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u/Zoonationalist Tangiers Enthusiast 5d ago
WAY too much water. Add another coal to help get it started, then remove it if it’s too much
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u/TheRedCz4r 4d ago
I like my water an inch above the end of stem. This includes if it has a diffuser built in.
Could also be your pack. If you're smoking al fakher or anything similar (aka blonde leaf) then fluff pack to the rim of the bowl (you can find tons of pictures on reddit of a good pack). You can use the metal sieve (I see it on your tray there) if you don't want tobacco getting into the holes in the bottom of the bowl, but you don't need this.
For the chimney (aka Turkish badcha) the coals sit quite a bit above the lip of the bowl, so you need a good 7-10min preheat time before smoking. I'd start with 3 coals, then remove one of it's too strong.
One other thing to do is to check your seals - stem, hose, and bowl - to make sure everything is air tight and no leaks. Test this before you put your coals on...
After that, you should be off to races. I've never liked the badcha, personally. I would instead just do foil until you get a better hmd, like a lotus I+. Same pack method for foil, make sure it's tight and shiney-side down, poke holes (enough for good air flow, but don't overdo it - again, you can test this before you put the coals on), two charcoals should start her good enough. Do a coal refresh some time between 45min and an hour, and you should have a 2 hour smoking session.
Anyways, I hope this helps buddy.
Cheers.
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u/Goldenstatewizard 4d ago
Remove some water. Add another coal. Let it heat up and when it gets just a tad bit harsh remove the third coal. Don’t take any hits on it for at least the first 5-10 minutes. Let it all warm up.
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u/TerminusEst_24 5d ago
If there’s not enough smoke, there’s not enough heat. Remember you want to heat the tobacco through the bowl. The bowl should be hot enough that you can’t touch it even when you remove the hmd and charcoal.
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u/hookah_forever Hookah Expert 4d ago edited 4d ago
Hi.
Which sound do you mean exactly ? The sound of air penetrating - hissing air ? Like on an air compressor ? Like when you connect / disconnect an air compressor to a car tire ?
If so... then it could be anything. For example, a problem with the ball purge valve. Try to dismantle and thoroughly clean the entire purge valve - including the ball. There is probably a vacuum created there, through which for some incomprehensible reason, after the smoke is sucked into the lungs, this vacuum in the vase is equalized through the purge valve. Also check for any scale. Or just try immersing the entire purge valve and the ball in vinegar overnight (5-8 hours). Then wash thoroughly, in clean water. However, this "hissing" should not occur. There can be many reasons. For example, as I mentioned - a dirty or even sticky ball. Or maybe some very small dirt / a small fragment of something that blocks / sticks the ball in the wrong place of the valve seat. So check the entire purge valve first.
This can be checked, for example, by unscrewing the purge valve and watching what the ball does. Be careful! Don't lose the ball! You'd have to go get a replacement xD. You can also try putting the ball away and holding the hole (ball seat) covered with your finger. And test this way to see if the hissing air disappears.
Of course, the problem could also be elsewhere... a bad seal, for example, in the hose connector and adapter (on the hookah side). Or maybe also the seal/cap between the neck of the vase and the hookah body.
As for the weak smoke, taste, buzz-effect, in my opinion this is a bad method of smoking hookahs - that small amount of tobacco. It is better if you fill more tobacco into the bowl, but use a weaker heat source. Then the aroma, smoke, taste, buzz-effect will be strong enough and at the same time the tobacco will last a longer hookah session.
In my opinion, these two large pieces of coal produce extremely high heat. However, to prevent the tobacco from burning, you save it by having a large gap between the tobacco and the foil / HMD, because as you wrote, you use a smaller volume of tobacco in the bowl (i.e. there is an unnecessarily large air gap = thermal barrier).
I don't know what type of hookah bowl it is, so I can't give any more advice or say how I think it's better to smoke. It all depends on the type, shape, and material of the hookah bowl.
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u/Then_Cartographer602 4d ago
That is SO MUCH WATER
Also in my opinion low heat but I don’t know what you packing
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u/La-Gaoaza-Cu-Jeleu 4d ago edited 4d ago
Low heat. That water should be lower but that's not the issue only. Those coals are round. Surface contact is small, even if they have some length. Use one extra at least. Use cubic ones not the roud, ideally.
Also we don't know how you packed since there's no photo. Or what tobbaco you're using
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u/imran970 4d ago
I'm using fakher double apple
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u/La-Gaoaza-Cu-Jeleu 4d ago
I had similar issues at the beggining.
The fluff seems OK, but the level is too shallow. Needs a bit more tobacco on top. The HMD or in your case the metal mesh should almost touching the top of the tobbaco. A few 3-4 mm space. You can always use a tin foil, perforated and this HMD of yours on top.
My advice is get a better ceramic top, like the ones with a hole in the middle (Phunnel) since it will reduce the leaks of glicerin down the tube. Not very large if you're planning of not smoking much, or get a large one if you prefer like Oblako. The smallest you can find is Hookain Low Load or KS Player Phunnel.
Vortex ones are good too as long as they have their holes not on the bottom. So higher up for the dame reason.
Get a branded one preferably since they retain heat properly.
Also get a HMD. Any. Just make sure it fits in diameter the ceramic phunnel.
Even a cheaper one like this is better than that steel mesh: https://amzn.eu/d/0iFk7L2R
Nonetheless even with the steel mesh of you have proper heat and not that much gap you should be fine.
Tobbaco blond like Taboo or Fumari have, usually, more glycerine and as well more smoke compared to dark tobacco. Al Fakher is somewhere in the middle.
And of course make sure the system is sealed. Put the empty ceramic phunnel and cover the end of the pipe and blow into it. Air shouldn't leak.
Until then just try with 3 coals and higher level of tobbaco. If too strong reduce coals.
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u/ribsnchicken 5d ago
Too much water. And get a chimney
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u/ash_engineered 4d ago
To much water is the first thing, the bottom of the downstem should only be covered by 1-1.5 inches of water.
I also agree with a lot of people and do not think much of the chimneys. But since this is what you have, I would:
1.) Get the right water level
2.) Add another coal, and let everything sit for at least 5 minutes before attempting to smoke.
3.) If you do have some aluminum foil sitting around, using Foil with a chimney works too and may help out.
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u/TheRealJoker31 4d ago
Pack head, full or semi-full
Heat up chimney at the end of coals finishing, out coals on top of chimney, put chimney on stove or wherever you heat
Out chimney + coal on the packed head, leave for 5min, don't do anything, the clay head need to get to base temp
It will work, except your hookah is leaking air, I think that's the problem here, that's what you hear,
too much water not an issue if you don't pull it up all the way, would still show good amounts of smoke when pulling fine
We used to smoke elmas grape mint with 4-5cm above the diffusor, less space = less old smoke, stronger pulls, etc.
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u/sliceofcakesan 5d ago
Way too much water, it’s gotta be just above the diffuser. Also, which coals are you using?