Packing and enjoying your hookah

Thinking about buying a hookah? Already have a hookah and it's just sitting in the corner collecting dust? Time to pick one up or bring yours out and enjoy it!

Step 1: The Hookah

There are lots of different kinds out there. Egyptian, Syrian, Modern, etc etc and come in a large range of sizes. From 12" to 42", from one hose to multiple. Doesn't really matter what kind you have or get. I personally enjoy the larger ones because I feel inhaling off them is nicer and I use mine lots, so why not make it a bit flashy. There are also different kinds of bowl and hoses. I've never found any real difference in the performance of those items. Now onto what you're going to need besides the hookah.

Comments

[Warlrosity]

In theory, could smoking a hookah without tobacco be non harmful?

[makalove]

Less harmful, yes. Non-harmful? There's still combustion happening, which means carcinogens are still being formed.

[FlatLinerMEDIC]

Yep. BUT much healthier

[FlatLinerMEDIC]

From 7 years of hookah repair and smoking as well of study of culture it is iimportant to not burn coals ontop of the foil. Burn seperatly in the tray or in a coal holder. Very nice instructable.

[gadget613]

what i do is take a tooth pick or needle and poke holes all the way around, not to many or big. then i take the coal and light it off the hookah and i put it on the sides not center because if u put it on the center right away the smoke time doesnt last that long. but if u run the sides first it last alot longer, i used 1 bowl with my 8 hose hookah for 4 hours while doing this. it also depends on the size of ur bowl, if its small it wont last as long, i got one that is about 2 1/2 inches and its pretty deep. i cant promise it will work with all bowls

[sharlston]

can this give u cancer like cigarteetes?

[cerberustugowar]

yup it can.

[lordofthedonuts]

ha, that's hookah charcoal i had in my garage for over 9000 years.

[Weissensteinburg]

A stove is also a quick way to light a coal, as long as you don't mind cleaning it after.

[scotto55]

just a warning... DO NOT USE BBQ BRIQUETTES THEY WILL MAKE YOU SICK! use only charcoal made for hookah smoking.

[shaynewest]

few things - the tobacco also contains glycerin typically (or some other similar things) i believe to help it burn evenly. also in my experience some shops sell large boxes of briquette style charcoal (think BBQ) that come in carrot sized logs. you need to break them up of course to fit on the bowl but they burn nicer IMHO. warning - not self lighting! i tried making some before but had no glycerin - so it didn't burn that well.... so is anyone gonna step up and write an instructable on homemade hookah tobacky?

[s666666666666]

that would be pretty intense if someone grew their own tobacco, used fruit that they grew and picked up the other ingredients. I bet there are recipes out there for it though

[lasersage]

molasses (sp?) is the stuff I've always heard referred to, not glycerin. Perhaps molasses is mainly glycerin, I don't know.

[scotto55]

there is molasses (or honey) and glycerin in shisha

[julianull]

as a strange side not if you lose your down tube that goes into the water (or had it missing from your set like me) a jack in the box straw fits perfectly in most hookahs. for some reason the ones from other restraunts dont. i guess jack in the box was made for smokers of all herbage

[vanpaun]

Can't be good for you.

[Vautikos]

What do you use to flip the coal? I've never heard of doing it that way before, and it seems like a good way to get a more even burn from cheaper coals.

[s666666666666]

usually when you buy a hookah they give you a pair of tongs. so that's what I use with mine. i guess you could use a pair of needle nose pliers if need be. I've also seen people use scissors before. but when the coal flips out then it tends to burn whatever it lands on

[cokebottle tuque]

You can use your fingers if your quick about it, charcoal is rather porous and as such is a fairly poor heat conductor. On a side note its probably a bad idea to test your hotcrap juggling skills for the first time while in side.