The "ring" or "pocket" foil method

[Interpol]

I'm fairly new to hookah and was having problems with burning my shisha. I tried packing less shisha, so it woulden't touch the foil, using fewer coals, and the double foil method. I just kept burning it no matter what I did. I was thinking about it on the way back from the beach house and came to the conclusion of having some sort gap between the coals and the shisha so it would not burn. I came up with using a foil ring between the two sheets of foil.

First, pack your hookah with shisha like you would normally. Cover with a layer of foil shiny side down and poke a large number of holes, leaving a small gap around the edge of the bowl for the ring. Make the ring using a rectangle of foil, about 3 inches by 6 inches, and fold/roll it half in inch at a time. Fold it once more in half along the length. You should end up with a quarter inch by six inch strip. Bend it into a circle, a smidge bigger than your area of the holes you poked and slip one end into the other. Place on the bottom foil and wrap with the top foil. Poke a normal amount of holes on the top foil. Light your coals and place in the center.

[Interpol]

The rest of the pics.

[Sambooka]

That is a great idea! There is a vid of some guys doing this technique in this thread ... I am gonna try this!

This thread has the vid ... http://www.hookahpro.com/forums/index.php?topic=168.0

[freepain]

Good stuff i am let to try this tho

might have to experiment this weekend

[Interpol]

The gap makes a pocket of hot air right above the shisha and makes it nice for smoking by yourself. The hot air keeps the shisha going without getting too cold and the gap keeps it from burning while you're resting between drags. The gap also acts as an ash trap

It also lets you be a little lazy by not having to move the coals around and all the shisha gets lets heat each pull but all of get the heat. Great for at parties when you're not always watching over the hookah or preoccupied with a computer or something.

[sammniamii]

i tried this method 3 times now and each time it seems to fail for me - not enough heat to keep the shisha going. How tall is the ring your making?

[Sambooka]

yeah, give us some detail, cuz I want to perfect this method to utilize every now and then...

[Interpol]

Sorry about not giving as much detail. I'll draw up some diagrams later tonight.

The height of the ring needs to be about 1/4 of an inch tall. The ring should be about an 1/4 of an inch inside the edge of the bowl.

Also, I'm not too sure about how it will act with a phunnel bowl.

[Interpol]

Alrighty, here's a diagram to show you whats going on. The inner ring on the top view is 1/4 of an inch inside the edge of the bowl. The rectangle on top in the side view is the ring, 1/4 inch tall. Just wrap another layer of foil over top and add some holes and you'll be good to go.

[KoRnKitten]

wow! nice diagram! that's crazy!!!!! but anyways, i must tried this 10 times the other day, first off my bowl looks ugly and wrinkly, (i hate that lol i'm ocd...lol) and then my coals wouldn't keep the shisha warm enough to smoke. It was almost like there was too much space and i had it exactly 1/4. '

i dunno/ i'll keep trying... you bowl looks 1000x better than mine.... mine looked like it had a seizure.....

[Sambooka]

I tried this last night with some El Basha Grape, and Mmmm it was tasty the whole way through! I think this method would work well on easy to burn shisha ... I even used a make shift windscreen to concentrate heat and was getting some pretty billowy clouds. I recommend trying this method...

[sammniamii]

Hum, maybe it's just good for "burnable" shisha, I tried it AGAIN last night with the AF Cappicino and couldn't even get enough smoke to see I was even heating the shisha - or taste. Removed the ring and ta-da! Instant smoke/taste. Hum.... what the heck am I doing wrong?

[Sambooka]

You could try a windcover, that helps to conduct the heat on top...?

[Interpol]

I guess it depends on which coals and shisha are being used. I usually use 1 Japanese silver with some Starbuzz in my standard Mya bowl. If its kinda windy a coal and a half works really well. I am also using heavy duty aluminum foil instead those thin hookah foils.

Sammniamii and KoRnKitten, you're basically trying to draw the same amount of air through twice the resistance of a normal screen,to remedy this you'll need more holes in both screen. I'll see how many I use next time I smoke and maybe take better pictures.

And thanks for the comment on my diagram. Stuff like that is easy to do when you have $15,000 worth of drafting software.

[Sambooka]

ohh I had a great session last night, plenty of airflow ... was very enjoyable!

[angemonkwj]

i may give this a shot tomorrow. i have some havana samples i wanna try out.

[Sambooka]

It is really nice, like I said, I had the best session ever with my El Basha Grape!

[sammniamii]

Originally Posted by Interpol

I guess it depends on which coals and shisha are being used. I usually use 1 Japanese silver with some Starbuzz in my standard Mya bowl. If its kinda windy a coal and a half works really well. I am also using heavy duty aluminum foil instead those thin hookah foils.

Sammniamii and KoRnKitten, you're basically trying to draw the same amount of air through twice the resistance of a normal screen,to remedy this you'll need more holes in both screen. I'll see how many I use next time I smoke and maybe take better pictures.

And thanks for the comment on my diagram. Stuff like that is easy to do when you have $15,000 worth of drafting software.

I put lots o'holes.... hum, maybe i just made the ring too tall or not wide enough. I also use the windcover becasue with this set-up, the coal bounces around a bit and I'm terrified it's gonna bounce right off onto the carpet!

Interpool: Drafter software? Autocad? Which version?

[Interpol]

Originally Posted by sammniamii

I put lots o'holes.... hum, maybe i just made the ring too tall or not wide enough. I also use the windcover becasue with this set-up, the coal bounces around a bit and I'm terrified it's gonna bounce right off onto the carpet!

Interpool: Drafter software? Autocad? Which version?

Just do a little experimenting with the ring. It should be quite wide and you might need to make yours not quite as tall.

BTW, I used AutoCAD 2007 student version. I also have Autodesk Inventor Professional 11 student version.

[sammniamii]

Sweet! I have a full version '05 at home, but I'm using '08 at work! Nice to meet other people who use the same stuff, ya know?

I guess I'll try again - got some non-smoker friends coming over. They get to be test subjects! *evil snicker*

[Louis]

if this is because your having too much heat and getting your shisha burned easily just use 2 layers of foil on your bowl instead of 1 works just as well and doesnt take as much effort and foil.

[ToshJoy]

Looks like a great idea. I may just have to try it out. Usually I just try to keep the coals as close to the edge as possible, mostly sitting on the edges of the bowl, just barely touching the shisha.

[BoSoxFanatic21]

Ive been experiencing the same problem. Certainly a method I will be trying soon!

[Sambooka]

SO anybody try this technique out? I like using this technique for smoking something dry like Nakhla ...

[sammniamii]

I'm gonna "modifing" this tech for use w/ my shallow clay bowl. Instead of two layers of foil, I'm just gonna put the foil ring directly into the shisha, w/ a space and foil above it. See if it helps prevent burning in that shallow bowl.