Hookah Assy step by step :
Fill the glass base cold water, about halfway up. Insert the brass stem just to check the water level – the bottom of the pipe should be a few centimeters (inch or so) below the level of the water). Remove the pipe so you can fit the washer.
Insert the rubber washer and fit the brass stem into that. Soap and water helps to squeeze the pieces in together as you need as airtight a fit as possible. In Egypt we achieve this by wrapping damp bandages, or an old rag around the stem before inserting it into the glass base (so the bandages are hidden). Keeping things damp helps to take the shisha apart again too. Masking tape will work to seal the joint but is not so attractive.
Put the other pieces together as shown on the website at
www.egyptianshop.co.uk/shop/pages/pipes_.htm
Use aluminium foil on the joint between the hose and stem to seal and protect it. Place the small, rubber collar (sometimes supplied with large pipes) on the top of the pipe below the charcoal holder. Once you have base, pipe, and hose connected, place your thumb over the pipe opening and suck on the hose. If you get bubbles through the water or you feel that a lot of air is coming through the hose, you may have an air leak. somewhere. If the fit is OK, add the clay bowl and put your palm over it and suck again to check that connection. Air leaks are not a major concern, so don't stress out about them (hookah smoking should certainly not be stressful!), but avoiding them means that you don't have to suck as hard to get a good lungfull of smoke.
...then add some shisha...
Smear just a pinch of shisha tobacco into the bottom of your bowl. A little tobacco can go a long way and, unless you plan to smoke for more than an hour, you can manage to get too much with only a thumb and forefinger. When your shisha "runs out" while you're smoking, you usually get a kind of bitter, fruity bite in the back of your throat. If you're just not getting much smoke or flavour, it's probably because your coals aren't hot enough. Experimentation will show you how much or how little shisha you want to use. Some people like to put a layer of aluminum foil with holes poked in it between their shisha and coals; this prevents the shisha from sticking to the coals and allows you to more easily add fresh coals.
...and some red hot coals.
Probably the most important thing about good shisha is using hot coals. Whenever you smoke for more than about half an hour, you will usually have to add some fresh ones to keep your smoke thick and flavorful. Use the smokeless, self-lighting (as compared to requiring lighter fluid) coals that are often used for burning incense. Don't use regular charcoal briquettes! Regular charcoal may lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure that your coal is completely lit; if you have an incense burner, perhaps let your coal light in it while you assemble your hookah. Otherwise, you can hold it with the tongs and blow on it a little. Once you've got a red hot coal, put it in the bowl on top of the shisha and press it down with the tongs while giving a few good draws on the hose. Once you have a good white smoke going, sit back and enjoy!
TIPS:
The small, unscrewable appendage with the tiny ball bearing in it on the opposite side of the hookah from the hose is a release valve. (Don't lose the ball bearing investigating it -- the ball keeps air from coming in when you suck on the hose.) If your shisha gets too strong, blow through the hose and the excess smoke in the base will escape here.
Get your washer wet before putting your hookah together or taking it apart.
Use a bit of washing up liquid [dish soap] on the washer; after a couple of goes it becomes nice and easy to dissasemble.
It's easier to use a few layers of masking tape around the main pipe rather than a washer.
A hole-poked layer of aluminum foil over an almost full bowl of shisha means you can smoke for a long time (shisha lasts longer) and that you can easily knock off the old coals and add fresh hot ones.
(Of course, not all of your shisha may burn up this way: a concern if you want to conserve tobacco.)Using much coal (more than three medium-sized pieces) creates more smoke, but the smoke tastes less. Using less coal creates more taste in the smoke, but less smoke, which results in one pipe lasting much longer (a couple of hours or even more). If you are hooked on the thick, smooth smoke, then use more coal; in all, you get the same amount of taste in one puff. However, if you are smoking for the taste, then use less coal, and make your tobacco last forever.
You can make a home-made double or triple-hose hookah:
Get a 'T' or '+' garden hose splitter and stick it where you usually connect the hose. If it doesn't sit tightly, wrap some Teflon around it (the stuff plumbers use to seal hosing). Connect two or 3 short (about 4 inches) pieces of garden hose the same diameter as the splitter. Connect 3 hookah hoses to the garden hoses and you've got yourself a super-hookah. It is best if only one guy inhales at a time while the other smokers place their thumbs over their hoses.You can put several things in the water to improve the taste or the amount of smoke the hookah produces. Milk will make the smoke thicker but you need to wash the different components carefully after smoking. Mint leaves or slices of lemon will improve the taste of the smoke.
For smoking in an open place, buy a shisha chimney or make one from the top of a 2 litre Coke bottle to protect the coal and rest it on the tray.
If you break your glass hookah base, it doesn't mean the hookah is lost. Get a plastic bottle with a wide base, cut it so the brass part fits in and it works perfectly.
