As it turned out, many do not quite understand, or do not understand at all, why hookah valve. Someone thinks that this “thing” is for the hookah man, so that he rehabilitates the hookah, and it is not necessary to use it himself. There are also individuals who, with a smart look, begin to turn the valve with the wording: “We do this so that the thrust is normal.”
First, let's look at the purpose of the valve. It is designed to purge a hookah: you blow into the pipe, and excess air from the flask leaves through this very valve so as not to create strong pressure on the water, otherwise it will rise along the shaft and spoil your tobacco. And why blow a hookah at all? The fact is that even with the presence of a valve, pressure on the water still takes place, because. there is still some resistance at the valve, and the column of water still rises through the shaft, but this pressure is not enough for the water to reach the bowl. So, this "rising" water pushes the air out of the shaft, which is there, which exits through the bowl and thereby cools the tobacco inside.
When should the hookah be blown? In general, a stable blowdown after several draws will help to stabilize the temperature in the bowl, i.e. prevent overheating. In general, the “wake-up call” is the feeling that the tobacco has begun to burn and the bitterness inherent in this. In such a situation, the first step is to get rid of excess heat: remove the coal, remove the cap, etc. Then blow the hookah well. This does not always save: there is tobacco that is very difficult to restore; or the tobacco may have already been burned.
The valve is present on almost all modern hookahs, but their design and, accordingly, their resistance may be different. Those. if you blow too hard into the same one, there is still a chance to fill the bowl; but it has a very “light” valve, and no matter how hard you push, it’s impossible to fill it.
The standard element of the valve is a ball inside it, which, when inhaled, clogs the purge hole, and when pressure is applied to it from the inside, it opens it. When this ball is made of metal, it tends to rust and “stick” into the hole, which will prevent blowing. If this happens, you should either unscrew the valve and adjust the ball, or hit the valve with something like a metal mouthpiece.
To prepare the device correctly. There are also those who will not miss the opportunity to twist the intricate element themselves.
First you need to understand its immediate purpose. The valve in the hookah is used to purge the smoking device: by blowing into the hose, you get rid of the smoke accumulated in the flask.
It is also used in the following cases:
- if you feel bitterness when smoking;
- an unpleasant aftertaste appeared due to the stagnation of smoke in the flask.
Such equipment appeared not so long ago. Some hookah smokers, who have just discovered this type of pastime, are still wondering: “Why is there a valve in the hookah?” All modern devices are equipped with this small detail that contributes to a pleasant smoking experience. Imagine the situation: you are smoking a hookah in the company of friends, one of whom takes too deep puffs. This results in a bitter taste. To eliminate the trouble, just blow the hookah. And the valve will become an indispensable assistant in this matter, because it is he who will release the air.
For proper operation of the hookah device, it must be blown in time. This process is one of the most important when smoking. At this time, the part opens the hole so that the smoke comes out, and during tightening it closes it, while avoiding loss of tightness inside. The ball valve in the hookah blows through the bowl and does not raise the water if you do not blow hard into the hose. It also helps to remove stagnant steam from the flask.
It is also worth considering that how often you blow a hookah, the duration of its smoking will not increase. Even the best hookah loses its taste after 50 minutes. Therefore, if it seems to you that, using the purge, you can smoke for an hour and a half or more, then you are deeply mistaken.
They often try to turn the valve in a hookah, believing that this is a heat regulator for coals. It's definitely not worth doing. So, if you suddenly feel bitter when smoking a hookah, this means that it's time to blow it out. To do this is quite simple. It is only necessary to blow air inside through the hose, during which time the heat will come out of the bowl, it will cool, and the valve will release excess steam from the flask. Thus, you will get rid of burning, or, as they say in narrow circles, “reanimate” it. The obvious advantages of this detail include the following:
- removal of smoke from the flask;
- no air inside;
- the ability to get rid of burning.
Where to buy the item?
After another evening, together with friends, some of the guests unscrewed the valve, and the ball seemed to fall through the ground. Where to get a new one? You can buy it in any store specializing in sales of hookahs and accessories for them. One of these options is "World of Hookahs". Here you will find all the necessary accessories. We are working to provide you with the most enjoyable hookah smoking experience!
Remember that this part must be either open or closed. When smoking, make sure that it is tightly screwed on. It may happen that the valve is so tight that it no longer allows smoke to escape. In this case, you can screw it on, or call a hookah maker if you are not confident in your own abilities. There are situations when the ball in the valve sinks. The reason for this is the settling of water in the purge hole, which provokes the sticking of the part. To eliminate this, disassemble the valve, pull out the ball and wipe everything with a dry cloth (the ball itself and the hole). This manipulation will help return the element to working condition. Take into account the importance of this detail, because without it you will hardly be able to enjoy smoking.
Did you lose your hookah valve during a wild party with friends, a trip out of town, or did it “evaporate” in an amazing way? What to do now, because it is almost impossible to find valves separately in hookah stores, why not buy a new hookah because of such a trifle? Fortunately, this problem has a solution.
If you read my article, then you know for sure that this thing is very necessary, and performs a far from decorative function. It is impossible to imagine a good modern hookah without this small detail, although the old models of half a century ago were not equipped with valves.
You could lose the valve itself or the ball that is inside the hookah. Both of these parts can be quite easily replaced.
Hookah valve replacement
Suppose you have lost or somehow broken the hookah valve cap. Do not try to find caps in hookah shops, you are unlikely to succeed. It’s better to go to a hardware store, taking a hookah shaft with you, as you will need to pick up a part of the desired diameter. What detail exactly? Regular anchor. The choice of anchors is so great that you will not only easily find a replacement valve cap, but you can even match the color one to one to your hookah, if this is important for you.
Ball valve hookah
You could also miraculously lose the hookah valve ball itself. But why a miracle? This part is quite small and it is very easy to lose it. Often, the native metal ball of the hookah valve is specially replaced with a plastic analogue so that it does not stick while smoking the hookah, because if the ball sticks, there can be no question of any high-quality smoking! Moreover, our people most often have not heard that the hookah needs to be blown regularly.
Now you will no longer need a hardware store, but a weapons shop. As a replacement for the hookah valve ball, you can use bullets for pneumatics. You can also use ball bearings.
That's all the solution to the problem, if the information was useful to you - like it!
Those who love a quality hookah know how expensive it is to smoke it somewhere in a restaurant and therefore want to have their own hookah at home. Someone brings them as a souvenir from Turkey or Egypt, where "shisha" is very, very popular.
However, all these hookahs have one fat minus: they are bulky and extremely inconvenient to take with you on a picnic or bring home to a friend. There is a solution - to make your own neat folding hookah from an IKEA glass jar - just like my friends from banka lab do them! This is what we will do today.
1. We will start by making a hole in the lid. The bowl will be inserted there (the bowl and silicone gasket under it are freely sold in any hookah store, as well as all other spare parts)
2. The contour is ready and you can start drilling
3. Glass is drilled with a special diamond head of the required diameter
4. The process is quite long, but there is no hurry here - we need a perfect hole, without chips.
5. On the side of our jar there will be two more holes - for the tube and for the valve.
6. The big picture is starting to emerge
7. There will be a valve
10. After drilling, the holes are ground using a drill with a special nozzle
11. Lid with bowl gasket
12. When drilling glass, you need to take precautions - in addition to glasses, a mask is also desirable, because we shouldn’t breathe glass dust, right? The presence of a beard is not required, but highly recommended!
13. Next, cut off the glass tubes - two short ones of different diameters for the valve (we will insert them into each other) and two long ones - for the mouthpiece and shaft. High-quality Czech borosilicate glass from Simax, a manufacturer of high-end laboratory glassware, is used here.
14. When sawing glass, it is poured with water. So it does not heat up and does not scatter dust so much
15. We make holes in the tube that will descend from the bowl into the water - this is how we get a diffuser that will help cool the smoke and reduce vibrations. In addition, with a diffuser, the hookah will stretch better.
17. In addition to holes, we also make such notches
18. For the valve, we need two small glass tubes and a glass ball. And, of course, pads
19. Valve assembled
21. Almost done. The tubing is medical grade silicone. You can also buy a ready-made hose in the store
22. The guys from banka lab experimented for a long time with the necessary sizes, proportions and design options. Now they have several different options that have proven themselves well.
23. After the jar is ready, it is necessary to test =)
24. Smokes great, the valve works properly. So it's all right.
Nowadays, hookah has gained great popularity, and the market pleases with a variety of brands. The most important part of the hookah is the shaft. The price depends on the mine. What exactly affects the price of a mine? We will talk about this in detail.
Brand
The first thing that affects the price of a hookah shaft is the brand under which it is produced. Even two absolutely identical products of different brands can vary greatly in cost.
The country
The second factor is the country of origin. It's all about the unstable exchange rate. If, for example, in Germany mines for 250 euros are considered not expensive and budget (the norm), then for us a mine for 17250 (250 euros) is already a high price. If the euro grows a little more, then the price for many Russian consumers will not be affordable at all.
That is why we have so much demand for mines from Russian producers, the prices for which are optimal and fixed for Russia.
Material
Naturally, the price of the mine also depends on the material from which it is made. There are several main variations:
1. Aviation aluminum
2. Stainless steel
3. Combination of aircraft aluminum and stainless steel (perhaps caprolon base)
The most budget option is an aluminum shaft, for example, like ARTKALYAN NK-186. This material is quite easy to process and relatively inexpensive.
More expensive will be aluminum shafts with the addition of stainless steel parts, such as a stainless steel submersible shaft. The fact is that steel is much more expensive and more difficult to process.
And the most expensive option is a shaft made entirely of stainless steel, as they say in the common people "full stainless". Accordingly, more "nerzhi" - more expensive hookah. Also, there are stainless steel hookahs with an admixture of titanium, their price is even higher. An example can be seen on the Pharaon Triple Decker 117 hookah
The next factor in pricing are technological solutions. Every day the mines are becoming more and more perfect and all innovations entail an increase in prices.
Consider examples:
1. Internal valve
If earlier all hookahs had a valve screwed into the base (sticking out of the base), now many manufacturers have abandoned this design. At the moment, more and more often you can find a hookah with a disguised inside the base (internal) valve. This design is considered more aesthetic and convenient. The process of manufacturing an internal valve is more complicated than an external one, and, accordingly, the price is higher.
2. Integrated hose connector or magnetic port
With this equipment, you no longer have to use seals. In the first case, the connector is already screwed into the port and you just have to put a silicone hose on it, in the second case, you just need to bring the connector to the port. Another detail, another price increase.
3. Diffuser
A small but very important detail. At the moment, almost all manufacturers make diffusers for their shafts, which also come in different types: cuts, holes, or a removable diffuser.
4. Type of connection with the flask: seal, thread or click system
The simplest type of connection is a seal (the shaft is simply inserted into the flask), the most complex type of connection is the click system (special latches that fix the shaft, the flask in one position and ensure tightness).
5. Accessories
Holders for a hose or mesh on a saucer (so that there is oxygen between the coal and the saucer to support combustion)
In addition, the final price of a mine is strongly influenced by its size. That is, for a shaft measuring, for example, 50 cm, one amount of metal is needed, and for a shaft of 70-75 cm, one and a half times more of this material is needed. Plus, more material, more work in manufacturing. Accordingly, high hookahs can cost more.
Decor
This is also an important factor in pricing. Nowadays, there are a large number of manufacturers of mines, various designs and shapes. In the black, there will be a manufacturer who can hook a large audience.
Quality
No matter how beautiful the hookah is, in 2017, people are interested in a quality product with a long service life. And the quality directly depends on the material, the quality of processing, attention to detail.
Package
The final factor affecting the price of the mine will be its packaging. What would you like to get your hands on? A shaft in bubble wrap, a shaft in a box, or a shaft, for example, in a beautiful, designer, wooden box? Most likely, many will choose the third option, because it not only makes your purchase presentable, but also protects it better. And later, this box can also be used for storing and transporting the mine.
And of course, making such a box is more expensive than wrapping the shaft with foil. Which also increases its price.
