A Look at the Hookah

by Bud J. Jonser

Thanks to my wife Ashly, my two children Jane and Mary and to my dog Sparky

A "Quarter Pounder with Seed, Large Fry, No Shake" Production

I am undecided as to whether you are reading this file to gather as much information as possible, or if you just want to get down to the actual method, so I'll leave the tried and true plans at the end of this file.

Introduction

This ancient design still ranks among the most efficient smoking devices. It consists of a bowl connected to a tube which runs into a containter of water about 90% full. Another tube starts in the 10% of the container which is dry air and ends in the users mouth. When the user inhales, the smoke is cooled first through the tube descending from the bowl into the depths of the container. The smoke is cooled mostly by the next stage on its journey -- through the water itself as bubbles. Finally, the tube extending from the air chamber to the user adds even more cooling effect to the smoke.

Variables in designing a good hookah

The larger the water chamber, the cooler your smoke can potentially be. Some very old hookahs have chambers as large as several litres.

Fill the water chamber with ice water. This will greatly increase the cooling effect.

Leave enough space between the water level and the inhalation pipe so that splashing water is not sucked up through this tube.

Choose a small one-hit bowl to avoid leaving burning material in the bowl after your lungs are full.

Additional user-tubes multiply the fun and efficency with friends.

The Happy Hookah

This hookah was constructed using a 64 oz. ocean spray glass juice bottle, 1/4 inch diameter plastic tubing, and a removable bowl borrowed from another pipe. First, I used a phillips screwdriver like an awl to create two small holes in the metal top of the juice bottle. Next, I used a knife to widened these holes to permit plastic tubes to be squeezed through. Before I actually inserted the tubes however, I covered the holes with electric tape. I stuck a pin through the tape and widened the pinhole with the screwdriver. The hole in the tape was just smaller than the diameter of the tube so that when I squeezed the tubes through, the tape made an airtight seal around the tubes. One plastic tube extends from 1/2 inch above the bottom of the bottle to 1 inch above the top; the other plastic tube extends from 1/2 inch below the bottle top to 2 feet above it. After filling the juice bottle with a freezing cold mixture of ice and water, I place the air-tight bottle top on to the juice bottle and double-check the tubework for leaks by inhaling air through the pipe. If when you place your thumb over the bowl, you are able to inhale and hear air escaping into the hookah to reach your lungs, there is a leak which needs to be plugged, possibly with electric tape. With a little time, care, and skill this device can yield thick, milky white smoke which is cooler and denser than room air.

Mini Hookah

This ingenious little device was mysterously discovered inside a used stero-component by a friend of mine. Despite its tiny size, it truly did an impressive job of cooling and densifying smoke. It was constructed along the same design principles as the "happy hookah" but on a smaller scale using smaller parts. The bottle in this held only a few ounces of water; it appeared to be a glass baby liquid tylenol bottle or perhaps a bottle of chigger medication. The tube was as short as a standard pipe stem and had a diameter the size of a pinhead.

Po Boys Hookah

This device was constructed in a hurry with minimal provisions and a scrambled brain. Its basic design is the same as the "happy hookah" and the "mini hookah." Instead of a glass bottle with a metal top, this hookah used a coffee can with a plastic lid. Wide tubing covered with aluminum foil punctured with a pin served as a bowl. The pliable plastic top of the coffee can minimized leaks by hugging the tubing.

One final note: Many different people have told me that drinking hookah water after smoking though it increases the effect of whatever you smoked. I have not verified this claim.

I take no resposibily for any of my own actions, let alone yours. This file is intended for informational purposes ONLY. Peace, Pot, and Microdot.