Do percolator bowls actually do anything?

[phattybudz]

A buddy just brought me a sick 1.5 ft "Per" bong from up north in Humboldt... they are super cheap ($34!), super thick frosted glass. I'm loving it so far, can't notice a difference between it and my buddy's roor.

Anyways I'm debating buying a percolator bowl and I had a few questions:

Is it actually worth it? I.E. does it give you a smoother hit or is it just for style? Are they a bitch to clean?


And if you think they're worth it, any particular brand/style you would recommend?

 

[obey]

They are harder to clean but if you clean your stuff often then its not so bad, I really can't tell the difference between bong tokes with or without a perc.

Some people love em though.

 

[phattybudz]

"I really can't tell the difference between bong tokes with or without a perc. "

Yeah, my instinct is that they're just for style/novelty... unless someone else chimes in I think I'll go without one. Thanks

 

[JHerbz]

why not buy a tree perc ash catcher.. its like 30$

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

got a pic?

 

[RedRain]

a perc will give your smoke more surface area to be cleansed/cooled

more holes = more surface area

trust me its much better having a perc bowl/downstem...either lots of little slits or lots off little holes

an ash catcher will keep your bong cleaner..it catches and holds ash, it acts as the 1st "catch chamber"

i found that my bong still got dirty, but obviously what doesn't over time right? but the hits were super smooooth

 

[TacomaComa]

I like the perc bowls made by HiSi. they hit like a champ

 

[motaco]

perc bowl or perc bong?

I don't know anything about ^^^ style bowls but the percs and diffusers work big time.

Think about it. Why is a bong smoother? Because its being bubbled through water right? Well if it is broken up into much smaller bubbles that contacts much more water its going to be much smoother.

On the other hand if you personally can't tell the difference then what does it matter?

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I've got a small glass bubbler and a large glass bong. I tried a perc downstem on the bong and it was like a big bubbler. I like the bong better when it roils so I ground the perc off the stem with a bench grinder.

 

[big twinn]

Its not a matter of providing a smoother hit. That bowl was not designed for that...the function on the "perc" is to provide many holes for the smoke to travel through rather then through one small hole thats wedged and blocked at the bottom. The effect, the slide produces a better burning, less drag, effortlessly huge rip with each toke.
I use a Luke Wilson Disk Diffused Slide ($35-40)...never can go back to a single holed slide=P:http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3881/bowl2.jpg (not my picture, but same type of slide)

 

[phattybudz]

Big Twinn,

Holy shit. Disk diffused bowl...never seen that before! Makes sense though...

So where can I get one of those?! I looked all over the internet and can't find em!

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Why would a diffused bowl be any different than a screen? Seems like a diffuser would work best under water.

Do percolator bowls actually do anything? IMO, no.

You'll notice a big difference with a perc downstem.

If that bowl is advertised as perc, it's really a screen. I don't care if ash gets in the water but I wouldn't attempt a poker where the glass is thin. On the flip side, not having to buy screens is a plus.

 

[phattybudz]

It's different from a screen because there's way more surface area to rip through, instead of just one hole in the middle there's 8 all around it. So like BT said, you can rip it through way easier. A screen doesn't change the fact that you're only pulling through 1 tiny hole.

I have found something similar by SoulShineFamilyGlass on etsy.com but it doesn't look as clean as the lukewilson...

I've got a diffused downstem, but now I'm leaning towards getting one of these diffused bowls and a perc ashcatcher as well.

err... lol, found some luke wilson bowls on aqualabtechnologies but they're $115... say what?!

 

[Moonshine*]

Never used one but it seems to me the perc bowl wouldnt clog like a single hole glass bowl. More holes = still able to pull hit if one is clogged?

Seems like simple logic. I wouldnt think it would serve the same purpose as a perc downstem.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

It's different from a screen because there's way more surface area to rip through, instead of just one hole in the middle there's 8 all around it. So like BT said, you can rip it through way easier. A screen doesn't change the fact that you're only pulling through 1 tiny hole.

You're right. Multiple holes are easier to draw. A raised screen mimics this. IMO, the bowl in the pic works more like an air diffuser than a perc.

I don't have a removable bowl like the pic. But I've got a similar blown bubbler and it doesn't perc like a submerged down stem does.

Thanks for the info.

 

[phattybudz]

Looking right a glass screen I forgot about those, was thinking metal.
Too bad the Luke Wilson ones are so pricy because they're beautiful!

Thx for the input everyone!

 

[big twinn]

Why would a diffused bowl be any different than a screen? Seems like a diffuser would work best under water.

Do percolator bowls actually do anything? IMO, no.

You'll notice a big difference with a perc downstem.

If that bowl is advertised as perc, it's really a screen. I don't care if ash gets in the water but I wouldn't attempt a poker where the glass is thin. On the flip side, not having to buy screens is a plus.

this is exactly the case, and far less drag because the bowl doesn't bottle neck at a single hole.

try: bitfreak, etsy, aqualabtechnologies (DEFINITELY HAVE IT) or ioffer.


115 for this slide??? WOAH..i got it with my six arm bubbler and my roomate got his free with a bong purchase...ive seen them generally around $45...ahh thats because those are all custom worked...mine is just clear

 

[Iron_Lion]

My brother is all in to percolator bongs, I myself dont like them much. He says the more percs the better because they make the bubbles smaller so you can get a really large smooth hit from a large bong.

To me they are a bitch to clean and they remove taste. Even OG loses its flavor by the time it makes its way thru the bong and percs.