What is a Percolator Bong?

What is a Percolator Bong?

With an extra water chamber for filtering the smoke, a percolator bong cools the hot gas and improves intake through the bong tube, reducing coughing and smoothing the flavor. This chamber is usually located in the percolator pipe and comes in several distinct shapes and sizes, with the honeycomb percolator being a top choice for its swift and thorough diffusing capability.

How Does a Percolator Bong Work?

Whether you have a simple tree perc or a more complex turbine style, the process is the same: hot smoke is filtered through a water chamber, cooling it like antifreeze in your car's radiator. This can be done several times to remove impurities, as in a triple honeycomb percolator bong, so the hit you take will be super smooth and cooled.

You may be wondering how much potency or flavor you'll lose by using a percolator attachment for a bong. Diffusing through a bubbling percolator bong loses almost no taste or potency. The mellowness and temperature of the filtered smoke is well worth it. Most smokers prefer a glass percolator bong, since the glass won't affect smoke flavor and the aesthetic is pleasing. Any potency loss is not due to the water — it's not water soluble — but from the minimal residue left on the inside of the glass.

How To Use a Percolator Bong

Regardless of the type of percolator bong you purchase, there are a few common steps to getting started:

• How to fill a percolator bong with water: Pour water into the tube until it's about a third of the way up the stem. Avoid overfilling as this could lead to a watery hit. Make sure all of your percolator slits are just barely submerged.
• How to add cannabis: Grind your cannabis until it's a medium-to-fine mix and then fill the bowl and pack it loose enough to allow a small amount of air flow through.
• How to light-up: Now, put your lips around the top of the tube's mouthpiece and light the bowl. Note: Be sure to put your hand over any carb holes in your pipe.
• Taking your first hits: Don't take long drags at first. Take a few smaller ones while uncovering the carb hole, which regulates the flow of fresh air into the tube to clear out the smoke.
• Practice makes perfect: Once you've gotten used to your rig, whether a simple setup or a honeycomb percolator bong, you'll know just how much water to add, how to pack and light-up and how to take those first hits.

Hot or Cold: How to Fill a Percolator Bong with Water

OK, we've covered how much water to add to your percolator bong, but what about the temperature of the water? Does that make a difference? The right answer isn't a slam-dunk. The answer you'll find is based on whom you ask. There are two camps around this issue.

The first camp says that you should add ice cold water because the whole point of a percolator bong is to cool the smoke as it diffuses. So what's the point of using hot? It'll cool anyway. But, camp two says that by adding hot water, steam will be released with the smoke and soothe the throat, leading to smoother tokes. Guess you'll have to decide that one for yourself.

How to Clean a Percolator Bong

A percolator attachment for a bong is a great tool, but like any tool, you have to clean it. And you'll want to do this regularly because bongs build up a resin on the inside of the glass that only gets thicker with time. And the more complicated a bong is, the more there is to clean. So, here is a great way to keep your percolator bong clean:

• Gather your cleaning supplies: You're going to need pipe cleaners or cotton swabs, isopropyl alcohol, coarse sea salt and storage bags or plastic containers with tight lids.
• Remove the stem and the bowl: Carefully disassemble these and put each one into a separate sealed container or baggie.
• Add alcohol and salt: Pour enough alcohol into each container to cover the piece, and add coarse salt. If using a sealed baggie, use your fingers to rub the alcohol and salt all over the stem and bowl. If you're using a plastic sealed container, carefully roll it around and let it soak for a few minutes. Rinse with warm water and let sit to dry.
• Empty old bong water and add alcohol and salt: Out with the old, in with the salt. Cover the bottom of the bong with coarse salt, then pour in a quarter cup of the alcohol. Be sure to cover every opening.
• Shake vigorously: Not you, the bong. Once it is free of resin, pour out the alcohol/salt mixture and rinse with warm water until no alcohol remains, and let sit to dry.
• Repeat if necessary: You want to get as much resin off of your percolator bong as possible.
• Clean filter(s) and other bong/percolator attachments: Use cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to remove as much residue as possible. Rinse with warm water until clean and let sit to dry.