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I have a few quick questions about bubblers since I am getting one soon for cheap.
Anyway,
- How does it work?
- How do the hits compare to a bong and pipe?
- What are your opinions/experiences of bubblers?
- Any tricks to getting nicer hits? (eg. type of water/tea/etc used?
Thanks a lot!
the bubbler has some issues actually
less water means less cooling means hotter smoke which makes it halfway between a pipe and a bong.
basically it works like a carb bong except the bowl and downstem are glass blown in, the downstem goes into the water and the decrease in pressure allows it to bubble when you suck.
Bubblers are good water pipes for the on-the-go smoker that MUST have water but since they can be messy with water, you have to carry a bottle of water around with you. Personally I think it does both jobs poorly. It's a bad bong and a clunky pipe.
theyre OK
hits are nice
but i hated clearing the bowl bc i couldnt just blow it out or the water would come up (i learned that the hard way lol)
Absolutely love bubblers! They use the same principles as a bong. The smoke passes from the bowl through a downstem, through water in the base of the bubble and into your mouth. Even the small amount of water really cools the hits and it is way smoother than a pipe. I'd say it's a pretty good substitute for a bong and easier to pass around in a smoking session IMO:stoned: On the negative side, it's really impossible to clean with something like a pipe cleaner.
They are harsher than bongs, but they are smoother than bowls.
I like smoking out of them whenever I'm by myself. They are really hard to clean though.
update:
New bubbler I got from a local blower.
My other concern that I didn't really bring up is that spoons actually are more stable when sitting on a table. Has to do with their centre of gravity. Because they have that extra chamber, they sit taller which means easier to knock over. Also, if they do knock over, it's a bigger mess. On the plus side though, if you're on the go without water, it still makes a fine hammer pipe.
Honestly, it's not that hard to pass a bong and if you're in for the water filtration, I got my bubbler for nothing more than I fell in love with the glass.
A few issues with bubblers -
1. They're extremely hard to clean. I can't even count how many stories i've heard of people trying to clean their downstems and end up breaking it.
2. If it's a hammer and not a sherlock, you are most likely going to get dirty water in your mouth at some point.
3. Bongs are just better. Even a small 6-7" bong is much better than having a bubbler, especially if it's not going to leave your house. IMO having a nice bong at home and smoking blunts while out at parties and the like is much better than having a bubbler.
4. Emptying out the bowl can be a pain because the bowl and downstem part of the bubbler are not detachable, so you might end up with wet weed or a wet bowl.
All very good points. Hammers don't have the right downstem to bubble though. I had one of those clear hammers with rubber grommets for the stem and mouthpiece and I reconfigured it to be a reasonable bubbler for Salvia but other than that, I don't use it at all.
As for cleaning, pipe cleaners, rubbing alchohol and salt is the only way to go. Gets it real clean without scraping too much. Scraping is what leads to breakage with glass.
You should probably just invest in a bubbler and bong:stoned: