Vaporizers, like Stork & Bickel, offer a simple yet high quality function that’s often preferred to bongs, as a more straightforward option. While vaporizers do present a way to smoke that can be easily taken anywhere and used in most places, they can’t truly replicate the vapour quality and overall smoking experience that bongs can give you.
A lot of new smokers are often put off by percolator bongs with their complex looking designs. Our aim today is to provide a simple guide to heighten your interest and convey how easy these bongs are to use.
What is a Percolator Bong?
While percolators look complicated, they actually make your bong easier to hit. Located either in the tube of the bong or the base, a percolator is a small glass contraption that water passes through to create a filter.
Percolator bongs are often a great option for new smokers to use, as they incorporate water and a long length to travel through, it cools down the smoke before you inhale it giving you a smoother pull that won’t be too harsh on your throat.
How Does a Percolator Bong Work?
When you inhale from a percolator bong your smoke will become diffused with bubbles, creating that classic rip sound that all great bongs make. The bubbles created in your bong will increase the surface area that the smoke travels through, giving it plenty of time to cool down and filter out any impurities before you inhale.
Through this method your smoke is cooled and filtered in two ways. By using a percolator bong your smoke has a second chance to make contact with the water, this along with the increased journey from cone to mouthpiece will cool your smoke down. Secondly the bubbles created in your bong will be broken down, becoming smaller and cooler, this is due to the pressure created inside the percolator.
Types of Percolator Bongs
Downstem Percolator
This is a tube that sits in the primary water chamber, working to let air enter the chamber for better airflow. These are easy to upgrade and clean with three holes to disperse your smoke.
Honeycomb Percolator
One of the most popular and recognisable percolators, the honeycomb gets its name from the circular discs which contain a large number of holes which look like a panel of honeycomb. This type of percolator doesn’t cause much resistance and does a great job of filtering your smoke.
Tree Percolator
A tree percolator takes on a branching structure, with limbs that extend down like the branches on a tree, the smoke in your bong will filter down these branches. Because of the multiple amounts of limbs in these percolators these models achieve a high level of diffusion in your smoke, providing a super filter vapour.
Matrix Percolator
Working similarly to a showerhead percolator the matrix has numerous rows of holes but only the top row filters your smoke. The rest of these holes are for design purposes only, although they do make cleaning slightly more difficult.
Showerhead Percolator
A Showerhead percolator works by forcing the smoke through various tubes that shoot it out into the main piece’s body. These types of percolators can provide a heightened level of diffusion when used with other types.
Inline Percolator
The inline percolator works on the basis that the more holes the better. Its design is a simple single glass rod, with aligned holes. These percolators are usually used in smaller pipes because it doesn’t perform as well with the large amounts of water used in regular sized bongs.
If you have any more questions about our cleaning products or need to find a new bong for all your smoking needs, contact us or visit our website to see the large range of vaporizers available.
