Gotta question about joint sizes. One of the bongs I'm looking at getting right now has a listed joint size of "18.8/14.5 mm" and I have another one that says "18.8>14.5 mm." I am assuming they are the same thing. But I am also looking at getting an ash catcher with a listed size of just 18.8 mm. Will the 18.8 mm a.c. work with those bongs? I also found another ashcatcher that says its joint is 18.8 > 18.8. I guess I am just confused about these measurements. Any explanations or help would be appreciated.
hey bruh. welcome to GC with your first post. (kinda funny.. my first post was about glass pieces and size questions also) from what ive read/learned "18.8/14.5 mm" // "18.8>14.5 mm." = the same thing. sizes area usually 18//14// and that 29? (never really read too much bout that size) the first number usually represents the size of the inside measurements. in this case 18MM joint size is the bong. and 14MM is the slide (bowl). with that said... if you want to purchase an a/c you would need to purchase 1) a/c with a built in downstem size 18MM or 18/18 2) purchase a new diffuser size 18/18 and that will enable you to purchase a size 18 a/c 3) or just simply buy a size 14mm a/c to fit that 18>14 bushing diffuser and you are set. HOPE ALL THIS HELPED.
Yea I have been reading these forums off and on for 5 years now but never until now thought about posting some questions. However, I have only bought spoons and other pieces/accessories from g.c. before. The field of bingers adds a lot more complications. Thanks for that explanation about the inside, outside system. Makes sense. My plan was to get this bong with an 18.8>14.5 joint, a better diffused downstem that is also 18.8>14.5, and then an ashcatcher that is 18.8 mm. So according to what you said, about the outside measurement being 14.5, the 18.8 a.c. will not work with an 18.8>14.5 slide/downstem. So I'll just change the measurements on the diffuser I'm looking at (pretty awesome how some of them you can just pick whatever size you need). Thanks again.
Yup. I would recommend getting an 18.8 downstem with an 18.8 ashcatcher...18.8 has less drag, so it will help with airflow overall, and if you ever find yourself wanting a 14.5 bowl or something you can just buy an adapter and it will function just like a 14.5 tube. Another thing...if you currently have a tube with 18.8/14.5, then right now your bowl is a 14.5, so if you are getting an 18.8 a/c you will need an 18.8 bowl to go with that as well, or an adapter to keep using the bowl you have.
Damn, that's a good point thanks! So busy with other stuff while I'm doing this I didn't even think about the bowl aspect. Well I don't have any of it, I am just trying to do some research before I purchase the setup. Two of the three tubes (including the one I'm like 90% sure of) I am looking at right now are 18.8/14.5's so I guess the provided bowl will be a 14.5 as well. I am getting a new/better downstem regardless as well as an a.c. but I was originally counting on using the provided bowl unless it really sucked. The a.c. I am planning on getting is a 18.8 which would work with your recommended system and a new bowl would be in order. The only other ashcatcher I'm considering is however a 14.5. I saw it at a local headshop and there is a similar one on grasscity. It's an 11 arm tree perc which seems pretty sweet but I am worried about it adding a bunch of drag for a likely unnecessary degree of diffusion. Mada, any thoughts on the aformentioned ashcatcher (as well tree perc ashcathcers or a.c.'s you recommend in general)? Also, any recommendations for a potential new bowl? In terms of an adapter option, I'd rather just buy a new nice bowl that fits instead of an adapter to fit a probably meh bowl they are providing.
Sure thing. For a bowl I would recommend getting just about any disk diffused that you can find. Popular brands are Luke Wilson and B. Wilson, but you can also have a lot of blowers make a custom one for you, or even just a clear one for most likely less than the wilson's (which run around $30..not bad at all if you ask me). Great airflow and very little pulls through. Tree perks are a very subjective thing for me. I am picky with them because very slight errors can greatly effect the function of the trees. For instance..most of the time while pulling usually just the top row of slits really fire, so If you have say..10 arms, and 3 of them have the slit higher than the other 7..those 3 arms are going to do the majority of the work, resulting in less diffusion. If they are all even though, you can get very good diffusion out of them. As for drag, it also has to do with how well made they are.. IF the slits are all grouped close to the bottom of the arms, and there is little space between each slit, and then little space between the bottom slit and the hole in the bottom of the arm the drag should be pretty low, if the space is large or if there is no hole in the bottom, there can be a lot of drag. 14.5 will also have more drag than 18.8, however it isn't a huge difference. You can get a great tube with very little drag in either size if it is made well, and a terrible one if it is made poorly. I prefer sticking to 18.8 simply because if you put an 18.8 adapter on a 14.5 tube..it will still hit like a 14.5 tube, but if you put a 14.5 adapter on an 18.8..suddenly it hits like a 14.5 tube. Neither is "better"... I just like having options. My favorite A/C's are showerheads. If you are looking for one on a budget my first recommendation would be contacting smilyagent on this forum. I know he makes a gridded A/C for a great price, and I have heard good reviews. I dont know the price exactly though, so it couldn't hurt to send him a pm and ask. Lower price than that...perhaps look used or try to save up a little more. A less expensive one will add drag and not diffuse as well generally, but it will certainly help. If money isn't so tight a good showerhead to look at would be Itza, or even more expensive 2011bc if you can find them, and of course many blowers can make you a custom for a good price, though you usually have to wait a bit to get it. To give my personal opinion...If I had a tube with a stem and wanted to make it my ideal setup..I would have an alex k 18/18 downstem, or get a blower to make me an 18/18 showerhead with one gridline and about..7-10 slits, depending on how many can fit and function well, and also a custom blown 18.8 showerhead ashcatcher, 3 gridlines. (like the one I am currently awaiting anxiously from GMD) And a disk diffused slide. Hope that helps, lots of options there, I know. Edit: one more thought. These recommendations are based on high diffusion with low drag. If you plan on smoking mostly flowers this will give a great, smooth hit. If you want concentrates I wouldn't recommend using an A/C at all, as the diffusion from a stem should be plenty.
High diffusion with low drag is what I'm all about. I like my hits easy, cool, and filtered but unfortunately I don't have a ton of money to throw around. If I did, it wouldn't be such a hard buying process haha. Showerheads are definitely the way to go if you can go that route. I got one friend with a well equipped showerhead binger and another with a 20" Toro that has showerhead a.c. and a really nice 15 arm tree perc. Unfortunately, I gotta keep this purchase less than or around $300 but I still think I can work out something pretty straight. Also, I have dabbed before, some fun shit no doubt, but concentrates aren't really my thing. Medical herb straight from the dispensary is my preferred choice. About the bowl....word. The bowl selection on here isn't too great and its one of those things that I would def prefer too see in person especially for size. I'll probably just take a look at some of my local headshops to see what they have. I am used to ripping a hisi diffused bowl that's pretty nice, undoubtedly makes a big difference in the ease of your hit. I have seen three different hisi bowls have breaks in the webbing though. About the downstem, do you think one of those showerhead downstems (say an alex k one) diffuses better than an Ehle or Roor pearl diffuser with 10-12 holes? Just curious since the price difference isn't really that much.
I'd say it mostly depends on how you have it oriented. If you have the tube tilted so the alex k is vertical I'd say it would be better because all the slits are used, if not then it would probably be similar, because diffused downstems also rarely get all the slits to fire. The SG downstems look interesting, but you would have to go down to 14.5 I believe. They are a good option as well, and If you are ok with 14.5 I would look at them. I haven't used them though, so I can't say how well it works. As for the bowls...I don't know much about that bowl, and if the durability is and assue and if you want bowl size options I can suggest talking to GMD (glassmansdoll) for a custom one. I know their prices are quite good and they do good work. When I ordered a bowl it came in mini, midi, or party sizes, Im sure they could give you a good idea of what size those are. Dont know how long the wait would be...if its just a clear bowl they may just make it when you order. For the $300 range you could almost certainly get a showerhead or similar style, depending on what you are spending on the tube. You could probably get a disk diffused bowl and an A/C for around..$130..maybe better if you talk to the right blowers. like... http://forum.grasscity.com/toking-tools/852871-best-ashcatcher-under-100-a.html in that thread smilyagent says he can make a small one under 100..and you could probably get an unworked bowl for 20..maybe less... Just to give you an idea of prices. If not I would just look locally for well made A/C's in your budget, you may find something good, or if you find something specific you like you can always post it up on here and get opinions.
Just so you're not confused bro, if you order either of those bongs you WILL NOT be able to use an 18.8mm A/C......you'll need one with a 14.4mm ground joint unless you plan on buying a new downstem that's 18/18......
Yea it won't be a vertical stem, it will come into a beaker bottom on an angle. I'll hit up that dude though about a showerhead a.c. Even without a top tier tube, a real nice a.c. like that would make a huge difference. I'll make some runs to my local shops and browse their slides and ashcatchers but most of it will prob be crazy expensive. Not even much of a point with bingers and downstems since they are always two or sometimes even three times as expensive in the stores around here as they are online. I'll be sure to post up with shit I'm thinkin bout. Thanks again, it's nice to get multiple opinions on all the various tools
So I hit up what I think is the best shop near me. They have a great collection of stuff but its at least 50-100% more expensive than online. For example, they had some diffused bowls and one that looked very similar to this one: http://*******************.com/glas...s/b-wilson-clear-disc-screen-slide-18-mm.html But it wasn't a wilson and cost $60. So a bowl will have to come from online. Downstem selection is limited though they have a bunch of the alex k showerheads for the same price ($40) as on *******. But there's a $28 ehle pearl diffuser on grasscity that I have hit before on another tube and I still think is a high quality piece of glass. But I am definitely keeping the alex k on my horizon. Diffused ashcatchers were starting at $65 with tree arms around $120 and showerheads well above $150. Combined with the necessary add-ons, even the "cheaper" bingers with the features I want (like Zob, HBG, MGW) were a bit to expensive so I will have to work with some online deals. I hit up smily and he said his gridded ashcatchers are starting at $120 now. I am waiting for a response on the specifics of those. He did tell me he is selling a pretty good tube in my price range though: Showerhead circ to worked 8 arm mini Bong tube SALE For Sale theres a video also: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4t7uJv-RA4]Showerhead circ to worked 8 arm mini Bong Oil/Wax Hits - YouTube[/ame] Thoughts?
I honestly almost always prefer stemless tubes. That showerhead is nicer than an alex k showerhead would be for sure, so I would pick that tube over your other choices. The trees look nice too. If you cold get that, a bowl, and an A/C you would end up with a very nice setup with tons of diffusion. I should also say I am partial to lesser known blowers over prodo tubes simply because you usually get a great deal. It may not be as clean as some of your other options, but it will probably perform as well or better for a better price. (or it may be just as clean, ya never know) Many people may prefer the other options though, so thats just my opinion. My general outlook on tubes is that I want to get the performance I want, and the least expensive way I can get that performance and have good quality construction..thats what I'll get, regardless of the prestige of the brand. The only way I'll go to better blowers is if I'm looking for custom color work, or something beyond function. That tube looks nice, and it will probably be the least expensive way to get that level of diffusion and that quality.
Yea it's a very good deal for an obviously solid piece of glass. I am getting that tube, an extra bowl, a gridded a/c blown by smily (apixdesign), and a k clip for $275 which I believe is a great buy. I agree with you about the smaller blowers and it's nice to support something that's not a big brand which can jack up the prices because of the name. With a gridded showerhead a/c, a circ showerhead diffuser, and an 8 arm tree perc, the diffusion should ge enough that it would it will be at least equally or more clean than some of the other setups I was considering. So I am definitely excited to milk this thing sometime in the next few weeks. I'll try to remember to post up my thoughts on the piece and all once the whole process if finalized and I get to ripping it.
Awesome, man. Congrats. Thats a really sick setup, nicer than mine right now and together mine would have been $380. Any idea when you should be getting it? Does he have to make it, or is it all already made?
He is gonna blow the ashcatcher once I send him payment and then send the whole set up in one package. And probably in the next two weeks, I just gotta figure out where I am shipping it since I was gonna have it sent to school in pennsylvania but he won't send it there (P.A. has the shittiest laws for everything) so I might have it sent to my sister's apt 5 minutes from me. I wasn't really planning on having a binger until college starts back up but once that thing arrives, there's no way I am gonna be able to just let it sit.
So the package came a few days ago and I finally got the chance to try it out a few times last night. Slide: The worked bowl is gorgeous, matches the working on the tree perc nicely, and is almost the perfect size, somewhere in between party size and those dinky 3 hitters most bongs are sold with. Though it is not disk diffused, it pulls pretty nicely so I have no problems with it. Ashcatcher: The gridded-showerhead ashcatcher is a thing of beauty to say the least and the fact that it was custom blown for the bong and its design is exclusive to the blower makes me like it even more. It diffuses very well but not 100% in that not all the slits fire evenly all the time but still a lot of diffusion and the bubble stacking that will often occur is impressive. Circ Diffuser: It's not really a downstem so I don't know how to classify it but the showerhead/circ diffuser is probably the most awesome element of this tube. It pulls soooo incredibly well, absolutely zero drag, and the diffusion is incredible, so much bubble stacking. Because of how well it pulls you can fill the water level relatively higher than I am used to for straight tubes. 8 Arm Worked Tree Perc: As I mentioned before, the working is very pretty. The only real imperfection or weak point in the bong is here. Not all of the arms are of equal length and that obviously goes for all the slits as well so the diffusion is not evenly distributed across the perc. It looks like three of the arms are a bit too long and the open ends didn't come out evenly. However, the drag created isn't very noticeable and upon inspecting it pretty carefully, I found that almost everything still fired just not equally for every end and slit. So thankfully this error doesn't seem to be affecting diffusion and airflow as much I initially feared. Otherwise, the perc does its job. Overall, for what I paid for it, this is a real great tube with a lot of diffusion and very little drag as well as some artistic qualities. I have smoked few pieces that milks so easily and so smoothly as this thing. One of my glass-crazy friends (his set up is a 20" Toro with a worked 15 arm perc and a sick, Toro circular showerhead a.c.) has been going nuts about it so needless to say, I am quite satisfied.
Those minor imperfections are to be expected in a situation like that...thats why you get the great deal, basically. In this case it sounds like the imperfections are small, and the functioning isn't hurt much, its just not as wonderful as it could be. (and honestly, a tube like that with perfectly made perks would most likely be at least $300 alone). Lets get some pics of it all and a milk !. I'd like to see the parts you are saying the problems are at as well, if only to see the work smily is doing now.