How to Use a Water Bong

A water bong, also commonly known as a water pipe, is a smoking device, generally used to smoke cannabis, tobacco, or other substances. The construction of a bong and its principle of action is similar to that of the hookah, which is also called "water pipe." Smoking a bong contrasts with smoking a pipe or cigarette in two major ways: bongs cool the smoke before it enters the user’s lungs (making it easier to smoke) and a large amount of smoke is inhaled quickly as opposed to the smaller, more frequent, inhalations of pipe and cigarette smoking. The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word "baung," a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking. Bongs have been in use--primarily by the Hmong--in Laos and Thailand for centuries.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Water bong
• Water
• Lighter
• Cannabis, tobacco, or other substance that can be smoked.

1. Diagram of a water bong To use a bong, the base of the bong pipe is filled with water or other liquids. While alcoholic beverages or oils can be used in a bong, both of these substances filter out some of the THC when the bong is used for smoking marijuana, because THC is fat-soluble and, to a lesser extent, alcohol-soluble. THC is not water-soluble, which makes water a good choice of fluid for filling a bong. The user holds a flame over the substance to be smoked, usually cannabis. As the user inhales and draws air up the stem, the flame is drawn towards the substance and the smoke travels through a hollow pipe that is attached to the bottom of the bowl containing the smokable material.
2. More water bong examples The substance to be smoked is packed into the bowl and ignited.The user places his/her lips inside the mouthpiece, forming a seal, and inhales, causing the flame to be drawn toward the substance. An inhalation is known as a "hit," "pull" or "rip." As the user inhales, the flame is drawn towards the substance, igniting it and the smoke that is produced travels through a hollow pipe that is attached to the bottom of the bowl. The pipe enters via an airtight stem into a vessel containing water.
3. At the side (or back) of the bong, above the water level, there is usually a small air hole (nicknamed the "carburator" or "carb"), the user covers with a finger until they believe that a sufficient amount of smoke has accumulated. After the smoke is inhaled into the lungs, the "carb" is used to introduce fresh air into the bong. The fresh air introduced through the "carb" hole helps to cool the smoke further. If the smoker is using a larger bong, with a larger bowl, the first hit contains little or no smoke. The purpose of taking the first inhalation is to draw the clean air out of the chamber and to start drawing in smoke from the bowl.
4. The smoke rises through the water, cools and gets rid of some of toxicants and is trapped in the air chamber above the water. The smoker collects purified smoke above the water is finished.
5. Now to inhale collected smoke, cannabis connoiseur uses a bong carb hole. At the side (or back) of the container, above the water level, there is usually a small air hole (the "carb"), which is kept covered up with a finger during the first phase of bong use, until the point when sufficient smoke has been held in the air gap above the water. Its purpose is to allow an easy passage of air, without the water bubbling, into the stem-container when the smoke is finally inhaled into the lungs. The fresh air from this hole helps to cool the smoke further.

Tips & Warnings

• The ice bong is a type of "slide" or carburetor bong made of glass or acrylic that has a twist or ice trap in the neck where ice can be added. The ice cools the smoke when the user inhales. These bongs are typically produced in bright colors, and they often have carburetor holes on the opposite side to the bowl or slightly to the left or right of that position. These tend to have larger chambers than other bong varieties, as ice is used rarely in smaller bongs.
• A bubbler is a small bong where the stem is internal and the bowl is at the very top. Most of the bong is enclosed, with only a hole in the side to act as the carburetor. These operate very much like a pipe, since their internal chamber is so small, but they have identical parts to a typical bong. They are considered more pleasant to smoke out of than a regular pipe because the smoke is cooled through the water. They also do not produce the characteristic "chugging" sound of bongs when the smoke is inhaled.
• A vaporizer-bong, or "vapor-bong," uses a box-type vaporizer or heat gun to heat up the substance that is being smoked. The vapor goes through the attachment, filters through the water, and passes through a layer of ice.
• A shottie (also called a "pull-through" or "popper") is a bong made out of a plastic bottle which replaces the bowl and stem with a tube. To use a "shottie", a small piece of tobacco is placed into the end of the tube, which is then stamped into a patch of finely ground hash or marijuana. The user then lights the substance and gently inhales, slowly filling the chamber, and then inhales violently to pull the ash and unburnt tobacco ball into the water.
• A gravity bong (also known as "gravs", "g-bong", "GB", "waterfall", of "plunger") uses water to generate a slow and constant vacuum in the chamber. These bongs tend to be homemade devices using large plastic bottles and buckets filled with water. Water percolates in a gravity bong by attaching a tube from the bowl piece, through the cap in the bottle, down to the water. In a waterfall bong, a small capped-off hole is cut on the side, which makes it easier to fill the bong with water and create the vacuum.
• Bong advocates claim that the cooling of the smoke helps to reduce the chance of burning the mouth, airways and lungs. The water can trap some heavier particles and the more water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. While smokers tend to believe that bongs are less damaging than other smoking methods, a 2000 NORML-MAPS study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect."