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How Much Water Should I Put in My Glass Water Pipe?
When owning a new water pipe it’s no doubt that you’d want to have the perfect water level to make sure all rips, hits, and tokes are full of bubbles and smooth sailing! Sometimes, we may fill our water pipes a little too far with water and we’ll get some gnarly splash back during a pull. Talk about gross, right? We even may fill it a little too low, and our smoke becomes insanely harsh. Nobody wants that!
So here’s the deal, Cloud 9 Smoke Co has the ultimate guide on how to fill your water pipe with water so you can enjoy smooth, milky rips from your glass water pipe!
Let’s Talk About Size
When filling your glass water pipe with water, it’s all about the size of the water pipe you’re working with! For example, a 13” beaker water pipe is going to need a lot more water than a compact 6” straight tube water pipe.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure any slits or holes in your percolator are fully submerged in water. That way, these percs can work their magic with your water to smoothen out your smoke to a comfortable level!
If your water pipe doesn’t have any percolation, that’s great! Always make sure to fill the base of your water pipe about ½” full. This is the standard amount of water for a piece without percolation.
What About Double Percolators?
If you’ve landed your hands on an amazing double percolated water pipe, cheers to you! You’re paving the way for some top-tier smoke seshes. However it may be a bit challenging to figure out the best water level to fill your glass water pipe! Which is okay, we’ve all been there. Here’s what you need to know about filling a glass water pipe with double, or triple, percolation!
If you’re dealing with stacked tree percolators, such as the MOB Glass Perc 20, it’s best to keep your water level submerged to the slits only. Anything beyond that may result in splashback or ineffective percolation!
If you’re working with flat percolators such as honeycomb percolators like in the Gambino Studios Triple Honeycomb Water Pipe, Cloud 9 Smoke Co highly recommends that these percolators are completely submerged in water. This will allow your honeycomb percs, or other flat percs, to work to their full potential! Anything less than full submersion will result in harsh smoke, and nobody wants that!
How Do I Fill My Glass Water Pipe with Water?
So now that you have a good idea of how much water to put into your glass water pipe, it’s crucial to know the best way to fill a glass water pipe with water! It may not seem like rocket science, which it definitely isn’t, but there is a method to make sure your water is reaching the places it should be. Let’s dive in!
For glass water pipes with a standard diffused downstem or a single percolator, you can pour the water into the mouthpiece, or joint piece, to fill up your water pipe! It’s pretty simple with mild percolation, so with these water pipes you won’t have to worry too much about technicalities. Just make sure the water submerges the slits in your perc, or fully submerges any flat disc percolator! If there’s no percolation, keep the water at ½” deep.
When it comes to double percolators, this is where water pouring becomes a bit tactical! Not a worry though, you’ve made it through the more challenging aspects. For double percolators, or stacked percs, it’s best to pour water straight from the mouthpiece. That way, your water can make its way down to submerge your percolators to the right level!
I Want to Use Ice, Does that Affect the Water Level I Should Put in My Water Pipe?
If you’re using ice, it’s always standard to keep the water level at the base of your glass water pipe the same as you would when you don’t use ice. As we all know, ice melts when it comes into contact with heat, so as you’re smoking with ice you may begin to notice the water levels at the base of your piece rising as you smoke.
Cloud 9 Smoke Co encourages you to keep an eye on the water level and pour out any extra water as the ice begins to melt. If you don’t, you’ll probably experience a wicked splash back like we mentioned before. Instead this time, dry ash and dirty water in the mix. You definitely don’t want to experience that!
What Should I Do If I Overfill My Water Pipe?
If you’ve overfilled your water pipe, don’t worry! It’s a simple fix. After you’ve done a water test, which is where you take a dry pull of the water (no smoke yet!), and you’re receiving some splashback, remove all slides, ash catchers, or other attachments first. Then, tilt your glass water pipe and pour the excess water from the downstem.
Cloud 9 Smoke Co suggests doing this part with a bit of caution and take baby steps! There’s nothing like having to refill your water pipe over and over with water to fill it to the right level. You’ll find yourself spending more time measuring water and filling water than beginning to enjoy a sesh.
So with a bit of care and baby steps, you can pour out the right amount of water from your water pipe to get the level of water you’re looking for!
Okay, I Understand the Method and Technicalities of Filling My Water Pipe with Water, but What Does the Water Actually Do?
Having water in your water pipe is a quintessential part of owning these kinds of glass pieces! Water acts as a filter and an aerator (which means its mixing air and water together). In simplest terms, the water in your glass water pipe is filtering out a lot of harmful byproducts that come with smoking. It also cools the smoke while it aerates the smoke to make it easier on your throat and lungs!
So yes, water is necessary to have in your glass water pipe during use. Always remember to empty and clean your water pipe after a sesh with Resinate and Glob Mops. That way you won’t have to worry about dirty water collecting harmful bacteria while sitting out until the next sesh!
Time to Fill ‘Er Up!
Now that you know the right way to fill your glass water pipe with water, you’ll become a water pipe connoisseur to all the homies. In case you may have forgotten here’s a brief reminder of how to fill your water pipe!
Size Matters!
- Filling your water pipe with water depends on size. You’re going to need more water for a bigger water pipe than a smaller glass water pipe!
- The standard rule of thumb is to submerge the slits in your downstem or single perc, or keep the water at ½” if your glass water pipe doesn’t have percolation.
Percolation
- If your water pipe has more than one percolator, make sure that your water is full enough to submerge all percolators.
- For slitted percolators, only the lines or slits in the percs need to be submerged in water.
- For flat, or disc shaped percolators, the entire percolator has to be submerged in water.
Ice
- If you want to top your sesh off with ice, we admire you! Always remember to fill your water pipe to the standard amount (½”), but keep an eye out for the ice melting throughout a sesh. As your ice melts, you’ll need to waste out water to make sure you don’t experience splash back!
Overfilling
- While overfilling your water pipe may seem like a huge pain, remember it’s incredibly easy to level out the water in your glass water pipe! Remove any slides and ash catchers, tilt your water pipe, and pour out water from the downstem. Keep it slow, steady, and with baby steps! It’s better to waste out a little water than to keep refilling.
Why Water is Used
- Water is used for glass water pipes because it acts as a filtering and aerating agent in your piece while smoking! Water will filter out any harmful byproducts that come with smoking and it will also keep your smoke smooth and easy on your throat and lungs.
Clean After Every Sesh
- If you aren’t a religious toker, Cloud 9 Smoke Co suggests to clean your glass water pipe after every sesh to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. If dirty water stays in your water pipe for too long, it can produce harmful bacteria that can make you seriously ill (but that’s always the worst case scenario)!
It’s time to get to filling up your water pipe like a pro! Need some help picking out your first water pipe? Give this article a read for all the details on choosing your first water pipe!
**Photo by Grav on Unsplash**