Bongs are the most popular choice among cannabis smokers because they provide clean and smooth, water-cooled hits. However, avid smokers know the device gets gunky from tar, resin, and other particulate deposits frequently.
Cleaning the bong when it needs it the most can be frustrating, but you often have no choice. The gunk buildup can lead to off-flavors, clogging, and can even reduce the lifespan of your precious bong.
An ash catcher attachment is designed to solve this problem and is an absolute must-have for daily rippers who love their bongs.
What is an Ash Catcher?
An ash catcher, also called a precooler, is a secondary filtration system for your bong. The device pre-filters the smoke before running it into the glass bong, which helps keep the water pipe's main chamber clean.
Ash catchers precool the smoke by passing the smoke through the ash catcher's own water tank. Some ash catchers also have a built-in percolator for additional filtration and cooling functionality.
When you light the dry herbs, the smoke travels down to and through the ash catcher's stem into the percolator, which diffuses tiny smoke bubbles into the water. From there, the smoke bubbles up and enters the bong's stem.
Benefits of Ash Catchers
They Keep Your Bong Clean
Ash catchers catch most of the unwanted resin, tar, and organic matter before injecting the smoke into your bong or dab rig. This drastically reduces the need for frequent cleaning, saving you time and effort.
They Cool Down Your Hits
Because ash catchers add a secondary water filtration mechanism to your setup, you get cooler and smoother hits than a traditional bong setup. So, the overall smoking experience is much better with an ash catcher.
They Prolong the Life of Your Bong
A dirty bong not only serves as a breeding ground for bad bacteria and mold, but also disrupts proper heat distribution. This can potentially lead to cracking and breakage due to thermal stress.
An ash catcher can prevent bacterial growth and structural defects, thereby increasing the lifespan of your bong and dab rig and saving you money over the long run.
Types of Ash Catchers
You'll find the following types of glass ash catchers in the market.
Percolator Ash Catchers
Many ash catchers contain percolators that diffuse smoke into the water. The diffusion process increases the surface area of the smoke bubbles (by turning one big smoke cloud into tiny smoke bubbles in water), which further increases the cooling and filtering efficiency of the ash catcher.
You can find a variety of percolators in ash catchers, including:
- Showerhead Percolators
- Honeycomb Percolators
- Tree Percolators
- Mushroom Percolators
- Swiss Percolators
A showerhead perc is the most popular choice among avid smokers because of its beautiful and intricate design. They are also relatively easier to clean! Take a look at the Evolution Ash Catcher with Removable Showerhead Perc.
Dual Chamber Ash Catchers
A dual chamber ash catcher, like the Pulsar No Ash Dual Chamber Ash Catcher, has two water chambers for extra filtration and greater efficiency. The dual chamber can easily double the effectiveness of the ash catcher by holding more water without pulling it into the bong's main chamber.
Diffuser Ash Catchers
Diffuser ash catchers have removable diffusers attached to their downstem. The extension has slits on the end that diffuse the smoke inside the bong's water chamber itself. These types of ash catchers can be incredibly effective for larger water pipes!
Dry Ash Catchers
You can also find dry ash catchers with much simpler designs that make cleaning easier. They don't use water but gravity and airflow to filter out the organic matter, which also makes them less efficient.
Buy Ash Catchers Online at GrassCity
Ensure that your ash catcher has the same joint angle (45 or 90 degrees) as the bong. Unless you plan to use an adapter, you'll also want a compatible joint size and port type (male or female joint). If you aren't sure about what you want, this top 10 ash catchers list will help you.
On the GrassCity Store, you can find a wide stock of ash catchers and precoolers from your favorite brands! Browse below and take advantage of our wide selection of ashcatchers at the best prices.
Percolator Attachment
An Ash Catcher is basically a Percolator Attachment. It helps upgrade your simple bong into a bong with pre-filtration just like a percolator bong. While percolator bongs might look a bit fancier, Pre-coolers get the job done just as well. Upgrade your bong now.
14MM Ash Catchers
14MM Ash Catchers are the most common size for Ash Catchers. The size stands for the width of the connector that connects with your bong. This has to correspond with your bong’s joint size. The joint is the tube that usually holds your bowl. If you don’t know your joint size you can measure this at the inside of the joint.
18MM Ash Catchers
18MM Ash Catchers are the second most common size ash catchers. As with the other size Ash Catchers, you have to measure the outside of the Ash Catcher joint and the inside of the Bong Joint to make sure they correspond.
45° Ash Catchers and Pre-coolers
45° are made to use with most beaker base bongs. It is important to check the angle on your bong because you want the top of the precooler to be level. That way your herbs can’t fall out and the water is level and won’t spill.
90° Ash Catchers / Pre-coolers
If you like to enjoy smooth hits with a straight tube bong a 90° ash Catcher is probably the way to go. The 90° angle is necessary to make sure water doesn’t spill and your precious herbs don’t fall out. Be sure to check the direction of the joint on your bong to choose the right Ash Catcher.
The advantage of an ash catcher is that your bong or pipe will stay free of any ashes, particulates, and most of the tar and resin. Check out our cool selection of ash catchers!
