What is an Ash Catcher and Why You Should Use One?

It’s almost 2023 and bongs are more popular than ever! This is thanks in part to the plethora of options you have to choose from. As popular and as fun to use as bongs may be, when the time comes to clean them, the fun comes to an end. The buildup of nasty gunk, along with the foul smell they emit, is enough to turn some people off altogether. A fantastic way to combat a dirty and stinky bong is to purchase an ash catcher. You may ask yourself, “What the heck is an ash catcher, anyway?” If this describes you in the slightest, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss what an ash catcher is, how they work, and why you should own one.

What is an Ash Catcher?

Sometimes referred to as a precooler, an ash catcher is a small glass accessory that goes between your bong and your bowl. They are, at their core, fairly simple accessories. But when you use one of these bad boys, they can improve your smoking experience tenfold.

You can almost think of an ash catcher as a mini water pipe that goes where the bong bowl typically goes. Simply place the ash catcher in your bong where the bowl goes, then place the bowl in the ash catcher and you’re in business! And they do serve a purpose besides simply looking cool while in action.

When you take a pull on your bong, any ash, resin, or other debris will get trapped in the ash catcher, extending the duration between cleanings (more on that later on). Most ash catchers you’ll currently find on the market will even feature some sort of water chamber along with a percolator.

This is to filter and help cool the smoke before it even reaches your lungs, hence where they get the name “precooler” from. This extra level of filtration is ideal for anyone who may want to add some percolation to a perc-less bong they already own.

You may already own a bong that features a perc. But that single perc just isn’t cutting it for you. Either way, an ash catcher can be a fantastic way to improve the quality of your sessions.

How to Use an Ash Catcher?

An ash collector can do wonders for anybody searching for an easy way to improve their sessions. As simple as they are, they can still make a considerable difference to your smoking experience. And how they go about doing this couldn’t be any simpler.

You’ll want to start by removing the bong bowl, or “slide” as it’s commonly referred to, and setting the downward-facing joint of the ash catcher in its place. Take the bowl that you just removed from your bong and place it in the upward-facing joint of the ash catcher.

Since you’ve got your new ash catcher setup and ready to go, grab your favorite strain of weed and pack the bowl. Now to the action side of things. When you spark up your cannabis and inhale, the smoke begins its trek by entering the ash catcher.

If you have a dry ash catcher, the empty chamber is what “catches” the ash and other debris before it reaches your bong. This prolongs the time between bong cleanings. Which leaves more time for smoking. Now there’s a little more going on if you have an ash catcher with a water chamber and a perc.

You draw the smoke through the ash catcher’s downstem before exiting through the water and holes of the percolator. It’s then pulled through the water and the perc’s tiny holes, creating thousands of tiny bubbles. This is how the smoke is filtered and cooled before it reaches your lips.

You pull the smoke into the bong just before heading up the mouthpiece and into your lungs. The result is that your hit won’t be as harsh or as hot as when you hit the same bong without an ash catcher.

Why You Should Use an Ash Catcher?

Now that you’re familiar with what an ash catcher is and how they work, let’s discuss why you should use one. Some like the aesthetics that they bring to the table, while others merely use them for their function.

There are some mad lads out there who will even stack several ash catchers and use them together for some extreme percolation. No matter the reason, we will discuss some benefits that an ash catcher offers.

Keeps Your Bong Clean for Longer

There aren’t many people out there that actually like cleaning their bong. Sure, there’s always that one person who, for whatever reason, gets a kick out of cleaning their glass. If this describes you, then you’ll want to move on to the next section.

For everyone else that would like to have less frequent bong cleanings in their life, keep on reading. Not only does a filthy bong look disgusting and smell terrible, but depending on how dirty it is, it can have an adverse effect on your smoke sessions.

This is due to the gunk and resin that build up in your water pipe, which can result in hits that have greater drag and resistance. On top of that, a dirty bong can drastically alter the flavor of your hits.

Since you’re inhaling not just the burned weed, but all the resin and muck that’s accumulated in your bong over past sessions. You don’t want to make your sessions any more unpleasant and difficult than they have to be. Now, you always have the option of cleaning your piece after every use.

Alternatively, you can easily pop an ash catcher onto that sucker to prolong the time in between cleanings. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to clean your bong at all, since it will still get dirty over time.

It will just take longer to get dirty since the ash catcher will catch ash, and other debris before it reaches your bong. This will help to keep your bong cleaner for longer. So, you’ll be able to spend more time enjoying your sessions and less time cleaning.

Filters and Cools the Smoke

This won’t apply to all ash catchers, such as the dry ash catchers we previously spoke of. It will only apply to those that feature a water chamber and a percolator to better filter the smoke.

And anytime you can cut down on the negative aspects of smoking cannabis, it’s a plus in our book. Which is exactly what an ash catcher can do. When you use an ash catcher, you’re not only prolonging the time between cleanings, but you’re also filtering as well as cooling the smoke.

And this is all accomplished before it even enters the bong. When you inhale, you’re pulling the smoke through the ash catcher’s downstem before it enters the water chamber and exits the percolator’s multiple slits or holes.

Water is what helps to cool down your smoke before it enters your lungs. And when you throw a percolator into the mix, the level of filtration is taken up yet another notch. This helps to filter out the smoke’s impurities and other toxins by forcing the smoke through the holes or slits of the perc, creating thousands of tiny bubbles.

These bubbles provide more surface area, which filters, as well as cools the smoke. This allows for bigger and much more enjoyable hits thanks to the reduction of heat and harshness. And bigger and more enjoyable hits lead to a happier, higher you.

Choosing the Right Ash Catcher for Your Bong

So you like what you’re hearing about ash catchers and would like to pick one up? Before running out and picking up the first ash catcher you find, we wanted to discuss some things to keep in mind. You’ll need to make sure you get the correct joint size to accommodate your bong, what type of percolator you’d like your ash catcher to have, and whether you even want an ash catcher with a percolator. This will help you to better decide what will work best for you.

Diffused or Non-Diffused

To begin, while adding an ash catcher to your setup, you must select whether you want it to be diffused or not. Keep in mind that a dry ash catcher, or non-diffused ash catcher, as they’re commonly referred to, isn’t 100% dry.

You will only need a small amount of water (especially when compared to diffused ash catchers) to help trap the ash. And just as the name asserts, non-diffused ash catchers won’t diffuse the smoke, since they have no percolator to do so.

Their primary purpose is to catch any ash and debris before it enters your bong, and that’s it. They’re the bare-bones option as far as ash catchers are concerned. Diffused ash catchers, on the other hand, feature a percolator to diffuse the smoke. Some people even refer to them as perc catchers.

Whatever you want to call them, they can do a fantastic job of diffusing the smoke before it enters your bong. And there is a slew of different percolators that ash catchers can feature. Some of the more popular options you can choose from are a showerhead perc, matrix perc, tree perc, and honeycomb perc, just to name a few.

And several of these percolators will perform better than others. For a more in-depth discussion on percolators, we recommend you check out our What are Percolator Bongs article.

Joint Gender

The next step to purchasing an ash collector is to determine the gender of your bong’s joint. The only actual distinction between the two is that a female joint can only accept a male joint and vice versa. Knowing the gender of your bong’s joint is essential for selecting an ash catcher that will fit your bong.

Say, for example, you were to pick up an ash catcher with a male joint, but your bong features a male joint as well. Then they simply won’t be compatible with each other. What if you were to find an ash catcher that you simply cannot live without?

No need to worry, since there’s actually a way you can circumvent this issue. All you have to do is get yourself a joint adapter that will fit two joint sizes of the same gender. If you have a male joint on your bong and find an ash catcher which also features a male joint, you’d want to get yourself an adapter with two female joints to accommodate the male joints.

Joint adapters are a terrific, cost-effective method to broaden your range of options. Just make sure to take note of how much the adapter weighs, as if it’s too heavy, it will throw your water pipe off balance (more on this later).

Joint Size

Another feature that’s just as important as the joint gender of your bong and ash catcher is the size of the joints. The ash catcher you acquire must match the joint size of your bong – no ifs, ands, or buts. If you were to get the wrong size, it won’t fit, and you’d be out of luck.

Therefore, you need to take note of your bong’s joint size before you go out and spend any cash. This can effortlessly be done with the aid of a penny. Simply place the penny in your bong’s downstem to determine what joint size your bong requires (please refer to our joint size graphic below).

The most commonly used size is 14mm, with 18mm being fairly common, and 10mm being pretty uncommon. If your bong features an 18mm joint, there’s no need to worry about dropping that penny in the nasty bong water. Although it does fit inside the downstem, it’s not small enough to fall through.

And just as with the joint gender adapter, there are joint size adapters as well. So just because that ash catcher you’ve had your eyes on features a 14mm joint just like your bongs, that doesn’t mean you can’t still add it to your setup. Thanks to these gender and joint size adapters, the possibilities of what accessories you can add to your piece are truly endless.

Joint Angle

So, you’ve determined the gender and size of your bong’s joint; now let’s talk about the angle of the joint. Ash catchers, like most glass accessories, typically feature one of two joint angles: 45° or 90°. This is just as vital as knowing the gender and size of your bong’s joint.

If your bong features a 45° angle and you pick up an ash catcher with a 90° angle, the ash catcher will sit at an angle. This does not only look wrong, but it won’t work properly since ash catchers are designed to be used in an upright position.

When they sit at an angle, the water level doesn’t line up as it should. As a result, the ash catcher’s percolator won’t be fully submerged in the water. When the perc isn’t sitting under the waterline, the smoke won’t get diffused as it should, kind of defeating the whole purpose of an ash catcher.

On the other hand, if your bong has a 90° angle and your ash catcher has a 45° angle, lighting your bowls would be a real challenge. Sure, if you were to spin the catcher to the side, you’d probably be able to spark up without issue.

But you’d still have the issue of subpar diffusion thanks to the water level. Hence, why ensuring you know the angle of your bong’s joint is so important to get the most out of an ash catcher.

Weight

We briefly touched upon how the weight of an ash catcher can affect your bong’s stability. Now, we’re going to discuss why an ash catcher’s weight is so important. Say you have a smaller 8” bong that you want to spice up with a stylish ash catcher.

If you don’t consider the ash catcher’s weight, you could end up with one that weighs almost as much as your mini bong. Sure, it may still stand on its own. But its center of gravity will be so off-centered that even the slightest tap will cause it to fall over and possibly break.

And, if you’re one of those mad lads who prefers even more percolation and stacks multiple, diffused ash catchers, the weight of the catchers will be much more of an issue. It’s also important to note that the shape of your bong needs to be considered as well.

Some bongs may not even allow for an ash catcher. As long as you’re fully aware of the contours of your water pipe and how heavy it is, you should be able to find an ash catcher to accommodate it without issue.

Wrapping Things Up

An ash catcher is an ideal way to spice up that boring old water pipe without having to purchase a new one. Heck, even if you already have a first-class bong, adding an ash catcher can up the cool factor even more so.

Not only that, but an ash catcher will make cleaning and maintenance of your bong much easier, as well as possibly cooling and filtering your smoke (depending on which type of ash catcher you pick up). And since they’re inexpensive, no breaking of the bank is necessary.

So why not add a killer ash catcher to your setup so you can experience filtered and flavorful rips whenever you feel the urge? Your lungs, in addition to your taste buds, will thank you in the long run.