Making a gravity bong
You can buy a gravity bong, but they’re very easy to make. There’s a pretty big caveat that you need to consider before you make a gravity bong. Most of them are made with plastic bottles, which is technically recycling. It may not be the most perfect way to recycle, but it does keep a bottle out of a landfill.
There’s some debate about the safety of polyethylene plastics coming into contact with heat. They may release chemicals that are unsafe to inhale. When you smoke a gravity bong, you’re never technically heating up the plastic. Even still, heat + plastic + your lungs may be a little too close for comfort.
You can make a gravity bong out of a glass bottle. It’s a little more difficult, but the end result is something more durable and reusable that doesn’t contain polyethylene plastic. Which one you choose is totally up to you.
The plastic method
Wash out a plastic single-serving soda bottle. Cut the bottom off a plastic bottle and cut a hole slightly larger than a pencil eraser in the center of the bottle cap. Wrap the bottle cap in a few layers of aluminum foil, and gently press it down into the center hole. You can wrap it higher around the perimeter of the bottle cap to keep your weed from sliding out. Use a safety pin to make a few tiny holes in the center, so air and smoke can pass through.
Pack the bowl and set it aside.
The glass method
The glass method isn’t as hard as you’re probably thinking. If you smoke weed and you like to paint your nails, you already have everything you need in your house. It’s a fun project, and you get to play with fire.
Take a bong bowl you already have and try to fit it into the glass bottles you have in your house. Wine bottles, beer bottles, and soda bottles all have slightly different necks. Your best bet will probably be a wine bottle.
Take the label off the bottle. Wrap the bottom of the bottle five or six times with yarn, tying it together. Slip the yarn ring off the bottom of the bottle, and put it in a small container filled with acetone. If you don’t have pure acetone, you can use acetone nail polish remover.
After the string wrap has soaked up the acetone, slide it back onto the bottom of the bottle, around the portion you want to cut off. Fill your sink with ice-cold water and stand near it. Get a lighter and spark the string. Hold the bottle horizontally by the neck and keep rotating it in circles so the fire will burn the yarn evenly. When it looks like the glass is starting to melt, stick the end into the ice-cold water. The bottom will break off.
Use a nail file to sand down the exposed edges of the bottle. Smoothing them down will prevent accidents. Stoners and sharp glass don’t get along very well. Then, pack your bong bowl and set it aside.
Using your gravity bong
Find a vase, bucket, or large bowl that’s deeper than your bottle. Fill it with water. If you prefer a really cold hit and you usually put ice in your bong, you can put ice in your water vessel. Submerge your bottle into the water until only the mouthpiece is dry. Screw on your bottle cap or set your bong bowl into the neck of the bottle.
Light the bowl, and slowly raise the bottle out of the water. As you raise the bottle, it’s going to pull in all the smoke. The smoke stays trapped inside, cooled by the water in your water vessel. When you’re ready, unscrew the bottle cap or pull the bowl out, and put your mouth over the mouth of the bottle. Slowly lower the bottle back into the water.
As you lower the bottle, the smoke is going to be forced into your lungs. Although the water cools the smoke and makes it feel less harsh, the sheer volume of it is tremendous. If you feel like the whole hit is too much, stop lowering the bottle. You can quickly pass it off to a nearby buddy if you don’t want to finish it.
The takeaway
Gravity bongs are undoubtedly for expert-level cannabis smokers. You want to use a weed you’re familiar with in quantity you’d normally smoke in one sitting. If you approach a gravity bong the same way you’d approach your normal solo bowl, it’s going to work out much better for you. It will also be gone in seconds. It may not be a chill smoke sesh, but it’s undoubtedly very efficient. (If you’re looking for a chill smoke sesh, take a look at our recommendations for the best Indica strains here and roll up a classic joint.)
Get to work making your gravity bong, and we’ll get to work delivering you your cannabis. Emjay can deliver flower to your doorstep in about half an hour. By the time you’re done assembling your gravity bong, we’ll have your cannabis to your house. How convenient is that? It was totally meant to be.