Using water in your dab rig isn't optional, it's essential.
Dab rigs need water to cool hot vapor. As hot vapor flows through your rig's water chamber, the percolator spreads the vapor apart through water bubbles and absorbs the heat. The water also moistens the vapor, reducing dry throat irritation and protecting heat-sensitive terpene molecules.
Did you know? The smaller your dab rig, the better. Unlike bongs, which benefit from more water filtration, dab rigs do better with less water filtration. That’s because vapor responds differently than smoke. Let me explain:
- As hot vapor flows through your dab rig, the more time it has to glide across glass and in your water chamber, the more likely the vapor will cool and form back into condensation inside the water chamber (losing THC potency).
- A smaller water chamber will give you more potent and flavorful hits. A larger dab rig will force vapor to travel too far and spend too much time in water filtration, giving you a smoother but weaker hit.
Do dab rigs need water?
Yes, a dab rig needs water but it can also function without it. A dab rig is a water pipe just like a bong. If you use water in both a bong or a dab rig, you get the benefits of smoother and cleaner hits. If you do not use water, the dab rig will act just like any dry vapor pipe (like a nectar collector), and the hits will be harsher.
Your rig’s water chamber acts like a cooling system for your vapor. Dab rigs and bongs both force a larger amount of vapor and smoke into your lungs, and that can cause a ton of thermal stress on your lung tissues. That’s why it’s always recommended to use water if you are going to use a dab rig, otherwise, just use a vapor straw.
How much water should to put in a dab rig?
Remember, with dab rigs, you want to use a smaller rig. When you heat your dabs it converts it into vapor that’s filled with THC and terpenes for you to inhale. If the hot vapor cools down, it converts back into oil inside of your rig (losing potency).
When filling your dab rig, avoid overfilling. Pour cool water through the joint of your rig or the mouth hole opening. Get the water about a quarter to a half inch above the percolator’s slits/holes. Inhale with your rig to test if the water bubbles.
Do not fill your rig with more water because if you do, that forces hot vapor to sit longer in cold water, and you risk water bubbles splashing into your mouth which is much easier with smaller rigs.
What’s the big deal with water?
1. Water puts less stress on your lungs
Water has a high heat capacity, meaning it can absorb a ton of heat from the scolding hot vapor that’s about to hit your lungs. If you have 100 grams of water in your bong, it can absorb 4.18 joules of heat energy (that’s a lot).
If you took a dab rig hit without water, the vapor would be so hot it would put a ton of stress on your lung tissues and throat, causing you to cough and retract your diaphragm. A dab rig’s water chamber helps you reduce heat so it doesn’t stress your lungs out, so you can stretch your diaphragm to absorb more THC.
2. Water filters out tiny particles
Water in a bong helps trap ash and plant matter, but with cannabis dabs, there are very minimal particulates (solid stuff) that the eye can see. That doesn’t mean the water chamber isn’t still catching things you don’t want in your lungs
A dab rig’s water chamber filters out the following solid matters that are too small for the eye to catch:
- Reclaim (vapor that formed back into dabs)
- Plant fats and lipids (naturally present in concentrates)
- Ash and small burnt solids (this is from small impurities in dabs burning)
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Butane torch/ solvents (residue from butane torch or the solvent process gets filtered.
So even though it doesn’t look like your dab rig’s filtering out solid matter, it definitely is. As the vapor flows down into the water chamber the water bubbles shake the vapor around vigorously, leaving behind unwanted particulates so they don’t make it into your lungs - thanks water!
3. Cold and warm water give different highs
Using warm water vs ice-cold water changes the dab experience completely:
- If you fill your dab rig with ice cold water, it protects delicate terpene molecules. Terpenes don’t just give flavor and aroma they have therapeutic benefits like euphoria, creativity, and sleep-aid. Cold water will give you less THC potency but more terpenes.
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If you fill your dab rig with warm water (room temp), you lose more terpene molecules (heat destroys terpenes) but retain more THC. The colder the water the more vapor turns back into oil in the water chamber, so warm water will help keep vapor in it’s form for you to inhale.
With cold water, you get many more flavors, atoms, and therapeutic benefits but less of the THC high. Cold water also cools down the vapor, so the inhale is buttery smooth with little to no coughing. With warm water, you’ll get harsher hits that might make you want to cough, but they will be 2-3 times more potent THC-wise.
4. Fresh water stops germs
Just like bong water, dab rig water needs regular changing or else a whole host of microscopic germs will begin forming.
All the solid particles that your rig’s water chamber catches floats there day after day. If you ever leave your dab rig’s water sitting still with solid particles (even microscopic), at room temperature, mold will begin forming in your water pipe In 24-48 hours.
What forms mold is stagnant water, solid particles (food for the mold), and warmer room temperature water. To stop this, make sure you are using your dab rig each day, and if not pour the water out (mold can form in 24 hours). It’s recommended to change your dab rig’s water at least each day, and to not let your rig sit with water in it for more than 3 days.
Another easy way to prevent this is by using a double-filtration system. What this is is a second water chamber that you extend off the primary water chamber. So all the dab vapor flows to the external water chamber which catches all the solid particles and that lets clean vapor flow through the dab rig’s primary chamber (preventing germs and mold build up in your dab rig).
Does the type of water I put in matter?
Absolutely, the type of water you put in your dab rig will drastically impact the flavors you inhale and how often you’ll have to clean your rig.
Balanced pH = better flavors
Your water’s pH level matters a lot. Terpenes (those molecules giving your dabs flavor and aroma) are super sensitive not only to heat but also to acidity. You want to use water that has a neutral pH (around 7.0) because it doesn’t break down terpenes, unlike tap wate,r which can be too acidic or alkaline.
Hard water leaves nasty residues
If you ever notice a chalky buildup inside your dab rig that’s from hard water (tap water), which is packed with minerals like calcium and magnesium. These minerals stick to the glass, and eventually clog up the tiny holes in your percolator making the inhale much harder and the percolation system much weaker.
Switching to distilled water stops these mineral deposits from building up. It’ll keep your percolator running smoothly and prevent you from frequent cleaning.
Why dab rigs have percolators
Percolators (that intricate glass piece sitting inside the water chamber) are carefully designed to do one thing: diffuse hot vapor. Diffusion means to spread apart. So when you heat your banger with a butane torch and drop your dabs in, the dabs begin melting and forming scorching hot vapor.
As you inhale, you pull that vapor through the quartz banger and down the downstem and into the percolator.
A percolator has tiny slits or holes (sometimes few and sometimes dozens) which forces the hot vapor to spread apart into dozens of streams of vapor and then broken apart with water bubbles. This process of diffusion is meant to cool the vapor and shake out any solid impurities to be left in the water chamber instead of being inhaled by you.
Avoid stronger percolators with dab rigs
There are dozens of different types of percolators, all with the intention of diffusing hot vapor more efficiently. With bongs, it’s ok to have very turbulent diffusion (insane amounts of water bubbles) but with dab rigs, you want to avoid this. The more water diffusion that takes place with hot vapor, the more THC you’ll lose.
For dab rigs, aim for standard diffusion percolators like a diffused downstem. You can upgrade to medium-strength percolators like honeycomb percs, shower head percs, or a recycler system, but avoid multi-level percs and super strong percs like matrix and jellyfish percolators.;
