Replaced The Metal Ball-bearing With A Plastic Bb

[JDHarding]

I bought some plastic BBs to replace the metal ball-bearing in my purge valve due to the ball-bearing having rusting problems. They work surprisingly well, but BBs only come in large amounts. Now I got 2000 plastic ball-bearings for my hookahs. And they're glow in the dark!

What am I gonna do with 2000 of these things? Get a BB gun? Edited March 8, 2009 by JDHarding

[MeHT]

Get an airsoft(strikeball) rifle and join in on the action!

[Zinite]

I'll paypal you a dollar to mail me 20 of them

[JDHarding]

Haha..

[Sonthert]

I don't think its rust. I'm 75% sure its not rust. Its the dried out flavor and vaporized materials from the vapor stream. Its roughly the same stuff as the scum on the inside of the jar when you don't clean your jar enough. On the other hand, it probably will work better whether its rust or not. Unless some of the harsher components dissolve the plastic. Not that it will, just saying is all.

[JDHarding]

No, I soaked the BB in some stuff that should have cleaned it off, but it didn't. It's rust. Unless you have stainless steel BBs, it's rust.

[Sonthert]

Its not water soluble stuff, thats the point. Rinsing the shank should be enough, if the residue is water soluble; its oily organic stuff. Tangiers has a very low water content to the point that I've had some hoses for six or seven years, still rust free, the molasses acts as a chelating agent, removing rust to some degree (maybe it affects the rust accumulation). and I still get black gunk on Ball Bearings. Hoses that are used a lot get the "black creep'; black spots breaking out in patches in areas of the hose that are often kinked, near the base of the handle, etc. The black creep soaks through the hose and weakens the material until it tears, but no rust-dust particles. I see black oily material in my shank, thats why hookah brushes are used, to rub it off. I would assume that the same chemicals in black oily buildup must be present in the vent, too. You might be right. Let me test my theory:

I put a rusted ball bearing in Propylene Glycol and it removed most of the black stuff, which suggests its primarily organic since its mostly soluble in PG. Rust wouldn't even flinch at an organic solvent like PG. There is likely to be some rust in the black stuff, and it would also make sense that different brands of tobacco will have different components in the black stuff based on their solvent choices and water contents. Yours might be more rust than my black gunk.

[JDHarding]

Not sure why you're continuing to discuss this topic. I already bought the plastic BBs and threw out the metal ones. *shrug* Oh well.

[indian_villager]

I don't think its rust. I'm 75% sure its not rust. Its the dried out flavor and vaporized materials from the vapor stream. Its roughly the same stuff as the scum on the inside of the jar when you don't clean your jar enough. On the other hand, it probably will work better whether its rust or not. Unless some of the harsher components dissolve the plastic. Not that it will, just saying is all.

Your ChE is showing .

But yea if it was rust it would clearly be evident....like if you were to take the bearing and rub it inbetween your fingers they would have this red/orange tinge to them. I've seen this plenty on people's hookahs that neglect the purge valve at the time of cleaning. Edited March 9, 2009 by indian_villager

[chinamon]

i was at my buddy's place tonight and he is in to the whole airsoft thing so i got a few from him. they work great!

[Sonthert]

Not sure why you're continuing to discuss this topic. I already bought the plastic BBs and threw out the metal ones. *shrug* Oh well.

My black stuff has little rust in it, I think, not that I ever had it analyzed. Maybe yours is different. Why would they be different? Maybe it can offer some insight into the contents of the vapor. Whether it was rust or not might be important if people are looking for a way to clean their metal ball bearings so they don't have to go out and buy 2000 plastic ball bearings. If it is rust, it might be best to use vinegar, say. If it isn't, it might be best to use alcohol or even water. If it has components other than rust, it might mean that switching from metal to plastic is irrelevant. It never really poses a problem for me, with metal ones. I was curious to see if anybody an opinion on whether it helped or not that had actually done it or had a hookah that came with a plastic ball bearing. Will some chemically active components in citrus and mint flavors leach chemicals out of the plastic? Will they attack and pit or craze the plastic?

Thats why I continued to discuss it. I wasn't being critical of you, yours seems like a good idea. Being an engineer, I ask question like this. Not that anybody needs a reason to keep discussing it.

[smoke eater]

Thanks for the tip. I was looking for a bearing to tear apart. This will be much easier, I think there are like half a million of these still laying around from my son's air soft days.

[delSol_si]

My ball bearing rusted and the port was corroded. I wiped the corrosion off the port and then just put some foil over the port. I was getting really shitty smoke for several sessions so I figured there must be something wrong. I did the blowing test and found out there was a leak somewhere. I finally pinpointed it down to the purge valve. I took the foil off and put one of my roommates plastic bb's in the port and it worked great! Plus, not I no longer have to worry about rust and if the bb gets nasty, throw it away and put another in. I actually think the plastic bb seals better than the metal ball bearing ever did.

[Arcane]

i bought a bag of 1000 plastic BBs before I had my first session with the hookah...i replace the BB after each session now.

[Sonthert]

My ball bearing rusted and the port was corroded. I wiped the corrosion off the port and then just put some foil over the port. I was getting really shitty smoke for several sessions so I figured there must be something wrong. I did the blowing test and found out there was a leak somewhere. I finally pinpointed it down to the purge valve. I took the foil off and put one of my roommates plastic bb's in the port and it worked great! Plus, not I no longer have to worry about rust and if the bb gets nasty, throw it away and put another in. I actually think the plastic bb seals better than the metal ball bearing ever did.

Yeah, sometimes that black shit gets real crusty and starts making the bearing set uneven.

[Charley]

your all welcome.

[JDHarding]

Been using the same 2 plastic BBs ever since. I always remove the check valve and bearing after every smoke so it doesn't get all goopy in there. Any time it feels juicy, I wash it out.

[antouwan]

what to do with all the extras? buy an airsoft gun and shoot any imbecile who knocks the pipe over.

[JDHarding]

what to do with all the extras? buy an airsoft gun and shoot any imbecile who knocks the pipe over.

Haha.. violent. Plus, since I'm usually the only one smoking my pipes, it's never been knocked over.

[Kathrynx]

Plastic BBs are awesome. We've been using them ever since I lost one of my original ball bearings. My brother had those little air soft pellets everywhere.

Another tip, that I got from Snoopy, was to coat the ball bearing in vegetable oil every now and then to keep it nice, shiny, and new.

[delSol_si]

what to do with all the extras? buy an airsoft gun and shoot any imbecile...

There you go, your original sentence had useless words on the end...

[antouwan]

what to do with all the extras? buy an airsoft gun and shoot any imbecile...

There you go, your original sentence had useless words on the end...

hahaha +1 made my day, thanks delSol

[JDHarding]

I guess you can't really harm anyone with plastic BBs.. but I'm sure they hurt!

[mustang_steve]

There are metal airsoft pellets for those interested....look for .40g and heavier pellets...they cost a lot more though...so it may be a group buy/split endeavor unless you know an airsofter who would use them.

[Sonthert]

I asked George at Hookah Company and he used to install platic BBs in the hookahs he sold, and he stopped. The reason, he told me, is that the plastic ones are too light and don't drop down right sometimes. I still have the plastic BB in my hookah and I've noticed a slightly different, harder draw to it...I may switch it out and see if the problem goes away.