Got A Glass Tube And A Good Bottle - Need Advice On Hoses.

[AgentWiggles]

So I have a good sized glass tube and an old rum bottle, and I want to make a hookah out of it. Way I see it, I need two more things - a bowl and a way to attach hoses.

There are glass funnels in one of the science labs at my school - If I can find a way to obtain one (legally of course), do you think it would make a good bowl? I figure the narrow part could go down into the glass tube and it'd work pretty well.

Now, the hard part is attaching a hose. I think there's probably two options - drill a hole in the glass for it or make some sort of pipe sheath which would go over the glass tube and have a way to attach the hose to it.

Also, is there any kind of glue/caulk/etc that would be safe and appropriate for a hookah?

Eagerly awaiting thoughts and idea.

[colto]

[quote name='AgentWiggles' date='05 May 2010 - 09:00 PM' timestamp='1273111201' post='466862']
So I have a good sized glass tube and an old rum bottle, and I want to make a hookah out of it. Way I see it, I need two more things - a bowl and a way to attach hoses.

There are glass funnels in one of the science labs at my school - If I can find a way to obtain one (legally of course), do you think it would make a good bowl? I figure the narrow part could go down into the glass tube and it'd work pretty well.

Now, the hard part is attaching a hose. I think there's probably two options - drill a hole in the glass for it or make some sort of pipe sheath which would go over the glass tube and have a way to attach the hose to it.

Also, is there any kind of glue/caulk/etc that would be safe and appropriate for a hookah?

Eagerly awaiting thoughts and idea.
[/quote]
You will need to make sure that the bottom of the funnel provide ample air flow and will need to attach the funnel to the tube in an airtight manner. For detachable bowl you will need to create a rubber gasket. You could also just epoxy them together and leave it one piece. For the hose you can either buy the hose port for $4 + shipping from hookah-shisha or you can go to Lowes/Home Depot and get some quick hose disconnects from the air-tool section. You will need to buy a diamond hole saw to drill the hole either way. For adhesives use dishwasher safe waterproof/water-resistant epoxy. I have been using Loctite Ultra but there are probably others that work better. I just haven't tried any other brands. The most important thing is that you get all of the pieces to fit together very snugly. I try to keep all gaps less than 1/3 of a mm. This way the epoxy is used primarily to seal and keep the pieces in place. It is not meant to take a lot of structural weight.

[poncho]

[quote name='colto' date='07 May 2010 - 09:09 PM' timestamp='1273280958' post='467175']
[quote name='AgentWiggles' date='05 May 2010 - 09:00 PM' timestamp='1273111201' post='466862']
So I have a good sized glass tube and an old rum bottle, and I want to make a hookah out of it. Way I see it, I need two more things - a bowl and a way to attach hoses.

There are glass funnels in one of the science labs at my school - If I can find a way to obtain one (legally of course), do you think it would make a good bowl? I figure the narrow part could go down into the glass tube and it'd work pretty well.

Now, the hard part is attaching a hose. I think there's probably two options - drill a hole in the glass for it or make some sort of pipe sheath which would go over the glass tube and have a way to attach the hose to it.

Also, is there any kind of glue/caulk/etc that would be safe and appropriate for a hookah?

Eagerly awaiting thoughts and idea.
[/quote]
You will need to make sure that the bottom of the funnel provide ample air flow and will need to attach the funnel to the tube in an airtight manner. For detachable bowl you will need to create a rubber gasket. You could also just epoxy them together and leave it one piece. For the hose you can either buy the hose port for $4 + shipping from hookah-shisha or you can go to Lowes/Home Depot and get some quick hose disconnects from the air-tool section. You will need to buy a diamond hole saw to drill the hole either way. For adhesives use dishwasher safe waterproof/water-resistant epoxy. I have been using Loctite Ultra but there are probably others that work better. I just haven't tried any other brands. The most important thing is that you get all of the pieces to fit together very snugly. I try to keep all gaps less than 1/3 of a mm. This way the epoxy is used primarily to seal and keep the pieces in place. It is not meant to take a lot of structural weight.
[/quote]





Hey guys hate to sound like a dick but i have to chime in here. You need to stop trying to make hookah's out of things you find at home depot. YOUR INHALING THREW THESE THINGS, so stop using things not made to be INHALED! NO to the EPOXY ---

"this way the epoxy is used primarily to seal and keep the pieces in place. It is not meant to take a lot of structural weight."

common man you think epoxy is good to smoke out of?

Just because you think you can make a hookah, chances are you haven't thought about the risks involved and maybe somewhat of the research that the professional companies have done to provide you with a product that wont kill you to smoke out of. There is a ton of product research that goes into these types of things, especially because they don't want to get sued to giving someone cancer from smoking out of epoxy.

I almost choose to ignore responding to this because I'm sick of checking the new posts with someone having a big grand idea of how they are going to make a hookah out of some bullshit parts they can fit together from home depot and their science lab. I mean are those funnels you speak of clean? Chances are no, they have been uses numerous times to pour unknown liquids down them. There could be all kinds of things attached to that glass that can kill you to inhale.

I'm sorry I have to come off so harsh on this topic, but its really not safe. If you want to know more about the proper ways to make a hookah out of glass, I can help you out, maybe give you some pointers on how to make your "parts" work together in a safe manner.

I just cant keep reading these topics then going to sleep thinking, "man someone's gonna die from smoking out of pvc, epoxy, and funnels from science class" Edited May 8, 2010 by poncho

[colto]

[quote name='poncho' date='08 May 2010 - 03:17 AM' timestamp='1273306674' post='467202']

Hey guys hate to sound like a dick but i have to chime in here. You need to stop trying to make hookah's out of things you find at home depot. YOUR INHALING THREW THESE THINGS, so stop using things not made to be INHALED! NO to the EPOXY ---

"this way the epoxy is used primarily to seal and keep the pieces in place. It is not meant to take a lot of structural weight."

common man you think epoxy is good to smoke out of?

Just because you think you can make a hookah, chances are you haven't thought about the risks involved and maybe somewhat of the research that the professional companies have done to provide you with a product that wont kill you to smoke out of. There is a ton of product research that goes into these types of things, especially because they don't want to get sued to giving someone cancer from smoking out of epoxy.

I almost choose to ignore responding to this because I'm sick of checking the new posts with someone having a big grand idea of how they are going to make a hookah out of some bullshit parts they can fit together from home depot and their science lab. I mean are those funnels you speak of clean? Chances are no, they have been uses numerous times to pour unknown liquids down them. There could be all kinds of things attached to that glass that can kill you to inhale.

I'm sorry I have to come off so harsh on this topic, but its really not safe. If you want to know more about the proper ways to make a hookah out of glass, I can help you out, maybe give you some pointers on how to make your "parts" work together in a safe manner.

I just cant keep reading these topics then going to sleep thinking, "man someone's gonna die from smoking out of pvc, epoxy, and funnels from science class"
[/quote]



Yes I am well aware of the health effects of every single component I use in my hookahs. Borosilicate (Pyrex) and grade 304 stainless steel are both food grade items. They are perfectly safe to the point of liquefaction (several thousand degrees). The epoxy is not dangerous. The only health related ingredient in epoxy is BPA as it has dual phenol functional groups. However, it is used in the creation of almost every single 2 liter bottle or other polycarbonate plastic based material as it is perfectly safe unless you start grinding it into a powder and snorting it, boiling/burning it, or ingesting large quantities of it. It is not coming into contact with anything more than a few degrees warmer than room temperature as the rubber grommets absorb the heat from the bowl and the smoke, which is only slightly warm, is run through stainless steel or glass pipe and then cooled by water before it ever comes into contact with the .25 sq. centimeters of epoxy used to seal the port threads. Not to mention the fact that the epoxy is being used on the OD side of the pipe which according to the Bernoulli principle is a low pressure zone due to the assumed inviscid flow of air caused by its low density. So let's recap:

1. The active ingredients in epoxy are not dangerous when hardened. In fact they are used in thousands of common household items include food containers.
2. The epoxy is not being heated to any degree at which point it would release active vapors.
3. The amount of epoxy coming into contact with the airflow (i.e. surface area) is very small as the majority is bound between objects and not exposed.
4. The epoxy isn't being subjected to the higher pressure system parts of the hookah and as such won't even receive the .00001% erosion factor.

Bonus tips:
5. The fact that you are inhaling combusted plant material, glycerin, flavorings, etc. is going to have several thousands of times more of an effect on your health.
6. The high fructose corn syrup, mono-sodium glutamate, or saccharine that you consumed in your processed or preserved foods( i.e. almost anything packaged at the grocery store) today are also many times more detrimental than anything having to do with the epoxy in a hookah.

You talk about the research of the professional companies and how they have done health testing? Do you realize that most hoses sold today rust out on the insides? Again, do you realize that you are inhaling something that is inherently terrible for your lungs? Do you really think a school would sell a kid lab equipment that has been used? Hello liability. Plus he could easily buy a new one online for cheaper than what most schools get them priced at. Even if it WAS used, do you realize that the reason borosilicate is used in lab equipment is due to its non-reactive nature and the fact that it does not corrode around common chemicals. They store high molarity concentrations of HCl in these things and clean them out and put NaOH in without fear of contamination because they know how well the glass resists chemicals and cleans up. The only danger here would be if for some reason they sold the kid a used and uncleaned funnel (highly unlikely) and then he took it home and didn't wash it (I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he is going to clean his parts before he uses them). This is also not taking into consideration that he has not yet tackled the problem of how to contain the shisha within the funnel without letting it fall/drip out of the bottom (use a faucet filtration screen) which would separate much of the shisha from the glass.

Look I'm not trying to bash you as I'm assuming you are fairly young judging by your grammar, but you should really check into this kind of stuff before you start telling people what is or isn't safe.

[mitchard]

This thread.

[poncho]

I am young, only 21, and I do believe I know a thing about borosilicate glass, well glass in general, and if you were smart you would agree that it is not a good idea to go and start making hookah's out of shit from home depot.

PS -- I dont ever smoke out of a hose that has any metal in, out, or around it.

The grammar comment was an excellent put down! Plus 1 for formal writing!

[poncho]

You can use your knowledge to help people or hurt people and quite honestly i fell like you advocating for the use of epoxy and other adhesives in home made hookah products is irresponsible.

I can just see it now people going to home depot and see the epoxy and think "oh yea Colto used a bunch of big words and scientific knowledge to prove his point that epoxy is safe!"

But is it really? I'm gonna stick to my gut with NO.

[poncho]

Whoops I also forgot to comment about: "[color="#5D5D5D"][font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="2"]The epoxy is not dangerous. The only health related ingredient in epoxy is BPA as it has dual phenol functional groups. "[/size][/font][/color]
[color="#5D5D5D"][font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"] [/font][/color]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"][size="2"]Thats a little contradictory to the recent movement of removing BPA's from plastic water bottles. [/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"] [/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"][size="2"]I mean Nalgene a huge company, great products for years and years just made a big fucking deal out of removing BPA's out of their products. Just google it, its bright as day.[/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"] [/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"][size="2"]But that's most likely because its safe right?[/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"] [/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5D5D5D"][size="2"]You can come here and fluster us with your knowledge but its not fair to anyone to advocate things that aren't safe.[/size][/color][/size][/font]

[colto]

[quote name='poncho' date='08 May 2010 - 07:48 PM' timestamp='1273366119' post='467284']
I am young, only 21, and I do believe I know a thing about borosilicate glass, well glass in general, and if you were smart you would agree that it is not a good idea to go and start making hookah's out of shit from home depot.

PS -- I dont ever smoke out of a hose that has any metal in, out, or around it.

The grammar comment was an excellent put down! Plus 1 for formal writing!
[/quote]

Please then explain why it is such a bad idea seeing as it is primarily used in bakeware in which case it is subjected to temperatures up to 500 degrees as well as in direct contact with food. It is literally one of the safest possible things you could use. Good for you as far as not using any sort of hose with metal contact. I recommend that as well. That being said the majority is still more than likely smoking out of aluminum that has been heated several hundred degrees which has some poor health effects. Glass screens alleviate this issue but are poor thermal conductors compared to aluminum and much more material is required due to fragility meaning a lot of heat is lost to the atmosphere. It is a coal (cost) to health value issue on that one.

The grammar comment was not meant as a put down but was rather something that I naturally use as a correlation to age. Looking at your profile I can see that you are only 12 days younger than I am.


[quote name='poncho' date='08 May 2010 - 07:53 PM' timestamp='1273366422' post='467285']
You can use your knowledge to help people or hurt people and quite honestly i fell like you advocating for the use of epoxy and other adhesives in home made hookah products is irresponsible.

I can just see it now people going to home depot and see the epoxy and think "oh yea Colto used a bunch of big words and scientific knowledge to prove his point that epoxy is safe!"

But is it really? I'm gonna stick to my gut with NO.
[/quote]

I researched the topic thoroughly before assembling my first hookah. I have presented more than enough information to illustrate my point. If you choose to avoid that and go with a "gut feeling" then you may go right ahead. Just don't start telling others what to do without good reason (i.e. more than just your gut). I researched every single material being used in my hookah and I can assure it's safety.


[quote name='poncho' date='08 May 2010 - 08:00 PM' timestamp='1273366814' post='467289']
Whoops I also forgot to comment about: "[color="#5d5d5d"][font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="2"]The epoxy is not dangerous. The only health related ingredient in epoxy is BPA as it has dual phenol functional groups. "[/size][/font][/color]
[color="#5d5d5d"][font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"] [/font][/color]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5d5d5d"][size="2"]Thats a little contradictory to the recent movement of removing BPA's from plastic water bottles. [/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"] [/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5d5d5d"][size="2"]I mean Nalgene a huge company, great products for years and years just made a big fucking deal out of removing BPA's out of their products. Just google it, its bright as day.[/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"] [/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5d5d5d"][size="2"]But that's most likely because its safe right?[/size][/color][/size][/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"] [/font]
[font="tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif"][size="3"][color="#5d5d5d"][size="2"]You can come here and fluster us with your knowledge but its not fair to anyone to advocate things that aren't safe.[/size][/color][/size][/font]
[/quote]

Yes because the customers heard that BPA was being used and created petitions for something new. BPA-Free was the new buzzword for containers. Read the National Toxicology report on BPA. There is only some concern for "fetuses, infants, and children", none of which apply to hookah smoking. Furthermore the BPA was being released when hot drinks were placed in them or liquids were left in the sun with them for prolonged periods of time. The sun is not an issue here as the epoxy is tightly squeezed against the hose port and the glass (which would refract the sun away on a diamond cut). Also you have the fact that you are comparing the internal surface area of an entire Nalgene bottle to the amount of surface area that epoxy is exposed in our hookahs (it is literally about half a millimeter wide in a 1/4" diameter ring that is 1mm thick). Then you add to the fact that the hookah is not closed like a Nalgene bottle and as such stays ventilated, preventing temperature/pressure build up.

Also from the Nalgene page on BPA: "Furthermore, several scientific panels including the European Union's Scientific Committee on Food, the National Toxicology Program and the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis have concluded that the weight of scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that low doses of BPA adversely affects human health. None of the large studies conducted have substantiated the claims made by those performing some of the smaller studies frequently cited."

[mitchard]

[quote name='mitchard' date='08 May 2010 - 11:36 AM' timestamp='1273343769' post='467237']
This thread.
[/quote]

[poncho]

the glass is great! im not saying anything about that, i'm just saying its not a good idea to have people going out to make shit from home depot. You may be smart enough to research everything, but most people just dont care to put that much effort into it, they just wanna smoke.

I can tell you clearly have done your research, its the others i'm talking about, not you.