Rooster Apparatus/Fritted disks with vaporizers?

[gordontreeman]

Hey everyone,

I was cleaning my WP yesterday (just the dhgate sidecar matrix perc that it seems like everyone has--its a good piece!) and it slipped from my grip and is no more (the sidecar/stem broke about midway through). I have fallen in love with water for its cooling, so I picked up a cheap replacement at a local smoke shop but have been doing some research into whats out there re: percolator options instead of just ordering another of these.

A potentially interesting option I've seen are frittered glass percs, I guess an innovation from lab glass brought to our industry by Rooster Apparatus. Just trying to get some thoughts on these percs. I'm guessing that you sacrifice flavor for maximum cooling, but my understanding is rooster is pretty sought after for dab rigs (I have never heard about them for flower anyway) where flavor is pretty prized, so maybe this is incorrect? Also curious about the cleaning process.

Finally if anyone is familiar with rooster I'm curious about their longevity. DHgate has plenty of frittered glass perc options, and while I'm thinking about just buying Rooster (seem to be hand made in Oregon), I thought I was very careful with my generic piece only to have it die in 60 days in my sink, so its kind of hard not to think about glass as a consumable at this point, and wonder if I should bother investing in functional art until I have a better track record.

 

[howie105]

I would select a honeycomb option over the frittered disk option because of ease of maintenance and the similarity in performance.

 

[invertedisdead]

Came up in cannabis during the Golden Era of scientific glass - almost everybody that had a Dave Goldstein hated it lol. Clogs easily, scrubs the flavor out, and the glass industry thought him trying to patent a generic fritted disk for cannabis use was kinda corny.

IMO definitely not sought after for dabbing, maybe in 2010 in the glowing titanium nail + dome days.

Agree with @howie105 that a honeycomb is, IMO a better option just for ease of cleaning. But I definitely appreciate your interest in supporting local manufacturing. You might check out https://www.goorooglass.com/ - also made in Oregon at quite reasonable prices - @arb has been trying out a bunch of their glass with solid praise.

 

[gordontreeman]

Huh, didn't know Rooster's rep isn't quite what I thought it was. Aside from a few casual "best waterpipe" google searches I've never looked into it. When I was 18 in college I remember RooR being the big thing--given the resale value and a few remarks it seemed like RA was something like that in the dab world.

I hadn't considered cleaning, but its a good point. Would frittered glass be more than just pluging the outlets and pouring in 99% iso though? The only difference I've seen is a suggestion not to use salt (which to be fair might be a huge pita, but I cleaned my former piece often enough that I never thought I needed an additive for scrubbing action, and I hadn't even done a proper iso bath--just dishsoap and water).

Honeycomb was the other option I was looking at. I'm kicking myself for not just getting one locally to try. I went with another showerhead perk (little different from the DHGate option, which the manufacturer advertised as a stereo perc--it was just a showerhead with additional glass circles on the inside dividing it into top/middle/lower showerhead air outlets, functionally). I doubt they're in a position to accept returns, especially with covid! I'll do some more looking. Kind of just curious how the frittered percs perform, but it would be a bummer if it killed all the flavor/terps.

 

[Kins]

Switch to USA made glass and you'll be much happier. Yes I don't like Chinese glass, but I do have a few chinese made pieces, they all break really easily. I've dropped my more expensive USA made pieces and they have bounced a few times but never broken from short distance falls.

 

[Bologna]

I have no idea about the thread topic, but since I bought my first rather large (for me anyway) US made bubbler, A Goo Roo 3-Piece, I've found myself being too careful around sinks, and kinda jittery... not good. Never had a problem with this happening before with my cheap glass...? So a couple of close calls later and I'm looking at getting a good sink mat like maybe one of these, or something similar:

VIGO VGSG3318 29.5 in x 14.625 in Gray Silicone Kitchen Sink Protective Bottom Grid For Single Basin 33 in Sink

 

[gordontreeman]

Switch to USA made glass and you'll be much happier. Yes I don't like Chinese glass, but I do have a few chinese made pieces, they all break really easily. I've dropped my more expensive USA made pieces and they have bounced a few times but never broken from short distance falls.....Just took a look at the Rooster site and that does look like high quality glass. Definitely an investment. It says they can fix most straight tubes if you happen to break them.

ROOSTER APPARATUS – Designed by Dave Goldstein, Handcrafted in the United States

roosterapparatus.com

Yeah, I noticed they were repairable in theory. I think for reasons of size, ergonomics, and compatibility with my wpa adapters I'd go with the micron lite in their valuline for now (the valuline seem to be the only 14mm female joints, and I'm fine with a slightly stubbier piece for now with the bent neck to keep my forehead and spectacles away from my vape). Just curious about the frittered glass. I've never heard of it as a perc construction technique before. The "scrubbing" they describe is probably marketing nonsense but it sounds appealing to me in terms of health lol (if its used in labs I assume there's something to it, but it sounds like they use tiny pores designed for pressures much higher than we produce with our lungs).

Appreciate the look at Rooster though. I'd hope the glass is heavier gauge throughout. The glass on the body of my generic was thick, but the mouthpiece was maybe a little thin. I dropped it not even a foot (my hands were still in the kitchen sink) and it must have landed right on it and broke it in half. Someone who works glass could probably melt it back together, so I'm keeping it on hand in case I run into someone who will trade flower or a six pack for a functional repair but given what it cost new I don't know that its worth me mailing it and paying someone to repair it.

 

[Kins]

Yeah, I noticed they were repairable in theory. I think for reasons of size, ergonomics, and compatibility with my wpa adapters I'd go with the micron lite in their valuline for now (the valuline seem to be the only 14mm female joints, and I'm fine with a slightly stubbier piece for now with the bent neck to keep my forehead and spectacles away from my vape). Just curious about the frittered glass. I've never heard of it as a perc construction technique before. The "scrubbing" they describe is probably marketing nonsense but it sounds appealing to me in terms of health lol (if its used in labs I assume there's something to it, but it sounds like they use tiny pores designed for pressures much higher than we produce with our lungs).

Appreciate the look at Rooster though. I'd hope the glass is heavier gauge throughout. The glass on the body of my generic was thick, but the mouthpiece was maybe a little thin. I dropped it not even a foot (my hands were still in the kitchen sink) and it must have landed right on it and broke it in half. Someone who works glass could probably melt it back together, so I'm keeping it on hand in case I run into someone who will trade flower or a six pack for a functional repair but given what it cost new I don't know that its worth me mailing it and paying someone to repair it.

I have never had glass repair done either but I bet if it's just two pieces it wouldn't be that much. I'm just guessing though. Anyone reading this have glass repair done?

 

[howie105]

I have no idea about the thread topic, but since I bought my first rather large (for me anyway) US made bubbler, A Goo Roo 3-Piece, I've found myself being too careful around sinks, and kinda jittery... not good. Never had a problem with this happening before with my cheap glass...? So a couple of close calls later and I'm looking at getting a good sink mat like maybe one of these, or something similar:

VIGO VGSG3318 29.5 in x 14.625 in Gray Silicone Kitchen Sink Protective Bottom Grid For Single Basin 33 in Sink
[/QUOTE

You have a dump sink, wish I did. I feel like an idiot hanging over the side of my bathtub, and it makes the dog nervous.

 

[staircase slight of hand]

I’ve got an RA Micron that I’ve been using for a few years now, both with dry herb (Lotus and Tubo Evic) and concentrate (Scope+Stack Rook). The glass is pretty darn thick and hasn’t been effected by the occasional bump and knock.

In terms of cleaning, it’s what I’ve been using for years so I guess I don’t necessarily know any better, but I’m not bothered by the cleaning. Brief ISO soak and shake a couple times a week keeps things clean for me, but I’m not the heaviest of users (lately I use it once or twice a day for a quick dab).

In regards to flavor, I love it, but I also fill the water pretty darn low. For flower I’ll use it dry more often than not, and for concentrates I’ll fill it a little bit below the perc (so that just a little water is getting pulled through when drawing strongly). If you fill enough to submerge the perc, you’ll definitely lose some flavor, cuz the “scrubbing” is very real.

Mine was bought during a 4/20 sale and is not perfect (the joint is slightly off-center and there are some very faint tooling marks by the mouthpiece), which surprised me a bit for a >$200 piece, but it works fine and I bet they would have swapped it out for me if I’d asked them to.

All in all, I like it a lot, but it’s definitely a bit of an odd-duck in the glass world. If you’re also an odd-duck, it might be right up your alley (or canal, I guess?).


Edit to add: If you do buy one, I’d definitely recommend something from the Valueline series since they all have 38mm fritted discs. All their other pieces have larger discs, which really will amp up the flavor-robbing.