The FC Bubbler by PlanetVape

SliM: If I don't want to bend over, I will place the bubbler higher. Like place some books below or something. Having a mouthpiece this long imo looks weird and would creep me out. Also I think I would prefer the body a bit taller. Maybe that could raise the price, don't know.

Hey Seek I get where Slim is coming from too.

If you are passing it to and fro demonstrating youre watertool to patients across a table it would be nice to slide the piece unhindered.I like youre idea Seek of a taller body.Itwould mean the mouthpiece stem could be shortened and not make it look so long snakelike/weird and still reach 14inches like Slim is looking for.Only thing is you don t wanna bust a lung clearing it

The nearest piece to that I can think of is the 10 arm Saxo that Wat and BDV own.May I ask either of you guys..What Is it like to clear all that air out of that large empty can before you get vapor?..Does it make hitting it a test of lungpower?.

The newer vapes are throwing out lots of vapor on demand Hi Cloud Ud etc.The reviews i ve read on the saxo are positive.the only issue I can see with a shorter mouthpiece and taller body is clearing all that air from the empty can to begin with.what do you guys think? would a longer body hinder or improve the experience anyone?

lmo there would be more room for bubbling action (don't know if it's able to go all the way up) and also getting water up by blowing could be harder. Vapes hate water, so there is never enough prevention.

that was in regard to the 10 arm saxo which is here

If you get a good vapor flow, right off the draw... not hard. If there's any warmup time, during the pull... it can be difficult to clear. I do not recommend the Saxo dimensions for any FC bubbler, unless wall dimensions are reduced.

However, I'm not involved in this design.

I agree with the stubby mouthpiece preference and think that this is a pretty fun & interactive project (and a potentially great way for a lesser known glassblower to build their brand name recognition). I'd also vote against increasing the height of the can. IMO, it should be just big enough to contain the bubbles created.

Some other functional-but-likely-feasible revisions I would suggest is a wider connection from the gooseneck and the main can without increasing the width of the gooseneck itself. This feature can be the difference between a nice/quick clear and a mouthful of water. A roughly upside-down teardrop or triangle shape to the connection hole helps greatly with this as well.

Additionally, I would flatten the trumpeted mouthpiece for a more comfortable feel.

It is hard to judge the balance of the piece from the pic, but a wider base without widening the can could be nice (or maybe a deadfoot add-on, non-glass, after-market, stabilizer/heightening base, or something like that?).

I know I'd be interested in one of the PV/FC bubblers (especially due to my fondness for FC, my appreciation of the community involvement in design development, and my personal approval of the preliminary specs of the piece).

Thanks to all participating in this project, and whoever put the announcement of this thread in the scrolling FC banner.

Toke it easy, all.

Stubby for me too! It looks unanimous.

3.2mm seems a bit thin to be pairing up with vapes. I wouldn't feel very comftorable using my cloud on glass that's 3.2mm thick.

I can also see the shape of the neck being a spot for people to grab and hold or use to pass. With water in the bottom (and if there's a vape being used), if a person pics up the bub by the neck there's going to be a lot of stress put on where the neck is welded to the body.

I understand you're trying to keep cost down with using 3.2mm tubing, but I think a 4mm would be a bit more durable, and forgiving for users who are not as familiar with handling glass. I would buy it if it was 5mm glass, but that'll be a more expensive bub. I'd rather spend more money on a piece that is more durable than save and have something break because of thin glass.

I'm always shocked by how the majority of people handle glass.

Other than that I think the design is great for pairing with vapes! Seems like you really paid attention to what vaporists were looking for.

Absolutely. It only takes one drop. I just dropped a thick downstem on a hard floor and it didn't break. Thicker glass, a bit higher price is definitely worth it IMO.

Yea, I don't care as much about the aesthetics as I would the performance. I would not care if they tweaked the can size or the stem size as long as they keep it around 12-13 inches tall total. Pieces below that don't work well with my back. I suppose I could place it on a book or something, but that would limit the type of devices I use with it. I would not want to balance the piece on something and use it with my cloud for instance. I think if the bubbler was sub 12 inches I would end up holding it every time.

I just purchased a Mobius - Facet Disc Series with Matrix Disc Perc and it is around 12 inches tall. I am extremely nervous about it being to short for me. I am hoping it work well for me to be able to place it on the table and not bend over much.

I should mention I am 6ft 2inches tall. Lots of things make me bend over, which hurts my back. All the counter tops in homes are too short. So if I am standing cutting up a carrot I have to bend over.... which sometimes feels like someone is sticking a hot knife in my back. Not many products are build for poeple of my size. If they did make a bubbler for the taller man... I would be thrilled.

@PV Have you considered making it a 2-piece device with a GonG connection for the mouthpiece? I don't know if this would effect the cost, but it would allow for people to choose their mouthpiece length so tall people like SliM could get the longer mouthpiece. A keck clip would take some from the aesthetics I guess, but not very much imo.

Just a thought.

Good suggestion. A custom order is just a drop down menu away. 1 unit, 2 mouthpiece options perhaps...

It seems that what you really need is a taller table and shorter chairs. What would you suggest for those concerned about he breakability of a longer gooseneck or the increased chances of a piece with a longer gooseneck toppling over?

Tall tables: awkward arm positioning.
Short tables: neck/back pain.
Being 6'8 can be a nuisance

Thanks everyone for the kind words and great ideas and suggestions.
We will try to address all suggestions and questions without addressing each individual poster if that is okay? any missed questions or suggestions, please post them again.

We don't see any reason why we could not have 2 versions of the mouthpiece length available, probably the original and the stubby sound like the most votes so far? We will find out tomorrow if two versions will be possible without a price increase.

A detachable mouthpiece is also a good idea, but would definitely increase the price as all our joints are North American made.

The glass thickness is always a concern, currently it is 2.2mm which feels very sturdy, don't see any way a heavy vape on top could cause it to break. We are working to get it to 3.2mm for the same price. There are more cost factors involved in using heavy wall borosilicate than just the raw glass cost itself and more heating and labor hours to build each piece. 3.2mm is the maximum thickness at this price range, anything thicker will add about 30% to the cost.

We could not get water into our mouth during clearing with the prototype, but it would bubble up to just above the first bend in the gooseneck. With the stubby, water getting up too high will probably be an issue now. The proposed solution is a bulge in the gooseneck where it connects to the can and to have the end of the bulge that connects to the can a little bigger to have a larger connection area?

The base can be made a larger diameter, the current 4.75 inches works well without being too big, it fits perfect between a table edge and computer keyboard on a desk.

Here is another slit design we like, it has not been tested, but we hope it won't increase the price due to additional cuts being needed. We call it the Piranha because it looks like little teeth although they are basically just X's. Another twist on the Piranha is overlapping the X's for a two stage effect.

Piranha

This one is the original design, it has a two stage effect, black areas= no glass there, might require too many cuts



This one causes air to travel along the slits diagonally so the bubbles chop up better in theory


If anyone has an idea for a showerhead diffuser pattern that won't take extra labor, or very minimal please post a diagram if possible.

Thanks,
PV

This design isn't too different from the one in the first post, but you can definitely tell it would fire a little bitter. By making the slits curve more to the top of the showerhead, the airflow would be even more free flowing.

Also shows a more secure way to seal a showerhead to the bottom of the bub. Keep in mind this is $250 Vertigo bubbler, but still want to show a "most ideal" example

+1 for stubby. I like a bubbler that's easily hand held. I've got bongs for table top use.

This is more of a general diffuser design suggestion rather than a suggested slit pattern, but if you dont go with the dewaar joint you could easily make the showerhead perform in reverse. I find that with a bottleneck between the showerhead and the wider section that deconstructs the tiny bubbles created by the bubbles colliding into each other from opposite sides. This design also allows for alot of forgiveness regarding slit placement/quality without effecting performance often. I apologize about the lack of a diagram or pic, but I just couldn't get myself to pull one together.

Best wishes.

Prog

I don't quite understand your idea prog.

I think I need a diagram to really understand a reversed showerhead...

(right now I'm picturing something like a SYN piece boobs used to have...)

No, your mind started to grasp it... then you noticed my quote and your brains were scrambled.

You're welcome.

Man I like them all. I find it an incredibly positive thing that this is the product of collaberation and community FC for president(I'm not even American) and PV can be vice president VP

Some good news.

1. We can do both the original long neck and stubby versions, your choice when you order
2. Borosilicate glass thickness will be 3.2mm heavy wall
3. Base can be changed to Hex shape for a 1" lift

If we change the base to a hex shape, the centre of the hex base will be about 1" higher off the table, lifting the mouthpiece higher while not increasing the can height or neck length. The hex base sits flush on the table all the way around, not just the corners.

SD_haze, thanks, we will incorporate those changes in the next prototype.

Progress, your idea is a little hard to picture without a diagram. The top mounted dewaar joint was chosen by FC members as the preferred design choice and we would like to stay with that if possible.

PV

Sorry for the confusion. I suck with pics, links & diagrams. If you google
'reverse showerhead bong' you get a 12 sec YouTube video of a SYN piece.

It is basically that with less space for the bubbles when they enter (forcing them to collide more and not just travel upwards).

That design IS pretty incompatible with the dewaar joint, and those joints are pretty snazzy.

It's possible, it'd just be really impractical to make.