Oil rig discussion thread

[pigfoot]

Ok, how about a thread devoted to oil rigs? No price range - China glass to custom heady work. Current wisdom says a small bubbler with minimal diffusion and a male joint is best. What do you think? Like bigger rigs, more diffusion? What works best for you and why. Post about your favorite rig in your collection!

I started with my D020, which works fine, I like using a male to male adapter, keeps more heat away from my glass. Then I got this recycler from Kathy:
http://www.dhgate.com/store/product/new-small-bong-mini-water-pipe-pocket-glass/190892756.html

I wanted to try something closer to the tiny rigs that are popular now. It's 14mm and over 6" high, a good size I think. It's a bit more difficult to clean, cuz you can only kind of pour water through it, rather than shaking (I do use PBW, but have to pour it in with a small funnel). Flavor is maybe a bit better than the D020, but not a huge difference.

I have this one on the way, the GB221:
http://www.dhgate.com/store/product/new-small-glass-oil-bong-rig-glass-smoking/195996128.html

Also 14mm and maybe 5.5" high. I always wanted to try a sidecar.

 

[syrupy]

Here's one I've been looking at. 4 inches total height. With ALT's 710 sale discount, I may be doing more than look at it.

 

[pigfoot]

Yeah, I've seen that wicked sands stuff. I like that design. SO what's your current favorite rig? Do you like the 10mm "nano" size?

 

[syrupy]

Yeah, I've seen that wicked sands stuff. I like that design. SO what's your current favorite rig? Do you like the 10mm "nano" size?

My favorite at the moment is a worked recycler by Bird. Recyclers are so great for oil rigs. The recycling water really keeps vapor cool, plus with all the water movement through the piece, it actually makes for fewer places that reclaim can stick and so cleaning is easier.

I have a 10mm piece on its way. It will be interesting to see how small things can get without sacrificing functionality.

One thing I'd like to mention about rigs, is what a game changer using dropdowns has been for me. Keeps the heat away from the main piece, makes reclaim easy, and helps keep condensed oil out of the main piece.

 

[Meghan]

One thing I'd like to mention about rigs, is what a game changer using dropdowns has been for me. Keeps the heat away from the main piece, makes reclaim easy, and helps keep condensed oil out of the main piece.

I'm glad you brought this up. I've been seeing dropdowns all over the place on Instagram, but didn't really understand why I might want one. I've been casually shopping for a reclaim catcher--do you think a dropdown performs that function just as well? And do you really see a difference with how quickly your rig gunks up?

 

[syrupy]

I'm glad you brought this up. I've been seeing dropdowns all over the place on Instagram, but didn't really understand why I might want one. I've been casually shopping for a reclaim catcher--do you think a dropdown performs that function just as well? And do you really see a difference with how quickly your rig gunks up?

Yeah I was the same way, and had to ask someone about them to figure it out. I like them a lot because they serve that other function of keeping the hot nail away from my face and the rig itself. The drops I have were made by Bird, and he puts a little globe at the bottom that the oil pools up in nicely.

Those little reclaim bottles I see people use didn't look appealing aesthetically (clunky with its k-clips) and don't serve the other functions that a drop does. And the drop looks goooooooood doing it!

This picture was from the 2nd or 3rd day of getting the rig and loving it. You can see the claim starting to form already at the bottom.

 

[Meghan]

Yeah I was the same way, and had to ask someone about them to figure it out. I like them a lot because they serve that other function of keeping the hot nail away from my face and the rig itself. The drops I have were made by Bird, and he puts a little globe at the bottom that the oil pools up in nicely.

Those little reclaim bottles I see people use didn't look appealing aesthetically (clunky with its k-clips) and doesn't serve the other functions that a drop does. And the drop looks goooooooood doing it!

This picture was from the 2nd or 3rd day of getting the rig and loving it. You can see the claim starting to form already at the bottom.

And...I just sent Rick a Kik. Damn it! lol

 

[syrupy]

And...I just sent Rick a Kik. Damn it! lol

Good choice! He said he just got a huge order of colored glass, if you want that kind of thing. Of course the scientific ones work just as well. Right after I got mine he posted this one.

 

[pigfoot]

I see people like curves for that as well, supposedly collects claim better? I just do little dabs, and clean once a day, so claim is not an issue. The curves look interesting, and some people swear by them, but it looks tricky to get the dabber between the funnel and the plate.
Seems like a lot of experienced dabbers prefer the tiny 10mm rigs. Guess I'm gonna have to get one to try!

 

[Herr_Dampf]

Good choice! He said he just got a huge order of colored glass, if you want that kind of thing. Of course the scientific ones work just as well. Right after I got mine he posted this one.

Posted 11 hours ago:

http://instagram.com/p/psF7kBHcw9

 

[blankrider]

I think that oil rigs don't really need to have male joints and that they were kind of a step in the wrong direction.

First off they are not as sturdy as a female joint.

Second if you choose to use a nail directly on the male joint it puts the heat very close to your piece. I have a couple rigs that actually have burn marks on the joint from heavy use. And have seen people accidently torch their joint and break it.

Third male joints are mainly for using domes which we all know leads to sticky oil covered joints. Not to mention constantly having to put on and remove an extra piece. This is why domeless is so popular these days.

In conclusion if all rigs had a female joint you could use them with pretty much every domeless on the market. You can get a curve with male joint if you are still into curves. And you can still always use a traditional dome and nail with the help of a male - to - male adapter. This also solves the problem of joint burns or possible breaks. I think everyone would rather break an adapter than their actual rig.

On the topic of drop downs. They do get pretty claimed up. I believe it is due to the fact that the oil vapor has to travel through this sort of S curve and hits the side walls. If it had a straight path then much less would collect. To me it seems like this effect would be reducing the amount of vapor that I actually receive due to the portion getting caught in the drop down.

Anyone else agree or disagree?

 

[pigfoot]

I think that oil rigs don't really need to have male joints and that they were kind of a step in the wrong direction.

First off they are not as sturdy as a female joint.

Second if you choose to use a nail directly on the male joint it puts the heat very close to your piece. I have a couple rigs that actually have burn marks on the joint from heavy use. And have seen people accidently torch their joint and break it.

Third male joints are mainly for using domes which we all know leads to sticky oil covered joints. Not to mention constantly having to put on and remove an extra piece. This is why domeless is so popular these days.

In conclusion if all rigs had a female joint you could use them with pretty much every domeless on the market. You can get a curve with male joint if you are still into curves. And you can still always use a traditional dome and nail with the help of a male - to - male adapter. This also solves the problem of joint burns or possible breaks. I think everyone would rather break an adapter than their actual rig.

On the topic of drop downs. They do get pretty claimed up. I believe it is due to the fact that the oil vapor has to travel through this sort of S curve and hits the side walls. If it had a straight path then much less would collect. To me it seems like this effect would be reducing the amount of vapor that I actually receive due to the portion getting caught in the drop down.

Anyone else agree or disagree?

Just my newby thoughts, what I have experienced and read:
Tried a male nail, and there seemed to be more heat built up in it cuz it's large (14/18mm). Heat transfer to the piece seems about the same, but it was heating up the dewaar joint, which has more mass than a male.
If using a Ti nail, which expands more than glass, I would be worried about breakage from expansion. Even with my ceramic nail, it kind of worries me. I can use an adapter, but I would rather keep things as simple as possible.
I like male joints because I can use simple, cheap DI domeless nails, or nail/dome setups. Zero problems with heat or stick. I have my first fitted nail on the way - it's a female Ti. From what I have read, there's no potential for cracking the joint this way. Some experience sticking from the claim buildup, but I clean too regularly for that.
As far as burns marks, I believe this is only cause by foreign material combusting on the glass. I had a bit of cranberry extract (rezblock substittute) on a joint once, and it caused this.

Here's a video of a good dab, carb capped, with a drop down:

 

[blankrider]

Just my newby thoughts, what I have experienced and read:
Tried a male nail, and there seemed to be more heat built up in it cuz it's large (14/18mm). Heat transfer to the piece seems about the same, but it was heating up the dewaar joint, which has more mass than a male.
If using a Ti nail, which expands more than glass, I would be worried about breakage from expansion. Even with my ceramic nail, it kind of worries me. I can use an adapter, but I would rather keep things as simple as possible.
I like male joints because I can use simple, cheap DI domeless nails, or nail/dome setups. Zero problems with heat or stick. I have my first fitted nail on the way - it's a female Ti. From what I have read, there's no potential for cracking the joint this way. Some experience sticking from the claim buildup, but I clean too regularly for that.
As far as burns marks, I believe this is only cause by foreign material combusting on the glass. I had a bit of cranberry extract (rezblock substittute) on a joint once, and it caused this.

This is true about Ti expansion when it becomes hot. Therefore if you are using domeless Ti a piece with male joint would be preferred. I don't really use Ti anymore because I find that quartz has much better flavor. I am going off assumption here but I believe that most domeless Ti nails these days are designed in a way that minimizes heat transfer with all those fins and whatnot. In fact I believe that when Enail and Dnail first came out they only were making male nails which was kind of messed up due to most rigs having male joints. Anyways here is a picture of my new mini tube with quartz banger I got off ebay. I have never used it with a dome and nail even though it came with this beautiful dome and I probably never will

 

[pigfoot]

This is true about Ti expansion when it becomes hot. Therefore if you are using domeless Ti a piece with male joint would be preferred. I don't really use Ti anymore because I find that quartz has much better flavor. I am going off assumption here but I believe that most domeless Ti nails these days are designed in a way that minimizes heat transfer with all those fins and whatnot. In fact I believe that when Enail and Dnail first came out they only were making male nails which was kind of messed up due to most rigs having male joints. Anyways here is a picture of my new mini tube with quartz banger I got off ebay. I have never used it with a dome and nail even though it came with this beautiful dome and I probably never will

Nice, who's the artist on that one? What's the height/joint size? I've read about even reports of the flavor from Ti vs quartz, guess I'll just have try it!

 

[alltoreup]

@pigfoot hey man, next time you clean that recycler that's hard to clean, find you a pitcher or something you can submerge the entire rig in and add PBW to the whole thing. Easier than trying to pour water into those little holes.

 

[pigfoot]

@pigfoot hey man, next time you clean that recycler that's hard to clean, find you a pitcher or something you can submerge the entire rig in and add PBW to the whole thing. Easier than trying to pour water into those little holes.

That would work, gotta find a container like that. Thanks!

 

[Roger D]

Here's one I've been looking at. 4 inches total height. With ALT's 710 sale discount, I may be doing more than look at it.

I got that little rig, it's a good one. You can't put too much water or you get splash back. It's pretty smooth for the size. With oil I had best results using the provided dome and a flat head boro syndicate quartz nail (I also got the cup, the flat head is better for heat retention ; there is a minuscule provided nail with the piece, it's boro and sucks big time)

Here is a video I made :

(skip to 1m35s to see it)

Anyway, I have the scs omni domeless, it's what I mainly use. It has a lot of heat to cool off with the heavy piece of gear factor. I tend to use pieces that are a little bigger than those I would use with small nails.

 

[syrupy]

I think that oil rigs don't really need to have male joints and that they were kind of a step in the wrong direction.

First off they are not as sturdy as a female joint.

Second if you choose to use a nail directly on the male joint it puts the heat very close to your piece. I have a couple rigs that actually have burn marks on the joint from heavy use. And have seen people accidently torch their joint and break it.

Third male joints are mainly for using domes which we all know leads to sticky oil covered joints. Not to mention constantly having to put on and remove an extra piece. This is why domeless is so popular these days.

In conclusion if all rigs had a female joint you could use them with pretty much every domeless on the market. You can get a curve with male joint if you are still into curves. And you can still always use a traditional dome and nail with the help of a male - to - male adapter. This also solves the problem of joint burns or possible breaks. I think everyone would rather break an adapter than their actual rig.

On the topic of drop downs. They do get pretty claimed up. I believe it is due to the fact that the oil vapor has to travel through this sort of S curve and hits the side walls. If it had a straight path then much less would collect. To me it seems like this effect would be reducing the amount of vapor that I actually receive due to the portion getting caught in the drop down.

Anyone else agree or disagree?

You make some really good points. Not sure I agree with all of them. Interesting because I had a convo recently with an artist that's made a lot of recyclers for FCers. He said with the small size of rigs these days, the female joint ends up being/looking too big. As far as torching marks, couldn't one use a F-M carbon adapter on the DI to gain space? I know, there's not much space to work with, which is why I ended up using drops. The HE nail I have works on both M and F joints, so I don't see an advantage to female-jointed pieces.

"Back in the day" we used to heat the nails separately and then place them on the rig. Guess it's too much trouble now?

I assume stickiness is a price to pay for rigs. I love domeless, but there's nothing more classic and gorgeous than a good dome. Glad my rigs came with them, if for nothing other than aesthetics.

What you say about the claim and dropdowns make sense, but I don't personally agree with the purpose. If the goal is to minimize the amount of claim, then using any kind of dropdown or adapter would be an issue, and the best route would be simplest with just a nail on a DI joint? Claim is fine with me, I don't see much use in trying to minimize it.

@blankrider Oh you gotta use that dome at least once!

@Roger D thanks for the review. I ended up caving at ALT's 710 sale so in a few days I'll be able to check it out. Totally agree with you on nails. I have some diveted boro nails that are over two years old and still going strong.

Do you find there's any issue with tipping the wicket sands rig over since there's no foot?

 

[Roger D]

@Roger D thanks for the review. I ended up caving at ALT's 710 sale so in a few days I'll be able to check it out. Totally agree with you on nails. I have some diveted boro nails that are over two years old and still going strong.

Do you find there's any issue with tipping the wicket sands rig over since there's no foot?

You're welcome, I think you won't be disappointed. It will totally tip over if you put something heavy like a SCS domeless on it. With a domed setup no problem.

There's the 14mm nail I like the best : Boro Syndicate - Divited Quartz Nail - 14 mm

I have been tempted to buy a small and light 14 mm Ti domeless specially for it since I can't use my universal domeless on it because it is too heavy.

 

[pigfoot]

I got that little rig, it's a good one. You can't put too much water or you get splash back. It's pretty smooth for the size. With oil I had best results using the provided dome and a flat head boro syndicate quartz nail (I also got the cup, the flat head is better for heat retention ; there is a minuscule provided nail with the piece, it's boro and sucks big time)

Here is a video I made :

(skip to 1m35s to see it)

Anyway, I have the scs omni domeless, it's what I mainly use. It has a lot of heat to cool off with the heavy piece of gear factor. I tend to use pieces that are a little bigger than those I would use with small nails.

Damn, you've kind of raised the bar here on function videos, that was like a documentary or a music video!

 

[blankrider]

@syrupy I can agree with you on the fact that a large female joint can look oversized on some of these new little rigs. I borrowed this picture from @Herr_Dampf of his awesome new incycler and as much as I love it that joint does look like a bit much. Perhaps 14mm female would be better for a rig. I just feel like with the way that things have evolved we could have just skipped the step of making rigs with male joints. Also I am not familiar with people heating nails and then placing them on the rig. That seems dangerous

 

[syrupy]

@syrupy I can agree with you on the fact that a large female joint can look oversized on some of these new little rigs. I borrowed this picture from Herr_Dampf of his awesome new incycler and as much as I love it that joint does look like a bit much. Perhaps 14mm female would be better for a rig. I just feel like with the way that things have evolved we could have just skipped the step of making rigs with male joints. Also I am not familiar with people heating nails and then placing them on the rig. That seems dangerous

14mm would help, but I'm thinking part of it is the nature of female vs. male joints as far as size goes. Adapting an oil rig to vaporizer use may be more difficult than just putting a gong in between. Seems like the aesthetics of rigs is about getting things small. And the mechanics of vapes are more about how do you balance a Nano or Solo with a gong on top of this? And before anyone points to the whip solution, please. Taste?

It's starting a thought about how a new oil rig can be best re-designed for vape use. It might even be a totally different can design. I wouldn't mind seeing a 14mm rig that has a wide and flat can like a truck tire or some design that takes into account that vaporists will have to balance a relatively big thing on top of it, while at the same time honoring a current trend of going small. Maybe a collab with a wire-worker who could create an exoskeleton structure for the rig?

As far as heating the nail, we'd put it in an adapter on a stand (like the display stands for slides but made of glass), and hit with a torch. then pick up lightly with needle-nose pliers (think someone used tiny vise grips) and place the red hot nail in the rig. I don't remember it being particularly dangerous, but I also don't remember anyone but my circle of friends doing it. so it may have just been our goofy home-cooked scheme to protect rig glass.

 

[clouded vision]

I just this thread and had lots to say but forgot to multi quote so excuse my rambling
If anyone is worried about heat transfer to the joint, just get an infiniti nail, I can take a dab while holding the base. Also when the cup gets too oxidized is much cheaper than replacing the entire domeless nail. Also with the direct injection of the threads the joint doesn't get sticky. This was probably my best dab investment.

Drop downs catch lots of claim because it collects little drips of claim that come out/off of your nail. This is especially true for enails which is where I see them the most because they are always hot. It also protects your glass.

Last but not least here are all my babies. Starting in the far back going clockwise: Bates x Worm diffusion pump, $lumgold chop top, Geoff Platt recycler, Toro mac 8, Sandalz pendant recycler & Johnny Landini mini tube

Edit: a few other things, curves are great for reclaiming but not for low temp dabs because you can't really carb them. As for "burn" marks, it is actually reclaim (or can be carbon from reclaim combusting if you are actually hitting the joint with the torch) that has sunken into the frosted glass when the heat causes the glass the expand, happens with dualiti style nails a lot. Hand ground or polished joints won't have this problem. You can actually clean the joint by torching it to red hot or putting in a kiln but this can be dangerous if the glass has been stressed at all.

 

[blankrider]

@clouded vision nice collection!

For some reason I have never gotten to hit a diffusion pump even though it seems like a brilliant design for a rig. I have been waiting for a knock off to come out but no luck. And I can't justify spending that kind of money on the real thing since I haven't even tried it. Maybe it isn't as good as I imagine.

Loving that slime recycler

 

[blankrider]

@pigfoot my mini tube is 8 and 3/4 inch tall. 18mm joint. Purchased off boromarket from 33glass and it is ti signed Dave R 2014