PBW & the Chemistry of Clean

[OF]

I did do research. There is no step by step directions and it seems like all the information is scattered. I watched the PBW videos and read multiple post from @t-dub.

Perhaps be more helpful and reference some page numbers than sounding condescending.

Sorry, I misunderstood, you expected someone to 'boil it down' for you? Pass. Yes, t-dub is the man, he is wise, pay attention would be my advice.....if you're looking for advice.

I apologize for trying to help you. You fooled me with " Perhaps, I am doing it wrong. After some reading this stuff sounds like magic, but not in my case. "

And no, thanks, I don't want to compile a reading list for you, I hope you understand why?

I'm sorry you're not grateful, I'll try to remember......

Less is more with PBW, less powder and less dwell time to avoid white blotch stains.
I preheat glass with hot tap water. Heat some distilled water on stove to 160 or 170 F, vigorously stir in only 1/4 tsp .
Fill glass and only soak 10 minutes.

Rinse a couple times with distilled water, 1/2 cup shaken in bubbler.
Did your PBW totally dissolve? I doubt that and that risks white splotches.
Repeat if necessary.

Less is better
Hot hot totally dissolved powder

Good advice, for sure. Not sure where the OP got the lame 'use a huge pile of it' advice, that's what can happen to you with 'I read it on the web' I guess?

You're right, as @t-dub said so often, heat, time and some agitation are key factors. Like most chemical reactions, the rate is tied to those factors. OTOH, the tendency to etch the surface seems to be more related to the quailty of the glass and the time (temperature and agitation not so important?)?

Powerful stuff, but not magic. And not a solvent like ISO.

On the topic of agitation it's been my experience (and I believe lots of others here 'bouts) that sometimes mechanical scrubbing is helpful. You can boil your overalls, even with lye soap (which PBW is a cousin of) but sometimes you need to beat them on a handy rock as well....... In the ISO world, folks use salt for this (which doesn't dissolved in alcohols if they are pure enough). They shake it around to scrub the softened junk off. I find (dry) rice does this just fine with PBW. A couple of heaping spoons gives you something to 'shake against the walls' to scrub stuff off. It softens up some after a while, but works fine for several minutes.

Regards to all, save one.

OF

 

[MinnBobber]

For containing the hot mix, I use a set of stoppers from @Delta3DStudios .
Totally full or leave some space and carefully shake shake shake the bubbler with hot pads. Note that PBW solution is slippery stuff so always assume the glass is slick.

Rice is possible but please note that certain complex percs might provide a new home for Mr Rice. Be careful.

I do have one stubborn bubbler with a little haze in one spot that won’t go away.
Does anything work better for a final finisher for real stubborn haze?

 

[RustyOldNail]

I use these plugs for cleaning, $15. I also keep a plug on all my glass rigs joints, as I don’t dump the distilled water everyday, and they keep anything in the air, OUT. Lots of great uses.

Amazon.com: 40 Pc 1/16" to 3/4" High Temp Silicone Rubber Tapered Plug Kit - Powder Coating Custom Painting Supplies: Automotive

Buy 40 Pc 1/16" to 3/4" High Temp Silicone Rubber Tapered Plug Kit - Powder Coating Custom Painting Supplies: Adhesives - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

40 Pc 1/16" to 3/4" High Temp Silicone Rubber Tapered Plug Kit

 

[SatanLovestoVape]

I do have one stubborn bubbler with a little haze in one spot that won’t go away.
Does anything work better for a final finisher for real stubborn haze?

Yes, try some Orange Chronic cleaner that stuff works like magic. In the past, I had helix pipe that was outside for two years. It was so dirty the clear glass was brown/black. I pour some of that cleaner in a bag a gave it a good shake. My pipe came out like new after a couple of washes.

 

[OF]

I use these plugs for cleaning, $15. I also keep a plug on all my glass rigs joints, as I don’t dump the distilled water everyday, and they keep anything in the air, OUT. Lots of great uses.

Excellent find! Thanks, a great improvement on the standard (black) rubber stoppers I use. They all look the same basically and being very hard (which I assume these aren't) you have to grab the exact one for the job.

Only fifteen dollars, I'd probably blow that much on false drugs otherwise.......

Thanks again.

OF

 

[SatanLovestoVape]

I finally had some success with PBW. My RIO banger was very dirty and getting stuck to the carb cap. I decided to boil some water until the verge of bubbles. Next, I placed the uncleaned parts in the water and added a 1/2 tablespoon of PBW gave it a quick stir. The banger soaked for a good 30 mintues. I had to repeat these steps three times to get good results. Now there is only one tough line in the banger. Once I put in some orange chronic cleaner, it should be looking new. Pbw takes too long for me. I rather spend 5 to 10 minutes shake and break, but it does make my glass super shinny.

 

[Baron23]

I just got some PBW the other day, and have not been getting good results. The first time I use some was on my mega globe by sneakypete. I rinse the globe with hot tap water and then pour two to three tablespoons. Next, I fill the globe up with regular hot tap water, and let it soak for an hour. Finally, I empty out the globe and the results were very minor. Perhaps, I am doing it wrong. After some reading this stuff sounds like magic, but not in my case.

Pre-heat your rig under warm/hot tap water. Heat some water in a microwave safe container until just short of boiling (or if it boils, that's ok too). Add PBW carefully into the hot water and stir until completely dissolved. Pour into your rig and top it off with hot tap water if needed.

If your stuff is really dirty, a bit of shaking action doesn't hurt.

Let sit 10 minutes, pour out, and rinse. Should work fine and your glass should be sparkling clean.

Now, I will say that I find PBW to be excellent for flower rigs as it cleans up flower reclaim very well. IMO, its not suitable for cleaning up oil rigs with concentrate condensate on the walls. For that, I use ISO.

 

[RustyOldNail]

Excellent find! Thanks, a great improvement on the standard (black) rubber stoppers I use. They all look the same basically and being very hard (which I assume these aren't) you have to grab the exact one for the job.

Only fifteen dollars, I'd probably blow that much on false drugs otherwise.......

Thanks again.

OF

Exactly, a long time ago, I bought a bunch of assorted BLACK RUBBER plugs, never liked them, for the reasons you mentioned. These are SOFTER, but still firm, silicone NOT rubber, HOWEVER, I have not heat tested them, though I don’t plan to use them in a situation that would require that, except for my carb cap. The different colors are helpful. Even the smallest plug is useful, I was able to plug one of the two tiny holes on my NV DCcup carb cap, making it a single hole, push it in, take it out if needed.

I’ll post my LAZY way to clean my glass rigs with any cleaner, though I’ve been using PBW for years now. Recently I’ve been using a gallon size jug of SIMPLE GREEN - CRYSTAL. Have yet to need any ISO or kosher salt, have that too.

Lucky for me, my tap water is very hot, and I can avoid the added step of boiling anything.

I added a quick connect fitting to my sinks spout, it’s small and chrome, and you don’t even notice it. On the opposite end of the quick connect it’s adapted to a small diameter hose connector. Then a few feet of silicone hose. On the end of the hose, is a 14mm male glass to hose adapter. If your rig allows, use a keck clip to secure, though if the ground glass makes a good seal, just monitor the water flow, to see if it pops out under water pressure.

Place rig in sink, plug in hose to bottom glass joint (use 14mm to 18mm adapter if your rig requires), run very hot water directly through rig for a few minutes, heats things up. Stop, empty water, add PBW or SG-C, slowly fill up the rig with hot water. Plug with silicone stoppers, shake a bit, let sit for 5 minutes if using PBW, and as long as you want with SG-C. Then dump cleaner, and put hose back in, hot water rinse for 5 minutes. Air dry. DONE!

As a lazy person, who also likes clean, healthy glass, this fairly hands free way of cleaning, is quick and efficient, and because it’s so fast and easy, I tend to clean more often. Good luck.

 

[MonkeyTime]

Exactly, a long time ago, I bought a bunch of assorted BLACK RUBBER plugs, never liked them, for the reasons you mentioned. These are SOFTER, but still firm, silicone NOT rubber, HOWEVER, I have not heat tested them, though I don’t plan to use them in a situation that would require that, except for my carb cap. The different colors are helpful. Even the smallest plug is useful, I was able to plug one of the two tiny holes on my NV DCcup carb cap, making it a single hole, push it in, take it out if needed.

I’ll post my LAZY way to clean my glass rigs with any cleaner, though I’ve been using PBW for years now. Recently I’ve been using a gallon size jug of SIMPLE GREEN - CRYSTAL. Have yet to need any ISO or kosher salt, have that too.

Lucky for me, my tap water is very hot, and I can avoid the added step of boiling anything.

I added a quick connect fitting to my sinks spout, it’s small and chrome, and you don’t even notice it. On the opposite end of the quick connect it’s adapted to a small diameter hose connector. Then a few feet of silicone hose. On the end of the hose, is a 14mm male glass to hose adapter. If your rig allows, use a keck clip to secure, though if the ground glass makes a good seal, just monitor the water flow, to see if it pops out under water pressure.

Place rig in sink, plug in hose to bottom glass joint (use 14mm to 18mm adapter if your rig requires), run very hot water directly through rig for a few minutes, heats things up. Stop, empty water, add PBW or SG-C, slowly fill up the rig with hot water. Plug with silicone stoppers, shake a bit, let sit for 5 minutes if using PBW, and as long as you want with SG-C. Then dump cleaner, and put hose back in, hot water rinse for 5 minutes. Air dry. DONE!

As a lazy person, who also likes clean, healthy glass, this fairly hands free way of cleaning, is quick and efficient, and because it’s so fast and easy, I tend to clean more often. Good luck.

Sooo close to my routine as well. I found buying a dehumidifier hose at the local home repair store a perfect solution. 10' of vinyl tubing with the female threading end of a hose. I have a utility sink right next to the tankless water heater, I bump the temp up to 140f and run it thru the same type of adapter you're using. Effortless almost!

 

[Haze Mister]

I am a devoted pure acetone user. You can reuse the same acetone many times and it will clean your glass quickly and thoroughly, every time, in an hour or even instantly, and I rarely need to add salt to mechanically remove stubborn spots.

Once I took 200ml of acetone that had been used to clean my bubbler a dozen times and dumped it in the toilet. The brown liquid immediately went into a white cloudiness as it hit the water, indicating large amounts of goodies crystallising .... tempted to evaporate the next batch but I'm sure the resulting reclaim will be black and taste horrible.
Acetone is not a petrochemical and is pretty OK as far as solvents go (it's used to clean nail varnish)

 

[wastedpotential]

Acetone is not a petrochemical and is pretty OK as far as solvents go (it's used to clean nail varnish)

That's how I felt, that acetone was mostly 'safe' in terms of solvents. But I like having the option of PBW, and when disinfecting became a trend and alcohol was in demand, the PBW helped a lot. Along with a sonic cleaner.

I then use the acetone for a quick rub down.

 

[RustyOldNail]

I am a devoted pure acetone user. You can reuse the same acetone many times and it will clean your glass quickly and thoroughly, every time, in an hour or even instantly, and I rarely need to add salt to mechanically remove stubborn spots.

Once I took 200ml of acetone that had been used to clean my bubbler a dozen times and dumped it in the toilet. The brown liquid immediately went into a white cloudiness as it hit the water, indicating large amounts of goodies crystallising .... tempted to evaporate the next batch but I'm sure the resulting reclaim will be black and taste horrible.
Acetone is not a petrochemical and is pretty OK as far as solvents go (it's used to clean nail varnish)

I use Acetone in small amounts for other projects, but never on my vape gear. Like ISO, it’s highly flammable as well.

Acetone: ATSDR Fact Sheet

CDC WONDER is a system for disseminating Public Health data and information

wonder.cdc.gov

How can acetone affect my health?
If you are exposed to acetone, it goes into your blood which then carries it to all the organs in your body. If it is a small amount, the liver breaks it down to chemicals that are not harmful and uses these chemicals to make energy for normal body functions. Breathing moderate-to-high levels of acetone for short periods of time, however, can cause nose, throat, lung, and eye irritation; headaches; light-headedness; confusion; increased pulse rate; effects on blood; nausea; vomiting; unconsciousness and possibly coma; and shortening of the menstrual cycle in women.
Swallowing very high levels of acetone can result in unconsciousness and damage to the skin in your mouth. Skin contact can result in irritation and damage to your skin.

The smell and respiratory irritation or burning eyes that occur from moderate levels are excellent warning signs that can help you avoid breathing damaging levels of acetone.

Health effects from long-term exposures are known mostly from animal studies. Kidney, liver, and nerve damage, increased birth defects, and lowered ability to reproduce (males only) occurred in animals exposed long-term. It is not known if people would have these same effects.