A bong accessory that sits between the bowl and the downstem, to keep ash from entering the main chamber of the bong, keeping it cleaner. This also keeps the water cleaner and smoke cleaner. They come in a variety of designs and some employ water filtration and percolators.
“I just got a new ash catcher for my glass.”
“It’s easier to clean my ash catcher than my bong.”
What is an ash catcher?
Sitting between the bowl and downstem of a bong, an ash catcher often looks like a small percolator, and some are even designed to be used for additional water filtration. Some ash catchers essentially function as a small bong that filters smoke before it gets to the main chamber, while others merely function as a place for ash and plant debris to collect.
Benefits of an ash catcher
The primary benefit of an ash catcher is to keep your bong cleaner for a longer time. By catching ash and other plant debris, most of the buildup from smoking happens in the ash catcher instead of the main chamber of the bong. Cleaning a bong, especially one that has an intricate percolator, can be very labor intensive and usually requires time to soak to get rid of resin stuck to the glass.
Keeping your bong cleaner also means cleaner hits, and you don’t have to change the water out as much.
Compared to a bong, cleaning an ash catcher is simple. You can easily submerge the whole ash catcher in isopropyl alcohol. Also, you don’t need an ash catcher to use a bong, so you can smoke from the bong while your ash catcher is soaking.