What Is A Safe, Affordable, And Widely Available Material For A Stem?

[HellCat]

Hey guys,

Like it says, what is a safe, cheap, and widely available tubing material for a DIY hookah stem?

I was told that:

PVC is a no-no
Brass is a no-no
Galvanized Steel is a no-no
Copper is under heavy debate, so to be safe rather than sorry, no-no

Borosilicate glass tubing is okay but IS NOT widely available (i.e. need to buy online)
Stainless steel tubing is okay but IS NOT widely available (i.e. need to buy online)

so... omg please tell me of a safe tubing for my stem that I can BUY LOCALLY (i.e. Home Depot, Lowes). I am at my wits end lol.

[russianwizard]

I thought copper was not safe and brass was? Edited August 28, 2009 by russianwizard

[no longer welcome]

bamboo? jk idk but there's a bunch of diy hookah posts i think, where you can use a bottle of pepsi, but seriously you are going to buy something at home depot, they have cheap chinese pumpkins for $20 out there, you'll spend at least that much at home depot.

[nile_lata]

Bamboo doesn't sound like a bad idea. It's natural - won't have to worry about toxic fumes.. It's easy to cut or drill into for a valve and hose. I'd say go with bamboo.. how about sugar cane? ^^ Edited October 14, 2009 by nile_lata

[Coyotero]

Copper is under heavy debate, so to be safe rather than sorry, no-no

My Khalil Mamoon pipe (Pharonie) is fully copper from the bowl connector all the way to the lug at the bottom of the downstem.

Methinks if it's good enough for Khalil Mamoon, it's good enough.

[K1024]

http://www.hookahforum.com/?showtopic=14563

[antouwan]

100% brass is for sure good to use. almost all syrian hookahs use brass...for everything. i don't see why galvanized steel would be bead either; that's what almost all kms are. i'm even pretty sure copper is safe to use, i don't believe the stem would get NEARLY hot enough to release anything toxic.

[Cerritus]

http://www.hookahforum.com/?showtopic=14563

+1

[Saechao_07]

I say no go on bamboooooo the flavors can really soke up in there leaving you with a mixxed matched nasty taste after a while

[The Caterpillar]

I say no go on bamboooooo the flavors can really soke up in there leaving you with a mixxed matched nasty taste after a while

Nicer cutting boards are made of bamboo for the fact they don't absorb a lot of what they come in contact with, when sealed. An exposed bamboo stem would be ridiculous.

As for galvy, the zinc is poisonous and the only steel used for stems is stainless.

[joytron]

I say no go on bamboooooo the flavors can really soke up in there leaving you with a mixxed matched nasty taste after a while

Nicer cutting boards are made of bamboo for the fact they don't absorb a lot of what they come in contact with, when sealed. An exposed bamboo stem would be ridiculous.

As for galvy, the zinc is poisonous and the only steel used for stems is stainless.

They have copper downstems

[sddds13]

The only problem with copper is that copper pipe isn't 100% pure copper. They add lead to it in order to make it bendable instead of it just snapping when you would normally try to bend it. But a plus to copper would be it's natural tendency to kill off germs and microbes. That's why back in the day they would run there water through copper to disinfect it.


OH: Just an idea, CPVC is polyvinyl chloride but the extra "C" stands for chlorinated. It's like pvc in almost every form except it is used in RV's to run the Hot and Cold water. It's non toxic up to about 200°F. This is what we would sell customers who were looking for safe pipe for water transport. I worked at "ACE hardware". Edited November 27, 2009 by sddds13

[Coyotero]

Find a metal company in the area and see if you can get pure copper or brass tubing. Should treat you just fine.

[Jimbo64]

Howdy,

I'd be willing to bet the copper tubing sold at any hardware store is pretty safe. In small diameter bendable coils, its used for ice maker line on your fridge, and most homes have copper water lines in the walls

jimbo-

[jusuravragecrakr]

i would definitly say try to get a hold on like a towel bar at like lowes or home depot i think there made from stainless the come in different lenghts and diameters to fit whatever you need

[PSU Smoker]

stainless steel....hes a link ive been holding on to waiting for me to build my own

[url="http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-4470-8276-12-od-x-0065-wall-tube-304-stainless-steel-annealed.aspx"]http://www.speedymetals.com/pc-4470-8276-12-od-x-0065-wall-tube-304-stainless-steel-annealed.aspx[/url]

[PSU Smoker]

[quote name='Jimbo64' date='21 January 2010 - 09:58 AM' timestamp='1264085905' post='446825']
Howdy,

I'd be willing to bet the copper tubing sold at any hardware store is pretty safe. In small diameter bendable coils, its used for ice maker line on your fridge, and most homes have copper water lines in the walls

jimbo-
[/quote]

copper isnt really a safe metal, it can diffuse into the water and cause heavy metal poisoning over time, hence why cookware is never made from copper. Copper poisoning will mostly occur at higher temperatures so with a hookah it isnt as big of an issue but it is still unsafe. Also for soda machines the liquid doesnt stay in the copper tubing, it only passes through it when you press the lever, other than that it is empty to minimize contact

[Joel]

A bamboo hookah would probably be the coolest thing I have ever seen.

[coldsmok]

ok well obviously stainless is the second best other than glass.I don't get why everyone is against copper. Look at your local building codes and you will see that the majority of pluming is copper and guess what water stays in it. Copper has been used in pots and is used just now it has a stainless coating on the food surface but the flame side is still exposed, guess what there are fumes coming off the copper then, and it would be the copper smoke that is harmfull. When using copper for the stem is not even going to reach a temperature where it will be released. As for the oxidation if you clean your hookah like you are supposed to then you will not have any issues with copper oxidation that may effect you not to mention that will not travel through the smoke any way. so unless your swallowing pennies all the time you will be ok with a copper stem.

[Jimbo64]

LOL,

Yes, people are overly sensitive when it comes to copper

1/3rd of the homes in America have copper water pipes, soldered together with 60/40 lead solder. In some parts of the U.S. that number is closer to 90%.

There is a downside to both copper and brass in my opinion. They both get nasty dirty very quickly. I dont smoke thru my brass and copper hookahs very often anymore, since my glass stemmed units are SOOO much easier to clean.

Jimbo-

[chromecarz00]

Brass is perfect as well.

[hippomania7]

Rather than arguing about what's safe and what's not safe, I'll just say what I used then people can choose to use it or not...

At lowes go into the plumbing section. Check near the toilet parts and look for a "toilet supply line". They have flexible ones and then rigid pipes made of brass that make a perfect downstem. Can't remember how long it is, but it's decently long enough to do the job, plus it's 3/8".

Used it in my homemade, which is almost 2 years old. Never had any problems with taste or death or anything like that ; )