Terp Pearls: Tips, Tricks and Troubleshooting.
Restriction seems to be the most common factor that affects the water pipe/quartz nail/carb cap functional relationship. Some restriction is necessary for the pearls to spin effortlessly.
Some Gordo Scientific carb caps are designed to spin pearls while others are not. Please read all information on the product description pages for more information on specific cap designs. While some caps are not specifically designed to spin pearls it may still be achieved with the right combination of water pipe/quartz nail/carb cap. “Normal” water pipes seem to work best, nothing extremely large or extremely small. Anything that takes an extremely large or extremely small amount of water may have difficulty. Any piece using 18mm Nail/downstem may also have difficulty as this size generally allows for more airflow.
The types of material used for dabbing should also be taken into consideration. We find that water hash is one of the most difficult types of materials for spinning pearls compared to other vicious/saucy material such as live resin.
Check the seal between your quartz nail and carb cap:
- If you take the water out of the pipe completely do the pearl(s) spin better or worse? Now cover any/all holes on the carb cap and blow into the piece (make sure there is no water in the piece). Is air leaking or is it a solid seal? A little bit of air leakage is ok but too much leakage will affect the function of the carb cap. Ideally the seal is air tight or very close to it.
- Is the quartz nail flat? Perform a visual inspection. While the nail is cooled down, at room temp, place the nail (open end of bucket) on a flat surface and blow into the joint. Is air leaking or is it a solid seal? You must be sure you are placing the nail on a perfectly flat surface.
- Is the carb cap flat and/or round? Perform a visual inspection. We quality control each carb cap to be flat and spin pearls. Occasionally a carb cap that is not flat may slip through our QC process, please contact us if you think this may be the case.
- Usually made by different companies, both the quartz nail and the carb cap will need to be flat and/or round in order to get proper function. We quality control each carb cap to be flat and spin pearls. Occasionally a carb cap that is not flat may slip through our QC process, please contact us if you think this may be the case.
Tips for pearls on water pipes with less restriction:
- Use one pearl (it may be easier to spin one pearl, two may slide)
- Try to increase the restriction on your water pipe (add more water than normal, possibly a downstem with a little bit more “drag”, add a dropdown or bushing adapter, etc.)
- Use a 25mm (Bucket Size) Quartz nail (function seems diminished on 30mm quartz nails, from our experience)
- Use a 10mm (Joint Size) Quartz nail (we have found that in the same water pipe pearls spin easier with the 10mm nail. We believe this is because of increased restriction.
What works best for you? Leave a comment below and let us know.
