Chillum (pipe)

A downpipe ( often called Chillum ) is a conical, about 10-20 cm long wood, clay or stone pipe with a similarly tapered hole that measures about 5 mm at the thinnest end, and is used for smoking cannabis products. Because of the usually very high amount of content a downpipe is rarely smoked alone.

Origin

Originally the downpipe comes from the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayas. It is there, among others for centuries the sadhus for ritual consumption primarily of hashish. Developed in the first half of the 20th century in Jamaica the Rastafarian religion used the downpipe also to the ritual use of hashish.

Use in the West

This form of Downpipes was in the 60s of the 20th century very popular due to the hippie movement and the associated trips to India in Europe and the U.S. and was also happy to bring as a souvenir. Because of the relatively complicated smoking process, the elaborate cleaning procedure and by the simple availability of other effective paraphernalia of use tends to decline since the 90s of the 20th century. Most likely it is still in older consumers, spread in Goa or hippie - trance scene. The only country where it is common to see yet, is Italy, where now more than Downpipes in India are manufactured.

Variations

Even fruits or root vegetables (such as a carrot ) can be used as a downpipe. In this case, the object is eroded until it meets the requirements of a Downpipes. This " eco - Downpipes " are disposable objects, so they can break calm, they are readily available everywhere and very cheap to manufacture. They give the smoke sometimes a sweeter taste. They also prevent burning through the whole serving, because the tobacco is slightly moist. A re- ignition is therefore always necessary.

Bong- Chillum

Today is a " downpipe " usually refers to a bong pipe that directs the smoke through the water. The most common materials for this are glass, aluminum or acrylic.

Glass Downpipes are usually a unit provided with the head and with a standard ground. There are typically eg 14.5 mm / 18.8 mm and 29.2 as a senior class. Downpipes with internal grinding is called coupling or adapter. In this case a plug-in head is placed with the desired shape into the adapter.

Aluminum down pipes are provided at one end with an external thread, onto which by means of an intermediate piece with the internal thread of the head is mounted. As the head for filling and cleaning can be unscrewed without the tube needs to be pulled out of the water.

A variation is the diffuser - downpipe, which has several small holes on the in the water area on the side. Thus, the smoke spread into smaller bubbles and tastes much milder.

Usually Downpipes for bongs that do not form an inseparable unit with the head, also called the " downpipe ".