How To Make A Gravity Bong: The Stoner Guide

Picture this. After a grueling day at work, you finally make it home. You plop down on the couch with the TV remote in one hand and a brand new bag of flower in the other. You get your favorite Netflix show queued up, you’re ready to relax, and… You can’t find your pipe, and you’re all out of delta 8. It’s happened to the best of us.

But don’t worry! If you have an empty water bottle and some aluminum foil handy, you might just be able to McGuyver your way to a solid buzz. Today, we’re going to learn how to make a gravity bong. 

What Is a Gravity Bong?

A gravity bong (geeb, GB, geebie) is a magical device that uses the power of science to get you high. While you can buy professionally made gravity bongs, it’s not hard to make your own if you know what you’re doing (though it may not stand the test of time).

At its essence, a gravity bong uses air pressure and water to deliver smoke into your lungs. This can be achieved through either the bucket method or the waterfall method, which we’ll get into later.

How To Make a Gravity Bong

Depending on your preferred method, the gravity bong can look a little different. Your gravity bong may be the top half of a water bottle submerged in a container of water, or it may be an empty two-liter of coke full of water.

Either way, they are simple to make, and simple to use. With a good pair of scissors and some know-how, you can turn your night from manic to magic  in mere minutes. We’ll go into more detail later on how to make a gravity bong from scratch.

Two Types of Gravity Bongs - Endless Possibilities

If you want to learn how to make a gravity bong, you’ll first need to decide which kind to make: a bucket bong, or a waterfall bong. There are pros and cons to each method, so let’s walk through them and find out which type is right for you.

Gravity Bong Method One: The Bucket Bong

Items You'll Need

To create your own bucket bong, you’ll need a plastic water bottle, a slightly larger container to hold water, a pair of scissors or a box cutter, and some foil, or something to use as a bowl. Plus, weed and a lighter (obviously).

How To Make a Bucket Bong

1. First, cut the bottom off of your plastic bottle. The closer to the bottom you cut, the larger the chamber will be. 
2. Then, cut a piece of aluminum foil, big enough to form a small bowl within the lip of the bottle. It’s smart to use a double layer of foil, for extra security. 
3. You’ll then need to poke small holes in the layer of foil, for smoke to enter the bottle. You can use your scissors or box cutter for this, but make sure to keep the holes small enough that your bud won’t fall through. A pin or a seam ripper may be more suited to this job. 
4. Next, make sure your water container is big enough to comfortably fit your bong, without touching the sides. Many people use a bucket, but a piece of tupperware, vase, or even the bottom of a larger plastic bottle will work just as well. 
5. Once your water container is full enough to almost completely submerge your bong, it’s time to smoke.

1. Fill your makeshift bowl with as much ground weed as desired, and make sure it’s fitted tightly around the lip of the bottle, so smoke doesn’t escape.
2. With the bowl secured on top, it’s time to submerge your bong almost all the way into the water, leaving an inch or less above the surface.
3. Then, light your bowl, and begin slowly pulling the bong up and out of the water. The suction created as water leaves the inside of your bong will pull smoke inside, and as long as the top is secure, it will have nowhere to go. Make sure not to pull the bong completely out of the water, or you risk losing all of your hard-earned smoke.
4. Once the desired amount of smoke is gathered, it’s time to inhale. Remove your bowl from the top of the bottle and place your mouth around the lip, and slowly push the bong back into the water as you inhale. The water returning to the bottle will push the smoke up and out the top, directl\y into your mouth.
5. Now, impress your friends by telling them you learned how to make a gravity bong on the internet.

Tips For Using a Bucket Bong

Make sure to have a steady hand when pulling the bong from the water, and when pushing it back in. You’ll need to pull slowly and steadily to gather the maximum amount of smoke, and if you pull too quickly, you risk pulling your bong completely out of the water. When pushing it back down, if you push too quickly, you’re likely to get a blast of smoke that would make Willie Nelson cough up a lung.

Gravity Bong Method Two: The Waterfall Bong

Items You'll Need

To make a waterfall bong, you’ll need a large plastic bottle, 2-liters are commonly used for this. Just like the bucket bong, you’ll need a small piece of aluminum foil, and something to poke holes with. You’ll need to make a decent sized hole in the side of the bottle, so an x-acto knife or box cutter may be called for, though scissor should work in a pinch.

Unlike bucket bong, you won’t need a separate container for water; the water will go directly inside the bottle.

How To Make a Waterfall Bong

1. First thing you’ll need to do is create a carb in the bottle. It will work best if the hole is just above the bottom of the bottle, maybe half an inch above the molded plastic feet. Make sure not to make your hole too big; it should be big enough for water to drain, but small enough to be covered by your thumb. 
2. Once your carb hole is cut, remove the lid from the bottle. 
3. Holding the carb closed with your thumb, fill the bottle with water until it’s about an inch from the top. 
4. Just like with the bucket bong, line the lip of the bottle with a double layer of foil so it creates a small bowl, poke small ventilation holes in it, and fill with your choice of ground flower.

How To Use a Waterfall Bong

Now, it’s time to smoke. 

1. Hold the bottle above a sink or bucket, and remove your thumb from the carb as you begin to light the bowl. The water draining through your carb hole will create the desired vacuum effect, and smoke will begin to fill the bottle. 
2. Once the water stops flowing, cover the carb back up. The bottle should now be full of smoke, ready to pull. 
3. Remove the bowl from the lip of the bottle, and uncover the carb as you inhale. It will likely be too much smoke for one hit, so we recommend sharing with friends, or screwing the cap back on and covering the carb hole for multiple hits.

Tips For Using a Waterfall Bong

When using a waterfall bong, especially if it’s a large bottle, don’t be a hero. There’s no shame in breaking it up into multiple hits, or sharing with your friends and family. Nobody wants to hang out with the guy who smokes a whole 2-liter in one hit, then won’t shut up about how birds aren’t real.

Which Gravity Bong Is Better?

It’s hard to say which option is better; they both excel at different things. If you want a quick hit and easy reload, a bucket bong may be the better choice. But if you want a large chamber and a lot of smoke, a waterfall bong may be better suited.

Everyone has their own opinion and preference, so we recommend trying both ways to see which one you like more.

What Are the Benefits of a Gravity Bong?

The main benefit of a gravity bong is its DIY nature. It will be there for you when no other pipe, bong, or vape is. You can make one with the contents of your recycling bin (save the earth), and it should remain usable for a while, so long as you clean it and change the water.

The other main benefit is the amount of smoke it can hold. Depending on the size of your bottle, you can get anywhere from one solid hit to enough smoke to pass around a drum circle. Due to their simplicity, they’re also very easy to clean and maintain (or you can just cut a new one when it gets too dirty).

Gravity bongs are also one of the most efficient ways to smoke, with very little weed waste.

Gravity Bongs and Water Pressure

Scientifically speaking, what’s happening inside a gravity bong is a negative-pressure environment, otherwise known as a vacuum, caused by water leaving the bong.

As the water drains, it lowers the pressure inside the bong, causing air to be sucked in. Luckily for you, that air gets drawn straight through your bowl of burning weed, and the container fills with smoke, ready to be inhaled.

The Efficiency of Gravity Bongs

Gravity bongs are an incredibly efficient way to smoke, for several reasons. Due to the process by which smoke gathers in the chamber, there’s no need to suck in like with a pipe or regular bong. This means you’re not limited by your lung capacity: the vacuum created by the receding water will do all the work for you and get you lots and lots of good smoke.

Also, due to the design of the bong itself, there aren’t a lot of holes and crevices for the smoke to escape through, so you get every last wisp of it.

Why Gravity Bongs Are Unique

What makes a gravity bong so special is how it uses physics to get you stoned. If you follow all the steps, the gravity bong will do all the work for you, without having to pull until your lungs give out. It’s also easy to learn how to make a gravity bong, and unlike other DIY pieces, the homemade gravity bong will remain usable for weeks or even months.

How High Can I Get From a Gravity Bong?

In short: very high. Especially using the waterfall method, using a large bottle, it’s easy to fill nearly the entire bottle with smoke, and get the biggest hit of your life. There are no filters or stems separating you from the smoke, so it’s a real bang for your bud.

Should I Make Or Buy a Gravity Bong?

If you’re looking to drop some serious money on paraphernalia, a gravity bong could be a good choice. Devices like this gravity hookah Demonstrated by Canada's Sweetheart Seth Rogen, are as efficient as they are beautiful. But if you need a cheap, quick solution to man’s oldest problem (not being high), it’s not hard to learn how to make a gravity bong at home, and soon you’ll be a pro at it.

Gravity bongs deliver a lot of smoke very quickly, so novice smokers should proceed with caution when taking a hit. The only danger from a quality gravity bong is the chance of a coughing fit, which is never good for your lungs.

If you’re careful to take small hits, or you’re a veteran who can handle giant clouds, you should be good to go. However, there are some things to take into consideration when using a homemade plastic gravity bong.

Are Water Bottles Safe?

Caution should always be taken when heating up plastic, as it can release toxins, especially when inhaling fumes. However, as long as you’re careful when lighting your bowl, the chance of melting the plastic of the bottle enough to present any danger is very small. The smoke inside the bottle shouldn’t be hot enough to have any effect, and the foil in your bowl should protect the lid of the bottle from too much heat.

However, it’s probably a good idea to cut a new bottle every few uses, instead of reusing the same piece of plastic over and over again. And if you’re concerned about the heat protection that aluminum foil offers, you can always use a metal socket, or even a removable bowl from another piece.

If you decide that a gravity bong is your method of choice, we’d recommend spending a little money to buy a more durable option.

Gravity Bongs: Final Thoughts

A professionally made gravity bong can be a great option if you want a clean, efficient smoking experience, but if you’re in a weed-related pinch, a homemade gravity bong might just be your saving grace.

Now that you know how to make a gravity bong, there’s nothing stopping you from repurposing your recycling for a much better use.