What is a vaporizer ?
Vaporizers are electronic devices that heat dry herbs or waxes to temperatures just below the combustion point, releasing only the flavor, and effects of your dry herbs or waxes with very little smoke. By doing this no plant material is burned which can produce harmful carcinogens. Instead of producing smoke, vaporizers produce vapor, which is more flavorful and less harsh than traditional smoke. The best vapor production comes from desktop vaporizers that are the most powerful type of vaporizer; traditional wall outlets with regular power plugs power them. Portable vaporizers are powered using batteries that allow you to vape on the go. When vaporizers were first introduced portable vaporizers were far less powerful, but with new technology coming out every day, portable vaporizers are gaining power and popularity.
Types of Vaporizers
Desktop: Desktop vaporizers are designed to be used at your home or office and plug into any standard wall out with a power plug. They are fairly large and meant to be kept on a table or desk, that is where they get their name. There are two different styles of desktop vaporizers: whip-style and forced air. Whip-style vaporizers use a piece of medical grade silicone tubing called a whip that you inhale the vapor from as your herbs are heated. Forced air vaporizers are much more advanced and use a fan that forces the heat through your herbs and fills up a bag with vapor. Some desktop vaporizers are capable of doing both forced air and whip style.
Portable: Portable Vaporizers also known as pocket vaporizers or handheld vaporizers are much smaller than desktop vaporizers and can fit in the palm of your hand. Unlike desktop vaporizers which restrict you to at home use, portable vapes can be used anywhere because they are powered by batteries, not traditional wall outlets. Most portable vaporizers are small enough to fit in your pocket or purse making them extremely discreet which is desirable to many dry herb vaporizer users. Handheld vaporizers are the best alternative to traditional smoking and far healthier and pleasant to smoke from.
Type of Heat Source
Conduction: Conduction vaporization is when your dry herbs or waxes come in direct contact with the heating element. Most wax pens and pen style vapes use conduction heating. This method of heating allows for fast heat up times and easy operation but can combust your material if not used correctly.
Convection: Convection style heating elements heat your dry herbs by passing heat through your material extracting only the active ingredients and causing no combustion. Convection vaporizers are primarily used for dry herbs and produce incredible flavor and smooth vapor.
What can you vape?
There are a wide variety of substances and materials you can vaporize including dry herbs, concentrates, and e-juice. The type of vaporizer you will want will depend on the material you will primarily be vaping. Not all vaporizers work with every material, some work with only dry herbs, while some work with only concentrates. There are some vaporizers on the market that work with all three materials but they are not very common.
Dry Herb: Dried and Cured Plant Materials, whose chemical compounds are released when vaporized producing vapor.
Wax & Concentrates: The chemical compounds are extracted from dry herbs. The most common extraction methods are CO2, butane or heat and pressure.
E – Juice: Liquid that usually contains nicotine and is used in electronic cigarettes. E – Liquid is available in a wide variety of flavors and different nicotine strengths.
Temperature Control
One of the main benefits of using a vaporizer is being able to heat your dry herbs or waxes to a temperature that will not cause combustion. It is important to vaporize your herbs and waxes at the correct temperature to ensure proper vaporization and no combustion. Vaporizers have a wide variety of temperature control some that are more precise than others.
Digital: Digital temperature control is the most accurate and reliable design and is easily changed and read on a digital display.
Analog: Analog temperature controls use a simple switch or knob to control the temperature but only change the temperature to a general number not a precise number like digital controls.
Button Style: Most common on wax and pen style vaporizers. The heating element has a preset temperature or a few preset temperatures to switch from. The heating element is activated with the simple press of a button.
What temperature should I vape at?
The most common temperature for vaporizing dry herbs without combusting is between 350-375F. Although each vaporizer does have a different optimal temperature depending on its heating method. Finding the temperature that is right for you is important and can easily be done with some trial and error. It is always best to start at a lower temperature and work your way up and see what kind of effects you get from different temperatures. If your herbs are very dry they will vaporize at lower temperatures, but if your herbs are a bit moister it will require a higher temperature to vaporize. After vaporizing for a while you will start to find the right temperature for you, and if you start at a lower temperature you can vape your herbs multiple times by raising the temperature a bit each time you re vape it.
