What Is a Dry Herb Vaporiser?
A dry herb vaporiser, also known as an herbal or weed vaporiser, is similar to a vaporiser for e-liquid except for it contains a bowl for dry herbs. It has a battery, a bowl for dry herbs, a heating element, and a mouthpiece. Dry herb vaporisers do work a little bit differently though. A vaporiser for e-liquid will use a kanthal or stainless steel wire as a coil, and the liquid will be wicked up into the atomizer chamber. Dry herb vaporisers use either conduction or convection heat. If it using conduction, the bowl will heat up thereby heating the herbs. A vaporiser that runs off of convection will use air to heat the flower through means of fans or steam from a bubbler. Regardless of the heating method chosen, the flower needs to be heated to between 176℃ and 232℃ to be vaped properly. Any higher and it will burn, and any lower and it won’t produce vapour.
By keeping the heating element separate, vaporisers allow you to cook the herbs without burning them. Vaped herbs will look dark in color, but they certainly won’t look black. However, do make sure that you purchase a vaporiser that will actually vape your dry herbs. Many devices on the market today are marketed as vaporisers but will still burn your flower, and you can’t necessarily tell from the outside. Coils can heat up to extremely high temperatures, and if it is exposed, it’s going to burn your dry herbs just as a flame would. A good dry herb vaporiser will use either convection or conduction to heat the herbs.
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What Makes for a Good Herbal Vaporiser?
If you want to know how to find the best dry herb vaporiser, you probably already know that not all dry herb vaporisers are created equally. Some are definitely better than others, but if you’re setting out on your first trip to the vape shop, it may not seem obvious just yet. Now, some criteria are fairly universal across mediums. Of course you want high battery life, but the battery life for a dry herb vaporiser will be different from the battery life on a vape pen. Below, we’ve listed the top nine qualities to look for when shopping for a dry herb vaporiser.
Durability:
If you’re going to invest in a marijuana vaporiser, and they’re not all that cheap, then you want it to be durable enough to last you. You don’t want to have to purchase another one in another couple of months if this one breaks. A durable dry herb vaporiser will be made of quality materials like stainless steel, pyrex glass, or ceramic. You don’t want plastic inner pieces that will warp or melt under the heat.
Size:
You should determine ahead of time what size vaporiser will suit your needs. There are large desktop vaporisers that are powerful but too bulky to carry around. Then there are vape pens, which are small enough to fit in a pocket and carry with you on the go but don’t tend to have a ton of battery life. Then you have box mods, which are larger than vape pens and offer far more battery life. They can sometimes be a little bulky to carry around, but they are still very portable.
Battery Life:
You are going to want to make sure your weed vaporiser has enough battery life. Sometimes vaporisers come with internal batteries you can charge with a USB cable, and other times they require external batteries–usually 18650 batteries–which can be charged in an external charger. Batteries are measured in milliampere hour, which is abbreviated as mAh. A battery with 700mAh can provide a charge of 700 milliamperes for an hour or 350 milliamperes for two hours and so on. In a dry herb vaporiser, a battery should last anywhere from about three to about fifteen sessions depending on how powerful it is. Sometimes devices will require two batteries in which case they will last twice as long, but in any case, you should definitely take the battery life into account when purchasing. If you are constantly on the go, then you’re not going to be able to charge your vaporiser every couple of hours. On the other hand, if you’re just sitting at a desk all day, maybe charging doesn’t really bother you.
Maintenance:
You should always make sure to carefully clean out the tank of an e-liquid vaporiser, but it’s especially important to clean out a cannabis vaporiser because it uses herbs rather than liquid. Vape juice can also dry and junk up the engine of a vape pen, but dry herb can really do a job on it. You should clean your vaporiser at least once a week by disassembling it completely and brushing out any loose pieces. Dry herb vaporisers typically c
ome with a cleaning kit to help you out. Some devices can be messier than others, so it’s best to scope out reviews online to see what other customers had to say. Unfortunately, there’s no other obvious way to tell from a package, but online reviews and comments are typically quite helpful in providing honest advice.
Material of Heating Chamber:
As we mentioned above, make sure your heating chamber is separate from the heating element. If there are any exposed coils that can come into contact with your flower in any way, your vaporiser works by combustion. In that case, it may be handy because you’re using an electronic device rather than an open flame, but it’s not benefitting your health in any way.
If your vaporiser works by conduction, there will be a ceramic or stainless steel chamber or a glass filter separating your herbs from the coil. Make sure that it is, indeed, one of these three materials and not some plastic. Glass is typically preferable because it won’t leave an aftertaste, and it’s very easy to clean; however, it is fragile and frequently needs to be replaced. Stainless steel is also easy to clean and is durable enough to withstand heat. While you won’t get any chemical taste from a stainless steel chamber, it is heavy and expensive, so it will drive up the price of the entire unit. Lastly, ceramic will keep your dry herb tasting pure, but since it’s porous, it’s far harder to clean.
Heating Method:
We’ve established clearly that combustion is not the ideal way to vape your loose leaf, but we haven’t spoken much more about convection and conduction. Conduction uses the battery more efficiently, but it will heat the flower unevenly. Even if you push around the herbs, you still risk overcooking the bottom layer. Convection works much like a convection oven. The herbs sit on a mesh screen above the heating element and the coil will heat the air which will, in turn, heat the herbs. You can find the Firefly, a great convection-style device, from South Beach Smoke. Mig Vapor has a unique dry herb vaporiser that uses a bubbler and heats the herbs with steam. It doesn’t last more than a few sessions, but it works wonderfully.
Warm-Up Time:
Standard e-liquid vaporisers usually warm up right away, but dry herb vaporisers take a little bit longer because they work by convection and conduction. Just like you need to pre-heat your oven, you’ll need to pre-heat your vaporiser. Conduction-style devices usually don’t take as long, but convection-style devices could take 30 seconds or more. If you like to sneak in a quick vape here and there, you may want to find a device with a quick ramp-up time or pre-heat settings to help you be as efficient as possible during the day.
Versatility:
Maybe you vape dry herbs on a regular basis, in which case you’re happy to purchase a device specifically designed for vaping dry herbs. However, most of us only vape dry herbs occasionally, and it would be a shame to invest so much money in a device that is only meant for special occasions. There are devices, though, that can vape more than one substance. Mind you, they might not be as effective as devices meant for only e-liquid, for instance, but they might save you a good chunk of change. V2 has some nice 3-in-1 pens and mods that vape e-liquid, dry herb, and wax, and Mig Vapor has quite a few devices that will vape dry herbs and concentrates.
Price:
This should probably be obvious, but the price is a very important criteria when shopping for a new vaporiser. Dry herb vaporisers vary greatly in price from $20-$30 all the way up to and over $200. Also, keep in mind that expensive devices aren’t always worth the extra cost, and inexpensive devices sometimes work wonderfully. You want to invest money in your vaporiser if you’re going to use it for a long time, but you also don’t want to spend more than necessary.
Where Can I Find the Best Dry Herb Vaporiser?
You can find dry herb vaporisers at most major vaping retailers. You won’t find any at ePuffer, though you’ll find some nice dry herb accessories, because they tend to cater toward elder vapers who want to be more inconspicuous. You’ll find some inexpensive and somewhat quirky devices at MigVapor and some stellar 3-in-1 devices at V2. South Beach Smoke also carries quite a few dry herb vaporisers, but for the most part, these tend to be on the pricey side. That being said, they are also top-notch vaporisers. VaporFi has a select few dry herb vaporisers as well. All in all, South Beach Smoke has, by far, the largest collection. So, if you are picky and want a large selection from which to choose, your best bet is South Beach Smoke.
Conclusion:
There may not be one “best” vaporiser, and there is certainly not one way to find the best dry herb vaporiser. If you want to know how to find the best dry herb vaporiser, then these tips should help you out a great deal. Carefully considering these nine criteria will help you narrow down your search for the best dry herb vaporiser in no time. With that said, there is really not much more for us at Vape Australia to say. The only thing to do know is, well, go find the best dry herb vaporiser!
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