Person sitting in a construction site holding a camera and vaping.

How to Use a Vaporizer Properly

Person sitting in a construction site holding a camera and vaping.

Did you know over 40,000,000 Americans now smoke marijuana? With the herb becoming more widely available - soon to be legalized in Germany - cannabis is reaching new levels of popularity. This means that people are becoming more interested in different ways to smoke the plant.

One method of consuming cannabis that is gaining traction is vaporizing.  It is a far more efficient method of getting the cannabinoid oils you want (like THC, CBD and the terpenes) without the combustion (smoking) of the plant material that you don't want. 

Smoking a joint can lead to a sore throat and inhalation of carcinogens associated with burning herb. As an added bonus after vaping, you can get even more out of your cannabis by using already vaped bud (AVB) to make edibles. If you've got questions or are looking for tips for beginners, we can help.

What is a Vaporizer?

Before we start, it’s important to cover some basic information. A vaporizer is a device used to heat cannabis — either in the form of oil, concentrates, or dry herb. As its name suggests, a vaporizer vaporizes the oils in the cannabis instead of burning the plant matter. 

The vaporizer achieves this by heating the substance up to the boiling point of the cannabinoids. You can heat it at different temperatures to get different flavors and adjust the cloud they produce. Typically at lower temperatures you get more flavor and higher temps create bigger clouds. Vaporizers can be desktop units or highly portable. The smell they produce usually isn’t as concentrated as traditional smoking.

 

Furna vaporizers with swappable ovens

Different styles of vaping devices

There are three main types of vaporizers: concentrate models, dry herb models and oil models. A dry vaporizer heats the marijuana one of two ways: conduction and convection.

Conduction vaporizers heat up the weed itself. A convection vaporizer heats the air around cannabis and is then spread throughout the herb chamber, warming the herb to the target temperature. Convection units are generally desktop vapes that plug into the wall, and aren't portable.

Concentrate vaporizers typically have a heating element like coils, or ceramic that you drop the concentrates on to and they're heated to the point of vaporization.

Finally, there are oil vaporizers which heat oil with an atomizer. The industry has shifted largely to ceramic heating elements and one the oil is atomized, it can be inhaled.

Some vapes can handle multiple forms of cannabis. Often through inserts, or swapping of parts. In the Furna vape, we have swappable ovens that allow you to pre-load concentrate or dry herb without fussy inserts or dealing with hot parts.  

 

Pink ball with smile on it floating on the water.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Vaporizer?

Many people believe that dry vaporizers are healthier than traditional smoking. Why? It all comes down to what you're inhaling. The vapor you inhale doesn't contain the carcinogenic properties of regular smoke.

Indeed, many research studies seem to back this claim. One such study analyzed the effectiveness of vaporizers at removing toxins from the cannabinoid delivery system.

It found that inhaling vapor is just as effective as traditional smoking in terms of THC uptake. However, the real benefit is that a vaporizer delivers this THC without any of the negative medical respiratory issues associated with smoking cannabis.

Safe reliable dosage, best value, fresh taste

You can also control the amount of effects (and high) you receive by choosing the right strain and temperature settings. This is ideal for users new to vaping who don’t want a large hit, or people using cannabis for medical reasons who want control and precision with their use of herb.

Traditional smoking burns off a lot of the oils instead of being inhaled. A vaporizer, on the other hand, extracts far more cannabinoids. As such, you can save a lot of money by getting the most out of your bud. What’s more, the flavor components that come through the vapor are much richer than smoke.

Because of this, you get a more distinct taste than you would with a normal bowl. No need to carry a lighter, bag and smoking piece — all of it is contained in the vape. Read our article about the benefits of dry herb vapes to learn more.

 

Various components and electronic parts laid out on a table.

What Are the Different Parts and Features?

Each vaporizer will have a central heating chamber. Many people refer to this part as the oven. It holds the cannabis and heats it into vapor. The size of the chamber will vary from model to model.

Some models use convection heating to warm up the air around the cannabis where others use conduction to heat the cannabis itself. The power supply on the vaporizer is responsible for heating the chamber. It’s usually powered by a rechargeable battery for most portable vaporizers. 

The mouthpiece is where you pull the vapor from. Most vaporizers also come with temperature control settings. This allows you to select a temperature for heating whatever substance you put into it.

How to Use a Vaporizer: Essential Tips

The first thing you need to do when using a vaporizer is to prepare your cannabis. If you’re using dried weed, then this means grinding it. Grind the flower until it forms medium-fine to fine granules, it helps to have more surface area to warm the material evenly and give the best quality vapor. But don’t grind it too fine or it will turn powdery and burn.

If you have a convection vaporizer, you can pack it a bit more loosely to promote airflow over more surface area. If you’re using a concentrate product, like hash, then crumble it into small bits. For more information, read our article about how tightly you should pack your vape.

 

Closeup of person's hands grinding up cannabis with a grinder.

 

Now, load the chamber of your vaporizer with the cannabis. Different sized chambers can contain different amounts of weed. Check the instructions for advice about the best amount, there will probably be a line to pack to.

You want to pack the weed tightly to ensure a concentrated hit. However, make sure not to pack it too tightly or it won’t pull. Once the weed is in place, then it’s time to heat the chamber. 

Vaping with dry herb vaporizers: temperature and use

Set the temperature of the internal chamber between 160 and 180 degrees Celsius. This is the temperature that cannabis vaporizes at. Once the weed is heated, there will be a signal, perhaps the unit will vibrate or a light will turn on. Then you can take a hit.

Use strong and concentrated breaths to pull the vapor. However, you do not need to hold the vapor in your lungs. The transfer of the cannabinoids from the vapor into your lungs happens in milliseconds. The taste should be clean and fresh. You can stop for breaks in between hits without wasting herb.

Often you will feel high right away, if your herb contains THC, but some strains can be creepers. So starting low and slow in your dosage, followed by medium sessions when you're ready, is a way better approach than accidentally starting with too much.

Once the device is cool enough, empty the chamber and give it a quick clean. It's easiest to get all the vaped herb out while the unit is still hot. Vaporizers will get clogged with debris over time, so clean it properly whenever your vape feels blocked even a bit. Doing this will help a ton with getting quality hits and keep your device efficient in its use of bud.

The Furna vaporizer comes with everything you need for packing, cleaning, and using on the go.  It comes with 2 dry herb ovens, a funnel, brush and multitool for easy packing and cleaning, so loading and maintaining it doesn't require much effort. The Furna can even use cannabis concentrates without any weird inserts. Check out Furna vaporizers today.

 

Furna dry herb vapes with pre-packable ovens

 

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