New Volcano- Quantity/Efficiency

Hello everyone,

Before I start, I understand that the majority in this forum are not proponents of the Volcano due to the perceived value based on cost, which I completely understand. Regardless, I did purchase a Volcano the other day which should be arriving this week & I wanted to ask a few questions in preparation. I have spent a significant amount of time researching the health effects of vaporizing (see thread here http://www.fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?id=2144 ) but did not have the time to read a little into the actual act.

My questions are relatively simple & hopefully you experienced vapers can give me a little insight. I consider myself to be somewhat of a lightweight when it comes to toking. I am more of an "after work" smoker, usually only needing 3-4 joint hits to get myself where I need to be for the night. One of my main objectives with the Volcano is to get as much out of my herb as possible. I have read some incredible posts on here from people getting almost a months worth of vaping from just an 1/8th. So my first question is, how much herb should I be using in any given session based on my 3-4 join hits tolerance? Maybe better asked, based on the Volcano's bowl size, what is the least amount of herb that can be used for a single personal session? (preferably in weight if possible). For those currently using a Volcano, how long does an 1/8th last you given your vaping frequency?

My second question relates to temperature & may be best left out but I'll ask in case anyone feels like answering. I understand different temperatures yield different types of highs based on the THC/CBD/CBN ratio released. I prefer more of a heady sativa high as opposed to the couch lock body high from indicas. Based on this preference, is there an ideal temperature that should be used to obtain more of a sativa high? Or maybe a range of temperatures to use since it is my understanding that most start with a lower temperature and increase it throughout the session.

I am more concerned with answers to the first question but any input you are willing to provide would be greatly appreciated.


Happy Vaping!

I can only offer you general advice on this.

First, load up the volcano and see what it can do for you. Once "you" understand what a bowl of your herb will to do you from the volcano than you can better judge. Actually, it doesnt have to be a full bowl, pick an amount but one easy to judge, say half a bowl and then next time maybe a quarter of a bowl.

Second, for lighter vapor, lighter temps, heavy vapor use hotter temps. The particular strain of herb you use would make this equation vary from strain to strain so the perfect temperature is one that cannot really be generically given but I would start similar as above. A middle temperature and work up or down based on what you experience.

Its all about getting a gage. Generically speaking, starting in the middle is probably the safest bet.

Sorry I couldnt be any more precise.

Check out this site http://volcanotips.com/tag/volcano-vaporizer/ (some of the info I found helpful when I first got mine) and just do some general playing around, everyone is different and whats good vapor for some might be too light for others, so just have fun and do some trial and error with some herb that isn't of too much value.

Since you feel as if you might be a light-weight, consider only filling a bag partially. You don't have to consume all you have loaded in your chamber. Remember to allow chamber to run a bit bagless (a few seconds) so to warm up a bit and not fill bag with merely hot air.

I like mine, but there are drawbacks, which I'll allow you to discover. They may not be things you consider important.

I had a volcano at one point, the smallest ammount you can effectively use in the cano is just enough to cover the screen.

For low temp vaping i would say start at 5 and see what happens.

Despite the huge bowl size, the Volcano extracts absolutely everything. The most common approach is to grind the material and start with a relatively low temperature 4-5 or 340-360 and then increase the temp slightly on subsequent bags until you get everything out of it. You can put a really small amount in the chamber but if it has a really small amount in the chamber it has to be turned up a little higher to get enough to fill the bag. So, a half a gram is somewhere around the ideal amount. You could put less, but you can get multiple bags off a half a grm by starting at a lower temp and then increasing.

when you are used to smoking there is a tendancy to turn it up for a thcker vapor. if you go real high on temp the vapor can be so thick it's tough to breath in. the volcano is best with a nice light frsh vapor instead of the super thick vapor, but some people with iron lungs crank it up and breath in that thick white vapor. The thicker vapor definately as more stuff in it. You put it at 450 or 9 with a half gram of fresh stuff and the vapor is ridiculously thick and most people can't take it in. so you go from 350 and keep going higher and higher on the temp until you find the right temp. then you turn it up as you go, and then regrind the material and put it back in to get it totally extracted. You can actually keep going with this process until you've almost totally vaporized it and all that's (barely) left is some dust. You can get a lot of bags out of a relatively small amount of stuff if you really work with it.

Thanks for the informative replies everyone!

A few questions; Vaporizeit is suggesting that around 0.5 grams is the right amount for the Volcano. Is it possible to go even lower, say around 0.1-0.2 grams for a single personal session? I have read that it is best to lightly cover the entire screen for maximum efficiency, is this true or does it not really matter?

Also, assume that if 0.5 grams is the least you can use; can you just fill one bag and get some nice Vapor & just set aside the bowl/valve with the herb for another session the next day or will the herb keep "cooking" on the hot screen?

Thanks alot guys.

You can certainly use less than .5g. Using less will just give you less vapor. It'll be less visible in the bag and you'll feel it less when inhaling, since the same amount of air will be present, per bag. I tend to use more in a bag vape than with direct draw, but personally, I can't imagine loading .5g for just me. I'll often use .1g or less in a day. But that's just me.

"I have read that it is best to lightly cover the entire screen for maximum efficiency, is this true or does it not really matter?"

i was using enough to cover the screen with a bit more on top, no more than a 1/4 filling the chamber at a maximum i found.

"Also, assume that if 0.5 grams is the least you can use; can you just fill one bag and get some nice Vapor & just set aside the bowl/valve with the herb for another session the next day or will the herb keep "cooking" on the hot screen?"

with the bags, first thing... try making a smaller bag than the one they send as standard (at least for solo or 2person sessions). I found if i filled the bigger one, it'd get stale by the time i finished it. Ideally try and finish the bag within 30 mins, some will say more like 10mins tho i have taken a leftover hit from a bag the next day and still got a light buzz.

You can set aside the bowl just make sure u always take it off the cano between hits. I usually would re-grind mine every couple of bags so i wasn't leaving it in the bowl for long.

Also the grinder they send with it... the orange one... its gold, hold on to it. I have a bunch of others but i keep going back to my original cano grinder. Could be nostalgia i guess tho i find the teeth to be just the right size for me on most these plastic cheapy grinders.

albe said:

with the bags, first thing... try making a smaller bag than the one they send as standard (at least for solo or 2person sessions). I found if i filled the bigger one, it'd get stale by the time i finished it. Ideally try and finish the bag within 30 mins, some will say more like 10mins tho i have taken a leftover hit from a bag the next day and still got a light buzz.

Click to expand...

This smaller bag idea makes a lot of sense to me. I always wondered why people would leave a bag partially or fully filled for periods of time. If the boiling point of THC is 157 C, then so is the condensation point. If the bag is allowed to fall below that temperature, I don't know what exactly that vapor is flying around in there, but I'm willing to bet it's not THC.

awesome input guys, much appreciated. Based on the idea that one can use less than 0.5g, say 0.2 or 0.1g..what would you guys recommend the bag size be for personal use at this quantity? I certainly agree that using a larger bag than necessary probably wouldn't be as efficient.

i never weigh mine so not sure exactly on bag size. But i made up a couple, one was about half the size of the original ... the other maybe smaller than 1/3. Maybe just experiment. Did u get a roll of spare bags with the 'cano? The valve is pretty easy to slip on and off, try a couple of different sizes and have some fun working out which works best