The 25 mg Volcano Challenge !

Neuro

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone,

I am a recent Volcano user, and prior to that, had no experience with either vaporization or smoking (only cookies, a few times in the past year). I have chosen the Volcano Classic, after having spent a long time reading reviews of various models, and I like this unit very much. I am though perfectly aware that it is NOT the "best vape there is", because such a thing simply does not exist, so please don't consider this thread as a way to stir that pot :lol:

That being said, I often read on the Net the same question asked again and again:

"Can the Volcano be used for very small loads, like 25 mg ?"

As I never encountered a satisfying answer to that, I decided to test that myself. Here is the result of my yesterday experiment. Hopefully this will be useful to anyone considering the Volcano, and wondering the same thing. I will add my own conclusion at the end.

Some additional information: I only have low quality herb ( 20 US $ for 1/8th, or 3.5 grams), but this is probably compensated by the fact that I have a very low tolerance to our favorite herb, being a new, and not too frequent, user. For this experiment I decided beforehand to inhale two bags, one with the Volcano at a setting of 8, the second one at 8.5. I inhaled the two bags in around 20 minutes.

Here is the picture of the herb on my scale. As my scale is not precise enough to go down to milligrams, I had to choose between "0.02" and "0.03", and I choose the later. So the load is probably not exactly 0.025, but certainly close enough (I stopped adding herb on the scale as soon as the display went from 0.2 to 0.3).



Here is the load in the bowl, prior to the vaporization. Note that it does not even cover the bottom of the chamber:



Here is the first bag, to show you the vapor. The flash of my camera makes the vapor appear a little bit whiter/denser than it really was. The second bag was clearer, with only a hint of whitish vapor.



Here is the chamber after inhalation of the two bags. To my surprise, even after two bags, there is still a lot of "green" left ! This goes to my stack for future brownies :brow:



As for the effects, I was totally surprised !! I tried last week 200 mg in my Volcano at a setting of 6.5, did two bags, and was already impressed by the results. I wasn't expecting a lot from 25 mg to say the least, even at a higher temp. Boy was I wrong. I became very pleasantly blazed for three hours, not as "high" as I was last week, but still under a very warm and nice spell :-) Thanks to this experiment, I will next time use 50 mg at 8/8.5, instead of 200 mg at 6.5, and my guess is that results will be comparable. So I found a unexpected way to save $$ :D

I can conclude that definitely yes, it is possible to use a very small load on a Volcano to get a nice result and a several hours long pleasant high. The chamber is huge, but this does not seem to be an issue. I am not sure 25 mg would be enough for a long term user with high tolerance though. and i will let someone else try that. Now, it would be very interesting to compare the Volcano to the Purple Days, which is generally assumed on this forum to be the champion for small loads. I for one would be eager to try one, and I may gift one to myself someday (if only for the look, the PD is such a beautiful piece, while the Volcano looks more like ... a kitchen appliance to me :uhoh:).

Another interesting thing would be that owners of other models try this 25 mg challenge with their own vapes, and post the results here. Who knows, we may find tricks, or settings of our vapes, that we are not aware yet !

Neuro
 
Neuro,

lwien

Well-Known Member
A few comments. Judging by your picture of what was on your scale, it looks like almost double what I load into my PD, which I weighed out at 0.025g.

Secondly, how was the air to vapor ratio in the bag? It seems like the vapor would be very diluted.
 
lwien,

stickstones

Vapor concierge
neuro...great experiment and documentation...thanks!

I have found similar results wit my Extreme. I can load it as light as I want and still get one good bag of vapor. This becomes more efficient simply because I am using small doses to get where I want instead of a huge hit that is sometimes overkill. This is one reason why the PD works so well...I never use any more than I actually need.

I agree that your herb looks still green after your experiment...a result I don't get with my vaporizers...I usually run things hot! One of my suppliers has a volcano and his bag of duff always makes my mouth water because it is still so green!
 
stickstones,

rukus13

Well-Known Member
You can run that back through the volcano at like 8 - 8.5 and probably get another bag off of it. That's definitely not cached. I like to work my way up to 8.5. Do a super tasty one at 6.5 - 7 then bump it up to 7-7.5 for the next bag and finally 8-8.5 for the third for the full range of effects.

I'm loving my pd and iolite but now you have me fiending for my volcano which is unfortunately packed away.
 
rukus13,

Neuro

Well-Known Member
lwien said:
A few comments. Judging by your picture of what was on your scale, it looks like almost double what I load into my PD, which I weighed out at 0.025g.

Secondly, how was the air to vapor ratio in the bag? It seems like the vapor would be very diluted.
My scale may be imprecise, it is indeed a possibility, but 100% imprecise, I doubt it :-) Concerning the vapor, it was quite diluted, with a high air to vapor ratio. Since the herb does not even cover the bottom of the chamber, a substantial portion of the air will not even touch the herb. A low air to vapor ratio with 25 mg on a Volcano is therefore probably not possible (and this may be the strength of the PD, right?). May I ask why this ratio is important by the way? I often see this ratio discussed, but to me the most important ratio is "weight to effect" ratio.

Neuro
 
Neuro,

Neuro

Well-Known Member
stickstones said:
I agree that your herb looks still green after your experiment...
I find that strange actually, since I made two bags, the second one at 8.5 which is only half an increment lower than the maximum. I will try it at 9 the next time, to see if there is a difference.

Neuro
 
Neuro,

lwien

Well-Known Member
Neuro said:
lwien said:
A few comments. Judging by your picture of what was on your scale, it looks like almost double what I load into my PD, which I weighed out at 0.025g.

Secondly, how was the air to vapor ratio in the bag? It seems like the vapor would be very diluted.
My scale may be imprecise, it is indeed a possibility, but 100% imprecise, I doubt it :-) Concerning the vapor, it was quite diluted, with a high air to vapor ratio. Since the herb does not even cover the bottom of the chamber, a substantial portion of the air will not even touch the herb. A low air to vapor ratio with 25 mg on a Volcano is therefore probably not possible (and this may be the strength of the PD, right?). May I ask why this ratio is important by the way? I often see this ratio discussed, but to me the most important ratio is "weight to effect" ratio.

Neuro
Regarding the weight discrepency, it's probably more my sense of perception may be off than your scale, or maybe a combination of both ;).

Regarding the importance of the ratio, for me, it's a matter of taste. A higher vapor to air ratio just tastes better, but then I hate coffee but love expresso.
 
lwien,

jumpoff_the_planet

Well-Known Member
I have owned the volcano digit for about 8 months now and i find that a load of about .5 grams of some heady weed works best for me . and I can just take one or two bags every few hours or so all day:2c:
 
jumpoff_the_planet,

kalinga

Well-Known Member
cool experiment. Thanks for sharing Neuro! Nice to see more volcano users in FC.
 
kalinga,

max

Out to lunch
Very small amounts can be used effectively in any vaporizer. With the Launch Box, I use about a third of a PD bowl. Since it's primarily a conduction vape, I don't like to pile it on and have to stir it up-compromises the taste a bit too, leaving spent herb in there hit after hit. What I get with such a small amount is almost undetectable to my throat and lungs, since I take even that in several hits. But the effect is there.

With larger vapes, using small amounts, like an average PD bowl, works the same. Less visible vapor and no impact to speak of on the throat and lungs, but you get the effect. But the satisfaction factor isn't really there when there's little to no 'feeling' or visisbility to the vapor hits. So it takes more discipline to use tiny amounts in a full sized vape if you're trying to conserve. The PD doesn't have any huge technological edge in efficiency, other than 1-very little condensation loss and 2-no chance to overcook your herb, but what it does have is satisfying hits with those small amounts. And hits you can handle without having to exhale in a few seconds.

I also think there's a 'waste factor' with using large amounts/big hits. Long before I'd ever heard of vapor I discovered I was better off, as far as conservation of my herb, if I used my small flip top pipe and took small hits, vs. taking bong hits. Sure it took longer to get ripped, but my supply always lasted longer with the pipe and it got the job done. I've noticed the same thing after years of vaporizing with different models. The other night I loaded up the herbalAire a couple of times and we did 5 bags. We used the PD less that night because of that, but we still used it. And judging by what I loaded in the herbie, we probably used twice as much herb as usual. Yet I didn't feel like we got twice as high or for twice as long. Where's the waste? With a full sized vape, whip or bag, you've got more surface area for condensation, and I really believe there's something to the theory that vapor is absorbed more slowly than smoke. I'm convinced that exhaling a big vapor cloud after a few seconds is not efficient. And even if all the good stuff is absorbed very quickly with smoke, there has to be a limit. Can you really absorb everything from a huge, 3 second bong hit? My opinion is no.

So Neuro, I think your experiment was a worthy test of efficiency. Other than a difference in condensation loss, and assuming you're using a temp that's gives no chance for the vape to overcook, it doesn't matter which vape you use if you want efficiency. You just have to give up the feel and effect of big hits, and settle for the effect on your head and body, like one of those sugary sweet alcohol drinks that masks the alcohol taste but still packs the same punch.
 
max,

snatcher420

Well-Known Member
i think i use even less that that in my vapormatic deluxe by vapir...Made me realize just how much sweetleaf we waste by loading the unit up. The vape is still just as good.
 
snatcher420,

SometimesY

Well-Known Member
I have gone from filling my Volcano bowl halfway with herb, to just covering the screen, and back, and there isn't a tremendous difference in the quality of the output. But there is a noticeable difference (at least to me).

I applaud you for taking it to the next degree, by putting barely any in there. It's not going to change how I use mine, but it's interesting to know where the limits are. Tolerance plays a pretty big part here, too, and I appreciate your disclosing up front where your tolerance level was.

Also -- and this is one of my new pet peeves -- no one ever mentions how large their Volcano bags are. I use the classic valve (by preference), and sometimes I have a 6' "party bag", but most of the time it's about a 28-30" bag. This is at least a big a variable in Volcano usage as the load in the bowl (heh...load in the bowl).

As Max says, a good test, and thanks for sharing it, but I don't think that I'd be looking at a Volcano if efficiency were a primary factor.
 
SometimesY,

roney

Well-Known Member
cool experiment and thanks for sharing your results. I am a new Volcano user and and getting lots of great tips on this and other FC Volcano threads. Man - this is without doubt the best vap info resource on the web. nice one all and thanks so much. :)
 
roney,

Raf007

Well-Known Member
Retailer
SometimesY said:
I have gone from filling my Volcano bowl halfway with herb, to just covering the screen, and back, and there isn't a tremendous difference in the quality of the output. But there is a noticeable difference (at least to me).
Intersting, i'll try , but I almost believe u already. ;)

SometimesY said:
I applaud you for taking it to the next degree, by putting barely any in there. It's not going to change how I use mine, but it's interesting to know where the limits are. Tolerance plays a pretty big part here, too,
Yes, a really big part, i would never get high with 0.03 g !!

@ Neuro ...and others ;)

When i take me time, I start between 5 and 5.5 for the 3 to 6 first ballons (40cm), and then goes up to 8 ( I'll try 9 but i don't think i'll get much).
Gives me more tasty balloons.
 
Raf007,
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