Could be a few things. Quality of herb can have quite an impact.
If your weed is typical "smoke dry" (what you would normally smoke), it may need to be dried a little. Nothing too harsh, and you don't want to overheat. Put it on a piece of paper on top of a warm piece of electronics (stereo receiver, television/cable/satellite converter, or similar) for an hour or so to dry it out. You definitely don't need a dehydrator or anything unless you are in a hurry to get at freshly cropped buds!
After drying, grind it pretty fine. Not to dust, but a good grind with a grinder or even between your fingers. 4 piece grinders seem to work better for me with the Q. By the time it falls through the holes to the screen, it's about right. Sometimes with a 2 piece you can get a little carried away and grind it too fine. Still works, but super fine grind seems to work better in other vapes (like MFLB).
Drying sets the weed up to release THC and other components better, and removes moisture that will make your vapor a little more wispy from water vapor. Grinding gives more surface area to be heated by the hot air passing through.
It's tricky to get the right draw to make everything in the cyclone bowl spin around and still not just go up into the elbow. IMO it's a design flaw with the cyclone bowl. The ledge the screen sits on in the middle seems to be a little too wide. Some have ground it out (see Seek's mods), but I wouldn't dare try because I figure I would break it. But, there are a few other ways. You can take a piece of bare wire or paper clip and make a little "spring" that goes between the lip and the screen (there is a post in there with pics and whatnot way back in this thread). Just wrap your wire around a big pen or something and work it so that it barely fits in the cyclone touching the sides. Use it to raise the screen up about 1/4 - 3/8" (6-10mm). Or, if you're careful you can bend the screen to wedge it in so that it sits up that high off the lip by itself. This adds considerable airflow and with a little practice you can have it swirling around in there in no time.
Have you tried doing bags yet? Don't be embarrassed because most here don't do it often. Using the bag takes a good bit of the guesswork and technique out of the equation. Remember... higher heat + lower fan = thicker vapor. Experiment! Once you get a better feel for vaping, it's easier to use control on the whip.
Vaping is definitely a different buzz and you can change it up quite a bit with temps and airflow. If what you're left with isn't black or very dark brown, save it! You can use it to make cana-butter or all kinds of things. I make oil or butter using 1/2 to 2/3 AVB and shake or trim as I have it. My cookies are much requested!
