Using candle flame with home made vaporizer... not good?

[eyesofgood]

I made a home made vaporizer using a metal sauce cup you get from restaurants heated with a votive candle(little two inch candles that everybody has). It works great, or so I thought. I did a little more research and leaned how you must have the temperatures just right to vape thc but not combust the bad stuff. I know a candle flame is around 2500 farenheit. MJ needs to be heated no higher that 392F in order to vaporize without combusting. So, does that mean using a candle flame to heat a stainless steel metal cup will most definitely cause the weed to combust and ruin the pure vaping effect I want? Would I be getting the bad stuff, and are there any tell-tell signs that your weed is combusting such as seeing a a thicker more white vapor or blackish smoke in the collection chamber? Also, does heating the metal cup release anything bad?

 

[pakalolo]

No one can say whether heating the metal cup is bad because we don't know what it's made from. As far as combustion is concerned, you should be able to tell instantly when it happens by the smell, the taste, and the colour of the residue. Combustion results in black ashes. Vapourizing residue should be dark brown or lighter and not crumble into ash.

You can definitely vapourize without combustion this way, but it's not easy.

 

[Nosferatu]

If the flame is not directly touching the weed it wont necessarily combust, it matters what temp you get the metal cup to. The flame may be 2500 degrees but that doesn't mean the cup will become that temperature immediately, or ever. So you need to heat the cup until the weed is vaporizing and then remove the flame before it gets the cup to hot and combusts the weed.

 

[stroh]

when i first experimented with vaporization, i found that a candle flame did not produce enough heat to vaporize herb in a light bulb vape

 

[AGBeer]

And besides - candles burn dirty dirty dirty. Chances are you are going to be having to clean lots of soot from you vapor experiments.

 

[weedemon]

hold the flame far enough away and you will find the zone that makes vapor.

i wouldn't want to be inhaling wax fumes personally though.

 

[jeffp]

Most commercial candles including tea lights are made of paraffin which is highly toxic petroleum waste. It's considered to be worse for you than second hand tobacco smoke.
I would advise you to stop this experiment immediately unless you're using either soy or beeswax candles.
For what you're after, I think you are much better off getting a vapor genie.

 

[biojuggernaut]

This reminds me of hearing people use hemp wick in their vapor genies. Are there really off gases from using these 'wicks' whether they be 'organic' or not?

 

[max]

I know a candle flame is around 2500 farenheit.

That's incorrect. It's about 1100, with hotspots maybe up to 1400 degrees. With a candle you get a more inconsistent flame than with a regular lighter, since there's no 'push' to the fuel , as with a butane lighter, and you get the same unwanted byproduct- soot.

you must have the temperatures just right to vape thc but not combust the bad stuff.

Raising the temp releases different compounds as you go, but when you get combustion, it all burns. If you're really looking to control the temp with a flame, a torch lighter works best since the flame is very steady. You just have to use the right distance to achieve the temp you want, since the flame is much hotter, making combustion easier.