What are the benefits of convection vs. conduction?

Can someone please explain this for a newbie?

Thanks!

in conduction, heat is applied directly to the herb, the heat then conducts into the herb and caueses the resin glands to boil
this method is inefficient and often ineffective, as the amount of resin that boils is limited to the amount of herb is limited by how much herb can come in direct contact with the heating source. many conduction vaporizers will also overheat, scorching the herb and tasting badly

with convection, heated air (usually around 350f) is passed through the herb, the herb absorbs the heat from the air and the resin heads thoughout all the herb ar boiled off, creating thicker vapor with less herb

convection is better than conduction because the hot air passes through much more surface area of the herb, you dont have to wait for a chamber to fil in order to take a hit, as convection vaporizers heat the air that comes in from ambient temperatures to vapoizing temperatures

btw, you dont need to create so many threads, us fuckers read all new posts because our forum is small enough that we dont have to ignore anything

You rock!

this should really become more apparent to people when theres pretty much 3 subforms

and why not read about vapor info! i say YAY to it...get even higher

Ancient thread resurrection....

This would suggest that a convection vape almost has/needs a positive airflow to pull warm air through the herb.

For example, in the case of the Cera, the heater is right under the herb - it is billed as convection, but the proximity of the herb to the heater would suggest conduction. I'm confused....

The position of the herb is similar in the INH, yet this is billed as conduction.

Can anyone put me right?

EDIT: Just seen the latest video from the Cera team - I would like to pair the Aqua Vape glass with whichever I buy - the really long draws, and slightly thinner clouds of the Cera to my eye may not work as well as the INH? Another factor to consider...

Hey vk2003, interestingly enough I've been thinking the exact same thing in regards to the Aqua Vape and the INH I recently purchased. (I've also been considering a smooth flow as a more portable option than an aqua vape when required ...). I've been using my Cloud's Hydratube with a little stubby GonG adapter I've rigged up for my INH (just for fun to put the INH through the paces, but also a quick way to medicate if I don't have time to wait for the Cloud to heat up)

With conduction you heat some kind of platform that is in direct contact with the herb and thus, heats the herb directly.

With convection, you heat the air somewhere before the bowl and it is the hot air that heats the herb, not the bowl that is hot.. although with many vaporizers the bowl gets hot too so we agree that a mix of conduction AND convection is ocurring.

JCat

What is a smooth flow?

Most importantly, they both get the job done

vk2003,

The aqua vape is similar to the Cloud's hydratube and would be the better option for at home use but can be spilt, water can be blown into the vaporizer, can't really be pocketed while out and about ... etc.

The smooth flow is a water "conditioning" tip that is an accessory to the Thermovape products and you dunk it in water and it absorbs some water I believe into a ceramic disc that then moisturizes and cools your vapor on the way through. Since Thermovape doesn't currently have it on their site here's a link to a retailer's site:

http://www.vaporizers.ca/product.php/product_id/1006

Edit: Ok ... for you non-Canadian customers, looks like Thermovape has them on their site again too:

http://thermovape.force.com/IdaProductDetail?id=01t50000001qlFaAAI