Dab tools for newbs: Quartz

[ClearBlueLou]

I posted last night on the quartz bangers thread:

May I request that the quartz brain-trust describe and illustrate the differences between a banger, a castle, a daisy, a reactor, a grail, a gavel, and the other obscure terms and the pieces they refer to? Describe the differences between an slant-top vs flat-top, the pros and cons of slitted v unslitted, the variety of carb cap types, the advantages and disadvantages of the various styles, joint sizes, bucket diameters, etc? Enumerate the reasons why one would want a $500 piece v a $150 piece v a $20 piece?

I am very much the newb on this, having just received my third water glass piece & first oil/dab rig, and my first banger, and preparing to move on from flowers (mostly), so I hope this thread will help me and people like me become smart shoppers at the very least when it comes to leveling up and gaining XP.

To break down the opening quote, I would very much like this to remain focused on quartz and quartz accessories (excluding enails and other non-torch-relateds). This is not a slap at ceramics, or titanium, or nail-heaters. My unmedicated brain is aware of its limitations, and I will come to comprehend all things dab-quartz faster and more fully if I’m not juggling half-grasped info. If history is an indicator, this thread will be useful to more than just me.

At the top of my newb list are the various forms. While we’re all familiar (?) with the now ubiquitous 90-degree banger, and maybe the 45-degree form factor (and can prolly figure out the dozer/ trough config), I know that different people call the same things by different names past this point, so if anyone can and is willing to post pics of the less standard forms and naming them (like grails, gavels, castles, daisies, skillets, reactors, and ones I can’t think of or don’t know to ask about), that would be a wonderful place to start!

A mini-primer on inserts and what they need in a banger would be swell, too - I only just learned about the existence inserts, but the one thing I know about them is they need wider banger buckets(?) than the 16mm I haven’t unpacked yet. Similarly, I’d love to know the differences between and purpose of ruby and sapphire as they are used with and instead of quartz. Carb caps come in a variety, so ranking / description of same would be helpful, likewise the pros and cons thereof.

I would also very much like to hear y’all’s tales of your early switchover experiences: what bit you, what frustrated you, what you wish had done, where you are now, how you got there/here, what you wish you’d learned early. At some point, I hope I or another will start a similar thread on e-nails.

Thanks for reading, see you in the comments, and WELCOME, EVERYONE!

 

[Shooby]

As for the naming, these are all brand names. Its like talking about cars, you are just naming Acura, BMW, Mercedes, Tesla and so on and asking what the difference are. They are all cars and get you to where you want. THe same applies here, these are all brands of quartz that get you stoned.

Grail is a Toro Grail. Visit Toro's site for more info.

Reactor is another Toro product. Visit the site for more info to see what makes it different.

Gavels are Highly educated's brand name quartz. visit the site for more info.

Daisies are quartz nails that look like flowers i believe. Dont know much about this. I would look for website for more info.

Castles are the same as daises but another brand.



As for your questions about the difference between ruby and sapphire, rruby has an added element that makes it red. Google it as they are REM.

Carb caps, any carb caps that fits the size bucket you buy that you like. If you go flat top, bubble cap, slant top, directional.

As for experiences, i recommend after your are knowledgeable with this shit to read the other threads.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Hi, Shooby, let me see if I’ve got this straight:

Gavels, grails, reactors, are all the same, just different brand names, no other way to distinguish them.
Daisies and castles are just nails, again, nothing significant about either
Google the brand names. Pick something.

Is that about right?

 

[Shooby]

Hi, Shooby, let me see if I’ve got this straight:

Gavels, grails, reactors, are all the same, just different brand names, no other way to distinguish them.
Daisies and castles are just nails, again, nothing significant about either
Google the brand names. Pick something.

Is that about right?

Correct. To distinguish, go to website and educate yourself and find what best fits you.

Yes.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Okay...
Grails and gavels and reactors are un/vented high-sided, flat-topped banger buckets.
A gavel is different because it has an opaque floor for heat retention.
A reactor is different because it has a pedestal on the bucket floor for heat retention.
Sapphire and ruby are made into bucket liners and not intended to be removable; they require special handling: https://nautilusglass.com/sapphire-info/

As branded products, these run fromUSD180-500 each.
As generic products, these run from USD15 up.

What you buy is subject to your own fancy and income.
Pick something and buy it. Get stoned. The end.

Short thread.

 

[Shooby]

https://nautilusglass.com/sapphire-info/

Thats where i get my knowledge. and from there on, i have questions myself about the shit i read that i use google to find the meaning to find the hopeful answer.

But you havent really asked a questions other than saying basically this, someone explain to me everything about dabbing with quartz. that isnt done easily. Much is self taught by researching.

Between the brands types you named, each has its own following and why they like that over something else. Back to my automotive analogy, maybe someone prefers FWD over RWD vehicles. That could be translated to someone preferring the core reactor over the grail which is both Toro products. I am not sure why he doesnt TM Grail as he has trademarked Toro. The same goes for Quave club bangers, now every quartz bucket is called a banger after quave. But i dont think QCB has any TM on it. Someone correct me if im wrong on this.

But whats your goal, what are you trying to accomplish? Again, give @710Coils a DM and he will explain and posibly show you the basics. He sells quartz buckets and coils and will have bundles available very very soon at great prices.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Like I said in the OP, to be a smart shopper, an informed consumer, a wise head - which now seems unnecessary.
Spend hundreds and take your chances on longevity and suitability.
Spend a dozen or more and take your chances on longevity and suitability.
If you don’t like it, get something else. Make up stories to back up your choices.

From a slightly larger view, I don’t have dabbing friends I can sit around with, try things out with, hear opinions from, watch the drill, draw my own conclusions from said experiences, so I was hoping to fill in some of the blanks that experienced dabber friends would have filled without hardly trying.

I’ve had...three dabs, total? Under semi-chaotic conditions. No chance to observe and/or ask questions, or get suggestions or recommendations. Figured asking folks here might make up for my flat learning curve, but you say there’s no *there* there, so I’ll just make it up as I go along as usual, I guess, and be happy or get something else.

Simple is good...I’m just...surprised.

 

[Shooby]

Like I said in the OP, to be a smart shopper, an informed consumer, a wise head - which now seems unnecessary.
Spend hundreds and take your chances on longevity and suitability.
Spend a dozen or more and take your chances on longevity and suitability.
If you don’t like it, get something else. Make up stories to back up your choices.

From a slightly larger view, I don’t have dabbing friends I can sit around with, try things out with, hear opinions from, watch the drill, draw my own conclusions from said experiences, so I was hoping to fill in some of the blanks that experienced dabber friends would have filled without hardly trying.

I’ve had...three dabs, total? Under semi-chaotic conditions. No chance to observe and/or ask questions, or get suggestions or recommendations. Figured asking folks here might make up for my flat learning curve, but you say there’s no *there* there, so I’ll just make it up as I go along as usual, I guess, and be happy or get something else.

Simple is good...I’m just...surprised.

Now we know you know nothing about dabbing and dabbed 3 times. Go to youtube and just search those brands you named. Type toro grail and i am sure you will get a shit load of dab videos for an example.

If you know how to dab but want to buy the right things, buy a cheaper quartz bucket now for like $30 and start from there. you basically have two options if you want to get into this game. Buy it slowly, buy cheaper and once you feel comfortable, graduate to different types of brands and concepts. Or buy it all at once and go to town. I went with the latter myself.

Cuz each type has its pros and cons. It cant be that its too expensive or to fragile or too messy.

Take myself for example. I dont dab on anything less than sapphire. So i wont use slant tops. I only use inserts so that would eliminate reactors and daises and castles, CAD and even the crystalstar for the curved floor. Since I am a citizen of this wonderful country, I support American made product so i dont buy China glass. What lead me here is trial and error. buying and breaking. But thats me and me alone.

I can tell you to buy a Toro and Nautilus sapphire and call it a day but you will ask why and my answer is because i like it. its my preference. I like it and i am sure if you read through the other thread, i am sure i stated different reasons to why i liked toro the best a few times. At the end, its what i like. Someone else may want to use Quave and a Nautilus ruby because they like red and the letter Q and have the same exact results. this industry now has a shit load of marketing bullshit. Someone trying to hype some shit up by giving a fancy name because they added a bump or a slit or a color.

If Im not mistaken, we will start to see some new REM coming by the end of year. I think a greenish hue sapphire and a purple possibly which will cost more cuz of color.

 

[invertedisdead]

If you really want a simple quartz setup IMO going straight to an e-nail is the way to go. Torched nails are going to take a bit more experimentation that you might not be interested in.

It's great that you want to be an informed consumer, but keep in mind much of the differences between these devices will be subjective and preferential. I think most of us would suggest a 25mm banger quartz platform, and from there, there are various models as you've noticed, each with small features and benefits attempting to distinguish themselves from the rest of the market.

 

[bizwaxzion]

I'm relatively new to dabbing on quartz. I don't have a 'dab station' - but I do have a 'dab kit'. I won't spend hundreds on quartz or boro for that matter - so I shop on DHgate and appreciate [ok, drool over] IG - and I cringe every time @Shooby breaks another banger. Shopping DHgate allows me try many shapes and sizes of bangers (avoid all that color changing stuff), but my go-to is an XL HE gavel clone. When that one is soaking in cleaner - an XL Toro core reactor clone fills in. Both are 4mm bottom 2mm wall flat top bangers but the opaque is easier to cleanup after a dab. I can't say how my China bangers compare to the 'real thing' because I don't know anybody that has an HE or Toro - however - I can say that I get repeatable performance and tastey dabs - so I'm content for now. I have been following along with Shooby's sapphire insert and ruby sphere experiences but that tech is still firmly in the 'appreciate/drool over' category for me. Quartz inserts are readily available on DHgate also - best to buy from the same vendor the banger comes from for fitment. The idea behind quartz inserts is that you can load them cold and drop them into a hot banger for a 'uptemp' dab. Slowly heating the concentrate gives you an opportunity to get those low boiling point terps instead of just blasting them by dropping right on the hot surface. I did a lot more insert dabbing early on as it's more forgiving, but as I became comfortable with my setup I rarely use them nowdays. A banger is just a hot surface to vaporize oil that doesn't distort the taste - and that's available in many different ways and price points.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Now we know you know nothing about dabbing and dabbed 3 times. Go to youtube and just search those brands you named. Type toro grail and i am sure you will get a shit load of dab videos for an example.

I never meant to imply I knew anything other than what I’ve read...never occurred to me to check out YT. You have helped me cut thru a lot of BS and that’s a MAJOR help. I appreciate it!

If you know how to dab but want to buy the right things, buy a cheaper quartz bucket now for like $30 and start from there. you basically have two options if you want to get into this game. Buy it slowly, buy cheaper and once you feel comfortable, graduate to different types of brands and concepts. Or buy it all at once and go to town. I went with the latter myself.

I kinda did both. Got a solid rig from TAG, a 16mm flat-top banger w/ an inverted cone below the floor, a UFO cap to fit. Arrived today. Rig will be as permanent as glass can be, but just a small banger with great reviews, expecting it to be replaced / added to. Very happy with my starting gear so far.

Take myself for example. I dont dab on anything less than sapphire. So i wont use slant tops. I only use inserts so that would eliminate reactors and daises and castles, CAD and even the crystalstar for the curved floor. Since I am a citizen of this wonderful country, I support American made product so i dont buy China glass. What lead me here is trial and error. buying and breaking. But thats me and me alone.

I can tell you to buy a Toro and Nautilus sapphire and call it a day but you will ask why and my answer is because i like it. its my preference. I like it and i am sure if you read through the other thread, i am sure i stated different reasons to why i liked toro the best a few times. At the end, its what i like.

Seriously, you have dispelled much mystery, confirmed some suspicions, and in doing so helped me shed the feeling that I didn’t know enough. Again, much appreciated: time to level UP!

If you really want a simple quartz setup IMO going straight to an e-nail is the way to go. Torched nails are going to take a bit more experimentation that you might not be interested in.

It's great that you want to be an informed consumer, but keep in mind much of the differences between these devices will be subjective and preferential. I think most of us would suggest a 25mm banger quartz platform, and from there, there are various models as you've noticed, each with small features and benefits attempting to distinguish themselves from the rest of the market.

Hey, thanks for chiming in! I always knew that I was dealing with subjective experiences

For the time being, simply dabbing is going to raise eyebrows around here: roommates are non-participants, and basically cool, but this is all too weird for them...*glass alone* brings up judgment; dabbing, I’m going to keep under wraps as much as I can for now. As a convert to induction heating w/ my vapcaps, I’m in NO way down on the idea of e-nails, but it would be much harder to stay on the down-low if I went straight there, from go.

Y’all have given me more confidence in my choices for my initial set-up, so for now I’ll practice the Way of the Torch, pick up some Ti at some point, learn and grow....and when I move up, I’ll know *WHY*.

That’s worth a lot.

 

[Shooby]

lol yea... this last toro, i have to say, i didnt cringe. I just shook my head and ordered a replacement that i have only used once.

Nowadays, i bet nearly all quartz are made to GE214 standards. Whether its made here in America or China. It just comes down to quality of the build quality, customer service and price. I choose to support Domestically made products when it comes down to vaping over price.

With that said, even when i started my switch to quartz, i bought a few china quartz to use and try and break. I wasnt sure if i was going to like it over what i was currently using so i wanted to try on something cheap. Now they are in my garage or i gave a few away or both as i have many domestic quartz now.

Whatever you decided on, I always recommend having more that one quartz bucket on hand cuz they break. And break easily.

 

[ClearBlueLou]

Glass is one of those things I’ll have to save for another life (making / blowing, I mean), but “I know people...”. It was suggested to me after my order that it was probably China glass despite my own preference, but on close inspection I find no flaw, no sloppiness on display. It’s my sincere plan to support the artists by buying true domestic, but I have maybe $150 in examples of the various styles I plan to order, partly to see how fragile they are and how clumsy I am...but that’s for later.

A SPARE, OTOH, is front of mind!