Discussion on Inserts

[FlyingLow]

I don't know why, but I've been hesitant to make the jump to using inserts.
Please, tell me everything you know about inserts and why I should be using them

Would love some feedback, what exactly is improved when using an insert? Is it flavor? Vapor production? I would imagine that it would be difficult to notice any real difference when using a quartz insert versus using a quartz banger directly.

Are you all dropping big money on ruby inserts, or other exotic materials? Is it worthwhile?


I am probably most interested in inserts to simply prolong the life of my fancier bangers.



With those basic questions out of the way, how do you prefer to use your inserts?

Do you let it rest hot and ready in an enail?

Do you put a loaded insert into a banger and cold start?

Do you put a loaded insert into a hot banger for a different sort of cold start?



All advice, tips, tricks and techniques are welcome! Post up your setups.

 

[MinnBobber]

@FlyingLow , thanks for starting this.
Especially interested in ?? Can you insert cold loaded insert into hot banger??

Ruby etc is so pricey and need one worry about this as a thermal shock event??

 

[Kins]

The first time I heard of them was with concentrate e-rigs.....The guy from Puffco said they are used in the electronic dab rigs because they only have so many temperature settings. If you want something a little higher or lower, that is the reason for the inserts. To me that makes them not worth the money and also not needed. You've already got that control with an enail.

 

[invertedisdead]

Been dabbing off sapphire and ruby inserts for a few years now, IMO everything is better they literally pay for themselves since they put more concentrate in your lungs and less in your rig. My latest is a 710gems Blue Sapphire insert.

Usually I just have it in the enail ready to rip, but lately I do torched cold starts with my sapphire insert, the heat retention is ridiculous I get so many quality hits off one heatup. Think I'll fire one up right now just thinking about it

Quartz is better straight from a banger than a quartz insert IMO, more surface area that way.

Also outside of the colorful Adapt Tech stuff, the prices are all fairly affordable from any of the other sellers.

 

[FlyingLow]

Thank you inverted!
...I admit I had a bit of thermal shock when I saw the price tag on that blue sapphire!

Your post does make me want to step right past quartz inserts and make a run with Ruby ... it is more my budget.
710gems was the first I saw of faceted... what is the benefit of faceted verses a smooth wall?


What roll does wall thickness play with an insert?
I ask as I noted Evan Shore offering 1mm or 2mm thickness options.

 

[invertedisdead]

Thank you inverted!
...I admit I had a bit of thermal shock when I saw the price tag on that blue sapphire!

Your post does make me want to step right past quartz inserts and make a run with Ruby ... it is more my budget.
710gems was the first I saw of faceted... what is the benefit of faceted verses a smooth wall?


What roll does wall thickness play with an insert?
I ask as I noted Evan Shore offering 1mm or 2mm thickness options.

that thermal shock line is hilarious!
Yeah the blue one did cost a few more pennies!! But rosin is so expensive in California it's worth it to me.

No real performance benefit to faceted, its just kind of cool aesthetically.
Wall thickness would change the thermal mass a bit.

Cold starts with a gem insert take a little longer to heat that mass than a cold start dab straight off the quartz floor, but the flavor, vapor production, heat retention, & vapor efficiency is better IMO! My buddy @biohacker got me into the cold start gem hits and they are solid!

 

[FlyingLow]

Fuck... you and Bio have always provided the best of advice... thanks for talking me into spending more!!!

 

[Cheebsy]

Thanks for this thread @FlyingLow

Im very inexperienced when it comes to dabbing, I picked up a banger with quartz insert recently, and assumed I put the loaded insert into a hot banger. I've had 2 of the most satisfying concentrate hits this way but I struggle with consistency. I use a torch but recently bought an enail controller from a member here and have another banger and inserts on the way from the gate that are compatible with the coils I have.

Am I doing it wrong putting a cold loaded insert into a hot banger?

I like cold start dabs but don't really have a good handle on how to do it well, with or without an insert.

 

[FlyingLow]

It is all about timing, I error on the side of less heat. You can always go back and add more heat, but you cant go backwards if you overtorch and scorch it.

For consistency, it also helps to use timers or count. I tend to torch for 1-3 seconds after concentrates start melting, then remove heat while drawing. To get your ideal dab, your count may vary.

Also, check out the Concentrate for Noobs thread, there is a ton of great info in those pages.
Ask many questions.

 

[invertedisdead]

Thanks for this thread @FlyingLow

Im very inexperienced when it comes to dabbing, I picked up a banger with quartz insert recently, and assumed I put the loaded insert into a hot banger. I've had 2 of the most satisfying concentrate hits this way but I struggle with consistency. I use a torch but recently bought an enail controller from a member here and have another banger and inserts on the way from the gate that are compatible with the coils I have.

Am I doing it wrong putting a cold loaded insert into a hot banger?

I like cold start dabs but don't really have a good handle on how to do it well, with or without an insert.

You might consider using an IR gun for that method.

Putting a cold loaded insert into a hot banger is often referred to as an "insert drop"
A cold start is starting with everything at ambient temperature.

Consistency can be tricky to nail for insert drops, a timer can also be a useful tool. IMO cold starts are easier to perfect, there can be some technique involved for doing cold starts off quartz but I find them a lot more forgiving with cold starts off my sapphire insert - takes a bit longer to start boiling but harder to go too far, and a lot more heat retention which minimizes the need of reheats considerably.

When I do cold starts I just heat the banger until the oil in my sapphire insert comes to a moderate boil, then I cap it and slap it!
A little trickier going straight off the banger floor (quartz) but easy enough to get a hang of with some practice - I recommend torching the sidewalls first to reduce the tendency for oil to climb the walls, and then start heating from the bottom to get it to the vapor phase.

 

[Cheebsy]

Thanks @invertedisdead you have a brilliant way of explaining things. Love the tip about heating the sides! Never tried that before.

I've never had any luck reading my temps with the IR gun, I don't think it likes the clear, shiny surface.

I've been getting better consistency lately having recently got a bigger torch and using timers, but I still can't repeat it every time.. I guess I need more practice.

Going to give those cold start tips a try, thanks again to you both

 

[Vaporware]

@invertedisdead Is it a bad idea to have a cap on from the beginning with a cold start for some reason?

I don’t have a banger, but I’ve considered trying a cold start on the VRod, and at least in that case I’m afraid I’d lose a lot of vapor without the cap due to the relatively shallow dish.

I’m sure I’ll try a banger eventually, but with a fairly low tolerance concentrates can be a little much if I’m not careful, so I haven’t bothered yet.

 

[invertedisdead]

I've been getting better consistency lately having recently got a bigger torch and using timers, but I still can't repeat it every time.. I guess I need more practice.

One of the tricky parts of using a torch is that the heatup times will change as the fuel level depletes, so there’s a bit of an art and a science to it

With the enail, you can set the banger to a higher temperature, and then drop in a cold loaded quartz insert for a more consistent drop experience, you just need the temp on the higher end for these as the nail is pretty hot when doing a torched insert drop.

@invertedisdead Is it a bad idea to have a cap on from the beginning with a cold start for some reason?

Some people don’t recommend it, claiming it can result in breaking a glass carb cap. I’ve done capped cold starts a lot of times and never had an issue. As long as someone isn’t literally torching their carb cap I can’t see it being much of a problem. When I use my enail these days, I almost always preheat the cap anyways.

With the VROD there’s definitely no concerns with breaking the carb cap, but with that much mass I think it’s better to do an uptemp starting at a temperature on the lower end instead of starting from cold. Maybe ~300F or so as a starting point.

 

[darbarikanada]

this is from Leafly's 'visual guide to taking the perfect dab':

Tip: Use a quartz insert to keep your banger clean, extend its life, and to never take a dab that’s too hot.


An insert is a small bucket typically made from quartz or other precious heat-retaining materials like ruby. These small buckets fit inside your banger and will help keep an even temperature for vaporization, while also keeping your quartz clean by avoiding chazzing or devitrification.


Once your banger is hot, simply drop in the insert and cap your dab. Then give it a few seconds as heat transfers from banger to insert and gradually heats the dab to the right temperature.

Dosing and applying dabs is easy as you can preload them into the insert and drop it right in. They’re easy to clean and you can keep a few around and use them interchangeably. They’re great for dab seshes with friends!

 

[FlyingLow]

Evan Shore is releasing some interesting inserts this weekend... they are essentially miniature quartz jars. Literally a quartz insert with a threaded top and each comes with a plastic cap. Check out @evanshorebangers

 

[FlyingLow]

These quartz inserts are pretty fucking awesome.

We have all scraped the floor of a concentrate container to collect all the leave-behinds stuck to the glass... Not anymore!
Just drop into your favorite banger and vape EVERYTHING. Threaded cap for travel or storage.

 

[EuroVapeSim2]

These quartz inserts are pretty fucking awesome.

We have all scraped the floor of a concentrate container to collect all the leave-behinds stuck to the glass... Not anymore!
Just drop into your favorite banger and vape EVERYTHING. Threaded cap for travel or storage.

Woah that looks like a great idea, I really hate the scrape at the end of a jar with more saucy consistencies.

Does anyone have experience with the fadespace inserts against quartz/ruby inserts? I tried their aluminium nitrate insert at a sesh once and I really enjoyed the flavour and how smooth it was, price seems pretty steep though.

 

[FlyingLow]

I just had my first ruby experience, and must admit I was impressed with a single small pearl... Makes me really want a full ruby insert.
Last night, was using with a Dnail halo and was spinning that ruby around like a washing machine!! I am dropping temps and finding all new flavors.

 

[MegaMan2k]

Woah that looks like a great idea, I really hate the scrape at the end of a jar with more saucy consistencies.

Does anyone have experience with the fadespace inserts against quartz/ruby inserts? I tried their aluminium nitrate insert at a sesh once and I really enjoyed the flavour and how smooth it was, price seems pretty steep though.

Currently waiting for S-tier to be delivered (aluminum nitride) been dabbing on quartz for years, will report back if i find it better or worse...

 

[FlyingLow]

I could not resist... got an Evan Shore quartz insert jar arriving soon, can't wait to pair it with my deep dish bangers!

 

[MegaMan2k]

Been having some issues with my current evan shore banger, rippled floor, seriously chazzed after just 3-4 months of use, impossible too keep clean because of the ripples its like resin is hiding on all the edges lol.

 

[FlyingLow]

Interesting you say that, I avoid textured bangers for just that reason.

 

[strech]

I've noticed bigger clouds and more fulfilling dabs. My bangers stay cleaner. You still get a bit of dirty around the rim of the insert on the banger. Even with good qtipping.

This picture is taken after about a gram of sugar has been ran through it. And only dry qtipping.

 

[SonicBacon]

I like doing the drop tech style with inserts and then after the dab, while it is still hot, I drop the insert directly in to a tub of iso and it practically cleans itself.

I use quartz inserts because I can’t afford anything nicer, but I love hearing about the saphire and ruby inserts.

 

[FlyingLow]

Sonic~ Do you not worry about thermal shock going from a hot banger to cold ISO?



Thanks for bringing this up Stretch!
Dry Vs Wet Q-tipping.

What is everyone's preference? I tend to maintain my quartz with exclusively dry tipping- except when things get too scorched and it requires a little extra effort/ISO to clean up.