I use a standard Hand Held wand. NOT a fatty hand held wand
I like it because the air stream coming from the standar HC is a small jet stream.. and I can maneuver the wand every way I want and be very specific while I am at it.
The spherical can be aimed, but it does not need it as the HC is wide open like theHands Free version.
I find the standard wand more versatile, and also predictable.
Maintaining an SSV type Wand/whip
SSV- Silver Surfer. The heavy hitter in my home. I laughingly (and lovingly) tell people when they ask what room I use the SSV in, I say ” He has his own room”. Like anything, you must maintain the wand. Here we will touch upon the topic of saving the oils from the vapor, and a situation unique to wand/whip style vapes, “wand hash”.
Here’s my story… and I am stickin’ to it!—>
With my Silver Surfer, I do carefully go around the edge of the screen after each session(with the pick), and before the next filling, I stick a stiff tiny brush inside, and give it a once around. I then suck hard on the wand end( I never blow from the mouthpiece… this adds moisture into your tube and wand that will disrupt the ease of oil removal later). The dust in your mouth is soluble and inoffensive to swallow. After a day or maybe two of much use, I seperate the wand, mouthiece and hose.
The Wand with wand facing down always.. I use a chopstick to poke the screen out (downard to avoid crumbs sticking to oils in wand) The screen has a clay like substance caked onto it’s edges. Use a small knife to carefully scrape that off onto a receptacle. (it is very like hashish in flavor). Take the screen in a tweezer, and ignite it. It is very flammable. let it burn and blow it out now and then and sniff the vapors. Eventually it will stop lighting. When it is cool.. hold it and brush it off with a toothbrush on both sides… It is like new. Keeping wand upside down for now, get a q-tip and dip it in 91% Iso… swab upward around where screen met the glass (in the "
Mariah" until it is clean. You are now ready to clean. You can just clean as described or you can collect the oils as well.
I use Iso (91%) only to throw stems and debris from raw unvaped weed. I collect forever and use as a liniment. I sometimes use Everclear for actual cleaning of “parts” in that there is never remaining bitterness or toxins even if not rinsed like crazy. This also renders anything that you are working with consumable. ( I use it in my “vaped weed” reductions.). -
start with borasilicate glass mouthpiece. Pour a shot of everclear into it carefuly, using thumb and finger to keep either end closed. Shake it well. Set down mouthpiece. Then always manipulating things so you dont spill, you will carefully release the shot of everclear into the tubing, and carefully slowly raise one end and then the other so everclear has touched all inner walls a few times. Finally, put thumb on the bottom end of wand and pour from tubing into wand. set down tubing and then use fingers to seal ends of wand and shake hard. If you pour that everclear shot onto a dish and leave it out away from flame, it will evaporate in a short time, and you can wipe a paper in it and roll with it or collect and use the oil other ways( it is clear and clean!)
NOTE: I use 91% Iso and I vape the evaporated remains. The Everclear info is for those that fear handling Iso
Finishing the job Using hot water- I put a few drops of dawn into the mouthpiece, and fill with hot water. I shake vigorously, and then with the soapy water, I repeat the steps above… but after wards, I rinse VERY well with hot water… each of the 3 parts.
ReassemblyI take hose outside, and holding one end, I spin it around forcefully a few times to get the water out. I use my hand and seal the hose end against a vacuum cleaner (ShopVac) if I have no clean hose or am in a hurry, and let the vacuum suck through the tubing for 60 seconds. When you start reusing the hose and new oils coat the clean hose, it will not smell anymore- personally I do not replace my hose but... save the old ones. The glass is easy… I use my computer air sprayer for both pieces- takes a second. Dont forget after you put your screen back into the wand to pop the rounded side up so your herbs sit on a screen mound rather than in a screen depression. This is important for proper hot air circulation.
About the screen placement: I was first curious when I got my SSV as the screen was placed as described. I popped it down. I then got extra wands, and they all had screen mounded as I described. I read the manual, which said… “after inserting screen, be sure to flip it over before popping it into place.” I left the screens and tried, and got much better hits. I called 7th Floor to ask , and was told that yes.. the screens should be mounded , and now I see why. When you use the screen as a “u” shape… downward, the screen is already in contact with the glass at the edges(wand hash zone). This allows air flow through only the dead center of the wands orifice. When the screen is mounded upwards, there is only the screens very edge that faces downward that sits on the glass ( but is not nestled against it. This allows hot air to flow through more area of the herb sitting in the wand. My image here is crude, but you get the idea!
Avoiding Wand Hash Buildup Everyone has been talking about whether wand hash is worth smoking, and ways to collect it… ways to get rid of it and clean screens. I have a simple way to put off screen cleaning and wand hash buildup. Sometimes I am going to put in a long day, with my SSV going for 10 hours. I want constant and consistant hits. I do NOT want to disturb my THC oil buildup in the glass wand at all, therefore I do not want to poke my screen out to stop during my “workout”, and reinstall it. Always keeping the wand facing down as in the image below, I aim a clean dry paintbrush upwards, angled to where screen meets glass. holding the paintbrush steady, I twist the wand in either direction. I angle brush the other way, and twist in opposite direction. I then lift the upside down wand to my lips and suck forecfully. Don’t use air blower, it will disrupt the nice clean oil buildup-
remember we are not trying to avoid oil buldup, just wand hash! Do NOT blow through toward from the tube end down… you will only add moisture to the screen from your breath, defeating the purpose of a dry brush cleaning!
The wand in this picture started clean and is now on about hour 7 of constant nonstop use. This is the 5th time I have repeated the dry, upside down “brush and suck” cleaning.
(also- I am using carefully broken up tiny chips and pieces of herb and unbroken red hairs- no dust) You can see the clean oil buildup in the glass wand. In the shot below, you can see a screen, that is almost as good as new, with no residues built up in edges where glass touches screen.
When I do not have the time to stop and clean and work on my screen.... I want clear free flowing hits. I will still need to remove and clean or replace my screen… but not always!
How I set my wand down between hits, and not spill weed
touch link^
I use the soft padded case that my Silver Surfer came in. I am in the habit of leaving the wand there not only with herb, in between pulls, but when empty and waiting for me to return. This bag sits within arms reach of my SSV.
If you dont have your SSV bag, use any similar bag, or a basket lined with a towel. (even when sitting and holding whip between draws, I naturally roll the tube as you see it here, and hold wand facing up, but ready to sit in that bag)
I found that when I order wands I have a preference too. Although all the wands semm to be the same total length, the placement of the "
Mariah" ( ripple- where the screen sits) differs ever so slightly.
I prefer the one on the left. I can put a bit more in the bigger one if I want, plus I can use my breath control to “conduct” air flow… and when I slow down, I have that extra tiny fraction of an inch that helps me never toast the top. I also get more room to stir my “portion” upward after 1st hit, while it is still “clingy” without any close spills!
I like the paint brushes too. For a real “pro” brush, you can Google “angled eye shadow brush” and find these for from 2 – 6 dollars (soft)
For another great tool, that I got to clean my wands, and adjust other screens, check out
http://www.halfbakedgoods.net/vaporizer … -pick.html
Watch Wand/Whip Cleanup
God bless us all!