It's me again! As promised:
Extreme Q - and the mystical elbow pack (aka elbow pack 101)...
Ok guys, I'm going to explain the often perplexing elbow pack and attempt to put this lingering and often puzzling question to rest, for good. I'm going to explain this without the use of pictures, so focus on my w o r d s... [queue hypnotic music]. I believe in you, you can do this!
Note: So for those of you that wonder why nobody takes the time to answer this question in detail on how to actually do this; I finally know why. The reason? BECAUSE ITS EASY AND THEY'VE ALREADY EXPLAINED IT! And everyone knows that once the thing is in front of you, you'll figure it out on your own, really!
If you read my posts above you know I'm the new owner of an Extreme Q (EQ) and this was one of the questions I had as well (before I received my EQ). With that said...
EXTREME Q - HOW TO PACK THE ELBOW
Prerequisite: Put the cyclone bowl on top of the unit. Don't put anything in the cyclone bowl - its going to stay empty from now one - kapeesh? Turn on the unit, set it to 200c. No fan, just turn it on. Let it get to 200c, it takes less than a minute. No need to let the unit sit at this temperature for any amount of time, no need to percolate your bud. Just do what I say.
1) Grab an elbow - any elbow.
--The EQ ships with two elbows. One for the whip, one for the balloon. They are the exact same. They are the 90 degree glass pieces that sit on top of the cyclone bowl. The cyclone bowl is the glass that always sits on top of the EQ. The elbow is the piece that is most often taken on and off the EQ whether you load the cyclone bowl or elbow.
2) Turn elbow over (upside down).
--Look into the end of the elbow that sits in the cyclone bowl (not the end that connects to the whip or balloon). What will you see? You will see a screen. It is in a bowl shape screen. You can barely stick your pinky into this end of the elbow, and then you will hit that screen. Its a curved screen, and it fits the rounded tip of your pinky perfectly. Got it?
3) Put material into elbow, on top of screen
--If you've ever used a bong, its just liked loading a bowl - no different! Except that it barely takes any to fill. Its small, and not very deep. Now pack that material down ever so lightly with your pinky or the squared end of the glass stir stick that ships with the EQ. It won't take much pressure - I barely tamp it down, flip it over, and nothing falls out.
4) Flip elbow back over, put on top of cyclone bowl.
--This is what you always do. But this time you have nothing in the cyclone bowl. So just put the elbow on. DO IT.
5) Fill balloon or use wand
--Again, that's up to you, but your ready. Start at 200c whether on a whip or balloon. Depending on the quality of your bud, you can fill at least 1 balloon with vapor or take 4-15 good vapor hits from the whip. Again, it depends on the material (strain, age, etc). From what I've gathered, how much vapor and how thick it is (white milky cloud vs clear vapor) YOU get depends on what your burning, not how your doing it (so stop thinking your screwing something up). When you feel like you've depleted your material, turn it up in 5c degree increments, 200c to 205c (etc), and see if you get any more vapor. From what I read, most people stop at 210c.
And that's it! See, it's easy!
So why elbow vape?
Again, summarizing what a lot of people have already said, it's really up to you, but a lot of people swear by it compared to the cyclone bowl method. The cyclone bowl method is the normal method, the elbow method is considered not using it really as intended (or maybe Arizer did intend this as a choice, not sure), but getting better results. Long story short, both methods work, but give you different results. It's nice to have the option though, as they have different purposes and different results. Read on...
---
Pros to elbow method:
-All your material is packed into a tiny area and it can't move. All the hot air is forced through all you material at once, in a much smaller cavity then the cyclone bowl. The result is thicker and quicker vapor. You can disagree with this, and you can also suck my whip.
Cons to elbow method:
-You use up an elbow a lot quicker then a cyclone bowl. Why? Because it holds WAY less then the cyclone bowl. Which means you have to repack your elbow more often. With that said, you may not even make it past 1 elbow pack!
Pros to cyclone bowl:
-Set it and forget it. You can put a lot more material in the cyclone bowl, which means you won't be getting off your ass as much. This is probably good for groups of people sharing your epic vaporizer.
Cons to Cyclone bowl:
- This method could take you longer to get to your finish line as the vapor may not be as concentrated. You'll still extract the same amount of THC from your material; it may just take longer to do it.
---
Whats the difference between the cyclone bowl and elbow?
--The cyclone bowl is like a big round globe. The heat comes up from the bottom, the material dances and spins around like a bingo ball machine, and in theory the heated air touches every side of each little piece uniformly. Vapor releases and continues out the top of the globe into your whip or balloon.
--The elbow sits on top of the cyclone bowl (or globe). It has a little screen pocket to stop any stray material from leaving the unit and flying into your lungs. That little pocket can be stuffed with material. All the hot air goes right past the empty cyclone bowl and smacks right into your packed wall of material all at once. And BAMMO your hit with a thick blast of milky vapor. Depending again on your material and how well you read my guide above.
---
Other methods
--Some people only pack the elbow screen with fresh bud. Once that bud is used (ABV or Already Been Vaped), they dump it in the cyclone bowl and pack the elbow with fresh material. Yes, they BOTH can be used at the same time. I just blew your mind.
---
Q and A:
1) Question: If you pack the elbow with bud, how does that affect the air flow? Won't it restrict the air path to the point where it will clog the tube?
Answer: No. Really, I was surprised. The air goes right through the bud in the elbow. Its M A G I C .
2) Question: If you pack material into the elbow, then turn it upside down, what keeps it from falling down into the cyclone bowl?
Answer: Well hopefully you packed it down enough not to fall out when you flipped it over. It really doesn't require much, just a very gentle tamp. Why does it not fall out? Like I said already, M A G I C.
3) Question: How hard is this really? Will I figure it out once I get my unit?
Answer: Dogh! Did you not read this post? It's so easy a 2yo could figure it out. No, you won't screw it up, I swear, you can't! I take that back.
4) Question: Won't you go through a lot more weed that way, DUDE? I mean if your frequently refilling the elbow, why not just use the cyclone bowl?? What a waste of material?
Answer: WHAT? No no no. You don't use MORE material, your just using less at a time. Its like switching the gas tank on a car. It gets the same MPG, just a smaller tank. And some say its more potent. It can be, but really your just getting your material in you faster. And MAGIC, don't forget the MAGIC.
5) Question: I still don't get it.
Answer: Seriously? You were suppose to get vaked AFTER reading this. Go sober up and read this again.
---Hey, Epic. What a fresh breath you bring to our community. LMFAO. Welcome!
I hope that helps. If I can answer any other questions or if there is anything I missed, please say so.
Cheers and happy vaping.
