bean said:
Hubby and I are a couple of baby boomers who thought vape would be better for us. I ordered one of each of the iolites for Xmas. We don't like either one. the hits are so weak. Bought them from 1% has anyone ever had any returns to these folks?
Please give me all of the help you can. Going out to combust. yuck.
thanks. Bean
Howdy, Bean, welcome to the fun. First off, you're not alone, far from it. There's a very large (and growing) bunch of us ladies and gentlemen of a more traditional time who have come to understand they are not really immortal. And that smoking *anything* is not a good idea if you really did want to live forever (or even at this point to live more comfortably). Smoking is not cool, avoiding it is. Good on ya. Keep at it, the rewards are there.....we're here to assure you that happened to us. Few indeed (if any) want to go back to combustion once they understand and master the new art.
That said, since most folks seem to end up very happy with their Iolites so it stands to reason that the unit and it's abilities are working for them. The chances you got two defective units seems small indeed. I'm sure you can sort it out, hey a whole not of folks with less going for them do so all the time, right?
You need to understand that vaporizing is not the same as smoking. Don't bring your smoking based expectations to the party. When you smoke, your one and only body gets poisoned by lots of stuff better avoided. You get a rush from this that's doing you no good. Guys 'get loaded' from bowls of tea and other stuff that has zero THC all the time (or at least think they do), right? That won't be happening when you vaporize, hopefully. It's more like eating it, the effect is isolated and can 'sneak up on you'. It is very real none the less, which is why we buy all this funny gear and keep at it.
Get some good bush to try out. Something 'in the high teens' THC content wise if possible. Grind it fairly fine, much finer that for a bowl or joint. Error on the side of too fine. You need *surface area* to work, small pieces. This is important, big chunks will slowly roast giving low production over a longer time. We're Americans. We want it all, and right now! Right? Fill the bowl up, we want a fair bit of material in there so each little bit can cook slower and the total will be enough for us. But the hot air needs to flow easily though and past each bit, don't pack it too tight. While it varies a lot with the bud you're using, try something around 200 or 250mg (a fifth to a quarter of a gram) perhaps. Load it in the body, tank up the gas (I weigh my units to determine this, they hold a bit over 3 grams of fuel for a 85 gram total (which varies a bit from unit to unit, a couple grams in my case)). Fire that puppy up and wait.
While it's heating, think about what we need to do. Eventually the aluminum well the bowl fits into will come to working temperature heating the bowl and load with it. However, the bowl and load will still be too cool to work, we must draw air slowly through (where it gets heated to working temperature) and through our weed to do the important work. The heat has to go from the body to the air, then to the herb. Without the proper airflow it's not happening.
Ready? OK, think about what we need to do next: Draw air thought at the right rate. Too slow, no joy. Too fast, it's going to cool off too much loosing joy on the other end. After it's cycled a time or two, draw very slowly (not like toking up at all, more like smoking the hubbly bubbly). Don't expect 'huge clouds', that's what the kids and recreational smokers are into, we want the THC without the garbage. You can hardly see your exhaust if you're doing it right. Remember, most of what used to make smoke is being left behind in the herb. The volume of herb used is way down, the visible vapor even further. You need good light to see it, even with your good glasses. Trust me. Remember, no rush, you're not being poisoned.
You should taste it some at first, but that (lighter) stuff is the first to 'boil off', most of the THC comes off later with little or no taste of it's own. But it is being boiled off, toke it right and it's yours! Give it time to recover temperature, remember if it drops a dozen degrees or so production will stop while you still draw warm tasteless air through. One hit per cycle (every 45 seconds or so) seems a good place to start. After 20 or so draws it should be spent and you should be medicated without getting hit over the head. Shut it off, put it down, wait a bit and enjoy. Again, you can't trust your usual clues as most aren't there. But the THC will be, it has to have gone somewhere.....
Your problem is using an entirely new technique to get a new result, both at the same time. Those of us who already know what to expect from vaporizing are half way there and can easily get a handle on whatever device we're given.
Another couple of ideas are worth considering IMO (I often do both). First off, the Iolite 'Optimiser'. Yes, I know, more money for something that doesn't work, but many of us find it does increase surface contact and much improve production even if it does take up some space in that tiny bowl. Makes cleaning it out a snap as well. I also address the 'lack of taste' issue with some (usually 50 to 100mg) fine ground bubble hash in the bowl. I split the weed load in half, put the first half in evenly, then sprinkle the hash on top and follow it up with another layer of weed (which soaks up the goodness when the trics melt). Works great, IMO. Economically double or more the THC delivered and gives some fun taste in the process. If you can get bubble hash at your local provider, give it a try. Here $20 grams as high as 50% THC happen fairly often, I like to keep a few grams handy. I find I get two such 'spiked bowls' per gas charge (each burns about 1.3 grams of fuel over 20 minutes). My usual charge is 125mg (1/8 gram) of top shelf bud finely ground (I use a $15 coffee grinder a gram or two at a time) for about 20mg of THC with say 50mg (1/20 gram) of 50% hash for another 25 or so doubling the available medicine. Sometimes even a bit more hash. We 'only' need to get a fraction of that 40 or 50mg (say five or a bit more). I usually get two sessions per bowl. I switch it off after say 10 tokes and sneak a few more as it cools off saving the rest for later. Later it starts up slower but still delivers the goods.
Anyway, you're on the right track and you're in good company. Everyone falls off the horse early on, get up, dust yourself off, and get back on. Beats walking I'm tellin' ya. Come back for more free advice, but PLEASE don't go back to the dark side.....you know it's not a good thing to do if you want to live forever.
Best wishes.
OF
Edit: Hey, one other thought, if you've waded through all that rambling above, you've proven your intent and willingness to work it out. Load it up and get with the program. As they say, "come on in, the water's fine".
