Throat Hits/Draw speeds and a lost noob.

[GArcher]

Hi there,

I'm new to the vaping experience and could use a little guidance.

I bought a Hot Box vape because it was cheaper, pretty stealthy (matches my living room perfectly) and I had read that they were decent enough for the price. I had never vaped so didn't want to go all out at first.

I am wondering if I'm not quite doing it right though. First, I know that the speed of draw determines the heat that the herb is exposed to. However, I have heard various comments about how fast to draw. A moderate steady draw was suggested the most. However, it seems that unless I make it a point to draw slower, then there's like no throat hit at all. I can't really feel much of anything. On exhale, it's hit and miss on whether anything appears. I was exPerimenting a bit last night with it but just unsure what's normal for a vape. None if my smoker friends are vapers so nobody to try it out with either.

Should there be a throat hit? Should I see a noticeable cloud on exhale? Lastly, it seems like the first hit tastes excellent while the rest taste like burnt popcorn or peanuts. That normal or am i overheating or drawing too much at first? Really wish I had an experienced vaper nearby to show me the ropes.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

 

[caseball2051]

Ive never used a whip style vape before, but id suggest searching through the threads for whip based units. (Silver surfer, hot box, da buddha, vapor bros, etc)

There could be some tips there that will help you out.

Another good idea might be to watch some videos on youtube. If you can see what the people there are doing and emulate it then you should help your situation.

good luck with it! hopefully some people can provide better answers for you. Just givin you someoptions until those better answers come.

 

[tdavie]

Should there be a throat hit? Should I see a noticeable cloud on exhale? Lastly, it seems like the first hit tastes excellent while the rest taste like burnt popcorn or peanuts. That normal or am i overheating or drawing too much at first? Really wish I had an experienced vaper nearby to show me the ropes.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

Generally, the first hits will taste better than the last or later hits. At this point you're getting the lower bp terpenoids and other components. Completely normal, but if you want the better taste to last a bit longer, lower the temperature at which you start.

Whether or not you see a noticeable cloud on exhale depends on a large number of factors other than the temperature at which you have your vape set to. Quality of weed and lighting conditions are 2 important ones.

I wouldn't be too concerned about not seeing vapor; the important thing is 'are you getting the effect you want'? If so, ignore not seeing vapor.

Sounds like you're doing things right.

Tom

 

[rabblerouser]

There should generally be some throat hit and visible vapor. How much of each varies on the stuff you're putting in.

I'd try a bit slower and that'll be a little hotter. You should notice the green turning at least tan, some people go to dark brown even.

 

[GArcher]

Thanks for the suggestions. For the most part, most of my leftover stuff was a nice medium tan with a bit darker in some places where I was drawing too slow.

I've been reading a lot and wish I had found this board before I bought!

Any Hot Box users have any other tips or tricks? I figured I was on the right track because I did end up rather baked (creeped up on me suddenly) but just trying to get the most out of my herbal joy and my new toy.

 

[OhTheAgony]

I don't have a hotbox myself and I don't really know how hot it runs, but since it is a whipped type vape it should at least have some things in common with my SSV.

Besides draw speed I found that the amount of herbs you put in your wand also has a great impact on the effective temps you're getting. The more you put in, the closer it is to the heat source and the faster you have to breath to prevent combustion. Vaping a 'perfect bowl' for me personally depends a lot more on how much I put in then on how high I set my temp dial.

I'd say experiment with this a little bit, sounds like you're on the right track to me anyways. Also, don't be to afraid to combust. Just try to go as slow as you can with breathing, if that means you end up combusting you will have some cleaning to do, but at least then you'll know where the limits of your unit are.

 

[fubar]

Really wish I had an experienced vaper nearby to show me the ropes.
Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

You can learn a lot once you figure out how to 'see' the vapour. Bright light can really help - I used to shine one of those small but powerful LED flashlights into the glass bulb of the whip while I was first playing with an inexpensive convection (digivapor) machine.

With a strong beam of light you can actually see the (otherwise more or less invisible) whisps of vapour from the back of the screen and you can quickly train yourself to breathe at the 'right' speed to maximize vapour. I soon discovered that I was inhaling too fast so the powder wasn't getting hot enough to release the material you want - it's hard to go too slow IMHO.

so FWIW here's what I do:

Make sure the device is at operating temperature before starting.

Use extra dry herb - far drier than you would use to combust - so it easily crushes into a very fine powder, make sure it's evenly spread around on the screen and then (IMHO) lightly pack the powder down onto the screen (I use the flat end of a 1/2" diameter dowel) so it doesn't fall off when you attach it horizontally to the device - I've also found that without this step, I sometimes get relatively thin areas of herb powder where combustion sometimes starts - I suspect it's something about patches of low thermal mass but high airflow so burning can start more easily?

Start inhaling as slow as you can, while you shine that flashlight (hold the lens right against the glass bulb) across that little bulby part - look for white vapour whisps - once they start (usually almost immediately if the device is at the right temp and the herb is good!). Focus on adjusting the air flow to sustain a steady flow of vapour - suck hard and you'll see it go really thin - slow and it will be thicker and chunkier. I learned some outgoing breath control from playing woodwinds - with patience, I've learned to make swirly vapour vortexes by getting a steady flow at the right rate.....

Another use for that flashlight - after a couple of pulls, take the whip off (carefully - it's hot!) and shine the flashlight onto the powder to check that the colour is changing - once it's dark brown, you won't get much more vapour although you can get smoke depending on the quality of the thermostat. If it's still green you probably need to turn the thermostat up a notch and/or draw even more slowly.

I hope this helps?

 

[AGBeer]

On top of that - stir stir stir! In seeing that you cant see the path of the hot air flow over your herbs, it is important to stir your herbs between hits to ensure that it cooks evenly. I have found that once you have reached the point of combustion, the combusted herbs like to continue with their combustiness.

Keep at it and you will get the hang of it!