Vaping newbie...

[evensis]

I'm sure you've heard this all before!

So after hearing about vaping from the mother in law, I decided to invest in a Flowermate v5.0S Pro. Problem is i'm more or less getting 0 vapour out of it unless I really crank the temperature. Not that I am burning the flower at all, i'm definitely getting an even looking brown (and just resembles dry tobacco at the end). It appears the only way I can get vapor production is by setting the pro to 420F and higher, which is nigh on combustion. However, based on the what i'm seeing I'm questioning the accuracy of the temperature sensor. My gut feeling is they have it sat on the heating element which is always going to give a highly inaccurate result, rather than having it at the top of the ceramic vessel. If I just wait for the display to tell me that the system is at the required temperature, and certainly between 380F - 410F, which should be the sweet spot, I get bugger all vapor but do get plenty of flavor. Only after waiting a little (which would definitely coincide with the ceramic heating up) and boosting the temperature to 420F does the vapor production start, but even then, comparing what I get out of it, with some of the YouTube reviews I've seen, i'm getting in the range of about 10% of their vapor production on the same model. Don't get me wrong, i'm definitely getting high but it's just not satisfying when I see others with an identical model getting a ton more vapor than I do! In terms of my process, I grind up the herb, as finely as possible, then lay it out on a bit of paper for 15 or so minutes to further dry it out before loading it up, and finally using the pokey thing that came with it, to push it down in the steel containers it comes with which is placed in the ceramic vessel before screwing the top on.

The next problem, last night I probably used at least 3 times more bud than I normally do as your regular bong head (your casual backi/bud mix), I would normally do about 5 bong rips in an evening. Based on what I read/saw before buying the vape (solid 5 hours reading reviews before buying!) I should be saving bud, but as it stands, the bong is far far more effective in delivering the THC which based on the science behind vapes should be absolutely not true. I most certainly don't want to continue smoking however as this morning I woke up with zip all asthma (yes naughty me I know) which was brilliant on so many levels. So definitely says to me this is the way to go for all sorts of reasons...

But don't get me wrong, last night I got mashed. However, there must be a way to reduce the amount i'm putting into this to get to the same effect as a bong rip and work out what i'm doing wrong where the usual temperatures don't produce anything, like I said the only thing I can think of is the temperature sensor is in a poorly designed spot or the temperature sensor is horribly inaccurate out of the box.

So, have a few questions!

- How long should I be waiting for the ceramic vessel to heat up properly as I clearly can't trust the temperature sensor?
- Should I be doing anything different before loading the bud?
- In terms of packing it down, is there a right or wrong way to do this?
- Taking a drag from it, I've read that it should be a very slow steady draw, similar to taking a puff off a cigar is that correct?
- After a while, when drawing from the device, it will get noticeably warm on the little plastic thing that goes on top to draw from. In my head, warmth = good, but it takes ages to get warm there, should this be something that happens quickly or not at all?
- Based on what I have said, is there a possibility that the vape I have is defective?

Thanks for reading, any advice would be most appreciated!

 

[kellya86]

All vape temp settings are a rough guide to be used as more if a scale, they can't place a temp sensor in your herb....

I do find the fm to be a bit of a hungry herb eater, try not filling the oven full, I only do half... it's enough....

Wait for it to heat up, then wait a bit more, give time between draws to allow heat soak..

Don't draw to fast, more airflow just cools the heater, slowly sip into your mouth, long, slow draws...

Packing is important.... the fm likes a firm pack in my opinion, not too firm, but firmer than most, do you get that???
Sort of a puk in the bottom...

Don't give up, the fm is a good little vape for the price, with a little practice and trial and error, you will soon get it....

fm does get warm, not a worry...

Hope this helped a bit, was wrote in a rush....

 

[Tommy10]

Hate to be that guy, but you might just have the wrong vape. Flowermate might save you bud if you're used to rolling fat joints. Although you're solution is not all that expensive. Go over to the vapcap thread here, very cheap great clouds can work in a bong and will be more efficient than smoking.
Also if you want to stick at this vape for a while, maybe try less? Load one bowl and stretch that out you will find you might be over doing it and wasting bud that doesn't need to be consumed. A session conduction portable is not going to hit you quickly, considering you combust with baccy which give a very quick head rush. Maybe set it at high, take a few good hits and set it down for 20 minutes, you might be surprised at how high you wind up!
Aslo try some different bud, some just doesn't offer as much Vapor although I don't believe Vapor is the be all and end all of quality, but I am also one of those who enjoys more of it. Given you smoke baccy/bud bongs I'll assume you're Aussie. Worth noting as sad as it is, on average our herb is nowhere near as good as most of the American/Canadian based reviews so it's unrealistic to expect some of the very impressive clouds you may see. Some of those reviewers have buds that would have 2-3 times the goodies of bud here.

Edit to add, I went from bongs mostly green although spun sometimes to a conduction portable and loved it, although I was packing 6+ .4 bowls a night which was okay but I did eventually work out the same high could be achieved in half as many bowls, just had to trust it was going to work. Although I could see how that may be hard without the visual feedback of big clouds.
Once more for the record, the $50 AUD vapcap is the closest thing to the bong ritual I have found (especially here where we pack 1 hitters) and I use it the most out of a pretty decent vape collection, it is almost my most preferred vape amongst my friends, who all smoke baccy/bud.

 

[evensis]

Thanks guys plenty of advice to take on!

@Tommy10 - Well we're both part of the Commonwealth, just separated by around 9 and a half thousand miles I'm in a surprisingly sunny Britain where there is no choice in bud, its just what your guys got the usual thing! Although the bloke I pick up off home grows all his stuff so no pesticides in sight! I don't mind spending a bit more on bud for my health if i'm honest, the lack of asthma this morning was wonderful.

I also have an ecig, which can put out 180 watts on a subohm coil, and quite easily make myself disappear from sight in a plume of vapour when set to a high wattage, although its for showing off more than anything as the lungs thoroughly disagree :-) Think this might be part of the trouble in that i'm comparing the two.

To be honest, since I've gotten older I'm not able to handle a bowl full of bud like I used to be able to. Which is why I have the backi mixed in, although must admit, a packed tobacco and bud bong first thing in the morning. Hello floor...

I haven't had too much trouble getting a good high from the flowermate, its just the lack of substance in the vapor and doesn't feel like im doing anything. Plus an awful lot of bud being used. Perhaps its more habit than anything? I've got another lot of bud which I shall give a whirl with and see how that vapes.

Would love to get the vape into my bong though, that would be utterly ace.

 

[kellya86]

@evensis I'm in sunny UK too. My flower mate makes huge clouds, I cultivate my own... nothing I can buy from the street can compare to my own... curing is very important and never done in the UK.

I cure for 90 days.

 

[evensis]

@kellya86, i would grow my own as id save myself a bloody fortune, especially at £10 a gram. But been put off ever since I heard the police helicopters have heat vision to spot out growing through the house. How do you keep the smell down? Walked past places before now that have honked of weed, and instantly knew what they had in there!

 

[VapourHaze]

Carbon filters for the smell. And i think police helicopters is bullshit. How much would that cost? Everybody's growing the stuff anyway.

It could be the quality of your material that is affecting cloud size. Ive never tried a fm .. i understand it has a weakish heater so dont draw too hard.

 

[1DMF]

@evensis you are correct, the police do use thermal imaging to see who's loft is glowing like a volcano, they also have hooks in with the utility company to see who's leccy usage just went though the roof!

But that's for cannabis farms, not the bedroom hobby grower for self medication, or so @kellya86 would have me believe

To be honest, I think it's down to who you are, where you are, what the coopers are feeling like, at the end of the day if they feel like nicking you they will.

And as we are professional vaperists, who like to measure things and keep stuff fresh, no doubt you have some scales and baggies lying about!

So you know if they wanted to they would claim 1 plant = 10 oz = 10k street value, because they always inflate the seizure street value... and then they will do you for dealing!

So I like you am very nervous about growing, and end up paying £250 an oz for random quality gear

Even if it was legal I probably wouldn't grow, I'm not green fingered so would prefer to go to a proper grower I could trust.

damn the UK and these draconian bullshit prohibition laws.

 

[kellya86]

The outside of my walk in wardrobe is the same temp as the room and house....

The helicopter won't see anything except maybe some warm air venting from the chimney, nothing too unusual...

I vent into the chimney breast and keep negative pressure at all times, so no smell can escape...

You can't get a custodial sentence for any less than 9 plants in UK now...

I am an obvious decent family man who works hard, pays tax, and wants an easy life, they can see I'm no trouble an leave me be,

My flowers are grown, cured, store, then vaped all within a few meters of each other, from seed to avb it bearley travels..

No bags, everything kept in safes and lock boxes, room is locked, kids can't access anything... as long as your responsible it's fine...

Oh and no firearms in the same property, they must be stored elsewhere...

 

[evensis]

Thought so! I know MS sufferers who have turned dramatically around when introduced to it, absolutely appalling that it is still not legalised at the medicinal level expecially when the drugs act was specifically created and termed for items of no medicinal value whatsoever. The law should have a test case done against it imo on its wording as it's clearly been proven within reasonable doubt at this point.

I agree with the draconian laws, unfortunately the house of lords are full of old codgers, and are all vastly out of touch with the public. The bulk are late 60's to 70's, so I don't think we have too long of a wait till they all die off or retire and get replaced with more in touch individuals. Imagine there will be some reform in the next decade if the US keeps at the pace it is with recreational legislation and expecially if it becomes Federal, as i'm sure you know, we love or rather the government love copying the Americans. Not sure if you saw the news article up north, where police have said they will seize plants that are evidently for percy, but take no further action than a formal warning. Again, depends on your local force, but with the austerity, its massively evident police numbers are hugely down, i'm honestly surprised crime hasn't lept.

Ultimately, they know prohibition doesn't work when the US banned alcohol in the 20's and reneged as a result. Have absolutely no idea why they continue to do it. But anyway!

How do you keep the stuff fresh? I go through a couple of grams every 7 days or so, so an oz would last me months. But it all noticeably starts losing its bite after around 5 days which is why I get put off spending up front for a load of it, that barely has any effect a couple weeks later.

Got a ton of baggies! I don't actually deal with dealers, I try to avoid it if I absolutely can. Always paranoid to go round one of their places and it gets raided while i'm there heh My best mate has been sorting it for years for me, he has some scales and tells me what i'm getting. Initially started at £10 for 0.75 (yep that tight!), but slowly dwindled away at the tight arsed dealers and found a gram for £10 which is where I am now!

An update to how i'm getting on, I got 3 sessions out of a single fill (about half way fill), occasionally getting vapor, other times getting lots of taste. It did its job that's without a doubt! I've found leaving it for a minute between pulls is definitely helping with the vapor production. Been debating cakes, wondering if the remnants from the vaporiser is usable?

 

[kellya86]

How do you keep the stuff fresh

Glass kilner jars and boveda 62% packs and complete darkness...

I can keep draw fresh for years...

I don't keep my flowermate avb as it's a bit too spent for me usually...

The flowermate is entry level, don't expect too much from it, an arizer solo would please you, and an arizer extreme q would amaze you, the flowermate for me is a filler vape until I get home to my other vapes, it's my 'don't give a shit' vape... only cost 37 quid on black Friday. ..

 

[1DMF]

Been debating cakes, wondering if the remnants from the vaporiser is usable?

It all depends on how much you kill your sessions. I get plenty medicated on not going too mad or to high a temp leaving nice light brown ABV (thought even the Ascent leaves nice brown ABV @396F).

This way I know my ABV is good for edibles, it's that potent that if my mate has run out, he'll have some of my ABV to tide him over, as he still smokes joints and there is even enough when combusted to give him a buzz.

Though like @kellya86 says, and as I found out myself from the nice folk on FC after messing with cheap Chinese crap, if you are serious about becoming a vape connoisseur, you need to consider investing in the right set up that works for you.

The FM is a good entry level that at least shouldn't poison you from plastic fumes, but there are much better vapes out there, that at first might seem pricey, but really are worth investing in.

 

[evensis]

What would you recommend as my next step up in the vaping world?

I am currently feeling quite medicated, and after not touching a bong for knocking on 48 hours, just goes to show how effective these things are; it's a noticeably cleaner high. Ecig in the other hand to handle the nicotine addiction... consider me converted!

 

[1DMF]

it's a noticeably cleaner high

You're definitely on your way if you can appreciate that

As for recommendations, you will get plethora of varying suggestions, and it all depends on so may factors.

Convection, Conduction, Cloud Production, Heat Control, Portable, DeskTop, Butane Powered, Battery Powered, Glass Air Path, Bag, Whip, Stem, Dry Herb Only, E-juice, Oils, Hash.... really the list is endless.

What do you want out of a vape? What is your budget (realistically knowing you're in for at least £200.00 with accessories and postage!) - there are some seriously expensive vapes out there!

Once you have your key requirements nailed then you can hone in on candidates that would meet your criteria.

Obviously my signature tells you everything you need to know about how I roll when I medicate

Edit: I forgot to mention

Ecig in the other hand to handle the nicotine addiction...

Getting a proper vape helped me kick the nicotine altogether, now I only vape the good stuff

 

[archangelz001]

I have a FMv5Pro and I have to admit that I think the temp on the display is low. I also have a FM v5Mini and when I set it to 385 I get just noticeable wispy clouds. However I have to set the Fm Pro to 400 to begin to see wispy clouds. I'm not a cloud chaser though. I grind 0.1 gm fairly fine and it will fill the heating chamber. Then I pack it with the included tool so that it's in the bottom half of the oven. You want it to be a firm puck, but not so tight you can't draw. I draw for 8-10 seconds slowly and then wait 15 seconds between hits for the oven to get back to temp. 5 or 6 hits gets me as high as I want to be. The herb becomes a medium brown with this process and I know there are still goodies left, but I usually don't like the taste if I turn it off and then later or the next day turn it back on, so I just discard (I don't save the ABV either - can't be bothered.)