Water piping your vape wastes a lot of THC

vacuole

Member
I always filter my vapor through an inch of water in a glass bong. I'm probably losing some cannabinoids, since the water feels slightly tacky afterward, but my sinuses get uncomfortably dry otherwise.

For those of you who use water filtration in order to moisten the vapor, I recommend this trick I learned recently: microwave the water on high for 10 seconds (per 50ml) so it's nice and hot before pouring it into your bong. This results in a moist, steamy hit that is ironically much smoother than cold water or ice. I can't detect any difference in the strength of the high.
 
vacuole,

lwien

Well-Known Member
vacuole said:
For those of you who use water filtration in order to moisten the vapor, I recommend this trick I learned recently: microwave the water on high for 10 seconds (per 50ml) so it's nice and hot before pouring it into your bong. This results in a moist, steamy hit that is ironically much smoother than cold water or ice. I can't detect any difference in the strength of the high.
I can definitely detect a difference in the strength of the high. I get higher. :/ (shades of Sly and the Family Stone).

For a more in-depth discussion on using hot water, check here >> http://www.fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?id=2584
 
lwien,

vacuole

Member
Great link Lwien. Right after I posted my comment above, I happened to find another thread where you mentioned hot water hits, so I guess it's not as new a method as I thought. Still a great tip though.
 
vacuole,

max

Out to lunch
BL4sT said:
I'm a long time bong user. If something is lost in water, it's not noticable.
Maybe not to you, but I noticed it many years ago, during my bong using days. And that was way before any study was done. I will take exception to the "wastes a lot of THC" opinion though. It's not a lot, and if you take enough hits, you may indeed not notice the difference. But water does trap some THC. There's no denying that.
 
max,

lwien

Well-Known Member
max said:
But water does trap some THC. There's no denying that.

True, but for me, the additional benefits of using hot water more than makes up for any loss of THC and in fact, provides me with a high that is higher than going straight from the vape. However, if I use cold water, I too noticed a high that was a bit less than if I didn't use a bong at all.
 
lwien,

Nosferatu

Well-Known Member
Just my thoughts from my experience. I use an LSV through water.

Cold water = I can notice the high is missing something and I would need about a hit more to make up for it, not always though so its hard to say, depends on the temp maybe.

Hot water = This way feels as if there is no water, there isnt the dulling effect of the buzz I get with normal temp water.

No water = Best taste, and no potency loss.

BUT the differences of each are probably only within 5 -10% of each other so its hardly noticeable. And I doubt itsonly THC that gets trapped, there are many other chemicals, who knows what exactly we lose with cool water, but I think general concencus is people can notice a tiny difference, I sure can.

AND FUCK Google chromes worthless spell check, cmon its Google after all!
 
Nosferatu,

crawdad

floatin
the release of thc is done when raising the temp of the herb, so perhaps the cold water is cooling it down too much such that the absorption in your body is now lower...maybe thats it? (thinking out loud)
 
crawdad,

OO

Technical Skeptical
hereatlast said:
Further, I don't think its fair to apply any studies that are specific to combustion onto a vaping scenario.
i disagree, the only part of the study that was applied was in regard to the THC being lost to water, which is no different in either scenario, but what was being evaluated was the disparity in temperature due to the differance in combustion temps and vaporization temps.

water will absorb heat from the air being sucked through it, and in turn condense out vapors. Which specific vapors will condense out is mostly related to the temperature of vaporization of the specific compound, and the temperature at which the vapor is at.

lets say yout have a sample of vapor composed of 50% THC and 50% CBD. all of it is at

THC has a boiling point 314*F
and CBD has a boiling point of 356*F (both numbers are not exact)

here is a temperature VS. heat in phase diagram of water, just as example.
heat.gif

the point of this diagram is to illustrate how phase is heat and temperature dependant, not just one or the other (it's also pressure dependant as well, but we will ignore that).

so both are vapors above their boiling points, imagine that the water removes a uniform amount of heat from all vapors within the mixture (not realistic, but bear with me).
lets assume the water removes enough heat to bring the temperature of all of the vapor to 330*F.
what is left in the vapor mixture? pure THC.

it is with this concept that I have come to the theory that the water will remove higher boilers like CBD, leaving a high THC/CBD ratio left over.

now imagine your vapor mixture is initially at a temperature of 320*F, and now you begin to cool it by sucking it through water. the chances of you loosing THC are much higher than if the vapor was initially at combustion temps (well in excess of 400*F).

one variable that isn't mentioned is the amount of THC lost due to combustion (some studies assume 50%, but i think that it will vary greatly), but it is generally safe to assume that some is lost because it is burnt(oxidized) into an inactive compound. using proper vaporization techniques, combustion should not occur, and therefore, the initial quantity of THC should be higher when vaping versus smoking.

Warden Trance said:
Just save the water for a long, long time and drink it on an empty stomach. Problem solved.
ah, but what about the the condensed vapor that is suspended in the air as a fine mist?

i haven't seen any evidence regarding the lungs' ability to absorb a mist vs. a vapor, but i find it hard to believe that it is as efficient at absorbing this mist as it is at absorbing a vapor.
 
OO,
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