A vaporizer is an inhalation device used to release the active substances of organic materials in a form of vapor through the application of heat without Combustion.Used for Therapeutic or Recreation purposes, Vaporizing,(the act of using a vaporizer) should NOT be confused with traditional smoking.In the Smoking World there are three Basic Substances that get Vaporized: Dry herbs, concentrates & E-liquid.Each substance requires a Different type of Vaporizer. This Article is going to break down the basic types and provide a brief Overview of how the vaporization process works.
Dry herb vaporizers are used for baking out ground up herbs. It is easy to visualize by comparing it to logs in a fireplace. When you first place logs into a fireplace,a number of gases are released before the log ignites. At different temperatures different psychoactive gases are released. Dry herb vaporizers work in this same fashion, releasing the active components from the herbs at a lower level than their combustion temperature. Many of the most effective dry herb vaporizers use convection technology to heat the air surrounding the herbs. They are like miniature versions of kitchen ovens, heating the herbs until all of the gases are dried up. Some of the most popular vaporizers on the market are the Volcano and the PAX3. The Volcano is a desktop vaporizer and the Pax 3 is a portable handheld vape. Both styles of vaporizers work in a similar fashion; however, desktop vaporizers are often capable of holding more herbs and producing more vapor.
Concentrate vaporizers work in essentially the same fashion as dry herb vaporizers; however, they often deal with ceramic or titanium dishes that surround a primary heating element. Unlike vaporizing herbs, which leave a dried out product behind, most of the viscous content of the concentrate completely vanishes by the time it has been vaporized. This is because concentrates are crystallized,extracted oils of the plant where the actual essences that get vaporized are located, thereby eliminating most of the plant material. Most concentrate vaporizers come only in handheld, portable units and tend to work poorly in desktop vaporizers.
E-liquid or E-Juice vaporizers are most commonly seen with E-Cigarettes. They work similar to a fog machine, heating up a liquid to its boiling point. The heating element in these oil vaporizers often work either by dripping liquid directly onto hot coils or through the use of a tank that pulls the liquid automatically onto the coil. Oil vaporizers leave behind the least residue, with most of the oil being evaporated during the heating process.
There are also hybrid vaporizers which can work with all three different types of substances. These usually require special types of heating elements, or have the ability to swap heating elements around. It is important when purchasing a vaporizer to make sure that you get the right type of vaporizer for the material that you are looking to use.
