you will notice the temperature slowly, and then rapidly, decreasing as the heating element cools down. It may seem as though something is broken, but the safety device will reset after 15-20 minutes, once the unit cools below 90 degrees or so. This safety feature may be particularly problematic for people in Arizona attempting to use the machine outdoors during the summer.

*Just something to think about*

The cooling fan is the last piece of critical equipment that you should be familiar with; it needs to be examined about once a month for rampant dust bunnies, hair, and dirt, which should be regularly cleaned to prevent clogging the inlet or any of the vaporizer’s other air vents. VCR or computer cleaner spray can be used to remove dust, and beyond that, an air compressor can be used to carefully blow dirt out in the case of severe dust infestation.

*Benefits to you*

I’m sure you are aware of the many health benefits of vaporizing as opposed to smoking; these include the absence of carbon monoxide, tar, creosote, and other carcinogens, as well as the benefits to those around you, who are not exposed to second-hand smoke, as a result of your choice to use a vaporizer. 

Using a vaporizer also means that you may leave seeds and stem material in your vaporizing mixture, since these things won’t vaporize or otherwise influence the quality of the vapor you create.  Yet another advantage is the fact that you can effectively assay the quality of any material you may choose to vaporize.  If there is no volatile constituent to the material in the first place, then you will not notice any vapor when the material is heated; it’s as simple as that.

*Unpacking and setting up your new vaporizer*

After you get your vaporizer home, be sure that you have received these five items in your new vaporizer kit: the vaporizer itself, power cord, hose, bowl, and the mouthpiece. If any of these parts are missing or broken, please notify your retailer immediately.

“Plug in, turn on, tune out.” Now for the fun part—the assembly and use of your new vaporizer:

1.)     Unfurl the power cord, plug it in to the back of the unit, and then plug the other end into the wall.

2.)     Next, you will want to turn the vaporizer on and check the temperature. To do this, simply turn the power switch to the “ON” position and observe that the display is reading whatever temperature the unit was at when you first turned it on. Within a few seconds this temperature reading will begin to rise swiftly toward whatever temperature the machine is set at. To check what the temperature setting is, simply press the “SEL” button once, and the display will go from showing the actual temperature to showing the set temperature.  Press the button again and the reading will change back to the current temperature.  To adjust the temperature, you will need to push the “SEL” button once, at which point you can press the up or down arrows to reach the desired temperature, and then press “SEL” once more to select that temperature. A few seconds after you’ve set the temperature, the display will automatically revert back to showing the current temperature.

 

3.)     Now, all you have to do is assemble the “whip,” which is made of three parts: the mouthpiece, bowl, and the rubber hose joining them, as shown below:

 

Your completed bowl, hose, and mouthpiece set should resemble the above picture when assembled.

 

4.)     Next, crumble up a sample of your favorite vaporizing blend the size of a four-dime stack. I like to crumble with my fingers or just use whole chunks, rather than using a grinder, so that dust and small particles are kept to a minimum, while stretching the vaporizing process out a bit longer, as bigger chunks take longer to extract. For a more powerful, instantaneous experience, you may want to use a grinder, but as long as the bowl is packed evenly, I find that large chunks vaporize just fine and probably hold their flavor longer than finely ground material anyway. The amount you load should equate to between ¹/3 and ½ of a bowl, as pictured below:

 

5.)     If you load too much, a lot will be wasted. If you load too little, your material may not vaporize satisfactorily. Remember, pressure from the air traveling through the hose will compact the mass you have loaded, so don’t compress it at all when you load. Simply hold the bowl end of the whip near a pre-prepared pile of material and suck on the mouthpiece to pull the material in.

*How to get the most from your vaporizer*

The most important thing you can do is to keep your screen sparkling, by cleaning it everyday—don’t let build-up start, or it will just attract more residue to the initial deposits. One of the easiest things you can do to clean the screen is to hold the bowl under the hottest water possible in your kitchen sink, using a pair of tongs. This will melt the glue-like resins, allowing all of the particulate to be washed away. New resins will not congeal as easily on a clean, smooth surface as they will on a dirty one, so the less dirt there is, the less dirt will deposit. Blockage of the screen is probably the single most efficient way to lower the performance of your setup.

The need for cleanliness also applies to the hose itself; the hose is just about the only consumable part on the machine and will, with extensive use, turn brown, absorb odors (releasing them later), and condense particles which may also be released later. The only way to fix a dirty, smelly, sticky hose is to replace it. But ten bucks it is a small price to pay for a big jump in performance.

Finally, you must also take steps to monitor and remove excess dust from the inside of the unit itself. Dust builds up and clogs the cooling fan over time, which can and will cause the overheating protector to shut the heating element down. The simplest thing you can do is go to an electronics store and buy an aerosol can of VCR or computer duster to blow away dust, but make sure that all of the fumes have dissipated before you continue use of your vaporizer.

We hope this hints and tips will help you make the most of your new vaporizer. Enjoy!