Respiratory effects of Smoking Cannabis

[Guest niall]

Does anyone know what the difference would be between inhaling through a joint with or without filter and a bong? Exactly what does the water filter out apart from heat? It's certainally easier to smoke but doesn't mean there's any less tar etc.. but bong water goes foul & yellow pretty quick and I don't think it's all from the ash & crap.

Put a tissue over your bong's mouthpiece and inhale a few bowls, then do the same with a ciggie style filter in a joint. The difference will be clear on inspection - foul brown shite

 

Water does filter out tar, but it filters more cannabinoid than tar so you're actually decreasing the potency. It still filters out all the solids and ash though, and cools the smoke, but ice can do all of this without reducing the cannabinoids as much. Try filling your bong with crushed ice, or ice in the mouth stem of your bong, maybe with a tiny bit of water to make sure the solids don't get into your lungs.

 

I recently bought a vaporisor but find it's not quite the same.. the high sort of creeps up on you with a vape but with a bong you feel the hit pretty much stright up. I alternate between the two most of the time.

 

Me too. There's nothing quite like the flavour of ripe buds through my Vriptech, it's just so fucking tasty, but there's also nothing quite like getting ripped on fresh hash - so quick and easy! (well aside from oil of course, but I haven't had the chance to try any yet) I alternate depending on my mood and how quick I want to get high, best of both worlds

[pipeman]

Bongs cake up with muck in no time. What makes me feel good is looking at my vape tube, after over a years use, and its still totally clean! A little discolouration around the mouthpiece but thats it. If the tube is clean that probably means my throat and lungs are as well.

 

a bit of paper towell folded and shoved down the mouthpiece of a bong acts as a further filter. Got that one from Taz Stoner. I've used the same technique with great effect in a vape pipe

 

See with a normal pipe you have a little cone with a narrow opening at the base which tends to block most of the loose material coming through. Not in a vape pipe though. There's no cone, so the lightest air movement seems to suck loose material into your mouth. Not a problem if you're using it to smoke oil, but for mulled bud it is a problem. The bit of tissue solves this problem plus acts as a filter to give a really smooth smoke/vapour. Its much smoother than smoking out of one of these vape pipes with a tissue filter than out of a water bong IMO.

[wade ounce]

i was gonna head to brissie and buy one of those bongs with the double water chamber. does anyone use one of these. i used one about 10 years ago, but my lungs have copped a bit of a hiding since then.

 

seeing that the smoke gets filtered twice i figured it would be easier on the lungs. but would you get less thc because of the fact it is filtered twice

 

does that make sence?

 

cheers

wade

[pipeman]

mate, if you're gonna splash some dough on double chamber bong, why not buy a vape instead?

[wade ounce]

mate i thought about that. i've never used a vape and i don't really want to throw 150 bucks on something i may not like.

unless they're willing to let me try before i buy ::

 

i really enjoy that hit you get in the back of the throat that you can only get from a bong. and because i grow organically, i love the taste.

 

apparantly you can use less weed with a vape. personally speaking, smoking weed sparingly has never occurred to me.

[Guest Guest]

I didn't find much difference with a 2 chamber bong. I took the 2nd chamber off pretty quickly, it didn't help my lungs and just got int the way and another awkward piece to clean.

 

Instead of throwing away all that money why not buy a cheap (less than $20) soldering iron and make your own - though buy/use a large cone or bowl!

My cone is only 15mm approx. across the widest circumfrence so it is pretty small I think.

Once you play around with it you can decide which way you want to go and buy a manufactured one if it suits you.

 

I have a few issues with the vapourisor but as my lungs are stuffed and using the vape seems to offer a solution that involves still using Mary I am willing to persevere.

I have been using both vape and joints (with marshmallow herb mix) but find this unsatisfactory as it still hurts my throat and to a lesser extent my lungs.

 

Any other Vapers feel that the variety of herb used seems to make a difference in a vape?

 

cheers, big ears

[Tam]

bah humbug! that was me above 'guest' forgot to log in

[wade ounce]

thanks tam, now under 20 bux. that's more my price range

 

can anyone point me in the direction of a thread that explains how to make a soldering iron vape?

 

thanx

 

wade

[Tam]

(doh, just did a preview of this post and the ascii diagrams don't come out right - copy it into word or notepad or something and convert the font to courier new, that should bring it back into line... )

 

This was the best instructions I have found (if it is too hard to read I will email it to you if you want) I can't remember where I found it... possibly uk420 members sig file:

 

How to Make a Vape:

 

What you're going to be building is essentially a soldering iron sticking out of a Pepsi bottle. The iron will be plugged into a box housing a rotary dimmer switch, allowing control of the current into the iron's heating element. A slim, high-temperature thermometer strapped to the iron's shaft helps the user stay inside the vaporization range, if one is available.

Gather:

1. An empty wide-mouthed soft drink container (e.g., a 3-liter bottle or a Pepsi "Big Slam" 1-liter bottle). If you can only find a 3-liter bottle, and you later find that this makes too large a vapor chamber, consider cutting out the mouth and attaching it to a 2- or 1-liter bottle.

(I used a glass jam jar)

 

2. A cheap soldering iron whose handle, at its widest point, is at least 1/4 inch narrower than the bottle's mouth. Try to find one whose tip can be unscrewed and removed, leaving a hollow space in the iron's shaft; otherwise, you'll have to devise a way of impaling some sort of heat-conducting bowl (layered aluminum foil?) on the tip. Note that I mean the very tip - many soldering irons allow the entire shaft to be unscrewed out of a small socket, but that won't do you any good. Radio Shack and other electronics shops carry soldering irons.

(I left the soldering iron tip in place and just put a bong cone over the top – the tip fits into the hole of the cone and hold’s it in place)

 

3. A cheap socket-mount rotary dimmer switch. Available anywhere basic hardware supplies are sold.

 

4. A case for the dimmer switch. A very good choice is a plastic 10-disc 3.5 inch floppy box.

 

5. A slim high-temperature thermometer, small enough to fit snugly against the shaft of the soldering iron (i.e., not a big round oven thermometer) and including the range 150-250 C. [Optional]

 

STEPS:

1. Affix the bottle cap to the soldering iron

2. Must precede step II. Here's the basic idea:

3.

4. Iron ---

5. ________|\_____ Cord | | Wide-mouth

6. Before [________| _____|======= | | cap

7. |/ | |

8. --- (top)

9.

10. Iron ---

11. _______| |____ Cord

12. After [_______| |____|=======

13. | |

14. ---

 

Get it? When you screw the cap back on, the heating element will be enclosed in the bottle. This is the part that makes it important for the handle to be at least 1/4" narrower than the bottleneck. The base of the shaft will get rather warm; the soda bottle is not made of high-temp plastic like the iron's handle, and releases toxic fumes (and eventually melts) when it gets hot, so it's important that they don't touch. Anyway, just cut a hole in the cap large enough for most of the handle to fit through. A rubber grip on the soldering iron makes a nice tight seal with this hole. Use tape to close any opening at the bottom of the handle where the cord enters (the expanding air in the bottle will force vapor out of this hole).

Eager to try your vaporizer? Skip to step V and be prepared to plug and unplug the iron frequently during use to keep the temp. down (or plug it into a power strip with a switch). Leaving it on continuously will heat the plastic bottle too much; leaving it on and lying it on its side will quickly melt the side of the bottle, make a big smoky plastic mess, and possibly start a fire (see disclaimer).

15. Wiring the dimmer switch and soldering iron together

16. _________

17. [ Dimmer ] (not to

18. [ Switch ] scale)

19. from [_________] Plug

20. soldering || ___

21. iron / \ / |____

22. -----------------------/ \---------------------[ |

23. --------------------------------------------------[ |____

24. \___|

 

This crude ascii diagram is intended to demonstrate the wiring of the dimmer switch into one of the soldering iron cord's two lines. I suppose this requires minimal wiring skills (but not necessarily experience). Use a knife to separate about 2" of the two wires in the cord. I did this about 4" from the plug, leaving lots of cord between the dimmer and the iron; eventually I plugged my switch box into an extension cord rather than squatting next to a wall socket. Make sure you don't expose the wire on the side you won't be cutting. Now cut one wire and strip about 1/2" down both sides. Use the screw-down connectors included with the dimmer to join its wires to the cord (just twist the two wires together and screw the connector down hard). Wrap the connections in plastic tape to be safe.

25. Housing the dimmer switch

I just cut a hole in one side of a plastic 10-disk 3.5" floppy case large enough for the little metal rotor in the rotary dimmer switch to fit through and bolted the dimmer to the case. It went in diagonally. No drill? Make the holes for the bolts by driving a wood screw through the plastic. Mark "off" and "max" settings and adorn to taste.

26. Attaching the thermometer

27. _

28. _|_|_

29. | | This is supposed to show a slim, high-temp thermometer

30. | | | attached to the shaft of the iron. Attach it with wire

31. | | | (strip the paper off a bag tie). The thermometer must

32. | o | contact the iron as tightly as possible and must include

33. ----- the range 150-250 Celcius or so.

34. ___|_|___

35. \ / I have not accomplished this yet - all the oven therms.

36. \ / I have found are far too large for the task.

37. | |

 

38. Soft drink bottle ---> vapor chamber

The bottom of your bottle will be the top of the vapor chamber. Cut a roughly 1/2" diameter hole near the bottom of the bottle, and cut a smaller hole for air intake near the neck. Voila.

39. Assembly and usage

Here's another crude ascii drawing to illustrate the whole setup:

_____

/ O \ Pack the hollow space in the shaft of the iron with

| | your favorite hemp product. Buds are best chopped into

| ~ | small bits. For use with hash, consider filling all

| ~ | but the top 1/2" of the shaft with aluminum foil.

| ~ | If you're forced to fashion a bowl on a nonremovable

| ~ | tip, make sure it fits in the mouth and resists

| o H | spillage, and realize only material very very close to

\ H / a hot surface will vaporize (huge, stuffed bowls won't

\_H_/ work right).

[___]

| | Dimmer Box

|_| ___[_]___ extension cord socket

\__________________| |__[=[-------------------------[=

|_________|

 

Screw the cap down and power up! Keep both holes covered with your fingers and wait about 1 minute. Put the dimmer on full at first to get up to the working temp. Turn the switch down some when you see first see white vapor rising from the bowl. Unless you've got the thermometer, finding the right dimmer setting to vaporize without combustion will take several trials :> . If you do have it, a reminder: shoot for 200 Celcius.

Allow a decent cloud of vapor to form before putting your mouth to the top hole, release the carb (bottom hole) and inhale! Ahhh.

Heuristics:

· How to tell smoke from vapor: while both are white, vapor rises from the bowl more slowly and evenly, while smoke sort of billows out when the temperatures becomes too high. Also, you'll notice a pronounced difference in the flavor of a vapor hit.

· If you hear a quiet buzzing coming from the dimmer switch, don't fear. It's coming from a capacitor in there somewhere and is sure to be some multiple of 60 (50) hz. As an ee, I'd guess this buzzing is the reason why G.E. put a lower limit of 75 W on the recommended power for my dimmer (which I ignored; my iron was 25 W). A 75 watt bulb has a lower resistance and would move some break frequency a little lower to make that buzzing too quiet to notice. If you hear a quiet buzzing coming from an orange, consider your vaporizer a success.

· Think it might be a good idea to drill a hole near the bottom of the shaft to let air flow up through the weed? So did I, until I actually did it and found that the iron's shaft was filled with come kind of heat-conducting powder, which promptly ran out of the hole. Bad idea.

· The time delay between hits and the wires and whatnot detract a bit from the smoking ritual. Hence, I only use my vaporizer about half the time when smoking alone and only as a novelty among friends. However, if harvesting resin from your bowl is your thing, there is no better way to recycle it than with a vaporizer; smoked resin tastes so awful.

· While one of vaporizing's benefits is its kindness to your lungs, I'm in it for the efficiency; I usually smoke the brownish-black debris from a vaporizer bowl in a bong. I can't say for sure whether it contains very little THC or none at all. Furthermore, when vapor emissions slow down, I crank the temperature a bit, combusting materials on the fringes but chasing the last bits of THC out of the stuff in the middle.

An expensive alternative: drop roughly $100 into a soldering station with a temperature control (which goes as low as 200 C). If you have access to such a device at a discount (used, etc.), this is definitely the option for you. It provides simpler temperature control than the dimmer switch-thermometer arrangement. On the other hand, the dimmer and thermometer will cost you less than $20 ($6 for the dimmer).

I should mention that the dimmer switch-thermometer idea was offered by a creative a.d.p. reader who read the previous version of this design. Thanks!

That concludes version 1.1 of this Very Simple Vaporizer Design. This 240+ line instruction file merits the name Very Simple since it's considerably easier and quicker to build than designs I've seen involving car cigarette lighters, brazing tools, and step-down voltage transformers. The only simpler design I've seen is a glass blender on a frying pan. I'll reply to comments posted to a.d.p. or mailed to my anon.penet.fi address. Feel free to distribute and repost this file, or to alter, improve, or expand it.

 

...........................

 

I don't use a soft drink bottle because i prefer to have to suck less air - i use a glass jar turned upside down and I put the soldering iron through the tin lid as well as the sucking pipe (used clear plastic stuff) I have pics on camera, will have a look and see if any are in focus to upload )

 

regards, tam

[Tam]

I recommend you make a holder for your soldering iron handle too, otherwise you are stuck holding the thing

 

I just cut a groove in a piece of wood for the handle to slot into, holds up alright, need legs though.

 

 

regards, tam

Edited December 31, 2003 by Tam