Dab pens are some of the most popular vaporizers on the market, and there are several good reasons for that. For one thing, wax concentrates are extremely potent.
A single rice-sized portion of wax can produce the same effect – or an even more powerful effect, in many cases – as a large joint.
Since wax is more concentrated than cannabis flower, it’s much easier to store; a tiny jar can last as long as a fairly large quantity of dry herbs.
Wax vaping is also very discreet because it doesn’t tend to produce the strong, lingering smells that you get when you smoke cannabis.
When you use a dab pen for the first time, though, you’ll quickly discover that wax vaping does have a bit of a drawback in that it isn’t exactly the simplest way to vape.
Using an oil cartridge, on the other hand, is fairly self-explanatory – all that you need to do is connect the cartridge to your device and start puffing.
With wax vaping, however, it takes a little while to come up to speed unless you have a bit of a helping hand.
With this article, we’re going to give you the help that you need in learning how to use a dab pen.
This is your step-by-step guide to using a wax vaporizer – and if you experience a problem along the way, we’ll have some advice that can help with that as well. Let’s dive in.
What is a Dab Pen?
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If you’re reading this article, you’re almost certainly aware that wax vaping – also known as dabbing – is the act of putting a wax concentrate on a heating coil, heating the concentrate until it reaches the point of vaporization and inhaling the vapor.
A dab pen is a vaporizer that’s designed to give you the best possible experience with a wax coil for dabbing.
A wax coil isn’t the same thing as an oil cartridge. A wax coil needs to be much larger to give you sufficient room to place a ball of wax on the coil using a small metal stick called a dab tool.
Although it’s possible in some cases to connect a wax coil to a device designed for oil vaping, wax coils generally won’t fit on oil pens with retractable or hidden threading because they’re usually much wider than oil cartridges.
If you’re new to wax vaping, the Nomad by Hamilton Devices is a great example of a dab pen that’s perfect for beginners.
The Nomad comes with a large wax coil that’s very simple to use and quite durable thanks to its ceramic heating surface.
It operates at three selectable power levels, making it easy for you to achieve exactly the level of vapor production and intensity that you want.
The Nomad even comes with its own bubbler and water pipe adapter, giving you two options for combining the potency of wax vaping with the smoothness of water filtration.
How to Store Your Wax Concentrates
One of the most important aspects of having a great experience with your dab pen is ensuring that you store your wax properly for maximum potency and flavor quality.
We suggest storing your wax in an airtight silicone jar. To prevent oxidation, keep the wax away from heat and light.
How to Charge a Dab Pen
Unless a dab pen includes a manufacturer-approved wall adapter, you should always charge it by connecting it to your computer. When you do that, the device’s indicator light should turn on to show that the battery is charging.
Depending on the dab pen’s design, the light will turn off or change to green when the battery is fully charged. At that point, you can disconnect the device from your computer.
How to Load a Dab Pen
A wax coil generally consists of two parts: a base and a removable mouthpiece. Remove the mouthpiece to access the coil. Under the mouthpiece, you’ll either see a metal heating coil or a ceramic oven.
Using a dab tool, take a small rice-sized portion of wax and place it on the top of the coil or in the middle of the oven. Replace the mouthpiece.
How to Hit a Dab Pen
After you load your dab pen, you’re not quite ready to vape. Before you inhale, you want the wax to liquify and spread out until it covers the entire heating surface of the coil or oven. To do that, you want to apply gentle heat to the wax by pressing your vaporizer’s fire button a few times briefly.
After you’ve pulsed the coil to soften the wax, you can begin vaping. Hold your dab pen’s fire button and inhale through the mouthpiece.
You’ll typically get several puffs from one serving of wax, and you can see how much wax remains in the coil by removing the mouthpiece. Continue vaping until you’ve used all of the material and let the device cool completely before storing it.
How to Clean a Dab Pen
If you want to get the best possible flavor out of your dab pen, you should clean the coil after every few uses. You can do that by removing the coil from the dab pen and immersing it in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes.
The alcohol dissolves the wax, and you can remove any remaining residue by rinsing the coil in your sink. Allow the coil to dry completely before using it again.
It’s normal for a wax coil to discolor permanently from use. Even after you’ve removed the residue, the coil may still have a dark color.
After you’ve been using a wax coil for a while, you may find that the flavor quality is no longer quite as good as it was when the coil was new. At that point, it’s time to consider replacing the coil.
You can clean the base of your dab pen with a soft cloth. Keep the device away from water.
What to Do if Your Dab Pen Isn’t Charging
If your dab pen’s indicator light doesn’t turn on when you connect the device to a power source, it isn’t charging. Try these things to troubleshoot the issue.
- Replace the charging cable. If your dab pen isn’t charging, the most likely cause is that the cable is damaged or faulty.
- Connect the dab pen directly to your computer. As we explained above, you should never connect a vaporizer to any wall adapter that isn’t specifically approved by the manufacturer.
- Check for debris or dried wax in your dab pen’s charging port. Scrape away any contaminants with a toothpick. If the teeth in the charging cable can’t touch the contacts in your device’s charging port, the device won’t charge.
What to Do if Your Dab Pen Isn’t Hitting
If your dab pen doesn’t produce vapor when you hold the fire button, it isn’t hitting. Try these things to troubleshoot the issue.
- Make sure that the dab pen is turned on. Usually, you can turn a dab pen on or off by pressing the fire button five times.
- Make sure that the battery is charged. If nothing happens when you connect the device to your computer, your dab pen isn’t charging. Focus on fixing that problem instead.
- Disconnect the coil and check for wax in your device’s threading. Remove the wax with a cotton swab. If the wax is very thick, you may need to moisten the swab slightly with rubbing alcohol.
- Try a different coil. Eventually, repeated heat stress can cause a wax coil to fail – and that that point, your dab pen will stop hitting. Replacing the coil should resolve the issue.
