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Your Guide to using a Dab Rig
Jun
Last Updated on September 28, 2021
Most of you here already know what a Dab Rig is; you are merely looking for clarification on how to use it. However, to level the playing field, we will start with the definition and explanation of what a Dab Rig is.
What is a Dab Rig?
First things first – A Dab Rig is a pipe designed to vaporize cannabis concentrates. Therefore, it is referred to as an oil rig, concentrate rig, or vapour pipe.
Like a bong, in both the design and practical use, a dab rig filters concentrate vapour through the water at the base. In addition to the central piece, dab rigs require a glass, quartz, ceramic, titanium nail, or banger to hold or “dab” concentrate, a dabber tool, and a torch lighter for proper use heating.
Which material you use for the banger is entirely up to you. People usually try to style their Dab Rigs to look better and for them to look cooler while using them. However, the most popular one is glass, as it is pretty cheap and replaceable if it were ever to break.
How to Use a Dab Rig?
Now when that is out of the way, let’s talk business. To properly use the Dab Rig and enjoy it to the fullest capacity, you need to understand the slang. When somebody tells you to hand them a dab, they don’t expect you to start dancing, nor will they expect you to show off your knowledge of popular fads and internet memes when you do a dab.
What they will want from you is to give them that small dose of cannabis concentrate sitting on the table right beside you.
But before we start with our next section, which is quite obvious to everyone by now, we wanted to list out all the sections we will be covering in this guide, so you could have an easier time finding what you are most interested in:
- Step-By-Step Guide on Dab Rigs
- Benefits of Dab Rigs
- Essential Dab Terminology
- Necessary Precautions
Step-By-Step Guide on Using a Dab Rig
Dab Rigs are used to vaporize your cannabis concentrates without the need for combustion. They eliminate the need for flames to be involved in the process. Instead, the heat turns your concentrate, the dab, into a vapour full of cannabinoids. With every breath inhaled, the vapour is drawn through the dab rig of choice and inhaled into your lungs.
Attach the Nail to the Dab Rig Properly
Ensure that the nail is attached correctly to the dab rig; it must be secure so that it wouldn’t disconnect. So, slowly and steadily, get your dab rig prepared. If your nail and dab rig get disconnected, you are in a world of trouble. Before the nail is heated, ensure that the nail is fastened to the rig without a pinch of wobble.
Heat the Nail With the Torch
Like we have previously stated, it is conceivable that you can heat the dab rig with a couple of lighters, but it is just too much effort, so using the torch or the heat gun, heat the nail.
Hold the torch in the same place pointing at the same spot for around 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the strength of the torch and the thickness of the nail. A reddish glow will appear when it is done.
Let the Nail Cool
Allow the heat to disperse throughout the nail; a good trick is letting it cool for at least double the time you spent heating it. And avoid touching the nail with your bare skin, or you will get burned.
Using the Dabber Add the Dab to the Nail
Using the dabber, the little shovel of steel or glass, place the dab inside the dome, and if you did the heating stage correctly, the dab should evaporate quickly. Next, dangle the dabber until you are sure that all the dab has evaporated.
Cover With the Carb Cab and Inhale
Covering the top with the Carb Cab ensures the best possible experience of the dab vaporization. Still, there are further steps you need to take to provide the best quality of the vapour, like not inhaling it too strongly or too fast. So you wouldn’t start coughing, make sure the temperature is correct, and you are inhaling it slowly. If you do everything correctly, you won’t be coughing.
Clean the Nail
Once finished, make sure to clean the nail for further use. It can get dirty and sticky; residue might go bad, start smelling, etc.
Benefits of Dab Rigs
It is a much more appealing option for two reasons – it is much more potent, and it is much more convenient. When we say it is much stronger than the regular weed you smoke, we mean it because there is 10-30% THC in weed, while in the dabbing concentrate, there is around 50% THC.
What this means is that you don’t need a lot to get high. It would be best if you merely inhaled once to get the buzz; you would need the whole roach to do so. While strength is one of the key benefits, we found that the convenience it brings can’t be overlooked.
No smells, no smokes – while with roaches, you have the sometimes overwhelming smells and the ashes from the roach and the roach itself to deal with it with Dab rigs, you needn’t worry about all that. All you need to do is clean the Dab Rig after you are done.
Necessary Precautions When Using a Dab Rig
We have already mentioned this, but we can’t stress it enough – the Dab Rig gets hot, so don’t touch the glass with bare hands or open skin, or you’ll get burnt. Whenever it is fire-related, it is always wise to have a fire extinguisher near – nine out of ten times, you won’t need it, but better safe than sorry.
The second thing we wanted to mention is also health-related – consuming too much cannabis concentrate. First of all, you can’t overdose on cannabis. However, if you feel like you have taken too much, stop consuming, let your body rest, and process what you’ve taken.
If you think you have taken too much, things might start feeling intense, and in that case, the key is to stay calm. By staying hydrated, lying down, resting, or even taking a shower, you will successfully calm yourself down. And if that doesn’t help, the last thing you can do is take peppercorns, or lemon peels are known to offset the effects of cannabis. The effects tend to last between 1 to 2 hours.
Essential Dab Terminology
We have already covered what a dab rig is so that we won’t be repeating ourselves, however. For you to use the dab rig, you need to, at last, get acquainted with the following items:
Nail/Banger
A heating element attached to a dab rig consists of glass/quartz/ceramic/titanium. YAs a result, the can heat the nail to an exceptionally high temperature, and its structural integrity will remain intact.
Glass nails are the most popular for novices as they tend to come with the Dab Rig, while for the quartz bangers, it is necessary to buy them separately.
The more experienced dab rig enthusiasts do as it arguably, provides the best dab experience, and they don’t crack under pressure due to high thermal exposure. These kinds of nails tend to cost a lot more; however, with the higher price comes the elevated quality.
Electronic Nail
You could understand what it is just from the name; however, we felt the need to give it its place in our dictionary because of how different the approach to heating is.
Or rather. It is significantly more straightforward and much more accurate. In addition, these nails offer butane-free heating with precise temperature control. However, the price follows the quality – it costs significantly more.
Dabber
Once again, a dabber is not a man or a woman who is dabbing. Instead, it is a tool that you use to serve the dab. These look like small shovels, and the idea is to take the dab from the container to the heated nail without burning your fingers. And just like the nail, the dabbers come in various forms, but most commonly, they are made of stainless steel or glass.
Dab
A dab, as we have previously mentioned, is a small, rice-sized dose of cannabis concentrate. Commonly referred to as live raisin, cured sugar, shatter, rosin and many more. Different looks and variations can cause other effects, so asking for advice on the best for you is a good idea.
Carb Cap
A carb cap is used to cover the top of the dab ring with the idea to allow the dab to vaporize inside the rig while keeping all the vapours inside the vial.
Q-Tips
Just your regular Q-tips, you can ask your local Apothecaries for it, and they are pretty cheap – use them to clean up after you are done.
Torch
We wouldn’t recommend heating the rig with lighters, a couple of lighters together could get the job done, but that is just not the proper way to do it – you need to keep the heat on for around 30 seconds to a minute to get to the right temperature.
Doing it with a lighter is too hard to do correctly, and not to mention that you might not heat it correctly for the dab to vaporize. So you wouldn’t make any mistakes, get a blowtorch or a heat gun, and you needn’t worry.
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