Save the Terps: Waste It To Taste It, Or Not?

With all the new types of extracts available and new legislation improving access to medicine for patients you probably want to vaporize a dab of concentrates!?!? Seems like so many people do these days. But you want it to be as delicious as possible. So delicious and flavorful that it feels like you are right inside of that wonderful smell that you love, right? Many of us want to watch the concentrates melt and swirl around the banger slowly browning and eventually leaving a puddle. That puddle is an expensive sacrifice and you just wasted it to taste it!

You know you worked hard to pay for that expensive puddle that you left in the banger. Maybe you have no regret at that point, but there must be some better way to use that highly effective waste product. Don't you think? Wastefulness, in theory, usually isn’t good. But I know I (and the guy that supplies my medicine) ritualistically waste it to taste it almost every time.

Perhaps we are all shaped in some way by society and what we see. There is almost constant exposure to celebrities and influencers on television, Facebook and Instagram with way more money and resources than normal people. It seems as though wastefulness is in some ways taught. Seeing crazy meltshots on the Gram is a relatively common occurrence in my day.

I totally understand the mindset - People just want to medicate, they want to do it their way and they don’t care about conserving their dabs. Big fat dabs. Flavorful and not too hot. Don’t waste the terps, at all cost. But the mindsets of me and my plug are at such stark contrast. I tried to explain to him my newest accessory was a reclaim catch to conserve the lost concentrates that are typically wasted in the water. He looked at me like I was disgusting as I told him how much money I could save by reusing the reclaim. But many people would find it just as crazy to soak up so much concentrates with q-tip swabs as you clean your banger and throw them away.

One thing we can do is use the most up to date and innovative banger and carb cap technology that make it more efficient to do low temperature dabs without wasting too much. We have discussed several examples in previous blogs, such as nucleated bangers, thermal bangers, reactor core bangers and terp slurp bangers. We also discussed various directional airflow carb caps, like bubble caps and trunk caps, and how the lower atmospheric pressure inside of the banger, thereby reducing the vaporization point. There are many innovations and methods to increase the taste by enabling lower temperature dabs. However, ultimately in light of the drastically different vaporizations points of terpenes and other active compounds you must waste it to truly taste it.

Another thing you can do to more efficiently use your concentrates is to stay vigilant with keeping your banger clean. A clean banger always vaporizes concentrates better at the same temperature than a dirty banger. For more information on best practices for keeping your banger clean you can read our other article,& How to Clean Your Banger. Ultimately, the words dirty and banger just don't go together.

Despite all of your efforts to keep your bangers clean properly, it is equally important to consistently replace your banger before it gets too old. For good reason, an older banger is less efficient than a brand new banger. The surface of a new banger is cleaner and more conductive than a carbon covered aging banger. You will generally be able to tell if your banger is performing less than optimally, but if you need a second check then replace when you the banger appears less shiny and more dull. Over time, sediment begins to cover and apparently finds its way deep into the surface thus making it impossible to fully clean.

Don't tell anyone, but I personally like to start off like I am wasting it to taste it. But then I typically hit it again with the torch in brief cycles to heat it back up enough to continue vaporizing it as much as possible, without charring it. The key is not reheating the banger too hot, because you want to blacken the oil without actually burning it to the side of the banger. Sometimes I like to get one side hot and then swirl the oil over that hot spot with the carb cap to avoid burning. The process is clearly part art and part science.

We really have no position on the matter and can totally appreciate the positions on each side of the waste it to taste it debate. But if you want to purchase or learn about more efficient dab accessories, you can chat with us online at Waterbedsnstuff.com or you can visit us at one of our 13 retail store locations.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

**The beliefs and opinions expressed in this blog are not those of Waterbeds ‘n’ Stuff.