With the immense scrutiny required to reap the rewards of solventless hash, the ultimate experience relies heavily on its end user. A great batch of hash rosin can quickly be ruined by consuming it at temperatures too hot, while those precious and flavorful extra-low-temperature dabs can leave something to be desired. Finding the perfect temperature will maximize the effectiveness of the dab. We have written extensively on temperatures and tools, while this article provides a Step-By-Step guide to taking the perfect dabs of hash rosin.
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TOOLS Required TO DAB
1. Hash Pipe (Holds your quartz banger)
2. Quartz Banger
3. Carb-Cap/Bubble-Cap/Spinner-Cap (Fit to banger)
4. Dab Tool
5. Hand-Torch & Butane
6.Temperature Reading Device/Timer
7. Q-Tips/Alcohol (For Necessary Clean-Up)
OPTIONAL
8. Terp Pearls/Beads
SETUP HASH PIPE AND PRACTICE RUN
Once you have your set-up, fill your hand torch with butane and put a couple of inches of water in the bottom of your hash-pipe. Insert your quartz banger into the fitting attached to your glass hash-pipe. Go ahead and place the carb cap on top of your banger and take a few good practice inhales. It’s good to test the function and know what to expect before attempting to take the first dab. Now that you aren’t about to suck a mouthful of water when hitting the pipe, remove the carb cap and set it aside.
DABBING THEORY EXPLAINED
The difficulty in dabbing usually stems from a lack of understanding the basic premise or objective. To cut through much of the confusion, a theoretical explanation will help make sense of the tools used and the technique.
In theory, we heat up the quartz element with the torch and then allow enough time to pass for the quartz to cool down to the ideal temperature range. Once the quartz has cooled to the proper high temperature mark (about 550℉), we place a small amount of rosin inside the quartz element with our dab tool, place the Carb cap on the banger, and inhale until it cools. Simple enough, in theory anyways…
TOO HOT
The difficulty arises in judging the proper temperature of your quartz before inserting the dab. Placing the dab of rosin into the banger too soon after torching, means it's still too hot and will burn the dab. A burnt dab not only tastes terribly, but destroys valuable terpenes and detracts from the quality-effects of the dab. It’s always best to err on the side of caution, going in too cold, rather than too hot.
TOO COLD
Placing your dab in the banger too late means it’s too cold. You will only receive a light vapor, rather than a dense vapor similar to smoke. Dabbing too cold prevents all of the cannabinoids and terpenes from vaporizing efficiently. A cold dab can be reheated for a few seconds however, while there’s no coming back from burnt terps.
Step By Step Dabbing Guide
1. HEATING YOUR QUARTZ*
With your glass pipe sitting and the quartz banger attached, fire up your torch and proceed to heat your quartz banger from all sides. About thirty seconds on the bottom and another 15 to 20 seconds heating the sides is plenty. Turn the torch off and set it aside.
*TORCH TIPS
* Remove carb-cap prior to torching.
*If you choose to use Terp pearls, insert them into the banger prior to torching.
*Try not to torch the glass of your hash pipe, focusing the flame on the quartz attachment alone. Use caution.
*While torching, keep the tip about 2-3 inches away from the quartz.
*You can leave the hash-pipe sitting on the table while torching, or hold the pipe in one hand while holding the torch in the other. This will make it easier to torch under the banger/slurper.
*Glowing red quartz is hotter than necessary.
2. SCOOP A DAB
Open your jar of hash rosin, scoop a small amount of rosin onto your dab tool, (so it's ready to go) and set it aside. To help gauge size, you should get about 8 to 10 dabs from one gram of rosin. Start small.
*REMEMBER: You want your rosin nearly room temperature before dabbing.
3. NOW WE WAIT... TEMPERATURES OR TIMING
Depending on your method, we now wait for the quartz banger to cool to the proper high-temperature mark. The idea is to place the dab into the quartz at the highest possible temperature without causing it to burn. The closer you start to the high temperature mark, the longer the duration of the dab.
Feel free to dance during cool-down. It's our preferred method of waiting...
TEMPERATURE READING DEVICES
Considering you invested in a temperature device, position the sensor on the bottom of your quartz and wait until the quartz falls below 550℉, beginning the dab at the ideal temperature of 500℉. These temperature devices can be a bit tricky to figure out and replicate results with, so be sure to rely on the KEYS TO LOOK FOR in combination with the supposed temperature reading as you dial in future dabs.
(The exact temperature can vary based on what temperature reading tool you are using, which is covered here. 550F using the touch-sensor Terpometer, often looks more like 450F using an infrared style device. 500F is the happy medium.)
TIMe Your Dabs
For many who do not own a temperature device, fear not, as we lived without them for years. The solution is a timer. As soon as you are finished heating your quartz element with a torch, start the timer. You can get fairly accurate and consistent results this way. It is helpful to refill your torch prior to each use and time how long you torch the quartz, as well. A usable example (for American-made or similarly shaped quartz)and a good place to begin, looks something like this:
Torch quartz for 30 seconds (with a full torch).
Wait 100-115 seconds.
Apply the Dab
TIMING TIPS: Many of today’s bangers have started to stabilize, but each brand and style of quartz will have different cool down times. Having torched your quartz for 30 seconds, it will require at least 90 seconds to reach the desired temperature for most brands and styles of American-made quartz.
4. APPLY THE DAB
With your dab tool and rosin in hand, insert it into the quartz banger’s bucket. You will be applying the rosin directly to the hot quartz surface with your dab tool. We like to press the dab up against the inner walls of the quartz banger allowing it to melt off the tool and puddle in the banger's bucket. Set your tool aside.
5. APPLY CARB-CAP
Immediately place the carb-cap on your quartz banger and inhale. Depending on the style of carb cap, some spin the oil within the banger automatically (spinners), while other directional style caps allow the user to push the rosin around during the dab by articulating the carb-cap like a joystick.
6. INHALE - EXHALE
Rather than one long and slow inhalation practical for “pulling tube,” or "ripping the bong", rosin dabs provide for several faster inhales and exhales. Since the oils are only in the proper temperature range for a short duration of time, it's practical to take several faster hits, before the quartz cools. Ideally, you can make a full inhale and full exhale two to three times per dab.
7. RINSE AND REPEAT
Q-tip the excess oils immediately after each use, or use the dunk-tech and submerge the still warm quartz into alcohol, rinse, and dry. You will see right away the disastrous effects of not cleaning your quartz after and in between each use, when you attempt to heat it again. It will require about a minute or two of direct torch heat to clean and clear-up a dirty and stained banger. Every now and then this becomes a requirement even when q-tipping between uses. It’s referred to as “burning-off” the excess and creates quite a bit of unwelcome smoke.
8. JUDGE & ADJUST
Whether using a temperature device or a timer, the KEYS TO LOOK FOR can tell you how accurate your temperature device is and/or the effectiveness of your timed dabs. Try changing temperatures by ten to twenty degrees (or by ten to fifteen seconds) as needed for future dabs.
KEYS TO LOOK FOR:
TOO HOT | TOO COLD |
No remaining liquid in the quartz. | All flavor, no smoke. |
Dark stains that appear to be burnt into the quartz and cannot be q-tipped away | Thin or very light vapor from the very start |
If the vapor suddenly stops or cuts-off abruptly during the first inhale | Equally as much oil remains leftover as was applied with the dab |
Poor and burnt taste | Light yellow oil remains after the dab |
Char or Blackened Oil Remnants | |
CORRECT RESULTS
About ⅔ or a third of each dab remains puddled in a dark brown oil. The oil remains visible and is spun or pushed around as you inhale. Dense vapor for more than one inhalation, that subsides with each additional hit. An effectively taken dab should taste incredible, as an unadulterated cannabis experience that provides only the plant's trichome glands, rich with terpenes and additional cannabinoids. A nearly candy-like taste is expected on fruity or sweet sounding strains, while unflinching gas can be surprising. This is the new cannabis world and it is run by hashish.
To Conclude
Just remember, other than searing and frying your rosin on red hot quartz, there’s really no "right" or "wrong way" and desired temperatures are often a matter of preference and choice. That being said, the range of appropriate temperatures is fairly narrow (400℉-550℉ ) and the point of no return lies merely a few degrees over the desired high temperature mark of 550℉. The science we have explored in prior articles and the reasons why, right here. Keep in mind the size of your dab, with higher temperatures needed for big globs and lower temperatures for much smaller dabs. Eliminating variables will help you dial in and enjoy the best of what modern cannabis has to offer: Solventless Hash & Rosin.
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