The reason many recommend pointing the torch lighter straight down has more to do with efficiency of vaporizing than it does with glass crack-prevention.

When the torch is pointed at the glass, it has very little heating effect on the ceramic filter, and very little heat makes its way to the vaporization chamber.

When used properly, a torch lighter yields very efficient results.

I rarely apply the flame straight down into the top like you mentioned gibran. I've always pointed the flame into the inner part of the cylinder, but tried to hit the inside wall of the cylinder with the tip of the flame, thus radiating the ambient heat that comes off of the flame down into the vapor chamber because I found out very early on that when I was vaporizing herb that aiming the flame directly down into the top peice will torch your herb. And i only put a small amount of herb in there at a time because overfilling will also cause the herb to turn black and taste like burnt popcorn. I came up with this sort of indirect heat approach to adapt for vaping herb. I've had amazing results vaporizing DMT this way as well.

Maybe my torch is just too hot because it seems like i have to use the indirect heat approach to get the best results. And don't get me wrong, i love this pipe for both herb and dmt. Using the method that i described keeps me getting straight vapor hits for days without ever toasting my herb, and my DMT vapor pulls are just as efficient. There seems to be enough heat coming of of the flame into the inside of the cylinder that as long as you keep a steady flame in there you will always have enough heat to vaporize all of your spice.

I'm going to give your method a shot with the DMT though. Maybe even tonight. I wasn't even looking for advice and ended up getting some great advice! Much love!

Just tried out the sherlock gvg for the first time, and I'm not happy.


How high exaclty!? This is very very important.



Apparently this isn't fool proof, because I read and reread that post before trying to use the overpriced glass pipe. Tried 10mg of extract twice, and got no results except a minor buzz...probably because I mostly just inhaled SMOKE and plain old air!

The "tip of the blue flame"!!? That's pretty vague considering that a torch lighter has a solid blue jet and then a mostly translucent blue "halo" that extends well beyond that solid jet. If you're talking about the tip of the solid blue jet, then I would say this is horrible advice. Guaranteed to burn whatever is in the pipe.

I have not been able to figure out the proper distance to hold the lighter away from the rim of the bowl. Too far and I'm just breathing in air, and too close and whatever substance is loaded in the pipe will just burn. Seems like there's a good 1/16th of a millimeter sweet spot that I must be missing.

Also you mention waiting till the ceramic filter starts to glow red. I can hold the torch lighter straight down the bowl at close range and the thing won't ever glow red or even hint at glowing red.

I realize this takes practice, and I hope to convey a tongue-in-cheek tone here, since I'm sure the problem is with my technique and not the gear. Nonetheless, I've been practicing with just some dried garden herbs, using both the torch lighter and other traditional lighters, without having success. I don't see any vapor no matter what I do. I thought I saw some filling up in the pipe, but then I realized it was just smoke.

So it seems I either get smoke or absolutely nothing.

OK, I got some more practice in smoking herbs. It's true that you don't see any vapor, and often the vapor can't be tasted either. So, therefore it's extremely difficult to know if you're actually vaporizing properly.

I suppose the tests I tried using mint leaves were the best, because on each exhale I could taste the mint...though I could see absolutely nothing.

Another thing I don't like about the GVG is that plant materials will combust if subjected to enough heat...it's easy to go from vapor to smoke in a matter of seconds.

Often you can only hit the pipe once, because the plant material then becomes too dry. On a second hit, dried herbs will likely start smoking at least towards the end of the hit.

One other drawback that should be stated (because the zealous GVG fans here won't mention it) is that the amount of material that can be efficiently placed in the pipe at any one time is very small. I suppose this is not such a drawback for DMT, but for other things, it seems like the only area that vaporizes effectively is the area directly below the center of the bowl. Often herbs towards the sides still look nice and green while the herbs in the center are brown and on the verge of combustion.

Rudder,

It's pretty obvious that you're frustrated, but I promise you, that when you get it, IT'S WORTH IT!!

I use the Arc, and keep it on the absolute lowest setting where it will still work consistently. Keeping your torch at a lower setting will give you a larger margin for error. I'm able to get vapor with the flame an inch or more above the rim if I inhale slowly. Work your way down to determine how close you actually have to be to get a good cloud. This will prevent you from toasting your herbs.

I think I may have wrote this to you, or maybe in just another GVG thread (short term memory not so good ), but the speed at which you inhale plays a large role in what the temperature is inside the bowl, which affects the speed vaporization occurs. Inhaling slower increases temperature, whereas inhaling faster decreases temperature. Work on keeping the lighter further away, and inhaling more slowly. Finding your sweet spot with these two things is key.

It's good that you are practicing with other herbs to get your method down. It took me a good week of just chilling on the couch vaping mj before I felt that I had it down perfectly. It would be wasteful to practice using changa or DMT fb.

Lastly, I keep a nice "mixing stick" next to me during my changa meditation sessions. It's supposed to be used as a "dabber" for hash oil, but works great. However, anything that allows you to mix up the herbs in the bowl will work. It depends how big of a bowl of herbs you pack, but mix it up every few hits. This will prevent the top layer from getting toasted and making the vapor taste like burnt popcorn, when there is still some love left in there.

Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense. Stick with it. My GVG is one of my most loved possessions/tools, and I'd hate for you to not experience what it can do for you.

Good luck!

Well this phrase makes it sound like you actually see something. During my weekend experiences the only time I would really actually see anything is when I created smoke. The actual vaporization (as confirmed by mint leaf experiences) is invisible and only somewhat detectible on the exhale via taste. So, I'm confused by your statement.

I can practice all I want using herbs, but spice is a completely different beast. Crude extract goo is different from crystals. Both are different from herbs. It seems that every new substance that gets put into the GVG needs to be finessed in its own special way in order to successfully vaporize the specific substance.

Anyhow, I'll be experimenting more later. Just want to make sure I'm doing everything properly. Thanks for your feedback. I'm still hoping to get more specific feedback regarding my comments about distance (thanks for mentioning one inch) and the fact that my torch lighter has a solid blue jet as well as a blue halo that extends well beyond that jet. In your case is the tip of the halo one inch above the bowl, or is the tip of the solid blue jet one inch above the bowl?

Oh one other thing I should mention the stainless steel wool started flaking after I kept the torch lighter on it over the sink for a couple of minutes. Another member here told me to torch the hell out of whatever stainless steel ribbon platform I was using. But now it seems like all this little black speks keep flaking off the stainless steel.

Should I just cut a new platform of steel wool and not burn it with the torch lighter?

Is it better to have a stainless steel platform that is wide and touches the glass walls of the pipe or have one that is narrow and does not contact the glass walls of the pipe?

I feel that such minuscule details are of the utmost importance, since I was expecting the GVG to be more forgiving, and have since found the opposite to be true.

Momentoftruth, How can one determine when they are inhaling vapor vs. smoke from a GVG?

There is no smoke. It's all vapor.

So I just got my GVG a few days ago. Just ran a test run with one scoop, approx 5mg, and I have to say... Oh ya. I don't understand how anyone can have issues tryijg to figure this thing out. I read this entire thread from the begining over the period of two days and its all their. Everything you need to know. No reason to ask any questions.

It took almost no heat to melt the DMT into the chore boy. I waited for a minute then hit it. It took a second but vapor appeared and instantly filled the GVG. I cleared it and surprisingly had strong physical effects of the measly 5mg. Definitely permanently switching to this amazing device obviously designed specifically for vaping DMT, even if not on purpose.

if you are turning herbs black then you are putting too much heat on it. For herbs i don't recommend using the steel/copper mesh because it causes the herbs to sit too high up in the bowl peice and when you combine high heat with herbs that are basically on a copper mesh booster seat, you will definitely burn them.

Any/all herb usage in my GVG is done with one screen(two at the most) and I usually never let the ceramic thing start glowing. For herbs you have to drag slower, with a little less direct heat, and you will be successful. I personally use traditional pipes for changa because i find it much easier. I do love using cannabis in the GVG though. The main thing you gotta do with it is remember that you only need to put a small amount in there. You want it to remain loose in the bowl and make sure its not stuffed all the way to the top. You need to be able to tap the GVG with your hand and redistribute the grounded herb in there between hits to make sure you are vaporizing all the good stuff and not just burning the herbs.

Salutations everyone,



Great, so i'll never get an answer to a question i got on my mind since Christmass 2011!...

Well, at least i can tell my story - so here it is!!

...

First of all i know nothing of pipes vs non-cannabic substances. That being said i once heard that cannabis could help those with heavy addictions so one day i decided to offer a wooden VaporGenie Vaporizer (VGV) to someone close to me. Why wood? Because i thought glass might risk to prove too convenient for the consumption of any drugs which that this gift was supposed to "help" with actually.

Months later i discovered that the wooden ball was all that's left of the guy's pipe, i've never seen the handle section of it again so i figure this must be my answer: instead of doing good i've probably made things a lot worst by providing an even more efficient way to consume street stuff, whatever.

So, if there are people capable of telling me which scenario is the most likely then my guess is that's the perfect place, although i try to avoid asking questions, usually...

Thank you all for not providing replies to a question i haven't asked!

You're welcome.