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Having a vape battery with the ability to operate at multiple voltages is a great feature, but it can lead to a sense of paralysis if you’re new to vaping because you want to be certain that you’re doing things correctly. That’s the case partly because it’s important for your experience to be as good as it can be and partly because you don’t want to waste the material in your cartridge.
The good news is that determining the best voltage for a THC cart doesn’t have to be difficult. Mainly, you can just pay attention to the type of experience you’re having. If you want bigger clouds and more intense flavors, you can feel free to kick your device’s voltage up as long as the cart doesn’t begin to taste burnt.
It can help to have a bit of expert advice if you’re still in the beginning stages of learning how to vape, though, and that’s exactly what we’re going to give you in this article. Let’s jump in.
At City Trees, we are proud to carry the best selection of variable-voltage vape pens by famed manufacturer Rokin. The Thunder offers three power settings of 3.6, 3.2, & 2.7 volts, and the Dial allows you to select the power level of your choice from 2.0 to 4.0 volts using an analog dial. We’ve customized both devices with the City Trees logo, so you can represent your favorite Las Vegas dispensary wherever you go.
The Best Voltage for All Types of THC Cartridges
The best voltage for a standard distillate-based THC cart is usually somewhere in the range of about 3.4-3.7 volts. If a vape pen is regulated to operate at a single power level and doesn’t have adjustable voltage, there’s a good chance that it’s designed to work somewhere in that range because it’ll give you efficient performance with the widest variety of carts.
These days, though, standard distillate isn’t the only thing you’ll find in a vape cartridge. There are also new specialized extracts like live resin, which is made from top-quality flower that’s flash frozen before extraction to preserve the volatile terpenes. Many terpenes vaporize at relatively low temperatures, and you wouldn’t want to burn them before you have an opportunity to taste them. For that reason, many people use live resin carts at lower voltages. The most common power range for live resin carts is around 2.0-3.0 volts.
The Best Voltage for Wax Coils
If you’re using a dab pen with adjustable voltage, you’re in luck because waxy concentrates often need a little more oomph compared to vape carts in order to really get going. People usually start their dab pens around 3.6-3.7 volts and then kick the power up from there if necessary. Using a dab pen, though, is all about finding the ideal balance between getting a satisfying cloud and not overwhelming yourself with heat from the coil. That’s why many dab pens have built-in bubblers. A bubbler allows the vapor to pass through a container of water before you inhale it, which provides instant cooling that can make dabbing infinitely more enjoyable. If you’ve attached a wax tank to a standard vape pen and are using that for dabbing, you can use a silicone adapter to connect your vape pen to a standalone bubbler or water pipe.
How to Know if Your Voltage Is Too High
It’s easy to tell if you’ve set your vape pen’s voltage too high because your vaping experience will become unpleasant. The cartridge’s atomizer coil will vaporize the oil in the wick almost instantly, leaving the wick dry. Since it takes several seconds for the wick to absorb more oil from the cartridge, the coil begins to overheat. At that point, the vapor becomes incredibly harsh and unpleasant. It might make you cough, and you definitely won’t want to inhale it; it’ll be immediately evident that something is wrong. If you experience this situation after increasing your vape pen’s power level, the voltage is definitely too high.
If your vape pen’s voltage is only slightly too high, it’s possible for the negative effect to be more subtle – particularly if you’re using a cartridge that’s filled with a high-terpene extract like live resin. If the vapor seems so hot or so intense that you’re not able to taste the subtle terpenes in your extract, it’s a sign that you should consider lowering your device’s voltage.
How to Know if Your Voltage Is Too Low
If your vaping experience is unsatisfying, that’s the first sign that your vape pen’s voltage is too low. You’ll find that your device produces small, wispy clouds with very little flavor; it may even produce almost no vapor at all. A sudden decrease in vapor production can also be a sign that your vape pen’s battery needs to be recharged, though, so make sure the battery is topped up before you begin playing with the voltage. If you’re certain that your device is charged, you probably need to increase the power to help your device vaporize the oil more efficiently.
Is your cartridge leaking or making gurgling sounds when you use it? Those are other likely signs that your device’s voltage is too low. The cartridge’s heating coil won’t vaporize the oil efficiently if the power is too low, and the air pressure from your puffs will cause oil to enter the cartridge’s coil assembly more quickly than the coil can vaporize it. If the oil floods the coil assembly, it’ll end up in the cartridge’s chimney or airflow vents. That leads to gurgling, leaking and clogging. If you hear a gurgling sound when you vape and are sure that you aren’t using too much air pressure, it’s likely that you need to kick the voltage up a bit.
Do You Have More Questions?
Getting started with vaping isn’t always easy for newcomers, but we’re always happy to answer your questions. Visit us at one of our locations in Nevada, New Mexico or New York and talk to a friendly budtender today.
