When you shop for a dry herb vaporizer, comparing the heating technologies used by the various devices is one of the most important things that you’ll need to do before making your decision. When you think about it, though, that actually makes sense. Heating, after all, is a dry herb vaporizer’s main job. A good vaporizer should heat up quickly enough to provide vapor almost on demand. It should also reach your desired temperature reliably without scorching the herbs and causing combustion.
Today’s dry herb vaporizers are more dependable than ever, and most of that comes down to the innovative application of two main heating technologies: conduction and convection. Here’s how they work.
- Conduction heating transfers heat from the vaporizer’s oven to the herbs through direct physical contact. The heating element might be built into the device’s oven or positioned immediately below it. Heat travels through ceramic or metal and through the herb particles themselves.
- Convection uses air rather than direct physical contact to transfer heat from the vaporizer’s heating element to the oven. In the original convection vaporizers, a fan would force the air from the heating element to the oven. This system is sometimes referred to as true convection. It’s difficult to fit a fan in a battery-powered vaporizer, though, so smaller devices use a hybrid convection system in which you supply the air pressure when you inhale.
Convection and conduction are two ways of achieving the same goal, and both have their own sets of pros and cons. We’re going to explain the benefits and drawbacks in this guide, and you’ll come away with much better idea of which type of dry herb vape will be the best fit for you.
At Hamilton Devices, we are proud to offer two of the best dry herb vaporizers on the market: the Calent and the Celsius 2.0, both by Auxo. Click one of the links now to examine one of these two great devices as we continue our exploration of convection vs. conduction vapes.
Benefits of Conduction Vapes
The primary benefit of conduction heating in a vaporizer is lower cost. Conduction heating is almost always less expensive to implement than convection heating because the device’s oven and heating element are essentially constructed as a single piece. The least expensive dry herb vaporizers always use conduction heating.
Small size is the other major benefit of conduction vapes. A convection vaporizer doesn’t have to use a fan, but it does need to have space between the heating element and the oven. By necessity, that results in a larger device. Although larger conduction vaporizers do exist, the smallest and most pocketable vapes always use conduction heating.
Drawbacks of Conduction Vapes
With a conduction vaporizer, it’s possible for the device’s heating element to scorch your herbs if you’re not careful. Good temperature sensing technology helps to prevent this issue, but it’s a good idea to pay attention to the herbs in your device’s oven if you’re using an inexpensive conduction vaporizer and don’t want the device to combust your material. If you see gray in your device’s oven after a vaping session, you’ll want to lower your device’s temperature if you can because your herbs are burning.
Another drawback of conduction vaporizers is that the heat starts on the outer edges of the oven and transmits to the center of the oven through physical contact between the herb particles. By the time the heat reaches the center of the oven, the temperature may not be quite high enough to vaporize the beneficial compounds in the herbs. As a result, the center of the oven will have a pocket of green, unused herbs. Because of the potential for uneven heating, it’s sometimes necessary to remove the device’s lid in the middle of a session and stir the herbs when you use a conduction vaporizer.
Benefits of Convection Vapes
Using air to transmit heat from the vaporizer’s oven to the herbs has some significant benefits, and one of the biggest benefits is that it’s easier to control the temperature and prevent the herbs from burning. With a convection vaporizer, you’ll have no trouble maintaining the ideal temperature for whatever strain you happen to be using.
An additional benefit of convection heating is that the air helps the heat to penetrate through to the center of the oven, promoting complete usage of the herbs without the need to open your device and stir the oven mid-session. This isn’t just a matter of convenience; it also improves the flavor quality because all of the herb particles in the oven reach the same temperature at approximately the same time.
Drawbacks of Convection Vapes
As we described earlier in the article, a convection vaporizer needs to have empty space between the heating element and the oven since the heat is transmitted by air rather than physical contact. For that reason, convection vapes are larger by necessity than conduction vapes. Also, since convection heating systems are usually more complex than conduction systems, convection vaporizers typically cost a bit more.
Another drawback of convection vaporizers is that it’s sometimes a bit more difficult to load their ovens properly compared to conduction vapes. If you overpack the oven, the air will have difficulty penetrating through to the herbs in the center. If the oven is underfilled, on the other hand, the herb particles will fly around inside the oven and won’t reach the correct temperature.
Wrapping Up
As you increase your knowledge of dry herb vaporizers and how they work, one important thing to keep in mind is that there’s always plenty of room for innovation – and when it comes to heating, the best vaporizers often use a combination of technologies. The Auxo Calent, for example, uses a blend of conduction and infrared heating. The Auto Celsius, meanwhile, uses a blend of convection and infrared heating. Now that you’ve read this guide, you should have a much better idea of which is the better fit for you – and if you’re still not sure, don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly experts. We’re always happy to answer your questions and can’t wait to help you find the perfect vaporizer for your needs.