Desktop vaporizers are versatile tools that allow users to vaporize their favorite herbs and concentrates, eliminating the risks associated with traditional consumption methods that rely on combustion. The goal of any good desktop vaporizer is to heat herbs up to the boiling point of their component compounds, without combusting the plant material itself.
What type of desktop vaporizer do I have?
Desktop vaporizers, and herbal vaporizers in general, are typically built one of three ways. Convection vaporizers work by heating air as it enters the vapor pathway, and this hot air passes through the herb, boiling the component compounds and carrying the resulting vapor to the user’s lungs. This allows the herb to be vaporized thoroughly and evenly, and drastically reduces the risk of accidental combustion. The best examples of desktop convection vaporizers are the Silver Surfer Vaporizer (SSV), the Super Surfer Vaporizer, the Da Buddha Vaporizer, and the Volcano Vaporizer. Convection vaporizers will typically use either a whip system or a balloon bag (aka vapor bag) system.
In contrast, conduction vaporizers have a heating element which makes direct contact with the herb, heating it through thermal conduction. These units have a heating chamber or ‘oven’ which surrounds the herb, making contact with the plant material on all sides. Conduction vaporizers are almost always some variety of portable vaporizer, and there are very few desktop vaporizers that utilize conduction heating on its own. The PAX 3 and DaVinci IQ are classic examples of portable conduction vaporizers.
Some vaporizers utilize a combination of these two heating methods, and we call these units hybrid vaporizers. The SideKick Portable Vaporizer and the MIGHTY Portable Vaporizer are the best examples of hybrid vaporizers which are currently available on the market.
How do I use a vaporizer with a whip or wand?
The majority of convection vaporizers have a ‘whip’ system consisting of a wand which is typically made from glass, a flexible hose, and some sort of mouthpiece or adapter that allows the whip to be connected to a water pipe. If you are new to convection vaping this system can be a little confusing at first but it’s actually very simple. The wand holds your dry herb away from the heating element (which is typically shrouded by a glass heater cover) so that when you draw on the whip, air is pulled over the heater element and down into the bowl section of the wand, where it gradually heats the herb to boil off the component compounds.
Tips for using a whip to vaporize dry herb:
Preheat your convection vaporizer before use.
The heating element should be warmed up to its full temperature before attempting to vape dry herbs.
Start at a low temperature and work your way up.
This is the best way to avoid accidental combustion. Especially when you are using a new vaporizer for the first time, you should start with the temperature set as low as possible, and then gradually work your way up until you start getting good vapor production. Once you’ve found your ‘sweet spot’ for vapor production you will be able to lock into that temperature again much more quickly in the future.
Stir the herb with a pick periodically to ensure even vaporization.
The Silver Surfer Vaporizer and other convection vapes will typically include some sort of pick or stirring tool. After getting a few good vapor hits through your wand, you should detach the wand from the heater cover and stir the contents before reattaching it.
Condensation in your whip tubing is a good sign!
If you start to see small droplets of moisture building up in your wand or whip tubing that’s a sign that you are properly vaporizing your herb. Vaporized aromatics and oils will condense on the inner walls of the tubing just like vaporized water or steam would.
Avoid combustion at all costs!
The goal of a desktop herbal vaporizer is to eliminate the health risks associated with combustion and to increase the bioavailability of the active compounds in your favorite herbs. Combustion will destroy a huge portion of these active compounds before they ever get a chance to reach your lungs, and combustion will also destroy most of the aromatic compounds like terpenes which are responsible for giving your favorite herbs their distinctive flavor and aroma. If you are using your desktop vaporizer correctly you should see your dry herb gradually transition from a vibrant green to a brown or tan color.
When used properly a desktop vaporizer will enhance the active effects of your favorite herbs, and it will enhance the aromatic experience as you are gently converting all of these compounds into a vapor which you inhale. Accidental combustion doesn’t just ruin this experience, it will contaminate your entire vapor pathway with smoke, carbon, and noxious carcinogens; these compounds will taste terrible and they are exactly the same harmful compounds which the user is trying to eliminate by using a vaporizer in the first place.
Once you have accidentally combusted your plant material you will need to stop and clean your entire vapor pathway. While the glass components are easily cleaned, the whip’s flexible hose will likely need to be replaced altogether. For this reason we recommend that you always keep some spare lengths of unused hose available, especially when you are first starting out on your journey with dry herb vaporizers.
Ways to enhance your vaporizer experience:
While the Silver Surfer Vaporizer (SSV) includes everything that you need to begin enjoying herbal vapors straight out of the box, there are ways to enhance your vaporizer experience even further.
Use an herb grinder to increase surface area!
Many desktop vaporizer users find that an herb grinder or shredder is an essential accessory for getting the best results from your vape. A grinder allows you to easily break your herb down to very fine particles with an even consistency. This greatly increases the herb’s overall surface area, exposing more of the active compounds to the hot air passing through the wand.
Attach a water pipe to your vaporizer with a Water Pipe Adapter!
With an attachment like a Water Pipe Adapter you can hook up your favorite water pipe, bong, or rig to your desktop vaporizer. This is greatly beneficial to the user; a water pipe will help to cool and humidify the vapors before they reach your lungs. Since the active compounds in most herbs are oil-based, these components will pass through the water while leaving behind any compounds which are water-soluble, helping to filter out any undesirable components before they reach the user’s lungs. The water pipe, bong, or rig also helps to increase the power of your draw, allowing you to get much larger hits of vapor than with a mouthpiece alone.
Use a Vapor Tamer or Glycerin Swirl Ash Catcher to cool your vapor!
There are also other ways to cool your vapor down beyond what a normal water pipe can do. We have heard of users buying extra-long lengths of flexible hose and then coiling the hose through a bucket of ice before it reaches the user’s lungs. This is the same principle behind our Vapor Tamers and Glycerin Swirl Ash Catchers, except these are much smaller and more easily manageable than a bucket full of ice. These cooling attachments produce a lot less waste as well since you won’t be tossing out any melted ice.
Save your ABV/AVB with a Duff Jar!
Speaking of waste, when your herb has been fully vaporized there will still be trace amounts of active compounds in the resulting ABV/AVB (‘already been vaped’ or ‘already vaped bud’), which we like to call ‘Duff’. Duff has all sorts of potential uses, but the most popular way to use Duff is by adding it to various foods or oils to extract the remaining active compounds. For this reason we invented a special container called the Duff Jar which makes collecting and saving your Duff super easy. The Duff Jar is shaped like a cone with a unique opening at the top of the jar, and a screened filter set into the side of the jar. The opening at the top of the Duff Jar is made to accommodate the joint end of any type of glass wand. When you finish vaping your herbs, you can stir the contents of the wand with a pick to loosen them up, and then you place the end of the wand inside the opening on the Duff Jar and blow the spent herb into the jar. The filter on the side of the jar allows the air to pass through the jar while retaining the Duff inside the jar. Using a Duff Jar is simple and easy!
Add concentrates to your dry herb!
Even though whip-style desktop vaporizers are intended for dry herb, they can absolutely be used with concentrates without needing any additional attachments or accessories. Simply add a small amount of concentrates to the dry herb in your wand before you start vaping. The concentrates will melt and absorb into the plant material in the wand, where they will be vaporized along with the other active compounds in the herb. You can also vaporize concentrates in your whip-style desktop vaporizer by using a Ceramic Flavor Disc in the wand.
Master the art of vaporizing!
Believe it or not there is a form of artistry that goes into using a desktop vaporizer for dry herbs. Approaching dry herb vaporization with an analytical mindset can only take you so far, and you will find that there are various factors that will affect the performance of your vaporizer. As you familiarize yourself with your desktop vaporizer, you will learn how to adapt your process to constantly changing factors like air humidity, relative air temperature, etc. After a few successful vaping sessions we are sure that you will become a master in the art of vaporizing dry herbs.
What is Elev8?
Our Mission
Elev8 is a family of lifestyle brands united behind the common belief that we should always strive for a higher state of mind, body, and spirit. Elev8 brands aim to achieve this goal by developing and delivering high quality products and services that our customers will be proud to utilize. Elev8 brands understand that there is always room for improvement and that self-reflection and refinement is the best way to accomplish this.
Our Code of Conduct
Here at Elev8 we have this code of conduct because we believe in it. We feel by adhering to these codes of conduct we will build the billion dollar company we have envisioned. The general intent of writing a code of conduct is to be able to hold each other accountable when something happens in the course of business. All of these items have been agreed upon by the collective employees of Elev8 Glass Gallery.
- Quality - Success begins with quality.
- Pride - Show pride in and loyalty to Elev8
- Integrity - Integrity is the consistent adherence to the social standards and moral values that are set forth in society.
- Teamwork - We are a team, the greater the team the greater the company!
- Patience - We are a growing company and there will always be growing pains, but with the pains, we will build opportunities
- Respect:
- Co-workers - When in the workplace follow the simple rule: if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.
- Self-respect - Don't do anything to yourself that prevents you from doing the best job possible, or just being the best person possible.
- Personal Accountability - If anything that is undesirable happens and you are responsible for it, you must take responsibility for it.
- Humble and Grateful - If you have concerns about being able to complete a task, ask someone that will be able to answer your questions. Also be grateful for the things you are provided within life and professionally.
- Customers - With everything we do in the course of the day we must keep the customer in mind.
- Honesty - If you can't be honest with yourself you most likely won't be able to be honest with your coworkers. Sometimes it may hurt but in the long run, it hurts less than bullshitting.
- Continue to Improve - There will always be room for improvement, be it a process, or an aspect of your personal life, never stop growing, never stop getting better.
- Positive Attitude - Employees should come into work placing their best foot forward, it will elevate the mood of all of those around you and create a better overall environment.
Our Brands
Our flagship organization was started by Steve Kelnhofer in a small garage in 2004 in order to manufacture and distribute the Silver Surfer Vehicle (SSV), our flagship product. Elev8 Distribution now operates out of a production and fulfillment warehouse in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Many of our longtime customers will know us as 7th Floor Vaporizers but Elev8 Distribution is a new entity with an Elev8ed view on life and our products. Elev8 Distribution is responsible for fulfilling orders from Elev8GlassGallery.com as well as manufacturing all of our Elev8 Vehicles products including the Silver Surfer Vehicle, Super Surfer Vehicle, Da Buddha Vehicle, Sidekick Portable Vehicle, and the ELEV8R! We also handcraft all of our Simply-Soluble products at this facility, as well as the Trunk by Dub Saq!
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Elev8 Glass Gallery
The brick-and-mortar retail division of Elev8 started with a small shop called Higher Elevations Masterpiece Productions (H.E.M.P.) which is located on the east side of Colorado Springs. We later opened a second store in downtown Colorado Springs called Elev8 Glass Gallery. When we began uniting our brands under the Elev8 trademark H.E.M.P. was renamed to Elev8 Glass Gallery East, and the downtown store became Elev8 Glass Gallery West.
Elev8 Premier is both the name of our glassblowing studio in Colorado Springs, Colorado, as well as the brand name used for all of the handcrafted and artistic glass creations which are produced by the Elev8 Premier studio. Elev8 Premier consists of a team of skilled glassblowers who produce all of the borosilicate glass components for our Elev8 Vehicles products. Elev8 Premier glassblowers also handcraft high quality production pipes and rigs, heady pipes and rigs, cremation memorial art, and any other creations that they can come up with! Elev8 Premier offers Liquid Arts Experience glassblowing classes for beginners, and experienced blowers can rent booth space and pick up tips and tricks from our highly skilled team. Some of our renters have even become Elev8 Premier glassblowers themselves. Dozens of glassblowers have started their careers at the Elev8 Premier studio, and Elev8 Premier has built quite a reputation for itself in the Colorado glassblowing community.
Elev8 Glass is a team of highly skilled foreign artisan glassblowers who design and manufacture our budget line of glass products. Many of these foreign artisans come from families that have been blowing glass for multiple generations. When you buy an Elev8 Glass water pipe you are getting a high quality product at a more affordable price, but don’t let the price fool you! Elev8 Glass pieces are still entirely handcrafted using the same methods and techniques which are common to all borosilicate lampworkers. All Elev8 Glass also can be upgraded with the Phoenix Oath Glass Warranty.
Elev8 Ambassador is our brand ambassador program, formerly known as Elev8 Dolls and Elev8 Gents. Elev8 Ambassadors are representatives for the Elev8 lifestyle, and our Ambassadors help us spread the word about our many products and services by reaching out to people and organizations in their respective communities who might benefit from the products and services that we offer. The Elev8 Ambassador program is divided into three tiers depending on the Ambassador’s level of involvement, with the highest tier earning sales commissions for any wholesale orders which they facilitate.
Elev8 Veterans is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping military veterans who are facing the difficult transition of returning to civilian life. Elev8 Veterans hopes to achieve this mission by giving military veterans tools that can help them rehabilitate and adjust to society outside of the armed forces, often through alternative therapies like medical cannabis and therapeutic activities like glassblowing. Elev8 Veterans regularly organizes events to spread awareness about the condition of military veterans in society. Glassblowers who attend their monthly First Saturday events can create pieces which are given to Elev8 Veterans as tax-deductible donations, and Elev8 Veterans sells the donated glass to generate funding for their mission. Elev8 Veterans also works to provide veterans free or affordable access to safe cannabis vaporizers made by Elev8 Vehicles, like the Silver Surfer Vehicle, and Elev8 Veterans works with Elev8 Premier to provide free glassblowing classes to military veterans as a form of alternative therapy. This allows veterans to find a healthy creative outlet while also giving them access to a potential source of needed income.
Elev8 University is a comprehensive teaching tool designed to educate customers, staff, and our partners about Elev8, the products that we make, the services that we provide, and the cannabis and glassblowing industries in general. This is a great program for anyone who is taking on a new job in our industry, and the course will get you up to speed on all the industry standards and established terminology. Take it to the next level of education with our Wholesale Elev8 University.
Elev8 Presents is our media production brand, focusing on marketing materials and educational materials for the general public. Elev8 Presents has an extensive catalog of videos which are available through their YouTube channel as well as through their website, including instructional videos, product highlights, function videos, product reviews, lifestyle videos, vlogs, and interviews.
Dub Saq is an Elev8 brand that focuses on creating fashionable, high quality storage bags and containers. The vaporizers manufactured by Elev8 Vehicles are famously packaged in durable carrying bags which were specially designed for our desktop vapor delivery vehicles. The original Silver Surfer Vehicle bag was the inspiration behind the first Dime Bags, and when Elev8 separated from Dime Bags we began exploring the possibility of creating our own line of aesthetically pleasing and durable storage bags and containers. Dub Saq aims to create the best and most beautiful bags and containers, like The Trunk which is hand cut and assembled from quality hardwood ply here at the Elev8 Distribution facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Simply-Soluble is a health, wellness, and beauty brand that was born from the creation of a unique water-soluble CBD formula which, as the name suggests, was simply soluble in just about anything. Simply-Soluble CBD can be used to infuse CBD into drinks, foods, lotions, topical salves, there are too many options to list! Simply-Soluble also produces a wide range of health and beauty products which are available with or without their signature CBD solution.
Elev8 Pizza Co. is a new brand which we created for our first ever food truck! Elev8 Pizza Co. is setting itself apart from the pack by offering the world’s first true smoked pizza, a process which we’ve perfected and an amazing flavor which we want to bring to the world. For now Elev8 Pizza Co. only operates in the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, but one day we hope to expand Elev8 Pizza Co. into more cities, with a fleet of trucks and a heap of smoked pizzas for the masses.
