I have looked around quite a bit and hope this doesn't duplicate some common knowledge method of toking. I'll just paste in something I wrote up and hope it is useful to someone. The picture is of a alcohol burner heating the small version of the copper tube heat transfer device. It heated 3 min and was at 250C and that is about how I use it; and reheat as necessary..
(20231220). I only use very small quantities weed, my own grow, and prefer a one-hitter to control the dose, rather than try to estimate how much I've had from a larger bowl - and then have used stuff of uncertain potentcy left in the bowl for the next times. I don't like smoke and prefer vapor, but my desktop Arizer V-tower has a bowl too large for my taste, doesn't work very well with just a tiny pinch, and it isn't portable. Portable dry herb vaporizers definitely exist but are pretty expensive for a good one - and inevitably there will be a day it is dead electronics to recycle, along with the batteries.
To suit my purposes I have come up with a fairly simple solution that doesn't cost much, is unbreakable, and is simple to use. Very, very simple, but I haven't seen this anywhere so I wanted to share it. (Previously in my life I saw a simple and common-knowledge idea get patented and I prefer that this, should it be useful, be in the public domain.
Using either a standard glass straight tube one-hitter (about 4" long, ~1/2" dia) or a Fifka-Lufka type one-hitter (vendor smokinghouseave on TheBay), the idea is to load a small bit of herb in the tip and then heat that without flame by inserting the tip into a heated metal tube to cause vaporization without combustion. I just heat a small closed-end tube of copper pipe in a flame (alcohol burner, torch lighter, candle, campfire) and apply that to the one-hitter. The heat seems very forgiving without causing combustion; you don't heat it cherry red!!! Just heat it a bit*. When the one-hitter tip is inserted, The one-hitter tube warms from the radiation of the heated metal tube; after 2-3 seconds, I slowly inhale and the air that flows between the heated metal tube and the one-hitter is warmed by the metal tube and flows over the pinch of bud, warming it to the vaporization point. Vaporization is done in seconds and, if you do this properly your bud will look a little less green but definitely not burned; back off on your heating if you are burning the bud.
*Using a small (3/8" tall) flame from an alcohol burner that is about 1/2" below the tube, it takes 3 to 3.5 min to be plenty hot. Repeat heating as needed. To set a small flame, set the wick to be just above the metal guide and use grain alcohol or denatured alcohol. Using other heat sources...you will figure it out shortly. An intense torch or torch lighter will probably heat more quickly but be cautious not to overheat.
I think the the metal pipe heating is very forgiving because the pipe begins to cool immediately when removed from the flame. Then it transfers heat to the one-hitter, heating it. Then it heats the air you draw down the tube into the one-hitter tip down at the closed end of the heated metal tube. And finally, heating is never instant so the bud ramps up in temperature to the vaporization point. You can feel the heated air/vapor after a couple of seconds of smooth drawing, and the work is done at that time so you remove the one-hitter before the dried bud can possibly reach combustion temperature.
The metal tube I use is a piece of copper pipe: use about 1" length of pipe and use 1/2" copper water pipe (with an endcap press fit, no solder) for a "standard" one-hitter; for the Fifka-Lufka style of small thin-wall glass one-hitter you can use 3/8" dia copper tubing and just crimp the end closed in a vise, or with vise grips, etc. I apply about a 6" length of wire wrapped a couple of times around the metal tube and twisted tight to make a handle; I use 17ga steel electric fence wire because I had some, but you could use a bit of 14ga bare copper wire. This makes a handle that doesn't get hot. I drill a small hole in a block of wood that will accept the wire to hold the metal tube off the table when hot. You can have this handle be the right length to hold the tube about 0.5-1.0 inch above an alcohol lamp flame, or hold it by hand while you heat with a torch lighter. Hold by the handle and insert the one-hitter, wait a second, then inhale smoothly, and finally remove the one-hitter and set the handle wire back in it's hole to let the hot metal tube cool.
That's it. Simple. Not for everyone for sure - I use small amounts and like to control the dose so this is perfect for me. Each hit is fresh and fairly consistent.I don't know if this is a good idea for others, but I wanted to share it publicly so that someone doesn't patent it and prevent others from freely implementing this gear in the case some of you find it useful. The pictures show the copper tubes with wire handles, and standard/small one-hitters.
Note: I found a link on 420mag.com of someone using a glass tube one-hitter to vaporize.
He places the herb way up in a long glass tube where he has pushed a screen. He is directing the torch lighter flame into the tip of the glass tube to provide heated air and the distance to the load of herb prevents direct combustion. Nice and simple but it does require a long glass tube (fragile) and messing about with the screen and loading some herb deep into the tube; you are also inhaling the torch exhaust with that method. Then there is the cleaning/reloading. So I had this idea to use standardly available one-hitters and use a heated tube to indirectly transfer the heat. Using extreme care, one can use a standard (4", heavier glass) one-hitter with a tiny pinch of herb and GENTLY heat the constriction area with a flame/heat source and get vaporization, but you are heating the glass and it is more like a conduction vaporizer process and may overheat the herb. The copper tube heat transfer is more controlled and only slightly more complicated.
Hope someone finds this useful. If I've done something terrible, I'm new here, go ahead and give it to me ;-) and tell me how I should have posted this.
(20231220). I only use very small quantities weed, my own grow, and prefer a one-hitter to control the dose, rather than try to estimate how much I've had from a larger bowl - and then have used stuff of uncertain potentcy left in the bowl for the next times. I don't like smoke and prefer vapor, but my desktop Arizer V-tower has a bowl too large for my taste, doesn't work very well with just a tiny pinch, and it isn't portable. Portable dry herb vaporizers definitely exist but are pretty expensive for a good one - and inevitably there will be a day it is dead electronics to recycle, along with the batteries.
To suit my purposes I have come up with a fairly simple solution that doesn't cost much, is unbreakable, and is simple to use. Very, very simple, but I haven't seen this anywhere so I wanted to share it. (Previously in my life I saw a simple and common-knowledge idea get patented and I prefer that this, should it be useful, be in the public domain.
Using either a standard glass straight tube one-hitter (about 4" long, ~1/2" dia) or a Fifka-Lufka type one-hitter (vendor smokinghouseave on TheBay), the idea is to load a small bit of herb in the tip and then heat that without flame by inserting the tip into a heated metal tube to cause vaporization without combustion. I just heat a small closed-end tube of copper pipe in a flame (alcohol burner, torch lighter, candle, campfire) and apply that to the one-hitter. The heat seems very forgiving without causing combustion; you don't heat it cherry red!!! Just heat it a bit*. When the one-hitter tip is inserted, The one-hitter tube warms from the radiation of the heated metal tube; after 2-3 seconds, I slowly inhale and the air that flows between the heated metal tube and the one-hitter is warmed by the metal tube and flows over the pinch of bud, warming it to the vaporization point. Vaporization is done in seconds and, if you do this properly your bud will look a little less green but definitely not burned; back off on your heating if you are burning the bud.
*Using a small (3/8" tall) flame from an alcohol burner that is about 1/2" below the tube, it takes 3 to 3.5 min to be plenty hot. Repeat heating as needed. To set a small flame, set the wick to be just above the metal guide and use grain alcohol or denatured alcohol. Using other heat sources...you will figure it out shortly. An intense torch or torch lighter will probably heat more quickly but be cautious not to overheat.
I think the the metal pipe heating is very forgiving because the pipe begins to cool immediately when removed from the flame. Then it transfers heat to the one-hitter, heating it. Then it heats the air you draw down the tube into the one-hitter tip down at the closed end of the heated metal tube. And finally, heating is never instant so the bud ramps up in temperature to the vaporization point. You can feel the heated air/vapor after a couple of seconds of smooth drawing, and the work is done at that time so you remove the one-hitter before the dried bud can possibly reach combustion temperature.
The metal tube I use is a piece of copper pipe: use about 1" length of pipe and use 1/2" copper water pipe (with an endcap press fit, no solder) for a "standard" one-hitter; for the Fifka-Lufka style of small thin-wall glass one-hitter you can use 3/8" dia copper tubing and just crimp the end closed in a vise, or with vise grips, etc. I apply about a 6" length of wire wrapped a couple of times around the metal tube and twisted tight to make a handle; I use 17ga steel electric fence wire because I had some, but you could use a bit of 14ga bare copper wire. This makes a handle that doesn't get hot. I drill a small hole in a block of wood that will accept the wire to hold the metal tube off the table when hot. You can have this handle be the right length to hold the tube about 0.5-1.0 inch above an alcohol lamp flame, or hold it by hand while you heat with a torch lighter. Hold by the handle and insert the one-hitter, wait a second, then inhale smoothly, and finally remove the one-hitter and set the handle wire back in it's hole to let the hot metal tube cool.
That's it. Simple. Not for everyone for sure - I use small amounts and like to control the dose so this is perfect for me. Each hit is fresh and fairly consistent.I don't know if this is a good idea for others, but I wanted to share it publicly so that someone doesn't patent it and prevent others from freely implementing this gear in the case some of you find it useful. The pictures show the copper tubes with wire handles, and standard/small one-hitters.
Note: I found a link on 420mag.com of someone using a glass tube one-hitter to vaporize.
Hope someone finds this useful. If I've done something terrible, I'm new here, go ahead and give it to me ;-) and tell me how I should have posted this.
