Cannabis concentrates like live resin, rosin, shatter, wax, oil, or crumble are extracted from the sticky trichomes (crystals) found on the cannabis plant.  But cannabis is far more than just THC and CBD.  There is a variety of terpenes (flavor and scent molecules), that’s where dabbing temperature matters.  Aside from the rosin technique, the extraction process requires the use of solvents like butane, propane or carbon dioxide to produce potent oils with high levels of THC.  Depending on the method chosen, each strain and growing technique, Terpene levels will vary and can even be added!  Studies suggest that these so called tepenes contribute to the major differences in strain effects on the mind and body.  Dabbing Temps at low levels will produce a healthier vapor that has far more flavor than a dabbing temps that are high

These concentrates can be vaporized, dabbed or free burned in a hot plate for the whole room.  Depending whether you are using a torch to heat or using electronics your experience will vary greatly.  First and foremost, all high quality terpene rich medicine should always be consumed on clean utensils and an enail.  No torch being timed is even close to the same everytime. Room temp, fans running that day, long torch time, unreeving heating, or my personal one that pisses me off… pooling!  The list goes on and on of why torches such.  Our enail will keep the temp stable all day all night, its ready when you want to use it.  Never guess temps, know the exact temp to the degree!  You spend hard earned money on quality product, why skimp on the correct tools for the job?  Get an enail today and change the way you do dabbing for life!

How to identify your preferred temp ranges

I think of temp as something like a campfire. We all might put our food in different spots for different reasons, but in the end we all get our food cooked the way we prefer (hopefully). Some like it a little on the warmer side for faster results where others like that slow and low. The best temp range to use is usually best determined by the type of material you are using. Just like how cooking temps usually depend on what meat you are using. Waxes and lighter concentrates generally prefer a little less heat, where as more stable concentrates like THCA crystals or shatters will generally need a little more heat. Ultimately though much of temperature choice simply comes down to personal taste and one should always keep this in mind. That being said, there are several factors to consider when thinking about ideals temps that we have outlined below for your convenience.

How Does Dabbing Work?

Dabbing requires heating a nail, and touching — or dabbing — the concentrate onto it, rather than placing it directly under a flame as one would with dry herbs. When concentrates make contact with the hot surface, they burn into a potent smoke.

While using a nail that’s not hot enough will waste concentrates by causing them to puddle and pool on its surface, a nail that’s too hot will cause the concentrates to burn too quickly, resulting in wastage and less flavorsome hits. Although some smoke may pass through the pipe after a concentrate combusts, the dab is essentially wasted. As well as destroying its flavor, overheating a concentrate will degenerate THCA into CBN. Not to mention inhaling hot air won’t feel good on the throat or lungs.

THCA, or Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, is a natural part of the cannabis plant that, upon the application of heat, changes into THC, the component responsible for getting you high. This process occurs when the concentrate is dabbed. It’s important to know, however, that if the nail is too hot when dabbing, the concentrate’s THCA can degrade into cannabinol (CBN) and wind up as reclaim. Although CBN has some psychoactive properties, it’s only 10% the strength of THC. Researchers believe CBN causes grogginess as well as dizziness and disorientation in users.

Our eNails provide fast heating and steady temps eNails

Using an electronic nail takes all the guesswork out of dabbing. Simply plug the eNail into the wall, choose the desired dabbing temperature and wait until it’s ready. Once it reaches the predetermined level, the eNail’s dabbing temperature will remain constant until it is unplugged or switched off, creating a more relaxed dabbing experience for whoever in the room wants to dab without the tedious time consuming use of a torch.

Benefits of Low-Temperature Dabs

With an eNail, users can experiment with a range of temperatures to see what works best with different concentrates, while discovering their own personal preferences.  Low temp dabs optimally occur between 600 and 710°F, and you can find the best eNail temp for you with a bit of trial and error. Dabbing with a lower temperature than that can result in the nail not being hot enough to heat the concentrate, causing it to go to waste by pooling up on the nail, bubbling and dissipating. Dabbing at low-temperatures is beneficial for a variety of reasons. Aside from enhancing the flavor of the concentrate by not burning away the terpenes, low-temperature dabbing preserves every part of the oil — including the THC, meaning each hit will be powerful and savory. Use a carb cap when experimenting with low-temperature dabs to produce twice as much vapor and get the most out of every hit.  The medium temperature for dabbing is around 700°F.  High Temp dabbing is anything above 720 after that you are no longer vaping! You are now smoking (combustion = cancer) science has proven this.  Vaping has not been proven to be safe or unsafe.  It is not combustion, and merely a steamed version of your oil.  Just like when you take a light to a white wall, the carbon will leave black soot on the wall, if you shower and steam up your walls, it dries with NO residue.

Low Temp Dabs…Don’t Let Your Nail Get Too Hot

Unfortunately, the most common mistake made by dabbers is to overheat the nail by waiting for it to glow red before hitting it. According to High Times, a blood-red glow indicates a dab temperature of 1075°F, while a faint-red glow indicates 930°F. High-temperature dabbing occurs at any temperature higher than 900°F and is just as wasteful as dabbing at too low a temperature. Aside from ruining the taste of the concentrate, which starts happening when nails are heated above 720°F, excessive heat will waste concentrates by causing it to splatter all over the place. Taking a hit off a red-hot nail can also damage the throat and lungs.

Finding the perfect dabbing temperature depends on the type of nail and concentrate being used. Use a carb cap to enhance the flavor, maximize each hit and save money by conserving concentrate.  In the end we tend to like 615-655°F and think it is best.  But it is still up to you, and choosing our enail will help your find and maintain your perfect dabbing temperature.

Life without an enail

Without an eNail, it can be impossible to accurately determine and regulate the dabbing temperature of a dab.  Timers may help but ambient room temp is always different at different times resulting in d0ifferent temps for the same timer set.  Imagine all the time wasted waiting for a timer, consuming your night and your party.  if you have several people at a party, BBQ, or Dab bar this can be hectic and frusteratign.  One option is to buy a temperature gun to determine the temperature of a nail, but who wants another part of the process?  And their accuracy is questionable, if you use the same heat gun, heat both nails for 25 seconds in 2 different external environments’ one 62 °F and the other at 92 °F the variables of the air temp are not the same and the readings cannot be trusted as accurate.  Lab measurements use conductively by touching the surface with a probe just like our enail which is physical connected to the control unit measuring it with ± 1-2 °F accuracy.

It’s a little known fact among dab users that if you know how to control the temperature of your vape or e-nail properly, you waste a whole lot less of your concentrates and can taste a lot more of your cannabis terpenes.

The temperature of your e-nail or vaporizer should adjust based on a couple of factors, being how much vapor you want to consum, the type of cannabis concentrate, and what type of materials you are using to consume the concentrate.

In general, you want to have your e-nail or vaporizer set somewhere in the 500°F to 800°F range, but as this guide will show, there is plenty of room to find your own preference. The 710 Life e-Nail is preset to 710°F to give users a nice starting point to dial in their preference as is our trademarked brand.

Large Hit or Impeccabble Flavor?

The main and most noticeable difference between higher and lower temperatures is the harshness and strength of the hit. This is the first factor to consider is the quality of your concentrates. Next is getting the hit you are looking for, as it has the biggest effect on where you should set your vape or e-nail.  Higher temperature dabs, at around 700°F to 800°F, produce more vapor but may burn off certain terpenes, sacrificing some flavor. Dabs, at around 550°F to  650°F, do not produce as much vapor but these low temp dabs preserve terpene profile a little bit longer contributing to consitantly much better flavor.

Remember high temp dabs equal more vapor but less flavor and low temp dabs give you less vapor but more flavor. Choose the right temperature that works best for you!

Different Dabs Need Different Heats

Various heats work better or worse for various concentrates. Generally, if the concentrate tends to be really viscous and it liquefies and pools in the bottom of your nail or atomizer, such as with shatter or distillates, it requires a higher heat to be able to fully vaporize without collecting and being hard to consume.

If you find that your concentrates are being incinerated or leaving behind un-smokable black residue consistently, as may happen with some dry cannabis concentrates like your waxes and crumbles at very high temperatures, you will want to turn it down.

The more viscous the concentrate, the more likely you will need a higher temperature to ensure that it has all been consumed. Below is a short list of suggestions for some different concentrate styles and what temperatures work best for them. Use this as a way to compare your concentrate to some of the more well-known varieties out there, and play around with the highs and lows of each section to figure out what works for you.

Low Heat (450°F to 550°F): Wax, Rosin, PHO, Shatter, BHO
Mid Heat (550°F to 670°F): Wax, Rosin, PHO, Shatter, BHO
High Heat (670°F to 800°F):, Crumble, Butter, Diamonds

Also as soon as the wax hits the nail it begins to pool up if you don’t have an enail .  Re-Torching it to use up the pooled wax is tastes nasty.  Our enail sense quickly and the moment it dips it gradually picks up keeping precision accuracy and never effecting the terpenes.

0-300°F: Too low Extreme low Temp Dab – 90-99% wastefull 

This will result in minimal vaporization of available cannabinoids and terpenes – you will not be consuming anywhere near all the concentrate dropped on the nail. Expect the concentrate to leave a large puddle of oil that produces little vapor (waste it to taste it).

450-500°F: Very Low temp dab 60-90% wasteful

This is a sweetter spot for vaporization of all cannabinoids and terpenes while retaining maximum flavor. Dabbing at this temperature will produce a smooth hit that is relatively easy on the lungs. The effects will be pleasant but milder than at hotter temperatures.

550-650°F: Low temp dab very little waste

This is a perfect range for those seeking both impeccable flavor and strong effect. At this temperature, a mix of vaporization of Both THC CBD CBN TERPENES and many others.  Also noted at this temp Plant Wax, Fats and Lipids will not vaporize on our enail if set

675-700F: Medium temp dab

This is a nice higher middle ground for those seeking both stronger High and effect, with slighly less terpene action. At this temperature, a mix of vaporization and combustion occurs.

710°F – Huge vapor little flavor and carcinogens are at higher concentrations

At this temperature, the nail may still be red hot and combustion is certain to occur. This will produce a harsh, intense hit with thick smoke. Most of the flavor will be lost at this temperature, resulting in a dab that tastes slightly burnt.

750+°F: High Temp – 🙁 Burning the dab – Cancer causing agents are made and combustive at this high level

We don’t recommend taking dabs at this temperature – it is not pleasant nor is it healthy

Flavor Checklist

1. get a nice rig (that’s personal)
2. get quality concentrate (thats on you)
3. use the most awarded the 710 Life e-nail here
4. use our quartz domeless or quartz banger with a carbcap here
5. adjusting the coil to properly fit snug around, read this guide here
6. set enail to a nice low temp 615-630 (be patient don’t rush wait a few miniutes… like a preheated oven it works nicer when all parts are equal in temp)
7. add just enough concentrate that you can consume it in one sitting, use the carb cap to reflect heat and constrict the air which will cause more vapor for added fun.
8. clean using an dry or ISO dipped cotton swab

More information on perfecting your enail dabbing experience

Type of Concentrate being used: consider what type of concentrate you are using. Wax and lighter types concentrate will vaporize faster at lower temps than more stable THCA crystals or Sugar type concentrates will. So depending on the concentrate type the temp can make or break the flavor.

Type of material consuming on domeless or banger brand you are using: consider the size and type of banger you are using. 25 or 30 and clear or opaque. The 30mm will always vaporize more material at a lower temp than the 25 since it has more surface area. However, this can sometimes be too much for some that want a bit less vapor production when dabbing. As for clear vs. opaque bottom. The opaque bottom bangers disperse heat more evenly across their surface, but tend to get dirtier faster due to the nature of the quartz used. The clear bottoms tend to handle dirty material a little better. One is not necessarily better than the other though, most of the choice in respect to clear vs. opaque simply comes down to personal taste. You can pick up a 99.999% pure medical grade quartz here

Fit of the coil tightening is best: consider the fit of your coil and how good it is. This is beyond critical as the looser the coil to the banger is the harder it is to get those lower temps that we all see people calling out. The banger should fit snug into the coil, but still be able to pull out freely. Refer to the tightening your coil article here.

Type of controller used: always consider the heat controller you are using. All controllers are not created equal. Some will run a bit higher than others and some will hold more stable. When dealing with your controller just feel it out, it all ends up going back to preference. What temp tastes and feels the best on the controller you use may be higher or lower than somebody else’s just because the controllers are set up different.  if your brand controller jumps huges numbers while you are inhaling your need a better brand, like our 710 Life eNail.

‍Dab Rig being used: consider the rig you are using and how much drag and air agitation it does. Less agitation and airflow can help increase the flavor and vapor production and also help to lower your temps.

Carb cap you are using: consider how restrictive or nonrestrictive the cap you are using is to the airflow. More restriction means lower temps and thicker vapor production (typically).

BossHog

See all author post