Types of Vaporizers

Vaporizers are available in many varieties. The simplest models use a lighter as heat source such as the simple Vapor Genie, or even a car lighter, as is the case of the Vapir Oxygen, and come at a price as low as a few bucks. Other models use electrical heating elements with the more advanced models featuring electronic temperature control, such as the Digital Volcano Vaporizer. High-end models may cost several hundred dollars and designed to medical standards.

High-end models for the purist may cost several hundred dollars, such as the American engineered Vapezilla, or the German Volcano Vaporization System by Storz and Bickel, while the mid-range and standard "wood box and whip” vaporizers such as the Voodoo start at around $125 for the thrifty utilitarian. Broadly, vaporizers can be classified into how they heat the substance: by convection or conduction: With convection heating, the substance itself never touches a heating element. Instead, hot air passes over it heating it rapidly and allowing the release of the active constituents. This method of heating is by far superior, and releases far more active constituents than conduction heating. With conduction heating, the substance is placed on a metal plate or other hot surface that is then heated to release the active constituents. These vaporizers are inferior as the direct contact between hot surfaces and the herbs can cause them to burn.

Vaporizers also differ in other respects, such as how the vapors are 'delivered'. With direct lung delivery, the user initiates the vapor creation by inhaling to draw the hot air through the herbs, in some cases with a fan assist. This creates the freshest and most bioactive vapor possible as oxidation is minimized. With stored vapor delivery, the machine creates vapor, captures and stores it in a glass dome or plastic bag for later inhalation such as seen with the original “fish bowl” vaporizers of the seventies or the Herbal Aire, and the newer Volcano Vaporizer which utilizes a balloon bag for stored vapor delivery that addresses some of the oxidation issues associated with storage of vapor.

Depending on the type of filling chamber equipped in/on the vaporizer, whole plant material or liquid samples (e.g., aromatic oil, extract, or pure compounds in solution) can be used.

Perhaps the most important classifications for vaporizers include the type of materials used in the heating element, the extraction chambers, and delivery means. Most common "wood box and whip" type vaporizers use a ceramic soldering iron element with a glass extraction chamber and a plastic hose for delivery. This is a low cost and effective approach; however, there are concerns about off-gassing of mercury gas from the solder that is present in wiring of the box and many enthusiasts cringe at the idea of inhaling aromatic vapors through a petroleum based hose for delivery.

Some companies, such as VaporBrothers, are now using a higher-grade plastic hose while the makers of the higher end Vapezilla have opted for a silicone hose. The high end Volcano vaporizer uses an aluminum element that works quite well and a metallic extraction chamber with a food grade plastic bag for storage and delivery. Although the FDA considers aluminum heating elements that have not been anodized with a pigment to be compliant, there are concerns about using aluminum in any thermally sensitive application for long durations. The use of metal, a highly conductive material, in the extraction chamber means that to get consistent subsequent vapor extractions one must incrementally dial down the heat to compensate for the heat that is collected in the metal; the upside is that it is very durable.