When To Replace The Weed In A Vaporizer

If you've enjoyed weed during the past few years, there's a good chance you vaped it instead of smoking it. Whether you've seen friends using them or own one yourself, it's hard to deny how big the vape phenomenon has become. Frankly, we're glad that's the case! Given that vaping heats cannabis to a lower temperature than smoking, it's far easier on the lungs (Earleywine & Barnwell, 2007). Besides the heat, this could be due to the fact that standard smoking introduces a slew of toxins into your system that vaping simply doesn't. On top of all that, with the same amount of weed you'd use for a bong rip, you get way more smoking time.

All that being said, it's only efficient and nice on the lungs if you replace your weed on time. Take it out too early, and you lose out on a lot of hits over time. Take it out too late, though, and your hits will get harsher, and won’t even get you high. To save you the trouble, let's walk through the main ways you can tell it's time for new flower.

TASTE AND SMELL CHANGE OVER TIME

You don't even have to crack open your vape to tell when the weed's spent. All you really need to do is take a hit. If there's still a bit of flavour to it, and it feels alright in your lungs, you're in the clear. If that flavour has faded, though, and you're feeling closer to coughing, it might be time to replace the flower.

You can use your nose, too! If it starts to smell more like burnt popcorn than chocolate, lemon, pine, etc., that's another red flag popping up. In this sense, it's not too unlike tea. For the first couple cups, the drink is strong and flavourful, as it's meant to be. However, things get bland by cup four or five as the tea bag becomes increasingly spent.

NOTE THE APPEARANCE AND TEXTURE

Even if you can tell by the taste, you still have to open the chamber, so you should make a point to learn what spent weed looks and feels like. Rather than the bright green hue it once had, cashed flower will be almost entirely dark brown. Note that we said dark brown, not black. Since it's being heated to a lower temperature, it shouldn’t ever turn black.

Along with the colour shift, you should be able to feel when your weed is past the smoking point. When it's done, it will be crunchy to the touch and crumble into a fine powder with little effort. Before that point, though, if it still feels like flower, it's still got some life in it. Just make sure you shift it around so it heats evenly.

TIME YOUR SESSIONS

Lastly, by getting a feel for the timing of your sessions, it can help you figure out when your bud is cashed. You're loading the same amount of weed in your vape each time, right? And you're heating it to the same temperature? Well, in that case, each of your sessions will probably take around the same amount of time. Use a timer at first, but eventually you should get a grasp on how many hits you get before they turn sour. This way, you'll be ahead of the game and able to replace your weed before it's spent.

HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR WEED IS SPENT — BOTTOM LINE

Although the more frugal smokers amongst you don't want to hear it, weed isn't immortal. At some point, after whatever amount of hits, there just aren’t any cannabinoids left to enjoy. If you really want to make the most of what you've got, you need to learn how to let it go when it's done. Once you know what spent weed looks, smells, tastes, and feels like, though, you'll be saved from headache. Not to mention, you'll be delivered from a lot of bad tastes and smells, too.

Happy vaping!

Luke Sumpter

With a BSc (Hons) degree in Clinical Health Sciences and a passion for growing plants, Luke Sumpter has worked as a professional journalist and writer at the intersection of cannabis and science for the past 7 years.

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