Just spent like 200 on all sorts of crap so I can squish weed with my wife’s favorite hair straighteners and smoke dabs like the cool kids. I keep screwing this up somehow. I feel like it would be easier if I wasn’t old and I don’t really know anyone who does it so it’s all YouTube videos and it just ain’t clicking 
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If you’re not against spending more money an e nail makes everything pretty foolproof once you find a temperature you like.
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I only have experience with a rosin press setup I made, no hair straightener experience sadly. I know some of the best results I have seen with a hair straightener has been with putting a quick clamp on the hair straightener while doing the press. Hope you get things lined out 
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All these complications while you can eat a teaspoon of bud decarbed at 100 degrees celsius for 3 hours (sous vide) and be done with it and be mellow for 6 to 12 hours, or longer.
I haven’t a clue about all these contraptions but it’s fascinating how people go out of their way to make things more difficult and expensive than they need to be.
It’s all valid though, I do understand the curiosity and everything has its place.
So long as it’s fun! But the moment it ceases to be fun then you might as well try something else!
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You would get alot better results with an actual dab press.
Hair straighteners do work… but you would yield alot more and better product with an actual press machine.
There is only so far you can go with the hair straightener method…
Just my opinion though. 
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Where’s your problem at? Pressing or smoking? I’d imagine in the pressing, but… 
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Hey bud, what would you like to know?
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I got a Dr Dabber Switch for the easy mode temperature setting and to get away from the constant cleaning. It has a self-clean mode if you use the titanium bucket that incinerates anything in there. The new Puffco is super nice too.
For manual dabs, I’d def recommend getting a Terpometer. It’s a thermometer you drop in your bucket after heating it up so you can monitor the temperature and get nice low temp dabs.
I can’t seem to figure out the temp. It doesn’t seem like there’s as much smoke as there should be. It definitely gets me super baked but my banger gets really dirty really quick because I burn it too hot or not hot enough and I don’t see that happening on everyone I see dabbing on YouTube even using the 30/30 method. I can yield a pretty decent amount with the hair straightener and I plan on buying a dab press if I can figure out how to use it correctly lol. I got it working now I think it just a get really dirty really quick.
In my opinion the other 80 percent of the nug is just burning plant material so for me if I can hit a couple dabs and be medicated enough it saves the trouble of the smell and the time it takes to smoke and having alot of plant material laying around. I can condense it down and get the same effect as I would from smoking.
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Cold start rosin 
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To each their own… But there are a lot of differences between eating some decarbed bud and taking dabs!!! For one, low temp dabs, made with wonderful flower or hash, can produce some of the most amazing flavors in your mouth that I have ever experienced :). That is enough of a reason for me to want to take a dab here and there haha
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So I see you are using a crystal banger and torch. What I do when using that method is heat it up and than let it sit till I can put my finger right above it and not get burned. When you dab you basically want it to turn into a pool of oil in the banger that bubbles and creates the smoke. If it goes up right away and leaves a burnt mess you are doing it too hot or at least that’s my opinion. I moved to an electronic rig which makes it much easier to get the right temp so when I put a dab in it turns into a nice bubbling pool of oil and after each dab you clean the bowl with a qtip. You will also find the lower temps really increase the flavor.
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With a banger setup I agree with Doug’s method once you get a feel for it.
I keep some Qtips around to clean any residual afterwards.
My method with a torch isn’t perfect because it’s damaging the glass with so much heat but easily achievable.
Blast the banger until it’s red hot,depending on room temperature 15C+ probably wait 60 seconds then drop in your hit and throw on the carb cap and hoot.
If it’s a cold garage 10C or less you can usually wait 45 seconds and then drop in your hit and,use the carb cap and hoot
There is definitely some trial and error, but if you can learn to hit the right temp without getting visibly red your banger will last longer.
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I’ve tried a few methods but I still come back to the simplicity of a “Nectar Collector”. Take a few times to figure out just how much to inhale while stabbing at the rosin, but mmmm mmmm tasty and easy and minimal cleanup.
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Hot and hurty!
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I hated dabs until I got a temp gun and realized I was hitting it too hot. Now I torch until it glows, watch the gun until the temps fall to 630° or so, then drop the concentrate into the bowl and apply carb cap.
I have the cheapest Dabpress model for squishing my harvest, and it has served me well. I’m really more of a flower and edibles guy, but it’s nice to have the option for instant blast off.
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Thanks y’all Messed around with it little for research purpose lol and managed to get some decent pulls but I realized I’m way too hot. I shouldn’t see instant smoke so im gonna clean it by try it at much lower temps. I was afraid I was wasting it and once it hit and melts I can’t get it back out, and then when I have to get the torch again it chars what was in there. Thanks for all the tips.
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When you go red hot then wait theb45-60 seconds, when you drop the dab it won’t start smoking or bubbling until you put the carb cap on it and start sucking….in a perfect world
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I have been using nectar collectors lately. One of them has a water chamber.
Haven’t used my dab rig/bong for awhile. I prefer using a torch myself.
A Coleman 1lb propane tank lasts me along time.
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Through several years of trial and error I have settled on the best method for me. I put the dab on the wall of the banger cold and lightly warm it (4 seconds) till the dab starts to melt. I let it settle on the bottom for couple seconds and then I hit the bottom of the banger with the torch, moving constantly. The dab will start bubbling, I stop heating when the big bubbles stop coming. Carb cap on, hit that shit, never too hot, no timers, Will reheat and hit again if any left easy to wipe out with qtip.
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