Heating
In the world of vaping, the type of heat you use will have a dramatic effect on the quality of your experience. In addition to a proper pull, improper heating can ruin the taste of your blend, or worse. For those new to the world of vaporization, getting the hang of what type of heating is best for which product can often be confusing. Even for veteran vapors, the sheer number of vaporizers available on the market can lead to confusion on what to choose. Before you get too far down the rabbit hole, let’s cover the basics: convection, conduction, and hybrid heating. We will cover the differences between each and also clue you into which type of product is most suited to each.
Convection Heating
Convection heating is achieved by introducing heated air into the chamber that contains the product. There is no direct contact between the heating element and the product, only the hot air in the chamber. An example would be how a cake is baked in an oven. There is heated air all around the cake mould, but there is no direct contact of the cake pan with the ovens heating element.
Heating dry product in a convection vaporizer is ideal. Coarsely ground product is the best for this type. Unlike conduction heating, it is important that there is space for the air to circulate. You should never over pack the chamber or it will prevent hot air that triggers the heating from being effective. To that end, you should also avoid using overly milled products as they can block the mouthpiece or clog the airstream of a convection vaporizer.
Convection creates a much smoother blend during each pull. The flavour of the product is also richer. If you are an aficionado of product flavours and prefer to take your time to enjoy the aroma, then a convection model will be an ideal choice. The product is only heated during the draw which means your product will last longer and waste fewer aromas during each pull. They do have a higher power consumption which means you will need to charge your unit more often than other options.
Conduction Heating
The conduction method of heating places the product in contact with a hot surface directly. In terms of vaporizers, this refers to the product being placed in contact with the heating chamber walls directly. Imagine heating up food in a pot. Your food will grow hot as the heat is transferred from the bottom of the pan into the contents of the pan. The same method holds true for conduction heating in vaporizers. This method of heating is most effective for finely ground product and product that is completely dry. So if you prefer flavour drops, convection heating is not going to be very effective. When the dry product is distributed evenly in the vaporizer chamber, it will allow the largest amount of contact along the hot walls. This will produce an effective and even heating with a full chamber.
Conduction vaporizers are usually best for those looking for single session usages. They constantly heat the product which means it will burn up faster. Most new users and also groups of vaporizer uses tend to stick with conduction models due to the simplicity of use and lower power consumption. They are also some of the most affordable vaporizer models on the market.
Hybrid Heating
Hybrid heating is a mix of both conduction and convection heating. Each hybrid vaporizer model will have a different proportion of each element. The advantage of a hybrid is that it uses both hot air and the chamber walls to heat the product. Hybrid heating offers the best of both options; you get the quality flavour and also great battery life. Draws also tend to be much stronger while also offering a better stream quality than convection or conduction alone.
