Usage

Printable User Guides for Every VaporGenie

Classic

Handcarved

Aluminum Pipe

Aluminum Bat

Glass

Glass Bat

SS Bat

Coil

Using the VaporGenie is easy!

Follow these 3 easy steps:

1. Load the bowl with a loose smoking blend.

2. DO NOT PACK! Shredded smoking blends have a high surface area that aids the vaporization process.

   

3. Inhale constantly while supplying flame to the flame filter. Your draw should be about 6-8 seconds long. Use a lighter flame about 1 inch tall. It is helpful to move the flame around to get the most uniform heating. We recommend using an electronic ignition lighter because flint lighters produce toxic dust-read about this here. Do not touch the flame to the ceramic filter. This is important because touching the flame to the ceramic filter will create soot that can eventually clog the filter. Soot will also create a bad taste. Read about how to deal with soot below.

   

These images show correct flame height and lighter placement.
This picture shows the proper flame size, which is about 1 inch tall. Its not critical to have a flame exactly 1 inch tall, so its not necessary to use precision calipers like we are doing in this picture.	.	This is a good position for the flame. The proper position for the flame is to have only the tip of the flame enter the filter hole. Most of the bright yellow portion of the flame should be outside the hole, as shown here.

 

These images show INCORRECT lighter placement. Do not hold the lighter in any of these ways!
This flame position is far too deep. The entire flame is in the hole, and the flame is touching the ceramic filter and depositing soot. This creates bad flavors and dirty vapor. It will also eventually clog the ceramic filter with soot.	This is also too deep. The flame is still touching the ceramic filter. Make sure the yellow part of the flame is outside the filter hole.	Dont do this either. touching the flame to the outside of the filter will also tend to create soot and bad flavors. And of course it will burn the wood.

Always remember:

1) With a small flame, inhale slowly.

2) With a large flame, inhale faster.

3) Do not touch the flame to the ceramic filter.

4) Your draw should be about 6-8 seconds long.

 

The idea is to balance the flame size with the rate of inhalation so you get the right temperature.

The temperature can be varied in two ways:

1) Applying more or less flame. Flame can be applied in pulses.

2) Inhaling faster or slower. Inhaling slower produces hotter temperatures.

If you don't feel like you are inhaling anything, then the temperature is too low.
So...inhale slower, or use a bigger flame.

If you inhale smoke, or taste a burned flavor, then the temperature is too high.
So...inhale faster, or use a smaller flame.

Pay attention to the flavor and mouth sensations, and adjust flame application accordingly.
It requires a little bit of practice, but its not rocket science.

It is normal to exhale slightly visible blue vapor. Typically, this visible vapor is not smoke, but rather is made of oils and flavor compounds vaporized from the smoking blend.

When the smoking material turns black, it is spent and there is nothing left but bad stuff. Dump it out.

Between hits, it is helpful to stir and redistribute the smoking blend. This will assure uniform vaporization.

The VaporGenie pipe relies on a totally new concept to provide the 'sweet-spot' vaporization temperatures of 225-375 degrees.

The secret to the VaporGenie pipe is the patented flame filter. The flame filter is located above your smoking blend (between the bowl and flame). In the pictures, the flame filter is located within the spherical wood part. The flame filter mixes heat from the flame with cold, ambient air. The flame filter is specially designed to mix the flame and cool air and provide vaporization temperatures.

The flame filter is also specially designed to withstand the flame heat for many years. It is made of silicon carbide, an extremely durable and nontoxic ceramic.

NO! DO NOT do this! Using the bottom portion of the VaporGenie pipe as a combustion pipe will ruin it for use as a vaporizer. It will forever taste like terrible tar and burned popcorn. Don't do it. If you do, you will quickly understand why the VaporGenie pipe and vaporizing are so great and why combustion smoking is so awful. Also, using a handcarved VG as a combustion pipe can damage the pipe and cause the stainless steel bowl to come loose. This damage is NOT covered by our warranty.

We recommend using an electronic ignition (piezoelectric) butane lighter (or the Ital Hempwick lighter) instead of a conventional 'flint' lighter because 'flint' lighters produce toxic 'flint' dust.  This toxic dust is visible and appears as smoke when a flint lighter is ignited. This flint dust contains "misch metal", an alloy of rare earth metals (neodymium, samarium, cerium, lanthanum etc). Rare earth metals are known to be toxic, especially when in the form of inhaled microscopic particles. Hence, we think that inhalation of flint dust should be avoided. And the best way to avoid flint dust is to use an electronic ignition (piezo) lighter. Please note that the issue of rare earth dust inhalation is not specific to the VaporGenie. Anyone using a flint lighter to light a cigarette or smoke a pipe is inhaling rare earth dust. Any smoker concerned about their health should use an electronic ignition lighter. Below is an abstract describing the toxic effect of rare earth metals on lung tissue. Not good. They are slightly less toxic than cadmium to lung tissue.

Flint dust accumulates on the VaporGenie ceramic filter, forming a visible orange/red discoloration. This discoloration does not affect the performance of the VaporGenie. It is merely an indication that a flint lighter has been used.

If you must use a flint lighter, we recommend waiting for the flint dust to disperse before inhaling. Dont inhale the dust.

The Ital Hempwick we offer does not produce flint dust of course. The Ital Hempwick must be ignited with a lighter. We have been working with Lotus to bring back the awesome L11 lighter. We will have them available again hopefully in March.

ABSTRACT: Cytotoxicity of the rare earth metals cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium in vitro: comparisons with cadmium in a pulmonary macrophage primary culture system.
Palmer, R J : Butenhoff, J L : Stevens, J B
Environ-Res. 1987 Jun; 43(1): 142-56
The rare earth metals cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium each were evaluated in an in vitro cytotoxicity assay system using adult, male Sprague-Dawley rat pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Both the soluble chloride form of these metals and their insoluble metal oxides were studied. For comparison purposes, the cytotoxicities of cadmium chloride and cadmium oxide were also quantified in this test system. In general, regardless of the cytotoxicity parameter measured, i.e., cell viability, lysosomal enzyme leakage, or changes in cell surface morphology, cadmium was more toxic to these cells than were the rare earth metals. Of the rare earth metals studied, lanthanum chloride (lethal concentration LC50 = 52 microM), cerium chloride (LC50 = 29 microM), and neodymium oxide (LC50 = 101 microM) displayed significant cytotoxicity in this test system. Cadmium chloride exhibited an LC50 value of 28 microM, and cadmium oxide 15 microM. These findings suggest that rare earth metal fumes should be considered as cytotoxic to lung tissue and therefore potentially fibrogenic.

Want to read all the gory, geeky details of this study? Download the full paper HERE.

Completely burning butane produces essentially only carbon dioxide and water vapor, which are harmless. Other compounds are created in trace amounts (partially combusted hydrocarbons, NOx etc). Lighter exhaust is invisible, which is an indication that it contains little soot. Butane lighters burn quite clean, provided that the flame is undisturbed (i.e. not flickering or touching the filter). A flickering flame, or a flame that is touching the sides of the intake will produce undesirable unburned hydrocarbons. Consequently, technique affects the cleanliness of the vapor. However, even sloppy use of the VaporGenie will not produce nearly as much toxic material as found in smoke. Lighter exhaust is a LOT cleaner than a regular pipe, and that is very apparent once you try the VaporGenie.

There will necessarily be some toxic material in the lighter exhaust, however. We believe that more toxins and weird chemicals are released from the plant matter being vaporized (compared to the lighter exhaust), especially if it is overheated. Even in electric vaporizers, there is some tar and toxic chemical production. It is impossible to completely eliminate exposure.

Always remember that you get the cleanest vapor when the flame is not disturbed, flickering or touching anything. You don't want the flame to flicker or touch the filter or sides of the pipe.

We have found that some people (perhaps 10-15%) appear to be especially sensitive to butane lighter exhaust. For these people, we strongly recommend the Ital Hempwick lighter, which we sell (see the lighters page). The Ital Hampwick is made of organic hemp twine saturated with beeswax. The exhaust from the Ital Hempwick has a pleasant beeswax flavor.

"Torch" lighters have a noisy blue jet flame, and burn butane. We are unsure whether to recommend torch lighters. On one hand, some VaporGenie users like using them and say they work well. Others dont like them at all. We generally dont like using torch lighters.  In our experience torch lighters produce too much heat that can make temperature control difficult, and increase the chance of burning. Also, the flame from a torch lighter is nearly invisible, and so is harder to position accurately, thereby increasing the chance of acidentally burning the wood of the VaporGenie. On the other hand, some VaporGenie users much prefer using a torch lighter. Perhaps there are some particular kinds of torch lighters that work well. We dont know. Please provide your feedback on this issue so we can provide better recommendations about torch lighters.

Absolutely not! The ceramic filter is made of high purity, monolithic silicon carbide, SiC. SiC is completely inert in the conditions in the pipe. It does not react, or release gases or particulates. It does not contain metals. Also, the ceramic filter is monolithic (it is made of a single, continuous piece of ceramic). It is not made of sintered particles that can break off and be inhaled.

Yes, but only for prior VG customers that need a replacement. It may be that you need only to remove soot deposits from the filter. Before contacting us about a new top, please read the info about soot on the "Parts and maintenance page" page. If you still want to order replacement tops Click Here.