Preventing Clogs: Easy as 1-2-3

AVOID A CLOGGED VAPE FOR GOOD!

It’s a common scenario: You’re enjoying your HHC 510-thread cartridge, then one day it starts getting gummed up. The HHC distillate (aka “oil”) is coming up the post, so you draw more, hoping to melt out the clog. Now you have a sticky mess and wonder if the second half of the cartridge is wasted. A clogged vape is frustrating!

If this has happened to you, know that you’re not alone, and that clogged vapes can be prevented. Let’s cover the 3 most important factors for keeping your HHC cartridge performing to the last drop: Temperature, Time, and Volume

First, what is HHC and why would it clog?

To prevent HHC cartridges from clogging, it’s critical to know that pure, high-quality HHC (Hexahydrocannabinol) is nearly solid at room temperature. Even with 5% hemp-derived terpenes or 3.5% botanical terpenes added to our vapes, the distillate is still quite solid at room temperature. This is completely different from nicotine “vape juice” liquids. HHC is also more solid than other types of cannabis extracts available in dispensaries, where you can see a thick, slow-flowing distillate in the tank. Some hemp brands add cutting agents to HHC and Delta-8 cartridges to aid flow, but we keep it pure: just HHC and terps.

Knowing that HHC is basically solid at room temperature, let’s review the three elements of clog prevention:

1. Temperature control is key

Okay, HHC is solid at room temperature, that means I need a lot of heat to vape it, right? Wrong! We use Blinc’s premium XPro V12 cartridges because they’re designed for thick cannabinoid distillates with a ceramic coil, wetted brass, 2mm intake holes, and 1.2 Ohm resistance. It doesn’t take a lot of heat around the base to introduce distillate into the coil. In fact, when more distillate flows into the coil than can be vaporized at once, that’s when things start getting bogged down.

The best way to control your coil temperature is to choose a high-quality battery. We recommend models with adjustable heat settings and a pre-heat button. It’s important to select the battery’s lowest possible heat setting to minimize excessive melting and preserve terpenes. A pre-heat button will allow you to soften HHC distillate at the coil before your first draw so it vaporizes efficiently — not too much, and not too little.

A too-hot battery will melt HHC around the coil quickly, swamping the intake and eventually causing distillate to move up the post and out the base. Remember, since HHC is solid at room temperature, if distillate is flowing past the coil, that means it got too hot and you may soon have a clogged vape.

2. Timing is everything

Great, I got a quality battery and the setting is low, I can draw on this cartridge all day long, right? Wrong! Not letting a cartridge cool down between draws is the most common reason for over-melting and clogging. The right amount of time to wait between a succession of draws depends on how long the coil was activated, the intensity of the heat, and how fast the cartridge is able to cool down. If you’re outside in Minneapolis in January, your cartridge will cool down much faster than if you’re walking downtown Phoenix in July.

Feeling the cartridge for warmth may not be the best indicator of the amount of heat remaining at the coil. Use your best judgement to estimate whether your HHC is solid again based on the number and duration of draws, and the ambient temperature. If it feels warm, or you can see movement in the distillate, it definitely needs more time to cool and avoid becoming a clogged vape.

3. Volume matters

Right, I understand how coil temperature and cooling time work, I’m just going to use it and cool it the same way every time, right? Wrong! It’s pretty hard to clog a brand new cartridge, even with lots of long draws in a row. This is because heat at the coil is absorbed out into the rest of the distillate in the tank. When the volume of distillate in the tank is low, the heat doesn’t have a place to go, so it causes faster melting at the coil.

Bottom line: A high volume of distillate in the tank equals high tolerance for heat, and slower melting. Low volume of distillate in the tank equals low tolerance for heat, and faster melting. In practice, as you use up your cartridge, you’ll have to take more care to not over-melt the remaining HHC in the tank.

More tips to get the most from your cartridges:

• If you notice a clog forming in the post, stop right there, do not continue to draw! If your battery has a pre-heat button, use that to warm the coil. Use an open paperclip or similarly shaped item to manually scrape and lift out distillate from the mouthpiece and post. Allow the device to cool completely. Before the next draw, use the pre-heat button to soften the distillate and do not over-melt the distillate with too many draws.
• Don’t store cartridges in a hot spot, like a car or in direct sunlight. If you discover that your cartridge has been exposed to heat, store it with the mouthpiece end down until it cools. This will move the distillate away from the intake holes at the coil that are likely already saturated with distillate.
• HHC is easily cleaned up with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). If your battery threads are a little sticky, use a Qtip with alcohol and gently rub the connection point.
• If 510-thread cartridges seem too fussy, consider a 1gram or 2gram disposable/rechargeable cartridge. Ours are made by STNR, some of the very best disposable hardware on the planet. They’re designed for high-viscosity cannabinoids with pre-heat/volt-boost buttons, adjustable air flow, and perfect auto-draw wattage. It’s still possible to overheat and clog these devices, but much more difficult to do so.

Questions about HHC or devices?

If you have any questions about our products or how to use them, please reach out. You can contact us any time at info@forgehemp.com, or call during business hours (Mountain Time) at 1-877-33-HEMP9. If we can’t take your call immediately, we’ll call you back promptly.

Thanks for reading,
Kelly + Team Forge