It’s quite appropriate that I am writing this article, in fact, it’s sort of ironic and funny. In the past, I’ve had friends designate a ‘Julia’ rig and keep it aside for when I come to visit. Up until a year or two ago, I had a bit of a reputation for chazzing bangers. But, I learned a better way of doing things and if I can, so can you. High heat likes to make a mark, eventually affecting your dab experience; that’s what this article is all about, charred aka chazzy quartz bangers.
What is a chazzy banger?
A ‘chazzy banger’ is the term used to describe a quartz nail that has lost its clarity. Usually caked in black, sooty material, a chazzed banger steals a lot of the flavor from your dabs. So what exactly is that black gunk? The answer is carbon. It comes from residual plant material such as waxes and fats.
How does it happen?
How exactly does one chaz a banger? In a word, temperature. Essentially, a quartz banger is meant to vaporize cannabis concentrates. In order to facilitate this process, it has to be heated to the right temperature. If it’s too cold, it won’t work and if it’s too hot, you end up with a black carbon build-up.
Find your perfect temperature to avoid a chazzy banger
If you want to avoid chazzing your banger, you need to figure out the perfect temperature. While this may sound easy, every piece is different and each person has their own preference. Regardless of what you like, most people will heat up the quartz until it’s glowing red and then wait for it to cool down.
A hot dab might be a bit rougher because terpenes will combust at a lower temperature than other cannabinoids. But, some believe you have to cough to get off and those people tend to dab hot. Cooler dabs keep most of those terpenes intact, equating to a lot of flavor but sometimes less vapor.
Hot tip – If you have a new banger and are trying to figure out how long to wait, ask your local bong shop. Usually, they can tell you based on the thickness of the bucket. However, if you plan to just go for it, start off waiting longer and letting it go colder than you usually would. Otherwise, you run a high risk of chazzing that brand new banger.
The Puddle
If you took your dab at the right temperature, you should get a solid hoot and see a small amount of residue in the bottom of the banger. The size of the puddle depends on the size of your dab. You can tell how intact the remaining cannabinoid content is by looking at the color. If the puddle is a light color, you might be able to put the carb cap back on, feather it with a torch, and hit it again. If it’s a darker color, your dab is basically done.
Getting this puddle out of your banger before you re-use it is essential for keeping it clean. The moment a torch hits it, that puddle of residual dabs will start to burn and char. Have q-tips handy so that you can swab out the bowl.
Hot tip – Swab out your banger with a pre-roll before you use a q-tip and make the most of your dabs.
What to do when it’s too late
If your banger is already charred to hell, do not despair because hope remains. It’s never going to be clear as brand new quartz but you can get the crap off.
There are a couple of ways to remove the caked-on carbon from a chazzed banger:
Fire clean it – Turn your torch on your banger and make it flow red. You will know that you have heated it up enough when you see the charred carbon literally start to glow red. Once the black spots have all burned red, they will disappear. Keep in mind, this method will still leave your banger with a cloudy coloring but, your dabs will taste good again.
Water and fire – Note: This technique should be only used with high-quality bangers because cheap ones can shatter and crack. Using a q-tip, wet the inside bucket of the banger, leaving a small drop in the bottom. Turn your torch on the banger and watch that drop start to boil and steam all that carbon off.
If you have never had a fresh banger, low temp dab experience, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. There is a little bit to it but the experience is well worth it.