Vaping has quickly become one of the most popular ways to smoke cannabis. When you use a vaporizer, the smoke is silky smooth, ultra-flavorful, and potent AF. Once you become a vape fan, it can be difficult to smoke any other kind of way—so what do you do when you don’t have a vaporizer? Simple. Make a weed vaporizer yourself with a few household items.
In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of vaping and two ways to make one yourself with items you likely already have.
What is vaping?
Simply put, vaping is just another way to smoke weed, but without burning your bud. Instead, vaping involves heating cannabis either in its natural flower state or in concentrate form to temperatures right below its combustion point. This light toasting of the weed rather than burning produces a thick, smooth vapor which you then inhale.
Many people love vaping because they say it can be a more convenient and discreet way to smoke. Vape pens, for example, are slim and easy to carry around, they fit in nearly any bag, and are a great way of consuming cannabis on the go. Vape pens are also simple to use. All you need to do is press a button to activate the atomizer or in some cases, simply inhale.
When you vape, you are also creating vapor rather than smoke since you are not actually burning the weed. This vapor often produces stronger flavors and less unwanted odors in addition to avoiding the harmful effects of inhaling actual cannabis smoke into your lungs.
However, there are of course some negatives to vaping. First, the initial cost of purchasing your vaping device can be quite high depending on what features you are looking for. There are also some concerns about the safety of vaping, particularly when talking about pre-filled vape pens made by illegal manufacturers—so be sure to source any store-bought vapes at licensed facilities like JARS.
That being said, if vaping is your thing or you are curious about vaping at home, they are surprisingly simple to make yourself when you are in a pinch. Simply choose one of these two methods, and you will be on your way to weed vapor heaven.
Cardboard Box Method
Perhaps the easiest and most primitive method, this cardboard box method will have you vaping in no time. Let’s gather your tools and get to work.
What You Need:
- A small box
- A small tea candle that fits inside the box
- A small metal tray that can rest on top of the box, possibly the lid from a candle or the top to a tin of hand cream
- A glass big enough to cover the metal tray
- A small rubber tube or bendy straw
Instructions:
- Now that you have what you need, go ahead and place the candle inside the box. Make sure it is spaced in the middle of the box to avoid catching anything on fire and light the candle.
- Place the metal tray over the flame, resting on the edges of the box. Try to keep the flame low enough so that it does not scorch the bottom of the tray too badly. Put either your buds or concentrate on the tray.
- Place the glass over the tin. Find a decent-sized glass that is big enough to fit over your tin yet small enough to rest on the edges of your box. Wait patiently for the glass to fill with vapor.
- Once the glass is thick with vapor, slide your tube or straw up into the glass and inhale—that’s it!
Lightbulb Method
This technique requires a bit more finesse and effort than its cardboard counterpart, so please exercise caution and be careful. While this tool is designed to get you high, it might not be the best idea to make this while high. Now that the safety warning is out of the way, let’s do this.
What You Need:
- A lightbulb
- A plastic straw
- A plastic soda bottle, 12 oz
- A knife or scissors
- A pen
- Some tape or glue
Instructions:
- Carefully cut two holes into the bottle cap, and put the straw through one of them. You need to make sure that these holes are as airtight as possible, so fix any wiggle room with a little tape or glue. Leave the other hole open.
- Cut off the neck of the bottle using your scissors. Leave yourself at least 3 or 4 inches from the neck of the bottle. You will end up using this to attach to the light bulb, which will act as the vaporization chamber.
- This is where things get a little tricky. You will need a sharp knife to carefully work around the “screw-in” end of the light bulb to remove the entire bottom of the lightbulb. Usually, the groove used to screw in the bulb is a good place to cut. Be very careful with this step.
When you’ve removed the end, you might need to pull the rest of the metal off using pliers. It’s a soft metal and should tear easily. When you’ve removed the metal, extract the filament and interior components of the lightbulb, leaving you with an empty glass chamber.
- Tape or glue the cut bottleneck to the hole in the bulb. The two should fit almost perfectly together as a typical 12-ounce soda bottle and a regular household lightbulb should typically have about the same size of the stem. Fix them together with duct tape or masking tape so that they create an airtight seal.
- Next, fill the lightbulb with weed and screw the holed bottle cap onto the bottle end. The more finely ground up the weed, the easier it will be to heat up in the end. Check for any air holes and add some tape or a dab of glue if necessary.
- All that’s left is to smoke. Gently heat up the lightbulb until it begins to fill with vapor. Inhale and enjoy.
Final Thoughts
Overall, vaping weed can be a flavorful and smooth way to enjoy your favorite herb—and you can even make one at home in a pinch with this step-by-step guide. Although, these at-home vaporizer methods are meant to be a temporary solution to be used only when in dire straits. If you love vaping, it is worth the money to invest in a long-term solution that works for you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or come and visit us today in either of Michigan or Arizona JARS locations.
