Once slurpers caught on , Toro began selling out everywhere . On top of the superior function , Instagram helped to perpetuate the cultural importance of having a terp slurper . People like @ cali _ dabs elevated the quality of dab videos , with stunning melt shots , coupled with perfectly timed music and beautiful glass art and accessories .
“ Aeration enables the process of evaporation , vaporization , and oxidization at the same rate to get a better expression of flavor .”
Blender
courtesy of D-Nail
with Platinum Russian Stomper FSE courtesy of Kind Selections
— Andrew Freedman
Evolution of New Nails
The boom of slurpers lead to massive wait lists with Toro at exorbitant resale prices , both of which led to consumers and producers looking for other options . As Brian recalls “ We had a lot of requests to develop the slurper , initially a Toro design , and almost didn ’ t . I ’ m not sure what the catalyst was , but reducing it to its simplest terms , we have a bottom-fed distillation column with an expansion chamber .” The Blender ( D-Nail ’ s new nail ) came as a result of months of thought about centrifugal nails , according to Brian . They had a well-refined concept and production facility for channel caps , so literally turning it upside down was the easiest next step to take . “ In the simplest possible terms , this work is all distillation ,” says Brian . “ We have desirable and undesirable compounds to be separated by heat and mechanical energy .”
One important aspect to note in cannabis distillation is that phase change runs congruent to a chemical transformation . The primary active ingredient is transformed by heat and oxygen over time into other chemicals . THCA ( barely active ) to delta-9 THC ( active ) is the first step . Past that , additional conversion happens , notably to CBN , which is a sedative . According to Brian , the way to achieve efficient conditions includes :
• Minimize your cook time . Leaving your oil in a hot pool while you get your carb cap and settle in can obliterate your flavor and degrade your cannabinoids all at once . Going from dabber to vapor in an instant is much easier .
• On that same note , a controlled feed from dabber to nail lets you get an effective flow rate which helps process these nonhomogeneous substances more evenly .
• While it takes skill , running a warm dish and hotter stem lets you run a sort of priming zone in advance of the primary work zone . Also , it is more efficient .
• Leaving material science out of it , the basics of efficient distillation would be to spread your material into a thin film across a large surface area . Pillars or spheres , for example , function as wipers , spreading the oil into a thin film across a large area . The same pneumatic action that optimizes this gives us similar mechanical results on its own . Whether it is double helix streaks from a dual intake , a rotating whirlpool of oil , or a frothy blender dab , the idea remains the same — keep it spinning , pressed against the walls , give vapor an easy path to follow away from the heat source , and your chemicals degrade less .
Tips for Cleaning Your Nail and Slurper
Back in the dome-and-nail era , you ’ d hit dabs so hot there was nothing to clean up afterwards . Fast forward to the QCB era , and people began using Q-tips to clean the nail between hits . Due to the slits at the bottom of the nail , it proves to be very difficult to fully clean slurper and blender nails , so some different cleaning techniques have emerged . JP offered his cleaning advice : “ I have quite a few slurpers and I ’ m always rotating them from the Tupperware full of isopropyl alcohol ( ISO ) I soak it in , and then I dry it off . Easy peasy . I also Q-tip after each dab but a quick ISO soak keeps them looking pristine .” I found if I let the 99 percent ISO get too concentrated with excess oil from cleaning the nails , the ISO would end up leaving a sticky residue all over the slurper . I solved this by adding a second bath , so I have a soak and rinse bath . The soak bath gets the majority of the oil off the nail , while the rinse bath stays clean and rinses off the residual ISO from the soak bath , to ensure the nail is as clean as possible when going to heat it up . Whenever the soak bath gets low , or the rinse bath gets dirty , I empty the rinse bin into the soak bin , and fill up the rinse bin with fresh ISO . I also like to polish the nail with a microfiber before heating the nail to remove excess ISO from the nail . I try and place my slurper in the ISO between 200-350 ° F to ensure there is enough heat to expedite the cleaning process , but not so much heat that it causes thermal shock .”
What ’ s Next ?
What ’ s next for innovation ? The science is leaning towards centrical uptake nails ( slurpers and blenders ) being the future , and as more people enjoy concentrates on a connoisseur level and understand how to use these products , these nails will continue to gain popularity . “ Someone had said they attributed their alertness and focus to the quality of their oil , but when considering that it was their nail , they blinked a moment ,” says Brian . “ We are going to think about this and suggest you do the same . It is no small thing to consider .”
36 Maximum Yield