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• Common Pax Problems with Solutions

  No vaporizer is perfect, they all have trade-offs. Pax 1 comes at a reasonable price in a small package, but requires frequent cleaning or else it will develop any or all of these common problems. Read on for how to fix these problems with DIY solutions.

  Last updated: January 25, 2018
  Pax 1 has been greatly improved — Pax 2 for $150 fixes all major design flaws and is much easier to clean and use. While Pax 3 for $250 offers super fast warm-up and more bells and whistles like Bluetooth/app controls.

  1. Problem: Hard to inhale, thick/tight draw when you try to take hits.

     Solution

     This happens when you pack the oven too tightly. I found filling full is good, but very loose because next I use the oven lid to pack it down. This packing it down works very well because it leaves about 25% of the oven chamber empty with room for the lid. Turn the lid sideways and you have an excellent push tool to pat down your herb in the chamber.

  2. Problem: Temperature button gets stuck after cleaning.

     Solution

     The temp button is the small white button you see after removing the mouth piece. It’s in a tricky spot that’s hard to get to, but easy for alcohol to drip down into. Use caution when applying alcohol near this temp button, or using excessive amounts in the mouthpiece and letting it drip around inside. It’s very easy to get the temp button frozen stuck. If this happens you can try to lightly tap it with a hammer and nail to break it free from the glue bonds, but you’re on your own!

  3. Problem: Mouthpiece needs frequent cleaning and gets tacky/sticky.

     Solution

     Sometimes it pops up very slowly or pushes down very hard. Pro tip: charge Pax standing up. The Pax charger is simple but flawed because the way it sits, your Pax spends all night with gravity working against it and pulling resin down towards the mouthpiece. The charging heat is just enough to cause the resin to heat and melt. Stand Pax up and attach the charger like a hat.

  4. Problem: Mouthpiece doesn’t make good electrical contact.

     Solution

     Half the time it goes into heating mode and warms up, the other times the led goes solid red fails to warm up. Sometimes this gets bad and I can’t clean Pax, so I use a little paper shim in the mouth piece to force it to one side which helps make electrical contact. If you can’t do this, just slightly push on the mouth piece toward the stem until Pax is hot and ready to use. I’ve also had luck removing the mouthpiece and blowing warm air through it to help make better contact with the temp sensor.

  5. Problem: Your Pax is having lots of weird problems

     Solution

     Did you buy your Pax from an authorized dealer, or on EBay? There are many reports of fake Pax units on ebay craigslist that have a lot more issues with poor and inconsistent heating, LED lights go change colors and are inconsistent, even fully hot it produces little vapor because it’s a knock-off using a much lesser heating element inside. Short story: get your Pax from an authorized dealer.

• How to Clean Your Mighty Vape

  Read our photo-packed guide for step-by-step instructions and photos for cleaning the Mighty mouthpiece.

• Vaporizer Trading Cards

  You gotta collect them all! A few months back my friend had the idea to make some vaporizer trading cards. I started making illustrations of my favorite vapes and they were looking good. So then I designed these quick little cards and got them printed.

  Would you be interested in getting a pack of cards? Let me know in the comments below.

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Reader Question: Should I get a Pax or Magic Flight Launch Box?

  Last updated: January 29, 2018
  The better question in 2018 is should you buy between these three very reliable cannabis vaporizers:
  • The G Pen Elite, the best budget cannabis vaporizer under $150
  • Trusty Pax 2 for $150, which fixes basically all of the Pax 1 issues
  • Upgrade to the faster Pax 3 for $250 which adds more bells and whistles like Bluetooth/app controls
  Either way you can’t go wrong with any of these recommended vapes for dry herb.

  Vape Curious writes:

  Hi, I’m new to the vapor world and I’ve been researching portable vaporizers for some time now. I think this is the most informative site that I have come across yet. I have narrowed it down to 2, the Pax and the Magic-Flight Launch Box. I’m leaning more towards the MFLB because of its great reviews, the price, and also because you don’t have to put much in it, I really don’t smoke much so I don’t need a vaporizer with a large chamber like the Pax, (not to mention the cost) although I do find the design of the Pax is a lot better.

  Hi Vape Curious, thanks for a great question. Both Pax and Magic Flight Launch Box have their own strengths and drawbacks, here’s a quick highlight of the differences: If you like big hits then Pax is a better choice due to the large chamber and how the oven heating element works, the herb is heated on 5 sides so it uses more herb, and faster, but the hits are bigger. If you want to save herb Magic Flight is the way to go but it requires a little practice with your inhale technique. However, once you figure out how to take hits very slowly and with a tiny amount of suction, you’ll get great pulls and hits that make you cough and blow white smoke. It’s not like a bong rip, but it’s very strong. If you decide on the MFLB route, I highly recommend two extras:
  1. get the extra finishing grinder and you’ll save even more herb, it grinds to almost a powder and the hits are a lot stronger that way
  2. get the new 2.0 batteries, they’re amazingly hot and they make my two year old box feel like an upgraded vaporizer, the difference with these two add-ons is really noticeable
  I hope this helps. If you’re looking to compare the two vapes head to head, read their full reviews Pax and Magic Flight Launch Box.

• Marijuana Calculator updated

  I just updated the marijuana calculator so you can share your reports with friends. Each time you hit calculate a new URL is generated with your saved settings. Send this to anyone and they can open and view your report.

  Post Your Feedback in the Comments section

  • Is the calculator easy to use?
  • What’s confusing?
  • Anything broken or not working as expected?

• 3 Tips to Clean Your Pax Vaporizer

  Keeping your Pax in tip-top shape is your best long-term remedy for most common Pax problems. After hundreds of uses over about two years now, we’ve found a good cleaning should be performed every 6-12 bowls, or on a once-a-week schedule, depending on how sticky your medical marijuana and how often you medicate. Sticky cannabis has more resin content and should be cleaned more frequently than dry herb.

  Last updated: January 29, 2018
  The Pax 1 has been greatly improved — Pax 2 for $150 fixes all major design flaws and is much easier to clean and use.
  And Pax 3 for $250 offers super fast warm-up and more bells and whistles like Bluetooth/app controls.

  

  1. Use isopropyl alcohol around the spring and the exterior of the vapor path to help dissolve trapped residue. When this gunk accumulates, it blocks the mouthpiece detection sensor and prevents Pax from warming up. This is a very annoying feature and sometimes you need to clean extra thoroughly to get Pax to warm up. A dirty mouth piece also causes slower on/off movement and sometimes the mouth piece gets stuck.
  2. Purge your Pax of all resin, be diligent and thorough. It should look like Dexter helped you clean up the scene of a crime, no spots! Using a pipe cleaner, small nylon brush (like a dental brush) or a DIY tool to help pull hard to reach gunk out during the process. Things like q-tips might be bad because they can leave felt bits behind.
  3. Scrubbing the interior of the mouthpiece stem should be part of your cleaning routine. Isopropyl is a good electrical conductor, and although using it may help increase connectivity in the immediate short term, the ultimate goal is to keep the area as clean as possible.
  4. Bonus: Avoid getting alcohol on or near the inside temperature switch—it will act as a glue and get stuck in one temperature forever. Good luck, my friends.

  Have a question or a tip about cleaning your beloved Pax? Post a comment below. If you’re having other Pax-related issues check this blog post about common Pax problems and solutions.

  Happy cleaning :-)

  Now, Here’s your Shopping List:

  • 99% Isopropyl Alcohol: $7
  • Soft Pipe Cleaner Wires: $4
  • Hard Bristle Pipe Cleaner Wires: $4
  • Small Brush: $3

• Some people smoke weed — it’s called personal choice.

  We’ve been thinking about personal responsibility lately, so we whipped a little graphic to outline our thinking. Here’s a message to some of our more closed-minded friends about medical marijuana. Continued…

• 9 Tips for Magic Flight Launch Box Vaporizing Perfection

  The Magic Flight Launch Box (MFLB) takes a little practice to get perfect. After years of use and research we’ve developed nine simple tips for getting the most efficient use of your herb as well as the strongest hits from your launch box.

  Continued…

• My Best Pax Vaporizer Review — Packed with Photos

  My detailed review has just been posted for the Pax Vaporizer and I gave it a 93% rating. Quite a high rating by my standards.

  Continued…

• 5 Tips for Loading Vaporizers

  Following these tips can help you get the most out of your vaporizer, portable or plug-in. No matter the brand, these are general guidelines that regular vapesters follow to get more vapor out of their herb.

  Continued…

• Philadelphia Saves Millions by Decriminalizing Marijuana – News – GOOD

  About a year ago, Philadelphia pretty much decriminalized possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana by giving offenders the option to enroll in a three-hour class that would expunge the offense from their records.

  Continued…

• Moderate Marijuana Use Does Not Impair Lung Function, Study Finds – NYTimes.com

  The researchers followed more than 5,000 people over two decades and found that regularly smoking marijuana — the equivalent of up to a joint a day over seven years — did not impair performance on a lung function test.

  Continued…

• The Right to Use Marijuana

  … “seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person’s health would benefit” …

  This is the basis of the Proposition 215 law in California. Awesome. This is personal freedom, personal responsibility and basing laws in science and facts about the positive effects of marijuana in a medical context.

• Favorite SF Smoke Spots?

  There’s a forum post started over at Roll It Up, a popular marijuana and growing forum, asking what your favorite smoke spot is around San Francisco. The Golden Gate Park’s famous Hippy Hill? Or maybe something more quiet in the Haight/Ashbury area? Come join the discussion or post your thoughts here.

• Brad Pitt’s Thoughtful Comments on Freedom and Marijuana

  Brad Pitt was on Bill Maher’s show and discusses an array of topics.

  Continued…

• Dr. Weil discusses medical marijuana studies and treatments

  Dr. Weil talks about his views on cannabis as a plant with therapeutic value. Continued…