Surface Temperatures
A good temperature for a dab is somewhere between 400-450 degrees. That’s the easy answer to one of the most frequently asked questions we receive which is: what is the best temperature to take my dab? The right answer, however, is more complicated and depends on the specific cultivar you’re dabbing. You already know our thoughts on hot dabs (don’t do them) and we covered some of what we’re looking for in the perfect dab in an earlier post - namely, a clean cloud of vapor, tasting the full terpene profile, and minimal residue left in the banger. But when it comes to the perfect dabbing temp, we have to first get into activation and boiling point temperatures for cannabinoids. The primary psychoactive compounds like THC, CBD, and subsidiaries like THCv, CBN, CBG, etc all have what is known as an activation temperature - that being the temperature at which these compounds decarboxylate, or “activate,” and become available to the endocannabinoid system.
What is decarboxylation? The cannabinoids in raw cannabis flower look very different under a microscope than the cannabinoids you inhale when you smoke or dab. This is because in its raw form, cannabis produces tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THCA) and cannabidiol acid (CBDA). They have an extra “carboxyl” as it’s known, or cluster of carbon-oxygen-oxygen-hydrogen molecules that make it too large to bond with our endocannabinoid system. However, heating THCA causes this extra carboxyl to detach from the THC molecule, thuse “decarbing” it and turning it into regular THC, which the body is then able to absorb.
Similarly, these cannabinoids and all those precious terpenes we love so much have a boiling point, or a temperature at which these compounds begin to vaporize and burn off. The activation temperature of THC is about 220 degrees Fahrenheit and its boiling point is 315 degrees Fahrenheit, and there is a range for other cannabinoids. On the terpene side there is also a broad range, with some compounds, like pinene, having a boiling point of about 311 degrees Fahrenheit while others, like Terpineol having a boiling point of about 426 degrees Fahrenheit. Below is a list of approximate boiling points for various cannabinoids:
CBG: 126°F / 52°C
THCa: 220°F / 104°C
CBDa: 248°F / 120°C
A-Pinene: 311°F / 155°C
Δ9THC: 315°F / 157°C
β-Caryophyllene: 320°F / 165°C
β-Myrcene: 334°F / 168°C
d-Limonene: 349°F / 176°C
Eucalyptol: 349°F / 176°C
Δ8THC: 350°F / 177°C
CBD: 356°F / 180°C
CBN: 365°F / 185°C
Terpinolene: 365°F / 185°C
CBE: 383°F / 195°C
Linalool: 388°F / 198°C
Humulene: 388°F / 198°C
Phytol: 399°F / 204°C
THCv: 428°F / 220°C
CBC: 428°F / 220°C
Citronellol: 437°F / 225°C
Caryophyllene oxide: 495°F / 257°C
No matter what type of concentrate you’re dabbing or what your rig is made of, these activation and boiling points remain the same and hitting it too hot will lead to degradation and destruction of terpenes and all the other cannabinoids. Preliminary research is also already showing that hot dabs may even release toxins and other dangerous byproducts. If you have a concentrate with lots of terps, it may be worth taking your dab at an even lower temperature, somewhere in the 350-400 degree range to enjoy as many of the terps as possible.
What is the best way to know the temp of a dab? There are many options these days. If you have an e-nail or another electronic device like a Puffco Pro, fire that bad boy up and set it right to the temp you want to try. Try different temps as well to see how that impacts your experience. If you’re using a classic nail or banger and torch, there are several accessories, like a dabrite, that take infrared temperature readings to tell you the exact temperature. Even without accessories it is still possible to gauge the temperature through a bit of trial and error. Try heating your nail with a torch for a full minute, then letting it cool off for 30 seconds before taking the dab. Too hot or any char in the banger? Wait an extra 5-10 seconds on your next dab. Lots of residue left in the banger or not exhaling any clouds? Take the next dab 5-10 seconds sooner. Repeat as necessary until you find the right spot.
A recent trend has also seen people “cold starting” a dab, where you put the concentrate into a cold nail, put on a carb or a cap, and heat the nail with a torch from a few inches away for 10-15 seconds until the concentrate begins to bubble up and turn to vapor, then take a couple of pulls. Whichever way you do it, just make sure you say no to hot dabs.
