​Why Does My Electric Nectar Collector Drip?

Why Does My Electric Nectar Collector Drip?

Nectar collectors, and especially electric nectar collectors (e-nectar collector – battery powered), are super-efficient and relatively straightforward dabbing setups, these devices rarely require any troubleshooting. One of the more common problems is when the electric nectar collector drips.

Fortunately, it’s fairly easy to eliminate dripping from your electric nectar collector. In this blog we will discuss the causes behind the problem, along with how to fix them.

(This blog discusses portable electric nectar collectors, for e-nail electric nectar collectors, please refer to our nectar collector blog… after understanding one thing, as always it ultimately comes down to finding the equilibrium between the coil saturation rate vs the coil vaporization rate.)

What are the Components of an Electric Nectar Collector?

First, let’s explore the components an e-nectar collector is made up of, so that we may better understand where a dripping issue may originate from. As you will see, electric nectar collectors are simple in terms of design, making it easy enough to find the culprit.

Air-pathway/ Vapor-pathway: The air-pathway of an electric nectar collector, is the tube the vapor flows through to reach the mouthpiece portion of the device, it is one of the most crucial components of the device. (“With a narrow vapor path comes small clouds” a wiseman once told me. I’m not sure what that had to do with the directions I was asking him for, but it has definitely come in handy). In some devices the airpath is a glass tube, in others the airpath may be completely integrated into the battery portion.

Battery: With a portable electric nectar collector, the battery is usually the body of the device, it provides power to the tip (coil) which heats to the selected temperature.

Coil / Tip: Usually made of crushed quartz or ceramic, a heating element (wire), and a threaded tip to connect to the devices coil deck/ battery (typically 510-Thread). The type, material and construction of an Electric nectar collector coil can make or break the dabbing experience. This is the portion that provides heat to vaporize the concentrates.

Mouthpiece or Bubbler Attachment: Some e-nectar collectors may come with a mouthpiece and/or Water Filtration Attachment (Bubbler).The mouthpiece may be a part of the battery/body, or is connected via threading, o-ring or keck clip. Some electric nectar collector mouthpieces utilize water filtration (bubblers), while other devices allow for a bubbler to be attached.

Dish / Silicone Jar: While the silicone jar technically isn’t part of the electric nectar collector, it is a crucial companion. With some of the more premium devices, such as the Huni Badger, the jar is integrated into the device. (Now that's some boujee ish) .

How does an Electric Nectar Collector Work?

E-nectar collectors are great for beginners since they are such user-friendly devices. First things first, you would want to locate the button on the battery to set the temperature, if your device has multiple heat settings the temperature can be adjusted by a series of button clicks. This informs the battery to heat the coil tip to the specified temperature. From there, initiate a heating cycle, whether on a session-mode setting or by pressing and holding the button on the device down throughout the length of your dab.

When touching the tip to the concentrates there is one crucial thing to keep in mind. Coil Saturation Rate vs Coil Vaporization Rate. Think of a pan on a stove-top, when heated for a few minutes if a drop of water is placed onto the pan it will evaporate instantly, if a cup of water is placed onto that same pan, the water will sit until it will eventually boil then evaporate). Finding the proper amount of concentrates to saturate the coil will depend on how hot (vaporization rate) the coil is. When that equilibrium is found the dabs will be milky, with the least amount of reclaim.

How should you dab with an electric nectar collector?

Think of the pool of concentrates as a rain puddle. Standing near the edge of the puddle, dip your toe into the puddle and drag your foot back towards yourself. Now imagine doing that with an electric nectar collector tip and concentrates, this will cause the initial saturation rate to rise drastically, but then allow the vaporization rate to rise as the amount of concentrates lessens (due to being vaporized). Once this concept is firmly grasped, many different approaches can be taken to the dab, it ultimately becomes amazingly efficient and completely customizable throughout the dab, unlike other dabbing methods.

Why is my electric nectar collector dripping?

Now that we’ve covered the basics of what an electric nectar collector is composed of, and how it works, let’s talk about dripping. Dripping usually refers to melted wax (reclaim) oil dripping off the end of the tip. Dripping is, as previously mentioned, one of the most common issues that people run into with e-nectar collectors, and so, are almost always remedied by making very small adjustments to how one dabs. This drip is not a drab, save it! The “drip” and extra gooey stuff left over is called Reclaim and still contains some preciousness that can be dabbed whenever there’s nothing fresh around.

You’re probably wondering then, what can cause dripping problems to occur in the first place? All of these issues are examples of the coil saturation rate vs coil vaporization rate not being at an appropriate balance, which is typically at the root of all reclaim, dripping and clogging issues.

Problem #1: Inhaling too sharply!

If you’re inhaling too sharply, sucking too hard, pulling on that thing like it’s the fountain of youth, you’re going to be taking in wax faster than the coil/tip can vaporize it, sucking it through the coil, heating it slightly into oil/reclaim and up into the vapor path. It’s called the “vapor path” not the “reclaim path”, for a reason, let's keep it that way huh?

The concentrates that do get sucked up may be in oil form and get stuck in the vapor path eventually clogging the device, or may begin to drip down during subsequent sessions. Slow it down, adjust your inhalation rate to a slow and steady inhale to see if that resolves your dripping issue.

Problem #2: Not Heating Your Dabs Enough (Coil vaporization level is below required temperature)

Most experienced dab enthusiasts know, if you don’t heat up your wax to a high enough temperature, it will melt into an oil but not vaporize. It’s not too surprising then, that the biggest culprit behind dripping is the tip is just not hot enough to vaporize the concentrates. Currently nearly all electric nectar collectors on the market have appropriate heat settings, however there is a heat up time, these temperatures are not reached instantaneously and require a few seconds to be reached. Waiting until the coil has reached its set temperature is recommended. Some devices will have their tip temperature continue to rise throughout the dab, until the cycle ends. If each time you dip your tip into your concentrates expecting a massive rip, but end up with a tiny cloud and oil dripping off the tip, wait slightly longer after initiating a heating cycle to begin dabbing, try a higher temperature setting, or checkout problem #3 below. Once you learn the heating cycle of your device, it will allow for more efficiency and milky clouds. Keep in mind, as the battery drains, some devices regulate the power being sent to the coil, causing the temperature arch not to be as expected, charge the device and the temp arch should rise.

Problem #3: Trying to dab too much concentrates (Coil Over-Saturation)

If the coil is over-saturated, or flooded, this will prevent the coil from vaporizing the concentrates and producing the appropriate cloud. Understanding how much concentrates to touch the tip to, is based on how hot the tip is while factoring in the surface area of the tip. Understand the heating cycle of the device, and only saturate at a rate that will allow for relatively instant vaporization. Anything less than that will cause reclaim resulting in dripping or clogging of the electric nectar collector.

Problem #4: An issue Device/Coil/Tip Itself

Over time, as a coil becomes “gunked up” the vaporization rate will drop, due to the added resistance of the reclaim on the coil. Changing the coil should get you back to those nice milky dabs, if you’re avoiding problems 1-3 many people face. Of course, you might just be using a damaged or poorly made electric nectar collector or coil, which isn’t properly reaching temperature due to bad technology, or because the hardware has been damaged in some way, so it can no longer function. Similarly, you may be using the wrong coil for that device, just because it fits, doesn't mean it will work, coils have different resistance levels and batteries have different power settings, resulting in different outputs. Using the recommended coils for a device is always suggested. Now there are different levels of power between electric nectar collectors, which are all listed on the product page in the additional information section. You can also compare devices with our compare tool.

Problem #5: Trouble with Your Water Attachment

It’s possible that your dripping is due to the bubbler attachment being used, and that its pieces are not securely attached in its proper place. If the water bubbler attachment hole at the bottom is not lined up with the vapor-path hole on the battery/body of the electric nectar collector, you may feel like the device is clogged (hard to inhale through). This will cause the concentrates to be heated, but the vapor will not pull into the device since there is no airflow to pull it upwards into the water bubbler. This will cause dripping from the tip and wasted concentrates. Make sure the water bubbler attachment is secured into the correct spot (not off by a few millimeters) and allow air to pass through it, this should resolve the dripping issue.

Time to Finally Say Goodbye to Dripping & Clogging Problems with Your Electric Nectar Collector!

While it can be annoying to watch your precious wax dripping away, the good news is that clearly, it’s an easy problem to resolve. Basically, if your electric nectar collector is dripping, remember saturate rate vs vaporization rate, try taking smaller, higher-temp dab hits, and also, make sure that you’re using clean and correct hardware which is not damaged in some way. Between all of these things we covered, you should be able to get your drip on, problem-free.

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