We’ve often said that the CARTA portable electric dab rig is intuitive, but users can still encounter the occasional head scratcher of a situation. Most of these can be solved by a glance at the new and improved Focus V CARTA user manual, but sometimes you run into a challenge that requires a bit more finesse or a subtle adjustment to your dabbing technique. For example, what do you do if you notice large deposits of dab reclaim collecting at the base of your portable dab rig? Well, it sounds like you could have a boilover problem. Fortunately, we have a few ideas that could help prevent you from needlessly wasting your wax while keeping the performance of your CARTA electric dab rig at its pinnacle.
The Problems with Dab Reclaim
First of all, if you’re finding large amounts of dab reclaim at your CARTA’s base, there’s definitely a problem. This isn’t some bug in the design or just the nature of dabbing; rather, it’s most likely your opportunity to hone your technique for better hits with less mess to clean up. And while you can still smoke or vape dab reclaim, it’s a desperate measure. The oily residue is pretty much devoid of any terpenes that contribute to flavor, so it’s easy to see why we’d consider dab reclaim a waste. Sure, it’s not a total loss… but a loss nonetheless. And while a little dab reclaim is to be expected, significant deposits are a sign that something needs to be corrected. So what can you do?
Size Matters
In most cases, excess reclaim is a result of boilover: that point when a dab bubbles so much that it ends up cascading over the barriers into parts of your atomizer and e-rig where it doesn’t belong. The first solution is pretty simple, though maybe not completely satisfying: drop smaller dabs. If you’re dropping in dabs that are just too large for the quartz insert or atomizer loading area, then the liquified oil will easily spill over into problem areas, creating a mess of undesirable dab reclaim. Instead, try dropping a smaller amount and allow the extract to start smoking before using your carb cap to cap it.
A Clean CARTA is a Happy CARTA
Extra reclaim might also mean you’re experiencing some of the pain that comes from not cleaning your portable dab rig often enough. We recommend a solid swab down after every dab and a deep clean every couple weeks, although that’s subject to your frequency of use. Preventing excess reclaim is just the tip of the iceberg for reasons why you should be maintaining the cleanliness of your CARTA. Make sure that after every dab you swab down any area with which the oil comes into contact. You can also try setting your CARTA to the highest heat setting to do a burn off after your sesh, which will make sure that any residual isopropyl alcohol is eliminated.
Perfecting Your Technique
But what about the clean freaks taking modest sized dabs that are still running into this problem? We don’t expect there are many of you, but recognize that this can happen. We recommend finetuning your technique a bit. First, you may need to practice a slower, smoother draw. Drawing in too quickly can create just the kind of air currents that drag loose oil into the reservoir, creating dab reclaim. An easy and steady draw greatly reduces your chances of this sort of sloppy splashback happening.
Terp Pearls of Wisdom
Tossing some terp pearls in the mix can also help you to regulate your wax by evenly distributing it. A couple of the 3mm-sized terp pearls seem to fit nicely into the atomizer of the CARTA electric dab rig. The cyclonic motion of the terp pearls helps to reduce the occurrences of bubbles and boilovers, but again, you need to be sure you’re maintaining a slow and even draw. As our customer care team likes to say: “sip it, don’t rip it!” Another benefit of using terp pearls with your CARTA is that they help with heat retention so you might be able to get in a couple more hits than usual.
If you’ve got a problem with too much reclaim, you’ll likely notice it. As it starts to clog up the airways, your hits will suffer. You’ll burn through wax more quickly since you’ll be losing a good portion of it to dab reclaim. And let’s not even get into the massive mess to clean up. You can spare yourself all of this by trying out some of the solutions we discussed above. The CARTA portable electric dab rig is meant to be enjoyed with minimal reclaim, so if you’re seeing more than you expected, chances are good that there’s a problem. Fortunately, all of these solutions are relatively simple and painless!