Can you Dab Reclaim And Is It Worth It? Tips From A Dabbing Expert

Reclaim is the leftovers from dabbing, it can be found in several areas of the device being used to dab with. With a banger and dab rig setup, reclaim can be found in the banger, banger neck and any portion along the vapor path. With electric dab rigs it can be found under the atomizer and anywhere in the vapor path, including the bubbler. Within a nectar collector it is typically found within the nectar collector glass tube or bubbler. 

Reclaim does still contain cannabinoids and terpenes. It is not as potent as fresh concentrates however it surely does the trick, especially in desperate times so to put it simply, yes you can dab reclaim and it is surely worth it. When dabbing reclaim, especially reclaim which was captured from within a dab rig or nectar collector bubbler, it's important to understand that there still may be some water within the reclaim. This water, although not visible to the naked eye, will cause the reclaim to sizzle and make popping sounds, causing some of the reclaim to jump from the banger, so be sure to cover the banger quickly with a carb cap when dabbing reclaim to prevent the reclaim from splashing out of the banger. 

So lets discuss a few things, first how to prevent reclaim and second what tools can be used to capture reclaim. We will also discuss methods to gather reclaim once it's already coated within a device.

How To Prevent Reclaim

With all of these devices there are ways to capture the reclaim more efficiently so it can be dabbed in the future. First it is important to understand how to minimize reclaim. The result of minimizing reclaim is a more efficient dab, consuming more of the vapor and not letting any of it go to waste. 

Taking an efficient dab boils down to one simple equation although the method to achieve the most efficient dab varies from device to device. The pursuit of the ultimately efficient dab can be summed up simply by finding the equilibrium between the vaporization rate and the saturation rate will result in the largest vapor production and the most terpenes and cannabinoids being consumed for the most potent dab. 

Large dabs aren't large dabs if you are wasting half of it, consuming all of the cannabinoids and terpenes is the real large dab. When dabbing efficiently you can use half the amount of concentrate and get more vapor than from double the concentrates when not dab efficiently. 

So lets go through a few different devices to understand how to dab efficiently and find that equilibrium. 

Ways to prevent reclaim with different devices

Nectar collectors - we have an extensive blog discussing how to properly dab with a nectar collector to get the largest clouds and the best vapor production for each drop of concentrates, ultimately it comes down to to the toe drag method, only take a small amount of concentrates and inhaling as you pull away from the concentrates, dragging the tip of the nectar collector against the silicone jar while the nectar collector is on a slight angle, depending upon the air to vapor mixture preferred. Allowing the entirety of the concentrates touched by the nectar collector nail to be vaporized. On the next dab be sure the portion of the nail which has not touched any dabs is used because that portion will be the hottest and will vaporize the dabs the best.

Dab rigs - when dabbing with a banger or dab nail understanding the capacity for the banger or dab nail is most important, flooding the banger or dab nail is a sure fire way to cause excess reclaim. The airflow is also crucial to prevent sucking down too much reclaim and not having too much water in the pipe will help prevent over cooling. Utilizing inserts like terp pearls and spinner carb caps is a great way to increase the vaporization rate and prevent reclaim. 

It is also important to watch the percolators to see when there is any reclaim buildup, reclaim begets reclaim so preventing some reclaim will prevent more reclaim. Too much water within any bubbler whether a nectar collector, dab rig or electric dab rig will also cause more reclaim buildup as the vapor needs to maintain a certain temperature to stay as a vapor, excess cooling will cause the vapor to turn back into wax and stick to the glass #science!

Dab Pens: When dealing with battery operated devices it's crucial to first and foremost never flood the coil with too much concentrate, it will prevent the dab from being able to vaporize and it will only warm up enough to melt and not vaporize, leaving you with plenty of reclaim. It’s also crucial to understand that with battery operated devices, the battery level matters, when the battery has 25% battery life left or less it will not run as powerfully as when it has 100% so having a fully charged device is important. Likewise when the battery has been charged over 100 times it wont hold battery life as long and will not be as powerful. It goes without saying that changing the coil frequently helps with reducing reclaim as a beat-up coil with gunk on it has a higher resistance level and will not heat up as well as a clean coil. 

Electric Dab Rigs are especially vulnerable to reclaim buildup within their percolators if the holes are small, so watching the percolator to be sure it's clean and the vapor can easily pass through will prevent excess reclaim buildup. 

Ways to capture reclaim

A reclaim catcher is the cheat code for capturing reclaim some devices have the ability to utilize a reclaim catcher

Nectar Collectors - some nectar collectors have built-in reclaim catchers which are terrific for easily capturing reclaim. Even experienced dabbers can accidentally flood the tip or suck in too hard causing reclaim. Once a nectar collector has reclaim along the inside of the body there are a number of ways to extract it. The first and least recommended way is to slightly heat the glass, making it that much easier to scoop out the reclaim. This is possible for nectar collectors with wide openings however it does help when with a nectar collector bubbler which wont be easily reached by a tool. The next and best way to capture reclaim from within a nectar collector and nectar collector bubbler is by soaking the bubbler in isopropyl alcohol or more preferably ethanol alcohol, which is natural. Soaking the glass within the solution will loosen the reclaim and allow for it to be shaken and slid out of the glass. Once the reclaim has been removed from the glass the reclaim must dry out. Allow the reclaim to sit for a few days which will cause the alcohol to dissipate so it can be safely dabbed.  

Dab Rigs: Pairing a dab rig with a reclaim catcher is practically a requirement if you want to get the most out of your dabs and save a little surprise for your desperate A$$ later. Reclaim catchers are the easiest way to capture reclaim. However even while using a reclaim catcher there will inevitably be some reclaim which coats the inside of the banger and even the percolators. Keeping percolators clean helps prevent reclaim for quickly gathering along the percolators which will only cause more wasted dabs. Once the reclaim is within the dab rig its best to fill the dab rig with ethanol alcohol, shaking and letting the alcohol sit until the reclaim detaches from the glass, then pouring it out into a silicone jar, allowing the alcohol to dissipate for a few days before attempting to dab. 

Electric dab rigs don't have the ability to utilize a reclaim catcher, although there are a handful which have a built-in reclaim catcher, it is therefore that much more crucial to find the equilibrium between the saturation rate and vaporization rate of the atomizer coil. There is typically a fair amount of reclaim within the vapor path before it hits the glass. This reclaim can be found under the coil and within the silicone coated tube which meets with the glass bubbler. Heat up the atomizer to remove the atomizer easily from the device as cold reclaim acts as glue and can ruin the atomizer if attempted to be screwed off while cold. Once removed, scoop up the wax with a dab tool then clean the remainder with alcohol. Then there’s the silicone coated vapor path, which can have its reclaim extracted with a dab tool, simply slowly push the dab tool into the vapor path then quickly pull out, this should grab all of the reclaim out of the vapor path. Lastly with the bubbler you can fill that up with ethanol alcohol, shake and let sit until all of the reclaim is able to be easily slid out of the bubbler into a silicone jar. Allow the reclaim to sit for 1-2 days and the alcohol to dissipate before dabbing the reclaim. 

Dab pens likewise don't have the ability to utilize reclaim catchers. The best way to capture the reclaim for a dab pen is to utilize a nectar collector to dab the leftover gunk before cleaning the atomizer in an iso wash.