Overview of Vaporizer Heating Elements

it is constructed, some manufacturers will address these questions if you contact them. The manufacturers of the low quality models will dodge them.

Low quality ceramic elements reflect poorly on all ceramic heating elements, which is unfortunate because a well-designed ceramic element is very clean. Top of the line ceramic heating elements are very precise too, although precision is also a function of the circuitry and computer chip technology used with the heating element.

Examples of vaporizers with good ceramic heating elements: VaporBrothers, Phedor and Hotbox #2: Aluminum Some of the best vaporizers on the market use aluminum heating elements. Manufacturers say that aluminum is more precise than ceramic elements because it responds faster the temperature changes: "One reason the Volcano maintains such perfect temperature control is because it uses an aluminum element and block, and aluminum has different properties than potential practical designs using ceramics. An aluminum element and block can more rapidly adjust for effects of air pressure and flow over plant material...the key to vaporization is maintaining control over temperature and flow, which ultimately leads to more perfect control over vapor density."

Critics of vaporizers with aluminum heating elements cite health risks associated with exposure to aluminum, namely an increased risk of Alzheimer's. It is important to note two things here. The first is from the Storz & Bickel FAQ page: "Q. Does the aluminum heating block emit any substances which are subsequently inhaled by the user?

A. No. the top temperature reached in the heating block 240°C (464°F) is by far below the temperature that is needed to emit any substances out of the aluminum alloy AlMgSi, melting point 660°C (1220°F); boiling point 2519°C (4566°F) used by us. This is documented by an analysis of the air produced by the Volcano on top temperature made by the University of Leiden, Netherlands."

So a well designed aluminum heating elements seem to be quite clean.

As for the increased risk of Alzheimer's: it's hard to be certain whether something does or does not play a role in the development of Alzheimer's because the illness itself is not completely understood, but aluminum does not appear to significantly increase a person's susceptibility.

These articles from Scientific American and Alzheimer's.org discuss this conclusion in depth.

Examples of vaporizers with good aluminum heating elements: Volcano, herbalaire #3: Glass Glass is basically the same as ceramic when it comes to heating elements. Only one vaporizer with an all-glass heating element is currently available: the Vapolution Vaporizer.