When it comes to picking which kind of dab nail to use, many people consider bangers, or bucket nails, to be the golden standard. With flat bottoms that can easily be heated with a propane or butane torch, banger nails are great for beginners and low-temperature dabbing enthusiasts. These type of dab nails are a mainstay that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon.
Thermal Bangers: Improving on a Classic
While a typical banger nail is always a solid option, there is a reason that thermal banger nails, an updated design on the classic, are growing in popularity too. These nails have an inner chamber, making the concentrate sit in a double-walled vessel that’s guarded from the full power of air intake during inhalation. The channel between the two walls allows restricted airflow into the piece’s joint, the part connecting the nail to the water pipe.
Traditional bangers are renowned for their ability to retain an even and steady temperature and jacketed bangers, as thermal bangers are also known as, are no different. The double-walled design gives the nail more surface area to retain heat and a smaller compartment in which to vaporize concentrates, meaning that it’s easier to keep the nail at the right temperature after hitting it with a flame and letting it cool down. This makes thermal bangers ideal for low-temperature dabs, which sit around the 300-400 degree Fahrenheit area and rely on a well-maintained, steady level of heat in this range.
In addition to keeping in the heat, the second wall also contains concentrates better than a typical bucket nail. It’s a common problem to have partly vaporized concentrates pull into the curved neck of a banger and get stuck, and while this can be solved with a little cleaning it’s also just easiest to prevent the problem from happening at all. As an added benefit, avoiding having to clean out residue also keeps you from wasting concentrate, especially if you’re using a lot per dab.
Heat Like Usual
Even though it might seem like it would take longer to heat, a thermal banger and regular banger nail need to be heated the same amount. The time to heat up a banger varies, but generally it’s clocked in at 60 seconds, 20 on both sides of the nail and then 20 on the top. It’s important to use this method or a similar one that moves the torch around to avoid cracking and heat fractures.
Some banger nails devitrify, or get cloudy with use as a result of overheating from torches and bubbling or burning concentrate. This can be avoided by dabbing at low temperatures, but if you’re a high-temperature fan seek a replaceable dish for your banger. These are insets put into a normal banger to make it function like a thermal one and unlike traditional thermal bangers, this internal part can be tossed and replaced if it gets cloudy or cracks. Check out our convenient guide to see which temperature range you prefer.
Nearly all thermal bangers are made of quartz, as opposed to regular banger nails, which also tend to be made of glass and titanium. Bangers in general, including thermal ones, tend to be used with carb caps. There are a number of reasons for why you would use a carb cap on a thermal banger: they help to maintain an even heat on the concentrate, they help preserve the flavor of the dab, and they’re the best way to get a low-temperature dab.
Best Choice for Low-Temp Dabbers
When it comes to low-temperature dabs, thermal bangers are the cream of the crop. They make it easier to maintain the right temperature to dab at, which is around 300-450 degrees Fahrenheit like with other banger nails. The procedure to heat up a thermal banger is simple and identical to heating a regular banger: heat is applied to the piece using a butane or propane torch and then the piece is allowed to cool down until it reaches the correct temperature range.
Thermal bangers come in a variety of angled joint options to accommodate differently sized rigs. Because of the design’s inner chamber, tilting the bucket doesn’t create an issue with residue spilling into and building up in the neck the way that a typical banger would if it were angled.
Easy to Clean
Thermal bangers are no more difficult to clean than a regular banger. You can clean a thermal banger with a number of techniques, including burning off residue, using the Q-Tip technique or soaking the piece in 91% isopropyl alcohol and some Kosher or Epsom salt. Â
The convenience and consistency provided by thermal bangers is clear. They’ve upended even the traditional banger design, an impressive feat. With quartz insets available to mimic the design of a thermal banger, the style has become accessible to a larger swathe of interested dabbers. Thermal bangers are undeniably a worthwhile investment for anyone who’s looking to seriously delve into the world of dabbing, and with angled options available you might finally be able to find the perfect nail to accommodate your beloved dab rig.
