Published on November 24th, 2023 | by Bibhuranjan

How to Get Wax out of a Nectar Collector

A nectar collector is, quite simply, one of the best pieces of vaping equipment that you could ever own. Vaping concentrates is the best way to experience the most potent effects of cannabis in the shortest possible amount of time, and a nectar collector has several distinct benefits that other types of concentrate vaporizers lack. For one thing, using a nectar collector is much cleaner than using a traditional dab rig because, since you put the heating element directly into your concentrate instead of putting the concentrate on the element, there’s almost no possibility of a mess. An additional benefit of nectar collectors is that they tend to be much easier to clean.

One of the things you’ll notice with nectar collectors, though, is that they’re just as susceptible to residue buildup as other types of vaporizers. As you use a nectar collector or dab straw, you’ll notice that dark residue will eventually begin to build up inside the device – typically inside the bubbler or near the mouthpiece. What should you do when that happens?

You’re probably aware of the fact that you can clean just about any non-electronic component of a vaporizer by putting it in a bath of rubbing alcohol for a few hours. Alcohol dissolves all forms of cannabis residue, leaving your nectar collector looking almost as good as new. The rubbing alcohol cleaning method is wasteful, though, because you have to throw the alcohol away after you’re done. What if you wanted to reclaim that wax and use it again instead? The residue that forms in your nectar collector still has plenty of active cannabinoids. You wouldn’t want to discard material that’s still useful – so in this article, we’re going to describe an alternative. Here’s how to get the wax out of a nectar collector.

Image by Freepik

Getting Wax Out of All Nectar Collectors

The first thing you need to know about getting wax out of any nectar collector is that all cannabinoids are alcohol soluble. That means you can always dissolve the residue from any non-electronic component of a nectar collector by soaking it in alcohol. In fact, there’s a good chance that you already use rubbing alcohol as a cleaning solvent for your vaping equipment. The problem with using rubbing alcohol to get the wax out of a nectar collector, though, is that the reclaimed cannabinoids are ultimately wasted when you throw the alcohol out.

Instead of cleaning your nectar collector with rubbing alcohol, try using an alcohol that’s safe to drink. Buy a bottle of the strongest drinkable alcohol that you can find. Everclear and Bacardi 151 are two popular options. Put the nectar collector or its components in a bowl and cover them with the alcohol. Swish the items around in the bowl periodically over the next few hours. As you do this, you’ll notice that the alcohol will begin to darken. This indicates that the alcohol is dissolving the residue from your nectar collector. Continue waiting and swishing the items in the bowl every so often until the nectar collector looks clean. At this point, you can rinse the nectar collector and resume using it when it’s dry.

You probably used a significant amount of alcohol to clean your nectar collector, which means that simply drinking the alcohol when you’re finished isn’t going to be an option. To use the alcohol, you’ll want to have a small bottle and funnel handy. Dispense the alcohol into the bottle. When you want to use your reclaimed cannabinoid tincture, simply place a dropper of the alcohol under your tongue and hold it there for several seconds before swallowing it.

Getting Wax Out of an Electric Nectar Collector

Old-style manual nectar collectors are inexpensive, but that’s about the only benefit that they offer compared to the modern option. The latest electric nectar collectors from companies like Rokin Vapes are more reliable and more durable. They also produce much bigger clouds – and they’re easier to clean. To get the wax out of an electric nectar collector, all that you need to do is soak all of the removable non-electronic components in a strong drinkable alcohol as we described above. The alcohol draws out the cannabinoids, which you can then use by consuming the alcohol. In a typical electric nectar collector, the removable components may include the heating element and a glass bubbler.

Getting Wax Out of a Glass Nectar Collector

We’ll conclude this article by discussing some alternative methods for getting the wax out of a glass or silicone nectar collector. You can always reclaim the wax from a manual nectar collector by soaking it in alcohol as we described above, but the problem with these types of nectar collectors is that they’re often so large that covering them in expensive alcohol isn’t really feasible. Also, because of the amount of alcohol you’d need to use, the resulting tincture might be so weak that it’s hardly worth using.

Instead of using alcohol to reclaim the wax from a glass nectar collector, you can try using heat. To do this, you’ll need to use the same blowtorch that you use when you vape. Start by lining a baking sheet with wax paper. Take your blowtorch and heat the area of the nectar collector where the residue is. You just want to warm the residue – you don’t want to vaporize it. The residue should start to liquify. Hold the nectar collector over the wax paper and let it drip out. You can also use a dab tool to dislodge any larger pieces of wax. After the residue cools, you can vape it just as you would any other wax.

Getting Wax Out of a Silicone Nectar Collector

If you have a silicone nectar collector, it isn’t safe to heat the silicone directly with a blowtorch because doing so could cause the silicone to melt. Instead, try putting your nectar collector in the freezer for a few hours to harden the residue and make it brittle. After you’ve done that, use a dab tool to scrape the residue out over a baking sheet lined with wax paper. When the residue is frozen, you should find that it flakes away easily from the inside of your nectar collector. You can then vape the reclaimed wax as normal.

Cover Image by Freepik

Tags: nectar collector, vape, vape pen

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.