Hello,

I'm using the standard machine to vaporize fresh freebase. The crystals don't have an NPS smell to them. They smell how they should smell. I'm using a normal torch lighter and am pre-melting the spice on the steel mesh. Barely licking the mesh with the fire so I don't burn the spice.

However, the smoke tastes bitter and doesn't feel right. I've got zero experience with spice so I can't tell if I'm burning it, or if that bitter taste is something normal... Can anyone tell me what is this bitterness a sign of?

Also what physical effects should I expect on my body? I know it's probably different from person to person, but maybe there's a list of physical sensations that are considered normal and frequent among everyone.

Thanks a lot!

Did you pre-burn the steel mesh before inserting it into the machine? Are you using a Chore-boy type copper color cleaning scubbie? Thats what I use in my machine and I will take the torch and hold a piece of the chore-boy with pliers and pre-burn the machining oils and residues from the thing first. I also don't use a torch lighter with the machine. I have better luck with a normal Bic-style lighter.

As far as physical sensations are concerned, all manner of physical sensations from euphoria to panic to floaty feelings to tingling to physical pain can be expected. Generally the physical sensations, for me, are very pleasant and sometimes a little uncomfortable. I have found that (again, for me) fresh sunburns become quite painful.

-Lover

Regarding physical sensations- I have had experiences where I hear a ringing tone and it builds in intensity, to the point where I can feel it throughout my entire body, an absolutely overwhelming current of pure bliss coursing through me. Sometimes on big doses this will build very quickly until I break through, at which point I feel absolutely weightless. I love trips like this.

If smoke is harsh and tastes bitter then you might be burning it. Also previous poster asked if you had mesh pre-burned - to test if mesh gives the taste, simply try several inhalations of unloaded machine and see if there is any taste.

I've written post in the past, describing my method, but can't find it right now.
Basically you should consider the following:

0) For me torch works the best
1) Start drawing air very slow, don't aim fire directly at the mesh/spice at first. Hold your torch so that vector of a flame is roughly perpendicular to the bottle. When you draw air in through machine, torch flame kinda bends towards mesh as if being sucked in. Regulate your rate of inhalation to achieve this effect. This way you are vapourizing spice with hot air and avoid direct contact with the flame
2) At this point hot air (and not flames hitting mesh) should be flowing into the machine starting to vapourize spice
3) Control intensity of vapourization by playing with distance and angle
4) For 2nd and subsequential hits, you might want to start aiming torch flame directly on to the mesh to the point, that outer mesh layer becomes red hot. This is to get spice which escaped into the depths of your mesh
5) Hold bottle so that it points slightly down, not horizontal. This is because liquid spice runs from flame and if you hold it horizontally or upwards - you might get some run into the bottle.

Physical sensations - for me it's body load, increased heart rate, buzzing in the ears

Hope that helps

P.s. I just re-read this and it sounds complicated, but in reality it is pretty easy, also it sometimes works better if you have somebody to handle the torch for you, so you just focus on inhalation.

Thanks for all the tips! Theoretically I know what I need to do, because I've read about it numerous times. However the bitter taste makes me think I'm burning the spice. I'm using a regular stainless steel scrubber (like the one in the attached pic), a piece of which was cut off and stuck in the bottle neck. I carefully torched it until it was glowing red several times to make sure there's no chemicals left on it. I guess I'll just have to try a few more times while being more delicate with the amount of heat that hits the mesh and see if that bitterness persists. I'll update this post if anything changes (or doesn't).

Be well.

What does the spice look like? For example a friend tried some near white spice of mine and was beaming with excitement as he told me his last 3x with spice made him cough and was hard to hold in but mine was so easy to inhale and take multiple hits. He vaporizes on foil with a lighter and straw.