Vaporizer 101 · Concentrates Explained
"The torch goes back in the drawer. The thermostat takes over."
An e-rig (electronic dab rig) is a battery-powered dab rig: a heating element warms a small chamber to a temperature you choose, the concentrate vaporises on contact, and the vapour is drawn through water in a glass top. It does the job of a glass rig, quartz banger and butane torch in one device, without the flame or the guesswork.
The chamber material (ceramic, quartz, titanium), how it's heated (bottom, sidewall or induction) and how much control the software gives you are what separate one e-rig from another.
A torch gives you heat. An e-rig gives you a temperature — and the same one every time.
I came to e-rigs sideways. I'm a dry-herb man — have been since 2018 — and the concentrate side of HerbVape's shelves was, for a long time, the bit of the shop I walked past. Then the Puffco and Dr Dabber stock needed someone to bench it, and the someone was me.
What won me over wasn't the vapour. It was the engineering. As an IT bloke, a device that holds a set temperature, reports it, and lets you edit the heat profile like a config file is my kind of kit. This guide covers how e-rigs work, what the parts do, how they compare with the alternatives, and what to think about before buying one. If you're starting from zero, read what is dabbing first.
How an E-Rig Works
Strip the design language away and every e-rig has the same four parts:
- A battery and control board in the base, which powers the heater and runs the temperature logic.
- A heating element — either a resistive element bonded to the chamber, or an induction coil that heats a metal chamber with a magnetic field.
- A chamber (or atomiser) — the small bowl where the concentrate goes. This is the e-rig's version of a banger.
- A glass top that holds water and carries vapour from the chamber to the mouthpiece.
A session runs as a heat cycle. You load the chamber (or load it once it's hot, depending on the device), press the button, and the rig heats to its target. It holds that temperature for a set time — usually somewhere between twenty seconds and a minute or two on default settings — while you cap it and draw. Then it switches off.
The clever bit is temperature control. Better e-rigs measure the chamber temperature continuously and adjust power to hold it steady as you draw cool air through. Puffco calls this real-time temperature control; the principle is the same one that makes a good dry-herb vaporiser consistent. Cheaper devices simply run the element for a fixed time at a fixed power, which works, but drifts.
Chamber Materials: Ceramic, Quartz, Titanium
The chamber is the part that touches your concentrate, so its material shapes the flavour, the durability and the running cost.
| Material | Character | Trade-off | Seen in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic | Even heat, gentle on flavour, holds temperature well | Porous surface can hold residue; chambers are a consumable over time | Puffco Peak range, Proxy, Pivot |
| Quartz | Closest feel to a traditional banger; clean taste | Heats and cools quickly; can crack if mistreated | Dr Dabber Boost EVO atomiser; Switch 2 insert |
| Titanium | Very durable, conducts heat well | Some prefer a quartz or ceramic contact surface for flavour | Dr Dabber Switch 2 (induction-heated chamber) |
What "3D chamber" means
Early e-rigs heated the chamber from the bottom only. The concentrate pooled on a hot floor while the walls stayed cooler, which meant scorched flavour at the base and unvaporised puddles round the edges.
"3D" chambers heat the sidewalls too, so the whole bowl comes up to temperature together. Puffco uses the term for its 3D and larger 3DXL chambers, which embed heating tracers in the ceramic walls. Focus V's Intelli-Core atomisers use a similar sides-and-bottom approach. In practice, 3D heating makes lower temperatures more usable — which is where most of the flavour is.
Induction heating
Dr Dabber's Switch 2 takes a different route: an induction coil around a titanium chamber creates an alternating magnetic field that heats the metal directly, with a quartz bucket inside and an infrared sensor reading the temperature. The result behaves much like a torched banger, but with a thermostat.
Why the Water Matters
Almost every e-rig draws vapour through water, the same way a glass rig does. The water cools the vapour and knocks the edge off it before it reaches you. It also means the glass top is a real part of the experience, not decoration: the percolator design, how much water it holds and how easily it drains all affect the draw.
Two practical things nobody mentions until you've done it wrong:
- Water level matters. Too little and you lose the benefit; too much and you'll get a mouthful. Fill to the manufacturer's line.
- Change it often. Stale rig water turns murky and smells. A fresh fill every session or two is the low-effort fix.
Given my record, you'll not be surprised that the first thing I did with a Peak glass top was knock it over at the kitchen sink while topping up the water. Glass survived; the draining board did not stay dry. Fill it over the sink, seat it with two hands, and never walk across a room holding a full rig by the glass.
Heat Profiles and Presets
Most e-rigs give you a handful of colour-coded presets on the device itself — typically four to six — running from a lower flavour-focused setting to a hotter, bigger-vapour setting. App-connected models add custom profiles: set the exact temperature, how long it holds, and sometimes a boost or ramp mid-cycle.
For context, here's what manufacturers and major retailers publish for the default ranges:
| Device | Onboard presets | Published range |
|---|---|---|
| Puffco New Peak | 4 | Approx. 254–310°C (490–590°F) |
| Puffco New Peak Pro | Presets plus custom profiles via the Puffco app | Set per profile in the app |
| Dr Dabber Boost EVO | 6 | Approx. 288–399°C (550–750°F) |
| Dr Dabber Switch 2 | Presets, customisable via app | Approx. 121–343°C (250–650°F) |
Where to set it is its own topic — the dab temperature guide covers it properly. The short version mirrors dry herb: lower for flavour, higher for density, and the hottest setting is rarely the best one.
E-Rig vs Torch and Banger
| Torch + banger | E-rig | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Guessed from timing, or checked with an IR thermometer | Set and held electronically |
| Open flame | Yes, and glowing-hot quartz | No |
| Consistency | Depends on you, every time | Repeatable |
| Setup | Rig, banger, torch, butane, cap, tool | One device plus cap and tool |
| Running costs | Butane, replacement bangers | Replacement chambers/atomisers, eventually a battery |
| Upfront cost | Lower | Higher |
The torch still has fans, and I understand why: it's cheap, it's hands-on, and there's no battery to wear out. But for anyone who values precision — which, if you're reading HerbVape, is probably you — the e-rig is the obvious choice.
E-Rig vs Portable vs Dab Pen
The lines are blurring. Puffco's own ladder runs from pen to portable to countertop, and the portables borrow a lot from the rigs.
- Countertop e-rig (New Peak Pro, New Peak, Switch 2, Boost EVO) — built-in water filtration, the largest chambers, the most control. Home use.
- Portable (Proxy, Pivot) — handheld, with Puffco's 3D chamber and real-time temperature control. No water as standard, but both can take optional glass attachments. The Pivot is the pocketable one with four heat settings on a single button; the Proxy is the modular one with app control.
- Dab pen — the simplest and most discreet, with the least control and no water.
Owners' detail for each is in the Peak Pro guide, Proxy guide and Pivot guide.
The Main E-Rigs, Briefly
Puffco New Peak Pro
Puffco's flagship. The 3DXL ceramic chamber is considerably larger than the standard 3D chamber, with sidewall heating and real-time temperature control. Presets on the device, custom profiles in the Puffco Connect app, and a Joystick Cap included for carb control. Water filtration through a swappable glass top. Product page · owner's guide.
Puffco New Peak
The 2024 refresh of the original Peak. It gained a 3D ceramic chamber with sidewall heating and real-time temperature control, with four onboard presets and USB-C charging. No app, no Bluetooth — which some people will see as a feature. The glass is compatible with Peak and Peak Pro tops. Product page.
Dr Dabber Switch 2
Induction heating around a titanium chamber with a quartz bucket insert and an infrared temperature sensor. Presets and custom heat modes via the app, with a glass bubbler for water filtration. A concentrate device — don't confuse it with the original Switch, which also handled dry herb. More in the Dr Dabber hub.
Dr Dabber Boost EVO
A more compact e-rig with a coil-less quartz bucket atomiser, six heat settings and a choice of shorter or longer heat cycles. Glass bubbler included. Straightforward, button-driven, no fuss.
Focus V Carta
For context, as it comes up in every e-rig conversation: Focus V's Carta line is the other big name. The Carta 2 was retired in 2025; the Carta Sport now sits in its place, with Intelli-Core atomisers (including a dry-herb option) and a Carta 3 announced. It's a modular, portable-friendly design with app control.
What to Think About Before Buying
- Where you'll use it. Countertop e-rigs are home devices. If you want to leave the house with it, look at the Proxy or Pivot instead.
- How much control you want. Four presets and a button, or an app with editable profiles? The New Peak and New Peak Pro are the cleanest example of that choice.
- Chamber cost and lifespan. Chambers and atomisers are consumables. Check replacement availability before you commit to a platform.
- Glass. Water filtration means glass, and glass means care. Budget for a spare top if you're anything like me.
- Cleaning. Concentrate residue is sticky and unforgiving. A cotton-bud swab while the chamber is warm after each session saves a lot of work later — full method in how to clean a dab rig.
- Loading. A heated loading tool like the Puffco Hot Knife makes sticky concentrates easier to handle. Nice-to-have, not essential — see the Hot Knife guide.
- Legal context. In the UK, THC concentrates are controlled drugs outside a specialist prescription. HerbVape sells hardware only.
And the one I'd underline: none of these are dry-herb vaporisers. If flower is what you use, you want a dry herb vaporizer, and our buying guide is the place to start. We've also covered whether you can put flower in a Puffco.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an e-rig?
An e-rig, or electronic dab rig, is a battery-powered device that heats a chamber to a set temperature to vaporise concentrates, usually drawing the vapour through water in a glass top. It replaces the torch, banger and glass rig of traditional dabbing.
Is an e-rig better than a torch?
For precision and consistency, yes: it sets and holds a temperature and has no open flame. A torch setup is cheaper to start and has no battery to wear out, but results depend entirely on your timing.
Can you use dry herb in an e-rig?
Not in Puffco's range, the Switch 2 or the Boost EVO — they're concentrate devices. A few modular platforms offer a separate dry-herb atomiser, but if flower is your main material, a dedicated dry-herb vaporiser does it better.
How long does an e-rig chamber last?
It depends on the material, how hot you run it and how you clean it. Ceramic and quartz chambers are consumables that eventually need replacing; manufacturers sell replacements and the owner's guides cover the signs.
Do e-rigs need water?
Most countertop e-rigs are designed to be used with water in the glass top. Portables like the Pivot and Proxy work dry as standard, with optional glass attachments for water.
What temperature should I use on an e-rig?
Start at a low or middle preset for flavour and work up only if you need more vapour. Our dab temperature guide covers the ranges in detail.
Where to Look Next
Concentrate-only devices, from countertop to pocket.
3DXL ceramic chamber, app-editable profiles, Joystick Cap. The one for people who want every setting.
3D chamber and real-time temperature control with four presets and no app.