Common Pax Problems with Solutions

No vaporizer is perfect, they all have trade-offs. Pax 1 comes at a reasonable price in a small package, but requires frequent cleaning or else it will develop any or all of these common problems. Read on for how to fix these problems with DIY solutions.

Last updated: January 25, 2018
Pax 1 has been greatly improved — Pax 2 for $150 fixes all major design flaws and is much easier to clean and use. While Pax 3 for $250 offers super fast warm-up and more bells and whistles like Bluetooth/app controls.

1. Problem: Hard to inhale, thick/tight draw when you try to take hits.

   Solution

   This happens when you pack the oven too tightly. I found filling full is good, but very loose because next I use the oven lid to pack it down. This packing it down works very well because it leaves about 25% of the oven chamber empty with room for the lid. Turn the lid sideways and you have an excellent push tool to pat down your herb in the chamber.

2. Problem: Temperature button gets stuck after cleaning.

   Solution

   The temp button is the small white button you see after removing the mouth piece. It’s in a tricky spot that’s hard to get to, but easy for alcohol to drip down into. Use caution when applying alcohol near this temp button, or using excessive amounts in the mouthpiece and letting it drip around inside. It’s very easy to get the temp button frozen stuck. If this happens you can try to lightly tap it with a hammer and nail to break it free from the glue bonds, but you’re on your own!

3. Problem: Mouthpiece needs frequent cleaning and gets tacky/sticky.

   Solution

   Sometimes it pops up very slowly or pushes down very hard. Pro tip: charge Pax standing up. The Pax charger is simple but flawed because the way it sits, your Pax spends all night with gravity working against it and pulling resin down towards the mouthpiece. The charging heat is just enough to cause the resin to heat and melt. Stand Pax up and attach the charger like a hat.

4. Problem: Mouthpiece doesn’t make good electrical contact.

   Solution

   Half the time it goes into heating mode and warms up, the other times the led goes solid red fails to warm up. Sometimes this gets bad and I can’t clean Pax, so I use a little paper shim in the mouth piece to force it to one side which helps make electrical contact. If you can’t do this, just slightly push on the mouth piece toward the stem until Pax is hot and ready to use. I’ve also had luck removing the mouthpiece and blowing warm air through it to help make better contact with the temp sensor.

5. Problem: Your Pax is having lots of weird problems

   Solution

   Did you buy your Pax from an authorized dealer, or on EBay? There are many reports of fake Pax units on ebay craigslist that have a lot more issues with poor and inconsistent heating, LED lights go change colors and are inconsistent, even fully hot it produces little vapor because it’s a knock-off using a much lesser heating element inside. Short story: get your Pax from an authorized dealer.