Discontinued herbalAire

[onigiri1692]

An interesting and intriguing idea. It'll take a lot of testing to confirm, of course.....know where we might be able to find a group of guys willing to take on the research? We couldn't afford to pay much, of course.......
OF

According to storz-bickel.com the Volcano's liquid pads are mearly made out of stainless steel wire, if we can figure out a good size it would be much cheaper then buying the pads as 150 feet of wire costs $6 as opposed to $10 for two small pads. Here is a link for 32 gaude stainless steel wire, I might buy some to experiment with.

http://www.amazon.com/Gauge-Round-S...?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1330997946&sr=1-20

Edit: Turns out I had some stainless steel wire laying around, so I decided to make some hash/liquid pads to prove my concept. Here is a step by step guide on how to make hash/liquid pads for your vaporizer (obviously I sized mine for an HerbalAire).

1. Start out with some thin stainless steel wire and make sure that there are no chemicals or some other kind of coating on the outside of the wire, because who wants to inhale that stuff...I put my pads through a cycle of heat in my vaporizer to ensure I don't inhale anything that may have been on the wire.

2. Simply fold the wires into a pad at the size which is appropriate for your vaporizer, in my case I made it the size of an HA crucible (Be careful not to poke yourself, the ends of the wires are very sharp). I know my crucible is in rough shape, but it is 4 years old and has been stepped on, chewed on, lost in an air vent for months, you name it and yet it still survives. I do plan on getting more though.

3. As you can see from the picture above I made two pads so that I could sandwich the material between them, in order to prevent it from blowing up the HA during operation.

A test of the pads resulted in everything working out just as expected. Enjoy this very economical method of making liquid/hash pads for your vaporizer

P.S. This would also work well as a homemade screen to make sure no ground up bud blows up the HA while in operation since the pads don't seem to impede airflow very much, if at all.

 

[Kevdog420]

Onigiri - I wanted to thank you for posting that whip set up with the links, you made it so easy for me to upgrade. I ordered it and it came the other day. It's a huge improvement over the standard HA whip.. So for anyone thinking about upgrading their whip do it now!!

 

[OF]

An interesting and intriguing idea. It'll take a lot of testing to confirm, of course.....know where we might be able to find a group of guys willing to take on the research? We couldn't afford to pay much, of course.......
OF

According to storz-bickel.com the Volcano's liquid pads are mearly made out of stainless steel wire, if we can figure out a good size it would be much cheaper then buying the pads as 150 feet of wire costs $6 as opposed to $10 for two small pads. Here is a link for 32 gaude stainless steel wire, I might buy some to experiment with.

http://www.amazon.com/Gauge-Round-S...?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1330997946&sr=1-20

That's way bigger wire than S/B uses. It's roughly .004 inches in diameter. Some quick 'back of the envelope calculations say the 2.5 grams in each pad have about 150 feet in them (which seems reasonable having handled some). Assuming you could buy the same wire in that size for the same price you'd still be money ahead with the pads seems to me. By all means, experiment if you wish.

FWIW I think it's very important to use lots of very fine wire. There's a relationship between surface area and mass that favors very small sizes (almost all surface, nothing 'inside'). We want lots of surface, but mass slows the heating of the pad down....not what we want. I think 'them Germans' may have thought this one out carefully.

OF

 

[JustOnCloud9]

I've been looking at the vapexhale cloud thread and was wondering if anyonee thinks it is possible with drilling to fit one of the hydratubes on top of the teflon mouthpiece. Although they won't be releasing the hydratubes separately yet for quite a while was wondering what herbalaire owners thoughts are on this. I should be ordering mine's in a couple weeks at most hopefully, can't wait to start vaping some loudpak again

Edit: Or by attatching the EQ mini whip onto the teflon or MFLB mouthpiece (which i plan to get shortly after obtaining the herbalaire) and putting an 18 mm adapter on top?

 

[Kevdog420]

I've been looking at the vapexhale cloud thread and was wondering if anyonee thinks it is possible with drilling to fit one of the hydratubes on top of the teflon mouthpiece. Although they won't be releasing the hydratubes separately yet for quite a while was wondering what herbalaire owners thoughts are on this. I should be ordering mine's in a couple weeks at most hopefully, can't wait to start vaping some loudpak again

Edit: Or by attatching the EQ mini whip onto the teflon or MFLB mouthpiece (which i plan to get shortly after obtaining the herbalaire) and putting an 18 mm adapter on top?

I dont think you could attach a hyrdra tube merely by drilling. It seems in my experiences that the white teflon mouthpiece should fit 18 mm pretty good, so you could probably attach one by adding a gromet or some sort of stopper onto the mouthpiece to ensure a seal between the hydratube and the teflon. That being said this is a really good idea you have, I will definitely consider trying this once the hydratubes pricing is out.

 

[onigiri1692]

FWIW I think it's very important to use lots of very fine wire. There's a relationship between surface area and mass that favors very small sizes (almost all surface, nothing 'inside'). We want lots of surface, but mass slows the heating of the pad down....not what we want. I think 'them Germans' may have thought this one out carefully.
OF

That makes sense, I made a tutorial above detailing how to make a steel pad. The wire I used is for sure larger then .004 inches, I estimate about 0.01" which is 30 gauge wire, but as proof of concept it worked. I can now go find thinner wire to make a better performing pad if what you are saying is true, I think thinner wire would be more ideal for liquids (with some good bubble hash I had no problems to speak of with the size I used). I'll search for some smaller wire, I'm sure it can be found somewhere. Also from what I have seen on Amazon, it seems the thinner the wire the cheaper it is by the foot.

Onigiri - I wanted to thank you for posting that whip set up with the links, you made it so easy for me to upgrade. I ordered it and it came the other day. It's a huge improvement over the standard HA whip.. So for anyone thinking about upgrading their whip do it now!!

No problem, I am happy the whip worked out for you. I am trying to breath some life into this thread to help get the word out about how awesome the HerbalAire is since it is IMO such a magnificent yet overlooked vaporizer.

When I saw Samir(fuzzywuzzy) post his mods I got really excited that I stumbled upon it, because he did what I wanted to do when I first got my HA, but had no idea where to start. No matter how much I searched the internet four years ago I found no one really doing anything with their HA's to improve them, so I said fuck it and thought nothing of it until I saw Samir's post. Thats why I try to help out like that so that new users don't have to go digging.

Anyways :tangent:

 

[onigiri1692]

I've been looking at the vapexhale cloud thread and was wondering if anyonee thinks it is possible with drilling to fit one of the hydratubes on top of the teflon mouthpiece. Although they won't be releasing the hydratubes separately yet for quite a while was wondering what herbalaire owners thoughts are on this. I should be ordering mine's in a couple weeks at most hopefully, can't wait to start vaping some loudpak again

Edit: Or by attatching the EQ mini whip onto the teflon or MFLB mouthpiece (which i plan to get shortly after obtaining the herbalaire) and putting an 18 mm adapter on top?

How big is the bottom of an 18 mm male fitting? I am not sure if it is the bottom of the piece or the top that is 18 mm. If the bottom is smaller then 16 mm (size at largest point of teflon mouthpiece) then you could conceivably just stick the hydratube right onto the HA mouthpiece to use it, glass on teflon should not be a problem. I think drilling the mouthpiece to create better air flow would be ideal.

This process might be a bit clumsy but I like I idea, although I anticipate the hydratubes being pretty expensive.

 

[Chance2Vape]

I gotcha, I was under the impression that a perfect seal was not achievable with just the stem with the HA and that one false move with the glass stem in the HA might mean breakage. Thanks for the heads up though, as I have been thinking of buying a solo stem to mix things up a bit.


+1 to warehousegoods on ebay, I have ordered numerous items from them and have never had a single problem.

While it doesn't give a perfect seal, the SoloStem&crucible combo give thick, constant clouds through both direct-draw and Bong...I've noticed no overt delicateness to the HA&solostem combo per se but I'd be careful just the same

 

[OF]

That makes sense, I made a tutorial above detailing how to make a steel pad. The wire I used is for sure larger then .004 inches, I estimate about 0.01" which is 30 gauge wire, but as proof of concept it worked. I can now go find thinner wire to make a better performing pad if what you are saying is true, I think thinner wire would be more ideal for liquids (with some good bubble hash I had no problems to speak of with the size I used). I'll search for some smaller wire, I'm sure it can be found somewhere. Also from what I have seen on Amazon, it seems the thinner the wire the cheaper it is by the foot.

I saw it, and liked it a lot. That crucible has been through an adventure or two looks like? For sure you're on the right track and could well be 'close enough for jazz'. I also agree, real fine wire is a bit of a (mechanical) trap for bubble hash. I got mine pretty clean by boiling it with a little dish washing detergent upside down (on a "S" hook made of coat hanger wire over the lip of the pot) so the debris could drop out when it broke loose. Otherwise the little rascal would dance around in the pan until it stood upright (screen side down) every time.

Fun stuff. Gives you something new to do with bubble hash....and a neat vape.

OF

 

[onigiri1692]

Hello everyone I am back with another tip for my fellow HerbalAire users who use an aftermarket aquarium pump to fill balloons. While I never used the original pump that came with my HA, one thing I really liked about it was the inline on/off switch on the cord. Because aquarium pumps are designed to run 24/7, they typically don't include an on/off switch. Luckily I figured out how to install one onto any aquarium pump out there (any electrical appliance for that matter) in less then 10 minutes at a cost of $3.

The only thing you need to buy to do this mod is an inline appliance switch that you can find at any hardware store. As an example of what you need here is an inline appliance switch at Amazon, I used the exact model, only mine is white.

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-5410-...TF8&coliid=I3GW8KBGTNNG1I&colid=3EALIC92AINCU

The procedure for the mod is incredibly simple and straight forward. There are two wires in a cord, the 'hot' and 'neutral' wires, you only need to cut the 'hot' wire. Once cut, strip the 'hot' wire and attach the wire as shown in the picture below. The instructions that come with the switch explain what wire is 'hot' and which is 'neutral'. Basically on the cord, the plastic covering on the 'hot' wire should be smooth, there will be ribbed pattern on the other wire indictating that it is 'neutral'.

Once the wires are in place simply close up the switch and you are done. This is literally a god send for me because I hate unplugging the pump after every balloon. I wish Home Depot had this switch in black, but no big deal, I figure the white will stand out and help me find the switch in a dark room/when medicated. Here is the finished product:

As always let me know if anyone has questions

 

[JustOnCloud9]

How big is the bottom of an 18 mm male fitting? I am not sure if it is the bottom of the piece or the top that is 18 mm. If the bottom is smaller then 16 mm (size at largest point of teflon mouthpiece) then you could conceivably just stick the hydratube right onto the HA mouthpiece to use it, glass on teflon should not be a problem. I think drilling the mouthpiece to create better air flow would be ideal.

This process might be a bit clumsy but I like I idea, although I anticipate the hydratubes being pretty expensive.

IDk the specifics of cloud's fitting but seeing how stonemonkey and crew designed the cloud to also be used without hydratubes by just flipping the cloud upside down and putting it onto a normall 18mm glass bong, and how my EQ elbows could also do the same for the same size bong, I think that a simple 18 mm adapter would fit perfectly onto one of the hydratubes. They probably will cost a pretty penny, but I think it would be ideal for me since I am going to spend 175 buying my herbalaire h2.2, which allows whip/direct inhale and bags. Plus with some adjustments could also have a hydratube. This is a better deal for me financially instead of purchasing the cloud+hydratube for 450. The cloud is probably the better vaporizer, the hype on this website for it is simply enormous. But from what I've seen from videos and the postings on this thread, the herbalaire ain't no bitch, and I would be more than satisfied once i get it. And I would end up saving some money. Which for a college student such as myself is pretty important. I can simply do more things with the herbalaire, is more durable since the cloud is all glass inside vs the herbalaire's teflon, and costs less.

 

[Kevdog420]

So I am looking to buy a g on g water pipe adapter for a 14mm bong, and i was wondering would the extreme q elbow piece work? It looks to me like it fits 18mm but i could be wrong.. Also if an extreme elbow doesnt work does anyone have suggestions for a good adapter for 14mm?

 

[OF]

Hello everyone I am back with another tip for my fellow HerbalAire users who use an aftermarket aquarium pump to fill balloons. While I never used the original pump that came with my HA, one thing I really liked about it was the inline on/off switch on the cord. Because aquarium pumps are designed to run 24/7, they typically don't include an on/off switch. Luckily I figured out how to install one onto any aquarium pump out there (any electrical appliance for that matter) in less then 10 minutes at a cost of $3.

The only thing you need to buy to do this mod is an inline appliance switch that you can find at any hardware store. As an example of what you need here is an inline appliance switch at Amazon, I used the exact model, only mine is white.

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-5410-...TF8&coliid=I3GW8KBGTNNG1I&colid=3EALIC92AINCU

The procedure for the mod is incredibly simple and straight forward. There are two wires in a cord, the 'hot' and 'neutral' wires, you only need to cut the 'hot' wire. Once cut, strip the 'hot' wire and attach the wire as shown in the picture below. The instructions that come with the switch explain what wire is 'hot' and which is 'neutral'. Basically on the cord, the plastic covering on the 'hot' wire should be smooth, there will be ribbed pattern on the other wire indictating that it is 'neutral'.

Excellent suggestion. However, I'd suggest spending a few more of your hard earned bucks on this type switch instead:
http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Seymour-410WBPCC5-White-Switch/dp/B001B1CEHO

The advantage here is "insulation piercing contacts". You don't have to strip anything or mess with any screws inside the unit (only a single small one in the center holding the two halves together). You cut one side of the power cord, lay the ends in the grooves in the unit and close it up pressing the little points into the wires to make contact for you.

OF

 

[mephisto]

Hey Kevdog, the fittings you are looking for can be found at 7th floor's site, and many other
vape shops. I believe PIU has them as well. The Extreme elbow is 18mm...

 

[Egzoset]

Hello Onigiri1692,

I suggest you search for this picture in a post of mine in the present thread:

This one gives me 2 speeds.

 

[onigiri1692]

Hello Onigiri1692,

I suggest you search for this picture in a post of mine in the present thread:

This one gives me 2 speeds.

Nice! I did not even realize you did this before, I must have missed it while going through the thread a while back. I was wondering about the multiple speed models, more specifically the ones for lamps that allow a full range of options not just two. The thing is I was worried about the different voltages that would be going to the pump, I didn't know if it would react baddly at a lower voltage...but now I know, thanks for the reply

 

[Egzoset]

You're most welcome Onigiri1692!

That's a direct replacement for the switch on my HA pump, by the way, so i never looked back ever since.

 

[OF]

Nice! I did not even realize you did this before, I must have missed it while going through the thread a while back. I was wondering about the multiple speed models, more specifically the ones for lamps that allow a full range of options not just two. The thing is I was worried about the different voltages that would be going to the pump, I didn't know if it would react baddly at a lower voltage...but now I know, thanks for the reply

I'd be careful here. Motor speed controllers aren't a good plan for the sorts of 'motors' used in these pumps. Simple rectifier 'dimmers' like this one usually work. They're tough on the motor, but it's usually conservative enough in design to make do. Normal controllers will stall the motor and may cause it to overheat, 'low line' is often fatal to these kinds of guys.

OTOH, this is a diaphragm pump, throttling the output is the normal, approved way to control flow rate. Visit the fish store, they'll sell you a valve for just this use.....if you don't want to just clamp or crimp the tube. Why one would want to fill the bag slower I'm not sure of, however.

OF

 

[darkrom]

The only thing my new HA needs is a nice silent pump. Are there any silent pumps that work very well? I'd be willing to wait longer for a bag to fill using the silent pump. That pump is just a bit too loud to be waking up everyone else in the house, but night is the best time for a high temp bag.

 

[Egzoset]

Hi,

I'd be careful... ... Why one would want to fill the bag slower I'm not sure...

I've made comments relative to all of these matters previously.

My HA pumps is made up of twin coils: it's an inductive load, essentially. This means if someone were to use an electronic dimmer for control then a resistive load should be added in parallel.

The advanced technique which consists in obstructing airflow mechanically doesn't suit me too well, somehow... My prefered solution is to limit power consumption and noise by injecting less energy into the pump when it would be a waste to use more, actually!... Not to mention this should extend the pump's life expectancy.

As for the reason why an HerbalAire owner like me might wish to reduce airflow, euh... I can only suggest to those who really care about this matter that they're always free to give it a try.

 

[onigiri1692]

The only thing my new HA needs is a nice silent pump. Are there any silent pumps that work very well? I'd be willing to wait longer for a bag to fill using the silent pump. That pump is just a bit too loud to be waking up everyone else in the house, but night is the best time for a high temp bag.

The JW Fusion 500 pump I tested out was SUPER quiet, especially when compared to my Tetra Whisper 60. Unfourtunatly even though they are competing models, the JW pumped out much less air then the Tetra so I returned it to Amazon.

My refund went through yesterday, so I am probably going to try out a bigger JW pump, because I really liked the 500 I tried. I have a good feeling that the 700 (their biggest) will be really quiet as well, I will update once I get around to buying and testing it.

 

[OF]

Hi,



I've made comments relative to all of these matters previously.

My HA pumps is made up of twin coils: it's an inductive load, essentially. This means if someone were to use an electronic dimmer for control then a resistive load should be added in parallel.

The advanced technique which consists in obstructing airflow mechanically doesn't suit me too well, somehow... My prefered solution is to limit power consumption and noise by injecting less energy into the pump when it would be a waste to use more, actually!... Not to mention this should extend the pump's life expectancy.

As for the reason why an HerbalAire owner like me might wish to reduce airflow, euh... I can only suggest to those who really care about this matter that they're always free to give it a try.

Yes, you did. However you didn't refer to them when you just said 'use this instead', nor IMO really 'flesh it out for the guys in the cheap seats'. Even with a phase shift (and power wasting) resistive load you can still wreck some types of pumps this way (again, a warning I think that should be included). Perhaps not the same one you're using, but it'd be a pity to trash someone else's pump. Could even be lots of fun if it melted down or caught fire? Small risk, but real. Mess with electricity and you might get more than you wanted.

You understand how the 'low line' condition some dimmers will create is a threat to some motor types, right? For sure you'll never get the maker of the pump to authorize it....you're on your own.

I did slow mine down in fact, it didn't deliver any denser vapor. Only took longer. I can wait, but why? Like I said, I see no advantage. For myself, I'll continue to recommend a simple on/off switch (like the HA folks supply....).

Folks can do what they want, of course, I'm just in favor of full disclosure of where the rocks might be.

OF

 

[Egzoset]

Congratulations: you managed to make me search for the exact post and while i'm at it here's the magic spell again:

Leviton Hi-Lo Lamp Dimmer No. 1420

I also pinched the tube of my HA pump - again - and i confirm that makes it noisier - AGAIN.

 

[OF]

Congratulations: you managed to make me search for the exact post and while i'm at it here's the magic spell again:

Leviton Hi-Lo Lamp Dimmer No. 1420

I also pinched the tube of my HA pump - again - and i confirm that makes it noisier - AGAIN.

Not sure what congratulations are all about, but I'm glad you're happy. Great it's working for you, but I'll stick by my statement, it won't necessarily be good advice for all other dimmers or pumps. Even this restriction on dimmer doesn't make it a good solution for everyone.

There is, however, an accepted (presumed safe) technique supported by the pump makers which IMO ought to be considered.

FWIW, if noise is a big concern I'd take that up with the fish folks, it's one of their concerns no doubt. Starting with a pump known for being quiet is probably a good idea?

OF

 

[darkrom]

The JW Fusion 500 pump I tested out was SUPER quiet, especially when compared to my Tetra Whisper 60. Unfourtunatly even though they are competing models, the JW pumped out much less air then the Tetra so I returned it to Amazon.

My refund went through yesterday, so I am probably going to try out a bigger JW pump, because I really liked the 500 I tried. I have a good feeling that the 700 (their biggest) will be really quiet as well, I will update once I get around to buying and testing it.

Thanks a lot for doing us all a service. How is the tetra compared to the stock pump? I'll be waiting for your review of the 700 before I do anything.