How to improve the performance of the Extreme.

Hi Everyone,

I have just joined this forum and wanted to share with you a really simple modification you can make to the Extreme vape in order to significantly improve it's performance. When I first bought it, I noticed that the hole in the bottom of the herb bowl is not large enough to cover the whole of the wire screen and as a result, the herbs don't get cooked evenly and even get forced to the sides of the bowl when using the fan. I could never understand why Arizer overlooked such a simple flaw with the design as it seriously affects the performance for the machine. I figured that if I could find a way to raise the wire screen a bit so that the hot air could cover the entire screen, that the herbs would cook more evenly, thus removing the need to constantly stir them in order to get an even cooking. I made a platform for the wire screen out of a paperclip to raise it about 5mm and this makes a substantial difference.

Here are some photos to show what I did:

I firstly got a large paperclip which I straightened out and wrapped around a thick pen, then trimmed it and shaped it as in the picture below. I then raised the edges of the mesh screen with a pair of pliers to ensure that the screen will fit in easily.



Then I assembled the parts as below:


Also when you place the herbs inside the bowl, the air creates resistance against the herbs which ensures the air covers the whole of the surface area of the screen. The difference it has made to my Extreme is quite substantial, in fact it really is like I am now using a far superior product. I have emailed this information through to Arizer, so it will be interesting to see what they make of it.

I would be very interested in getting some feedback from anyone who wishes to try this.

Kris

Very interesting thanks for posting. I too wondered why they would make a smaller hole. Keep us posted on the response

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For now when I pack less than .2 ish for single use I get 2-3 bags @ ~355 seems nice. Anyway to counter this different hole size problem I stir with the glass tool and often try to make a small volcano pile right on top of that damn hole! That way the material has no choice to give it up.


Also, I'd imagine fully packed it wouldn't be so much of a problem especially with stirring. I got around 8-9 bags from .4 to .5ish with a group in 2 bowls and stirred often.

@ Kris > How mush grass is hitting the heater?

Pappy said:

@ Kris > How mush grass is hitting the heater?

Click to expand...

I'm going to try it - just put another screen underneath in case.

Pappy what u mean how mych is hitting the heater? He never said anything about herb hitting the heater. I think this is what people want to do when they try to make a a shorter bowl. I really like this innovation, only thing im worried about is any toxins coming off the paper clip, but as long as its SS it shouldnt give off any. Kris have u tried the elbow pack method, it basically works well for the same reason, forces air through all of the herb. Good work.

Edit - nm, u were asking if any herb gets by the screen....good question.

Pappy said:

@ Kris > How mush grass is hitting the heater?

Click to expand...

All of it, and this is what surprised me. I kind of gathered that by raising the screen as I did would allow some of the heat to spread to the edges where the heat previously couldn't reach, but I still assumed that more of the heat would be concentrated to the center, but not a bit of it. I think it is because when you load the bowl up with weed, the resistance allows the heat to spread more evenly. I can see clearly that this is the case because I only use a small amount of weed at a time and when the bag is filling, I can see the weed around the side move about as much as it does in the middle. For me it has improved it's performance to such a degree that I cannot see how it could work any better.

Mr. Smoke No More said:

Pappy what u mean how mych is hitting the heater? He never said anything about herb hitting the heater. I think this is what people want to do when they try to make a a shorter bowl. I really like this innovation, only thing im worried about is any toxins coming off the paper clip, but as long as its SS it shouldnt give off any. Kris have u tried the elbow pack method, it basically works well for the same reason, forces air through all of the herb. Good work.

Edit - nm, u were asking if any herb gets by the screen....good question.

Click to expand...

Yes I thought about the toxins from the paperclip issue too. I don't think paperclips tend to be made out of steel, so I may see if I can source something. Although not found nay problems with the paperclip I am using. I have not heard of the elbow pack method, what is that?

Edit, I am talking rubbish. A quick Google search showed load of sources for steel paperclips.

bones said:

Very interesting thanks for posting. I too wondered why they would make a smaller hole. Keep us posted on the response

-

For now when I pack less than .2 ish for single use I get 2-3 bags @ ~355 seems nice. Anyway to counter this different hole size problem I stir with the glass tool and often try to make a small volcano pile right on top of that damn hole! That way the material has no choice to give it up.


Also, I'd imagine fully packed it wouldn't be so much of a problem especially with stirring. I got around 8-9 bags from .4 to .5ish with a group in 2 bowls and stirred often.

Click to expand...

It used to drive me mad having to stir it all the time and even then, it still never cooked evenly. Since I started doing this method, I never need to stir now. All you need is a paperclip and a pair of pliers.

Kris38 said:

bones said:

Very interesting thanks for posting. I too wondered why they would make a smaller hole. Keep us posted on the response

-

For now when I pack less than .2 ish for single use I get 2-3 bags @ ~355 seems nice. Anyway to counter this different hole size problem I stir with the glass tool and often try to make a small volcano pile right on top of that damn hole! That way the material has no choice to give it up.


Also, I'd imagine fully packed it wouldn't be so much of a problem especially with stirring. I got around 8-9 bags from .4 to .5ish with a group in 2 bowls and stirred often.

Click to expand...

It used to drive me mad having to stir it all the time and even then, it still never cooked evenly. Since I started doing this method, I never need to stir now. All you need is a paperclip and a pair of pliers.

Click to expand...

Hahah dang I wish I was able to find this when I had my EQ this would have been extremely useful.

Is a used extreme Q with a few broken glass pieces worth 100 dollars even with the whole exposed circuitry to the vapor path thing? I'm on the fence about this one.

I'm working on it. May need to buy pliers.

Mr. Smoke No More said:

Pappy what u mean how mych is hitting the heater? He never said anything about herb hitting the heater.

Click to expand...

Mr. S, perceptive as usual. You got my gist but if I didn't get a echo, WTF?

Pappy said:

Mr. Smoke No More said:

Pappy what u mean how mych is hitting the heater? He never said anything about herb hitting the heater.

Click to expand...

Mr. S, perceptive as usual. You got my gist but if I didn't get a echo, WTF?

Click to expand...

I was guessing you meant the herbs hitting the heat not the actual heater, or rather the heat hitting the herbs which is how I responded, but if I misunderstood you, please let me know.

Kris38 said:

Yes I thought about the toxins from the paperclip issue too. I don't think paperclips tend to be made out of steel, so I may see if I can source something.

Click to expand...

What i personally do when using paperclips and similar things for taking drops of oil or such, is that i heat it with a lighter until it glows red. There will be a metallic smell, once done wash it with water. You will burn unwanted toxins, and as the vaporizer will heat at a lot lower temperature than the lighter it should then be fine. I do this with screens too. Use a pair of cisors to hold the paperclip so that you can heat it all without burning yourself (but use a pair of cisors that you don't mind the tip being burnt)

Ya kris, so how much weed actually falls past the screen?

Mr. Smoke No More said:

Ya kris, so how much weed actually falls past the screen?

Click to expand...

No more than would fall through the screen ordinarily. As long as you raise the edges of the screen with a pair of pliers as shown in the photos, the screen does fit quite tightly around the edges, so very little should fall through.

Kris38 said:

Mr. Smoke No More said:

Ya kris, so how much weed actually falls past the screen?

Click to expand...

No more than would fall through the screen ordinarily. As long as you raise the edges of the screen with a pair of pliers as shown in the photos, the screen does fit quite tightly around the edges, so very little should fall through.

Click to expand...

Oddly, the Q's biggest Achilles Heel seems to be its screens. BTW Mr. S, I find elbowing much on easier certain parts -- screens, Cyclone bowl, heater cover. Also saving money on compresses air not to mention about a 20% herb efficiency bump. For me the bong makes elbowing possible but my dog is a real bong hound!

i produced some literature on the subject of improving the extreme some time ago, you may be interested in reading over my findings to compare and contrast; this is the first and less polished version containing a fair degree of bum fodder and this one details my current method

Has anyone else tried this modification? I don't use the cyclone bowl at all for exactly the reason that Kris pointed out - I just do elbow packs so all the herbage gets hit by the hot air.

One 'modification' that I use that is similar to this is to use a large, daisy-type glass screen between the metal screen and the hole. This has an added benefit of creating turbulence in the air coming through the hole and homogeneously heating the product in the bowl.

-NA

NuclearAlchemist said:

One 'modification' that I use that is similar to this is to use a large, daisy-type glass screen between the metal screen and the hole. This has an added benefit of creating turbulence in the air coming through the hole and homogeneously heating the product in the bowl.

-NA

Click to expand...

That sounds like an excellent idea Sir !

NuclearAlchemist said:

One 'modification' that I use that is similar to this is to use a large, daisy-type glass screen between the metal screen and the hole. This has an added benefit of creating turbulence in the air coming through the hole and homogeneously heating the product in the bowl.

-NA

Click to expand...

Same question I asked Kris.... How much herb escapes the bowl and hits the heater?

Pappy said:

NuclearAlchemist said:

One 'modification' that I use that is similar to this is to use a large, daisy-type glass screen between the metal screen and the hole. This has an added benefit of creating turbulence in the air coming through the hole and homogeneously heating the product in the bowl.

-NA

Click to expand...

Same question I asked Kris.... How much herb escapes the bowl and hits the heater?

Click to expand...

Just put a normal screen on the opposite side of the hole in the cyclone.
I usually have two screens in my cyclone to stop any escaping onto the heater

fidget said:

ust put a normal screen on the opposite side of the hole in the cyclone.
I usually have two screens in my cyclone to stop any escaping onto the heater

Click to expand...

You think outside the bong.

I wonder if a glass blower could make a custom piece which elevates the screen or even a whole bowl which produces a similar effect.

charliedontsurf said:

Is a used extreme Q with a few broken glass pieces worth 100 dollars even with the whole exposed circuitry to the vapor path thing? I'm on the fence about this one.

Click to expand...

As you can see most don't really care about the exposed electronics or they decide not to worry since they already have it, that is something only you can decide. Hopefully Arizer will create a Q2 with a sealed air path sometime in the future, with all their sales they surely have the resources to.
The price of $100 seems like a deal before you factor in the replacement glass which could elevate the price considerably depending on which and how many are broken.