Discontinued Purple-Days Vaporizer

Not to mention the PD is RoHS compliant, I wonder if the Aromazap's are.

From the AZ website:

What about lead?

We use no lead solder in all of our constuction processes. We do use brass tubing in the manufacture of the heatport assembly and the vapor stem tips. Brass contains a very tiny amount of lead. Because temperatures produced in Aromazap are so low(under 400 degreesF), any trace of lead that is in the brass stays in the brass. Temperatures are high enough to make vapor from herbal material but are also way too low to release any lead from the brass


I actually think that is a recent addition, as a couple of weeks ago, I visited the site and did not notice that statement.

lol now theyre just trying to keep up cause tom gave em a good old kick in the pants

Not to mention the PD is RoHS compliant, I wonder if the Aromazap's are.

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I doubt it. He only mentions 'no lead solder'. What about components and wiring? They contain lead too unless you buy the RoHS compliant versions.

RoHS aside, he's obviously aware of the PD's popularity, and either suspects or knows it's a better product. Like Acolyte said, he's playing catch up.

It takes this many happy customers posts (79 pages worth) (52039 views) for SOMEBODY to wake up and smell the vapors..this market is HOT..Tom will have no struggles to say the least

Hennessy1414 said:

here ya go guys and gals sunlight+flash for some reason :/

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You're the man Hennessy! A wonderful pic!

Pesky fuses... haha, glad that was it.

Yes, I am the Oregon Aromazap customer he refers to.

The flax oil finish he uses was prompted be me , as I didn't want any petro-chem finish on my new A-Zap and sent him the flax oil along with the wood.

I was also plugging the carb holes of my original Zap stems with putty, so you could use the zap one handed. And requested my new custom A-zap be sent with tubes that had 'no holes'. I might not have been the first on this modification though.

The Aromazap is NOT RoHS compliant. It can't be as long as he continues to use brass with lead in it. Simple as that. Using lead free solder is not enough... BTW C330 brass tubing (not sure what he uses) is 0.5% lead and considered 'low-lead'. That's 1 part in 200 lead.

And that's what prompted me to make the first Purple-Days, I didn't want to breath through a device that contained ANY lead, no matter what temperature it was at or what assurances the mfg gave.

Beyond that the Purple-Days (all stainless steel) heat exchanger is a much improved design with a complex geometry and 72 radiating fins, Not the same at all.

Rick has been making changes, but last I looked...There are other differences. A hardwood bottom under the leather (all A-zaps that I have inspected were cardboard), Buzz-Butter finish and sample, three vapor tubes (not 2), Car Adapter included (optional at A-Zap), and items he doesn't include or have as options... Cleaning bottle, muslin 'blow bag' and matching tote bag, nice storage box.

Yes, Rick knows us, we have had many e-mails over the last couple of years. I worked with him to make some changes on the A-Zap including the Myrtlewood and the flax oil finish and the 'no holes' tubes. But in the end I wanted more than he could offer and had to make my own. Then a few for friends, and friends of friends...

Its an admirable and appreciative chain of events and story. You illustrate the heart of quality vaporizer manufactures.

Beezleb

Tom, lucky for us that your demand- "I wanted more than he could offer", ended up equaling a supply for us.

Thanks fellows. now back to work.

Tom, I think you addressed this at one point, but are there any patents out there that could cause problems for you? I would hate to see such a great and superior product get beat up in legal BS.

The original Eterra patent was from 1978? and in those days patents ran for 17 years, Now days I believe they run for 20. So even by those standards Rick was OK when He started making the A-Zap in 2001.

Of course I didn't just copy the other designs. What I came up with is new as far as the heat exchanger and the materials used. The idea of using the resistor to produce heat and the basics of the vapor path are pure Eterra but we went further going ALL RoHS compliant and improving on several points. It was never about copying, it was about improving. I wanted better. Again, Hats Off to the Eterra inventor.

Purple-Days said:

Hats Off to the Eterra inventor

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Agreed. To come up with such a clever yet simple concept represents a major step forward in vapouriser design. Hats off to you Tom for refining it to such a high degree and sending it into the world.

The original Eterra patent was from 1978? and in those days patents ran for 17 years, Now days I believe they run for 20. So even by those standards Rick was OK when He started making the A-Zap in 2001.

Of course I didn't just copy the other designs. What I came up with is new as far as the heat exchanger and the materials used. The idea of using the resistor to produce heat and the basics of the vapor path are pure Eterra but we went further going ALL RoHS compliant and improving on several points. It was never about copying, it was about improving. I wanted better. Again, Hats Off to the Eterra inventor.

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See U.S. patent 4,141,369; and also 4,303,083. What's pictured in these patents looks to be much different than the more modern Eterra marketed by the inventor years later (about mid-1990s, when I probably got mine). For pictures (looks much like a PD), history and other information, see http://www.lightwell.net/ (click on the Classic Eterra), authored by Herb Green (an apparent pseudonym). See more online at http://www.flashevap.com/. [It seems that these sites could well be dated, that these devices are likely not currently available for purchase. If they were, this list would certainly know. I haven?t been in touch with the inventor for at least 6 years].

The Eterra and other vaporizers from the inventor were basically much like the PD -- suck air through a metal heat sink/exchanger/heater that stores heat from an electrical resistor powered by 12-14 volts DC (although I?ve never actually seen a PD). I recall the Eterra used a 7.5 Ohm or similar resistor (electronic part) to heat a brass heat exchanger (a resistor inside the brass tube that air was drawn through, with air drawn in around the outer surface of the tube). Using Ohm's Law, at 12 volts, 1.6 amp, this theoretically puts out 19 watts, more than enough to heat a good mass of metal (while the PD apparently uses 8 watts with a much higher efficiency finned heat sink/heater). Even though the inventor made these devices to a very high level of craftsmanship, because of inadequate materials and design, as has been mentioned before, these devices inevitably would die. The wood they were mounted in deteriorating from heat, with everything becaming loose and electrical connections breaking or shorting (something obviously fixed in the PD).

And to further credit the inventor, besides the Eterra, he also developed and marketed (and I've owned and have used for over a decade, often having to repair) the Flash Evaporator, Pneuma, hand-held battery/car vaporizers (never worked well), and a silver-plated stainless steel heat exchanger model that plugs into a Radio Shack soldering gun (I forget the model name). All but the last were 12-14 volt units, and used tips that look to be very similar to those used with the PD. All worked (and some still work) very well (like most any marketed vaporizer, each in their own way).

Just got my PD a few days ago. My detailed review....WOW.

So I noticed the weirdest thing today, I noticed that the top of my pd (what you put the stem into) is kinda lose maybe half/quarter inch play..

Just want to know if this is normal.

Yes, I have the exact same amount of play. It is normal... I don't think we want to bother with having difficulty pulling the stem out?

Just to be thorough I do push my stem completely to one side to seal off the tube as I inhale.

Yes, if the outside diameter of the tip and the inside diameter of the heat exchanger were perfectly mated you would have to line them up perfectly to get the insertion. Too perfect can be a problem. So there is some play and it is easy to mate the two parts.

Oh no no, sorry I didn't word that right. The whole top part is moving, the piece that the stem goes into has play. Nothing to do with the stem having play.

Sounds like the spring clip that sandwiches the heat exchanger in place against the stainless steel sleeve has come up a little. If a unit gets dropped top down that 100 gram mass can bump the clip.

Two solutions, A) send it in and I'll give it a whack back into place. or B) a flat bladed screw driver pressed against that clip with the unit setting on something solid, give the screwdriver a whack and re-seat that clip. Any problems let me know,if the explanation needs clarifying drop me a line.

Just a note on the construction... The hole is bored to 1 inch, the sleeve (that you can't see) is 1" and is fitted t the bottom of that hole. The top disk of the heat exchanger is slightly smaller than 1" and is sandwiched down onto the top of the sleeve by a plated spring steel clip.

Why is the top disk smaller than 1", why not a tight fit ? Expansion caused by heat would make the disk larger and split the wood. Sandwiched like it is, it is free to expand and contract, independent of the wood housing.

Usually this 'play' is not noticed as the spring clip holds things tight.

Well i tried to bump it into place and i can see where it is out but i cant seem to pop it back in...

drop me an e-mail we will get you fixed up.

Anyone know what the consistency of the buzz butter is supposed to be? I opened up my little tin and there is a solid chunk of buzz butter but it doesn't seem to come out easily. How have ya'll been applying it, i.e. by hand, using a cloth, etc?

josh said:

Anyone know what the consistency of the buzz butter is supposed to be? I opened up my little tin and there is a solid chunk of buzz butter but it doesn't seem to come out easily. How have ya'll been applying it, i.e. by hand, using a cloth, etc?

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Its going to be pretty solid unless its 80-85 degrees in your house You can either scrap some of it off and rub it into the PD or you can warm it up by placing the pd on top of it upside down for a few seconds (Too long and you might have liquid wax). The top part of the buzz butter should be a bit softer after that for the cloth/paper towel application.

Buzz-Butter is one of those strange substances like peanut butter or ketchup. At room temp and sitting still it seems like a solid, but start moving it around and it becomes more liquid (even at the same temperature). It is very different than either of it's ingredients alone.

Heat will soften it, but almost any pressure will too. And since it's totally non-toxic a finger or better, a fingernail will get it moving and you will get enough of it to spread on the warm PD or other wood objects. I use my hands to spread it then a cloth to wipe and buff.

The formula is about 4 parts Bee's Wax (from the chemical free Tahuya River Apiarries) and about 5 parts Organic Flax Oil. A little bit of natural Rosemary Oil Extract is added as a preservative (anti-oxidant).

If you run out of Buzz-Butter you can use any vegatable oil, like peanut oil or olive oil as a substitute finish.

Purple-Days said:

....
If you run out of Buzz-Butter you can use any vegatable oil, like peanut oil or olive oil as a substitute finish.

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Hi Tom,

Im the brazilian guy, who asked you to withdraw the buzz-butter sample of my PD order, due to sanitary athorities requirements.

Here, its hard to find a substitute, so how can I use the olive oil for the finish purposes?