Turbulence in the Q and in the EVO (which uses the ELB) is done differently. In the Q when using the stock Cyclone/Elbow set up, back-pressure from the elbow screen causes some of the air to return to the Cyclone, creating what Arizer calls a "cyclone effect". It works by lightly agitating the loose herb, exposing more of the herb to the hot air in the Cyclone. With more exposure the user gets more extraction. Unfortunately, while the principle is sound, Arizer's implementation doesn't work very well, in part because its airflow is so narrow (you can see this if using an elbow-pack, it's the reason for the hot spot). Consequently the need to stir.
I second this.
Using the EVO's ELB in the Q doesn't really help with this, it is simply a means by which to get the herb closer to the heat.
Not with this one.
Yes, the ELB doesn't directly improve the narrow airflow the turbulence in the cyclone, hovewer it improves both in a different way.
First, the ELB cannot be placed in the cyclone bowl. For most people, they could put in in the elbow joint.
The airflow in the elbow joint is much more similar to the Cloud compared to the airflow in the cyclone bowl.
The narrow hot airflow is still there, but u think the fine encapsulating mesh of the ELB is capable of stealing the hotspot heat and redistributing it to the sides of the ELB - where the additional heat is needed.
So it helps - a lot. No, it doesn't transform an EQ into a Cloud, but its definitely a very significant improvement for me.
I also have to add that ELB loads are much less messy than cyclone bowl loads and elbow packs.
The ELB is not typically possible to be placed on the heater like in some of my vids. This only works with miniELBs or only with glass that supports this - a VXL mouthpiece is the only glass I can think of that can be used with a regular ELB on top of the EQ heater.
So the meaning of the ELB in the EQ is totally not getting it closer. Actuallly, my typical setup has the load even further than elbow pack.
One important thing:
With these hotspot vapes as the EQ is - we are typically getting the vapors from the hotspot, then stir and get new fresh herbs to the hotspot to get vaped. So the overall temp used is not really high - if you unified the temp within the volume of the load, you will get very wispy low-temp vapor as the hotspot heat is not enough to heat-up the whole volume of the bowl for vaping.
This is i think what happens with ELB and why it need higher set temps to work correctly. 250°C would combust a regular load immediately in the hotspot, but the ELB redistributes that heat so the ultimate unified heat actually gets in the vaporization range. And I get the almost Cloud-like performance at this point.
The EVO on the other hand creates a violent airflow turbulence in the chambers of its glass path; that turbulent air enters the ELB. Pressure in the ELB drops and the herb inside is bathed in swirling hot air. The result is exceptionally thorough and even extraction with no stirring. AFAIK it's not possible to do anything like this in the Q.
I would believe this more in the OG Cloud. In the EVO these chambers are placed REALLY low. Is it possible for the air to keep its agitation though the whole hollow part of the bambo between these chambers and the ELB?
Oh and hitting the ELB in the EQ is capable of this. Not to the Cloud perfection, but it's possible.
Set on 250°C, I can take one big cloud and its done - I couldn't get any more hits after stirring. The ABV won't look so uniformly browned as from the Cloud, but it's all extracted, stirring it would only make it brown more uniformly with more hitting, but no more clouds on the exhale (with light).
