MiniVAP Vaporizer

Vapemen said:

Thanks very much for that. Yeah I prefer attaching the basket to the cone too, I just hope no unhealthy/poisonous vapours come out of the silicone cone or for it to affect the flavour in any way.

When I don't attach the basket to the cone and just drop it directly into the heating chamber, half full of material or a little more, I don't get enough juicy vapour density. Not to mention, it is much more difficult to cash out the basket. (Need to drag harder at high heat for longer time; which in turn heats up the mouth piece making for an uncomfortable draw in overall.) And when I remove the lid when done, I find the material out of the basket somewhat and around the outside of the basket; but still under the under the plastic cone with screen when the lid is on. That being said, i'm still trying to find that sweet spot in terms of method, consistency and amount.

Yeah I do realize that it won't work well if you pack the basket, with the MV being a convection vaporizer and all.

If anyone has any tips on getting the best vapeing performance out of their MV pleeeeease do let me know.

Luvin the flavour and want more of it definitely.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Polyrhythm said:

Hey Vapemen -welcome!
I have been using a minivape for a little over a year. Here are some tips.
It is possible to pull the air through too fast. Since this unit is convection, you want to start your draws nice and slow- this way the herb warms up and starts producing vapor, then you can start to increase the speed a bit. In the beginning use the silicone tube and the little mouthpiece. I find that the little "cigar tip" mouthpiece restricts just a bit, preventing you from moving too much air through. Also, direct the vapor at your tongue, this way you can feel the temp of the vapor. As others have mentioned before in this thread, you need to let the unit fully warm up. I pull some air into the chamber a few times as it is warming up to get the chamber up to temp as well as the heater. Also, don't add your herb until right before you need it. Make sure it is ground well and is somewhat dry. I am not using the little basket. Most of the time using just enough material to cover the bottom screen. I am using the green setting, but using the red setting when using water tools.

With these techniques you should get thick, smooth clouds that taste amazing. I am wrecked forever on joints I love the minivap and it has seriously helped my wife live with major pain and still get through the day.

Click to expand...

Silicone tubing is made of silicone polymer. Though there are different types of silicone, it will not generally melt with heating before the heat causes it to start decomposing. However, solvents like alcohol won't melt anything. Perhaps you mean that it might dissolve the silicone? Polymers can dissolve, but silicone rubber won't dissolve in alcohol. It will swell to some degree depending on the type of silicone and degree of cross-linking of the polymer. When this happens, the polymer is essentially trying to dissolve, and taking solvent into its structural lattice. It could swell to many times the original size. But when the alcohol is removed and allowed to evaporate, it will return to the original state, it had not dissolved, or melted.

Click to expand...

Ethnobotanist said:

^Thanks you JCat! I was planning on cleaning out some old glass pieces tomorrow morning having being inspired by your post on using the MV->basket->cone->hydratube. Thought I might as well put the cone, screens etc in with the iso soak. Fingers crossed I can make a nice setup using various misc leftover glass XD

Click to expand...

Tweek said:

I just don't understand how these guys can afford to doddle with this thing? In the time it has taken them to make a few small upgrades here and there, so many other manufacturers have come out with way more affordable, and interesting options. MiniVap was always one I would have loved to try, but it just seems they are in no rush bring down the price and/or add some more innovations to stay competitive.

Click to expand...

JCat said:

So how did it work out? Did you get a good setup? IMHO some key things to have on hand is a half dozen or so different small lengths of silicone tubing--alone and stacked together it makes a wonderful way to build adapters!

LOVE my MiniVAP .... but ... (always a but right ) ... my biggest complaint would have to be heat up time. I like to let mine get to green ... and that takes a good ~6-7 minutes or so? .... pretty darn long. It makes it a portable only "sort-of".... my biggest gripe ... if the MiniVAP was ready in 1.5-2 minutes it would take it from an absolutely great vape to an absolutely phenomenal vape!

Click to expand...

Tweek said:

I just don't understand how these guys can afford to doddle with this thing? In the time it has taken them to make a few small upgrades here and there, so many other manufacturers have come out with way more affordable, and interesting options. MiniVap was always one I would have loved to try, but it just seems they are in no rush bring down the price and/or add some more innovations to stay competitive.

Click to expand...

Ethnobotanist said:

Well I'm glad to say that I got it working fairly well with a mostly intact Jet-Flash smoke system setup. The great thing about this is the mouthpiece which mimics the Helix setup for making the vapor spiral in a vortex within the mouthpiece to cool down. In fact I'm curious about trying to set it up with just the mouthpiece connected to the MV to see how well it works.

I've actually just been taking dry hits and am very happy with it. Tried it on red and can too easily take overly large hits without the throat irritation, dryness etc which I experienced with the stock mouthpiece and red setting. Unfortunately I don't have any silicone tubing so I'm worried that the flexi-cone isn't sealing properly and that there is air leaking in.

Since I've only owned the Volcano Classic and shared an LSV with my cousin till I let him 'buy me out', I don't have any silicone accessories from other devices which can be re-used and modded for the MV. Had a quick look for some affordable medical and food grade silicone tubing. Most places seem to only sell bulk to hospitals etc. I can see how it would be great to have a few different ones as you suggest.



In terms of being priced competitively, at least in the EU, the mains adapter only version of the MV is the same price as a Cloud EVO and a lot cheaper than a Volcano Digit. You can't really compare the MV in it's portable-only mode to other portable devices. As my friend told me when he first got his, the MV is more like a cordless phone vs a mobile phone (aka cell phone in USA). i.e. it's a portable home medical device although I think some people would also find it useful for using responsibly when camping, hiking, staying in hotels etc.

Personally, like the Volcano Classic lasted me for almost a decade, I'm hoping for something similar with the MV, although realistically, if it lasts 4 years I'll be satisfied, extra years are a very nice bonus.

edit: I don't think I'm a special case of Volcano reliability. I know a couple of other Volcano Classic owners who got theirs round the same time as me and their Volcanos also lasted for similar periods too aside from warranty repairs/upgrades etc.

Click to expand...

Polyrhythm said:

Has anyone had success with concentrate pad? I have tried a few times now, I get great flavor as the wax melts into the pad, but no vapor. Then I get a couple decent hits with vapor but no flavor. I'm using the red setting so it's a little harsh without water. If I do use the unit upside down, would I place the wax on the bottom of the pad? Cocentrate newbie heh

​

Click to expand...