HappyVappy

Phaang

Fog Huffer
I've had my HappyVappy for over a year, and thought I would share how it performs for you other vaping fans.

The HappyVappy is made in Vancouver, Canada (http://www.happyvappy.com). The heater core is made of aluminum with a stainless steel sheathed ceramic heating element which heats the air as well as the herb (convection and conduction). Warm up time is about two to three minutes. The unit has a 10? power cord. The unit is 5? tall, and fits easily in one hand. It comes with a small stem, a tamping/scraping device, and a "caddy" (small jar). I also bought a long stem for cooler vapors.
1543805_HV_Kit.JPG


The chamber is 1/2" in diameter and 3/4" deep.
1543803_HV_Chamber.JPG


There is one (small) inlet hole in the front of the unit for air intake and four outlet holes in the chamber.
1543804_HV_Intake.JPG

A pea-sized chunk of herb is simply dropped down into the chamber (best if the dope is not completely dried out). A Teflon stem is inserted into the chamber, and one simply sucks on the stem to draw air in through the unit. Due to the small inlet hole, the draw is akin to sucking on a thick milkshake. This serves to slow the air intake so as to get good uptake of the volatiles in the herb. The stems are two-piece with a small large-mesh internal screen (basically a perforated metal disc) to prevent inhaling any bits. A nugget will deliver anywhere from eight to ten hits or so, starting with the traditional flavor, getting good vapor, then tailing off to wispy fog with a ?pencil-shavings? flavor. I?ve never had a burnt-popcorn effect with this vaporizer, it holds its temperature below the point that would char the herb. According to the manufacturer, the HappyVappy operates from 360F to 390F. It delivers vapor consistently-vigorous inhaling does not seem to affect the available heat, nor do rapid, consecutive pulls. The air path enters through a Teflon block, through the heating chamber, then up through the Teflon stem. There has been comments posted about the health effects of inhaling through Teflon, and there is a good forum question and response by the manufacturer addressing the Teflon issue here: http://forum.happyvappy.com/viewtopic.php?t=1152 Basically, the response is Teflon is dangerous only in temperatures in excess of 464F. Folks that are concerned about inhaling through hot plastics should remember that there are many other, well-regarded vaporizers that use plastic somewhere along the path (plastic bags, plastic hoses, etc).

This is a very efficient vaporizer. Spent herbs are dark brown, about the same color as cigarette tobacco. Spent chunks are very dry and crumbly, and seem to be fairly well utilized. Based on a pea-sized chunk, one can get very vaped on one load.

1543802_HV_ABV.JPG

(Blurry photo, but you can see the color of the ABV herb)

Since the vapor path from the heating chamber to your mouth is pretty short, there is a tendency for the vapor to be fairly warm when it hits your mouth. Keep a cold beverage nearby for hydrating and cooling your throat. The standard stem is 3?, but there are longer stems available. I certainly recommend a longer stem to help keep the vapor cooler. The stems do develop ?stem hash? which can be harvested and used. I found that the longer stems develop more ?stem hash? due to the longer, cooler surface to condense on. Still, the path is shorter than most whip-styles so there is not much loss due to condensation (which is harvestable anyway, so you?re not really losing it).

The unit includes a ?spike? that is essentially a long aluminum nail?the head is used for tamping and the sharp tip is used for breaking up the chunk for removal and scraping the chamber for cleaning.

A recent ?digital? version has been released. The details are sketchy, but what I can glean from the manufacturer?s site is this is solely related to the temperature control. Supposedly, the digital maintains heat range more precisely. I find the standard ?ano? version I own to have no problem delivering good vapor hits.

Although the HappyVappy can be left on for hours at a time, it never gets too hot to hold. I would not recommend leaving a nugget in the chamber, however, without hitting it for a long time. The convection chimney effect of hot air rising would eventually leach all the vapors up through the stem. Since the unit warms up quickly, it?s probably best to just switch it off when (temporarily) done.

The customer service from this manufacturer is excellent. When my switch failed due to my tripping over the cord and smashing the unit against the ground, I called the company and inquired about repairs. They asked if I was handy (I am) and gave me instructions on how to fix the switch. [Sending a used vaporizer for repair over the border is problematic.] They also sent a replacement switch free of charge. I?m happy to report that the original switch was easy to fix and the unit is working fine.

This is a very durable vaporizer, despite the one violent hurtle to the ground. I can?t tell you how many times I?ve dropped it or tripped over the cord and brought it tumbling to the floor. Maybe I should just sit on the couch when I?m done vaping so as to do no harm!

I also own a Vapor Genie and Da Buddha, and the HappyVappy easily performs as well as either of these units. I tend to use the HappyVappy when I am traveling somewhere and need to share. (Solo excursions-I bring the Vapor Genie). I bought an inexpensive dc converter for my car and use the HappyVappy on road trips. The stealth aspect allows me to ?drink? this in full view of passers-by. :p

Advantages:
Quick warm-up
Stealthy (looks like sipping a travel cup)
Durable
Easy to use
Very efficient
Can be left on all day

Disadvantages:
No temperature adjustment
Somewhat expensive (although currently on sale)
Hard to get deep draws due to small air flow
No all-glass air flow for the purists

Newbies to the vaporizer world would appreciate the ease of use and non-technical nature of this unit; pros may find the simplistic approach too limiting.

Overall, I do not understand the bashing this unit gets from other vaporizer fans. I suspect it is due more to an ongoing prejudice than any actual experience. This forum really likes the Purple Days (a similar approach to vaporizing) which I have not tried, and I would suspect the Happy Vappy performs very similiarily. I do recommend this to first-time buyers, but watch for sales.
 
Phaang,

max

Out to lunch
Nice review. The HappyVappy is actually much more similar to the herbalAire than the PD. The herbie has temp control, does bags, and has 18 air inlet holes instead of 4, but otherwise they're similar in overall design. The Vappy's price has been dropped to $170. When it was $200 there were much more popular alternatives. Even at $170 the competition is stiff. Most people on a budget are gonna go for a $120 VaporCannon.
 
max,

biopharmacopeia

Well-Known Member
Phaang said:
A Teflon stem is inserted into the chamber, and one simply sucks on the stem to draw air in through the unit. Due to the small inlet hole, the draw is akin to sucking on a thick milkshake. This serves to slow the air intake so as to get good uptake of the volatiles in the herb.
From your perspective, inhaling is harder and slower (takes longer to get same amount of air). However, a smaller inlet hole and harder sucking will siginificantly increase the speed/velocity of the air moving through the material your vaping. I would presume this to be a good thing, in terms of rapidly boiling, carrying off and delivering desired volatile components.

Have there been prior posts or does anyone know or have any experience regarding whether and how a smaller inlet/bore, harder sucking and associated higher air speeds affect the vaping experience (desired effects)?
 
biopharmacopeia,

Phaang

Fog Huffer
Actually, generally speaking, slower air flow tends to yield larger hits, due to the higher temperature of the convection. A fast draw will cool the airflow, lowering the volatiles. I suspect that is specifically why the inlet hole was designed to be so small on this vaporizer.
 
Phaang,

stickstones

Vapor concierge
Thanks for the review, Phaang. I have seen this vaporizer in my local head shop and often wondered about it. Glad to hear it has been treating you well!
 
stickstones,

biopharmacopeia

Well-Known Member
Phaang said:
Actually, generally speaking, slower air flow tends to yield larger hits, due to the higher temperature of the convection. A fast draw will cool the airflow, lowering the volatiles. I suspect that is specifically why the inlet hole was designed to be so small on this vaporizer.
When you say "larger hits, due to the higher temperature of the convection," does larger refer to higher concentration, which is good and might be seen as increased vapor visibility, but perhaps with less total air drawn in due to higher resistance? For example, a question for those with a vaporizer with large bowls/screens capable of large loads -- What happens when an tight-fittng insert holding a screen with a smaller diameter is used in the load chamber area?
 
biopharmacopeia,

Phaang

Fog Huffer
My experience with all my vaporizers (see signature) is that slower draws yield more vapor. If I inhale fast and hard, I get much less vapor than when I draw slow and steady. I think it is true of all vaporizers that use lung power (other than bags). Most of the other members here who use whip or stem vaporizers would probably agree.
 
Phaang,

stonemonkey55

Chief Vapor Officer
Manufacturer
My experience with all my vaporizers (see signature) is that slower draws yield more vapor. If I inhale fast and hard, I get much less vapor than when I draw slow and steady. I think it is true of all vaporizers that use lung power (other than bags). Most of the other members here who use whip or stem vaporizers would probably agree.
Phaang, I agree that slower draws produce more/thicker vapor than fast draws with MOST vaporizers. I believe this is due to the heating element losing too much heat too fast. Vaporizers with a thermal couple, or ones with more thermal mass like VHW, actually hit the same no matter if you hit it slow or fast. My vaporfection and Steinel heat gun both have thermal couples and produce similar vapor density no matter how you hit. The VHW actually seems to produce thicker vapor when you hit it harder?as strange as that may seem.
 
stonemonkey55,

Phaang

Fog Huffer
No argument here. The HV has a pretty massive heat exchanger in it I think, and again, I can hit it repeatedly with no apparent draw-down in temperature.
 
Phaang,

Egzoset

Banned
Salutations everyone,

Sometimes interresting developments occur while nobody is looking.

My guess is this appears to be quite the case with the HappyVappy "Vari":

4fcxv.jpg


Another Canadian product not unlike the HerbalAire except this one has got some additional bells & whistles - but no provisions for bag filling, by the way...

:peace:
 
Egzoset,

CentiZen

Evil Genius in Training
Accessory Maker
300 dollars? There is not a single reason I can think of to get that over the herbalaire.
 
CentiZen,

Egzoset

Banned
Hi,

I'm quite well aware that there are people who won't pay 249.95 $ USD to HerbalAire for their vaporizer. Yet i didn't choose to get mine for 170 $ from e-Bay or else as i wanted to do business with the manufacturer instead. You can bet this has an effect on my perspective i guess.

:2c:

Now, this is the HappyVappy thread so i have two comments to make about it if i may:

  • I never heard of the HappyVappy "Vari" before Google showed it to me
  • As a consequence i never read a review about it neither...
In short, my intention is to inform the vaporist community about the "Vari" version for starters.

At the moment some Vaporite products get much better attention, i believe this has to change.

:rolleyes:

I will leave it to the future owners to share their appreciation of it with us, in a couple years if that's what it takes because sometimes we need to proceed slowly, step by step, and finding out about its existance was just the very 1st step.

Then some day we may hope to get a clue what it's worth exactly, eventually!

:peace:
 
Egzoset,
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