Underdog Log Vapes

Buildozer said:

The Air Cores are only for nylon stems???
I've been wanting to get a good look at the Air Core model.. Are there any good pictures of any of the Air Core dogs yet? If so can, some one please point me to them..
I'm glad to see you offering new things Dave
And I'm glad to see so many new, happy UD owners around here lately.

Click to expand...

Yes and no.. the AirCore was made for optimized use with the Nylon Stems and the 18mm NonG.

The primary visible difference between it and the standard core is the lack of the top star washer on the top of the core. The internal spacing (air gap) is changed a little too but that's not something you can see from the outside.

The top star washer on the standard core is what provides a stop for the various glass stems to sit on and limit how far they insert over the core center tube. Since the AirCore lacks this star washer it has no stop for the glass stems and they'll insert over the center tube until it hits something in the stem to stop it like the screen or your material. So, the AirCore WILL work with the various glass stems it just requires more careful use and isn't really a hands-free solution like the standard core.

Hope that clarifies things a bit?

@KidFated. & @catbird - thanks for being such good community members and contributing to answering questions, it's appreciated!

Thanks for the explanation, it certainly clarifies things, and that there is no top star washer makes sense as the visual distinction, and why it was difficult to definitively see in the photo.

Oh and I forgot about the NonGs, but I was going to write in an edit that it will accept any stems with the narrow ss end piece. Good to know that you are also able to use wider stems around the center tube, but that it's just less optimal.

And yeah, I like to contribute info when I can, working on honing it so it's accurate -- thanks!

Just finally got some of the new stems with the new formed screens. Really nice improvement Dave, the screen is perfect.

@AdmiralAlpacha - thanks dude! I worked hard on them so I'm glad to hear people are liking them. I'm happy that all our stems now have a formed screen, they basically eliminate most of the issues UD users have with the old style.

Alright everyone, all outstanding orders have been packaged and shipped so I think I'm going to take a day off tomorrow and enjoy a piece of the holiday weekend. Hope you all have a great remainder of your weekend!

So I've totally been in love with my new UD lately, but unfortunately I've noticed the VVPS limit seems to be getting lower and lower... before I was able to put it up to a max of 13.2 and now it will only go up to 12.9. Whenever I had it at 13 I would only run it for 15 mins max at that setting, so I'm hoping I didnt overheat it or anything

Edit: Unplugged it and turned it back on and was able to go back up to 13.2 again, awesome

I have had my underdog for a while now and it is my favorite vape so I figured I might as well come make a post about it. Im in love with the new GONG with the basket screens it is perfect for getting a few monster hits off a single pack. Quick question Are the new VVPS any better than the old ones?

@taelen20 - glad to see you sorted things out man. There is a certain amount of downward drift in the output as the components in the power supply heat up but it shouldn't be permanent as you noticed. The output voltage is limited by some modifications we've made to the circuit. We're trying to keep the output limited to levels that are too low to rapidly damage a vape but that's a delicate thing to balance when trying to factor in the drift. If it annoys you too much and you find you really need access to those higher voltages (most UDs don't) let us know and you can send it in for us to adjust.

@Scott A - thanks Scott, happy to hear you're enjoying the new GonG with formed screens, we put a lot of thought and work into the design and are really happy with it ourselves. RE: the new VVPSs - obviously I'm a bit biased but yeah I think they're much better than the old ones. They should be more reliable, better suited to this kind of usage and since we're building them in house we can evolve the design and also repair them if needed down the road.

So I got my UD (air core beta) and I it. Super super efficient with the nylon stems and huge clouds for the amount of material used this pup is amazing. A little sluggish it seems on heat recovery with multiple people in a session going back to back but that may be me still learning to use it. That's not how the UD will usually be used any way so it's really a non issue.

Question: is it normal for the travel vvps to get hot with use. The higher the voltage the hotter vvps gets, at a low voltage of say 6v or lower it's a non issue. I left it at about 13v for a couple hours today though and it was pretty freaking hot when I picked it up to check it.... I am headed out the house for a but I have an IR gun or type K thermocoupler I could use to check temps later. It was over 100* f though I am pretty sure.

Puffers said:

So I got my UD (air core beta) and I it. Super super efficient with the nylon stems and huge clouds for the amount of material used this pup is amazing. A little sluggish it seems on heat recovery with multiple people in a session going back to back but that may be me still learning to use it. That's not how the UD will usually be used any way so it's really a non issue.

Question: is it normal for the travel vvps to get hot with use. The higher the voltage the hotter vvps gets, at a low voltage of say 6v or lower it's a non issue. I left it at about 13v for a couple hours today though and it was pretty freaking hot when I picked it up to check it.... I am headed out the house for a but I have an IR gun or type K thermocoupler I could use to check temps later. It was over 100* f though I am pretty sure.

Click to expand...

Glad you're enjoying the AirCore Dog there Puffers.

It can show a little delay in heat recovery since we've removed some of it's mass.. just part of the ups and downs of design. That's why I've kept the standard core at the size and mass that it is for so long (and plan on continuing on with that), it's just about an optimal mass and airpath for max heat transfer and storage. The AirCore is a more specialized (efficiency with small loads) breed of Dog.

Re: the travel VVPS - yeah it's going to run hot when left on at any relatively high voltage for any significant length of time. With the components generating heat and stuffed into such a small package and no ventilation or heat management it's just a given. It really is designed to be best used as a travel VVPS (very small, simple and light) where it will ideally be used for a session and then unplugged instead of being left on for hours (or longer) like a non-travel PS might.

I love using the underbutter on my ud and making it all shiny. I think I might enjoy this process to an unreasonable degree, but it's so simple, and nice in a tactile sorta way, and the result is very satisfying.

I have a normal UD, bought a few months ago, and the top star washer became loose then fell out in the first two weeks I had my dog.

It never bothered me and I never tried putting it back in. I only use glass 14mm GonGs, and the metal core sits against the metal rim of the basket screen, which I've set about an inch down into the stem. This means that maybe an inch+ of metal core is inside the stem, and the dog either rests on the basket screen or the second, deeper star washer. Herb comes out nice dark brown after 3 hits or so.

I was wondering if this might have any negative impact on the dog? I don't know how the airflow/heating element work. Is it dangerous to have so much glass in contact with the metal core? It doesn't seem to be a problem as my dog works great and the extra depth makes me feel better about how secure my dog sits on the stem, but I was wondering if I might be doing something bad.

pwnapple said:

I have a normal UD, bought a few months ago, and the top star washer became loose then fell out in the first two weeks I had my dog.

It never bothered me and I never tried putting it back in. I only use glass 14mm GonGs, and the metal core sits against the metal rim of the basket screen, which I've set about an inch down into the stem. This means that maybe an inch+ of metal core is inside the stem, and the dog either rests on the basket screen or the second, deeper star washer. Herb comes out nice dark brown after 3 hits or so.

I was wondering if this might have any negative impact on the dog? I don't know how the airflow/heating element work. Is it dangerous to have so much glass in contact with the metal core? It doesn't seem to be a problem as my dog works great and the extra depth makes me feel better about how secure my dog sits on the stem, but I was wondering if I might be doing something bad.

Click to expand...

Heya pwnapple, there's no negative impact to the Dog or the GonG for you to use it like that so no worries there.

If it's bugging you though you can totally send it back in to us and we'll fix or replace it for you if you like. It also shouldn't affect the airflow or anything else.

underdog said:

Headed to the shop, lots of custom work going on right now, will share pics when the various pieces are done if I can get permission.

Click to expand...

You have my permission

On a side note, can anybody explain the differences between the nylon and glass stems or point me to a page where there is a discussion about such? My main concern is ease of cleaning. Thanks anybody who answers

iVapeTooMuch said:

can anybody explain the differences between the nylon and glass stems or point me to a page where there is a discussion about such? My main concern is ease of cleaning.

Click to expand...

As far as cleaning, I find glass stems slightly easier to clean. Because, well, ISO is very effective, they are transparent, and in this case, also wider. For the nylon stems I've been removing the screen and cleaning that separately, and cleaning the stem with a straw brush/pipe-cleaner type thing, and running hot water through it, with maybe a little soap. That's been working well, but I also haven't let them get too much build-up between washes. I imagine I'd put them through the dishwasher if I had one -- can they withstand this? or boiling to sterilize? Seems like they'd do fine.

The main differences as far as utility are that with the nylon stems you load the stainless steel end piece that sits inside the center tube, which may feel slightly sturdier in use than the glass stems which are wider and sit around the tube. Also, because the nylon stem is narrower, it contains a smaller screen and there is less space between where the load sits and the heating element, so smaller loads can be vaporized effectively, though IMO the glass stems do just fine with a pretty minimal amount of material.

I expected I would use the glass, but find myself using nylon stems more because of the smaller loads, and because they're not fragile/are more portable. Also when I use glass stems I'm compelled to incessantly clean them, so it actually helps me that nylon stems hide debris a bit (I sold a glass table I owned for this reason). In theory I might think I prefer glass because of the purity of taste and integrity of the material, but I don't find that the nylon interferes with flavor or has a perceptible taste. I am looking forward to the glass stems with a stainless end piece, I think those could potentially usurp the nylon as my stem of choice, but I'm really happy with the current stems and the durability of the nylon ended up being more of a factor for me than I would have anticipated.

@catbird - the Nylon Stems are definitely good to be run in the dishwasher. Hot water is fine too though I wouldn't recommend actual boiling temps as that might be too hot. To clean mine I use the test tubes they ship in, fill it half full of ISO and add a pinch of salt (coarse ground) and shake until clean then rinse with warm water. They come out squeaky clean in maybe 10-20 seconds of shaking. :-)

::edited to add:: The above is also how I clean my glass stems and my various glass water tools as well.

underdog said:

@catbird - the Nylon Stems are definitely good to be run in the dishwasher. Hot water is fine too though I wouldn't recommend actual boiling temps as that might be too hot. To clean mine I use the test tubes they ship in, fill it half full of ISO and add a pinch of salt (coarse ground) and shake until clean then rinse with warm water. They come out squeaky clean in maybe 10-20 seconds of shaking. :-)

::edited to add:: The above is also how I clean my glass stems and my various glass water tools as well.

Click to expand...

@underdog - I will have to try your method as it sounds simpler/more effective than my pipe cleaner/hot water method. I haven't been sterilizing the nylon stems as part of their routine washing, but since that sounds easier anyway, I may as well. And okay, I won't try boiling them Also I've been using this stemless champagne glass I have to soak my glass stems, and whatever else, in ISO, but using the test tubes is way smart. Hmmm I think I have to clean everything tonight so I can try this!

iVapeTooMuch said:

You have my permission ...

Click to expand...

Finished and brought into the office today, snapped a quick pic to share.. Amboyna Burl.

Beautiful! I love burls.

Just bought an Underdog I think my arsenal is complete for a little while

Look at this beautiful wood from Snappo for my UD packed and ready to ship to Dave @underdog

Now you need a wooden stem that matches!

@VaporsVaporizer - nice looking piece of wood there Vapors, I'll keep an eye out for it and let you know when it comes in. Once it's here I'll get your piece made and shipped off to you, shouldn't take more than a week once I get it.

For those of you who are looking at non-custom Dogs I'm working on a refresh now and should have them on the website by this weekend.

Random question: Will the knots on the wood change/expand due to the heat? My UD has one knot, and I could swear that it's changed a bunch, but I'm not sure whether I'm hallucinating or this is really going on.

KidFated. said:

Now you need a wooden stem that matches!

Click to expand...

There may be some extra from that piece to do that.

catbird said:

Random question: Will the knots on the wood change/expand due to the heat? My UD has one knot, and I could swear that it's changed a bunch, but I'm not sure whether I'm hallucinating or this is really going on.

Click to expand...

Wood in general does indeed move as it gains or loses moisture so you're probably not crazy. All the wood we use is stabilized in that it's either kiln dried or air dried for years so this is minimized but never totally eliminated. Knots are tricky because the grain is interrupted so they can move more or less than normal wood and in hard to predict ways, I regularly see them change shapes, etc over time.

Alright hope that wasn't too much rambling on the nature of wood.