Aromazap/Myrtlezap/CeramicRockZap

Pyronym
Glad you figured it out. These things are really simple in construction and design and function. The proper use does take some trial and error but once you get it, it is always there. Kind of like riding a bike.

HG
I saw somewhere a slow boat to china left Wednesday. Who knows where it goes from there.

Rick

I am loving this thing now that I've got the technique down. Ive had 3 stems so far today and when i go home I'm going to throw it all in the surfer and vape it again. I am going to now have to buy a second one to keep at home or take with me when i'm driving friends. itll be a couple of weeks but maybe Rick offers a return customer discount??????????????

Oh and Rick on a serious note would there be enough room on the unit to splice in a second DC jack like about 1/2 to 2/3s of the way up to make it fit nicer in cup holders. I'd shell out a few more bucks for this if you could do it.

^^^ think that would move it too close too the heat exchange and the wiring would melt wouldnt it?

We can move the jack up maybe 1/2 to 3/4 inch if that will help(special order) but Devo is correct. There are two separate chambers in the Zap. Top for heat, bottom for wiring, plug, etc. I can only go up about 1/4 of the height of the Zap for a plug install and I will only put one plug in, not two if that is what I understood. The solution would be a 90 degree plug on the car adapter so the wire would come right up the side. Wait........do I recall most cup holders have a big gap for the cup handle? Will that work? Wiring will not melt as we will always have a good break between the two chambers.

And seriously, Pyro, Email me about a repeat purchase. We make deals all the time and surely appreciate repeat customers. That's what has kept us going all these years.

Oh yes. New Myrtlewood on the way. Should have some idea next week what kind of special grain/color/space cadet characteristics will be available.

Thanks all

Rick

Yeah no worries on moving it then I might look for an adapter with a right angle plug for the car. But yes I'll email you when i'm ready in a couple of weeks but i will be looking for a special piece of wood then. I like the one I have now but the next one will have a proud place of display in the house.
Later,
Tom
Oh Rick, Have or could you make a zap using either olive wood or briar. I think that either wood would make a drop dead gorgeous zap(probably even nicer than your primo myrtles it might cost a bit more though I'm not sure. If you could let me know if youd mind trying this I'd be willing to purchase it. As far as the briar algerian or italian would be fine. Look at any nice pipe site to see the grain patterns on the briar lots of flame and birds eye but you never know what you are going to get until you turn it. As far as the olive check out spanu pipes their pretty much the best known olive wood pipes.
Just a quick google bethlehemolivewood.net sells blanks and you can order custom sizes. The site should give you an ides how awesome olive wood is if you havent messed with it. Also both woods are used for pipes as they are more heat resistant then other woods. They also both smell great. Nothing smells better than a nice block of briar.

For now I am going to stick with Myrtlewood. We need something close to 3 inches thick to make a Zap. Much of the fancy wood, as the olive wood mentioned, is very difficult to get in that thickness plus very expensive if you could get it. The myrtle is nice, relatively local and available with prices we can afford and still make a little money. Another factor is much of the nicer grains never make it to the finish as they will crack or have some other defect that we don't want to put out there.

My latest supply of Myrtlewood is on the way. When it arrives I will turn out a few blanks so we can all see what is available.

R

Rick,

If I wanted to risk it (not knowing how it would turn out) would I be able to send you a blank of either briar or olive and if so what dimensions would I need. I have a decent pipe collection so a zap in either wood would be cool for me. The link I posted before was just the first thing that came up when I googled I'd be willing to do any legwork on that side if you could just turn it and give it it's guts.

Thanks,
Tom

Olivewood has a specific gravity of .80, which is too dense. Too much heat would migrate through the wood to the surface. Briar is also a very dense wood. Myrtlewood, like Cherry, has a more favorable s.g. -around .50.

I really have no clue what you said but it sounds like you don't recommend it. So I will give up for now and wait for the primo wood.
Thanks,

Wood density has been discussed in the PD thread. Tom has made some PDs from high density, exotic woods and the heating properties just weren't right-too much heat transferred outside and not enough retained inside to be used by the heat exchanger. Here's a selection of different hardwoods with their specific gravities listed. Those above about .70 aren't well suited for zaps or PDs. Those around .50 are best suited. There are some nice woods with appropriate density, but finding them in 3x3x6 or 3x3x12 turning block size can be difficult.
http://www.bellforestproducts.com/exotic-wood/

I'm not sure you can directly relate the two products, their performance with other woods, or the makers requirements. You need Rick's reqirements, not the PD's.

That does explain why the original softwood Aromazap would heat quickly and thoroughly. Less dense wood makes a better case for the heater. I knew that but never "quantified" it with the specific gravity of the wood information.

That's the way we do things over here. We make them so they work well for their purpose and are pretty and we give excellent customer service along with the product. Not a bunch of technical purity stuff from Zapville.

That being said, I do not have any "requirements" for the specific gravity of woods used but I do BELIEVE if I did have any, they would be similar to the PD which is the same basic design as the Zap and the Eterra, that design being an air heater encased in wood.

R

Rick said:

That's the way we do things over here. We make them so they work well for their purpose and are pretty and we give excellent customer service along with the product. Not a bunch of technical purity stuff from Zapville.

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Now THAT was a not so subtle jab, eh?

Rick said:

That being said, I do not have any "requirements" for the specific gravity of woods used but I do BELIEVE if I did have any, they would be similar to the PD which is the same basic design as the Zap and the Eterra, that design being an air heater encased in wood.

R

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So pretty much a good majority of wood available would work for you (minus all the obvious really soft woods)?

Rick do you know if you'll be getting any myrtle wood burl in this next shipment?

I do not know what we get til it gets here. The real trippy stuff is rare, especially considering there often is a flaw in it somewhere. All those fancy grain patterns put extra stress on the wood as it drys.

As far as the no subtle jab comment, I am the way I described. Simple, no technical stuff, not so much HOW something works as DOES it work. Yes, I have to figure out how it works to fix it if it doesn't work. That is one of the many reasons Tom did what he did. He wanted more technical, more sureness of safety, etc, etc so after much trial and error came the PD. As I have said before, that is free market capitalism at work to fill needs that are not met by what is out there. His current supply/demand situation is a testament to how important the technical part of a product is in todays world. He is growing and we are fading. That is a good thing in my book.

As far as my customer service comment, we are proud of that. We went through periods of hundreds of units a month and still kept the customer connection here. That is why we eventually went to only US sales. Sell less but keep up the customer service. When you get busy, something has to give. Selling wholesale never appealed to us. We did try it and had a good relationship with the wholesaler but we just got too busy for two people like us.

As far as wood density, I would have to agree that too dense a wood would be a problem just as too soft a wood. Same rules, just applied in reverse. We even tried Western Red Cedar once. ughhhh.

R

we just got too busy for two people like us

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i feel ya, Rick. i find work (and life) gets down to a problem of scope and scale -- how much to take on and how far to push it.

"He is growing and we are fading. That is a good thing in my book."

thats one of the saddest things i've ever read here

Sad on Madcap. We are not sad at all. We are happy.
And I said "fading", not stopping or quitting. Fading is a relative term.

I do find it a bit strange that a person who pushed MZ so much would find a statement I made and said I was happy with the "saddest thing I have ever read here"

If a person changes 100 tires a day, then goes to 20, he is fading. But he could be much happier at 20/day.

R

I thought of a flower withering away alone as the sky grows dark around it, weakly hanging on as it slowly wilts to the floor to be washed away and covered with new nature.

but your tire analogy makes it sound much nicer

Its all about a comfort zone. With small operations it is very difficult to maintain higher levels of demand without potential problems and burnout. Expand too fast and not in sync with the rest of the operation and typically quality suffers.

Beezleb said:

Its all about a comfort zone. With small operations it is very difficult to maintain higher levels of demand without potential problems and burnout. Expand too fast and not in sync with the rest of the operation and typically quality suffers.

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Its like shopping at the local mom and pop rather than at the big retailers at time... Well said

I bought an Aromazap about 4 years ago when I was a senior in high school. It works very well and I never had any sort of problems with it. It was perfect for what I wanted from a vaporizer. It allowed me to conserve my bud for very long periods of time and allowed me to discreetly "vape" in my bedroom at home without anyone else knowing. 2 Stems would get me pretty high and after 4 I wouldn't be able to move. I never used the packer thing for the stem and always packed it by sticking the stem down into a bag of finely ground bud. I usually got about 3-4 good hits depending on the quality of the bud.

I'm pretty sure I lost it (hid it too well when I left for college this year or parents threw it away) so I'm now in the market for a new vaporizer and I am definitely going to include Aromazap in my list of possible options. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a discreet vaporizer for personal use.

scarr said:

I'm pretty sure I lost it (hid it too well when I left for college this year or parents threw it away) so I'm now in the market for a new vaporizer and I am definitely going to include Aromazap in my list of possible options. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a discreet vaporizer for personal use.

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Be sure you note the difference between the various Aromazap selections and the Myrtlewood version. There is an important difference-hardwood for long term durability/reliability.

pyronym, how goes that battery you bought for you Zap? How long does it last with the Zap plugged in?