Aromazap/Myrtlezap/CeramicRockZap

momofthegoons said:

Thanks for sharing all of that Rick. It's quite a lot to digest. When I came on to do my post, I wasn't expecting it and it caught me by surprise. My first impulse is not to respond to it further and get to my original intent here, and I think I'll stick to that.

My beautiful new "little gal" arrived Friday afternoon. Rick picked a beautiful piece of Myrtle for her. We decided on no LED and I'm glad that I went that route. The front wraps around, and with the grain patterns, almost has two "fronts." One side has waves of grain with small areas of burl. The other has three whorls of grain going from the bottom almost to the top. This particular area is pretty cool. Now, the news this morning was full of people who were seeing Jesus in their bathroom tile, etc. and sure it was an Easter sign. Now, I'm not one to see Jesus in things I look at, certainly not in the bathroom tile or a grilled cheese. But I'm telling you, I took one look at this and I swear I see a mother and child. What do you think?

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/87/dsc00257jp.jpg

Now, it's entirely possible that my husband is right that I've been practicing too much with my beautiful new vape, but.....

In any case, thank you Rick for the extra attention. I love my new Myrtlezap.

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WoooWWW she is a beautiful MZ!

Thanks; it is isn't it? The other side is just as beautiful. My camera's battery died and I couldn't take that too. I'll post it later.

she's pretty!

momofthegoons said:

But I'm telling you, I took one look at this and I swear I see a mother and child. What do you think?

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Either the mother and child or........

Gratz on the new vape, mom.

I see the Mother and Child. I also see three. I love three. Father,Son and Mother? I always saw three in that piece on that side. The other 'front' is interesting too.
BTW, mom, that is some of the 30-40 year stored inside Myrtlewood. It is so sweet to work with. So hard yet so workable. OMG, there I go again! And we have even been together 46 years! Zaplady is so very sweet! Yes, I have an extra buzz on today.

Good one Iwien! Actually, you're right. The whorl on the bottom does have a marked resemblance. So.......it's the Mother and Kenny?

So Rick, was this what you saw all along? Interesting we both would. And yes. The three.

A lot of these MZs seem to have some beautiful wood patterns. My PD is beautiful but I like how some of the MZs look a lot more unique from one another. Thumbs up!

Rick said:

Lastly, I have said I have my suspicions about why this subject came up again. I will now present a fact that I do know about. We get orders, make and ship enough Zaps to clear out Toms FC wait list every two weeks. It is none of my business why he does what he does with customers who have paid months ago. It is also none of his business about what I do or don't do or how I get through life.
If my brass/safe/AZ/MZ explanation is not good enough for some of you, ask away. I have probably missed a thing or two. I do ask Tom to not post here as I have (not) done on his thread.

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I am not saying Tom employs this practice but this type of "forced scarcity" does exist in the real world (I cant resist a chance to use information I learn on the History Channel documentaries xD). DeBeers holds a monopoly on diamonds and actually stores many, many more than they release to the world market, this scarcity drives up the price and thanks to their ingenious tactic of symbolizing the diamond with marriage has also created a HUGE demand. Bank account fatality! Yay otherwise not useful Historical information once again not saying anything above is true, just that a similar phenomenon has occurred before in history.

But back to my original intent of posting, after reading the "Piece Art" thread, the newer MyrtleZap, and the Brass thread I am still going to decide on a MZ =3 Now I don't have 150 in my paypal but in my bank account. That would take 3-4 business days to transfer to paypal, how do I charge straight from a debit card (thats possible right? o.o)

how do I charge straight from a debit card

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If your debit card is a Visa/Mastercard type, you can set that up as your "credit card" in paypal and the funds will be taken directly from your account. Otherwise, you can set it up to come directly from your account.

I think you will find dealing with Rick an easy experience. My order, from start to finish only took one week. I was very pleasantly surprised, especially since Rick did me the favor of looking out for a special piece of Myrtle. Of course, all of them are special in their own way; each having their own unique grain pattern.

momofthegoons said:

Thanks for sharing all of that Rick. It's quite a lot to digest. When I came on to do my post, I wasn't expecting it and it caught me by surprise. My first impulse is not to respond to it further and get to my original intent here, and I think I'll stick to that.

My beautiful new "little gal" arrived Friday afternoon. Rick picked a beautiful piece of Myrtle for her. We decided on no LED and I'm glad that I went that route. The front wraps around, and with the grain patterns, almost has two "fronts." One side has waves of grain with small areas of burl. The other has three whorls of grain going from the bottom almost to the top. This particular area is pretty cool. Now, the news this morning was full of people who were seeing Jesus in their bathroom tile, etc. and sure it was an Easter sign. Now, I'm not one to see Jesus in things I look at, certainly not in the bathroom tile or a grilled cheese. But I'm telling you, I took one look at this and I swear I see a mother and child. What do you think?

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/87/dsc00257jp.jpg

Now, it's entirely possible that my husband is right that I've been practicing too much with my beautiful new vape, but.....

In any case, thank you Rick for the extra attention. I love my new Myrtlezap.

Click to expand...

Wow mom, it is gorgeous. I definitely see the madonna and child (with baby J holding a gift from the magi maybe?) but I can also see the three Rick mentioned. I don't subscribe to that particular religion but I very much appreciate its history and iconic imagery. I guess it could be jesus, mary and joseph - but that is a christmas thing too.

Anyway, very pretty. Get it waxed up and some of the design will gain nuances that make it feel even more personal to you. I know my MyrtleCat was a vague, almost implied design at first but after multiple waxings it has really gotten more defined and noticeable.

See I love that about Rick. He actually cares enough to hand-pick a design he thinks will speak to you. He and I talked about pets and he picked one for me that appeared to have a cat in the design (we have 10, mostly rescued.) You (momofthegoons) got something that reflects motherhood. I am sure there are others who can report similarly, but you get my point.

When all the dust settles, the people who care about concrete results and a personal touch in the service department will continue to buy (and receive) Zaps.

The other people, who are more concerned with appearances and political correctness will place their orders and sheepishly wait until the "gods" eventually smile upon them and finally bestow their reward. Maybe they will get to use them in their Priuses as they listen to Michael Bolton MP3s on their iPods.

Ed
So sorry I did not call last weekend. My youngest son(33) came up for an unexpected visit and we had a great time with him, other son and grandkids. I totally spaced anything having to do with Zapville. I was going to call this AM but being Easter and all, thought I would wait til later in the day. WE will get you a 13.5, no problem. It will amp up the heat a bit for sure.
Still on the first toke I got from you. Just keeps on humming away with very little maintenance required.
Thought a bit more about the wood bats and my plan has a big gap in it I think. I will let you know later today wuz up.
I also want to say thanks for all the kind words from folks. I also would like to keep this thread related to the AZ/MZ only and not any other product or person. I did my speel based on several openings said specifically about me and my product on another thread. I would like to see us move on. If there are specific questions or concerns about my product and it's construction, I will answer them here because they relate to my product and are not general in nature.

Wow Rick, nuff said bro!! I feel you on all that! Yeah its early here on Easter Sunday and what a glorious day its gonna be! Our Lord has risen and sacrificed himself for you and me! Just give me a holla when you have the time my friend.

Mom, you sure did get a sweet piece, I see the mother and child in that piece as well. Rick does great work and he did pick you a great piece of wood. I did not get the LED in mine either and am glad I didn't, had I done so would have only taken away from the beauty and naturalness that it has. I dig your piece mom!

Happy Easter All!!!

Happy Day of the Multi-colored-egg Laying Bunny Rabbit!

But... what do those Easter eggs have in the coloring, and does any of that coloring end up in the egg?

What about when I'm hunting Easter eggs and I step in dog doo? Aren't those fumes methane?

Maybe I'll just stay safe inside at home today!

After practicing every opportunity I had over the weekend with my new Zap, I have decided I would like to get one of your 13.5v adaptors to help "condition" her. (I prefer to use that term over "break in"; seems more civilized ) Do you still have some in stock, Rick? I checked the website for a link, but it doesn't offer accessories yet. How would we arrange payment?

As an aside, a word of caution for y'all. Had one of my rare glasses of wine yesterday and decided that vaping would be the perfect top off. The stem stuck to my lip as I was pulling away, flipped down, and I burned the crap out of the underside of my chin. A total stoner moment. Now, this is not the first time I've burned myself on a vape. I burned myself with the glass end of a whip type earlier this week. (Hopefully, that 3 thing wont apply here) So, I guess the moral of the story is.....well I'm not sure what the moral is but I think I need to be more attentive when I'm vaping! I'm such a klutz! Yeah, let's get that baby hotter.

Edit: Meant to add that the lavender oil sent with the Zap also does wonders for burns. Was I ever glad to have it.

I've been trying something different with my stem packing technique the last few weeks.

I purchased a bubbler to use with my Zap. It has a diffuser down stem and I use diffusion beads also. This makes the hit much much mored smooth. Anyhoo, I can't use the bubbler all of the time because of young children. But when they are asleep or away....

So when using the Zap sans bubbler the vapor feels pretty harsh. I'm getting spoiled. I already pack my stem less tightly that recommended. I now pack even more loosely that before. So loose that I regularly end up with some material on the screen in the Zap heat port.

It works. The vapor is cooler and not harsh and I think I am still getting comparable effects. Which is really cool because, and someone please correct me if my logic is flawed, I think since I am not packing tightly I am not packing as much material as before. So I'm using using less but getting the same effects.

I also believe that since the vapor isn't as hot because of the less restricted airflow, I am not fully vaporizing the active goodies so there is more left for tinctures, oil, etc.

But if all of that is true, why am I feeling the same effects? Or maybe I'm just "effected" enough to think I am as "effected?"





ED's TnT

Hey there, I looked at your site and you really have some nice stuff. I don't combust any longer (except at friends' houses) but I have many friends who do and I'm telling them all about your site.

BTW, I'm a Louisiana native with family in Hattiesburg and Sontag. Small world.

Reece, that is cool, re the bubbler. When I started smoking pot in this country, I was very excited about the opportunity to use a real glass bong, I'd never used one before. And, of course, I was also shocked by their prices. Whoops.

Anyway, so I bought a couple of glass pipes & bongs. I prefer a clay pipe to a glass one, or even a wooden one, that is for sure. The bong is real nice though. But I don't use it anymore. I smoke the mz/wdz like a joint, just more familiar to me I guess. The differences in the effects is like the high of a joint vs a pipe/bong but I always loved my joints and the harshness on my throat is something I actually welcome. For me, that is a sign that says dude you are about to get high

Just to be clear it wasn't harsh until I got used to the bubbler. And using it as intended is kind of like a joint. I love joints, don't remember the last time I smoked one.

momofthegoons said:

The stem stuck to my lip as I was pulling away, flipped down, and I burned the crap out of the underside of my chin. A total stoner moment.

Edit: Meant to add that the lavender oil sent with the Zap also does wonders for burns. Was I ever glad to have it.

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It has happened to me many times and I've been meaning to fire off a nasty letter to Rick demanding he use non-lip-sticking vapor stems.

I do notice, however, that when I'm paying attention it doesn't happen. But all to often I cannot afford to pay attention so I think the non-lip-sticking stems is the best and easiest option.

And yeah, that lavender oil is great for burns. I've used it on the kids and myself including my bottom lip. I burned it once while, talk about a stoner move, I had just taken the first hit from a stem.

I've gotten into the habit of pulling the stem out of the Zap at the end of my hit to clear the stem of vapor. It may be paranoia or have little effect but I notice vapor left over in the stem and I figure it just flows out of the stem while sitting in the zap between hits.

So once while doing this I caught a whiff of the freshly vaped herb in the stem tip and brought it closer to my nose to get a good smell. WHOA! Hot brass vapor tip on the bottom lip. Man that hurt. A little lavender oil and everything is fine.

I'd also like to request that folks stop posting pictures of their Zaps. I have no "need" for another Zap but every time I see something like momofthegoons'....That is one cool Zap.

Reece, don't be nasty to Rick; it's not his fault we're not paying attention.

I guess we've just both been "branded" by the Zap.

I've also noticed vapor in the stem and have gotten into the same practice of clearing it. It also helps keep my attention on what I'm doing.

I'm really happy with my Zap. Thanks all for the complements. Hey Rick, ever thought of making some accessories out of the Myrtle, or is that more labor intensive and diversified than you want to be? Myrtle is such lovely wood. I would be first in line if you decide to go that route.

I use this type of vape daily, and have never once burnt myself in this manner. Technique maybe? When I use one hand, I stick my index finger lightly on the stem, a little added support. My other three fingers and thumb grab the wood. When using two hands, i hold my wood in one hand, and slowly spin the stem in the other while taking puffs. I feel like it burns more even this way. Most importantly, i always lean my wood guy backwards, in effect always vaping slightly "upside down". This is something that is natural, and not a inconvenience or nuance at all. I just need to mention this to others, when using for the first time.

Tubing tubing tubing... While its a little less convenient, this definitely helps alleviate the 'hotness' issue with pulling a stem from the Zap. I usually curl my tongue up over the stem hole when hitting it so that I can more comfortably gauge my hit and the heat. A piece of silicon tubing makes this even more of a non issue for me.

As mentioned over on the "is brass safe" thread last night, as of yesterday, I have changed my heatport construction so that all brass used in the AZ/MZ is lead free according to RoHS standards. I now use a stack of brass washers for the heatsink portion of the Zap. They are RoHS washers. Everything brass in the Zaps was RoHS except the heatsink material. Now it is. Just plain flat washers, no fins(star washers). The mass of the assembly turned out exactly the same as the old one with solid brass. I did have to bush up the heatport tube with the next size tubing so the washers would fit nice and tight on the tube as the heatsink should fit. That makes for a double strength heatport assembly with 2 tubes holding it all together rather than one.
I have always reasoned the Zap is and has been safe. No one yet over on the "is brass safe" thread has explained how the lead gets out of the brass alloy and to a human which was my basic question because of my understanding of brass alloy. They talk alot about lead but the connection is never made as to how it "escapes" the alloy and gets to a human.
I did the change for obvious reasons. One brass item was not RoHS and was easily changed so I changed it. Now I can boast about RoHS material in the airpath. But I wont do that. Our website will change soon, when a family matter threatening Zapville gets resolved. I will make a note about materials used in the FAQ page but that is it. Because I now can say something about materials used, means squat as far as THE UNIT ITSELF being RoHS. That is another ballgame for sure.
I did what I did for a couple reasons, one of which is to do my part to stop this constant misinformation to the FC community that AZ/MZ is somehow unsafe. Lead is unsafe yes. No one has yet explained how the lead gets out of the brass alloy. Lots of lead is bad talk but no connection. Science is science. Lead must get very hot to escape the brass alloy. Much hotter than the heat required to melt the alloy in a puddle. Enough again.
There will be a slight delay in this weeks production due to the new design. I have to fashion a couple jigs and tools to do the new process quicker but that will happen in a day or two.

Rick, thanks for the post. I think you made the right decision, better safe then sorry i say. Sounds like the change was a relatively minor one, and this may just ease people's minds and make them feel all warm and toasty inside.
moving towards a safer product for your consumers is great, especially when many are very health conscious individuals.

Rick - I understand your decision to change the Zap, and I hope other loyal owners do not see this as representative of their units being unsafe. It's an easy change, and puts the issue to rest once and for all.

What an ironic drama that played out! One side's push to call the MZ/AZ resulted in a design change that makes it more competitive!

The biggest thing(s) that make this vape competitive are -
A. The beautiful wood design. Myrtlewood = the MAIN reason I went this route.
B. The turnaround time - for a handmade unit, Id like to hear about the LONGEST wait time for this vape (ever) This was more than impressive IMO.
C. The customer service when it comes down to brass tacks. (No pun intended) And the overall demeanor of the manufacturer.

The Zapfolk have always had the mentality that their product speaks for itself. Ne blowhard attitudes necessary to 'sell more units' or spear the competition. Its this simplicity and lack of adversarial attitude that helped steer my purchase and recommendations to friends.

I can't wait until I order my primo MZ. I too, have had e-mail conversations with Rick, and he seems just sooo down to earth. I will be happily ordering one near my birthday in a few months. I am glad I purchased my Pandora, but part of me wishes I had ordered a Zap first. Part of the reasoning was the low price right now, for the exotic ppd, and my eagerness to build a "log-style" vape. I am willing in the future though, to pay a bit more than that for one of Rick's beautiful MZs. Plus, it'll have the upgraded heatport, yay! (though it never mattered to me, and I think it was safe beforehand)
Keep up the awesome work Rick, and definitely consider me a future customer. I hope whatever it is that threatens Zapville, ends up going away, and not being a problem at all. Good luck with that and I wish y'all well.