Aromazap/Myrtlezap/CeramicRockZap

oh shit, I figured out how to post pics. Watch out! Never took the time before to learn, took all of 3 minutes to figure it out. Only prob is my pics are done with a hp webcam. Had a digi and lost it, maybe I can pick a new one up later on down the road. This is Mattie and she is my baby. Pic is kind of dark, sorry.



By the way my avatar isn't my dog.

By the way I am super fucking pumped for Sat.

Rick, I mailed you my old Zap this morning. It should be arriving on Saturday. I'm moving this coming Wednesday, so please contact me before you mail it back. Thanks for being so generous! You're a wonderful person.

ah, smartrott, a fine mutt that Mattie. Ummmm, ya sure YOU are not HER baby? That looks like her couch. Watch that diet.
aero, we will be looking for your girl. Off to our granddaughters first BDay on Saturday, a Korean birthday party even. We will get you fixed up somehow.
All 5 shipping notices out finally tonight. Sorry for the delay in getting them out. 2 more to OZ on Monday.
We have had some other parts delays, carbed Tootys and nylon stem stock. Nothing serious but holding up some small orders. The good news is the heatport bottom sealing washers made it tonight and they are a perfect fit. Off to the machinist at 6:30 tomorrow morning to deliver the washers and get some more expert advice on wood turning, tools and business in general.

Rick said:

SirElton, those are tiny surface cracks that will appear after time in some wood, very rarely. Pick up some 400 grit sandpaper and sand them down a bit, then re polish. Also remember, if you are not happy with your Zap, we will replace it with another if you desire.

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Thanks for the responses, guys. I figured the cracks were nothing to worry about. If they irk me, I'll do the sanding and polishing but I'm just going to let it slide for now. I am happy with Moaning Myrtle and I won't make you and I go through the trouble of replacing it just for some cosmetic issues. As long as the vapor keeps up, everything is all good. I'm just going to wait patiently for the RockZap

I was also curious about SSS/RockZap upgrades for current Brass-core users.
Maybe its not worth the time to tear down/rebuild though??
I would much rather recycle/reuse what I have than buy new and throw away the old...or, more so, not have a use for the old one. I'm one who dislikes having stuff laying around doing nothing, I'm a bit minimalistic.. Only like to keep around things I continually use.

Anyway, props for the excellent CS!

Shipping notification indicates that Spokane has cleared the package (hopefully with her 4 siblings) as of 10:40 pm last night. Let's hope the trip down the coast is pleasant for the RockZap coming my way! For the Zaps making longer trips, hope USPS treats them right and speedy.

Don't know if I will be able to sleep tonight with all the anticipation

Wow, where to start?
Vito, your setup is crazy! Talk about a Zap station! You put me to shame....

ah, smartrott, a fine mutt that Mattie. Ummmm, ya sure YOU are not HER baby? That looks like her couch.

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This made me choke. I have a dog who is my master too. At a fifth of my size, he can manipulate me like no other.

Lots of excited people waiting for their Zaps! It's funny; even though I have several, when I'm getting a new one, the suspense is the same. What does it look like? First thing after trying it out, I have to break out the Zapolish and bond.

Those of you getting a RockZap, please be patient. When I first got the prototype, I was sooooo anxious to try it. Had it plugged in for an hour and tried.....was a little disappointed. The RockZap really needs to be plugged in for longer than an hour before it gives good vapor. I would go as far as to say overnight for perfect temp. So, don't be discouraged if your first couple tries are a little lackluster. It just needs to get up to speed.

It sure would be nice if the older, brass Zaps could be retrofitted. I am very, very fond of my older Zaps. They have special meaning for me. I hate to just delegate them to aromatherapy... I would imagine the amount of charring would have an effect on whether or not it could be done?

Of course, even if I could get them all reworked, it doesn't mean I wouldn't still want another RockZap!

I feel the same, I still would like to get to try out all the different configurations even if my walnut zap got a sex change

Now NYC, how the hell did we get to a sex change??!!! You got me to chatting a bit over that one. Good thing I will let it go now.
Back a while ago from a short planning and training session and picked up some stuff. We talked about several issues but a couple of interest here are serious design and tooling requirements for SS vapor stem tips. Once we get those coming, we will make decisions about keeping the brass tips or not.
We also talked much about the refurbish possibility with old Zaps. Nothing tried yet but it does look like it will be very possible. The plan would be to install the insulated version of the SSS heatport in those. We can clean the top hole and totally bore all of the charred wood out of the middle from the bottom. Maybe an option to tweak the figure a bit but the same outside shell would remain with a new SSS engine, insulated from the wood in a concrete cup and ceramic insulators top and bottom for a second life that should be eternal youth. One of our two main drives for the insulator is to allow the wood to last as close to forever as possible.
This is possibly more exciting than doing new ones in a way because of all the rekindled memories. There are several thousand Zaps out there and some are very beautiful and special to the owners. A SSS RockZap refurbish would make everybody happy. We could even do the old square ones and make them round or leave them square.
So add SS stem tips and refurbished Zaps to the horizon.
If for some reason I find the refurbish can NOT work, I will let us all know quickly. At this point, after talking with experts and consulting The Master Flow, I do believe it will happen.
That's always the first step.
Yes, I agree with mom, that is some set up you have there Vito. Thanks for showing us all the special care you give your fellow patients. Do I understand you have several other vapes you show also?

Im sorry Rick, I was just joking and wrote it in the spur of the moment.

It is good to hear that theres a good chance that Zap refurbishment will be a possibility in the future! let us know if it DOES work asap

take care. peace

Rick said:

... Do I understand you have several other vapes you show also?

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You do understand correctly Rick.
The Zap show is the big feature, because it is beautiful, and is interactive, in that we all get to try at once!
Before we begin, and get to the business of sitting at the Zaps, I discuss the nature of Vaporization, then show examples of many types of Vapes.
I show a few portables, then some Tube types, and finally we discuss All Glass, and Bag units...
Then we go sit at the Zap Display, and discuss grinding, as we grind for our 1st stem... and talk wood!

Rick said:

Now NYC, how the hell did we get to a sex change??!!! You got me to chatting a bit over that one. Good thing I will let it go now.
Back a while ago from a short planning and training session and picked up some stuff. We talked about several issues but a couple of interest here are serious design and tooling requirements for SS vapor stem tips. Once we get those coming, we will make decisions about keeping the brass tips or not.
We also talked much about the refurbish possibility with old Zaps. Nothing tried yet but it does look like it will be very possible. The plan would be to install the insulated version of the SSS heatport in those. We can clean the top hole and totally bore all of the charred wood out of the middle from the bottom. Maybe an option to tweak the figure a bit but the same outside shell would remain with a new SSS engine, insulated from the wood in a concrete cup and ceramic insulators top and bottom for a second life that should be eternal youth. One of our two main drives for the insulator is to allow the wood to last as close to forever as possible.
This is possibly more exciting than doing new ones in a way because of all the rekindled memories. There are several thousand Zaps out there and some are very beautiful and special to the owners. A SSS RockZap refurbish would make everybody happy. We could even do the old square ones and make them round or leave them square.
So add SS stem tips and refurbished Zaps to the horizon.
If for some reason I find the refurbish can NOT work, I will let us all know quickly. At this point, after talking with experts and consulting The Master Flow, I do believe it will happen.
That's always the first step.
Yes, I agree with mom, that is some set up you have there Vito. Thanks for showing us all the special care you give your fellow patients. Do I understand you have several other vapes you show also?

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This is really cool (potential) news. I would obviously want one (or some) of the newer ones, but have thought how great it would be if I could retrofit the ones I have. I am excited for this possibility.

each day it gets more exciting around here.

I have been lurking for several years, I'm just not a joiner, I currently own 3 zaps 2 myrtle and a walnut. My newest zap is 1 of the 7 which I am supposed to receive on Saturday. Lots of you seem to want to see these special zaps . With ricks proding I decided to join fc and post pics of my new zap , I'll be calling it ROCKY BURL. Here's the problem it took me 2 hours to figure out how to do an avatar, so to save time if someone can give me instructions on how to post a picture here on fc I will post pics of ROCKY BURL Myrtle1. Geeze and Blackie when ROCKY BURL arrives.

HDLar said:

I have been lurking for several years, I'm just not a joiner, I currently own 3 zaps 2 myrtle and a walnut. My newest zap is 1 of the 7 which I am supposed to receive on Saturday. Lots of you seem to want to see these special zaps . With ricks proding I decided to join fc and post pics of my new zap , I'll be calling it ROCKY BURL. Here's the problem it took me 2 hours to figure out how to do an avatar, so to save time if someone can give me instructions on how to post a picture here on fc I will post pics of ROCKY BURL Myrtle1. Geeze and Blackie when ROCKY BURL arrives.

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Welcome aboard. I too am one of the lucky 7. I can't wait to buy a the RockZap when it gets its SS guts too. =)

http://fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?id=181

log into imageshack or photobucket. upload image to there.
while posting a post touch image icon, and then in the window that you are presented... paste in the "direct link" to the image you uploaded .
(direct link is given to you as a choice at the hosting sites on the page when you upload.)
I hope I said this well.

Glad to hear the advancements are not stopping at the Rock. I'm curious to hear how SS stem tips compare to the brass ones. Has anyone used SS stems before?

Welcome to the forum and to this corner of Zapville HDLar. Always good to hear from other Zap owners.

SirElton, I've used both brass and SS tips with the Zap. There's not a huge difference in performance. The difference, for me, is more aesthetics.

Vitolo said:

You all were warned that I have no camera.. and I get all my shots from my iMac.
I used a little freeby digi camera to grab this shot, so please forgive the photography.. but you will get the idea!
The Zap show is about to begin.. I have friends on their way to see my collection.
I wanted you to see the setup despite the poor image quality.
You see left to right Sycamore, Walnut, figured Walnut, Well Aged Myrtlem (an SSS Zap!), and Curly blonde Myrtle.
All are plugged in and ready to go!
(to be fair and totally honest... the figured Walnut in the back is my Second Life Zap, Ravin'... who does get used, but is not consitant enough to participate in the show other than for beauty, and diversity, and aroma diffusion!)
http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m580/VitoloVaporizes/dclMF3.jpg

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Wow Vito, I would love to get a ticket this show!

HDLar, my apologies for the confusion. That is what happens with all the 'double names' I sometimes deal with. I can get very mixed up with names. I thought you were a current member of FC and I knew you had gotten Zaps in the past so I started trying to connect. Thanks for clarifying the FC thing.
Pictures are easy once you do it a time or two. I use Photobucket. You will have to set up an account with them first(free). I usually reduce the picture file size before uploading to Photobucket to keep the upload quick but that is not necessary. Then save it to your album once uploaded, whatever you want to call your album at Photobucket. These sites are like your photo album in the sky.
When you want to download to FC, start a post on FC, then in another tab/window have your photobucket album open. Simply scroll over the picture you want to post and you will get a drop down menu. The last choice at the bottom of the drop down menu is IMGcode. Click on it and it will automatically be copied(like hitting Ctrl/C) to your 'invisible' clipboard on your computer. Then go to the FC tab that you have started the post. When you have the curser blinking in your post where you want the picture, hit Ctrl/V to paste it to your post on FC. It will then show in the correct image code in your post where the curser was blinking.
Some of us do not know the copy/paste routine that is so simple and used all the time by almost everybody. Not sure if you are there HDLar but this may help a bit more.
I had to try a couple times before getting down posting pictures quickly. The key is to use the tabs with both the FC window open and the Photobucket window. We think everybody always has many tabs running at once but that is not the case.
My apologies if I am being too elementary here. I think many of us assume everybody has similar levels of computer skills.
Just checked all 5 orders and all but one to kewpcer has been updated showing delivery should be today. We have used Endicia for shipping labels most of the year. I just checked the five orders in less than a minute. Just because the one order did not say it was somewhere close to delivery as the other 4 did does not mean it is not there. Sometimes they just do not always scan everything all the time.
Remember, as mom says, let them heat up for several hours, ideally overnight before the real test. Some lighter ones will not take so long.
I am serious about any reason wanting another. These are still in the testing stage. They work well for us but the customer is the real test. The 7 who are trying the first rockzaps will get special treatment if needed. I say this because we are still testing concrete mixes. We are getting some a bit lighter weight than others. The lighter weight concrete insulates better as it has more air in it.

Can't wait to pick up a rockzap when they're available for consumer sale!

Biojuggernaut, is that one of the fabled RockZaps? Regardless, she's a beaut. I love when log vapes have contrasting grain patterns. Please, offer us a review of your latest treasure. I'm quite curious to see how this new fangled technology will shake up the most classic vaporizer design on the market

Aesthetically, the unit is beautiful. I couldn't ask Rick for any other shade or strain of wood; I am truly satisfied that is the four of fifth most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on.

Taste is a little bit more "earthy" then my TT. Temp is roughly the same as the top and efficiency is tad bit better then the top as of this point right meow. I attribute this to the 1/4 size bowl. . . Hits like a champ though I'll let you guys know all the hit for hit specifics/details tomrw. But I'm reiterating pretty much what Mom said about the rockzap.

So glad I have a full arsenal of goodies from Rick&Alan. I have so many possibilities! Rick the washer looks great too! EXPERT craftmanship. If the concrete were to breaking in there how would we ever know?

Mine is out for delivery, but our mail runs late where I live.

Is it cool to use the 13.5V to heat it up faster?

She looks lovely! Rick and Mrs Rick, I really appreciate it!

Will test her out in a little bit, after she gets nice and warmed up. Thankyou Rick. At 12:45 my boss said, "alright, go home and see if your aromatherapy machine is there yet". I had already stopped by the house around 10 or 10:30 just to check, and it was there so I went ahead and plugged her up. She's been warming up now for about 4 hours. I'll give her a few more hours before I take her out for her first voyage.