Discontinued Elo Vaporizer by Illimite Concept

StormyPinkness said:

I only used it once or twice so this is my super early impression of it.

After the iso soak I didn't smell anything silicone off the parts. I did max temp dry run by just pulling on it every once in awhile without inhaling. I did get some silicone taste while it was empty. So far I've run 2 chips at I think it's 374 and 381. The vapor was very light, but the taste was great. I actually drooled a little the first time accidentally. I ran maybe 10 minutes and after the vapor/taste got much lighter I took it out to check the extraction. I was expecting it to not be that great based on the visible vapor but it looked really extracted to me. Maybe a few spots of green, but otherwise it looked pretty thorough to me. I think they recommend finely ground which mine definitely was not. The taste and I think great extraction are making me not worry about the light vapor at all. I did turn it up briefly above 381 and got more vapor. Also not harsh at all for me and zero draw resistance.

So I've got 2 negatives. Towards the end of the loads when it was really hot and the flower was spent I was getting a little bit of silicone taste. It was light and I will be very surprised if this doesn't go away soon though. Also I *think* the battery indicator was full when I was just starting a 3rd chip and it shut off. I actually thought it broke at first until I charged it a bit and it turned back on. It's entirely possible I just wasn't paying attention to the battery indicator.

I'm curious about the chip material too. That and some of the material around the oven seem like plastic. The sliding door and temp panel are definitely plastic, those don't bug me much. Overall though I've got a positive impression of it and I'm very curious what other people think. I definitely need to use it some more to get a better feel for it.

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Does yours make noises when powering on? Constantly for about 10-15 secs??

Edit : battery indicator does some strange moves. Starts up along with the noise, showing only 50% while heating up to red (I set this for burn offs), then it went to 75% and finally back to 100% (did a full charge just before that)... Waiting for Ken's reply if this is common.

I'm still figuring mine out as well. After cleaning and burn offs the silicone is even less of an issue but as mentioned i do get a hint of it at the end of a session sometimes (if on high temp). I am also getting lighter vapor with great taste and what appears to be thorough extraction. I'd like to find a way to get more satisfying clouds but I haven't tinkered with it yet. I've only done 4 chips so far. Still really liking the overal design. Not phased by the 'plastic' either. The elo tastes much better than most my conduction units.

Edit: @vapen00b -- mine did the first time! wasn't paying attention after that lol

Comparing it to my air I would say the taste wasn't as strong and the vapor was much lighter, but the taste was definitely better. If less strong but better flavor makes sense.

vapen00b said:

Does your makes noises when powering on? Constantly for about 10-15 secs??

Edit : battery indicator does some strange moves. Starts up along with the noise, showing only 50% while heating up to red (I set this for burn offs), then it went to 75% and finally back to 100% (did a full charge just before that)... Waiting for Ken's reply if this is common.

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No noise no, but now that you mention the battery thing after the first charge I did see it dip to 75% and I thought maybe I hadn't charged it all the way, then it jumped back up to 100%.

Sorry guys.. After more than 30 mins of burning off I still find this plastic smell unbearable. Not gonna suck that air to my lungs like that. Was puffin to pull some air out: gross.. Even after a minute when kissing the lady she asked what I've been doing. Told me I smelled and tasted like plastic.. Ouh oh!
It's like the Ascent - maybe better, maybe worse. Definitely not for me at the current state. Hope it's possible to get rid of that taste and smell.


Edit: guys, could you tell me where exactly the drawn air is coming from? Intake holes ? Around the heater? The chip and bottom part lid is all plastic (my fingers smell from holding it there)... No solid and neutral aluminum.. I don't get it. Feel a little disappointed THO - I imagined the body is all aluminum - must have misinterpreted @Just Justin s description "sturdy aluminum body".
I won't dare to actually use it, if it stays like this. It's kinda worrisome to me.

@slcbdco I have not tried concentrates yet but I've got a few ideas and I'll share them when I can.

My Elo makes a slight buzzing during start-up then it goes away so I think that's all normal. Also, my battery level kind of drops off suddenly but then it reads more accurately once the unit has reached temperatures so I wouldn't pay attention to it during heat up

The production Elo I have definitely produces lighter vapor than say my Crafty on the same heat level but it definitely vaporizes and extracts, its just a slightly slower and lower but cooler vape session. I prefer the lighter vapor at times when my Crafty or Mighty is just too thick. To each his own, though....

The air is mostly drawn in through the intake/vents directly below the oven.......the unit is not perfectly sealed around the Chip so I suspect that some air enters around that area as well. This is a mainly convection device so most of the air has to enter through the bottom to pass through the ceramic heater to heat the air

@vapen00b sorry to hear about all the plastic, just around the "oven". I guess it's plastic there because if it was metal it would be super hot but maybe I'm wrong. The "body" is aluminum but I guess I couldn't cover every single aspect of this vaporizer and desbribe it in perfect detail so sorry if I lead you astray. Its been kind of overwhelming trying to test, work on my review, take photos and post along with answering all this stuff that points directly to me as if I have purposely mislead you all. I like the Elo and I am trying to share that and I am trying to be accurate. As I've said again and again, these posts are simply opinions, not facts so I'm sorry if yours differs from mine.

My Elo does not smell like plastic at all or silicone or electronics. I soak my silicone pieces in Alcohol and scrub them, then repeat the process, same with the plastic parts and the metal parts. This has taken care of any taste or smells that are foreign other than my herbs. I don't like doing burn in because I think its not necessarily good for the vapes and maybe is a reason why yours smells....I don't know but I'm sorry if you are unhappy.

REALLY, I'm sorry for missing so much but I have been trying to be as through and accurate as possible.

@Just Justin I definitely don't feel like you've been misleading at all. I think silicone/plastic smell varies and people's sensitivity to it varies. I was really only able to taste at high temps when I considered the load done anyways so it isn't an issue for me. Of course I'd like for it to not be there at all, I'm hoping it will go away eventually. I would only blame you if someone asked if the entire thing was made of metal and you lied.

I didn't smell anything even prior to the iso soak.

Edit: Looking closer at the chip I'm pretty sure the black part screwed into the chip that holds the shiny top metal screen on is actually made of metal. The rest of the chip is plastic though.

@Just Justin thanks for your reply. Sure don't blame you for anything, I just had different expectations from what I read from you. That's all.
Next time I'll be waiting for more people to giving feedback - some might have a more critical view or cover other aspects, like all the materials. There's too much smelly and bad tasting plastics/bad cured silicone in this - would not have bought it having known that. No offense!

About the air intake, thanks. I just made a cold draw from there.. Baaaah.. I think this is where the main bad comes from. All plastic/electronic. Please have a try... This can't be good.

I don't get your point why burn offs might be a reason why mine smells?
But I agree, I don't like to do that either - there should not be a need to do that, it should be neutral.

@StormyPinkness Agree too. Of course we're all different to odors and everything. I am sensitive to this - as my respiratory system is. I do care a lot about my health, and knowing all this, I have and want to be (extra) careful and don't want to inhale something potentially harmful fumes... In fact , I don't want to think about that and worry when vaping.
My wife just sniffed on the hinge part and pushed me away saying she's getting headaches from that. havent had that with a vape before.

Am in contact with Ken about this and really hope this all will vanish. Still got hope as I read some seem to start to enjoy it. Don't wanna be the party pooper here but I have to contribute, hopefully in an acceptable way.


Have a good day everyone



EDIt: about the stains around the heater, Ken told me it's not stains from chemicals.they are made when metal welding, occurs with high temperature.

vapen00b said:

@Just Justin thanks for your reply. Sure don't blame you for anything, I just had different expectations from what I read from you. That's all.
Next time I'll be waiting for more people to giving feedback - some might have a more critical view or cover other aspects, like all the materials. There's too much smelly and bad tasting plastics/bad cured silicone in this - would not have bought it having known that. No offense!

About the air intake, thanks. I just made a cold draw from there.. Baaaah.. I think this is where the main bad comes from. All plastic/electronic. Please have a try... This can't be good.

I don't get your point why burn offs might be a reason why mine smells?
But I agree, I don't like to do that either - there should not be a need to do that, it should be neutral.

@StormyPinkness Agree too. Of course we're all different to odors and everything. I am sensitive to this - as my respiratory system is. I do care a lot about my health, and knowing all this, I have and want to be (extra) careful and don't want to inhale something potentially harmful fumes... In fact , I don't want to think about that and worry when vaping.
My wife just sniffed on the hinge part and pushed me away saying she's getting headaches from that. havent had that with a vape before.

Am in contact with Ken about this and really hope this all will vanish. Still got hope as I read some seem to start to enjoy it. Don't wanna be the party pooper here but I have to contribute, hopefully in an acceptable way.


Have a good day everyone



EDIt: about the stains around the heater, Ken told me it's not stains from chemicals.they are made when metal welding, occurs with high temperature.

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Always possible you got a faulty unit too, since others didn't notice a smell as offensive as your describing, and I trust your input on it so far, I do not think it is "just you" they should resolve it

I did 2 more chips last night and got lot's of great flavor and light vapor with no draw resistance or harshness with extraction that keeps surprising me. Unfortunately a little bit of a silicone aftertaste at the end. I have to say I'm honestly disappointed the heater section has so much plastic when the rest is aluminum. While the most important parts of the chip are metal I wish the whole thing was metal as well. The rest of the plastic parts are close to the airpath, but far enough away from the heat to not concern me much. That being said the silicone aftertaste isn't strong enough to make me stop using the vape. I think so far I still prefer over my air, I really hope the silicone aftertaste goes away though. I'm hoping this vape get's a revision, but overall I'm still pretty positive on it.

I hope it can get sorted out with @vapen00b . So far they've seemed pretty cool.

Can I suggest those of you that taste silicone soak your silicone.

Either in coconut milk or a 50/50 white vinegar and water mix for a day.

When I received my ELO it did not smell of silicone at all, but the first time I used it I could taste it.
With a day soak the silicone taste is all gone.

Vape Dr. said:

Can I suggest those of you that taste silicone soak your silicone.

Either in coconut milk or a 50/50 white vinegar and water mix for a day.

When I received my ELO it did not smell of silicone at all, but the first time I used it I could taste it.
With a day soak the silicone taste is all gone.

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I remember you posting that now. I am totally hesitant to soak in iso for very long, but maybe I'll try soaking in coconut milk. @vapen00b sounded like his problem might be the plastic rather than the silicone. Or both I guess. I definitely don't smell/taste plastic, but maybe I'm crazy in thinking I can taste the difference between plastic and silicone.

StormyPinkness said:

I remember you posting that now. I am totally hesitant to soak in iso for very long, but maybe I'll try soaking in coconut milk. @vapen00b sounded like his problem might be the plastic rather than the silicone. Or both I guess. I definitely don't smell/taste plastic, but maybe I'm crazy in thinking I can taste the difference between plastic and silicone.

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Yep.. It's both. Silicone from mouthpiece, gaskets.. And the plastics from almost everywhere else.. Mostly the way down to the hinge and heater and beyond. I think the bottom where the wires are and the intake passes thru is very critical. Can't see clearly if the wires are truly separated from the intakes -or if the air goes that way. Either way, it's still all plastic down there...

Ken confirmed the following materials:
stainless steel around the heater and the chamber on top of the chip.
Aluminum: retractable tube and cooling rod
High temp resistance plastics around the oven and chip (just to insulate as much heat transfer as possible).


How can you prefer this over the taste of the Air - one of the purest conduction flavor vapes. And knowing that the silicony taste is still in the background, even if you don't taste it I the beginning.
Air is lovely neutral - no robot fart or any strange smell to it.. Never ever. Just my humble opinion.

Vape Dr. said:

Can I suggest those of you that taste silicone soak your silicone.

Either in coconut milk or a 50/50 white vinegar and water mix for a day.

When I received my ELO it did not smell of silicone at all, but the first time I used it I could taste it.
With a day soak the silicone taste is all gone.

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Thanks.. Might give that a try (though I'd hate to waste that precious coconut milk, can't use that afterwards... Might have to bite that bullet)
But more importantly what do I do with the rest of the device... Can't soak the plastics away


Appreciate your help, Doc.
It's really too sad, was really looking forward to this one.

vapen00b said:

How can you prefer this over the taste of the Air - one of the purest conduction flavor vapes. And knowing that the silicony taste is still in the background, even if you don't taste it I the beginning.
Air is lovely neutral - no robot fart or any strange smell to it.. Never ever. Just my humble opinion.

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With my air my first couple hits are really strong but not very tasty. It's tastiest in the middle and by the end of the session I start to get a resin aftertaste. The air was my first conduction vape and I think I just prefer convection over conduction. Conduction does something to the flavor I don't like as much I guess. For me the silicone aftertaste in the elo is pretty small and doesn't bother me much, plus I'm pretty sure it will be gone soon. I understand why other people would find it unacceptable though. I've tried switching temp settings on the air but lower takes even longer to extract and more tastes like burnt popcorn. I really like my air, I just don't love it. Same with the elo so far.

vapen00b said:

Thanks.. Might give that a try (though I'd hate to waste that precious coconut milk, can't use that afterwards... Might have to bite that bullet)

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@vapen00b I get very small cans in the organic section of the supermarket. I try to soak as many silicone pieces as I can, as you said the excess milk is no good after a day or two.


Quick question for all. What temps are you vaping at?
I start at 365F and finish at 374F.
I like low temps with more flavor than vapor.

I have not experienced a plastic smell or taste. Are you all using the same temps as me or are you at higher/max temp?

Is it possible the plastic taste/smell is coming from the bottom plastic where the air vents are? I like the metal casing where you hold, but the bottom piece being plastic I did not like and mentioned it to Ken.

Seems like a logical place to start. When using the ELO I actually cover 1/2-3/4 of the intake vents to give less airflow and a bit of draw resistance. This way I can take a much longer draw before the heater light starts flashing.

If this is the case, simply changing the bottom piece could eliminate the plastic smell/taste others are noticing if everyone else is using higher or max temps.

I am going to try running my ELO at max temp to see if I can get The plastic smell/taste. If we can narrow it down we could possibly eliminate it. Assuming it is an easy cost effective fix. The air path is sealed and I soaked my silicone so the only place I can think of is the air intake vents.

I will be back later with my results after some testing.

I've tried inhaling using the Elo with nothing in the Chip on 374F and it tastes pure. I don't know why some smell more than others but I am also sensitive to those smells and tastes and I really think mine is good, the hot air from the dry runs didn't hardly taste like anything, maybe a slight, slight taste of silicone/plastic at the end but really nice IMO and the herbs really taste good to me, not as strong as the Crafty/Mighty/Grasshopper vapes but the flavor is definitely there. I can say that the Elo is much smoother and easier on my throat than those other vapes that I love equally, so at times I like having the option of a thinner, cooler vapor. I have had my Elo for awhile so maybe its more broken in but I also scrub all the parts, including the plastic parts of the Chips in ISO, scrub, iso, scrub repeat and they seem to be perfectly fine. I don't think vape companies would intentionally use dangerous/harmful materials in their vaporizers, a device used for inhaling heated vapor through, so I am confident of its safety and Ken from Illimite Concepts is a great guy and I know he values safety and stands behind his device. I have had one of my units apart and I can say that it looked all good to me and I didn't notice any glues or anything worrisome if that helps and that was a previous version too.

I tried a couple Chips last night, using duper dry, finely ground herb and the results were great, much more vapor! If your getting thin vapor, make sure your herb is near crumbling dry and super finely ground and I think you will see a huge difference. I prefer 383F and I get great results with a Chip packed super full but not packed down tight and I get great results with a Chip with just a pinch but much more vapor, much more taste when its full, so I recommend trying a loaded Chip with super dry, fine ground herb and I think you will really see a big difference. Also, try placing the screen tightly over your herb when using a small amount so the herb is pressed into a thin layer, which makes the draw resistance increase and might make for more vapor production, kind of the opposite of a full Chip which works well because the extra amount of herb also increases the draw resistance and helps with vapor production. Those are just some theories that I am working on and I hope someone else will try em' to confirm or deny. Hope you guys stick with the Elo, I think its worth it!

I was running mine at 383 and 392. I definitely notice it more at the higher temps. I'll try lower and see if I notice it as much. Mostly I'll try some stuff on the silicone, I think that's where my aftertaste comes from. Try another iso and if not try the vinegar or coconut milk.

I might try covering the vent during draws, I'm still getting the hang of not setting off the heating light and not setting off the white "you haven't drawn in awhile" light. I'm surprised at how much vapor I can get taking full strength draws sometimes though.

I have respectfully requested a refund from Ken as IMHO, the ELO is not ready for production. There are too many design flaws. The main problem is the unit does not have an isolated vapor path. The mouthpiece connects to a cooling rod, which then gets inserted into an alliminum rod that has a wider width, which allows air to flow inside the entire unit. If you cover the hole above where the chip is inserted, where the rectangle silicone piece is, with your finger and inhale on the mouthpiece, no air should be passing, but it does - freely! This is what seems to cause the plastic taste and sub-par vapor production. At 410, maximum temp, there is barely any vapor production and more plastic taste than anything else. Using the chip can also be frustrating, as getting the herb chamber mounted properly requires small hands and then screen removal after a session is a pain in the ass, which as stated earlier requires a pick to remove. As I understand, they are updating the Chip, but really the entire device needs to be updated. The taste this vape produces is unbearable to me

Kaptan said:

I have respectfully requested a refund from Ken as IMHO, the ELO is not ready for production. There are too many design flaws. The main problem is the unit does not have an isolated vapor path. The mouthpiece connects to a cooling rod, which then gets inserted into an alliminum rod that has a wider width, which allows air to flow inside the entire unit. If you cover the hole above where the chip is inserted, where the rectangle silicone piece is, with your finger and inhale on the mouthpiece, no air should be passing, but it does - freely! This is what seems to cause the plastic taste and sub-par vapor production. At 410, maximum temp, there is barely any vapor production and more plastic taste than anything else. Using the chip can also be frustrating, as getting the herb chamber mounted properly requires small hands and then screen removal after a session is a pain in the ass, which as stated earlier requires a pick to remove. As I understand, they are updating the Chip, but really the entire device needs to be updated. The taste this vape produces is unbearable to me

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Sadly, I had to ask for the same - a complete refund... I did try a tiny test run and I had to break up. The taste and odors are UNBEARABLE and after not even 3 scary hits, I got a rising headache and my eyes started to itch and burn...Same material is ever. Turned it off immediately and wrote a mail to Ken. NEVER had this with a vape before...
I can only hope and recommend to take this unit back and have some severe QC on this whole thing and have it revised. I feel like a material tester - not an "early bird" for a final unit. This is NOT a release candidate - it's not safe!! I might got a bad unit, but what @Kaptan posts, it's about the same... It's not in my head (actually the pain IS right now... what an irony..)
I feel sad for everyone involved in this scenario - hope we all learn from that... was excited when I first read about this and will keep an eye on this, if all is worked out and Ken is able to bring out a safe and neutral device (well cured silicone, if at all - get rid of all the plastics and strange offgassing stuff in there, truly isolated vapor path... there's more - but these things are concerning!). Then I'd be back.
Ken is a really nice and helpful person - hope, I can say that again, after having received a mail from him.

Always play safe, guys.



EDIT:

Jacky replied to me immediately. They're having Chinese New Year holidays and gonna make a full refund and let me know how to send the unit back afterwards, which will be after Valentine's Day.
If their vape was par with their customer service, they'd have a 5-Star-product. Honestly, until now, it's a pleasure having conversation with 'em and they seem to care a lot. So I'm confident every will be running smootly. Really makes me kinda sad it's come this way - I like good people to succeed. Maybe some day in the future - best of luck to them.

This is disappointing news. I was really excited to try the elo. I wonder if it is a quality control issue because some units seem to be great and others not so great. I was supposed to get my elo on Friday but ups screwed up and I got to wait til Monday now.
Is anyone really liking their elo vape?

I owe you all a lot of explanations and precisions, so please make yourself at ease, load your favorite vape and prepare for a long read!

You need to put things back in context to understand my reaction. Did I over react? Possibly. But if you re-read my previous post, the most important point was that I clearly said "as is", therefore referring to the pre-production version. Was it justified? When you will have the full context in picture, I think you will agree... Did I behave badly towards @Just Justin in the process? Definitely! And I'm sorry man.

I could tell you that (if it's not obvious already) I'm absolutely not a native English speaker, and I tend to express myself in a rather cold-sounding manner when using your language. But even if it's true and it can be a bit misleading as to what my tone really is (or rather what my real intent is), that would be a lame excuse.

So what is this context I've been talking about? It's simple: two things that share a lot in common. Similar designs, similar problems... and then comes the Elo and I got a striking deja-vu feeling when unboxing it and examining it closely. Then the other day I saw history about to repeat itself somehow, and I had to do something quick! So yes it was excessive, probably. A fair warning though, as I wasn't sure if they would really fix the issues that *to me* are important.

Silicone Candy Kush and the Sneaky Air Leak meet Stress Relief

The first vaporizer I owned was the Ascent. I was lured by the advertized "glass on glass vapor path" and the precise digital active temperature control. Reviewers were raving about its taste, I even recall reading it compared to the Vapolution 2, which for some is the taste king.

But as you should know, the Ascent has glass on glass that is true, but it's surrounded by silicone everywhere! Pretty much like in the Elo. There is silicone around the bowl, silicone above the bowl, and a huge piece called the buddy rim sitting right under your nose. The Elo lacks the buddy rim but it has approximately the two same other pieces and also a silicone mouthpiece.

The company making the Ascent acknowledged at some point that they had to improve the silicone curing process and bring it in house to better manage it. I don't know if my model was from before that event, but like a lot of users who came complaining in the thread over time, I was literally shocked when I opened my box and smelled the damn thing! That intense and foul rubberish stench... and I had just paid so much for that?

People told me "calm down... new device... robot fart... you need to burn-in son" and you know the story. It took ages to come down to an acceptable level, endlessly blowing air through the empty device until my head spun. I had to perform the same procedure with all my vapes with the exception of the two wooden ones that had a neutral smell out of the box. For the 7 different FlowerMates I had afterward, I spent on average 2h per device doing blank max temperature burn-ins, that's a lot of time. So believe me, I know exactly how to deal with new device smells.

When I got my Elo, I thoroughly washed all removable pieces, all the chips, all silicone parts, cleaned the metal grill, cleaned the internal tunnel, with ISO for the device and ISO then soap for the parts. The silicone had some smell but it has a rather neutral color and is soft, not like the solid black one used in the Ascent. I'm not overly concerned by the silicone parts in the Elo, they need some curing but the smell seems to diminish relatively quickly.

That being said, I never realized that my Ascent had a persistent silicone subtle taste mixing in, until I had some devices with an even better taste and no silicone. At that point it became painfully obvious to me, and now every time I come back to the Ascent, I can clearly taste it. I'm not saying it will be the same in the Elo, the silicone is surely a different formulation. There is a silicone insulation ring in my FlowerMate 5's for instance and I never smelled it, so it's perfectly possible to find a neutral medical grade silicone. I will not touch the hot topic of plasticizers use in silicone, there is another thread for that and we shall not discuss materials safety here, I'll just stick to what they impart to the olfactory sense.

-

Soon after, we collectively identified and pinpointed a design flaw in the Ascent: the buddy rim could slightly warp and create a gap where fresh air coming from the electronics upper section could be sucked in, diluting the vapor in the process and creating a poor vapor/air ratio. Having paid so much for the device I was devastated this time.

Note that a lot of FC members had strictly no problem with the fact that you inhaled air that came from the innards where the battery cells and circuit boards are. Some even tried to persuade me it was perfectly safe and that we spent our days breathing air that was in contact with electronics everywhere. Yes, perhaps, but why take the risk if you can avoid it? The concept of having a fully isolated vapor path is a no brainer to me... to each his own...

But I said we shall not venture into safety concerns, and it turned out the main issue was the vapor dilution as it made the device output very wispy... little fart of vapor at best. We found a number of different approaches to fix the leak thankfully (the one I chose turned ironically to introduce even more silicone into the vapor path!) But there is one lesson to learn here: two telescoping tubes don't create any sealed nor air-tight conduct.

It was the two telescoping glass stems that created the issue in the Ascent. When I participated to the Herbstick Deluxe beta test alongside other FC members, I found that the retractable mouthpiece had also two telescoping tubes and it created a dilution source too (again coming partly from the device internals) In the FlowerMate 8 once again the two telescoping stems created a suboptimal situation where you had to clear a larger volume in order to create adequate pressure... and you saw me coming: in the Elo we also have two telescoping tubes and a small gap leading to the plastic air tunnel... where in turn the tolerances between the edges of the two plastic halves composing the top housing... lead to the device internals.

In all cases I cited, if you forget the "air over electronics" aspect, it doesn't matter where this fresh air can be sucked in, it is always detrimental to the vapor/air ratio. This ratio has strictly no impact on the effect: in all cases you get the same amount of active molecules. But when it's diluted the exhale is just less visible and hence often feels "wispy" yet medicates you properly. I don't know to what extent this is a problem with the Elo and whether it can be fixed or improved (@Vape Dr. custom mouthpiece?), but it should be noted.

-

To end this first chapter explaining half of the context, let's talk about the last Ascent flaw, which turned to be a nightmare for the company, with numerous reported failures, many FC members having to return sometimes up to 3 or 4 devices after every one stopped heating or charging... The Ascent has its bowl in a swiveling bottom lid, it's a nice concept but it creates a moving part. The bowl requires two wire pairs to work, one for power and one for the temp sensor. These wires pass through the hinge to reach the electronics section above (and they also got the wire pair from the charger port going through)

Every time you have a moving part and wires involved, you need to implement some kind of stress relief. The Ascent had none and over time, if you opened the lid the full 180° swing you risked to break some wires at the solder junction. This created several types of failures. The Elo also has its heater in a moving part, and when I dismantled it I saw that not only it had no stress relief but worse, the heater holder (dunno how to call it), the end of that moving part that is, could easily pinch and shear the wires when closing.

I reported the issue and apparently it should be handled in some way now. Even if it could and surely would have created some long term reliability issue, this didn't qualify as a show stopper for me, and it's not the reason of my negative recommendation. We will touch that aspect in the second part coming next about the context.

(continued below)

High hopes and blind faith in modern engineering

When Smiss gave me the opportunity to participate to the FlowerMate 8 beta test phase, I was really excited. I had been previously forwarding our feedback to them and exchanging ideas about possible improvements of the FlowerMate 5-S as well as future developments. They found my engineering experience useful and offered me a very early pre-production unit of a brand new device they were developing. They gave me the green light to document the process publicly and I created a thread here for that.

If you are curious, I invite you to read it as it's relatively short. The FM8 turned out to have numerous issues and in the end is has not been a commercial success. While I'm absolutely not responsible for its design, I still felt very guilty about what happened, as I really had high hopes in this product and many people ended up buying it, probably partly because of my early reviews, and they regretted it afterward unfortunately.

The FM8 was an ambitious product. A bold move from a Chinese company that was seen more as a follower than an innovator back then (they released so many diverse products since then, it would be unfair to deny them this status now) It was the first portable vape sporting a powerful 3S Li-Po pack, with precise active temperature control, glass on glass air path with telescoping stems, incredibly fast heat up time... Really, they put the bar quite high and put a lot of thought and effort to design that model.

But when I received it, I realized pretty fast that they over-engineered it completely, and it turned out to be the source of all the problems. I examined the device and the first thing I thought was: "why on Hell did they make the air path so convoluted?!". I don't know what they had in mind, but they made fresh air enter through the holes on the side of the shell, then into the bottom of the device (not isolated from the electronics), through a tiny hole inside the lid hinge, then through the inside of the bottom lid itself, then through some metal screen surrounded by a silicone joint, and finally into the bowl.

Thankfully I discovered that it was possible to bypass all this crap completely by simply poking a hole in the bottom of the lid, facing just in front of where the bowl is. This allowed fresh air to be directly sucked from outside to flow directly to the bowl.

Now you should understand my dismay when I discovered that they did a similar thing in the Elo. In my pre-production sample, air entered via a grill on a plate located on the static part of the device bottom. I unscrewed this plate and saw that it led to a wide open space where the circuit board and battery could be seen. This is when I saw the two wire pairs and how they got pinched by the moving heater housing. Air then flew through the hinge then reached the heater bottom.

I told them to relocate that grill so it is located right under the heater to create a more direct air entrance. I was pleased to hear that they would implement this change as it's no small feat. They had to retool the injection molds for these two plastic parts, and they were so close to release already. I don't know whether they managed to properly isolate the electronics section, as the two wire pairs should still be passing through the hinge. If it's not completely sealed, I think we should be able to put some organic cotton in there to act as some kind of joint or filter.

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The second issue with the FlowerMate 8 prototype was more dramatic. The device had a very strong smell when I received it, a mix of many things actually. I proceeded to do the usual empty burn-ins and spent I forgot how many full discharges worth of them. The device was left next to a fan, everything had been cleared thoroughly several times, but the smell wasn't going away. One evening a friend visited me and persuaded me to test the device for real, out of curiosity and hoping it would get better once covered by the Plant smell. Needless to say it was just disgusting! A gross chemical taste, leaving us with a bad lingering sensation on the teeth...

It appeared that in order to cope with the loose tolerances in the manufacturing of the internal glass stem, the engineer had to use some silicone bonding glue to seal it perfectly and hold it in place. This glue was practically next to the heater, and at max temperature it outgassed like crazy and it was the major source of that awful smell. Smiss acknowledged the issue, but it was a prototype after all. The second unit I received had no glue and they got rid completely of the internal glass stem because the factory wasn't able to produce it with a tight enough tolerance.

That glue made the device unusable and the smell never went away. I had to scrap everything when dismantling the device and even then it left a lingering smell on all parts that were close to it. Well you know what? My Elo pre-release version had a similar white spongy silicone insulation material right inside its heater. I don't think it's exactly the same product but the smell is definitely very close and Ken confirmed that they had to use it for insulation purposes.

This to me was the real show stopper and the main reason for my negative review and loud warning. Maybe it would have cured over time, maybe the smell would have dissipated, but I did a lot of burn-ins and it was still very strong. So I didn't want to take any risk or make other FC members experience that. I told Ken I didn't want any glue in the vicinity of the heater and this was not negotiable. He told me they would do their best to find an alternative, and apparently they did (see last chapter)

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Before I was able to identify the problem in the FM8 thread, a lot of fellow FC members jumped on some massdrop offering to get it at a discount price. I tried to tell them it was probably safer to wait a little, but many still ordered one... Thankfully they didn't get that nasty glue, but the device proved to be not so good in the end and had other issues. I know it's not my fault but I felt partly responsible for what happened...

Fast forward to past week and I saw history about to repeat itself with many of you telling that you were about to order... and I hadn't done my review, because I was still waiting for Ken to send me the updated device. I wanted to be sure they got everything fixed before recommending (or not) the device to you. This is why I had to react quickly, and probably excessively I agree... I hope that now you all understand my stance and the position I found myself into.

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The second FM8 pre-production sample I received had no glue, yet it still had a strong new device smell. It wasn't immediately clear to me, but now that I dismantled both devices and DIY modified them (I'll post some updates in the FM8 thread when I find some time) I know that there are numerous potential smell sources inside. The fact it's over-engineered means that they mixed a lot of materials. For instance the bottom lid is plastic but when you open it you realize that the mirror chrome surface finish is actually paint. There are polyurethane pads to secure the battery in place inside the device and those have a smell as well as the glue on them. And the list goes on...

In fact, I never managed to get rid of all those smells until I ditched most of the plastic parts of the device. I ditched the shell, I ditched the internal housing... I ditched everything but the circuits, heater and battery and I'm in the process of putting that in a nice wooden box with a properly isolated vapor path made of salvaged ecig parts.

This leads me to the last issue: besides the silicone, I found that the plastic used in the Elo was (and still is) very smelly. The chips had that smell, and the heater housing too. I think this smell should dissipate over time, but it takes a while. How do I know that? Well I received several chips and one of them was a light grey color. This one had a noticeably lower smell. I asked Ken whether maybe the black colored plastic was smellier but he told me that the grey chips were produced a while ago before they switched to black, and this is why the smell was lower: it had time to air out.

So for this last point, I don't think it's that big of an issue. I wish the company could source a different plastic provider or maybe at least change the formulation used to insure those parts have a neutral smell. But I don't think there is any potential health issue. I do believe it's really a plastic able to withstand high temperatures, maybe some kind of Delrin/POM. It just stinks when new.

(continued below)

Elo Kitty comes closer and exposes her guts

When I got my Elo, and I need to thank @Just Justin for giving me Ken's contact info, I was excited really. This was again a very ambitious product. I realize how much engineering went into it. Just the chips for instance are made of multiple parts with tight tolerances. The device is quite complex and a lot of thought went into its design. My first reaction was to say that they almost got everything right.

Then I noticed the aforementioned issues and engaged in a back and forth discussion with Ken that proved to be very fruitful. He's a nice person, that's for sure. My testing was interrupted for a long while because the charger I got was dead on arrival. Shit happens, it's OEM from another company and it somehow passed through QC un-noticed. I wasn't able to charge the device again after the first empty burn-in run. It took me a very long time to go to the place where my variable voltage charger was (the original one outputs a rather uncommon 12.6V, I was able to partially charge the device again using a 12V charger)

In fact I got my charger back just a couple weeks ago I think, and proceeded to do the burn-ins... but that smell reminded me those bad memories from the FM8 too much... and when I tested it with the Plant for the first time, it was really disgusting as I said in my previous post...

Now you know almost the full story, excepted that...


Same player shoot again

The day after my critical review, Elo's designer (Jacky) contacted me in person to explain the situation and do some much needed damage control. I learnt that they are not a big company at all, it's a startup from Hong Kong and they got the Elo manufactured by Chinese factories on the mainland. They were in a bloody hurry trying to get everything rolling before Chinese new year that started on the 3rd of February.

They really intended to send me an updated unit but were drowning under the work-load... In fact the unit was ready and packed, it just wasn't shipped. I'm willing to give them some slack because I totally understand what they are going through as a small company and I respect that (been there, done that)

Just a few days later I got an unexpected UPS express delivery and a brand new unit in my hands. I can now confirm that the grill has been relocated and that there is no silicone insulation anymore inside the heater. I need to inspect everything more closely (I haven't checked the strain relief for instance yet) but so far so good.

The plastic parts still smell, as well as the silicone ones. But I will use the parts from my previous unit that got cleaned several times already. I compared the old and the new and I'm confident that the chip smell and the silicone parts smell will dissipate over time, it just takes a lot of time so be patient.

Now I have some awful doubts and feel guilty again but for another reason: what if the last minute change (ie the grill relocation) did alter the device performance? With a more direct and unrestricted air intake, I think we should now get less air sucked in around the chip, as the path of least resistance is straight and right under the bowl. That's a good thing. But what if now we got too much air flow and it overwhelms the heater? I'm worried because I read @Vape Dr. saying he was carbing the intake...

If you draw hard you can indeed make easily the light blink (meaning the heater is catching up) but I'm wondering to what extent this is misleading? All my vapes excepted the Zion exhibit a strong temperature drop at the heater when you hit them hard. But none of them tells you that, they try to hide that fact (for instance in the Ascent you don't see the temperature display change when in reality it does)

It's too soon to say for now. But I will give the Elo a second chance, as I initially planned to, and I will issue my final judgment later. I hope this clears all things up, thank you for your attention.

Its all good @KeroZen!!!!!! I know I get excited and caught up in the action but no hard feelings, I think we all want the same thing; good, safe and fun vapes!

Its not my job to defend Elo but I am just surprised, dare I say shocked, at how scary some user experiences have been and I will warn you; I have just finished watching "Making a Murderer," so I am overly amped up and have a strong urge to plead a case, so I am taking it out on this post....

First of all, what makes those negative experiences worth more than the positive ones?

I feel like there is no winning this one, If I continue to praise Elo for being a nice vape that I think is safe, tastes good and works good, then people will wonder if I am credible to review a vaporizer when clearly, other people have had such awful and terrifying experiences, so how could my experience be so different?

I respect everyone's opinions and I don't doubt that you guys had negative experiences that you claim, but I hope with that being said, you will also keep in mind of what I've said and don't doubt that I've had a positive experience.

I take my reviews and testing seriously. I don't write reviews because I get paid, which I don't by the way, I write them because I love vaporizers and I love to vape. I want people to be able to count on my reviews for accurate, honest and detailed information and if I didn't truly believe that this vaporizer was good, then I wouldn't be spending all this time on it, there are too many other good vapes out there. Every review out there is different, mainly because they are mostly, hopefully, unbiased opinions, written by all sorts of people, all with different preferences, different tastes, different sensitivities, different ideas etc. etc. Its important to consider as many of them as possible when looking for a vaporizer so you can get different perspectives and compare them.

I'll say this and leave the rest until my full review; I have been using the Elo everyday since September 2015 and I have not had one headache, no burning eyes, no puking or any strange reaction and I don't smell like plastic either. I do agree that there is definitely room for improvement with the Elo, there will never be a perfect vaporizer or at least one that EVERYONE believes is perfect. Sure the Elo could have a tighter sealed air/vapor path and maybe less plastic around the oven or plastic that is more inert, maybe less silicone or silicone that has been cured more as people have suggested, and a slightly easier Chip design but even with all that considered, I haven't had a single issue or seen anything that's scary about the Elo either and I have been getting really nice, pure vapor and I think those are somewhat minor issues to begin with, certainly not deal breakers and most can easily be updated down the road.

I have taken the Elo taken apart and all that's in there is a circuit board, buttons, wires, silicone, aluminum, plastic, stainless steel, a battery pack and that stuff is sealed "enough" that it isn't an issue in my book. There is less draw resistance coming from the intake/vent than the inside of the Elo body which is quite tight, so the majority of the air entering the device is going to take the route of least resistance and which is the intake/vent. I do have a fix for that vapor path if people are concerned about the possible, small amount of "loose" air that could come from inside the unit, which could also quite possibly come from outside of the unit, around the sliding mechanism button and hinge seam areas. I will try to post my fix tomorrow.....I didn't see any glue or anything and the heater that's on a hinge, has enough wire length that it can freely move without putting stress on the connections of the circuit board and the other end of the wire is clamped down before it connects to the heater/oven, so that will take the stress, not the connection on the oven/heater, so I don't think it will have the dreaded Ascent problem down the road with wires breaking.

That all being said, I'm not a certified "expert" and I don't claim to know more than anyone else or that I am certified to tell whether a device is safe or fit for production but I definitely believe that Elo is safe and I would NOT use this device if I didn't think so, I have plenty of other vapes to choose from. I do have a lot experience with vaporizers, as I'm sure all of you do as well, so I think that you all can see for your selves and keep an open mind and take in all the information.

However, I wish I had been more colorful in my previous descriptions and I think that would have helped and maybe people wouldn't get so hung up on the few negatives. I should have maybe said: "The Elo is soooo good that it's glorious vapor lifted me with euphoria, my head was floating on fluffy clouds as angels gently floated my body while my taste buds danced in the flavorful, pure vapor that was my herb!"

Peace on earth! Nameste. One love. Vape on! I meant to keep this short too, so sorry

It has been pointed before but we must not forget that more than any other sense, humans differ wildly in the way they smell. I know the words "blind", "deaf" and "mute" but I don't even know the one to describe someone with no sense of smell! It's almost like it's a 2nd class citizen compared to the others. I even read that there are funny genetical differences that can make one person find a given smell repulsive while another person might find this same smell sweet.

I know that I'm overly sensitive but I know a lot of people that are the inverse and are completely oblivious to smells in general. Since I fucked combustion my sensitivity increased even more (and often I think it's a waste given how bad it smells in the public transportation systems of my big city!)

For the Elo now that there is no silicone insulation in the heater anymore, I think we should be good. It was really that particular point that annoyed me deeply. The rest will surely get better with time, and they will make revisions to continue improving their product.

I'm really surprised so many people are having plastic/silicone issues. For me I get a slight aftertaste at the end of 2 sessions or at the end of a high temp one. The flavor until then is really great. I was going to try the coconut milk or 50/50 white vinegar/water soak to totally get rid of it. It's not a cloud producer for me at all, but I'm not a cloud person. The material definitely get's extracted and I definitely feel it. I hope it's just a of couple smelly units. That being said I'd love to get some more of those parts to be metal.