Hello all!
Well first things first. I had to mod my Apollo before I used it.
While I was waiting for the batteries to charge I made a chamber cover using some 1" surgical silicone tubing. I know this part will get very hot and as a precaution came up with this real quick.
With a little trimming I was able to get a pretty nice fit over the open chamber.
I am sooo happy I did this mod because as soon as I grab it the thenar or purlicue (webbing between finger and thumb whatever you want to call it) sits right smack in the chamber groove.
So, I guess you are left handed Ville!
Dam you!
It would be great to have the chamber on the other side, or rather put the control panel on the other side. Since 90% of all people are right handed, I'm sure most people would love to see this on the next version IMHO.
The silicone cover works well enough until I figure something better out, you are able to use the silicone cover to take out the hot herb chamber which is also nice.
First use I was absolutely blown away!!!
I can see why people compare this to a portable Sublimator, the High you get from the Apollo is on another level, and the taste...
...amazing!
Even at the stock default 40% temperature the Apollo is amazing!
There's nothing quite like hearing the oils in your herb sizzle and pop!
Great job
@villekille2!
Although I've only ran through a few chambers so far I'm lovin it and the effects are insane!
@Vape Dr.
Nice to see that others are benefiting from utilizing my Apollo hot chamber burn protection mods!
(Pg 37, Post 925)
I found that slicing the tubing lengthwise down the center actually is the better solution than the silicone breech plug since it still allows for better airflow through the chamber area ......which is helpful after you've blocked the bottom air intake since this is where all the airflow originates from.
Also with the bottom blocked and the breech blocked the Apollo actually gets hotter than it needs to for optimum performance - especially when both the breech plug and full silicone side sleeve is used at the same time (again, see Post 925)
Also since your first Apollo touchdown picture shows that you only have the short glass tube, I would highly
recommend that you mod an Arizer Air stem as my pics within that same post will show that I've done for the longer Solo stem. I have also done an Air stem mod too (as well as
@Nssl who has also posted in the past - hope I am crediting the right FC'er) but haven't yet posted pictures of it yet. Although I haven't done the male joint on the other end since I sit the Apollo tube straight on top of an 19mm male end. Since you have a Milaana, you might already have an 19M-19M adapter and can use this to connect it to a water piece. I use a little joint wax on the 19mm male joint that the Apollo tube sits around to help provide a vapour tight seal.
One additional mod that I've done but haven't shown yet, but which is easy to describe, is to use white teflon plumber's tape that is wound overtop the silicone piece located at the Solo/Air stem bowl end to enlarge the diameter of the silicone wrapped around the bowl end so that it seals better when placed into the bottom of the herb chamber......basically keep winding the teflon tape around until it fits tightly within the bottom of the stock herb chamber - just twist and pull at the same time to remove it.
Another mod that I thought of that you can try and report back on - since you have Milaana glass stems (mine still hasn't arrived yet
) is to try using an 19mm Milaana stem inserted into the bottom of the Apollo tube which would then sleeve into the bottom of the herb chamber (Arizer Solo core o-ring (located above the 19mm male joint and before the Apollo tube for a sealing point), also silicone and/or teflon tape may help to achieve that crucial seal - not sure since I don't have any 19mm glass to try this out with yet).
Edit:
Also, I am thinking that if the Milaana stems work well in the fashion indicated above then an Arizer Extreme elbow bowl-screen at the end of the Milaana 19mm male joint would work very well as both the bowl and screen in such a configuration.
I am assuming that the tube will still be able to be inserted into the Apollo from the top since the 19mm glass joint should hopefully still fit within the 22mm hole that the Apollo glass tube slots through.
Once you start playing with glass stem mods, the longer lengthwise slit silicone tubing will make much more sense to you than it might at first since you will always load and unload the Apollo through the top of the unit (rather than through the side breech) - while inverted, by basically pulling it out of/or inserting it into the (now) bottom of the Apollo.
Also. remember to to periodically drop some mineral oil onto the threads of the battery cap which will make a huge difference in removing the battery cap. I don't know if I mentioned this but Ville had mentioned to me that he was considering increasing the height of the battery cap by up to 3mm (basically double it's current height) - which should greatly assist those with arthritis or other medical issues in removing the cap.
I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the Apollo. I certainly have really enjoyed my Apollo - this vape along with the Supreme v3 (a completely different niche vape) are my favourites for both extraction and flavour. But you won't see the Apollo used to its maximum potential until you perform a Solo/Air stem mod.
Also, my initial pet peeve of the Apollo getting very hot is actually a bonus since it really helps maintain the thermal mass of the unit - but you will find that this isn't a vape that you can shut down and just throw in a pocket right away - it will be too hot.
But with respect to a portable non-plugin home vape used through water it is pretty much peerless. When modded correctly - it can perform like an Underdog log vape through the regular sized nongs with respect to having a high vapour density but still maintain better flavour through it very thorough extraction since you can fine tune the heat source better and temperature step until you've extracted everything.
The ONLY vape that I've used that can surpass this vape in quality of vapour and extraction performance from the vapes that I've used is the Supreme V3 (see signature for the vapes that I am comparing too) - which is not really a true competitor to the Apollo since a heavy duty torch (Blazer Big Shot, propane/MAP torch) is required and many people just won't entertain the idea of a torch based vape. If I had to choose and was limited to just one vape to keep - it would be the Apollo. But if I had the option of choosing two vapes to hold onto .....it would be the Apollo and the Supreme V3.
Edit:
P.S. The chamber is located on the correct side when you hold the vape upside down as it would be used on top of a water bubbler.
But if you prefer the upright orientation, and to use the Apollo without a water bubbler, then another mod that I've thought of - but haven't got around to yet - is to use a nested silicone whip, (3/4" OD, 1/2" ID) with the tubing connected to the end of the stock Apollo tube with 1/2" OD silicone tubing inserted into this and ending with glass mouthpiece at the end of this tubing.
I really enjoy using the Apollo through water so I have been basically too lazy to try this yet. But this mod might maintain even better flavour and tame the vapour heat enough that the Apollo could be used comfortably without water.
OK..... got off my lazy ass and am posting some pics of my Air stem mod as well as a whip mod and Source Orb micro-bubbler mod (the idea I posted in an earlier post.
Arizer Air stem mod
Whip & Micro-bubbler
In this pic you can see that I added some teflon tape so that I could get a seal on the inner diameter of the Apollo tube
OK.....that's enough
for tonight
Edit: Oooops sorry, I lied 
, I'm back
Just thought that I'd share one more pic of the combo Air stem/Whip mod all put together as I thought that it came together very nicely
@Vape Dr. really inspired me with his arrival in the Apollo thread. I've really enjoyed some of his posts and he has been a great contributor on FC in a lot of threads that I've followed.
So I thought that if
@Vape Dr. has already posted and shared info in this thread within hours of charging up his Apollo batteries and firing it up ......that I should get off my lazy butt and finally get around to building this Air Stem/Whip combo that I've envisioned for a while.
I am not much of a whip user these days - that was mostly used in the early days of the Extreme before I decided to hook it up to a water piece one day
Yes, vapour, for me, is most definitely enjoyed most through water. That way I can get feedback through the visual aspect of the vapour flow as well as rip as hard as I like and not get a sore throat on hot vapour.
The setup indeed works well! Much cooler on the throat
I think that I will save the micro bubbler mod for another night. Hopefully, I don't short out the light bulb or electronic controls by spilling on the heater. I think the electronic controls would be OK because they are higher up .....unless a short itself killed them. But the halogen heater exterior is quartz so it should be able to withstand a sudden temperature change if water hit it while it was on.
Hopefully, I will never find out
Anyways......here it is
But as for the performance? It kind of feels like a far tastier Mighty, but with even less draw resistance ......and a far better feeling mouthpiece with the glass bulb.
Actually the only thing that made me initially relate it to a Mighty is because that was the easiest drawing portable vape that I used to have. But with the whip setup, the added restriction brings the draw restriction to a point where even though it is still far more free flowing than the Mighty - it at least is still in that zone where you feel a little resistance which can allow you to more easily feel the vapour flow.
This is where the whip use didn't impress me - not because of the quality of vapour (which was very tasty) but because I couldn't actually see its density, or fill a chamber to help in gauging the volume of vapour that is taken in the draw.
Those who like direct draw and direct draw whip vapes might like this mod
But the potential mod that I think might really kick some ass would be the stem/bowl mod that I mentioned before.
This would be to use the 19mm US RBT glass stems as the bowl/stem combo that would then insert into an Apollo tube with a Solo core o-ring helping to seal between the flare of the male end where it enters the stock Apollo tubing. The longer Apollo tube would probably be better for this.....unless the Milaana short stem fits into the shorter Apollo tube.
An Arizer Extreme elbow screen could be set into the end of the 19mm glass joint end to be used as the herb basket and depending on the necessary clearance depth; the 19mm ground glass male end could either seat into the bottom of the herb chamber - or also through the full herb chamber but with the top chamber cap screen removed so that the end of the bowl could rest against the lower chamber screen. If you actually have all the necessary pieces in hand it would of course become quickly obvious which alternative would work better.
But woe is me......I have no 19mm glass stems to experiment with
Sorry, I totally forgot about the voltage after checking the socket.![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")
