Arizer Solo

I've been running my Solo (plugged in at my desk) as my daily driver for a while now. I am looking into getting the Cloud, but wanted to ask any current Cloud owners that also have a Solo how much difference there is in performance between the Cloud and Solo. It looks like an excellent vape, and I am finding my consumption needs expanding a bit, and also wonder about how much easier the draw is in comparison to the Solo. I have no intention of not using my Solo, but feel kind of like it is just not keeping up.

the wood stem looks classy

the idea of cleaning is what's held me off from buying one. i like hte idea of glass for that reason. how do you clean it?

I have not cleaned it yet, but I intend on letting it build up for some time, and then gently scraping it clean with a plastic dowel while it is still warm. It will never be a perfectly clean job, but it is wood and will probably keep best with a layer of oil. If I find this to be messy or inefficient I'll report back.

Jam,
There is a pretty big difference in performance. I love my Solo, but that little battery operated heater can't keep up with the behemoth that is the Cloud.

I've been researching the Cloud... I have come to the conclusion it is a must have at my residence.

Yeah, I expected to get answers like this... I just wanted a little extra back up for my decision... it is a pretty big price tag for me to justify... but all signs point to yes. Solo will be the side kick, as I prefer it as my portable when the situation calls for it. T1 takes the next slot... Loving all this vaping technology!

IMO, if you place a SS screen in the bottom of the heating chamber you should solve the tight fit airflow entrance to the stem. Do you ever tried that?? If you want, you can even add a couple slits to the rim, or one at a time and test for airflow, the way I did it.
You wouldn't need any channels, slits on the rim or whatever. Look at the simplest glass stems being made by log manufacterers.
IMO, those channels only cool down the area in between the heating chamber and the glass stem, creating a faster cold air intake from the top of the Solo heating chamber, Tintest already explained this like 100 posts before, creating uneven vaped material at the top of the loading chamber of the stem... makes sense???

If you just manage & prevent the stem from touching the bottom of the heating chamber, you'll succeed and get like 30% more airflow(even with the stock 4 holed glass screen), like PV stated airflow...
After that SS modification, if you drill that glass screen you'll get the 100% more airflow, IMO.

Maybe at the first pull is less airflow, but after the air being compressed and heated in between the heating chamber and the glass stem, ASA enters the Solo stem chamber,
it escapes really fast through the full turbo bored stem thus creating more airflow, makes sense??, it's like flasks bongs, after you fill them with vapor, is a piece of cake to get a massive huge rip
I hope this make sense and we don't fight and argue.

BTW, all my mods been done to Arizer stock stems(4holes) and PV Solo stems and GonG stem adapters.
So I bought before from PV, if it's that the reason why you are upset with me.
I'm not trying to put down PV work, but I think it can be upgraded.
BTW, when I'm done with my own stems, I'll SEND YOU 1 FOR FREE, if you don't like it, you can criticize it or dislike it, but pass it on, maybe someone enjoy it !!!!

BTW, how do you know PV has done all research possible??? Do you work for them???

I already stated before in my posts that my own homemade mods upgraded airflow in more than a hundred percent IMO, yes more than a 100 %, so when PV states 30 % only, is like, what am I doing??

I really want to see what means, is properly done for you???

FYI all PV Solo stem GonG joints are the lowest quality I ever tried, all uneven cut and a pain in the butt at the moment of cleaning that huge vapor cloud from glass pieces, they always get stuck, making a simple task really complicated and clumsy when dealing with glass, water and electricity. Happened to me, unstucked suddenly making the Solo fly to the air
Have really sloppy welds and many huge imperfections.
IMO they are using the cheapest glass at hand available.
And considering the price, IMO, $20 bucks or more shipped to the US, I've seen A/Cs for almost that price coming from Canada as well, with a lot of work and much more beautiful than a plain cheap glass stem.

You can check smoketower.ca from your country, I'm not lying, I saw a beauty for $30 shipped free to the US, check our own "Cheap Quality Bubbler thread".

Those 4 warts to avoid them rolling when placed in a flat surface, IMO, a waste of time and glass and work, increasing the cost, IMO.
Use those 4 warts, and make them mini 4 warts but inside the stem, instead of a 4 hole glass screen.
Like ice pinches in a tube, to hold the SS screen in place, and easy to push the screen with a wood skewer when ready to be replaced or cleaned.

I swear I'll laugh so hard If I saw that modification in next PV stems, lol

IMO that's the next step in Solo stems, customizable loading chamber by yourself


3 loading mode setups,
#1.... SS domed facing to the heating chamber, famous "shorty" stem lol
cost in $$$$ cero, zero, 0,00000, niente, thanks,
what's the point of having a "Shorty and a Regular" when you can modify ONLY ONE STEM with a TWIST of a SS SCREEN?? (I'm pretty sure the Shorty PVHES works awesome, but...)
Answer, more money for PV pockets , is that hard to believe???
#2... SS flat, regular loading
#3... SS domed facing the Solo stem mouthpiece, extra loading chamber, for those that can't never get enough of a Solo lol

I'm not a glass blower myself but, IMO this stems are really simple and you don't need to be a scientist to figure out airflow in a single stem.
I drill, clean, test,
cut, clean, test, repeat till desired result.
If you over did it, order more stems from PV. I guess I already have like 6 or more modified by my own, bought from them.

I still don't understand what norms or standards or tolerances are you stating with these:

"but i'm pretty sure there are exact tolerances, etc. that need to be adhered to."

Do they have a wind tunnel or any special machine that I'm unknown of to check for airflow???
Are they hiring NASA geeks for designing stems???
DO they have masters in highness and stonerdness???
Am I being sarcastic??? Yes, sorry, I couldn't help it. My apologies at @ vaped4life.

And finally but not last, since when PV has "The Gig" to customize Solo stems??? I didn't know that yet, maybe in Canada, but not here I guess...

BTW,
Who wants carb holes in a Solo GonG stem???
Maybe from 10 people 1 or 2 will like them.
IMO, getting a Y adapter with GonG joints and a glass stopper acting as a carb will make you a fancy customized setup...
(all sold by PV, I got them there, and really cheap quality as well)
You'll have the choice to mix strains, hit 2 vapes (same kind or different) at the same time and clear your huge vapor hits as a pro when using only one vape !!!! lol

IMO, I don't want to get married to PV, I want more options, and more local options as well.

If you like PV, good for you, I didn't said I don't like them, but, please, they are trying to sell stuff to us, they are FOR PROFIT, so they are not trying to help me,they are not my friends, they are trying to make money on me, IMO If can try to make my own and upgrade them, good for every FC member, and for you too.
Would you stay with PV word only?????

I got mine in the mail yesterday. My GF couldn't wait, so she did all the unboxing. She did, however, manage to control her excitement and wait for me to get back home!

The stems didn't originally fit, so we chose to follow the "heat on 7 for 12 min" method and the stem slid right in there. My first session (and all that followed) were done with the straight stem.

I chose to modify a screen into a dome and it fit just about right. Loaded up about .1-.2gs and set the solo to 4.

I'll admitt that I was worried that herb would be spilling inside the heating chamber due to using the straight stem and the unit right side up. So far, it hasn't been an issue, though.

I'm able tiger about 8 good hits filled with flavor and visible clouds. After that the taste begins to subside. Clouds continue to be produced at around 17-18 hits. I haven't gone much further because the herb gets brown and I assume it's ready to be called AVB.

I've tried mixing the bowl, but since I use the screen not much bud gets packed in. I guess an equal amount of heat reaches the herb in the middle due to this??

Back to the Solo. I absolutely love the unit! It is much smaller than I expected! Also, on all the pics I've ever seen, the quality looks poor. HORIBBLE JUDGEMENT! The solo is sleek and feels worth the price. I also didnt run into any issues with the stem testricting my air flow. Some mild, 3-4 sec draws produced plentiful clouds!

My GF and I are thrilled and absolutely love the Solo!

Drxx - You will notice a difference in airflow when you try PVHES. I am currently waiting for Planet Vape to stock back up, but a friend of mine only uses the PVHES, and he turned me on to them. I tried his and there was a noticeable difference in airflow. You should give them a look.

Yeah, I've read up about them. I thought they'd be a must for usage, but I was wrong. The stock stem did surprisingly well. Then again, everyone has nothing but good things to say about the PV stems for a reason...

I just want to let the lurkers know that the stock stem is alright and definitely usable! That was one of the draw backs (pun) when I was on the fence w the solo: that it wasn't ready out of the box and needed mods (o ring, stems, etc).

I'll be buying a PVHES when they're in stock, but I'll be a happy camper until then.

Yeah I agree. The stock stems have not given me any issues and I've made zero mods. I have the M107 model and have had no problems with the stems fitting, no problems with airflow, but the PVHES just make the Solo that much better.

So I have a Arizer extreme q and I am thinking about selling it and buying a solo just for the portability factor. How do they compare as far as vaping goes?

The Solo has a much tastier vapor and extracts amazingly... I think it blows my EQ...however you won't be able to pull massive hits like with the EQ but its alright...

I have both and the solo doesn't even compare to the cloud IMHO. Nothing I have ever had hits as hard or as fast as the cloud. Oh and you don't have to worry about airflow problems because there is none.

How long have you been on the waiting list?

I hate comparisons, but trying to do that in a thread is going to bring fan-boys/girls from Solos and the rest comparing and saying, "EQ is better, or Cloud is this and that", who gives a rat ass.

So, I still think there's no waiting list for a CLOUD, ooooo, wait, this is not the EQ or Cloud THREAD this is the ARIZER SOLO THREAD, so there's no waiting list lol

I just bought my first wooden stem from Ed's TNT!! I cant wait to try it out! I say "first" because I am a wood addict (love all things wood) so I can see myself collecting a few of these for sure! Plus, Ed seems like a really cool cat so that is another endorsement for more biz his way!

I really love my Cloud™ and IMO the Solo is awesome for portability (truly a hard hitter) but The Cloud™ seems to extract more goodness as far as flavor and hit density! (by a country mile to be fair) Also it is made to be used with glass tubes so all the better for those of us with GAS.

I took my Solo on vacation with me recently and we used it about 4 times a day (on one charge) It was awesome! At one point I was even running it thru my Ben Wilson 6 arm mini bubbler with the help of the Thermovape glass adapter (and some whip tube) When I use it this way I call it the SOLOUD™ () and while it delivers a nice hit thru the bubbler, there is NO comparison to the Cloud's hit density.

I was also wondering for those of you that use Ed's stems if they are cooler to the touch after use and will allow you to throw 'em in your pocket of back pack without risk of burning you? As I said I can't wait to try it out with the wooden stem!!

just a few daze... I'm not in a hurry, need to pay off some CC bills for a bit to catch up from all my recent splurges. Thanks for all the Cloud info y'all. I have found Solo to be my favorite of the portables, as far as ease of use, and how consistent it has been for me. Each portable has their strong points depending on your needs. I do spend the majority of my time at the desk vaping though, and find I am running the Solo most of the day through. Hate to burn it up using it all day long, it sure is nice to have it on the go when I need it.

Wood stems stay cool up top, but the SS part does stay hot for a couple of mins. after use, so directly in the pocket after a sesh. is probably not a good idea. You can probably get away with leaving it in the Solo until the entire thing cools, just stick the solo/stem in pocket and wait a few mins if you are trying to be stealthy. I put my rubber "MFLB" stem caps on mine, even if it's still warm. Once you get them trained to go on and off, they seem to fit well enough.

What do you mean ... is there an issue with the M105???? I never thought the M105 I have worked as well as my original ceramic one, however, it doesn't chip. Do other, future, stainless versions work better?

Well...it finally happened - I broke the PVHES stem /;
It was bound to happen as I said few pages ago...but I got Ed wood stem and this is awesome as well.

edit: grabbed the remains from broken stem onto a cotton ball and fired away the solo with ed's wood

IMHO the m105 was set too cool and it's flow was too much. I couldn't get as good of vapor on 7 as I could with my ceramic at 4. I had to pack the absolute shit out of the stem just to kill the flow down to make it useable. Like I said before this is all in my honest opinion. Then from what I was told when they came out with the m106 the heat was restored back to the ceramic settings(I wonder why). I had one back when my ceramic started to chip because arizer gave me one because of the chipping.

I have a question and hope someone knows... I have an Iolite. It has a spring-like thing holding screen in place. Anyone tried that spring/screen in the bottom chamber of a Solo? I looked at each and both and it looks like it should work. That would be a very simple and effective way to get the bowl off the bottom of the chamber, would it not? It might also work to screen the (2/3/4) holes in the glass easily (not that that isn't simple anyhow...)
I am hesitant to try, as I have no spare spring/screen for the Iolite and don't have the initiative or ability to try right now... So, all of you who have already done this and posted about it 10 pages back, forgive a newbie and let me know : does it work or not? ... And I thank you in advance...

136 messages and you are a newbie??? wonder what that makes me???

Many peeps use domed screens (hand fashioned or otherwise) The retainer spring in the Iolite is meant to hold the screen in place. It might also work in the Solo stems, but I have found just cutting a screen to size works well enough. CHeers to you!

To be honest, I couldn't care less if I have to set a light to "4" or "6' as long as I get predictable results. As for "flow" it appears from dilligent reading of posts that this is hardly limited to a M105 (hence alternative stems). But your post makes me curious - what do you mean by "kill the flow" - is your experience with the glass thqt it needs further impedence?