Aromazap/Myrtlezap/CeramicRockZap

MaquinaVapor

Maluco Beleza
MaquinaVapor said:
Hi Folks

I finally quite smoking! Got my rockzap this Monday and enjoying it a lot! Thanks to Vitolo who made the effort of shipping it to Australia!

I'm running it using a power converter 230-110V, but I going to buy an Aussie power adapter and I've seem three potential options (3 different currents - 1A, 1.5A and 2A).

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AC-DC-Po..._Travel_Acc&hash=item4cf0954f5c#ht_940wt_1163

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-12V-...tDomain_15&hash=item20b753596c#ht_1045wt_1163

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-12V-...tDomain_15&hash=item20b753596c#ht_1045wt_1163

I imagine that with more current I might reach higher temperatures and also heat it up faster, am I correct? However, what's the maximum current we can supply to a rockzap? the standard power supply is 1A.

Cheers!

Actually, I've noticed that these adapters I've found are AC/DC and not AC/AC like the original one. So what is the difference, are these suitable?
 
MaquinaVapor,

Nycdeisel

Well-Known Member
Congrats Maquina!!! Welcome to the club :wave:
Gotta love Vitolo!
and im glad you were able to stop smoking now that you have your zap :D

:peace:
 
Nycdeisel,

SmokingElectricity

Well-Known Member
i was using my myrtlezap today and this piece of wire fell out of it. yeah it sounds a little crazy, but i was doing vapor bongs, so i was holding the mz upside down and fell out onto my desk.

just wondering if this is something i should be worried about.

2012-01-31_17-43-41_812.jpg
 
SmokingElectricity,

Rick

Zapman
SmokingElectricity
That must be an old brass Zap with a loose heatport. The wire was used as a shim to keep the copper liner tight in the wood. It serves no function other than keeping the innards tighter. At this point it will not do much good to put it back if it fell out as it will do the same thing again. That is SS safety wire, very stiff, .041 I believe. If you could get 3 or 4 of them spaced around the hole equally it could help by providing extra shims to tighten it all. The wire is installed vertically in the hole between the copper bushing and the wood.
See why the new CRZ design is so much better?
Maquina
Go for the 1.5 amp. You will not need more amperage. You could give it 100 amps and it will only use less than amp. Our stock transformer(1 amp) is now DC so those are exactly what we use. A 1.5 amp will be more than you need.
 
Rick,

hazy

combustion fucker
Manufacturer
Rick said:
Can you tell us if there should be any difference in AC vs DC going into the heater?
I'm no electronics expert, but theoretically, there should be no difference in terms of the average amount of power going into the Zap. A 12VAC power supply delivers, on average, 12V. However, the power is delivered as Alternating Current, which means that it is constantly changing and reversing polarity (60 cycles a second in the US). In order to supply the average of 12V, this means that on each cycle the voltage will peak at about 17V twice per cycle. This means that the resistor is receiving much higher amounts of power for brief periods. I don't know what effect this would have on the longevity of the resistor, but it seems to me that it would place the resistor under greater stress than DC, which is a constant 12V.

All of that aside, the other thing about a 12VAC power supply is that it uses just a simple transformer to step down the voltage. While this is great for simplicity and reliability, there is no regulation of the output voltage, so if the input voltage is lower than normal, the output voltage will also be lower. An unregulated DC power supply is no better, it is simply a transformer with a rectifier on the output so that there is no reversal of polarity during each cycle.

On the other hand, a switchmode power supply will deliver the rated DC output (+/- whatever tolerance it has been manufactured to, probably 5%) regardless of the input voltage. Another advantage of switchmode power supplies is that they are very efficient, lightweight, and inexpensive. They also take a wide range of input voltage eg, 90 - 250VAC, so the same unit can be used anywhere in the world. The disadvantage is increased complexity and possibly lower reliability, but this will vary depending on manufacturer.

If you want to maintain a more consistent customer experience, you could provide a matched switchmode power supply with each Zap kit. By this I mean that you could measure the resistance of each Zap, and the output of each power supply, then pair up a higher resistance with a higher voltage power supply, or a lower resistance with a lower voltage. Any variation in performance would then be due to the type and amount of wood used, having eliminated the other variables. :2c:

MaquinaVapor said:
I imagine that with more current I might reach higher temperatures and also heat it up faster, am I correct? However, what's the maximum current we can supply to a rockzap? the standard power supply is 1A.
You only need a 1A power supply. The first one you listed will work. You could use a 1 million amp power supply and it would not make any difference. The Zap will only pull the amount of current that it needs. You wouldn't want to go below 1A though, as the Zap would try to pull more current than is available, thus overloading the power supply. To get higher temperatures you would need a higher voltage.
 
hazy,

Vitolo

Vaporist
WatTyler said:
Vapemania in da house, stirring again! Or should I say Melmoth? I saw you, saying you couldn't trust FC. Got your number sunshine. ;)
The reason, I have not added my 2 cents here...
I figured I already said it on GC!
Not that I minded our talk there... it was a great discussion!
 
Vitolo,

JESUSgotNAILED

Well-Known Member
Nycdeisel said:
You really only get a rattling if you let it go cold. Which personally I would never let happen as long as I have power here.

Well, I'm sure one reaches a point where they have pretty much mastered everything to do with vaping with a Zap but I am nowhere close lol...
Jesus, funny you say that. I thought I had reached that point and what do you know, I learned some new things about the zap process! I say theres always room for improvement and that people are always learning. Knowledge is power! :D

So happy you and your buddies dig the zap and inline combo, i honestly cant think of a better piece of glass to go with the RockZap! I sort of want a new piece of glass, but im so satisfied by my headford inline im almost hesitant to get anything else! Its a funny feeling.

Haha I bet you are. I'm very happy with the bub and will be for a long time I am sure.

You are 100% correct about the rattling. I ONLY get it if the unit is cold, soon as it warms up boom no more rattle just pure power :ko:
 
JESUSgotNAILED,

Rick

Zapman
very sketch? This old dude does not get it. I did explain what the wire was used for in the old design. I am also happy we make a product now that is much better than the old traditional log vape.
Smoking, we still only take Paypal for credit card purposes. We also take a check or Money Order and cash. The non credit orders take a few days longer to ship.
I have been noticing that a few of the units going out now and in the near future have the name of the wood engraved near my pick of the back(plug) side. Sometimes the location of the lettering is not exactly where I would put it and on occasion is mis-spelled or double engraved in the wood. I have left those as is because they are very special. This is an interim period between Zaps turned by a pro and Zaps turned by me. We still have several that are from our first few months of doing CRZs and may have an exceptional non-perfection as I have described. Those of you who get them should treasure them as they will be very rare, produced during a transition stage in Zapville. On the other hand, if you are not happy with the imperfection(s), let us know. With the new design we can throw them back on the lathe and delete something that may turn you off. That applies to any CRZ BTW. We can take off wood but for a charge. I can easily turn outties to innies or straighties. When done the same inside parts will be re-installed.
Slight rattling, even only when cold, should be eliminated in the near future. I am about ready to re-stock that bottom SS washer that covers the outer 1/3 of the bottom ceramic(p288 bottom view pic). The outer diameter will be slightly less and I will do my best to get a spring stainless steel wavy washer(shim) to do the job. Installed correctly, it should keep constant tightening pressure on the heatport assembly.
 
Rick,

SmokingElectricity

Well-Known Member
that's awesome to know that i can send you a money order when the time comes for me to buy a new zap. [and i will because it's been my main since i've owned it.] :D
 
SmokingElectricity,

sublimeluvr

Well-Known Member
Thanks Vitolo!! I think she is pretty sweet myself! one certain character on the forum scene was giving me a hard time about her being softwood but I have always been told to consider the source! :lol:

Hey Rick- Am curious how many zaps you estimate you have sold/made over your more than a decade in the biz.
 
sublimeluvr,

Magic9

Plant Enthusiast
momofthegoons said:
Magic9, you've got more willpower than I do. That second pic sent me straight to my Zap.

It's taking everything I've got to hold back. Makes it even worse that I was dry for a few days before I happened upon that. The one bright spot is I found out the dreaded test was pushed back a few days, so I can at least a little relief today.


TheDudeNextDoor said:
Now THAT is one beautiful shot, man. Wow!

Lol, thank you. I do believe (excluding family, of course) that is the finest pic I have ever taken.


Elluzion said:
That is veryy sketch,,, haha

A shim fell out in an older design. I don't see how that is sketch(y?) or funny.
 
Magic9,

Nycdeisel

Well-Known Member
Hey magic :wave: This is my favorite thread to see bumped btw :)

That one is pretty sublime! enjoy it!
 
Nycdeisel,

momofthegoons

vapor accessory addict
sublime, that is a beauty. ;) I put the Zapolish on by hand. I don't put on a lot so there is no need to wipe it off with a rag. Just enough to make her purdy...
 
momofthegoons,

Rick

Zapman
sublime, that is one sweet little Zap you have there. Lots to look at in the grain patterns. You might know mom would recommend applying the polish to your wood by hand! Actually that is a super recommendation and that is also the way I do it. You can work the ZaPolish(more accurately described as soft beeswax) on the wood so completely by hand. I like to get it slathered up, then rub it down with a soft cotton cloth of some kind. An old T shirt works good. We use the cloth to finish off the final polish here at Zapville because the customer likes the wood dry when it arrives. Some of you may be like mom and prefer to keep it on the glossier side.

Some more good news on the subject of shiny wood. I went over to Harbor Freight Tuesday, a longer trip to Spokane. I now have a dust collector that will do the job. My old small one just would not cut it. That trip also included a stop at the Woodcraft store. What a treat just to go in that store. Anyway, we will have the friction heat cured shiny finish continue as I found the right goodies and picked up a three buffing wheel arbor for my old lathe. We can now get into the serious buffing here at Zapville. This is still a few days away as my number one helper for the room construction has been away at other jobs trying to make a little money. Still a little piping for dust extraction and wiring to do. I do have my laptop in there with a 4 bar signal so I can keep up on that end of the game without making the trip to the house all the time.

We have plenty of new beauties to get up on the site and I have really let that part of the job slip the last couple days. My apologies for that. I'll put some time in on that task later today.

That will be after shipping another batch. It has been busy and we are very happy about that for sure. It takes me awhile to adjust to new schedules but I am having lots of fun with this adjustment. Just checked Mondays shipment and all but one order was delivered on time, yesterday. The last order should make it today. Orders shipped today should make a Saturday arrival.

Winter seems to be slowly losing her grip around here. Much Joy!

Yes, a lot of Zaps out over the last ten years. I have no clue how many nor do I want to even try to think about it. Eternal Now Moment is where it's at. That is the only way I can survive in this world. We are proud that Zapville just keeps on going and are very happy about the new CRZ wind blowing about. A much better product that took ten years and real help from outside to make it happen.
 
Rick,

sublimeluvr

Well-Known Member
Vapemeister aka melmoth seems to be the king of double edged
compliments. He on one hand tells me what a great product I purchased with my CRZ. And at the same time he talks about the inferior materials that are used. Says alot about his character really. I told
Him that I sure am glad I bought from somebody like Rick who stands by his product.
 
sublimeluvr,

Vitolo

Vaporist
Melmoth has been asking questions about the Zap on Grass City... only to contradict or correct each response given him.
He may have two characters he is now using to post about the CRZ.... but my instincts tell me he is an entire THIRD party, whom we all have seen before around here... and he is "playing us"!
 
Vitolo,

momofthegoons

vapor accessory addict
Interesting theory Vito. I've been thinking he should have made his "new" screen name Antagonist. :lol:

You might know mom would recommend applying the polish to your wood by hand!

Lol! Yup, best way to do it. Of course, now you've gone and gotten some toys to get that polish! :lol:
 
momofthegoons,
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