macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
breakfastchef said:
In my limited experience with the iolote, it does not produce voluminous vapor as one would expect from a hookah. I think this device is a compromise between vaporizing and portability. It works well, but does not work phenomenally well.
If you inhale as if you are sipping air through a cocktail straw, so that it takes a while to fill your lungs, you may find that you'll get a large volume of vapor.

Sometimes folks draw too quickly. That will cool down the chamber and it will cease vapor production.

In addition, the dryness of the herb (dry) , and size of the grind (small) contribute to vapor hit size.
 
macbill,

greystr0ke

Well-Known Member
Joe Blogs said:
Breakfastchef - You pretty much said it there, i'm kinda dissapointed with it in that aspects, one of the reasons i was looking forward to vapeing was the stronger affects (I Tryed a cano' at a friends once and man i was baked, you know when fast inhaleing ciggarettes you can get what people call a nicotine rush. . . well i felt like i had a thc rush (It wasnt really a plesent felling but only lasted about 2-3 seconds and what followed was MUCH better :D ) Anyway i got my friend to drive me stright home where another friend joined me (Non -parteker) I could phiscally not stop laughing, the only words i could get out was to my friend that "I just cant stop it. It cant stop it". It took a couple of mins to say it tho lol.

Anyway with the Iolite, it dose the job, but nothing exciting, i kinda just feel tingly and comfy and get the munchies.

I feel like tradeing it in for something else but its just too ideal for me (Stealth wise)

Vapovac - sounds perfect for you, specially if you can get hold of internal spare parts. I dont think i would be confidant enough to start playing about inside it though
I was getting pretty PO'd when I was first using my iolite as it wasn't doing anything for me similar to what you were stating. However, the unit is more than efficient now and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Some tips that worked for me:

- Grind herb really fine. I was grinding mine and then re-grinding it again just to get it as fine as possible. I have since stopped the re-grinding.
- Depending on the light, you can or can't see the vapor. I was sitting on my bed last night and was blowing out pretty nice clouds when I aimed towards the light on my dresser.
- Let the unit heat up (run through 2 cycles) before packing up and then wait additional cycle or so before taking your first draw.
- When I'm taking a draw, it's very slow and I usually count to around 10 seconds in my head before stopping. I can then hold the hit in and still see a good amount of vapor when I exhale.
- I only take a draw right after the unit runs a cycle.
- Remove the bowl after 5 or so hits and stir it up with a toothpick or something similar.
- If you haven't already done so, remove the moisture condenser.

Did you ever get actual butane? I've been using Vector brand and haven't had any issues with mine. Every now and then I have to press the Piezo twice to get it started but that doesn't bother me at all.
 
greystr0ke,

Samsquanch

Vapor Astronaut
If you want it to hit nice , reverse the screen so the holes face the pin , also , if you let the chamber where the pin is get a little dirty (slight gold/brown color), the unit runs a bit hotter , thus thicker tastier hits.
 
Samsquanch,

greystr0ke

Well-Known Member
macbill said:
If you inhale as if you are sipping air through a cocktail straw, so that it takes a while to fill your lungs, you may find that you'll get a large volume of vapor.
Holy shit!!! You are my new favorite person in the world. This is the best advice I've heard yet. From when I began using this almost 2 weeks ago, I pulled really hard while I was inhaling and I thought the iolite sucked. I read the tips to pull slower so I did and that made a huge difference.

I read your advice earlier and thought to myself that I was pulling slow enough, there was no need to act as if I'm sipping through a cocktail straw. Well I'll be damned. I tired it using a the tube attachment which I have cut down to about 10 inches and I acted as if I was sipping through a cocktail straw. I'm laying on my bed watching TV with the lights out and I could not believe how visible and thick the clouds were. This thing just keeps getting better and better. I actually had to stop and wait a few minutes before taking another hit about half way through the bowl.
 
greystr0ke,

macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
greystr0ke said:
This thing just keeps getting better and better. I actually had to stop and wait a few minutes before taking another hit about half way through the bowl.
Glad you got it. There is a slight learning curve to the Iolite. I thought I got a bad unit at first. Frustrated the hell out of me. But once I got it down, I bought a spare so that I'd have a working unit always. Don't forget, too, the dryness of the material and small particle size (grind): like kosher salt size.

Have fun!
 
macbill,

EazyE 2.0

Well-Known Member
This is an update from my last post about sending my unit in for warranty service to the North American Service Center. I live in Missouri, the service center is in Illinois near Chicago.

I shipped it out on March 22. Called them on the 25th to make sure they got it. The lady who answered the phone found my unit and said the normal turnaround time is about 12 - 14 business days, but since I had called she would take care of it faster than that. She claimed that they'd be shipping my new unit out early the next week which would have been the 29th or the 30th. Well I did get a brand new unit in the mail, but not until April 8th. The package was postmarked April 5th. So, they actually shipped it out a whole WEEK later than when they said they would. :uhoh:

I can't really complain too much tho because the unit that came back is working perfectly; lights on the first click of the button every time so far. And I'm sure the turnaround was much faster than if I had to ship it off to Ireland. So even though I was frustrated because they had set the expectation of a faster turnaround over the phone, I have the unit back in my hand and I am once again a happy Iolite customer.
 
EazyE 2.0,

freeman dyson

Well-Known Member
Can you just use regular screens as replacements on these? The ones they come with are obviously more sturdy and have a different configuration than normal screens.
 
freeman dyson,

macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
freeman dyson said:
Can you just use regular screens as replacements on these? The ones they come with are obviously more sturdy and have a different configuration than normal screens.
yes.
 
macbill,

74VWbug

Well-Known Member
Just got a iolite form my buddy. He said he dropped it and couldn't get it replaced because he took it apart. From what I can tell the sparking mechanism isn't working at all I didn't take it apart so I dont know how it goes back to gather lol. rly would like to get it to work again any help would be great.
 
74VWbug,

Joe Blogs

Well-Known Member
greystr0ke - well i got some Sarome brand from a local cigar/lighter shop. I asked if it was high quility butane and the lad didnt seem to know but it says butane and ZERO IMPURTIES on the can so i'm assuming this is the baby! Dose anyone know the brand?

Yeah i'm back to being confused again, had a fesh bowl before (done all the heating up and what not) but pretty much zero visible vapor this time :S
I suppose it has effected me but i'm not sure if its enough as it should be. (Sorry if that dosent make sense) I think i need to have another go and see
 
Joe Blogs,

greystr0ke

Well-Known Member
How much are you packing in the bowl? Also, how are you hitting it? Are you using the mouthpiece or the tube?
 
greystr0ke,

theeleventhhour

Well-Known Member
I had my iolite for two weeks and was finally good at using it and getting stoned! Then, my stem melted in two pieces. I am gluing it back together now but not happy. EXTREMELY not happy. I fail to believe that it could be AT ALL difficult for O & B to design a stem that diffuses the heat safely and doesn't melt the plastic. IMO it's not the wisest idea to start with building the hot airpath out of this apparently lightweight plastic.

This is a $150 piece of equipment with a fatal flaw. I cannot use it and as I am leaving tomorrow on the vacation for which I purchased my Iolite, I have almost no comfortable recourse for replacing or fixing my stem. I am extremely unhappy with my purchase and now wish I had saved $100 and gotten a much more effective, if not as stealthy unit in the vapor genie.

The Iolite must be coaxed hard to produce tangible, visible vapor, it is inconsistent in its storage of butane (sometimes the tank apparently empties itself after just a few minutes), and from what I see here, has a fatal design flaw that can render it completely useless. I don't know why it happened to me, but it did. Also it costs a LOT of $$. Sure, it is EXTREMELY stealthy to the point of enabling vaporizing in direct view of all but the most discerning eyes. But if a product breaks, it breaks, and unless O&B makes a new stem design, I don't see why it would stop breaking.

My recommendation would be do not buy the Iolite until the manufacturer develops a new stem that won't melt in half after 2 weeks of moderate to heavy use. Maybe if sales stop they will realize they need to put a little more work into a problem that's been around for months.
 
theeleventhhour,

shotgunwilly

Well-Known Member
hi eleventhhour, you must have one of the older units, iolite did address the melting stem issue... just send them a pic of your stems and they will send you a metal stemmed replacement... as far as your vapor or lack of, i find that i take one hit immediately after its done with its initial warm up, then i let it cycle one or two rounds then hit it again, i usually get big vapor there after... and when i hit it, its the speed of drawing air thru a twizzle stick or cocktail straw and straight into the lungs... anyway, sorry to hear about your misfortune, what i did when that happened to me, was clued the stem initially with a drop of crazy glue, then wrapped the top of the threads, on the outside of the stem (where mine broke...)with a little pea size bit of heat epoxy (from home depot, in a stick) it worked fine until i replaced the stems...and the amount of toxins you will get from the micro amount of glue or epoxy exposure is ultra minimal...:/
 
shotgunwilly,

Lo

Combustion free since '09
Mourning the loss of 2 more of my stainless threaded stems this week :( I do hope further changes have been made to them since the batch that mine came from. I have had these several months now which is better than my first run.

I have been saving the little metal threaded bits in case something comes up they can be used for lol.
 
Lo,

freeman dyson

Well-Known Member
how did they break lo? the first one i got broke off in the thread. actually the plastic broke off and left the stem in the thread. happened with the plastic one too. i bought 3 stainless steel from vapeworld for 12 and no problems yet though a little hard coming out sometimes
 
freeman dyson,

Lo

Combustion free since '09
Each one of had break it seems that the plastic breaks apart right where it connects to the metal threaded bit. The plastic pieces seem to break at that same point each time leaving me with 3-4 little pieces of plastic broken around the metal threaded bit.

I've been being very careful with them too but I do use the them quite a bit. I try to carefully unscrew the mouthpiece while it's still warm so it doesn't lock on there.

I used to leave the threaded section on the unit and just remove the rest of the mouthpiece. It doesn't seem to matter which way I do it I still end up with brittle plastic.
 
Lo,

freeman dyson

Well-Known Member
yup, that sounds like what happens to me too. i was pissed and vented a little bit about it in this thread when two broke in a week.
 
freeman dyson,

TyphlosionDragon

Well-Known Member
I've been reading through this topic for some weeks now and I'm finally deciding to post something lol.
So I bought my iolite a couple weeks ago from a guy off of craigslist. Said he'd only used it twice and he was just a cool dude,without the time to smoke anymore. I have to say, I absolutely loved the thing everything I used it. The learning curve took a bit when when me and my friends figured it out,we had a blast.
But alas...the iolite curse has hit me lol. It's quite odd actually, ill fill it with butane,flip the button and wait..I'll hear the hissing and what not and let it go for awhile,and then ill hit the piezo button and I SEE the blue spark..but my orange light doesnt come on anymore like..at all. And after the few minutes theres no hissing at all or ANYTHING. It's frustrating ans upsetting and I don't know what to do lol
 
TyphlosionDragon,

max

Out to lunch
Since you bought used, you're probably out of luck for warranty repair. They do have a repair ctr. in the US now. With no orange light, you'll probably have to send it in and pay for repair, unless you can disguise yourself as the original owner.

ill fill it with butane,flip the button and wait..I'll hear the hissing and what not and let it go for awhile,and then ill hit the piezo button and I SEE the blue spark..but my orange light doesnt come on anymore like..at all. And after the few minutes theres no hissing at all or ANYTHING. It's frustrating ans upsetting and I don't know what to do
You don't need to wait to hit the button. You can light it up as soon as you switch it on. Since the hissing doesn't take place unless it's heating up, and you're getting no orange light, it makes sense that the hissing will stop.
 
max,

chucku

Charles Urbane
TyphlosionDragon said:
I've been reading through this topic for some weeks now and I'm finally deciding to post something lol.
So I bought my iolite a couple weeks ago from a guy off of craigslist. Said he'd only used it twice and he was just a cool dude,without the time to smoke anymore. I have to say, I absolutely loved the thing everything I used it. The learning curve took a bit when when me and my friends figured it out,we had a blast.
But alas...the iolite curse has hit me lol. It's quite odd actually, ill fill it with butane,flip the button and wait..I'll hear the hissing and what not and let it go for awhile,and then ill hit the piezo button and I SEE the blue spark..but my orange light doesnt come on anymore like..at all. And after the few minutes theres no hissing at all or ANYTHING. It's frustrating ans upsetting and I don't know what to do lol
Have you tried purging the tank and refilling with quality butane?
 
chucku,

ioright

Cloud Connoisseur
I have now broken BOTH of the metal replacement stems that O&B sent me. I am getting really frustrated with this product now, I shouldn't need to go out and buy replacement stems every two months for an already pricey product ($300CDN). Does anyone have a good solution to this problem, or should I keep plugging away with stems that were not well designed?
 
ioright,
Max said "you dont need to wait to hit the button. You can light it as soon as you switch it on" both of my units require some time, one about 20seconds the other just a few before the gas starts flowing. Clickin the peizo over and over does jack until that hissing starts. Max' unit must be well behaved! Peace people. Ps save the ss threads from your broken stems( ive got 5 but my unit lives in my pocket, on all day and i work in construction so it gets a workout) you can just slip a piece of .25 inch I.D. Silicon tube over the flange, cut th to desired length slide in your mouth piece and you're good to go. Later
 
thevapedcrusader,

dub

vapor newb
hi all ,
im new to this forum and only hav a little experience with vaporizers in amsterdam :ko: .
im buying an iolite tomorow for 150euros is that good ? i live in ireland and was happy to see its an irish product , ive done some research online looking at reviews and they all seem to be good , i ended up on this site and was reading this topic for ages last nite and it just made me wanna buy it thanx :) so im gonna get one tomorow
i was wondering if u can use the iolite to vaporize "solid herb" ? also any tips for a new user would be helpful

thanx dub
 
dub,

NuttinOnYoFace

Well-Known Member
macbill said:
breakfastchef said:
In my limited experience with the iolote, it does not produce voluminous vapor as one would expect from a hookah. I think this device is a compromise between vaporizing and portability. It works well, but does not work phenomenally well.
If you inhale as if you are sipping air through a cocktail straw, so that it takes a while to fill your lungs, you may find that you'll get a large volume of vapor.

Sometimes folks draw too quickly. That will cool down the chamber and it will cease vapor production.

In addition, the dryness of the herb (dry) , and size of the grind (small) contribute to vapor hit size.
I am a little confused as to what you mean exactly by the sipping of a cocktail straw. I have smoked the unit a couple times and my friend seems to rip it for a long breath and get pretty baked. I just wanna make sure that I don't suck "not enough" to get no vapor. Or is it fine to barely suck in as long as I go for 10+ seconds. Also, is it better to inhale when the heating cycle begins or should I wait until it is done heating up before inhaling. Also someone mentioned about the vapor hitting your mouth, is it maybe better to tilt head back and inhale like upside down so it goes str8 to the lungs?
 
NuttinOnYoFace,
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