MiniVAP Vaporizer

[trontreez]

Thx very much for this, but I probably already read and watched every review about the MV Google can find on the Internet before buying, this entire thread with its 186 pages included. This could be a problem of mine, too. I'm nerdy sometimes and I had very high expectations when I bought my unit! Perhaps they were to high but thank you again!

I had high expectations too and am so far disappointed as well. I've just order a bunch of accessories; decarb kit, o-rings and water tool adapter and am giving it one last chance. It's slightly better than a Solo but I still can't get properly medicated from it, just nicely toasted. Not sure if my heater core is busted or I'm just not hitting it right or something. Will let everyone know how it plays out.

 

[lwien]

Ditto here. If you read any of my comments throughout this thread when I gave advice on my draw technique it was/is and always will be steady long slow draws for best results.

As with just about everything else, I really think it's an individual preference. I can get much more cloud production by drawing hard and fast and for those that are cloud chasers, this may be the best technique but I've also found that long slow draws will not only taste better but will also provide a more even "burn" across the abv. With hard and fast draws, it tends to leave the bud that is in the outer portion of the basket a bit on the green side.

So, in opinion, "best results" can be a very personal thing.

 

[Michel]

Ditto here. If you read any of my comments throughout this thread when I gave advice on my draw technique it was/is and always will be steady long slow draws for best results.

I read a few of your posts on most threads I'm watching since you are a really active member and I respect your sophisticated answers really much. But sadly I have to disagree this time on cloud production, my (faulty) unit produces more vapor with a heavy draw than with a slow one.

Imo the inconsistency in performance of different units isn't making comparisons easier, too...

 

[killick]

Long show draws on a failing unit may not be your best indicator. I'm kinda quietly sitting on the sidelines on this discussion till my unit gets back. I had a couple of great days before it flailed, let's see if I can replicate those days for another few thousand, and then I'll be a happy puppy

 

[lwien]

Imo the inconsistency in performance of different units isn't making comparisons easier, too...

I wonder if this has to do with the various firmware changes that they've made.

 

[killick]

I'm sure that with Hermes being in a state of flux, with a bunch of randomly performing units, had created a lot of change there. We know there are at least 2 types of cores out there (maybe more than 1 variant of each type, as well), and multiple firmware versions, you really start to wonder if the unit you have is the same as the neighbors unit, or if the only thing we have in common is a spiffy cover. I'm looking forward to having the most current one, especially if it lasts longer than 6 days this time, and gives me the medical efficacy I purchased it for.

I'm double-posting, but feel it is warranted (ops may disagree, which is entirely their choice, but...)

Hello Mr. Killick,

Your unit has being updated and the internal heater replaced with the new heating technology.

Please, let us know if you prefer to order some accessories and ship everything together.

Thanks and best regards,
Alfredo

 

[lazylathe]

Had my replacement MV since December 2014.
This one has not skipped a beat since the first basket on December 25th!!

Hard and fast, slow and steady pulls all work on my MV.
When my wife uses it, she takes small pulls that are maybe 5 seconds long and she exhales nice clouds all the time. No coughing at all.

When we use it together I leave it on Blurple for most of the session until she is done then it gets bumped up to Green fo me to finish it off.

Still rocking my boro test tube capsule that I made instead of the mesh baskets. Finding it to work so much better and the flavor is really extended almost till the last draw!
Quick, easy to use, easy to clean and cheap to replace when broken!

If Hermes could get the heat up time to Two minutes, the MV would be my daily driver!!

 

[killick]

The heatup time... I was using my Inhalater when the MV was heating up. Thats when you know you have a problem - a vape in each hand, and a couple on standby, just in case

I'm going to have to search your test tube adapter! I remember reading it when it first posted, but I didn't have an MV then so wasn't paying close attention. I did find that I have a bunch of mesh baskets from the EQ here that work well, but glass is a good option as well.

 

[Michel]

Just cleaned my MV with ISO to send it to warranty.
Unfortunately not all plastic parts are ISO-proof and some are bleaching out after a really short ISO whip (on this high quality vape with inert materials...)

Damn I really had no luck with this thing!

 

[stickstones]

I asked about the laminar air flow but we didn't have time for a good explanation. I was surprised by the claim, since most vape makers that address the subject are trying to create turbulence in the air flow to keep heat constant.

 

[spoutti]

@Michel tx for your honnest long feedback. I like the fact you are revealing the good AND the bad. It helps lurker like me forming an honest opignon as to should I buy it, now, or later. I was fooled in another tread buying blindly direct from the manufacturer. Only to discover I needed to buy more stuff to vape like I should have in the first place.

I read from about page 80 to 130, still slowly going. Having discovered the power of double fisted solos last week slowed my vas and reading speed I like the idea of low maintenance, stirless, 100% convection that never waste your load. Take a huge cloud and wait a few minutes for next cloud without other waste than the exhaled vapors.

I thought I read a few times how efficient the mv is by other reports, but even hermes said the tcmv doesnt fully extract. So im now confused.. Can we get more clouds from mv abv in another vaporizer?

And thanks for everyone else reports as well. Very helpful. I plan on buying one powerful portable. Im reading here and the mighty tread

 

[killick]

@spoutti I don't believe any vaporizer is capable of 'full and complete' extraction. And even in the darkest of dark ABV (not black of course) you can squeeze more from it in a firecracker or other method. I bought the MV purely for your 2nd paragraph (outside of the Solo - I've yet to try one O them). And I got this one to match your last paragraph! Hopefully it's 'the' one

Funny, but just this morning I mentioned the MV to a fellow vet on a Canadian military MM group we both belong to. He looked at it, and sent me a note saying 'darn, VN is sold out, so I just got one direct from the manufacturer'. I kinda wish we could have discussed it a bit more, but in the end I know he's getting a great vape directly from the place that has the best ones available. I'm really looking forward to reading his reviews on the forum

 

[lwien]

@spoutti I don't believe any vaporizer is capable of 'full and complete' extraction. And even in the darkest of dark ABV (not black of course) you can squeeze more from it in a firecracker or other method.

Yup. The extraction is every bit as complete from my teflon core MV as it is from my LSV (right when it starts tasting a bit nasty).

 

[killick]

Is there anything active left in your ABV? Or do you toss it? And I'm not disagreeing about the MV being efficient. I'm only commenting on how there aren't any real 'complete and full' ways to extract things from a plant, short of eating it. And from a vaping perspective my own version of 'full and complete' isn't necessarily always really dark. Before I discovered water my ABV was much lighter. Right now I have a bunch of shades of green in there, mainly because I'm learning how to use a Vapman, and pulling things out too early to see what colour they are, whereas the HI is getting smaller loads, and getting much darker before getting dumped after 2 or 3 draws...

On an unrelated note... Is it just me, or does anyone else find it kinda funny that we are dedicating a lot of time and thought into discussing what is sorta/kinda like discussing oregano in a potpourri diffuser? It's probably just me

 

[lwien]

Is there anything active left in your ABV? Or do you toss it?

No, I don't toss it because 2gr of it sprinkled in my steel cut oatmeal gets me lifted for about 6 hours. My ABV is a medium/dark brown and I judge when it's done in my vape when it begins to taste kinda nasty. With my MV though, it never gets to that taste, but rather just ceases to produce anymore vapor, even on red but the color of the ABV is exactly the same as when I'm done with it in my LSV.

 

[MinnBobber]

No, I don't toss it because 2gr of it sprinkled in my steel cut oatmeal gets me lifted for about 6 hours. My ABV is a medium/dark brown and I judge when it's done in my vape when it begins to taste kinda nasty. With my MV though, it never gets to that taste, but rather just ceases to produce anymore vapor, even on red but the color of the ABV is exactly the same as when I'm done with it in my LSV.

..................................................

I find my Teflon core mV to extract as well as other vapes. I have to wonder why Hermes said it doesn't extract fully. I find the ABV to be lighter in color than from other vapes (like Mighty) but just as well extracted. This, even though mV is at 440 F and Mighty at 410 F.
Like lwien said, it is different from most vapes in that it never tastes nasty, just ceases to produce vapor.

 

[spoutti]

On an unrelated note... Is it just me, or does anyone else find it kinda funny that we are dedicating a lot of time and thought into discussing what is sorta/kinda like discussing oregano in a potpourri diffuser? It's probably just me

I think its because we love what we do! The more we know about the mv, or vaping in general, the better we get at it. If it was more legal, and scientificly experimented, I wouldnt have needed to read from a cat avatar how little herbs can acheive my desired effects. again @lwien

 

[lwien]

Like lwien said, it is different from most vapes in that it never tastes nasty, just ceases to produce vapor.

I find this totally unique as compared to any other vaporizer that I've ever used.

 

[lazylightning]

I find my Teflon core mV to extract as well as other vapes. I have to wonder why Hermes said it doesn't extract fully.

I wonder if it's mostly because english isn't their first language. Since no vaporizer would extract 100%, they did make an accurate statement.

@Michel, I'd be interested in Hermes' exact wording.

Another interesting info I got from Hermes himself is: the 2015 tcmv isn't able to fully extract your goodies.

Did they say that the 2015 tcmv is less able to extract than the 2014 tcmv? Could it have been a statement in general that no vaporizer extracts completely? Maybe some context would help.

 

[killick]

A great observation I hadn't quite reached yet! Here I am (or, rather, will be soon) chugging away, wondering why it seems so light... And then I check it and change basket contents...

I'm looking forward to sharing my lovely happy new MV when it does up. I do hope it's the same colour... But if it does what it's supposed to we will get along great regardless. It's not about the colour

 

[Michel]

Yup. The extraction is every bit as complete from my teflon core MV as it is from my LSV (right when it starts tasting a bit nasty).

When it starts tasting nasty on the mighty I crank up the temp on 200-207'C and suck the bowl out until there isn't anything left. Really, nothing, not a whispy cloud.

This doubles at least the number of hits I'm getting from a bowl. The taste isn't good, bud I'm getting really sedated of this prolonged session with lots of CBD! Nearly like combusting, no joke. Not just a slight buzz or an uplifting high or anything like that. Others could find it uncomfortable to be wrecked like this during day time, I do enjoy being "fucked up" and I'm even going to work like this sometimes (depending on who I work with and how serious things are.) But I smoked even a joint before passing my driver license when I was young and stupid. Not proud of this, just to tell you I feel really comfortable and secure when medicated ( at least most of the times in a day).

My ABV is completely worthless. Dust, bone-dry, stinks like asshole, not like popcorn or roasted or anything like this.

I tried vaping the reclaim of my Cooling Unit in the mighty. Tastes really awful. I wanted to vomit. Really awful. I can't imagine anybody would vape, eat or smoke my ABV or reclaim. Eating in a capsule should be possible, edibles to. The problem is eating MJ just don't get me high. I don't know why, I have to overdose like to eat 2-10g of weed in edibles to feel a buzz. I know how decarboxylation works over time, so this wasn't the problem when cooking or baking with weed. I'm weird and I fear I combusted to much weed in my life so the S&B portabkes could be the only vapes matching my needs... And the gcmv, too, hopefully!

Edit: @lazylightning

Me: "We just had a very nice talk on the phone 2 hours ago. My unit is defective and I need your address of the new office.
Would you say it is worth to get the glass core update? Isn't the decarboxylation kit just the same like the glass core?"

Hermes: "Yes, the decarboxylation increases the heat in the loading chamber. The glass core do it by itself but the power consumption is slightly higher.
Taste is affected by the glass core, but the vapor is thicker increasing also the therapeutic affect of herbs."

Since I'm not doing marketing for Hermes, I formulated his answer in a more clearer, not so misleading way.

 

[lazylightning]

Hermes: "Yes, the decarboxylation increases the heat in the loading chamber. The glass core do it by itself but the power consumption is slightly higher.
Taste is affected by the glass core, but the vapor is thicker increasing also the therapeutic affect of herbs."

I think this has been discussed on the forum before. The glass core or the decarboxylation kit does increase the heat in the loading chamber which in turn increases conduction (as opposed to convection). It may take longer to extract the same amount with a teflon core or it may extract slightly different compounds than the glass core, but I don't think it's accurate to say it is less capable of extraction.

You could also say that the gcmv is less capable of extracting everything, meaning that the subtle terpenoids that the tcmv extracts so well are missing (that's the taste Hermes mentioned).

I personally prefer less heat in the loading chamber. The taste of full convection is just better to me and it's worth an extra hit or two to extract it. There are lots of others who prefer the taste and/or effects of some conduction. I think it's great there's a choice between glass and teflon so we can all be happy!

 

[Michel]

I think this has been discussed on the forum before

I know, thx. I read the complete thread and the comparisons between the tcmv 2014, tcmv 2015 and the gcmv. I'm just the type of guy making his own opinions, even after very sophisticated reviews I like to verify things myself and see if I can agree or not, even if this means being alone with my opinion. Not to offend you guys, but Hermes could answer me more sophisticated than some of you probably. But I was wrong. I hoped to get a more elaborated answer from Alfredo than what I already read here. Feels like spinning in a circle. Hermes is probably only repeating the thoughts beta-testers from FC were mailing back to him before the new gcmv was released.

Taste was the reason why I bought the tcmv 2014. I was fully aware of buying the old model. It was on purpose since a member I respect here on the thread reviewed all models and just posted this as his personal opinion. I thought I could update through all stages without problems anyways and get even the decarb Kit if the tcmv 2014 could not fit my needs. I was sadly wrong on this, too.



Edit: you should consider, too, I asked Alfredo those questions months ago...

I still don't know if I should just get the decarboxylation Kit or the gcmv, since the GC can't change it's bowl type like the TC in just a minute but could probably perform better. Hard choice to make and no clear answers.

You are playing with semantics and you are repeating what has been already said, what makes me sound "dumb".
More vapor and more effects on the gcmv logically means less vapor and less effects (but better taste) on the tcmv. It doesn't change nothing if the bowl is half-full or half-empty

Sry for my clear words,

so we can all be happy!

but I'm really not.

I should shut my mouth like some advised me to do in a more politely way until I have a "working" unit probably (or a GC). Doesn't change anything on the fact that my "defective" unit performs as good as some of others with invisible or whispy clouds here on the thread (not caused due to user errors). I can top even vapefiend on the review posted above easily with clouds, but not the bearded guy towards the end. I could be nasty again and say that it's not obvious to see in the vid where he draws on, could be a joint, too. But I'm just thinking loud, don't burn me for this. I tried anything being politely, saying things like my unit probably isn't running hot enough. But to be clear again, imho, the 2014 tcmv is just shitty and overpriced. But I'm looking forward to the gcmv anyways and I'll try to express my thoughts in a more respectful way in the future.

The crazy thing here on the thread is, by just saying "I love my MV" in a more inventive way earns you 5 likes at least. Just look at the post above just repeating mine in a positive way. You only repeated my post and others, perhaps even yours and merged them to say I'm wrong with what I wrote down just before myself (and others before me of course did, too, but it's just about what mighty Alfredo has to add to my thoughts himself which sadly is way less than I expected, just by the way.) Sry if I did not get your post, sry for the third time to all still reading this rant with very clear words, but I'm tired of the group dynamics happening here and I'm off this thread until I finally have a gcmv to review, feel lucky. This is why I'm not on Facebook probably.... 2014 tcmv is shitty, just imo. Please respect that or convince me with sophisticated posts, I'm willing to learn since I blew 500€ on this thing. But I'm not getting high (or stoned, is more what I'm looking for) properly off a volcano with 1g anyways. I feel a buzz of course but no satisfaction. No joke, first day I used my volcano I blew 28g of Amnesia Haze with wifey through this thing. But I was dumb and I we were combusting aside (not counted within the 28g). Now I have a mighty and I vape only 2-5g a day only a year later. Believe it ir not, the mighty made me stop combust after nearly 20 years without problems. It was a life changer. I wanted to smoke of course for the first days but taste was more awful than the last cloud on mighty at 210'C. So most of you can ignore my rant anyways since my tolerance isn't average at all. Perhaps some should combust once just to remember what it's like to be sedated, unless you are happy with a buzz from vaping of course.

Before there is a shit storm on me now, please consider I am only talking about the 2014 tcmv. It works in a way, since my mighty was on warranty for a week and my crafty is always on dead batteries. So it was getting me high in a way, just not blasting me away like I expected too and the clouds aren't consistent. With water it's "ok", but can't keep up with a really tamped bowl of the mighty. A fluffy fill in S&B units is resulting in whispy clouds, too, even if they advise you to charge it that way. Give it a hard tamp and overfill the bowl, heat up to 200 degrees and I will excuse for my post in a second if it's not blowing the 2014 tcmv away... Still don't know about the GC. Perhaps it's just hermes fault, he gave me enough time to find out why I dislike my (defective or shitty?) unit and didn't care for customers for months giving them enough time to rant...

Or, there are only a hand full of working tcmv 2014 out there and most of you are just satisfied with the other underperforming ones?

I know I'm leaning out the window very far with my statements. So please correct me again if I'm wrong, I w

 

[killick]

I find this totally unique as compared to any other vaporizer that I've ever used.

So I've been cogitating on that for a bit... it's got to be the max temp that comes out of the heater. There is no real way *to* combust if the heater can't go above that magical number. Of course this isn't rocket surgery, but I've been in a different planet for the past few months, so this is a bit of rocket surgery for me

 

[lazylightning]

Of course this isn't rocket surgery

Rocket surgery sounds like the illegitimate child of rocket science and brain surgery.

Or, there are only a hand full of working tcmv 2014 out there and most of you are just satisfied with the other underperforming ones?

I had a 2014 tcmv that worked perfectly for several months. I also have another tcmv that runs so hot it nearly combusts on blue. The one that worked perfectly started giving out after a few months and now it only gives whisps of vapor like you describe. I'm sending them both back as soon as I get the new tcmv that Hermes sent me last week.

I understand your frustration with Hermes' customer service. I've posted about it a number of times too and it could obviously use a lot of improvement. But I think you should wait until you have a working MV to judge whether you like it or not. When it works like it's supposed to, it easily beats most plug-in units IMO.