Silver Surfer Vaporizer

[420quickscope]

No, i am definitely doing it correctly.
I wait for the element to get red hot.
I even wait for it to get red hot by sitting at max temp for 6 hours and then come home to it.... still can't get a hit until the standard wand has heated up as well.

I never turn it on and hold them stem on.
I at least know how it is -supposed- to be used, but finding I still can't get it to work quite like it should.

This is why i am wondering if my ceramic element needs to be re-adjusted or something else is not right.

Is a lot of strong lung power necessary to be able to hit a SSV? I can't figure out what the issue is here.

You are saying that your unit is red hot, and at max temp. In my experience I do believe this is well above the sufficient vaporizing temperature. How much medicine are you loading into the wand at a time? I like to use .1 and I leave my unit turned to the 1 o clock position as mentioned by Vitolo. If you load too much into the wands then you get restricted airflow, which at a high temperature increases the likelihood of combustion. Which again, you say it is red hot & at max temp.

You are either expecting smoke at this point, or you may need to hold a bright light over you while vaping to see how much vapor your are actually getting.

If you think that your unit is faulty then I would advise calling 7th Floor and talking to Steve or any of the customer service representatives about this issue.

 

[exit]

You are either expecting smoke at this point, or you may need to hold a bright light over you while vaping to see how much vapor your are actually getting.

If you think that your unit is faulty then I would advise calling 7th Floor and talking to Steve or any of the customer service representatives about this issue.

I am not expecting smoke, i am not using it to combust...
I don't always use it at max either but find the hits are most reliable there.
I see people getting immediate hits off of their units dialed in around noon to 3 so that's why I am confused.

I also don't load more than .2 at a time.

I don't think the unit is faultyy because my previous SSV acted like this too.

Will someone please be kind enough to show how far their ceramic heater is placed? I'm wondering if mine is too far from the HC and i don't want to start messing with it when I don't have another point of referecne.

PS when said "red hot" I meant the "red glow" Vitolo mentions.

 

[tuk]

Use Tweak's mod on standard wand: http://imgur.com/a/z0JfT ...make sure screen is same distance from wand opening a'la tweak's pic.
Imagine knob is like a clockface, straight up is 12, straight down is 6.
Attach knob so when pointing to 6 the unit is turned off.
Set kitchen timer for 5 min countdown.
Set knob between 12-1 position.
Start kitchen timer.

After 5 mins, use this draw technique:
You want to suck for as many seconds as you can without stopping/exhaling, so that means making a very small opening with your lips then inhaling as slow as you can, if you inhale too fast your lungs will fill more quickly, the aim is to prolong inhaling as long as possible without stopping, if required use timer and practice...I go for 15-20secs constantly inhaling, lungs should be completely empty before starting, ...so slowly exhale all the way down until you feel the lung walls coming together...then begin inhaling vapour in the slow manner described.

After inhaling for 2-3secs, start slowly rotating wand in circular motions, clockwise-->counter-clock, so load gets even heating.

While inhaling keep your eyes on wand shaft, use thickness/whiteness of vapour passing through shift to guide wand rotations, when vapour turns thick/white, pause wand movements until milked, when vapour goes back to wispy then move on....after 2 rounds(2x continuous inhales & exhales) stir & repeat.

Don't wait for wand to heat up, start inhaling 1 second after docking wand on HC.
----------------------

If this doesn't resolve the issue your unit might be faulty....I can combust with knob at 1 using this setup.

 

[420quickscope]

I am not expecting smoke, i am not using it to combust...
I don't always use it at max either but find the hits are most reliable there.
I see people getting immediate hits off of their units dialed in around noon to 3 so that's why I am confused.

I also don't load more than .2 at a time.

I don't think the unit is faultyy because my previous SSV acted like this too.

Will someone please be kind enough to show how far their ceramic heater is placed? I'm wondering if mine is too far from the HC and i don't want to start messing with it when I don't have another point of referecne.

PS when said "red hot" I meant the "red glow" Vitolo mentions.

The heater is well above the vaporization point of your herb, and in the distance the air travels any residual heat has been lost to the open space. If you think that you need to decrease the distance between your heater and the herb, pull the heater up ever so slightly while the unit is off. turn it back on, let it heat up at the 1-2 o clock position. to get the herb closer to the heater you can make a small basket screen and move it up the wand to where you think the best vapor production is had.

Another tip i could give is to lightly pack your herb. I usually drop the glass marble end of the stirring tool into the wand once to pack the herb, and more drops and i find that the hits start getting tighter and tighter.

At one point or another you should find the proper set of variables to get maximum vapor

 

[tuk]

Don't pull on heating element.

 

[420quickscope]

Don't pull on heating element.

Could you provide more info as to why? From what I understand this would not void the warranty because you would not be removing the base of the unit and tampering with the electronic components.

when my unit arrived for the very first time the heater was shoved halfway down to where the top of the element was at the same height as the carb hole on the heater cover itself. i was experiencing issues similar to Exit where i was hardly getting any vapor until i moved the heater up.
If I had not done this I couldn't have even gotten the many months of vaporization afterwards

 

[420quickscope]

.

Exit's heater is noticeably further down than Tweak's.

 

[tuk]

Could you provide more info as to why?

I've seen 7 of these units and none had any issue with a low heating element, many moons ago a batch of units needed element adjustment, an issue since resolved by 7th floor...but its created something of a myth on the internet, so when people aren't getting the required vapour they start pulling on the element, when the issue is more likely down to their setup/technique, units have been damaged doing this, at least 1 person in this thread made the same mistake.

In the unlikely event the element is slightly low, pulling on it will only move it 1-3 mm closer to the herb, while tweaks mod will bring the element 1-20mm closer to the herb.

 

[Gonzo]

Also, aren't the glass heater covers hand blown? Maybe there is a slight difference from heater cover to heater cover?

 

[420quickscope]

Because I've seen 7 of these units and none had an issue with heating element, there was a time many moons ago when a batch of units needed element adjustment which has since been resolved by 7th floor...but its created something of a myth on the internet, so when people aren't getting the vapour required they start pulling on the element, when the issue is more likley down to their setup/technique, units have been damaged doing this, at least 1 person in this thread made the same mistake.

Even if element is slightly low, pulling on it will only move it 1-3 mm closer to the herb, while tweaks mod will bring the element 1-20mm closer to the herb.

Well put.
Can we also factor in that each Heater cover and Wand have varying diameters when it comes to the carb holes / air paths. I find that my Sgg heater cover with the smallest hole produces much thicker vapor than my Sgg heater cover with the largest hole. I can also tell the difference in draws too because of the resistance in once heater cover vs the other.

 

[420quickscope]

Also, aren't the glass heater covers hand blown? Maybe there is a slight difference from heater cover to heater cover?

Gonzo we just had the same thought at the same time

Exit, I would try doing some quick part swapping with your other vaporizer if they share the same glass type. You might have more satisfactory results

 

[Gonzo]

I remember a similar conversation back in the LSV thread, where people were experimenting pulling the element out. I would not risk damaging the element and would probably just keep experimenting with draw/packing if it were me.

 

[tuk]

I have 4 complete sets of hc/wand, all are unique and slightly different dims, the hc which came with ssv is like an orb while the 3 spares are more nipple like with a smaller, more focused outlet hole ....but all 4 sets produce thick vapour, operating adjustments/differences are very small in practice.

 

[Vitolo]

One thing should be clarified.
While I blow what people call huge clouds on 1st hit,
I do not always get my most dense hits immediately with fresh meds in my wand.
The first hit, or two can be slightly thinner than the 3rd and 4th hits.
To get a very thick hit, One could fill the wand, and do a hit or two... stir it up and THEN set it down until ready to vape.. the next hit will generally be huge , as the weed has gotten to "that point".

 

[exit]

Thanks for the advice guys, as well as the photo detective work
When I get home I will pull my heater element a little closer, if it does not want to budge I will let it be and learn to work with it.

@Vitolo I do the same thing, thank you for the clarification as I was thinking you were able to get hits without the two-hit warmup period

 

[tuk]

I get instint thick vapour after 1-2 secs on the first visit ....When it goes wispy, stir, same thick vapour again.

No 'warming up' required.

 

[Vitolo]

@Vitolo I do the same thing, thank you for the clarification as I was thinking you were able to get hits without the two-hit warmup period

I am able to get hits without a warm-up
It is not so much a warmup period.
Very high quality bud... medical grade has more oils etc.
Sometimes it takes a couple of hits with this type of herb, to get it vaping densely.
By the same token, this type of meds will give countless hits of dense caliber once cranking.. as those rich oils tend to last.
I own 3 SSVs.. one of each type, and it is similar with each setup.

 

[tuk]

Cant be the bud, I only use the best.

Yes, endless clouds using tiny(0.03g) loads is the norm.

More likely you use a different technique.

Suck it & see...

 

[grokit]

Doesn't it sound like the heater element needs to be adjusted?

I believe instructions have been posted here before...

 

[tuk]

Tweak's mod is being used, I doubt a few more mm will make any difference & if it does, would be better to move the screen not the element.

In the unlikely event the element is slightly low, pulling on it will only move it 1-3 mm closer to the herb, while tweaks mod will bring the element 1-20mm closer to the herb.

 

[Raskin666]

I had a similar issue when I first got my SSV, and pulling up a bit so that I could see the tip of the ceramic element when looking straight through the hole in the standard heater cover. Yours looks pretty low to me.

Pulling it up to this position entirely fixed the issues I was having, and I would suspect is the culprit. Just be very gentle

 

[GreenDragon]

Vito,

I miss your old avatar.
It looked like Bogie meets the Matrix.

For you youngsters, non film fans and non sci-fi fans - Vitolo's old avatar looked like Humphrey Bogart was inside the 'Matrix' in the film The Matrix (tinted green).

I can't be the first person to think you resemble Humphrey Bogart.
Does your wife look like Hepburn, Bacall, Lollobrigida, Lupino or Bergman? :-)

P.S. - Thank you for all the knowledge and advice about the SSV and vaporizing. I spent six months gleaning information from FC before purchasing an SSV. With the information from you and others, using and maintaining the SSV has been smooth sailing from the start.

SSV, standard HC, VB miniwand

 

[tuk]

I had a similar issue when I first got my SSV, and pulling up a bit so that I could see the tip of the ceramic element when looking straight through the hole in the standard heater cover. Yours looks pretty low to me.

Pulling it up to this position entirely fixed the issues I was having, and I would suspect is the culprit. Just be very gentle

Can you or anyone else advising this.....explain in scientific terms how pulling on the element will make the slightest bit of difference when he already has the screen near the mouth of the wand?

 

[exit]

Can you or anyone else advising this.....explain in scientific terms how pulling on the element will make the slightest bit of difference when he already has the screen near the mouth of the wand?

If the top of the element is farther away from the top of the glass, the heat source is farther away from where it is effective, therefore you inhale colder air. If you move it a centimeter away it might still work, but if you move it a mile away it won't.

Also look, this page on SSV's site says the element is adjustable and if necessary should be moved so it's high up but not touching the HC glass.

http://silversurfervap.com/silver-surfer-vaporizer-information/heater-cover-help.html

 

[tuk]

If the top of the element is farther away from the top of the glass, the heat source is farther away from where it is effective, therefore you inhale colder air.

Yes, this is true ...but you have effectively moved the heating element by some 15-20mm beyond factory settings already by employing tweak's mod, the distance between element & top of glass is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is the length of path between element & herb.....+ speed of draw.

If you move it a centimetre away it might still work, but if you move it a mile away it won't.

Your element is in same position as mine ...not a mile away or even close to 1cm out of position.

Of the 7 units I've seen, the tip of the element is just below line of sight when you look through the HC exit hole meaning I cant see the element when looking through HC hole at eye level ...the element in all 7 units is in same position as yours & all 7 units can combust loads at 1pm.

Also look, this page on SSV's site says the element is adjustable and if necessary should be moved so it's high up but not touching the HC glass.

http://silversurfervap.com/silver-surfer-vaporizer-information/heater-cover-help.html

That's a video on how to replace or clean the HC, doesn't mention pulling on the element if your not getting enough heat, it advises against the element touching the top glass & shows how to push the element down a little if touching...& the HC in the video is not a standard so there is no relevant reference position to be seen.

& if you look closely when the HC is pushed down, there is only a few 1-2mm of play as the HC springs back almost to where it was.