Silver Surfer Vaporizer

[max]

Tygon silicone is very expensive. The Silcon brand is less than a third the price and does just as well for vape tubing.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/search.asp?search=silcon+tubing

much better than the shit the 7th floor gives/sells you

It's not shit. Better than what you get with some vapes. The only real world advantage of silicone is a slight improvement in taste, and that's only if your taste buds can tell the difference.

 

[highendvapes]

Tygon silicone is very expensive. The Silcon brand is less than a third the price and does just as well for vape tubing.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/search.asp?search=silcon+tubing

much better than the shit the 7th floor gives/sells you

It's not shit. Better than what you get with some vapes. The only real world advantage of silicone is a slight improvement in taste, and that's only if your taste buds can tell the difference.

Thanks Max, I didnt think that it was that bad of tubing. I definatly have used worse that came with crappy vapes. I was on 7th floors webpage last night and ordered an ice cooler and some tubing. This thing is drying the crap outta my throat. Its really my only complaint when it comes to vaping. I hope the ice will help.

 

[max]

This thing is drying the crap outta my throat.

You might try a lower temp setting and easier draws. I've used a couple of models that dried my throat out pretty bad. It was due to larger airways and therefore a larger amount of air per hit (lower vapor to air ratio). The SSV doesn't really bother me in that respect, but my draws are slow and easy. The Surfer is good for a high vapor/air ratio, so a slow draw gets me a lot of vapor without a lot of hot air hitting my throat. A slow draw also gives the vapor more travel time for cooling.

 

[Beezleb]

Try wetting the mouthpiece with cool water before taking a draw and take a sip of something cold before drawing, it will help.

 

[leozdad]

If you have a glass mouthpiece could you put it in the freezer before using it?

 

[Beezleb]

Probably, but freezing glass and it reheating it quickly tends to be a bad thing but I doubt it would heat up enough to matter.

 

[NoSmoke]

I finally got a camara! Heres a crappy pic of my beloved Surfer I'll add better ones!

 

[surfinusa]

i buy my tubing at lowes. works fine....cheap too.

 

[max]

i buy my tubing at lowes. works fine....cheap too.

As long as it's food grade.

 

[max]

The most recent posts, starting with tuttle's Hakko/SSV mod, have been moved to the 'Modding the SSV' thread, which is clearly the more appropriate thread. In the future please remember we have an SSV thread, and an SSV mod thread.

 

[Motokid600]

I just bought an SSV and so far i love the thing. Ive been using it regularly for the past few weeks. This whole time though i got this little thought in my head that im doing something wrong and that i could get alot more out of it. The hits seems to be on and off at times. Which brings me to me first question.

Exactly what makes a good hit? I would pack the wand about halfway usually with well ground herb out of a spacecase, turn the dial to about 2 o'clock . I hit it through a bong by just sticking the tube in the downstem (also herd that water effects the potency of the vapor? ) and maybe get about 4 or 5 milky hits. ( ive been assuming this whole time the thick vapor is what i want) Eventually it would stop milking up till the point where it looks like im getting nothing, even though my herb is still partially green... partially. To sum all this up i basically want to know is that i may be doing wrong.

 

[Pseudonymous]

I may be coming into a few disposable funds sometime soon, so I want to ask some of you three questions:

1) Do any of you use the aroma top? Does it work well?

2) I am thinking of getting a water pipe with my SSV, in particular SSV WFCM 28 (http://www.silversurfervap.com/Vaporizer_water_filter.htm) Is this the best style of water pipe one can use with the SSV? Are there any advantages of the twister percolator over the percolator tree?

3) Another possibility is pairing it up with a bong. I am thinking of getting Ice Chamber 3 (http://www.silversurfervap.com/icechamber.htm), but it is quite pricey. Is this a good price for a bong like that? How practical is it to use this both for smoke and vapour, or is it really best to just use it for vapour?

 

[Longburn]

Help please. My off/on knob has stopped working properly!!

Up until yesterday when turning on my SSV, the knob would make a little 'click' and the indicator light would come on (as you'd expect). However when I turned it on this morning there was no 'click' and no resistance of a click at the usual point, when the knob is rotated further the light/element then sometimes turn on , i.e. I can rotate the knob fully around and the element light may come on at say, 9 o'clock, or perhaps 2 o'clock or 4 o'clock, but this seems somewhat random, other times turning the dial may achieve nothing or then the light/element turns on when the knob is turned back to the beginning position. But at least I have been able to coax it on enough to vape altho I have no real way on knowing what stength the element is heating at.

I know the glass knob can be pulled off and the little metal knob underneath can be rotated around, however I am not sure what can be done to remedy the problem. The unit has been functioning perfectly for 7 months since purchase, it has never been dropped/knocked, and was simply switched off as usual and when turned on the next day no longer functioned as it had been. As I dont live in the States and returning it to 7th floor is a little more of a hassle and cost, does anyone have any thoughts? Has anyone encountered this before or have a good idea of what may have gone wrong and how to fix it?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

 

[tuttle]

I know the glass knob can be pulled off and the little metal knob underneath can be rotated around, however I am not sure what can be done to remedy the problem.

A little unclear here. When you take the knob off, does the shaft rotate and click on as expected, or the shaft itself will rotate about with no click and the LED coming on at odd times? If it is the former, you just need a new knob, if it is the latter, you need a new potentiometer, which will require a call to 7th floor (perhaps they can send you the part).

 

[Longburn]

Yes when the knob is removed and the shaft rotated it rotates without clicking and the LED/element comes on at odd times.

1) Is a potentiometer likely to be an easy part to replace by oneself?

2) Is failure of a potentiometer likely to be just bad luck, or is it a part that is likely to not last long?

3) Is it likely that the potentiometer is a fairly generic part that I could pick up at my local electronics parts shop or something that would be hard to find outside of 7th Floor?

thanks heaps for replying.

 

[tuttle]

Yes when the knob is removed and the shaft rotated it rotates without clicking and the LED/element comes on at odd times.

1) Is a potentiometer likely to be an easy part to replace by oneself?

2) Is failure of a potentiometer likely to be just bad luck, or is it a part that is likely to not last long?

3) Is it likely that the potentiometer is a fairly generic part that I could pick up at my local electronics parts shop or something that would be hard to find outside of 7th Floor?

thanks heaps for replying.

My recommendation on which course of action to take depends on how fast you want it fixed. The easiest thing, but the longest, would be to contact 7th floor and see if they will send parts to you. The potentiometer is soldered to a board, and the board is connected to the other items (with the exception of the LED) with quick disconnects, so it is possible they can send you a whole finished board.

If you are comfortable with desoldering and soldering, then yes, just replacing the potentiometer is pretty easy and they are easy to find. The trick is figuring out what the specs are on it, i.e. its resistance and if it is linear taper or logarithmic. The old one might have this stamped on it, something like 100kA, the 100k or what ever it is is the resistance in ohms, so in this case 100 kilo ohms, and the A would either be an A or a B, A denotes logarithmic, B denotes linear taper. Perhaps 7th Floor could help you here as well.

As for if this is common, a failure after just 7 month seems like bad luck, not typical. Potentiometers are pretty simple things and usually provide years of service.

 

[Longburn]

Thanks very much for your knowledge and answers. I will talk with 7th Floor and see what can be done.

 

[weechway]

First off let me start by saying hello to all the vape lovers. I'm glad i found a site where there are others that share love for vapes like me. I got my SSV from a friend about 2 months ago and while i've been smoking and enjoying good herb for the last 19 yrs i started losing my love for the smoke. Although i've tried vapes before and my first experience was with a SSV 4-5 yrs ago at a 420 party i was not too impressed with it. Blame it on brownies,steamrollers,4ft bongs etc. lol after all it was a 420 party and by the time we got to the vapes i was pretty much so high i could see St. Peter lol. Well to the point i talk to a friend whom i've known for yrs and shares the passion for herb like me and i told him how i was tired of feeling downer all the time from smoking herb and how i thought it was time for me to quit. He laughed and said we have a smoking session this weekend if you still feel like quitting by the end of our session then go on through with it.Long story short he shows up at my house for the session we normally have BUT this time he brings a SSV with him sets it up gives me a quick how to and we start blowing very nice clouds of vapor. We barely used a 1/4 of what we normally would use and i feel so amazing no couch lock, bloody eyes,cotton mouth and more importantly no downer effects. I was blown away! After the session my friend is leaving and he says well? what do you think? I tell him fuck i need to buy one right now! He tells me no you dont man that one right there is yours and walks out the door.Since then i've tried all sorts of vapes from the cano to vapochina boxes to the extremes,vapir etc. Nothing works well for me like the SSV thanks 7th floor for such a great product this has truly given me a new way to enjoy my herb and in a much healthier way.All in all best gift ever!

 

[VaporBud]

Welcome to the forum man. That's a good m8 ya got there enjoy your SSV.

 

[Neverender]

Hey guys, I need some clarification please!

I've had my Surfer for about 4 months now (and love it) so I decided to replace the standard vinyl hose that they give you.

From looking through these forums and others, I decided to buy 9ft of this kind/size: http://www.mcmaster.com/#51135K35


However, it appears to me that I purchased the wrong size; the hose is too big and needs to be "squished" on a side to fit into either of my two wands, leaving a gap.


So my question is: What is the official size of the hose that I need to purchase to fit my silver surfer?

Thanks!

 

[King Kong]

3/8th inside, 1/2 inch outside food grade tubing (not 100% sure about the measurements)

 

[tuttle]

However, it appears to me that I purchased the wrong size; the hose is too big and needs to be "squished" on a side to fit into either of my two wands, leaving a gap.

That should fit. What if you wet the wand and the tubing, then try inserting it? It can be a tight fit, so squishing the tubing down then rotating it around a bit until it unfolds seems to work well for me, but it needs to be wet in order to accomplish this.

 

[pollykok]

Why would you use silicon tubing instead of the vinyl tubing that they supply? If they deemed silicon to be better tubing they would have supplied it because it is very cheap, but they upgraded you to vinyl.

 

[stonemonkey55]

Silicone is better than vinyl IMO. Afaik, it us heat resistant to a higher temp and also preserves the vapor flavor better

 

[pollykok]

Silicone is better than vinyl IMO. Afaik, it us heat resistant to a higher temp and also preserves the vapor flavor better

It is in fact heat resistant to a higher temp, but the vinyl tubing should be heat resistant to around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and I'm pretty sure you aren't inhaling vapor at 200 degrees.