is it 100% rohs compliant?
The parts that can be RoHS compliant are compliant... This applies to
the
electronic components. There isn't a RoHS standard that we know about
for
our glass, rubber, ceramic and wood. We choose medical grade where
possible, with the high temperature silicone and the plastic tubing.
We
take care that the materials are not dirty and made with other
components
we wouldn't want gassing out of the vaporizer. The wood and paints are
either from Europe or of the European standard, which is low VOC and
generally on a much better level than what's allowed in the US as far
as
toxins are concerned.
what chemicals are used in the finish of this vaporizer?
Tons of organic solvents and dyes, but the solvents gas off during the
curing time, and in our heated "box burn-in" at our workshop. The
finish
is sometimes a danish oil wax finish, and sometimes a European
regulation-friendly polyurethane. Once it reaches your hands, it
smells
a
little of finish, but is emitting solvents in trace amounts. Any other
item in your kitchen, school, hospital, etc., will emit more than this
box.
what paint is used for the black part inside the vaporizer?
It is a high temperature ceramic filled enamel paint, intended for use
on
the hot outer surfaces of ovens that cook food. It's rated for 1600F,
so
at our temperatures we don't see it offgassing any time soon.
Can the vaporizer reach a high enough temperature to outgas these
chemicals?
In tiny amounts. We pre cook off anything that wants to come out.
What
remains is a little glue, finish, wood smell, but less than what you'd
inhale anywhere else. We've verified using a bunch of tests, including
TO-15 testing for VOC's, to make sure you aren't exposed to anything
more
than what you would in daily life.
Also what is with the recent price increase?
Long time coming. We were trying to keep this thing low cost for all
people to enjoy. We were even competing in price against knockoffs
that
don't do anything as difficult as what we do. We were pretty good at
it.
Didn't raise our prices for almost 10 years, which is totally stupid to
some people. But the crash in 2008 killed a lot of our key sources,
and
the cost of our parts went up by 2-8 times. Several factory owners got
old
and gave the businesses to their sons, who don't care so much for our
stuff, which always requires extra careful attention & costly
materials.
Times are harder for the high end anal people like us.
An ssv is only 30 dollars more than your black coffee. An ssv has a 3
year
warranty, much more accesories, and is widely considered a superior
product.
Yup, they get it done pretty well. We have a little edge on the
warranty
I think, but I haven't seen it recently.. although we do fix units for
at
least 5 years with a small flat fee, then offer a super discounted new
unit
to anybody with a unit more than 5 years old. We have to sell our unit
for
what it costs us... we're not doing any competitive posturing with our
pricing... just want to get the thing made right and out the door.
Also, does the vapor path go through any electronics, or any unsafe
places
that could cause toxins to be released?
Not really. We see most air goes right in the front of the unit and
turns
around inside and goes into the back of the heater. There are
electronics
in that vicinity, but they are carefully controlled to be lead free,
etc,
and also they are designed to run cool and not stink. The testing we
do
doesn't find any issue with the air that runs through the unit.
Also, why have you guys not changed the heater angle if you raised the
price?
Our price increase isn't tied to any particular improvements. We make
improvements constantly and don't change the price. It is just
reflecting
the massive cost increase of building good quality vaporizers in the
USA.
Changing the angle would double or triple the price, because we'd have
to
change everything to do it. Would have to move to a metal housing, and
figure a new way to hold the heater without overheating anything. The
vape
may become uglier, easy to tip, prone to overheating, etc... unless we
figure out a better way.
The angle is considered the major downfall of this vaporizer.
Yup, but we got over it long ago when we were told by most of our
customers that it was a minor issue once they get used to their
vaporizer.
The vape is constructed from wood very simply, and cools itself well
with
the angle like that. If anybody can figure out an easy way to angle
the
heater down without making the box fall over or overheat, we want to
know.
About a month later at another party it happened again same response from Vaporbrothers customer service.. I am very clear at all vaping sessions with my friends about sucking in and not blowing air thru!! Some say Im over protective of my unit but I didnt like the week of down time I had each time.. 
