Discontinued VRIPtech Heating Wand

[stonemonkey55]

AofZ - I usually use my VRIPtech glass when I vape (built in ice catcher) but the beauty of this thing is that if you want to use your own glass pieces, you can do that as well. I had some custom Darkside pieces from my college days that work beautifully as well. I do like the scientific, beaker look of the VRIPtech glass tho.

Vtac, I've experimented with smaller bowls and it still works well. I tried a .1 gram and .2 grams to see how it would work. They both worked great without any issues, just less follow up hits, but the first couple of hits are still extremely tasty. I also agree with you that once you use all glass, you can benchmark anything and everything against that. I'm still trying to get an answer from VRIPtech whether the ceramic heating element is exposed to the air that passes by it, or if it is sealed in glass, and the air only travels over the hot glass...either way, at this point, I believe that this set up allows you to taste your medicine in it's purest form. Being able to vape organic, outdoor medicine is truly a treat. I can taste the entire spectrum of flavor, and if you clean out the water after each strain, the difference in taste become even more apparent.

I'll get some additional pictures later on today when I get home, maybe I'll have to make a pit stop at lunch stealth style! LOL

 

[Clear_Dome]

the heater seem realy big no ? look as big as the bong on the pix LOL ...but look realy nice ! I had in the past a similare vaporizer but now it's broke ....it was working realy well

 

[vaporcloud]

That would be my biggest fear. Take a giant hit and drop and brake the heating wand.

 

[Acolyte of Zinglon]

is the hole on the outlet like the ssv where it shoots out a jet of hot air and you move it around to cook the entire bowl?

honestly i think this vape is great, and if i decide to start a glass collection (or i get a really nice bong) id choose this over the herbo (no offense marcuss )

 

[stonemonkey55]

Vaporcloud, I do not think it would shatter if you dropped it on the floor. It feels pretty strong and sturdy to me but I'm not going to take my chances...

Cleardome - I am going off of memory but I would say the heat tool is about 7-8 inches long, so not that big at all, like holding 4 - 5 pencils together

AofZ - again, I am going off of memory but the hole is larger than the standard SSV heater cover but not quite as big as the ground glass heater cover. You do not need to move it around to cook the entire bowl but there is some wiggle room if you want to "aim" the hot air, but the conical nature of the glass adaptor focuses all the hot air (via venturi effect, love that term) to where you need it anyways.

I won't go as far as saying that this is better than the Herbo, but if you live in the united states, I like to think of it as our version of the Herbo. If I lived in the Europe, closer to Seb, the Herbo would make more sense, esp if things break and I need replacement parts. Since I live in America, this is a great alternative and you have the option to go with VRIP glassware or your own glassware if the VRIP stuff doesn't float your boat. Either way, gotta love the options!

 

[marcuss]

no problem AoZ i know that at the end you will buy all of them ....just start with one please!
Anyway i should not compare this ceramic heating wand to the herbo....first of all the big difference is the steel vs the ceramic that affects the taste then...i'm not that hedonist....but style is not water....i'm sure VRIP heating wand is a quality vape but his design is very poor IMO and everybody know how much cost a ceramic element solder...C_D can tell us something

 

[stonemonkey55]

Marcuss, I'm well aware that ceramic heating elements aren't very expensive but I still think it is worth the price....much like the SSV! I am very happy with this heating tool but I am not an engineer, not even close, what areas do you think are designed poorly. I have a pre-production version so if there are any enhancements or areas that you think can be improved, please let me know. Thanks in advanced

 

[stonemonkey55]

Took some pictures on my lunch break to show you the exact measurements of the wand, it is about 9 inches or 23 centimeters:




Here is a picture of the air outlet




Here is also a reply back from VRIPtech illustrating why taking vapes from an all glass vaporizer produces the tastiest vapor:

As far as why glass is better than plastic or silicone tubing comes down to
the nature of the materials. Glass is practically pure silica; Pyrex, or
borosilicate is a crystalline structure with a perfect hydrogen bonded
organizational network like all vital life (think water based substances
such as blood and sap or solid mineral silicates like granite, tourmaline,
quartz, etc) made out of the most prevalent mineral in life.

Silica does not off gas anything!!! Plastic and Silicon (silicone obviously being the lesser of the
two) both can off gas chemicals in the temperature range we're concerned
with here, natural and synthetic, that will affect taste and perhaps worst:
health. Silicone should be fine, health wise, as long as it's clean, medical
grade where the only bi-product with heat should be acetic acid given off
(think vinegar vapors) although the lubricants used in the manufacturing of
many of the silicone products out there are petroleum based and some
silicone products have the potential to off gas chloride ions (aka Agent
Orange/Chlorine gas).

At the end of the day, to inhale the high vibrational healing essences of
phyto-compounds found in various flowers and plants through the dead
vibrational field of petroleum-based plastics or even a synthesized "medical
grade" polymer will both affect the aromatic and energetic state of said
essences...in my mind this is just plain silly when you don't need to! And
this is to say nothing of the gobs of good aromatic oils that are loss to
the hose materials due to radical polarity differences preventing the
delivery of some of the vapor in every single extraction and inhalation
attempt. With glass or quartz you'll lose less because the polarity
difference is not as pronounced and what you do lose you can extract
later...the de-carboloxated honey from the vrip stems is simply divine and
not that hard to extract cleanly...I've had some insane sessions with this
stuff. Can you imagine trying to scrape oil residue from a plastic
hose....ewwww even the thought gives me the willys because I know some heads
in the dryer areas are doing this!

Aromatic Vapors should only be inhaled through Glass, Quartz, or perhaps
stainless assuming it has already been cooled...at least in my humble,
Pre-Med Allopathic, Naturapathic, TCM, and Medical Aromatherapy- educated
opinion.

There you have it, straight from the horses mouth...

 

[vtac]

What a mouthful. Not sure I even fully understand some of that. Glass is clean, I guess we can all agree on that. But If vaporizer heat is really causing tubing/etc. to off gas these dangerous things, I'd like to see some studies demonstrating that, since that's basically saying 95% of the vaporizers on the market are potentially releasing toxins. What about the Steinel heatgun that VRIP sells? Best in class as we know, but the airpath is not 100% glass.



I do see a VRIP wand in my future though.

And thanks for the pics!

 

[stonemonkey55]

Vtac, LOL, I was going to try and edit some things that weren?t that clear to me but I decided to just let it be, I got the jist of what he was trying to communicate even if I didn?t grasp everything 100%. Whether or not the tubes off gas anything what we can agree on is that the glass will not. It?s not a big enough concern to me where I will not be using my SSV anymore, there is definitely still a time and place for that, esp since I?ve switched to the med grade silicone tubing. For the time being, the majority of my time is spent with the VRIP heating tool, with the Purple Days hitting clean up for the evenings and sporadically throughout the day.

I?m sure the heat guns off gas something, although I recall you posted something from him that went into more detail about the dangers of the heat gun, which is probably the reason for the new heating tool. Sometimes I wonder what smokers from another generation would say if they saw all of our vaporizing toys? I guess I will have to give good ole Eagle Bill a sincere ?thank you? for coming up with the heat gun method which eventually evolved into this heating tool.

 

[vaporcloud]

Its amazing that we have gone from combusting through plastic drink bottle bongs, aluminum can pipes using dodgy butane lighters to isolating possible toxins given off by plastic whips during the vaporization process.

People will wisper to themselves as we walk down stoner street 'Those guys look sooooo healthy, they must vaporize'

 

[vtac]

Ah, relativity. Well said. Plastic bottle/shaft and carb holes melted out with cigarette/plastic bic pen shaft/unknown metal-plated-coaxial-cable-piece-bowl was my specialty.

Mark from VRIP tech is a cool guy, said he's not a forum guy but to go ahead and quote any of his emails. Sure there's always some spin from a company, but they could tell me vaporizing at exactly 201.0000034 C will cause you to go blind-- This heating wand looks fantastic from my own conclusions. How about pics of that 2 piece bowl? LOL sorry, sm55... what a demanding jerk I am. Really just want to get a better look at how it works.

Interesting fact:

That said, even though we're small, we've still sold more units than anyone else other than PlasticSmith (BC vaporizer). In effect we've sold more than anyone else who sells a unit that works...so we must be doing something right! And we've been doing it since '99!

Edit, more quoting

The first handful of production equivalent units are done, but we're still waiting on the production tooling to be able to keep each piece consistent and improve the new smaller upper intake that accepts the wand (the one you see was done by hand without tooling and doesn't have a carb handle). The standard Vrip lower bowls will work with both the new shorty upper intake for the wand and the standard upper intake for the Steinel heat guns so existing Vrips can be upgraded easily and the modular convenience is maintained.

It will be about a month until we ramp up production as we only have 50 heaters in stock right now. We expect this one to sell out quick so stay on me and I'll make sure you get dialed out of the first run. We should have plenty more by early December just in time for the holidaze.

The current design you see in the pics benefited from over eight different designs tested and a number of variations: it was considerably better than any other design in terms of thermal exchange and extraction efficiency because of the unique vortex inducing intake orifices (the holes are aimed to create immediate spin and not just holes through the glass; you can kind of tell from the one pic). As usual the simplest bio-mimicked design works best!

 

[max]

The Vriptech lecture on all the non glass toxins reminds me of Arizer's 'Features' page- "Others use metals, plastics, Teflon, aluminum and even wood in their construction or parts which can give off harmful toxins, bad taste and a poor experience."

But of course the Extreme doesn't measure up either, since it uses tubing. :/

A little perspective on the claimed horrors of tubing. If (and since there's no evidence to back it up, it's a big 'if') there are any significant toxins inhaled through food grade (or better) vape tubing, it would be a drop in the bucket compared to the daily toxins we're all exposed to on a daily basis, including the toxins in smoke, tobacco or cannabis. The quantity of volatile organic compounds found in the average home are 2 to 5 times the amount we're exposed to outdoors, everything from pressed wood and carpeting to air fresheners and other common household products. Formaldehyde is off gassed at room temps from furniture, particle board, foam insulation and even permanent press fabrics. It's also a by-product of any combustion, including natural gas.

Sorry but I can't put much stock in Vriptech's anti 'everything but glass' stance, especially since they've been selling industrial heat guns for years that are obviously not made for inhalation. And I admit I don't like 'bad mouth advertising'. I've had plenty of that this election season.

 

[vtac]

Hehe I knew parts of those quotes would provide some excitement. I dislike negative advertising ('Rovian politics' it's been called recently ) too, that's one of of the reasons I didn't put much stock in Vriptech after first reading the copy on their site.

Most of us here will take that stuff with a grain of salt, but you're right, it's unfortunate that many people believe there's only 1 good vaporizer and all the rest are dangerous or inferior because of these tactics.

Even if Vrip does lose some karma for that, I'm hoping this wand will speak for itself. Not sure why I'm so excited about it, need a new toy I guess, and it looks cool... and you guys all have your I-inhales stonemonkey's big 'thumbs up' is helping too.

 

[vaporcloud]

I'm afraid it gets worse if you delve further into the site. There is a page dedicated to side by side comparisons of vapes and although Vrip don't bad mouth any vapes they certianly make them all seem somewhat tainted.

Interesting they don't mention the herbalaire (all glass) or the Euro Herbos, Aromed etc. And if after reading that it would make you think un-water filtered vapor is very very dry and WILL irritate your throat.

Why do this? Its a quality product that has out sold all other vapes (according to the marketing hype) so no need for lop sided comparisons. But Vrip are not alone. The 7th floor have a comparisons page that pretty much puts the boot into anything other than a SSV or DBV.

And then Vaporite say there box vape is the heathliest on the planet (oh pleeeeeeeeze).

If it was 230/240v the Vriptech wand would be on my shopping list. No hype required!

 

[Hennessy1414]

could i just get a high wattage hakko and somehow fix a glass tube to it with tiny air jets on the bottom? a custom glass order

 

[stonemonkey55]

Just wanted to add my two cents on this topic of negative advertising. While I do not condone it, I do not feel they should lose any karma points over it either. I?ve had conversations with Mark at VRIPTech, Steve at 7th floor, and the guy that heads up Arizer, and I honestly believe that they all really believe their own marketing hype and are not merely using scare tactics. I will say that it would be nice if they had some quantifiable data to back up their statements though.

I work for a hi-tech software firm and our average sales price is north of 5 million. As much as we would like to rely on our product and let it stand for itself, we also need to differentiate our product from our closest competitors so that our customers can understand the pro?s and con?s. So, I do not think this negative marketing done maliciously, and as much as I would like to believe these guys created their vapes cause they love our culture and health so much, in the end, they are all trying to make some money by doing something they love and hopefully, gain some market share. I guess regardless of what you think of their advertising methods, I?ve always had positive, helpful, customer service from VRIP, 7th Floor, Arizer, PD, and that?s what is most important to me and I support these companies in their endeavors?ok, time to get off my soapbox.


Vtac, here?s the fun stuff, here is the lower intake for the VRIP




And here, you will see what it looks like filled with approx .2g organic sour diesel, sorry for the blurry picture but camera couldn?t focus well on the image

 

[Acolyte of Zinglon]

does your camera have a macro feature?

 

[max]

Interesting they don't mention the herbalaire (all glass)

Maybe you're thinking of the Vapolution? Not even a screen there, so I don't think anyone could have a complaint with that one. They'd target the herbalAire for Teflon, metal, bags, the works. :/ Of course nobody mentions the temps involved with specific materials-as if aluminum, etc. emits toxins when exposed to vaping temps.

I?ve had conversations with Mark at VRIPTech, Steve at 7th floor, and the guy that heads up Arizer, and I honestly believe that they all really believe their own marketing hype..

So you think Arizer/Steve really believes that using wood in a vape will "give off harmful toxins, bad taste and a poor experience"? Or any one of those? I guess 'bad taste' and 'poor experience' are vague enough for some wiggle room. :/ I seriously doubt you could get this Steve to admit there's another quality vape on the market besides his. Maybe the Volcano, since his early ad copy on eBay said he wanted to build a quality vape that didnt' cost $600+.

7th Floor/Steve's comparison chart says the Vapezilla, Evolutions, and Vapolution housing "gets really hot". Since the 1st two have plastic housings I don't believe they'd get hot, and the Vapolution housing barely gets warm. He can't really believe that since it's obviously not true. If he hasn't even seen these units, and is taking someone else's word and putting that wrong info on his site, then shame on him.

If you're marketing a vape and feel that it's the best on the market, there are ways to get that belief across to consumers without unjustly trashing all the competition. Personally, I can love a vape without loving everything about the company that makes it, and if I don't like the way they market/advertise, I'll continue to say so.

 

[stonemonkey55]

If he hasn't even seen these units, and is taking someone else's word and putting that wrong info on his site, then shame on him.

The Evolutions unit is not a plastic housing, it is some form of powder coated metal. I don't know what material it is, but it definitely is NOT plastic. Not trying to stir shit up here, but I know that you like to promote facts so I thought I would clear that up. It does get warm, but doesn?t get ?extremely hot? as advertised on the 7th floor website.

On another note, I agree with you, I too can love a vape without supporting the marketing style of these companies. Maybe the arizer guy DOES believe that wood would be a poor material to use in vapes. Perhaps he doesn't have the wood knowledge that Tom from PD has. Or maybe he's doing all he can to win market share by any means necessary. We'll never know the true answer, but my point is, I believe all these manufacturers have good intentions when building, and selling their products. I see these guys as inventor?s first and business people second so I definitely cut them some slack when I disagree with some of their methods. Maybe I?m wrong, but based on my few conversations and the dozens of emails I have traded with these entrepreneurs, my belief is that these guys have good intentions in their hearts.

To stay on topic with this thread, regardless of the amount (if any) that the hose (or any other ?safe/not safe?) material might off gas, the fact is that glass does not. It?s one the reasons why everyone that goes to Marcuss?s chooses to use the Herbo instead of the other vapes he has available. I understand for some people, taste isn?t a big issue, but I think we can all agree that health is a big issue. So even if the materials used in other machines off gas a negligible amount of toxins, I?d rather just have my cake and eat it too. With glass you get awesome taste, and a material that doesn?t off gas anything. With the modular nature of the heat wand and VRIP bowl and being able to use your own glass pieces, the barrier of entry has also been significantly reduced.

 

[max]

The Evolutions unit is not a plastic housing, it is some form of powder coated metal. I don't know what material it is, but it definitely is NOT plastic.

Doesn't matter really. A plastic housing shouldn't be a problem on any vape, because it's not in the vapor path or exposed to high enough heat to leach the surface.

Maybe the arizer guy DOES believe that wood would be a poor material to use in vapes.

I guess it depends on what kind of wood and where it's used. Except for Myrtlewood (which was Tom's idea), the woods that're used in the Aromazap are poor materials because they're not hard enough to hold up long term. They're soft woods. But there's nothing wrong with wood shells on box vapes. And aside from the Zap, I don't know of any others where wood is an issue. I do know that Arizer/Steve has absolutely nothing good to say about one of the vapes that you own (and don't ask which one-you don't own a POS so it doesn't matter), and I know that's all about marketing BS. The thing is, you have to know who you're trying to bullshit. You can fool a newbie sometimes, but when you've been vaping for years with multiple vapes, and you know the market, the BS shines like a halogen torch in a dark room.

 

[vtac]

Good points all around. I hate the smell of new carpeting etc- and I guess it really is off gassing formaldehyde or whatever into the air for everyone to breathe. Good perspective- vaping through tubing is probably a lot safer than just living in a new house or breathing city air. Of course I can appreciate the quest for the 'purest' vapor possible, that in itself is definitely not a bad thing, no hype required, as vc said.

Chinese no-name vapes made from the cheapest materials available, ok that's a valid concern. But even this Vrip wand has an exposed ceramic heater, stainless steel screen, and rubber o rings. All 100% safe, but I'm sure someone could find something to warn us about.

More interesting vaporizer triva because ctrl+v is so easy:

It's important to understand that when I started selling the Vrips the only vaporizers that existed where practically non-functional or at best hybrid smoke/vapor devices. I started turning the medical clubs on to the heat gun approach in the late '90s after bugging the shit out of Steinel to gain a comfort level myself with using the guns. It has always been my goal and vision to replace the heat gun with a use-specific heat source and to the end a lot of time and money has been invested with various engineers, designers, prototyping, and even a trip to Steinel headquarters to pitch the then president on the idea of Steinel making the use-specific hot air tool.

Steinel implemented some of our design wishes into their new HG2510 which I'll still put up against any vaporizer for accuracy and function but wouldn't make a commitment to create a use-specific tool for aromatherapy/phyto-inhalation. I'm friends with one of the box style vaporizer makers and gave him a design years ago to improve his unit beyond a VaporBro.s with a better element by making the element glass encapsulated. Even hooked him up with my glass partner. In doing so the idea for the wand working off of a soldering element was born and even a couple of wood handled protos where built. But it wasn't until I saw the original hot glass unit that I realized there was an easier way to do it by using an existing adjustable heat tool and started working towards what we presently have. After eight different designs and a handful of variations we have a design that works very well...still takes a little longer to heat up than I'd like (only 60W), but simply works better than anything else out there if purity, breadth of spectrum, taste and body....overall vapor quality is the goal.

The Hot Glass Vaporizer:

 

[Hennessy1414]

could i just get a high wattage hakko and somehow fix a glass tube to it with tiny air jets on the bottom? a custom glass order

hello?

 

[Clear_Dome]

I made this some month ago ...was working realy well but need to be improve ... now it's broke and i'm working on other thing ...anyway

 

[Hennessy1414]

I made this some month ago ...was working realy well but need to be improve ... now it's broke and i'm working on other thing ...anyway
[url]http://s2d1.turboimagehost.com/t/704504_P1040631.JPG[/url]

could you make me one?!!?!!?