Discontinued A Hot Pod

[OhTheAgony]

Cool vids Dorkus

I was surprised to see you use it 'hands-free' on an angled dowstem too though, I'd just told someone that wasn't possible

Welcome to the club, Ed

Sorry to hear that Fred. I hope it's just the heating element though, since Hazy could just get a new one of those to you in a day or so. But since you melted your cord/plug do you think it could have gotten hot enough to make the solder melt as well perhaps? Actually this is more a question for Hazy, lol.

 

[Ed's TnT]

Thanks OTA glad to be part of the club now!

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Nah, I doubt they are connected, I've used the pod for about a week since I melted the cord without any issues.

 

[HoneyAir]

My favorite log vape advancement is the user-replaceable resistor [did not like having to hack into my PD to replace mine] so that is definitely a pro of this Hot Pod!

All future log vapes by any manufacturer should include this IMHO. Resistors are bound to wear out over time especially at these heat levels.

 

[stickstones]

hazy...I just checked out the cord and it was as you suspected. I took apart the plug end that goes into the Pod and both wires had their insulation penetrated by the crimping metal points...so it was probably a short at that point. The other end looked fine. I don't see much hope for this cord since, if I'm not mistaken, it would need to be resoldered?

EDIT: I went ahead and put some electrical tape around the mangled sheathing and put it back together. Seems to be working for now...no 1.4V on the display! I'll give it a go again tonight.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Oeh, be careful there Sticks, electrical tape usually isn't heat resistant and can melt again. You may have just build yourself a fire hazard there.

I'd use some of that shrink tubing or whatever it's called in English instead, but that would require a re-soldering. A soldering iron is fairly cheap though.

 

[stickstones]

thanks, ota. I've been watching it closely for that very reason. I should probably graduate to the soldering level of skills, but I'm too lazy.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Oh man, there's almost nothing to learn practically, it's so easy.

Touch the two things you want attached to each other with hot tip of soldering iron and some solder until the solder melts and starts to flow between the two pieces (just a tiny bit of solder is enough for a small wire). Then let it cool off and voila. It may look a little messy at first but that will get better with practice.

 

[stickstones]

allright, thanks again, ota. what about types of solder and soldering irons. basic shit there or are there any special types of something that are more recommended?

 

[HoneyAir]

The most useful soldering tip learned in class many, many years ago-- make sure both items to be soldered are hot-- they bond better than if one hot piece is soldered to a cold piece. So make sure both pieces have received heat from the soldering iron.

You only need the smallest, basic soldering irons for electrical items. Its a plus having a small narrow tip to get into tight spaces that way.

 

[hazy]

Some good soldering tips there. I have to admit when I first started soldering (admittedly I was only about 12 years old) I did find it kind of frustrating. While I don't want to dampen anyone's interest in gaining a new skill, I think that trying to resolder the plug would be a bit of a hassle because it would need desoldering first which requires extra equipment.

I think the electrical tape fix should be ok, as this problem was caused more by me not being careful than by the heat. In fact the heat might have nothing to do with it. It probably looks like it melted because the cord insulation is very soft. It shouldn't be hot enough inside the plug to melt the electrical tape [crosses fingers!].

Fred, if you have a multimeter then maybe you could try measuring the resistance across the terminals of the socket in the base of the pod. Should read around 20-22 Ohms. It's a bit of a bugger balancing a probe on the centre pin though.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

I do have a multimeter (a pretty damn cheap one, but it gets the job done )
I'll see if I can find it

I guess you don't need more heat resistant wire hazy, you just need to tone down your hulk strength when crimping the wires

 

[hazy]

Well I'm pretty pissweak really... it's just that the wires are weaker than I am

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Well, I just tested the pod with my multimeter, (assuming I was using the right setting ) and got 22.4-22.8 ohms.

I've got a little extension cord that lights up when there's current in the cord (whether it's under load or not), so I'm gonna use that to test if the issue is in my extension cord/VVPS.

 

[SD_haze]

My pod has shipped

Think this vape might be my first HD vid, certainly sexy enough.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Update:
My pod is working fine
My long cord has worn out a bit in the plug.
I'll have to bust out the soldering iron tomorrow to fix it

 

[stickstones]

I had four good sessions last night. Started at 13.7 and worked my way down to 13.1

Each session whitewalled my bubbler fine, so I will continue working downward tonight. Taste was obivously better on each successive bowl at lower temps.

The heatport outlet is a little narrower than the HI, so I expect and feel like the Pod's airflow is a little more restricted, but not uncomfortably so...still feels wide open for a log vape.

My first improvement suggestion would be the stem screens. They work fine and the ability to move them up or down gives you some flexibility as far as temp used. And you can adjust your bowl size by moving the screen down. The only real benefit is the bowl size adjustment, since temp can be adjusted through the VVPS or the draw. But this is dwarfed by the disappointment of the first lost bowl due to a screen sliding down the stem. Also, small bits of herb get stuck in the gap down the side of the screen. I found myself longing for a screen like the HI or even the LSV has.

The natural design is easily my favorite. It is way too easy to get attached to this beautiful lillt Pod!

 

[hazy]

Hey Sticks, do you have the same problem with the screen on the GG stem?

 

[OhTheAgony]

Glad to hear it's still working Fred. UD-Dave posted a little voltage/risk table in the UD thread yesterday btw, based on his experience with the Ohmite resistor:

Some rules of thumb for feeding your Dogs:

11.00v - 12.50v = normal operation
12.50v - 13.00v = hot operation
13.00v - 13.75v = very hot operation
13.75v - 14.50v = boosting (less than 5 minutes)
14.50v+ = rapidly damaging to piece, risk of fire (this is like driving your car in 1st gear on the highway)

Just make a tighter fitting screen if you got a loose one Sticks. If you fit it right there shouldn't be a gap on the side anywhere. The trick is jamming it in the stem with a dowel as thick as you can fit in there to make it a real tight fit. My finner screens are a little less bendable and stay in place a bit better, but also gunk up quicker. My HP screens have to be replaced much quicker than the ones in my other vapes btw, almost every day even. Although that can be a bit annoying I wouldn't want to give up the versatility of the moving screen for the comforts of the one in my GonG HI stem for instance.

 

[hazy]

You clean your screens every day? Wow, I probably do it once a month. You are right about the fit of the screens. I'm working on the consistency of the tightness. It's difficult because all the glass tubes have slightly different diameters. That's how they come from the factory.

I welcome everyone to try making your own screens, then you can experiment with making them the way you like, and you won't need to order them from me in the future

 

[stickstones]

Hey Sticks, do you have the same problem with the screen on the GG stem?

That's the only stem I have tried yet. Unless for testing purposes, everything I do goes through water except portables.

ota...i get the versatility of the moving screen, but I just don't see it as necessary. If I want a smaller load, I can just load less herb, no need for screen adjustment. And since we are dealing with VVPS, we don't need a screen depth adjustment for temp's sake. The adjustment would be a welcome variable in a static temp log vape like the PD, but I don't see the need for it here. imo, it just makes the stems seem cheaper and can lose yoru herb.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Yeah, I have a really hard time making them last 2 days even Hazy, even with a lot of screen-scraping with my SSV pick and some hot dry hits in between stems every now and then. But remember I use a much finer screen than the HP originally comes with (I use standard SSV screens for the standard heater cover if anyone happens to know them) and my product is rich and my bowls are fairly large/long, and I have quit a few of them each day atm. There is a lot of difference between one month and one day though

I found that the dowel that comes with the UD-screen-kit is the perfect size to make screens with for the HS stem btw. But yeah, I can see how finding the perfect tool for each size stem can be challenging. It would be nice to just have a small lathe and simply spin one aye?


Gotcha Sticks, but disagree of course

I vape at a higher temp than you and feel I already have to go up to a pretty high voltage at times. Being able to set the screen as high as possible - especially with a smaller load- helps me to keep the voltage as low as possible thus help prolonging the life-expectancy of the heating element. Another plus to my sensitive pallet is that a lower voltage seems to result in less harsher vapor.

Additionally moving the screen also is a lot quicker then waiting for the Pod to adjust it's temp.

I've never lost any herb with mine so far btw.

But, different strokes for different folks

Have you tried you HI GonG stem in the HP? Mine won't fit, but I got the thickest version Alan makes. I wonder if the thinner ones he makes would fit the HP.

edit: it seems that your fav, the glass nipple-stem, should work with the Pod as well. Just give that one a try man

 

[stickstones]

Gotcha Sticks, but disagree of course

I vape at a higher temp than you and feel I already have to go up to a pretty high voltage at times. Being able to set the screen as high as possible - especially with a smaller load- helps me to keep the voltage as low as possible thus help prolonging the life-expectancy of the heating element. Another plus to my sensitive pallet is that a lower voltage seems to result in less harsher vapor.

i hadn't thought of this...good point! I will try out the other stems later and see how they fit...you are just full of ideas I haven't thought of!

 

[Tom]

Awesome thread! I can see this exploding just like Alans HI

 

[placetime]

Being able to set the screen as high as possible - especially with a smaller load- helps me to keep the voltage as low as possible thus help prolonging the life-expectancy

^^ +1 The adjustable nature makes it easy to have a *really* small load that still gets close enough to the core.

Hazy--do you have any recommendation/tips for caring for a Pod? I know that it's common for people to use wax or wax/oil blends on other logs. But what's best for a banksia pod? Put something on it or leave it alone? This thing is so beautiful I want to make sure to do what I can to prolong its life.