Discontinued A Hot Pod

[stickstones]

My best session last night was on 13.4

Other than the comments about how professional the stems don't look, I take back everything I said bout the stems. I really got into a nice groove the last coule of days playing with the screens and, at least on the short term, I really like them. I push the screen down when sucking up the herb and then push it back up to tighten the load. You can get it all the way to a PD type draw like this for a really thick hit. Then I push the screen down a little, stir, and push it back up for more. I still don't see the need to adjust the screen for temp's sake, but for being able to stir without dumping and for being able to pack it tighter or looser it is great!

 

[OO]

My best session last night was on 13.4

Other than the comments about how professional the stems don't look, I take back everything I said bout the stems. I really got into a nice groove the last coule of days playing with the screens and, at least on the short term, I really like them. I push the screen down when sucking up the herb and then push it back up to tighten the load. You can get it all the way to a PD type draw like this for a really thick hit. Then I push the screen down a little, stir, and push it back up for more. I still don't see the need to adjust the screen for temp's sake, but for being able to stir without dumping and for being able to pack it tighter or looser it is great!

Valuable insight!

 

[NewVape]

... being able to stir without dumping and for being able to pack it tighter or looser it is great!

What he said. I too have taken the - push the screen down > stir > push the screen up (cover with finger) to pack the bowl again - method. I'm using it on both the stem and the GonG and it works well with both. My GonG has the screen I sized for it, being a little tighter in the tube with a smaller weave may prove beneficial in the long run with the method. We'll see

I still would like to see a GonG stem that is easier to handle (hot or not ). I have some thoughts though.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Man, I was gonna say something but it's gone already

It seems we all favor a similar voltage for our Pods though.

I've been trying to go below 13V, but I keep finding myself with a too light (lite?) colored ABV every time I do that. So 13,2 to 13,3V definitely seems the sweetspot on mine, at least to finish a bowl.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

It sounds like you've discovered the same technique I've been using sticks.

My current technique is get my screen where I want it for the load, scoop the stem through my bud so it loosely fills to the top of the stem, and then draw.
To stir, I push my stirring tool through the bud so the screen lowers a little bit, so the bud won't fall out while I'm stirring. Then I put my finger over the top of the stem, and use my stirrer to push the screen from the bottom back up to the top so that the load is at the top of the stem for the next hit.

I was told it sounded fiddly

 

[OhTheAgony]

Yeah, by a guy that now uses it in the exact same way no less

It's still sound fiddly though, imo/imd (did I just make that one up?). It just takes some rl experience to realize that it's a really neat & high end feature instead of how it sounds when described.

 

[stickstones]

It sounds like you've discovered the same technique I've been using sticks.


I was told it sounded fiddly

I knew I'd seen that somewhere around here. barely remember the fiddly...I musta been fiddlin with the POD too much!

I would like to see a longer GonG stem...I'm already wanting to pack more in that one.

 

[natural farmer]

Guys? Has anyone tried to go at 14,5+V, move the screen further away from the heater and maybe draw harder if it gets too hot? Through a bubbler preferably cause I guess it would be harsh... My POD could be in my hands any day now and I already have fantasies in my head!

 

[NewVape]

Guys? Has anyone tried to go at 14,5+...?

I don't know about that. For my pod it would make it quite hot to the touch. Not as much insulation there as with other log vapes.

 

[natural farmer]

I don't know about that. For my pod it would make it quite hot to the touch. Not as much insulation there as with other log vapes.

Same goes for the whole Pod? Top to bottom same temps approximately?

 

[Frederick McGuire]

I find the top 1/2-1/3 gets hotter than the rest of the pod

 

[dorkus_molorkus]

I am using mine at 15v and its firing a treat. Im getting nice & toasted ABV, really good vapor production & Im very happy with the results.

I am no longer adjusting anything, I have found my sweet spot regarding screen placement, load size , voltage & draw speed.

I find my GGstem to be the perfect size & diameter for hands free vapebonging. Hazy asked earlier regarding GG diameters & making the hole in the top of the pod a little bigger?

For my needs, this current design is almost perfect. So Hazy my 2cents worth so far is to say dont change a thing.

I originally was not too impressed with my POD, and found myself drifting back to my UD.
Well, I upped the voltage a bit & got some new glass that I had been waiting for,

and bugger me.... a match made in heaven.

Now I dont even know why I didnt like too much originally. I cant seem to remember why TBH.

My UD is gathering dust in the corner & my POD is all I need now. I think overall the UD produces somewhat thicker more dense vapor, but I now have my technique sorted that the difference is negligible.
Couple that with the size, and form of the POD, I find that using my POD is such a pleasant experience hands free vapebonging, that I feel my UD is redundant.

So much so, I feel the need to organise to have a spare POD & lots of GG stems on hand.
just in case the unthinkable happens and there is a POD breakdown, I can just reach for my trusty spare & keep on fogging.





I broke my GG but i managed to get mine to work(macgyver)with an 14/18 adapter while waiting on a replacement from Hazy.

 

[vorrange]

It seems the tight fit is a winner. I must say that, i think this is the best option, despite not being able to stir without removing the stem.
I always end up doing that anyway, at some point you need to stir i pound the material a bit to extract all the goodies.

 

[stickstones]

I took my regular stem last night and pushed the screen way down and packed a mega stem. Then I used a little tissue to tightly mate it with the gong and let her rip! I got four really thick hits and was lit! Then I got a weak fifth hit and was done. That was fun!

 

[OhTheAgony]

Haha, I need to try that as soon as I pick up some new flowers. How long a load did you put in approximately?

I wonder how big your rips are though, I can usually get 5 from small amounts already with stirring. I imagine a one or two inch bowl should last me an entire evening


Only the top half gets hot on my Pod btw. The bottom half just gets warm & the bottom part bellow the power sockets barely gets warmer then room temperature.


I'm curious to see how long your heating element will last Dorkus. The one in my first UD died within 6 months after occasional day-long use at 15,7V (I didn't realize that my cheap unregulated ebay PSU put out that much until it was too late). Do you leave it on 15V 24/7 or 16/7 or just when you're using it?

 

[dorkus_molorkus]

@OTA- its on 16/7, and Hazy reckons it'll take it & love it at that voltage.

So, we figured I would apply the same technique to the POD as I apply to childcare....................

Just give it a bash.
(very aussie saying, meaning to give it a go)

Its not called BETA testing for nothing, go hard or fuck off I say.
With the amount of weed I vape & with it running at that voltage, its probably gets the equivilent of a years worth of average wear & tear in a months use from me. Dont forget my UD runs at 13.5v with MONSTER dense clouds & the POD gives me very poxy limped dicked vapor at the same voltage.

Hazy did also say if my pod shat itself at 15v he would fix me up & in return I promised in that event I would buy a better suited VPS. lolz

and TBH it seems to relish that voltage, not too hot, not too cold.
Just fucking right..........................



@Hazy-I got the new stem yesterday. cheers dude, its REALLY appreciated.


I have been looking at these PSU's.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Pro-...93150?pt=Tattoos_Body_Art&hash=item19d652311e

any comments on whether it is suitable would awesome.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

I've seen them on eBay a few times, but couldn't find any good info on them, so I was never game enough to try one.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Gotcha Dorkus, & like I said, I'm curious to see how long that heating element keeps up

But I figured what the heck, lets listen to Dorkus & blast that shit to 15V and see what all the fuzz is about. Man, those were some heavy clouds, but I think I burned my mouth a little

I was only at 14,9 btw, it seems my PSU won't go any higher.

Snazzy looking PSU, I've never seen that one before.

I rather advice people to get a proper variable voltage PSU instead of messing around with all those little tattoo ones to be honest. Often it seems to be the cheapest and least frustrating route in the long run.

Something like this is portably a much safer bet:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/YH-1502D...993?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item484d64ec21

A bit bulky perhaps and not the pretties of the bunch, but reliable and with some nice features you won't find on a tattoo psu. I've seen them even cheaper btw, and in black as well. I just posted the first one I found as an example.

This is the one I use:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fusion-2...sGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item565074fbfa

Even though I thought I had killed it a couple of times already (all user errors in hindsight) it holds up really well and I like it a lot. It's not as big as it looks btw, the Pod stands about a cm taller when I put them beside each other. It does come with a annoyingly loud cooling fan that's always on though, and to turn it off you either need a forked screw driver to open it up and loosen the little plug that connects it, or cut the wire from the outside of the housing (seems doable looking at mine, about half a cm of the positive and negative lead is visible and touchable from the back of the unit).

No new Pod owners yet?

 

[dorkus_molorkus]

it doesnt matter anymore.

Its true, the world has ended, it just hasnt arrived to you guys yet.


Actually, its not too bad. Much like it was before, in fact its exactly like it was before.

Flee for your lives..........................

 

[bleak]

Bloody nice day for an apocalypse, think I'll break out the beer and BBQ.

 

[GOATPUSSY]

This sucks. It's rainy and windy for my end of the world day. Kinda wanted to clean up the yard first and maybe add some more Christmas lights.

 

[placetime]

Hazy, gotta say, *loving* the Pod!

Some long overdue pics:

and a comparison shot with two UDs and a CRZ:

 

[gvape]

I have an over due post. I have not had a day off since I got he POD, so almost no time to use it or even the time to make a post.

Either way I did want to follow up with my first impressions of it.

Powercord that fits in to the POD. SUPER JANKY. The first time I was putting it in the device it broke, well the plastic just popped off leaving exposed area. Not a good thing by me, it still is very finicky and doesnt always stay it, falls off easily. A MUCH better 2.1mm angle plug is needed for the final model. I understand this is beta, but this is currently dangerous.

Glue on the bottom of the device. Anyone else notice the glue? I dont think I have anything to be worried about, I just noticed it and wasnt a huge fan. Since use of the Pod the coloring of the glue has gone form clear to a brownish red. Not too much of a concert, just wanted to make a note of this.

I started my first session off at around 12v. I didnt get much vapor, got some but nothing I really liked. I have since moved it up to around 12.4-12.8 for a tastier hit, but still a nice browning. Keep in mind that all my testing has been done in a water piece so far. I did try one or two direct draw hits, but I really want to test this out with water.

One problem I noticed with the screens is that if not perfectly made they can slide around. I got a mouthful of material with a screen on the direct draw because it just slid straight through. Thats another reason I didnt try the direct draw another time. I really do like the ability to slide the screen up and down though. It just needs to be secured or something, still trying to figure out what to do. Its nice being able to change the bowl size. I have been using a poker tool to just push a load out, reload and then press it back up so it compacts the load in place. I have done some pretty small loads to as much as I can fit in the stem. It all works great.

My favorite thing so far to do, and mainly because I dont want to have to keep loading bowls as often and that is to take a nice size stem and top it off with either some bubble or bho and just milk the glass over and over. I can easily double to triple the amount of hits I get when doing this. Keep in mind that with the concentrates I bumped my power up to 13.5-13.8. This would get my abv to a really dark brown, dark choc esque, but not combusted at all. This leaves me coughing like a combustion hit with how big and thick of a hit I can get. If I wasnt using water, it would be pretty hot for me to directly inhale, well for at least me personally.

I also want to note that my underdog running at 12v is really hot, I sometimes turn it down below 12 because the hits are too hot and can create very dark hot spots. So that being said my underdog runs MUCH hotter and does not need nearly as much to get it going. Same thing with my HI, but not as bad. I will do some testing with each unit side by side so I can get some better results.

Some users were saying the 14mm glass was too hot to take out after a hit. Waiting 5-10 sec is all you need and you can take it off with out any worry. It really is a perfect size stem and I love how it fits perfect in the glass with the pod on top.

A 12v Pod is no problem to hold on to, but when you reach over 13v the top 1/3 of the POD can get quite hot to hold on to. Nothing unbearable just a bit hot to hold on to.

I cant think of much more to say right now, I know pictures and videos do a lot more justice then a long post like this, and I will be sure to get them up this week. Dont have a lot of time, but really want to share all my input on the device. I have not turned the unit off since I got it, I just turn the dial down to 1.1v and when I want to use it just bump it to the desire setting, get my materials ready, stem packed, and its ready to go. Very short warm up time which is really great.

Let me know if anyone wants me to test or comment on anything else I forgot to mention.

 

[SD_haze]

Look what decided to show on Chrismtas Eve

Gonna be comparing this to the Rockzap & Underdog, but the Vapexhale Cloud as well!
Just from airflow testing, it is definitely easier to draw than the rockzap.

EDIT: video link! (to milkshot thread)

 

[SD_haze]

The GonG Hot Pod with a VVPS is one of the best devices I've ever used for kief or wax/hash oil. It has significant advantages in that realm over my:

UD: Don't have to worry about the metal core poking my concentrate
Cloud: Roasting the concentrate directly instead of having to heat up the entire ELB

I used it with a bunch of people today and most didn't get great hits off the bat. Until I added some crumbly budder and melted it into a bed of herb. Then a vapor newb was able to milk the tube pretty nice.

Using direct draw most people mistakenly draw too hard (like a good chunk of vapes)


I really like the screen setup of the stems. I like to fiddle a lot with a poker, and if you do too, this is definitely a vaporizer you'd like