Anvil by Vestratto

seki

Well-Known Member
I posted some impressions of the 18mm WPA a couple of weeks ago and while it immediately rendered the native stems to second fiddle status, there were a few minor issues that stood out. The main issue for me was the amount of metal-on-glass contact that was happening while using it. The 14mm option with the Teflon adapter seemed to satisfy the majority of my requirements, so I went ahead and ordered a couple.

As you'd expect, the Teflon adapter works really well to completely eliminate any metal-on-glass contact, but it brings up a couple of issues of its own and I'm still kind of weighing whether or not it's worth the trade-off.

The first is that the adapter has a tendency to pop off the WPA and get stuck for a bit in the joint. I think this happens as a result of expansion from heat.
14mm-wpa1.jpg

I use the tamper end of a D3D stainless steel scoop to hook the bottom of the adapter and pop it out when it's warm. If I wait a minute or two for it to cool down it comes out much easier. I can even snap the WPA back in to it and pull it out that way if I wait long enough. Not a huge deal, but it can be annoying.

I guess I should have expected this due to the smaller joint size, but in conjunction with the Teflon adapter, wiping the unit down becomes a bit more of a chore and has to be done a little more frequently. If you catch it in time, you can remove the adapter cleanly and wipe it down without issue, but if you're vaping some concentrates or are just feeling lazy, you can end up with a lot more stuff to wipe down:
14mm-wpa2.jpg

14mm-wpa3.jpg

Comparing the difference in size, it becomes evident why it's more convenient to maintain the 18mm:
14mm-wpa7.jpg

It's less work than cleaning a native stem, but still more when comparing it to the 18mm. Because I have a bunch of q-tips handy for dabs, I took to dipping one in a little iso and wiping down the 18mm WPA. I tried to do the same with the 14mm, but found that there were some rough finishes at the bottom of both my new units:
14mm-wpa4.jpg

The edges at the opening on the bottom are jagged enough that cotton from the q-tips dipped in iso get caught on them 100% of the time and it might be sharp enough to break skin. It's a small enough area that it's not a huge deal, but it does make cleaning annoying. Both of my 14mm units have these rough edges and my 18mm seems smooth to the touch. At the very least, I didn't have this q-tip issue with it. I'm thinking I may possibly try to file the edges down at some point, but I'm pretty lazy so I could see that not happening.

In relation to the Teflon adapter sometimes coming loose, I've had a situation where I pulled the unit out of my glass piece, but the Teflon adapter stuck in the glass and caused me to pull on the snap ring at an odd angle and it became dislodged. This isn't exactly what happened, but I've re-created the situation I'm describing to help illustrate:
14mm-wpa9.jpg

If I had installed from the bottom as the instructions show, this wouldn't have occurred. The Teflon adapter probably still would have stuck in the joint, but I wouldn't have been in any danger of the oven falling onto my glass piece or lap. I think because I used the 18mm unit first, I just assembled the 14mm in the same way without thinking. The size of the 18mm joint prevents you from installing the snap ring from the bottom so it needs to go over the oven section if you want to install it.:
14mm-wpa10.jpg

Not a huge deal as this was a bit of a freak accident and I don't expect that it will happen with any sort of frequency if at all again, but I'm still assembling it from the bottom going forward when using the 14mm just to be on the safe side.

At this point I'm still unsure whether or not I prefer the 14mm with the adapter based on the maintenance issues. I plan on switching back to the 18mm with my next cleaning cycle for further comparison.

To clarify and put the above into context, I'm just nit-picking. All this stuff really is just minor QOL and ergonomic issues that have no effect on device performance and only occasional very minimal impact on usability when they do crop up.
 
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RedZep

Well-Known Member
I posted some impressions of the 18mm WPA a couple of weeks ago and while it immediately rendered the native stems to second fiddle status, there were a few minor issues that stood out. The main issue for me was the amount of metal-on-glass contact that was happening while using it. The 14mm option with the Teflon adapter seemed to satisfy the majority of my requirements, so I went ahead and ordered a couple.

As you'd expect, the Teflon adapter works really well to completely eliminate any metal-on-glass contact, but it brings up a couple of issues of its own and I'm still kind of weighing whether or not it's worth the trade-off.

The first is that the adapter has a tendency to pop off the WPA and get stuck for a bit in the joint. I think this happens as a result of expansion from heat.
14mm-wpa1.jpg

I use the tamper end of a D3D stainless steel scoop to hook the bottom of the adapter and pop it out when it's hot. If I wait a minute or two for it to cool down it comes out much easier. I can even snap the WPA back in to it and pull it out that way if I wait long enough. Not a huge deal, but it can be annoying.

I guess I should have expected this due to the smaller joint size, but in conjunction with the Teflon adapter, wiping the unit down becomes a bit more of a chore and has to be done a little more frequently. If you catch it in time, you can remove the adapter cleanly and wipe it down without issue, but if you're vaping some concentrates or are just feeling lazy, you can end up with a lot more stuff to wipe down:
14mm-wpa2.jpg

14mm-wpa3.jpg

Comparing the difference in size, it becomes evident why it's more convenient to maintain the 18mm:
14mm-wpa7.jpg

It's less work than cleaning a native stem, but still more when comparing it to the 18mm. Because I have a bunch of q-tips handy for dabs, I took to dipping one in a little iso and wiping down the 18mm WPA. I tried to do the same with the 14mm, but found that there were some rough finishes at the bottom of both my new units:
14mm-wpa4.jpg

The edges at the opening on the bottom are jagged enough that cotton from the q-tips dipped in iso get caught on them 100% of the time and it might be sharp enough to break skin. It's a small enough area that it's not a huge deal, but it does make cleaning annoying. Both of my 14mm units have these rough edges and my 18mm seems smooth to the touch. At the very least, I didn't have this q-tip issue with it. I'm thinking I may possibly try to file the edges down at some point, but I'm pretty lazy so I could see that not happening.

In relation to the Teflon adapter sometimes coming loose, I've had a situation where I pulled the unit out of my glass piece, but the Teflon adapter stuck in the glass and caused me to pull on the snap ring at an odd angle and it became dislodged. This isn't exactly what happened, but I've re-created the situation I'm describing to help illustrate:
14mm-wpa9.jpg

If I had installed from the bottom as the instructions show, this wouldn't have occurred. The Teflon adapter probably still would have stuck in the joint, but I wouldn't have been in any danger of the oven falling onto my glass piece or lap. I think because I used the 18mm unit first, I just assembled the 14mm in the same way without thinking. The size of the 18mm joint prevents you from installing the snap ring from the bottom so it needs to go over the oven section if you want to install it.:
14mm-wpa10.jpg

Not a huge deal as this was a bit of a freak accident and I don't expect that it will happen with any sort of frequency if at all again, but I'm still assembling it from the bottom going forward when using the 14mm just to be on the safe side.

At this point I'm still unsure whether or not I prefer the 14mm with the adapter based on the maintenance issues. I plan on switching back to the 18mm with my next cleaning cycle for further comparison.

To clarify and put the above into context, I'm just nit-picking. All this stuff really is just minor QOL and ergonomic issues that have no effect on device performance and only occasional very minimal impact on usability when they do crop up.
I would really appreciate your opinions once you have done further testing as stated. Thank you.
 
RedZep,

fogbank

Well-Known Member
The IHs I have been able to use with the Anvil are OK, but not optimal. Those are the plug-in SJK "Dental Wax heater" and the Wand. They are nice for convenience but the quality of the hits does not approach what I can achieve with the greater control of a torch and just the extra thermal energy of a torch that no IH designed for the heating needs of a Dynavap can match. The Anvil is a a heat hungry one!!
My ideal Anvil usage is a single hit that extracts the whole bowl evenly and leaves dark brown ABV. All of the induction heaters that I've used with the Anvil can accomplish that. In the best case scenario I can accomplish that with approximately 45-50 seconds of heating. I don't know how the "quality of the hits" could be better for my usage. I've never tried the SJK heater but I now use the Wand exclusively with the Anvil. It's not the fastest heater for the Anvil, but the replaceable batteries make it the winner for me.
 

Abele Rizieri Ferrari

Well-Known Member
Anyone else feel this is the most underrated vape in existence?

Not so much that it's badmouthed. Just feel like it ought to be selling like crazy. Hopefully sales are good behind the scenes.
It had already sold a couple thousand after a few months, I think Vestratto is looking back at a successful first year. That said my experience with this coppercore and its implementations has been so good I agree that this has the potency to make way more vapers (and smokers) happy.
 

RedZep

Well-Known Member
It had already sold a couple thousand after a few months, I think Vestratto is looking back at a successful first year. That said my experience with this coppercore and its implementations has been so good I agree that this has the potency to make way more vapers (and smokers) happy.
Oh wow. I had no idea. That's fantastic.

I'm hoping if we ever see a larger oven released, that it will create a new wave of buzz. Could you imagine a video of someone whitewalling a large bong over and over with a single hest cycle. That would for sure raise some eyebrows. If I was John I would create it just for the viral aspect online.
 
I think a lot of people wrote the Anvil off after the perceived “drama” with PlanetHaze, Dynavap, Simrell, etc. You don’t see a lot of posts about it on Reddit these days. The echo chamber there will tell you it’s overpriced and a Dynavap with FMJ is the same thing. :lol:
 

TonyGazelle

Active Member
The VHB 3D heater I ordered to use with the Anvil came in and im really impressed with the build quality and the function.

The heater is adjustable and I am finding that it can be pretty flexible in how you use it. I was able to get it to a point where I could heat a load twice and get two good satisfying heat cycles to full extraction. This was nearly identical to my torch technique of heating right above the middle copper section for two heat cycles. I then adjusted the heater and my technique slightly and I'm getting complete extraction in one hit that is equivalent or even more thorough then the Ronxs torch I was using when aiming at the thermal battery.

The only difference between my now dialed in heater Anvil session vs the torch is that I'm heating to the second click, which I normally wouldn't do with the torch. With a torch I would heat it to the first click and then just a moment maybe a second or two past it and then hit it.

I have only tried the heater with the regular sized bowl, which is my daily driver bowl. I hope I can play with the XL tonight at some point to see if anything is effected.

I also got the mini tray debowler setup that VHB sells and i am enjoying that as well.

All in all this is a great piece of kit. If anyone has any questions fire em away
 

SillyNotMe

Well-Known Member
The VHB 3D heater I ordered to use with the Anvil came in and im really impressed with the build quality and the function.

The heater is adjustable and I am finding that it can be pretty flexible in how you use it. I was able to get it to a point where I could heat a load twice and get two good satisfying heat cycles to full extraction. This was nearly identical to my torch technique of heating right above the middle copper section for two heat cycles. I then adjusted the heater and my technique slightly and I'm getting complete extraction in one hit that is equivalent or even more thorough then the Ronxs torch I was using when aiming at the thermal battery.

The only difference between my now dialed in heater Anvil session vs the torch is that I'm heating to the second click, which I normally wouldn't do with the torch. With a torch I would heat it to the first click and then just a moment maybe a second or two past it and then hit it.

I have only tried the heater with the regular sized bowl, which is my daily driver bowl. I hope I can play with the XL tonight at some point to see if anything is effected.

I also got the mini tray debowler setup that VHB sells and i am enjoying that as well.

All in all this is a great piece of kit. If anyone has any questions fire em away
What’s the heat up time?
 
SillyNotMe,
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TonyGazelle

Active Member
What’s the heat up time?
My technique with a torch clocked in at 41sec. Ronxs aimed at the top portion of the thermal battery.

The vhb heater clocked in at 40sec to the second click. I'm not sure how adjustable this is yet. I'm still playing. In VHBs Instagram videos they show it off clicking as fast as 30sec.
 
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