Arizer Solo

[Caligula]

Okay, so I've been sitting on this (e.g. I was lazy) but now is as good a time as any to post, I guess.

So to anyone keeping score, I am now on my 4th Solo unit. My first one lasted the longest at 4 months. Sadly the electronics took a shit on that unit. Sent it back to PIU, and got one of the "new" models. Increased airflow, fast heat up time, ability to charge/use, stainless steel colored bowl...

It worked awesomely. Until I noticed a restriction in airflow along with a corresponding decrease in vapor. This got worse over the course of a few days, so I emailed Randy over at Puffitup, and he agreed to RMA it and send me a new one.

A few days later I get my replacement, replacement Solo. Still new model, same as before. Worked so well out of the box it made feel stupid for ever doubting that my other replacement was decreasing in performance! Super free draw and super fast heatup times. Also made some amazing clouds! Sadly, this also suffered the same restricted draw/decreasing vapor as my previous one.

Contacted Randy at PIU again. He suggested I clean the bowl with iso and poke out the air holes. That didnt work so he agreed to send me another unit YET AGAIN.

So now I have Solo #4. M1A4 model for anyone who cares. Stainless steel bowl like the other two, charges while in use... but the draw is exactly like my very first Solo. More restriction than the other two replacements for sure, but nothing id consider "bad". Also takes longer to heat up.

Thing also produces some massive clouds, just like Solo #1 (slightly less so than Solo 2 and 3).

So... yea. You got me on this one. Ill allow you guys to draw your own conclusions here. I just hope this Solo stays in proper working order for years to come.

Oh and this is also a testament to @PuffItUp and their awesome customer service and Solo return policy. I would have told myself to fuck off after the 3rd time, lol. Did I mention they PAID FOR SHIPPING BOTH WAYS EVERY TIME? Well they did.

 

[wakenvape13]

Your kidding right?
On ebay I got over 100 1/2 SS Screens (less than $5) that will last a long time. When I clean a GonG or a Stem I reuse the screen if it's in good shape.

You cut your own screens?
Your awesome!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-1-2-50-...362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item461c3e287a

Will someone buy me these and ship them to me in Ontario (its 24.99 for shipping on these) or point me in a direction where I can get a bunch for about 5$ in Canada. I found 100 SS screens for 3$ from hongkong but they're 3/4"

 

[James C]

I think this one is nice! The Solo is 1-3/4 inch at it's widest, and the case is 2.4 inches wide, so it'll fit just fine.
http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-5900D-SafeSpace-Portable/dp/B005K6JQXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395983721&sr=8-1&keywords=Master Lock Safe Space model 5900D

From VapeFiend on eBay....

Thanks guys for the suggestions, I really appreciate it! While I was looking at them I ended up finding a small pelican case that fits the solo pretty well, the Microcase 1030 (http://www.pelican-case.com/pelmiccas102.html). You can also buy foam inserts to make the interior the right shape to hold the solo, which I got as well. Holds any smell in almost completely as well, even with fresh herb stored in the case as well.

 

[Pipes]

Will someone buy me these and ship them to me in Ontario (its 24.99 for shipping on these) or point me in a direction where I can get a bunch for about 5$ in Canada. I found 100 SS screens for 3$ from hongkong but they're 3/4"

PM me. I can help you out.

 

[equatorgringo]

I've had my Solo for a month now. Use it every single night, recharging every third or fourth night. Two nights ago I noticed that out of the blue between sessions, the Solo stopped beeping when being turned on and off, as well as the light stopped showing where its current battery charge level is at (it blinks once at 7 every single time no matter the actual charge state). So now I turn the Solo on and off without the beeps (actually don't mind THAT as it annoys the wife, but I worry it is starting to break). Anyone have similar issues? This is the newest model fyi.

 

[poonman]

I've had my Solo for a month now. Use it every single night, recharging every third or fourth night. Two nights ago I noticed that out of the blue between sessions, the Solo stopped beeping when being turned on and off, as well as the light stopped showing where its current battery charge level is at (it blinks once at 7 every single time no matter the actual charge state). So now I turn the Solo on and off without the beeps (actually don't mind THAT as it annoys the wife, but I worry it is starting to break). Anyone have similar issues? This is the newest model fyi.

For the beeping sound ,
Hold down the left ( up ) button .
That turns it back on or off ... for your wife .

 

[equatorgringo]

For the beeping sound ,
Hold down the left ( up ) button .
That turns it back on or off ... for your wife .

Will try this tonight! Thanks a lot for the quick reply/help @poonman! Sigh of relief that it isn't breaking and a pleasant surprise that the beeping can be turned off and on!

 

[Caligula]

Yup. Not an issue, just a feature.

 

[OF]

There have been reports of crazy heating speeds with some newer vintages and the super fast units are also the ones that have also been reported as failing in a short time.

Wow! Is this one of those 'from the mouth of babes' moments? The 'unrealistically fast heating times' (faster than the physics allow?) have bugged me, I figured it has to be in instrument error. Guys reported that they got full vapor a minute or two later which fits that idea. I figured the heat wasn't coupled well into the load, like if the cement bond was bad? I had completely missed the point that such 'fast heaters' later went on to early deaths.

Very interesting indeed. Can we verify this? If so, we should be able to screen these guys out with timing. That is come up with a rule like 'a unit that makes step 5 in less than XX seconds is going to fail later on'???

Will try this tonight! Thanks a lot for the quick reply/help @poonman! Sigh of relief that it isn't breaking and a pleasant surprise that the beeping can be turned off and on!

Yup, just remember to test it often. While it can give you a beep for confirmation that it's changed out of silent mode, giving you 'the silent treatment' to let you know the beep is off doesn't work as well.......

OF

 

[Pipes]

Wow! Is this one of those 'from the mouth of babes' moments? The 'unrealistically fast heating times' (faster than the physics allow?) have bugged me, I figured it has to be in instrument error. Guys reported that they got full vapor a minute or two later which fits that idea. I figured the heat wasn't coupled well into the load, like if the cement bond was bad? I had completely missed the point that such 'fast heaters' later went on to early deaths.

Very interesting indeed. Can we verify this? If so, we should be able to screen these guys out with timing. That is come up with a rule like 'a unit that makes step 5 in less than XX seconds is going to fail later on'???



Yup, just remember to test it often. While it can give you a beep for confirmation that it's changed out of silent mode, giving you 'the silent treatment' to let you know the beep is off doesn't work as well.......

OF

I'm bad at remember names.
When the newer ones were first introduced I remember a couple or more saying they hit 6-7 in 30 seconds type of numbers. I thought they were getting vapour as well but now not sure or missed that part. A week later reported it was short lived and started getting cooler and cooler till no more vapour. I'm pretty sure of 2 which ended the same. Maybe your correct and the heater/load bond is breaking away until it has little contact and then burns out?

Hopefully some of the gang will chime in now that they know what we would like to know.?

 

[lowdeuces]

Hey FC, long time lurker out of the shadows.

I have a solo, approx 1yr old. Have had zero issues, and amazing results up until today.

Went to charge the unit, and when i plug in the charger, it does its normal startup beeping, then stops for a moment, and then a nonstop single beep, along with the bottom three buttons slightly flashing. I tried unplugging several times, various outlets...same result. I left it for a few minutes, and no increase in charged level.

Battery issue, most likely I'm assuming.

I'm hoping someone here has some input they would be willing to share.

Appreciate any help provided.

 

[OF]

Maybe your correct and the heater/load bond is breaking away until it has little contact and then burns out?

Hopefully some of the gang will chime in now that they know what we would like to know.?

I'm not even sure it has to burn out. Consider if the heater and the sensor stay connected but no longer in solid contact with the load. The temperature regulator section could still do it job, keeping the heater at the right temperature (but not the load)? When they fail completely what are the symptoms?

I too hope some of our comrades can provide some more info to mull over

Went to charge the unit, and when i plug in the charger, it does its normal startup beeping, then stops for a moment, and then a nonstop single beep, along with the bottom three buttons slightly flashing.
Battery issue, most likely I'm assuming.

I'm hoping someone here has some input they would be willing to share.

Howdy. Sorry you're having troubles. I suspect the charger way more than the battery.

Perhaps a shorted battery could do this, very rare for one to short really. The Solo should try to charge whatever is there, the fact it doesn't show battery level is troubling.

My guess is the charger is collapsing when the load of actually trying to charge the battery happens so the Solo backs off, the charger recovers some and around we go.

I know this is probably a dumb question, but any chance you can borrow or otherwise try another charger or PA (since your unit is old enough for that)?

Batteries don't tend to flat out die like that, the generally get weaker and weaker.

Good luck.

OF

 

[lowdeuces]

OF,

Thank you for your response.

I guess i left out one detail, an important one I see.

Once i plug in the charger, it beeps and then does in fact show the remaining battery level (2). After that, Single beep then continues, and no green charge light at all.

I can access another charger in the next day or so, i think.

Thanks again for any assistance.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Once i plug in the charger, it beeps and then does in fact show the remaining battery level (2). After that, Single beep then continues, and no green charge light at all.

Yeah, see, it registers something plugged in and feeding power, but then no charging. I'm thinking it's the charger too, seems to be the common factor in these cases.

 

[lowdeuces]

Alright, sounds like charger swap is the next step.
Will report back.

Nice to see the information freely shared all over this site. Hope to contribute more soon.

 

[fernand]

Maybe your correct and the heater/load bond is breaking away until it has little contact and then burns out?

Hopefully some of the gang will chime in now that they know what we would like to know.?

You know that statement "to a carpenter the world is a nail"? Well, so I'm from the electronics side, so what I see is a unit with a failed temp sensor, it heats up to the wrong level, including full on, because there is no valid feedback. And then either the oven burns out, or a transistor in the control that the CPU uses to regulate the oven overheats from being full on all the time, or an overheating component damages some other component, avalanche of stress, and in the end same result, it fails.

I have a solo, approx 1yr old. Have had zero issues, and amazing results up until today.

Went to charge the unit, and when i plug in the charger, it does its normal startup beeping, then stops for a moment, and then a nonstop single beep, along with the bottom three buttons slightly flashing. I tried unplugging several times, various outlets...same result. I left it for a few minutes, and no increase in charged level.

Battery issue, most likely I'm assuming.

I'm hoping someone here has some input they would be willing to share.

Appreciate any help provided.

FWIW, the unit is about at the age (and you mention its amazing results which suggests you don't use it once a month), when the battery could be ready to retire?

 

[fernand]

So how do you delete a msg?

 

[Stu]

So how do you delete a msg?

Use the report link at the bottom of your post asking for post to be deleted. If it's a reasonable request, it is usually obliged.

 

[Dr. Soxhlet]

Every couple of weeks or so I hear about "shortages" at online vape suppliers and people are unable to find that elusive but vital gong for their Solo. Bet most of them don't even know they may already have in their possession the keys to their dilemma. I'm talking about that rather useless thing refered to in the Solo manual as an aroma therapy dish(more like a bowl). If you have a glass blower in your town, why not have him/her convert that bowl to a gong for the Solo. Mine cost only $20.00, works great and looks like this:

All it takes is to heat up the bowl and connector (14mm or 18mm) and melt them together. A hole must also be flame punched through the bowl. A screen is added in the herb chamber.
Any glass blower should be able to do this, maybe cheaper if you already have the connection.
And you may have an extra 18mm connection already too if you have an EQ or V Tower.
I know I do:

Yes, I believe that broken EQ elbow is 18mm. Guess what I'm going to do with it when I get another Solo Set? When you take your parts in, just make sure they are clean. I seldom throw anything out.
Sometimes it pays dividends. I know, I built a computer and video game business this way.
I find that a #113 "0" ring works bestwith this gong because the diameter was a little smaller than my other stems. I also put a couple more "o" rings on the outside to steady it.

My favorite way to use it is with the Pinnacle Water Tool with a brewers cork and inverted downstem:

Happy Vapin'---Hope this helps someone.

 

[BirdFLU]

How efficient is everyone's solos? I packed a straight stem, set my solo to 2 and let it heat up for a minute or two. Took a bout a slow 7 second drag, checked the bowl and it already had a good amount of browning while only producing a small hit.

Is this normal? Hits get harsh fairly quick and lose flavor. Maybe just start at the lowest and work my way up? I thought 2 was fairly low to start with.

 

[Pipes]

You know that statement "to a carpenter the world is a nail"? Well, so I'm from the electronics side, so what I see is a unit with a failed temp sensor, it heats up to the wrong level, including full on, because there is no valid feedback. And then either the oven burns out, or a transistor in the control that the CPU uses to regulate the oven overheats from being full on all the time, or an overheating component damages some other component, avalanche of stress, and in the end same result, it fails.



FWIW, the unit is about at the age (and you mention its amazing results which suggests you don't use it once a month), when the battery could be ready to retire?

There is an excellent post here by @thesoloman which shows the heater breakdown. I don't know where the sensor resides though. Maybe @OF or tsm can describe where it would be.
I would think the separating of the wafers would effect heat transfer causing the odd sensor/heat symptoms.
@OF has mentioned about furnace cement is used as well. Myself, have been too chicken to take apart that far.

This might help some.

I have a real treat for ya'll.
Heater M 107- 84485

expanded view

heater and bowl assembly with some heat reflector material.

original point of failure with the solo, tempature sensor wire striped itself when something caused the wire to turn red hot, which resulted in melting the insulation material. and a solo failure.

 

[CarolKing]

How efficient is everyone's solos? I packed a straight stem, set my solo to 2 and let it heat up for a minute or two. Took a bout a slow 7 second drag, checked the bowl and it already had a good amount of browning while only producing a small hit.

Is this normal? Hits get harsh fairly quick and lose flavor. Maybe just start at the lowest and work my way up? I thought 2 was fairly low to start with.

I get vapor flavor and small vapor at heat level 2. You say it gets harsh quickly? I go up to levels 4 and 5 and get really wonderful vapor flavor through my 12 min session. Maybe not quite as tasty as the first 10 min. But doesn't get harsh for me until I vape the herb another 12 min. I usually vape my herb for 2 - 12 min sessions.

It may be your herb? It may be your unit? You need dry, good quality herb, I grind mine. Not all do though some use small nuggets. I have a strain of herb that is a little more harsh than my previous supply, so various strains are different. Maybe you should try some different herb and see if there is a difference. If not, it may mean that you have a flawed Solo.

Do some practicing, you don't want to send it back unless you have to

 

[fernand]

Wait wait wait ... @BirdFLU did you say you packed the stem then set the solo to 2? Are you placing the stem in the Solo while it heats up? That would kind of preheat the herb and dry it out a lot. That would likely give you premature browning and the other issues you describe. The usual way its to run the Solo up to temp, then place the stem in, then wait maybe 30 seconds, then draw. Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding.

 

[Caligula]

@BirdFLU

Are you packing the bowl to the brim? You should leave some space there so the flower doesnt directly contact the crucible (heater).

 

[spoutti]

Does the description I just gave sound similar to what you experienced? I figure even if people use it at 2 to 3 they are getting weaker hits on 2 and stronger ones on 3, but that may not be right. What level do usually set yours to?

Always at 5 with my may2013. I had a march2014 and level 4 was the same as level 5 on my may2013. Random darker outer layer with the march2014. Never on my may2013. Wich lead me to this post :

You know that statement "to a carpenter the world is a nail"? Well, so I'm from the electronics side, so what I see is a unit with a failed temp sensor, it heats up to the wrong level, including full on, because there is no valid feedback. And then either the oven burns out, or a transistor in the control that the CPU uses to regulate the oven overheats from being full on all the time, or an overheating component damages some other component, avalanche of stress, and in the end same result, it fails.



FWIW, the unit is about at the age (and you mention its amazing results which suggests you don't use it once a month), when the battery could be ready to retire?

You are suggesting many hypothesis to the random darker outer layer up here.

My friend just showed me how hot his march2014 gets. Cap and body quickly into the session. Only my cap gets mildly warm and the body noticebly cooler. His solo works well and all, but there is serious heat leakage/waste wich doesnt seem normal.