HerbieVonVapster
Well-Known Member
Well been using the VV power supply last couple days with my crz and all can add is WoW. Thought worked great with the Rockzap but even better on the crz. The VV PS really allows me to dial in the different effects nicely.
It also maintains a constant temperature with the zaps, where before that was out of my hands.
Now a dual model any ideal Rick if be able to adjust each one separately?
It also maintains a constant temperature with the zaps, where before that was out of my hands.
Now a dual model any ideal Rick if be able to adjust each one separately?
max
Out to lunch
Two different voltage outputs would require two supplies in the box. Whatever setting you use would apply to both zaps.
Hey Rick, count me as one who's very interested in the Hildbrandt with stainless steel finish. That yellow won't pass the 'wife check' unless I start vaping in the garage.
HerbieVonVapster
Well-Known Member
Aw well I am really happy with the looks of the stealth model anyways. The V on the top really sets it off IMHO. I did changed the wire, stripped off the white outer coat so now have red/black wire btw the zap and VV PS.
Might toss some techflex 1/8 or 1/4 sleeving over it but right now liking the red/black look. Goes nice with the red display and black unit.
Might toss some techflex 1/8 or 1/4 sleeving over it but right now liking the red/black look. Goes nice with the red display and black unit.
Rick
Zapman
As max said, a dual output power cord would supply the same voltage to both output plugs. We will be sticking with the single output power supplies. They do make a dual output PS that is commonly used in the Tattoo business but they are "either, or" outputs. You can use one or the other but not both at the same time.
We should have no problem running two Zaps off our power supplies as amperage pull from two units is well under the 2 amp output of the PS.
I would be interested in comments on the wire we use for the VV power cord. Herbie stripped off the white outer sheath. Is white a bit too radical? Do we like the black cords? I will need to order more wire soon so any input will be appreciated.
VV power supplies back in stock today. We will have the brushed stainless Spartan in stock in a week or two.
Herbie, glad to see you are loving the VV. Electric grid voltages are always fluctuating within a range about of 5-8 volts. Those constant changes in voltage means log vapes on a fixed output NON REGULATED wall transformers will be slightly inconsistent in heated air production. Any VV power supply, by definition, is a REGULATED power supply that will provide a set voltage based on where you set the dial.
We should have no problem running two Zaps off our power supplies as amperage pull from two units is well under the 2 amp output of the PS.
I would be interested in comments on the wire we use for the VV power cord. Herbie stripped off the white outer sheath. Is white a bit too radical? Do we like the black cords? I will need to order more wire soon so any input will be appreciated.
VV power supplies back in stock today. We will have the brushed stainless Spartan in stock in a week or two.
Herbie, glad to see you are loving the VV. Electric grid voltages are always fluctuating within a range about of 5-8 volts. Those constant changes in voltage means log vapes on a fixed output NON REGULATED wall transformers will be slightly inconsistent in heated air production. Any VV power supply, by definition, is a REGULATED power supply that will provide a set voltage based on where you set the dial.
TheDudeNextDoor
Abiding
Well, I have heard that once you go black...
reece
Well-Known Member
Jeppy
Pure Vaporist
Ok,,,,so I bought this gentlewoman a vape (spalted myrtle) when Rick had his Abysmal 'help' sale. I had shared my CRZ with her in the past and she had mentioned wanting one. The only problem was money. OH, before I continue with the story,,,One words: EX-motherINLAW!!! 
From a long time ago at that!! 
So, I buy her the myrtle. MISTAKE: She called me everyday telling me how she really wishes she had a quote: "little zap like yours". Give me a break. 
So I go over there and pick up the myrtle today,,,,and she asks me,,,she says, "Jeppy, when are you bringing the 'little zap' over"???? OMGosh, I'm gonna need therapy! 
I'm gonna have to start a hurrycane lorraine relief fund. ![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")
From a long time ago at that!! So, I buy her the myrtle. MISTAKE: She called me everyday telling me how she really wishes she had a quote: "little zap like yours". Give me a break. So I go over there and pick up the myrtle today,,,,and she asks me,,,she says, "Jeppy, when are you bringing the 'little zap' over"???? OMGosh, I'm gonna need therapy! I'm gonna have to start a hurrycane lorraine relief fund. 
Willuminati
Will
so hey yall i got a super strange idea Rick would one of these work to lower the temp on one of the zaps if you used the splitter? http://www.amazon.com/Inline-Dimmer...ITQ0/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1337911029&sr=8-7
Willuminati
Will
hey everyone super exciting day today got my vv ps and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it
the first peek into your new home
spreading the love.
the first peek into your new home
spreading the love.
collegerower
Well-Known Member
I think I'd go with the black cord with the black box too. Don't really like the white cord myself.
I agree.
Rick
Zapman
We are looking for some black wire of the proper gauge for the VV power cord. It is not easy to find but we have made a connection. More info on that one next week. I am getting the consensus that black is preferred by most for the VV power cord. For the interim we will continue to use the white sheathed wire as it is high quality and works well for our use.
Got the second batch of VV power supplies in last night. We picked up a few of the Hildbrandt Spartan units along with a good re-stock of the Stealth VV we have been using since the start of our VV PS experience.
The Spartan is very nice and accurate with the ten turn knob. I'll have more to say on it after a thorough test here at Zapville. First impressions of the Spartan are very good.
Will, I think that 12 volt rheostat you show would do the trick for two Zaps powered from one VV PS. Set the VV voltage for the unit that needs the highest voltage, then use the "dimmer" to turn down the voltage to the second unit if needed.
I'll get going on some dual output cords this weekend.
Good old USPS seems to be back on track these days. They are impossible to beat as far as cost/delivery time when they are on schedule. The Saturday shipments are the best, normally arriving Monday anywhere in the US.
Jeppy......what can I say? Sometimes being nice just gets you in trouble, especially with in-laws. Good that you tried to please an older lady.
Got the second batch of VV power supplies in last night. We picked up a few of the Hildbrandt Spartan units along with a good re-stock of the Stealth VV we have been using since the start of our VV PS experience.
The Spartan is very nice and accurate with the ten turn knob. I'll have more to say on it after a thorough test here at Zapville. First impressions of the Spartan are very good.
Will, I think that 12 volt rheostat you show would do the trick for two Zaps powered from one VV PS. Set the VV voltage for the unit that needs the highest voltage, then use the "dimmer" to turn down the voltage to the second unit if needed.
I'll get going on some dual output cords this weekend.
Good old USPS seems to be back on track these days. They are impossible to beat as far as cost/delivery time when they are on schedule. The Saturday shipments are the best, normally arriving Monday anywhere in the US.
Jeppy......what can I say? Sometimes being nice just gets you in trouble, especially with in-laws. Good that you tried to please an older lady.
Willuminati
Will
Thank you rick I was just tryin to help cause someone posted about turning one zap down when you start doing the dual zap wires.
And And...The Sweet Spot...if your on the fence about getting one of these vv ps don't wait, best upgrade ever.
And And...The Sweet Spot...if your on the fence about getting one of these vv ps don't wait, best upgrade ever.
Rick
Zapman
The "sweet spot" as far as a voltage setting, will be different from Zap to Zap, room to room and day to day. Just a slight difference. I am at 14.5 right now but have a larger Cedar unit in use this morning. The larger dimension softer woods will only get warm in the hands, not hot like the hard woods. Just turned it back down to 14 as she is warm now. The 14.5 was to get her up to temp from being set at 10 volts all night.
Spartan report will be eased out over time, mainly because we will not have the brushed stainless in stock for a week or two. The yellow bird Spartan is exactly the same as the brushed stainless but with a shiny yellow finish. A few yellow birds flew into Zapville Thursday night.
First report: They are TWICE the weight of the Stealth. They also run cooler.
Anybody out there know much about power supplies? Does twice the weight of a model with the same specs mean anything? Hmmmmm
Spartan report will be eased out over time, mainly because we will not have the brushed stainless in stock for a week or two. The yellow bird Spartan is exactly the same as the brushed stainless but with a shiny yellow finish. A few yellow birds flew into Zapville Thursday night.
First report: They are TWICE the weight of the Stealth. They also run cooler.
Anybody out there know much about power supplies? Does twice the weight of a model with the same specs mean anything? Hmmmmm
max
Out to lunch
This info comes from an article on computer power supplies, but it applies for these too. It's also very much true for high quality audio equipment.Rick said:
"The weight of a power supply is directly related to the quantity, quality, and size of the material (thus cost) used to build the power supply. We opened a light and a heavy 300W-labeled power supplies. The heavy one has larger capacitors, thicker wires, larger transformer, larger heat sinks, more connectors, and more capacitors than the light one, all of which are important factors for the overall cost and quality of a power supply.
This brief study clearly confirms an empirical knowledge: the quality of a power supply can be estimated by its weight. While this is not a true scientific or thorough measurement of the power supply reliability, it is nevertheless a very simple and easy way for ordinary PC users to estimate and compare the quality of a power supply.
By no means is the weight the best way to measure the quality of a power supply. There are other factors one should consider in purchasing a power supply such as wattage, output, brand, price, noise level, and long-term stability. However, to most end-users, measuring the weight may be the only viable method that's widely available."
http://www.directron.com/psu.html
TheDudeNextDoor
Abiding
Hmm...interesting.
StealthGrower
Member
I have had some time to actually sit and use the vape a little. the sweet spot is right around 13.7 give or take a little depending on room temp. this gets the weed to a nice brown color, slightly more than golden brown, but not dark. which is exactly where i like it. when at this voltage the zap is hot to pick up. the top of it is pretty much too hot to touch, if someone offered me $5 to hold it from the top for 30 seconds i'd say yes, but it's uncomfortable. the lower part of the zap is still hot, but you can hold it. still the palm of my hand comes away from the zap bright red because it's so hot
my myrtlezap over the years got significantly hotter to the touch. when i originally got it, it was just warm to the touch, now it is hot, although not as hot as the CRZ. i worry that the same thing will happen with this vape and over time the wood will get hotter. if the vape gets any hotter it will be unusable. because it will be too hot to pick up.
at the same time as the wood is getting too hot, the vape itself doesn't seem to retain the same level of heat as the myrtlezap. with the MZ i often used it with groups of 3-6 people, with larger groups i occasionally would have to stop, but with 1-4 i would almost always be able to get everyone vaped until they didn't want to anymore with out having to stop.
now with the CRZ it seems like it struggles to keep up with even one or two people. the first stem vapes fine, and sometimes the second vapes fine depending on how fast you hit it, but then towards the end of the second, or beginning of the third stem it starts to get wispy.
because i have a VV PS i can crank it way up and keep vaping, but that gets complicated and difficult to control perfectly, and it seems to make more hotspots and uneven vaping, i'll end up with one spot almost black and the rest still green.
maybe the reason it's cooling off sooner than the MZ is because i might not be heating it up quiet as hot (although i think i am at least pretty close because it vapes the first stem to a similar color), but i can't really go any hotter or the wood gets too hot.
again i am rushed to write this. i haven't been able to get a second to myself recently.
Rick
Zapman
MO wood!
I have mentioned earlier we were trying to keep these things small(in the past). Smaller hardwood means hotter to hold when at a good vaping temp. Slightly more wood is more insulation around the hot center core to keep it in the "warm, not hot to hold" range. The addition of the VV PS is enabling me to design more for comfort as the best performance can be set with a dial. The old Zaps had much more wood around them than the CRZs. Softer woods are also easier to hold than hard woods.
Holy shit! what did I just say!
Also, my hands are old and very tough so my feel for "too hot too hold" is not the same as most folks.
Many of the small changes we need to make for a better product come from customer feedback. We are too simple and hermit-like to figure it out ourselves.
I'll have mo later. A little announcement about shipping and our summer schedule. Home boy stuff.
Stealth, do not fret over the wood charring in the CRZ. Even though they feel hot, they do not char, at least so far we have not seen any. If you were to try to hold the old design Zap with the small amount of wood around the core we have been using on CRZs, you would not be able to do it. Thanks for the comments on your CRZ.
I have mentioned earlier we were trying to keep these things small(in the past). Smaller hardwood means hotter to hold when at a good vaping temp. Slightly more wood is more insulation around the hot center core to keep it in the "warm, not hot to hold" range. The addition of the VV PS is enabling me to design more for comfort as the best performance can be set with a dial. The old Zaps had much more wood around them than the CRZs. Softer woods are also easier to hold than hard woods.
Holy shit! what did I just say!
Also, my hands are old and very tough so my feel for "too hot too hold" is not the same as most folks.
Many of the small changes we need to make for a better product come from customer feedback. We are too simple and hermit-like to figure it out ourselves.
I'll have mo later. A little announcement about shipping and our summer schedule. Home boy stuff.
Stealth, do not fret over the wood charring in the CRZ. Even though they feel hot, they do not char, at least so far we have not seen any. If you were to try to hold the old design Zap with the small amount of wood around the core we have been using on CRZs, you would not be able to do it. Thanks for the comments on your CRZ.
Willuminati
Will
so it just happened my screen came loose and is stuck sideways in the tube.. now it looks like the snap ring is behind the screen in the clean tube I have.....now I am trying to figure out how you change these.. it looks like screen should go to indent groove then snap ring to hold it but the screen and ring are both behind the indented groove....I'm confused anyone got a video on changing the screen?
TheDudeNextDoor
Abiding
Interesting. At 14 volts (which is 14.5 actually), my zap is still only warm to the touch. I can grasp and hold it for as long as I want with no problem at all.