Aromazap/Myrtlezap/CeramicRockZap

[TerrorTurkey]

I got my zap today and i couldnt be happier.

i really like the eye at the top above the led






More Zap Pics

 

[momofthegoons]

Terror, that is one beautiful Zap. The walnut Rick has been using is stellar. Congrats!

 

[Rick]

That one is a beaut, Terror. We call it the marble walnut here in Zapville. Yours was also one of those that took some space cadet time to decide on the front for the led.
It is very hard for me to tell what kind of grain is in the walnut when I buy the wood for a couple reasons.
This current walnut is very old and dry and was originally intended for rifle stock blocks. What I see are blocks, all close to 3 inches thick but in all sizes and shapes and lengths. The way the wood has aged makes it very difficult to see any real grain patterns without taking a fresh slice out of the wood which is not possible at the time. The lighting in the area where the wood is stored is terrible, very dark. Then there is my eyesight, not so good. On top of all that, there are a few large wire type shipping crates, about 5' x 5' x5' full of these blocks. Better than a Zapman dream even. Lots and lots of it.
So what I do is try to go by weight per volume of wood. I pick up each chunk of wood and bounce it around in my hands, then grab another and do the same, etc. I go for lighter weight because that is usually the most interesting grain and also will run on the warm side for vaping. Terrors Zap is even special amongst the walnut as most of it is not like his. Good thing too as that baby was one tough bitch to turn.
gettin
Tim, the glass guy is out of town til early next week. I do have a thought on that one though. He will not want to mess with a stem tip or insert for the glass. He can do the tip end very similar to what we have now, then do whatever you want from there up. When it is done, I pick it up and bond the insert and supply tips and ship to customer. This could be the beginning of more elaborate custom glass stems. I do know he would prefer to pump some out and sell them all at once, wholesale, and not mess with the tips or bonding. He also does not like to ship. I will talk to him about it from our end too. The problem is generally the demand, especially when a simple clean alternative is offered at a low price(Tooty). I will tell you he will not try to design an all glass tip that will fit in a log vape. Sizing to work would be too fragile. Our current insert/tip design seems to be working well for these stems.
Last week he showed me a custom piece he made for a guy that broke his original and wanted it copied. He showed me the two which looked identical to me but apparently had some slight very tiny color difference in one spot from the original. The customer was bitching and Tim only charged him $50. I could not believe it and neither could Tim. That is one reason he likes selling wholesale.

 

[momofthegoons]

Terrors Zap is even special amongst the walnut as most of it is not like his. Good thing too as that baby was one tough bitch to turn.

Ought to be a lesson here about beautiful women...........

Interesting how you pick your wood Rick. it reminds me a lot of how great chefs will cook. They don't use measurements, just eyeball. You get a feel for it after a while.

 

[Rick]

Yea mom.
I got a feel for my wood.

 

[momofthegoons]

I would think so Rick! And an affinity for Zapolish!

 

[TerrorTurkey]

Thanks Mom, and especially much thanks to Rick. Im very pleased with the wood, when you said you had some extra dark walnut i was expecting darker then this, but im glad it isnt. edit: its actually a little darker then it looks in the pics

That one is a beaut, Terror. We call it the marble walnut here in Zapville. Yours was also one of those that took some space cadet time to decide on the front for the led.

I can imagine, it looks great from every angle, but i think you picked well. When im hitting it with the cord pointed down the eye is looking right up at me.

The ZAPorn was before i could sneak away and polish my wood also, and i think it looks even better now.

Also, about how many polish jobs would you say are in each tin? After one, and looking at the dent it made in the polish id say maybe...15? Maybe more? Just wondering if anyone with more experience on this can weigh in.

Finally im still trying to find a good grind/pack combo but i was getting nice rips last night thru my friends glass bong(we cleaned it right before we used it and it still didnt taste as good as the stems)after my friend and i vaped 4 stems through the bong i seriously had to go sit down cause i was too high and getting lightheaded. Then at home later i was getting nice hits, not as big as the bong but the effect was still there. I will write a more complete review after ive had some time to get to know it better.

 

[SmokingElectricity]

^^^the zap polish that comes with the MZ should last you 6 months. maybe longer if you don't get crazy with it. used to polish it everyday, now about once a week. usually apply it before bed and then rub it in next use. then again i guess everybody has their own routine.

 

[Nycdeisel]

hey rick, am I correct that you get a free tite kit for mentioning FC? or is that not still good. and if so where do I mention it?
my bad if thats totally off, I thought I read something about it once but could be completely mistaken, forgive me if Im wrong!
thanks!

 

[momofthegoons]

NYC, his offer is for a free transformer kit now. It's in his signature. This kit is to repair the wall wart if the cord goes bad. You mention it in the comments section of the order form.

 

[Rick]

Yea, moms right again. The freebie is the transformer repair kit which is a replacement transformer output plug with a small screwdriver that fits the plug and instructions for installation. In most cases it will fix intermittent heating/no heat problems in all three log vapes.
Good news on the glass front. Picked up another couple dozen Tooties yesterday, all made from the new glass tubing. The internal clearance for bonding our insert in the stem is perfect and will stay that way. The tubing is slightly thicker than what has been used in the past making these little buggers tougher than ever. Just guessing but I'd bet the pull is even smoother with thicker glass. First ones out today with some more Zap orders plus a few singles going out. Our thanks to Tim for having his number one guy, John, pop a few out for us while Tim was away on business. We do appreciate a continuous supply of a very popular product.
New Myrtle burl may make it in today. That stuff comes in via the USPS slow boat(parcel post). We are also very anxious on this stuff as we have not had any for a long long time.

 

[Nycdeisel]

Thanks to both of you, and now I can finally order and get one of those new tooties!

 

[TerrorTurkey]

Hey Rick what size is the little wooden packing tool? What would it be called if i was looking for one locally?

I had my zap at a friends last night and we were vaping watchin a movie and lost the little packer for a while, and when we found it his little puppy has chewed it all up. I did think i might lose that little thing eventually but i didnt think it would only take 2 days. So im gonna try to find a few somewhere.

 

[beach bum]

TerrorTurkey-It may not be as cute as the little dowel that comes with the MZ, but I've found the "clicky" end of a lot of ball point pens work nicely to tap in the load slightly...

Also wanted to say thanks to Rick for a quality product. I requested an MZ with a "trippy" grain pattern a few months ago, and you came though in a MAJOR way. Even with the special request, the order arrived quickly and she's broken-in nicely over time. The grain pattern just pops and appears even more pronounced after mutiple butter-bonding sessions! Please know that our Zap and tooties are well loved at this end!

 

[Rick]

beach bum
Glad you are happy with your Zap. We appreciate your business and comments about one of our little logs.
Which brings me to an announcement on the Myrtle burl. It did arrive yesterday. As soon as I picked up the three large blocks, all wrapped together in one large package, I knew it would be time for another plan as the package was just too light for that much wood. Got home and measured each piece and confirmed that conclusion. Very thick blocks, over 5" thick which is not thick enough for two standard Zaps. Same on lengths. Long story short there may be a dozen units from this wood total. If I do stock design, I will waste alot of wood. So the plan is something with a curve or two and bigger. It will still be a log but not a straight old log. It will be taller and fatter than a stock Zap as I have to get more wood around the heater than with stock wood. This wood is low density but spectacular.
Now for the good news, for me anyway. It will be a project for someday in the future. It is maybe on the back burner but almost off the stove for now. We just have too much else to do every day with keeping up on orders and getting the farm in gear for spring. I am also old enough now to add plenty of play time to my schedule, that being just enjoying this reality.
I currently have three wireless cameras going around the place. One IN the chicken house watching the nest boxes and all the action that goes on in there. That one is 80 yards or so from the house. Another is on our four new little piggees. We have four this year because the family demand for our pork has greatly increased with our own butchering curing and smoking of the meat we raise. That one is real fun to watch as these four(3 girls, one boy) have Rambo as their leader and they follow HER around everywhere and play alot. That camera is over 100 yards from the house. The third camera is over at Mikes, across the draw, about 180 yards from here. He is more in the woods and has lots of wild animals including a large herd of Elk and a regular morning and evening doe that comes to visit. That location has a small stream below the camera. All cameras have sound but I must listen to only one at a time to keep IE running smoothly. So I can hear the chickens up close or the entire place from the either of the outdoor cameras. Lots of robins early in the morning and of course roosters crowing all the time. The outdoor cameras have night vision too.

So the wood thing is back to just the regular old stuff. I will get some more 'normal' Myrtle coming so we can keep up with the regular supply we have always provided our customers. The special Myrtle burl stuff is on long hold though. Whenever that changes, this thread will be the first to know. My apologies for announcing that one a bit early.
Oh man, there go some wild turkeys gobbling somewhere out there. Barely getting light around here this morning.
Almost forgot. Those are 1/4" dowels we use for the packing tool, actually little axles for wooden toys. I never use anything like that anymore as I get a good pack with the straw method and a finger push over the end of the stem tip. The ball point pen clicker is also a perfect fit as beach bum noted.
edit for:
New Tooty tubing is sweeeeet. Thanks again Tim.

 

[gettin lifted]

i load my stems like rick. just suck up the herbs and gently smooth the end with my finger and let the extra fall back into my grinder/jar and its perfect like that. i've never used the packing tool.

 

[momofthegoons]

I do the same. I've found pushing it in makes it harder to clear the stem when it's done.

 

[Nycdeisel]

I load my stems the same way, straw method and then use my finger to even it out. its become like second nature for me after doing it so much

I didnt know I could request certain types of grain patterns!! I think I just might do that! It will probably help the friend Im going to be sometimes sharing it with to be more interested in the Zap rather than smoking!

 

[SmokingElectricity]

not sure if my ac adapters are dying or if i have a loose connection with something internal. but for the 3rd or 4th time this month i woke up and the unit is cold. happens with both adapters i own. gonna go out and buy a new one today and see if this is the problem.

 

[B.]

my local radio shack carries an adapter that can switch from 12 to 13, i love it.

 

[SmokingElectricity]

i remember Rick saying at one point that certain adapters from routers and other devices also work with the MZ. just to be on the safe side i'll post some pics of the adapter in question. looks to have the right output. i have like 3 of these laying around. don't know much about ac adapters.

 

[Rick]

Smoking
12 volts, 1 amp output is it. Hard to believe all the transformers are bad. Have you tried a new plug on any of them?
We can try on requests for wood but no guarantees of a particular grain pattern and getting close will be a longer shipping delay.
If you think it is the unit, we will take a look at it.
Did you try a volt meter on the output plug of a transformer?

 

[kewpcer]

I'd take a shipping delay to get a some variation of "marble walnut".

Just let me know how to annotate the order information to specify this option and I'll place the order ASAP.

 

[Nycdeisel]

yea where is the comments section of the order form? at the end I presume?

 

[gettin lifted]

yea where is the comments section of the order form? at the end I presume?

i wondered the same. its in the payal notes section