Aromazap/Myrtlezap/CeramicRockZap

[combusche]

caseball: yeah i understand, i appreciate it.

rick: i'm not sure i understand it as i have little knowledge of electronics. does your diagnosis still hold even though i've tried it with another erm.. i don't know what you call it but it's basically the plug + wire. i'm not sure if the transformer refers to the whole unit of the thing, but anyway yeah i have a woodeez and i plugged the woodeez thing into the zap and it still don't work.

 

[SmokingElectricity]

its probably the plug. same thing was happening to mine and i just switched the plug and everything was 100

 

[fiarrhea]

I want to hear more about clogged tips. I read that in ricks previous post and it immediately hit home. I was like damn, i thiught my stems were coming out greener. so i switched stems, i have had my zap for about 6 weeks using the same stem. Ive had a hard time keeping the tip from gumming up. tried toothpick, alcohol swab (not an entire soak though, wanted to wait til stems are real dirty and scrape with a straw), even *gasp* hitting it gently with a lighter. the flame method works best so far. not only hitting it, but even just heating the tip for 5 seconds and blowing through. Still could never get it to the state my pristine stem was/is. anyhow, after switching stems there was a serious difference in number of hits, hit density, and highness. My other stem wasnt even totally shut, just like the outer ring of screen holes and a couple in the middle, as well as the inner wall of the tip totally caked with 'resin'. but its easy to feel the differencwe in air flow between the two. I hope a good soak can restore the tip.

Amazing, its like rick has it perfected, on point, and with minor variations come dramatic differences. a blessing and a curse?

 

[caseball2051]

you should soak your stems regularly for cleaning. The screen gets clogged and material and gunk builds up on the bowl itself.

an overnight soak will do them wonders. im talking about alcohol of course. I use Isopropyl, some use drinkable alcohols...151 or grain alcohol.

 

[fiarrhea]

cool, then just rinse them through after the soak or does it all come off just from soaking?

 

[caseball2051]

itll all dissolve. i let mine soak overnight, then let them dry for a while.

all of the other methods you are currently using look like they could hurt your long term zap experience.

 

[fiarrhea]

i know, but i figured its cheap and easy to replace either screen or stem.

anyone got any experience scraping these stems to collect resin? or does everyone soak? I want to harvest the buildup, but dont want it tainted with iso taste, i can certainly taste something funny in iso extracts. also i want to smoke it, not drink it, so no tincture for now.

 

[Nycdeisel]

I just soak my pd stems in iso alcohol for a while, and be sure to rinse well, none of this no rinsing nonsense

 

[caseball2051]

ive experimented with rinsing and not rinsing and noticed no noticeable differences.

goes to show trhat both work, though.

 

[SmokingElectricity]

if it's really caked up with resin, i would scrape it out with a wood pick and then soak it. [smoke that shit]

i vote rinse after the iso soak

 

[Nycdeisel]

yep. oftentimes when I rinse it out after the soak I see some particulates come out so I wouldnt not rinse.

 

[momofthegoons]

If your screens are super gunked up, especially around the edges, you might want to remove them and really clean them and the vapor tube/stem tip. There is a point where no matter how long you soak them for, they wont get completely clean (if you haven't been cleaning your tubes on a regular basis). Just be real careful not to lose the little ring that holds the screen in. This is easiest with the tool Rick provides with his screen replacement kit, but can be done without it.

NYC, what ever happened with your Zap? Did you return it, or have you decided to keep it?

 

[Nycdeisel]

I havent done anything yet! I have decided to be a lazy fuck.

 

[fiarrhea]

how often do you guys soak stems? i vape 2-4 times a night, significantly more on weekends. Once every 3 weeks sound about right? thats about when mine started gunkin.

 

[SmokingElectricity]

how often do you guys soak stems? i vape 2-4 times a night, significantly more on weekends. Once every 3 weeks sound about right? thats about when mine started gunkin.

once a week if you are using stems. if you are using a tootie, i would soak the tip once a week and the actual tootie once a month.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Ive found out that if I dont regularly clean out my stems it really affects the taste. The vapor starts to taste dirty so to speak. Once I clean, the good taste is immediately restored. I only vape about 2-3 times (stems) a day and I alternate between the standard nylon stem and my Tooty. I'll clean both stems about once a month using 190 proof Everclear grain alcohol which I dont throw away. I keep the used cleaning alcohol to be used over and over in subsequent cleanings. The used alcohol slowly becomes a very deep yellow green then gets darker with each cleaning. After it starts getting a dark brown color I concentrate it down by evaporation until its really a dark brown concentrate then I use it to make some very potent tincture. Last time I concentrated it down until it was almost black and thick like tar, then vaped it. A little bit (large pin head) of that goes a long way, up to 20 milky draws per stem load. I take a small pin head of the tar and get it onto a small pointed wood skewer, then dip this into some ground up herb twist it around to get it completely covered then put it into the stem overtop of previously placed herb then cover it up with a bit of additional herb and go for it. Using this technique I get my moneys worth out of every last gram. I always keep the alcohol and the tar hash in the refrigerator to keep its potency which by the way is very strong. I have some now thats going on 6 months old and its as good as the day I made it.

 

[Nycdeisel]

I never let my stems get 'gunky' or anything like that.

I soak them about once a week when Im using everyday, multiple stems a day.

 

[559stonerr]

Is there a discount code for FC members? Was thinking about buying the zap and if there was a discount thatd be another incentive to buy it

 

[Cody420]

Has anyone ever had a problem of there tooty tip getting stuck? Mine is stuck and I made it worse by using a pliers. Any tips on how to get this loose?

 

[Orestes]

Has anyone ever had a problem of there tooty tip getting stuck? Mine is stuck and I made it worse by using a pliers. Any tips on how to get this loose?

have you turned it off? heat expands glass

 

[TerrorTurkey]

Has anyone ever had a problem of there tooty tip getting stuck? Mine is stuck and I made it worse by using a pliers. Any tips on how to get this loose?

yeah it happened to me, put it in the heat port for a minute or so, just to let it warm up, then find something to pull it out cause it will be hot.

 

[Rick]

It is hard in the morning.......... to keep these comments on track so I will stay away from words relating to another name for the heatport.
Hmmmmmmm
The tip will easily slip out of the Tooty if you get it hot. Terror is right on about leaving it in the Zap for a minute or two or three or more. I have spaced mine several times and left it in the Zap for much longer periods. The heat will turn the glue like goo into a lubricant and the tip will slip right out of the Tooty insert very easily. Use pliers or gloves as the tip will be very hot.

Another trip to wood Bobs yesterday for a nice re-stock of that beautiful walnut. Took Zaplady this time and we spent a good deal of time discussing another issue with him relating to Zapville. Could possibly be a major change in the future of Aromazap. No mas til we know more.

 

[559stonerr]

Hey rick i was looking at the best deal going and was wondering which was the middle one?

 

[mudstar]

Just noticed a few comments about stem cleaning and thought I'd add my input...

I've had my zap for maybe 8 months or so and with 3 stems and daily use, I find that soaking the stems in everclear (or another high proof alcohol, or iso) once a week or so and then giving them a good rinse as well as a light q-tip swab does wonders.

Not sure what others mean by not rinsing... I would certainly rinse at the very least and I think the q-tipping is important as I find a lot of brown gunk comes off on the q-tip when swabbing the screen, even after an overnight soaking, so I've taken to both rinsing and q-tipping. Just be sure not to be too heavy handed when you're swabbing the screens, as they can become dislodged. Even after a week of daily use, I notice my stems not performing as well as when they're freshly cleaned... seems the importance of cleaning stems regularly can't be overstated for maximum vapor output.

Cheers,
mudstar

 

[Rick]

mudstar
Thanks for the excellent tips on cleaning vapor stems/tips. We find an extra pull or two when you think everything is done will also help keep the goo from building up too much in the stems.
559stonerr
The middle Zap in the BDG pic is a Cherry Zap.
A delay for a day or two around here. One of the old timers in our local tribe checked out. We say good by today.
Here's to all the very hard working hard rock miners working every day a mile or more underground. Jim was retired so no accident but he left us way too early.