Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci

Nunavut Tripper

Well-Known Member
At last! Something's not my fault....gotta bookmark that post.....

Good find. These guys too are 'cane beads' I think. The one's I tried were. There are similar round versions (which I tried) and conventional beads (which are more doughnut like), some of them quite small. That's what led me to the flowers, trying to get more surface area per gram of glass. FWIW I also found bud would get packed into the holes, calling for poking with a toothpick (no big deal, but something else to do.....or not).

Probably a useful option for guys who can't find the flowers or otherwise have problems with them? IMO worth keeping an eye out for coated ones as well......

OF
Is it possible that some of these beads and cheap jewel making supplies are not real glass but made from a resin or polycarbonate that would offgas when heated ?
Just wondering.
 

Nunavut Tripper

Well-Known Member
Plastic or resin should be pretty easy to detect. What makes me nervous is the lead content of the glass.

Resins can be pretty hard and solid so I would examine them carefully.
Lead in glass is something I was not aware of other than a mention of it earlier on this tread.
 
Nunavut Tripper,

Czechyourhead

Well-Known Member
Trying out glass flowers. (which mysteriously arrived either late last night or early this morning, Glassflower fairy?) Like most have mentioned, they are smaller than I assumed. Definite improvement in vapor production and flavor. (Not that I was dissatisfied by any means to begin with). Add me to the list of folks that recommend glass flowers.
 

OF

Well-Known Member
Is it possible that some of these beads and cheap jewel making supplies are not real glass but made from a resin or polycarbonate that would offgas when heated ?
Just wondering.

Valid concern for sure. Molding is easier which is why cheap beads (like for kids) are that way?

Cane beads should be safe since they are cut from long 'hollow candy canes of glass' (I've seen the canes in shops....the Belgians used to trade in them world wide IIRC) then 'fire polished', often under primitive conditions in the past.

Great point, due caution is advised. Thanks.

Plastic or resin should be pretty easy to detect. What makes me nervous is the lead content of the glass.

Valid point, perhaps, best to avoid (Lead) crystal beads (some but not all of the 'cut glass' ones). Fortunately the cheaper cane beads are safer? High Lead glass being expensive, easier to deal with and all.......

OF
 

EveryDayAmnesiac

Well-Known Member
I ordered some from Amazon from the link just posted. They are much, much smaller than the one VnC is using. You'd need to use a bunch. Also, after soaking them in ISO, the liquid turned a reddish, purplish, greenish color. I don't know if that means anything, but it made me not want to use them. :shrug:

Maybe someone could set me straight on that.

I also ordered the flowers, which I had soaked with the beads, so I'm not sure if any color came off of them.
Considering most of them arrived broken, I haven't been using them either. :shrug:

I'm still getting fine results by just packing the material down anyway.
 
EveryDayAmnesiac,
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°k

The sound of vapor
I've found this UK site where they seem to sell their own glass products and they have some glass screens made for pipes (so hopefully no lead or anything but glass):



I have contacted them yesterday about the exact size of the small ones but haven't heard from them yet. There's a pic next to a lighter and I'm afraid they might be a bit too big for the Ascent oven (I've sent mine back for replacement so I can't compare at the moment).

Also they have a custom jewellery section, who knows... if Da Vinci doesn't come with their glass sombrero or any kind of glass spacer/weight, MAYBE they can make something for the Ascent?
 

OF

Well-Known Member
I ordered some from Amazon from the link just posted. They are much, much smaller than the one VnC is using. You'd need to use a bunch. Also, after soaking them in ISO, the liquid turned a reddish, purplish, greenish color. I don't know if that means anything, but it made me not want to use them.

That would be a red flag to me, avoid them. Nothing should wash off, generally the last step in glass processing is a brief caustic etch to chemically polish the surface and clean it. Hydrofluoric acid IIRC? Coatings go on after that because the etch would eat them off again. True colored glass (like classic cane beads, the flowers, beer bottles or similar) should also take serious blasting with a torch without change.

OF
 

Kaellan420swe

New Member
With some force i presed the silicon edge into place.
Went to buy a us->eu power adapter (6$) and its full loaded now. Should i still wait the 10 hrs in charger?

Gona smoke some pollen hash, put a bud on the bot of chamber and pure some grinded hash on top of it will work good?

Lol davincivape site is flaged as malware site with cromium browser :o

mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.
 
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Kaellan420swe,
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Rhodes

New Member
I've found this UK site where they seem to sell their own glass products and they have some glass screens made for pipes (so hopefully no lead or anything but glass):



I have contacted them yesterday about the exact size of the small ones but haven't heard from them yet. There's a pic next to a lighter and I'm afraid they might be a bit too big for the Ascent oven (I've sent mine back for replacement so I can't compare at the moment).

Also they have a custom jewellery section, who knows... if Da Vinci doesn't come with their glass sombrero or any kind of glass spacer/weight, MAYBE they can make something for the Ascent?

I used this one, I bought the coloured daises and 10 large glass stars. Even with the large glass stars I noticed increased vapour production even though they fit in a tiny bit lop-sided because of their size, I also enjoy the extra air resistance you get from putting one on top. Haven't quite found the right kink with the daises but there is definitely better production for the amount of green you put in. As before I would fill the bowl completely with green and now I get the same high with the bowl being half filled with green and glass.

http://www.everyonedoesit.co.uk/online_headshop/glass-gauzes.cfm

Might as well do a quick review now as I've had the Ascent almost 2 weeks.

This is my first vaporiser so my initial reactions were somewhat mixed due to figuring out how to make the Ascent perform to the best of it's ability. When it came I managed to get half a day off work because I was that eager and I had been saving the best green I had ever smoked (actually called pineapple express, incredibly strong and well cured) for 2 weeks after I ordered it. Got home and realised I didn't have an international socket adapter for recharging but luckily the Ascent comes partially charged. I must have stuffed about a gram in with no glass and as compact as physically possible and then started up my vape cycle of three 3 minute rounds, 385F, 405F, 415F. I instantly got a very weird silicone taste which in hindsight I should have got heated off and I was completely unfamiliar with the taste of vaped weed and thought I was taking in off-gasses with the green but kept going anyway, didn't feel anything so far but when it got to 415 I got one of the biggest deepest hits I've ever felt on my lungs in my life, something I've never felt before that sensation of your lungs seizing up, being a noobie all I could think right now was 'am I going to die?' When I recovered I put another 0.5 in and started it up at 430F because I felt only mildly baked, of course now I know vaping never hits you instantly. I started taking long drawn hits which were hitting my lungs really hard again at which point it suddenly hit me, I was more baked then I have ever felt in my life, but I was too uncomfortably high to the point where I whited out hard on my bed for 5 hours straight LOL.

After that fateful day I have been using it everyday but much more moderately with glass guazes and saving green. Passed it around some mates at the pub, all of whom got really baked and complimented the taste. The munchies are noticeably better also because combustion ruins your tastebuds. I went to watch Joe Rogan's stand-up comedy live and vaped up with some mates before hand, noticed I had a more energetic high as joints always seem to make me tired. Went to a house party which had a few people that had tried vapes before, one person had tried his flatmates Solo and said he preferred the ascent based on its simplicity to use and taste and I was very surprised when another mate who had used a volcano-vaporizer said the ascent was just as good if not better, but these are just initial reactions based on single gos of the vape. I've loaded and used it outside the cinema and I have to say for the purpose of going out and about vaping with multiple friends this has got to be the best device on the market. Battery life, ease of use with not too many extra parts, stealthiness, aesthetics and of course with that clean taste the Ascent has a lot of things going for it.

I haven't had chance to compare with other vaporiser because like I said I'm new, so the only real gripe I've had with it is the fact that the bottom glass cylinder close to the holes that connect to the bowl gets really really dirty and clogged up fast and even when I use a pipe-cleaner and Isopropanol I still can't get that bottom part completely clean which ruins the taste and airflow of the device. Good thing my Ascent came with two spare.

I will definitely be looking out for the newest and best Vaporiser on the market to compare with my ascent as I am now hooked.
 

CMD

New Member
Thanks for the input °k, Nunavut Tripper, and others. I decided to order directly through DV and cancelled the one I had with TV. Timing worked out well because I received an email from DV later saying that day was the last one to order and still receive the free gifts (went with the extra set of glass). Paying shipping and factoring in the exchange rate, the order was only about $15 more than the one I had with TV. Although I may still get dinged with custom duties. Regardless, the unit has already been shipped out and according to the tracking info is currently at the LA sort facility gradually making its way north. So excited to actually have some concrete progress in obtaining a unit after all these months and delays, delays, delays!

Coincidentally enough, I also placed an order for some glass flowers to assist with vapour production a few days ago that should hopefully arrive around the same time. Looks like X-mas is coming early this year :)
 

k0udek

Active Member
With some force i presed the silicon edge into place.
Went to buy a us->eu power adapter (6$) and its full loaded now. Should i still wait the 10 hrs in charger?

Gona smoke some pollen hash, put a bud on the bot of chamber and pure some grinded hash on top of it will work good?

Lol davincivape site is flaged as malware site with cromium browser :o

mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.

Some users already said it works, just do it like you say or use some organic cotton instead. Don't forget to report back, most users only talk about herbs and is always good to know about hash too. Other way i think it would work is take some hash and press it like paper thin and use it like that, can't tell if it would work better than grinded (powdering it is kinda difficult but would be perfect)
 

°k

The sound of vapor
More glass screen from a pipe manufacturer but this time made on the other side of the Atlantic:



Not sure how well that'd fit in the oven though, it's 5 mm x 5 mm.
 
°k,

Razor

Well-Known Member
So I got my third replacement today. Straight out the box, half od the display is broken. Well, more than half. Not even all of the temp shows up all the way. Half is grayed out. So, 15 minutes in and I'm paying for a fourth send back. Pretty soon, it'll be a 300 dollar unit. The seal is also loose this time. I can see through the unit to the TV or see part of my hand without trying really. It also will not heat up while plugged in. It'll start to then just stop n go back down. I have to unplug it, heat it and plug it back in. If I try to raise the heat, it'll start going back down to 0.

On a side note, the new unit they sent me was an A1 unit. This was the first run productions right? Maybe they are recycling numbers....... or units? I hope not. Hopefully, fourth unit is the charm.
 
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Razor,
So I got my third replacement today. Straight out the box, half od the display is broken. Well, more than half. Not even all of the temp shows up all the way. Half is grayed out. So, 15 minutes in and I'm paying for a fourth send back. Pretty soon, it'll be a 300 dollar unit. The seal is also loose this time. I can see through the unit to the TV or see part of my hand without trying really. It also will not heat up while plugged in. It'll start to then just stop n go back down. I have to unplug it, heat it and plug it back in. If I try to raise the heat, it'll start going back down to 0.

On a side note, the new unit they sent me was an A1 unit. This was the first run productions right? Maybe they are recycling numbers....... or units? I hope not. Hopefully, fourth unit is the charm.

they are reusing serial numbers. My stealth is A1 and it has all the latest changes.
 
YesIt'sLoaded,
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armin

Member
No, not really. The two goals I was trying to address were decreased herb load while keeping the bowl full and more surface area, and increase thermal mass, to support vapor production (note the testing I reported which led here....).

Dual purpose, just two different purposes.

This is a conduction vape, it needs solid contact between the herb and wall to work. A load loose enough to "shake it around" is doomed to poor production. This is why guys use the glass jars to jam the load into tight (but partial) contact. IMO leaving part of the wall 'naked' is a straight out looser, that's the very place you want lots of firm contact. More (solid) contact means more heat therefore more vapor.

IMO reducing the load by only loading part of the bowl is the wrong way to go about it.

Stirring is not all that important, again I direct you to the testing. The internal load temperature goes down a LOT with the hit. Before the hit starts the entire load (no matter where it is in the bowl) is as hot as possible. The hit might drop that 100 degrees or more. Some vapes thrive on stirring, IMO not this one.

OF
What I don''t understand is I believe you said that the weed HAS to be in contact with the vape to vaporize, but then you say everything in there no matter it's location is vaporized do to it being hot enough. But that would mean even the parts of the weed that AREN'T in contact with the side are vaporized.

I'm not trying be difficult really. Just trying to understand... And I medicated too much tonight ;) so I probably misunderstood your response.

Also, I'm a page behind on this thread, but they are officially selling it on their site since yesterday. In case it hasn't been mentioned. I seem to get the impression that a lot of people on the preorder list still haven't received theirs yet. Shouldn't they get priority? Also if they are officially selling it, I would guess they are final on the design. So any of us smaller load users will have to do a creative workaround then?
 
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armin,

OF

Well-Known Member
What I don''t understand is I believe you said that the weed HAS to be in contact with the vape to vaporize, but then you say everything in there no matter it's location is vaporized do to it being hot enough. But that would mean even the parts of the weed that AREN'T in contact with the side are vaporized.

I'm not trying be difficult really. Just trying to understand...

No, what I tried to say is this is a conduction vape, the only way (for practical purposes) heat gets into the load is by contact with the hotter surfaces. Over time heat builds up in the load as it spread though it, eventually reaching a uniform temperature (basically the one displayed). I did a series of experiments that demonstrated this (and eventually led to the glass flower idea):

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/ascent-vaporizer-by-davinci.9885/page-111#post-459922
http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/ascent-vaporizer-by-davinci.9885/page-111#post-460024

This showed that useful energy transfer basically stops when you start to hit it, temperature drops like the proverbial rock. Any vapor to be made has to come from energy already in the load for the most part. Over time all the load does extract without stirring, this is why. But to get into the load to start with the load has to be in solid contact with the hot walls or the rate goes WAY down and you have to wait long times between hits.

This was the understanding that led to the idea of the flowers which add more hot glass in contact with herb.

It's one of those thermodynamics things......you know, 'heat flows from hot to cold' and all that?

Another insight is actually making the vapor takes a LOT of energy. Much more than it takes to raise temperature. As it evaporates in the hit, the THC and other good stuff robs the heat from the load causing the temperature there to drop rapidly, too rapidly to be replaced in a useful time unless the hot surfaces are spread throughout the load....back to the flowers idea.

FWIW other vapes work differently, at least some do. Convection vapes (like HA, Cera, etc) heat the air drawn in so the load temperature goes up in the hit (not down like here). Hit them harder and you get more vapor, not less.

Anyway, I hope this helps? You might read the posts above (and look at the photos), perhaps that will help?

Regards,

OF
 

Quetzalcoatl

DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
What I don''t understand is I believe you said that the weed HAS to be in contact with the vape to vaporize, but then you say everything in there no matter it's location is vaporized do to it being hot enough. But that would mean even the parts of the weed that AREN'T in contact with the side are vaporized.

I'm not trying be difficult really. Just trying to understand... And I medicated too much tonight ;) so I probably misunderstood your response.
Yeah, you're right, if you pack a fat bowl in there you can vape it thoroughly without flowers... but the flowers aid in getting even vaporization with smaller loads. The smaller loads can fly up and swirl around inside or raise up to the glass screen. At that point, it would be convection/IR causing any vaping, but the nature of the Ascent doesn't allow for this to be very effective (hence the whispy vapor complaints). Adding the flowers physically fills up the bowl and acts like a shield to prevent the goods from flying from the bottom since they're heavier than the bud, while not restricting the airpath too much. And since the flowers are glass, once they warm up, they'll hold heat pretty well, and will help with vaping the flower from above as well. If the ones you get have the deeper stem down the middle and it pokes into the load, you also get the benefit of the heat transfer penetrating the load, heating it both from the outside (where the contact is with the walls of the bowl) and from within (from the stems going down into the herb). This helps with small loads. If you pack it well, the heat will vaporize, but it will vape the outside first, and then proceed inwards as the heat penetrates.
 

armin

Member
No, what I tried to say is this is a conduction vape, the only way (for practical purposes) heat gets into the load is by contact with the hotter surfaces. Over time heat builds up in the load as it spread though it, eventually reaching a uniform temperature (basically the one displayed). I did a series of experiments that demonstrated this (and eventually led to the glass flower idea):

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/ascent-vaporizer-by-davinci.9885/page-111#post-459922
http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/ascent-vaporizer-by-davinci.9885/page-111#post-460024

This showed that useful energy transfer basically stops when you start to hit it, temperature drops like the proverbial rock. Any vapor to be made has to come from energy already in the load for the most part. Over time all the load does extract without stirring, this is why. But to get into the load to start with the load has to be in solid contact with the hot walls or the rate goes WAY down and you have to wait long times between hits.

This was the understanding that led to the idea of the flowers which add more hot glass in contact with herb.

It's one of those thermodynamics things......you know, 'heat flows from hot to cold' and all that?

Another insight is actually making the vapor takes a LOT of energy. Much more than it takes to raise temperature. As it evaporates in the hit, the THC and other good stuff robs the heat from the load causing the temperature there to drop rapidly, too rapidly to be replaced in a useful time unless the hot surfaces are spread throughout the load....back to the flowers idea.

FWIW other vapes work differently, at least some do. Convection vapes (like HA, Cera, etc) heat the air drawn in so the load temperature goes up in the hit (not down like here). Hit them harder and you get more vapor, not less.

Anyway, I hope this helps? You might read the posts above (and look at the photos), perhaps that will help?

Regards,

OF
I totally get it now. Thanks for clearing that up for me. On an aside, wouldn't the principle of the harder you hit the bigger the hit be preferred over the ascents? At least in being able to measure your usage.
 
armin,
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OF

Well-Known Member
I totally get it now. Thanks for clearing that up for me. On an aside, wouldn't the principle of the harder you hit the bigger the hit be preferred over the ascents? At least in being able to measure your usage.

You're welcome, glad you're getting up to speed on this stuff.

I think the various schemes have their strong and weak points (as so often happens). Strong dependence on convection has it's positive points for sure, but it eats up the power (is generally less efficient) and usually takes longer to get into action. Many, like Cera, call for extra skills to be learned which many users aren't interested in. Many want to pay the money and get to the enjoyment part ASAP, which makes sense to me as well.

And then you have strange little guys like Vapman (a personal fav) that are not only efficient but fun to use and neat to enjoy for it's novel design and workmanship. A 'Steampunk Vape' if you will.

Like the rest of life it's a matter of benefits and compromises. You know what they say, 'you may have less hair to comb now, but you've got more forehead to wash'.......

OF
 

stickstones

Vapor concierge
OF

I surmised early on that there is a lot of radiation going on in the bowl because it does get so evenly and thoroughly cooked. Even when I put some ground herb in the middle of a ball of cotton, the load gets spent the same way. I suppose conduction is happening through the cotton to some extent, but since the cotton is always cool enough to touch, I went the radiation route. I think this thing is mostly conduction, followed by radiation and lastly convection. Would you agree or do your tests lead you to a different conclusion?
 

OF

Well-Known Member
OF

I surmised early on that there is a lot of radiation going on in the bowl because it does get so evenly and thoroughly cooked. Even when I put some ground herb in the middle of a ball of cotton, the load gets spent the same way. I suppose conduction is happening through the cotton to some extent, but since the cotton is always cool enough to touch, I went the radiation route. I think this thing is mostly conduction, followed by radiation and lastly convection. Would you agree or do your tests lead you to a different conclusion?

For sure like most vapes (I guess) there's a mixture of the 3 (the only 3 ways possible FWIW). However, Radiation doesn't work all that well at the 400F level to start with and will only transfer the heat (calories, not degrees) when the temperature difference between hot and cold is big. You get IR heating standing in front of the fire because it's so much hotter. Trap that in a wood stove and while the IR heats the metal, you're reduced to Conduction and Convection (for the most part) to heat the room.

Same here I think. Once the hit starts, vapor production depends mostly on Conduction to supply the heat needed to the herb to keep the show going. That's why the flowers work?

In a fun way this is a bit like the 'how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?' debates that kept 'the Church' busy for many centuries.......a big improvement some might say over joining the Spaniards in their little Inquisition adventures. The world was sure a different place before old Chris C. got lost and claimed he got here on purpose......

OF
 
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