Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci

[CarolKing]

When using the GonG or the WonG you don't need anything except a metal screen up above jammed in the area within the silicone gasket above the oven. You can also use a bit of cotton on top of your herb to keep particles from entering the stem.

There's a pic I posted a few pages ago, check it out.

 

[Dark_Wolf]

Has anyone been able to use glass screens similar to the ones used in the solo stems so reduce bowl size in the ascent? I've been using the glass flowers which have worked excellent for improving vapor production but using a glass screen to reduce bowl size is something I've been thinking about doing.

 

[KeroZen]

Like these? http://aqualabtechnologies.com/honeycomb-glass-screens-five-pack.html

Good question... dimensions are not listed. I'm curious too.

 

[OF]

Has anyone been able to use glass screens similar to the ones used in the solo stems so reduce bowl size in the ascent? I've been using the glass flowers which have worked excellent for improving vapor production but using a glass screen to reduce bowl size is something I've been thinking about doing.

I didn't try them, because I didn't have any while I had Nigel's unit to play with, but I did try several glass bead types that are probably a good analog? They, of course, reduced the volume fine, but the same amount of flowers gave much better production. Too little surface area and too much mass I think. That makes them slow to transfer heat to the load when it comes time to make vapor, but then need more time to recover heat.

Worth a try, of course, but I bet the flowers do a better job gram for gram?

Good luck with it.

OF

 

[Dark_Wolf]

Like these? http://aqualabtechnologies.com/honeycomb-glass-screens-five-pack.html

Good question... dimensions are not listed. I'm curious too.

Exactly. I'll snag a few off eBay when I get back from my trip and see how they work. I would prefer to use these over the glass flowers.

I didn't try them, because I didn't have any while I had Nigel's unit to play with, but I did try several glass bead types that are probably a good analog? They, of course, reduced the volume fine, but the same amount of flowers gave much better production. Too little surface area and too much mass I think. That makes them slow to transfer heat to the load when it comes time to make vapor, but then need more time to recover heat.

Worth a try, of course, but I bet the flowers do a better job gram for gram?

Good luck with it.

OF

Experimentation is always fun and I have no problem being a guinea pig haha. Hopefully I will pick some up soon and update with my results.

 

[Tracido]

I never did get back about this, mine was returned with the same strength it left me with, as if nothing was done and no one cared, still vapes awful and before I even returned it was told could not refund was too late, because of the time reply took. I Just remembered this thing as it still hasn't even been a full year, just gave up.

 

[CarolKing]

Tracido, Some of the problems with this unit is user error. Have you bought the glass flower pipe screens? I was ready to give up on the Ascent, I'm glad I didn't. It is in my portable lineup and works really well. This unit has a learning curve so give it another try.

 

[ToadsWildRide]

Hi fellow vapers, I've never had the pleasure of experiencing herb from a vaporizer. I've been using rebuildable genesis e-cig atomizers for two years now, they got me off cigarettes. I've been smoking herb off and on for 26 years but had never thought of vaping that too. I ran across a post on facebook about the g-pen and it got my attention. I started researching and quickly found out that it's a cheap imitation of a real vaporizer. After hours searching the web and watching youtube videos I found my way here.

I've read the last 100 pages of this thread and watched all the reviews I could find on the ascent. I thought I'd start out slow and not go for the ascent right away so I ordered a MFLB on eBay yesterday. While I was on the DaVinci site tonight I had added a few things to my cart just for fun LOL. I hit the back button and a window popped up with a 10% off coupon code. It said it wasn't for the ascent but I decided to try anyway and it worked. I went ahead and ordered the burl bundle with the case and the 14mm water tool adapter, I paid for the overnight shipping with part of the coupon savings, so if it ships tomorrow It should get here on Wednesday along with the MFLB.

I guess I jumped in with both feet, but as I've read here on the forums it's always good to have a backup. I know I'll love vaping herb since I already enjoy the e-cig vapes. I'm so excited it's going to be hard to wait till they get here, at least it'll give me a day to go get some good green

 

[Madflayva]

My ascent arrived today and is currently charging

What temperature and how long is it recommended to run it for before using for the first time?

Also what temperature have people found to be ideal while using the glass jar as a spacer?

Cheers for any info

 

[KeroZen]

@Madflayva : I think I did between 5 and 10 max temperature burn-offs, while regularily blowing hard into the straw as to increase air circulation (because you need air to carry the off-gassed molecules away)

I wouldn't advise to do the 5 sessions back to back as it will make your device un-necessarily hot (and when the upper part of your device gets hots, you risk damaging your batteries) So let it cool down in a ventilated place in between.

Ah! And clean all exposed silicone parts with ISO before doing the empty runs. The smell is strong and takes a short while to dissipate fully.

Then to answer your ideal temperature question, there is simply no ideal temperature, and the beauty of the Ascent is that you can dial the right one depending on your needs and the material you use. Some strains need lower temps in order to preserve their fine terpenes, dryness also has an impact etc...

 

[Madflayva]

Thanks for that

How many tokes do you typically get out of one load?

 

[Delta3DStudios]

Thanks for that

How many tokes do you typically get out of one load?

Lol read back through @KeroZen posts on this thread. He did extensive testing on this subject.

When properly used (starting at LOW LOW Temperatures around 345F) and moving up 10 degrees at a time. You should get dozens upon dozens of small tokes.

If you load your Ascent and set to 400F+ to start, you'll be done in only a few tokes
Read back through the past 100 pages (groan, I know - but there is a LOT of useful information)

 

[Glass004]

@Ratchett Like I said, I try every thing. So let me lift up the capabilities of the glass jar with you.
I just noticed how much darker the ABV coming out of the Ascent with jars is compared to that vaped with the glass flowers. For me it says if you want efficiency and a wide spectrum of vaped substances, the glass jars have unmatched efficiency. The flowers are quicker for heating per the following example:
I had a group of 5 adults. I packed the oven full with herb/flower mixture. I then placed the Ascent on my 5 foot plastic tube and blew shotguns from the back of the unit. The result was huge clouds of vapor expelled from 5 coughing young men, who were forewarned about its potency. The glass flowers induced enough vaporization to keep up with a forced air system for 5 adults. I am not sure you could get the same performance from the glass jars.
Usually I vap alone, and the jars would seem to conserve and deliver my vaped herb most efficiently. The flowers are good for party animal demands and quick " I gotta go " loads. IMO

Edit: I mean to follow-up on the customer service with DaVinci about my returned Ascent (now 3 our of 4). They had sent me a non functioning unit for a warranty replacement. 5 days after notification they would send out the replacement (and 23 minutes after a complaining phone call) they sent me a tracking #for the replacement. Yesterday the shipping department had sent out duplicate shipping notifications erroneously to a lot of customers concerning past purchases. #confusing customer service

 

[Delta3DStudios]

@Glass004 - I agree, glass jar works very well for small loads. Really sorry to hear about all the problems you've been having with your units (but on the bright side, you should have tons of glass stems and jars now!)

------
I wanted to share with you guys some of my latest work. I'm still tweaking my wall mounted charging dock, but here's a look at my new desktop charging stand. I designed it to function several purposes - to hold/display your Ascent while charging (plus some of the GONGs and glass stems), and hopefully you will be able to swivel open the oven to load your Ascent while charging!

I've tossed 4 10mm diameter holes to hold GONGS and wooden stems from Ed (can someone measure the diameter of Ed's wooden mouthpieces so I can verify it will fit?). I've left the front of the stand open right now, not sure what I want to do with it. What do you guys think? Should I put any more 'storage' space on the front of the stand? What about a flat shelf to store other accessories like glass flowers and such?

 

[Glass004]

@Glass004 - I agree, glass jar works very well for small loads. Really sorry to hear about all the problems you've been having with your units (but on the bright side, you should have tons of glass stems and jars now!)

------
I wanted to share with you guys some of my latest work. I'm still tweaking my wall mounted charging dock, but here's a look at my new desktop charging stand. I designed it to function several purposes - to hold/display your Ascent while charging (plus some of the GONGs and glass stems), and hopefully you will be able to swivel open the oven to load your Ascent while charging!

I've tossed 4 10mm diameter holes to hold GONGS and wooden stems from Ed (can someone measure the diameter of Ed's wooden mouthpieces so I can verify it will fit?). I've left the front of the stand open right now, not sure what I want to do with it. What do you guys think? Should I put any more 'storage' space on the front of the stand? What about a flat shelf to store other accessories like glass flowers and such?

The storage space for the jars would be nice, maybe have a custom fitting hole rather than a shelf. Also you need to have a tiny hole for the metal pick tool storage. Most of us have spare picks. What about an oven packer storage hole? So the charging cord fits to the station? Or will you plug and set into the holder? Make it heavy enough for stability? I will definitely be interested.
Speaking of spares, yes that is a bright side to frequent factory replacements. I have 6 sets of glass stems, and 8 jars, and three chargers (I did buy two Ascents).
When eventually I have two working Ascents, I plan to rotate them on a charger. This avoids use while attached to the charging cord. I suspect the charging receptacle is the Ascent's Achilles' heel and a likely point of damage during use, as when the cord gets yanked on accidently while plugged in.
I measured my set of Eds stems against a measuring stick and found the larger stem diameter at 0.85 MM and the smaller stem diameter at 0.5 MM. Sorry I did not have better tool to measure with.

 

[swieder711]

I am puzzled by what happens when I raise the temperature during a session. Say I turn the unit on and set the temperature to 380. I can see the thermometer rise up to 380 at which point the thermometer goes away and the vapor symbol appears. So far so good.

If after a few draws I raise the temperature to 400 the screen does not change. The vapor symbol stays on. I would expect the thermometer to reappear as the unit goes from 380 to 400. How do I know when the unit reaches the new, higher temperature?

 

[Delta3DStudios]

I am puzzled by what happens when I raise the temperature during a session. Say I turn the unit on and set the temperature to 380. I can see the thermometer rise up to 380 at which point the thermometer goes away and the vapor symbol appears. So far so good.

If after a few draws I raise the temperature to 400 the screen does not change. The vapor symbol stays on. I would expect the thermometer to reappear as the unit goes from 380 to 400. How do I know when the unit reaches the new, higher temperature?

I've mentioned this previously several times - it's a well known 400F bug (also happens between 203 and 205 in Celsius). Happened on both my 1AA1 and 2AA1 units.

The unit still functions just fine, it will still readout at a lower number, or higher number once you go above 405F. Sadly there's no fix

 

[OF]

There's some masking going on IIRC. It's been a while since I sent Nigels back but as I recall once the temperature gets close the display switches mode and masks the last little bit. Makes it look more stable and no doubt keeps the questions down.

This is a proportional control machine, like your car's cruse control, it doesn't slam on and off, it throttles up and down. You can measure a drop in temperature with the hit by noting the current going up IIRC, even though the display doesn't give you a clue.

Not to worry, you bought it to make vapor not watch the display, right?

OF

 

[Amoreena]

... I would expect the thermometer to reappear as the unit goes from 380 to 400. How do I know when the unit reaches the new, higher temperature?

I have chosen to turn it off and on again to show changes in temperature setting. Otherwise, mine doesn't show it either. Am not sure the digital display can be taken as gospel.

 

[OF]

I have chosen to turn it off and on again to show changes in temperature setting. Otherwise, mine doesn't show it either. Am not sure the digital display can be taken as gospel.

Cycle to power to reset the display function.....brilliant!

I, being a non owner, can't take advantage, but I hope others will?

Simple (things that work well so often are), and now that you bring it up that's what we Solo owners often do. That is shutdown and power up to read the battery level (it does it for a few seconds on startup only).

Thanks.

OF

 

[Delta3DStudios]

Even after a power cycle, if I have my Ascent set to 400, It shows 397F - it will not show 400 on the display aside from when I am setting the temperature to 400.

No other temperature range on the whole unit has this issue, aside from the 397F to 403F range. I believe it's a bug in the software

 

[OF]

Even after a power cycle, if I have my Ascent set to 400, It shows 397F - it will not show 400 on the display aside from when I am setting the temperature to 400.

No other temperature range on the whole unit has this issue, aside from the 397F to 403F range. I believe it's a bug in the software

I've no reason to doubt this, nor way to test it. But I don't think it fits the situation the OP describes?

For sure I saw what I termed 'the masking' several times (and posted about it) but never saw the exact problem you're describing (no doubt because I didn't use those exact numbers).

OF

 

[chester222]

I was hoping some one in here would invent some kinda bag system add on with fan for the ascent by now

 

[KeroZen]

Yes the temp display bug is benign and it's just a display bug. It's easy to test: deplete your 195°C level until you see no visible vapor exhale, then raise to 205°C, it will get stuck to 195°C on display but you'll get new vapor, proof that it works as expected.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

I was hoping some one in here would invent some kinda bag system add on with fan for the ascent by now

I've thought about 3D printing some parts to make a bag system for the Ascent, but since there are so many air leaks, if I put a fan on the air intake grill, it would blow vapor out from multiple places around the ascent, not necessarily through the intended vapor path.

This means I'd need to put the fan in the vapor path (between the mouthpiece and the bag) to draw up the air. I don't think that's a viable option (lack of air pressure would result in slow inefficient half empty bags), and the fan would gunk up really fast! (not to mention the possible toxicity of vapor flowing over and around the fan itself!)

I think if you want a bag like option for the Ascent, your best option would be to make a Vaporlung.