I haven't seen one and people have asked, so I will share my observations on what a first time user should know. Sorry if it seems presumptuous.
Initial Setup:
You should check your charge when you get your vape. They have been coming from the factory with a substantial if not full charge. As tempting as it is to blaze away, charge it first. If your aren't sure if the indicator has lied to you, I've seen a few posts suggesting that unplugging and replugging the charger and if the indicator is "stuck" it will change. Not sure if this is a issue with the new ones. I haven't seen it for many, MANY pages of posts. Mine was fully charged from the factory.
Your vape may have an old serial number. DV says they do not ship anything but the most current version, and my own stealth is the newer revision with an A1 serial number. If you bought it from somewhere else, you should look for the enhancements. The most obvious is a "v" notch stay on the side of the unit.
Most people say you should run it for a while at broil (or whatever the top temp is). This is apparently to "cure" the seals. I did not do it, and I didn't taste or feel anything off. I bought a second vape for my buddy for Christmas, and it appeared to have a bit of something on the seals and in the bowl. This may have been condensate from moving it inside from the cold. Regardless, I don't see how "cooking off" the unit will hurt. They also mention that it might be a good idea to watch the unit when you do this, so you can see if it "smokes". As an observation, silicone has a fantastically high melting point (I pour molten lead into silicone muffin trays to make lead "biscuits"), and I think, but am not certain, that the "smoke" is more likely vapor.
Using the Vape:
The DV Ascent likes to have a full bowl. Some people just fill it, some people use "flowers," or glass tobacco filters, some people use glass beads, and some use the wax/oil jar.
Filling the bowl is self-explanatory, but the bowl is big, so it's also expensive
. I only really fill and pack it when I am with friends and sharing. Some say pack it, some don't emphasize that. In my observations, packing it does make the clouds more rich.
If you use flowers, you can play with it. Honestly, I've read every post (this vape is too pricey for me to not know every thing I can about it) and there really seems to be a lot of variations with their use. Most put at least one flower in first, pack it a little, and then put at least one more on top, from what I gather. I ordered flowers, but I don't have any, so sorry.
When you use beads, ensure you don't use something that will poison you. Avoid iridescent coatings or the super cheap Chinese ones. Wash them in ISO first. I read an excellent post about how round was absolutely the wrong shape. The square beads seem to be well-liked.
Some have drilled holes in the jar that comes with, and used it as a spacer. I personally use the jar with no holes. It seems to work fine, so I don't wanna drill out a jar until I read more.
The goal in all cases is to increase the surface area and reduce the amount of empty space, while holding down the products.
Prevailing opinion is that you should draw slow. It actually took me a few days to get the breathing right. THIS IS A TECHNIQUE DEPENDENT VAPE. Do it right or you will be here complaining.
This vape needs time to warm up and recover. I've never had a problem hitting it within 20 seconds of hitting temperature. I have seen varying times between hits. I try to give it 30 seconds, and that seems to be enough.
You will know when you are done because you can taste it. For me, it's almost like a burnt popcorn taste. It will also produce less vapor/taste.
Most people are happy with the way it cooks the product evenly without having to stir. I stirred it a few times but it really didn't seem to make a difference so I stopped.
I start around 360. I end around 400.
When You're Done:
This takes a long time to cool down. I see that guys will sometimes snap the stems off the flowers. If you have the jar in don't even think about touching it.
Clean the glass in strong ISO. I put the glass and alcohol in a baggie and let it soak for a few hours. Then I take the glass out, pour in a little kosher salt (cheaper than sea salt where I live), then put glass back in the bag one at a time and shake the hell out of it. The salt will help scour it.
The crap that's left after that (if any) has always rinsed out by just holding it under the faucet.
By all means, if you find better ways, post here. I like better ways!
The design issues have been revised out of it. QC still seems iffy for some people, but customer service does not. If your question is "Does it still..." the answer is no, unless you have a broken one, in which case you should exchange it.
