**Ball vape comparison megathread** Compare your balls.

[Hippie]

Titanium bowls are more likely to stick when they heat up too
I just got the Tiodw Plus Ti bowl, which allows for lower temps and faster extraction but it expands and gets stuck every time so you have wait for it to cool down and shrink again before you can empty the bowl

 

[Grass Yes]

Titanium bowls are more likely to stick when they heat up too

This doesn't exactly match my experience. I have several titanium and stainless steel bowls. Some get stuck often others never do. My Shovelhead gets stuck if I heat soak it, but I determined that is pointless and now it never sticks. My stainless steel infinity bowl sticks every time on every joint always.

 

[Oil420FL]

I find the difference in flavor in ball vape housings to be overblown. Ball vapes in general are not the most flavorful in my collection. The largest difference in flavor, that I have experienced (between different ball vapes) is those that can produce good vapor at lower bowl temperatures, and can finish a bowl completely in fewer hits.

That being said, I can detect a more "metallic twang' with titanium. Stainless steel and ceramic seem pretty neutral to me.

In this case I'm only talking about the enail-driven vapes. If we are adding in ball vapes like the Halo or 18mm killer, that changes things a bit.

So which vape comes out on top for good vapor at lower bowl temps for you?
Is your top vape for finishing a bowl completely in fewer hits the same or different than the good vapor+lower temp one?

 

[Timps27]

The zirconia ZX is the best low temp one hitter available; well below 400° (on a DC PID) I can milk a Goo Roo HD 3 piece and completely extract in one pull.

 

[Grass Yes]

So which vape comes out on top for good vapor at lower bowl temps for you?
Is your top vape for finishing a bowl completely in fewer hits the same or different than the good vapor+lower temp one?

I think that it really comes down to efficiency and power/diameter of the bowl. I don't like coming back to a stale bowl to get a partially vaped out flavor. I'd like to get as much enjoyment out of 1-2 hits as possible. I do not want to come back and sip on a big bowl over hours with any ball vape.

So the Omega turned down really low, especially with the 14mm injector is very tasty. It has a lot of thermal energy behind it, even if the temperature is lower. The ZX and Zr02 Zeal can get the coil temperature closer to the bowl temperature, which is nice but I'm less concerned with that. Surprisingly my SX operates nearly identical to my ZX, same temperatures, same controller, same coil.

So like I said, before it's not the housing material as much as low temps and efficiency that improves my flavor the most. Since I can get the best flavor out of my Omega pretty easily and it is cordless, I'll reach for that the most these days.

The thing that surprised me most lately, is the Chaos. It's a really fun vape, but it has not lived up to my flavor expectations. I love the design and it has real power, but for some reason I haven't been able to dial in good flavor and a reasonable volume of vapor. Definitely a top tier ball vape, though. I have only had it a bit over a week so I am still dialing it in. I have some tweaks I'm planning after I give it a full fortnight.

 

[cvs8floz]

1 hit plus clean-up hit is probably best for taste, I just find it too tedious to constantly load and dump. I pack my 22mm diffuser glass bowls to the rim (4 to 5 scoops) and aim for 3-5 hits. I am currently at 475F with the Zeal, 575F with the B1, couldn't really tell you which one tastes better, that depends more on the quality of the weed. I don't really like the whispery flavor hits, I prefer my first hit to be full-bodied, so I normally heat-soak the full bowl for 30 seconds and then leave the head on for the entire bowl. Best vapes for flavor that I tried are the e-nano and the Firefly, but they have other disadvantages so I use ball vapes 99% of the time.

 

[Bong Witch]

Interesting to read everybody's comments... I haven't really thought about flavour differences and bowls getting stuck... since my only experience so far is with the ballvape my favourite coffeeshop happens to have and for the rest I just have to make comparisons between ballvapes based on technical information provided by manufacturers on their websites and other people's opinions. But... I have decided to pre-order the Vapvana Screwball starter kit. You have to start somewhere and based on the information I can gather, this seems to be a very decent value for money option.

 

[Grass Yes]

But... I have decided to pre-order the Vapvana Screwball starter kit. You have to start somewhere and based on the information I can gather, this seems to be a very decent value for money option.

Just out of curiosity which others did you consider and what helped you decide?

I have a screwball but it was definitely not my first ball vape and not one I would typically recommend first. But I think they all can do the job and have their own strengths and weaknesses.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

My only experience with ball vapes is the Phase 3 zx. It's the best tasting vape I've had thus far... but I'm kinda with @Grass Yes . At least as far as ball vapes being a little overblown for flavor.

I also have a minivap which is old tech, but it's just about as flavorful as my zx. Thing is the zx extracts a lot faster so the flavor drops off faster. With the minivap the flavor goes on until the goodies are gone.

With that said this is just my experience with the flower avaliable to me. Your own experience may vary.

 

[MTpromises]

But... I have decided to pre-order the Vapvana Screwball starter kit. You have to start somewhere and based on the information I can gather, this seems to be a very decent value for money option.

Great choice, I have a few heads and this on half-bowl setting has been my daily driver since I got it.

 

[dtrdrk]

Does anyone have experience with the SKO by OWW? Its a 14mm version of the TKO and im wondering if it might be perfect for microdosing. I much rather reload a small bowl than drawing on a big bowl more than once.

 

[coolbreeze]

Does anyone have experience with the SKO by OWW? Its a 14mm version of the TKO and im wondering if it might be perfect for microdosing. I much rather reload a small bowl than drawing on a big bowl more than once.

I don't have experience with the SKO but the Phase3 ZX (and Cloud Connoisseur Omega) is also 14mm and that's its superpower: a clean, powerful, super-tasty single hit. I would think that the SKO can do something similar. Partly that will depend on the bowl you use, the size of its screen (its roasting area, and the minimal amount that must be loaded) and the distance to the herbs. The ZX bowl is tuned for this, so look at that as a model for screen placement, etc.

 

[Grass Yes]

Does anyone have experience with the SKO by OWW? Its a 14mm version of the TKO and im wondering if it might be perfect for microdosing. I much rather reload a small bowl than drawing on a big bowl more than once.

I agree with @coolbreeze that the ZX is probably a better option now. The CouchLog and Omega are also fantastic 14mm options (my preference).

The SKO has the same problem that the original B0 had. The rubies below the coil cool quickly and make the experience uneven. There is a mod using a basket screen to keep the rubies out of the tip. So definitely not fatal. Also I know there are some folks who love it. I think O'Connell would have made revisions on the SKO to fix these issues but it was not popular enough to warrant that.

So if you can find a killer deal on an SKO it might be worth it. Otherwise I'd go for one of the other options.

 

[nicknobody]

The SKO has the same problem that the original B0 had. The rubies below the coil cool quickly and make the experience uneven. There is a mod using a basket screen to keep the rubies out of the tip. So definitely not fatal.

Hmm my b0 only has rubies under the coil and the injector portion is empty. Were they originally filling the whole head with rubies?

 

[Grass Yes]

Hmm my b0 only has rubies under the coil and the injector portion is empty. Were they originally filling the whole head with rubies?

Yep. That was fixed by CH later. They now only have rubies in the coil area.

Edited to add: https://www.cannabishardware.com/blogs/ch/bzero

 

[jkeyes98]

Does anyone have experience with the SKO by OWW? Its a 14mm version of the TKO and im wondering if it might be perfect for microdosing. I much rather reload a small bowl than drawing on a big bowl more than once.

I have a SKO, it does great for smaller doses, if I am doing smaller loads I like to use a bowl with the screen as close as possible to the bottom of the injector tip so the distance from the herb to heater is as short as possible. I also recently did a few mods to my SKO including the basket mod @Grass Yes mentioned and I also removed the lower lip on the SKO so it can be used easier for a wireless setup. Really been enjoying it since I did the mods.

 

[dtrdrk]

Thanks a lot! That does sound a bit like a design flaw. Do you mean inserting a dome screen in the injector part of the assembly?

Ill look into the phase3 and omega. Does anyone know the tiodw lite from alibaba? Its also a 14mm injector and dirt cheap.…

Tiodw lite

in case this does not have any design flaws, i might give it a try. Its that cheap

Thanks jkeyes,
how did you remove the lower ring so tidily? How long does the head need to heat after a bowl to be back up and running?

 

[jkeyes98]

Thanks a lot! That does sound a bit like a design flaw. Do you mean inserting a dome screen in the injector part of the assembly?

Ill look into the phase3 and omega. Does anyone know the tiodw lite from alibaba? Its also a 14mm injector and dirt cheap.…

Yes, I cut the rim off a basket screen and put it in so that way no rubies would sit under the area the coil covers. I haven't tried the Tiodw Lite, I have only tried the Tiodw mini, all of their vapes seem decent none of them seem amazing. I'd recommend looking into the Omega, if you can wait there is a preorder option available right now. I really enjoy my omega, its my most reached for Ballvape for sure.

Thanks jkeyes,
how did you remove the lower ring so tidily? How long does the head need to heat after a bowl to be back up and running?

I put the SKO on a drill with some paper to hold it in place and Velcro'd the button down, then took a angle grinder with 40 grit buffing disk and slowly removed material until it was flush with the body, after that I went over it with some buffing wheels to finish smoothing it out.

 

[dtrdrk]

I think im not into doing any mods and therefore looking at the omega. Does anyone know if the 14mm injector works with the oww sko shovelhead? The omega one only works with the 18mm injector if i understand correctly. Id much prefer a small bowl.

 

[coolbreeze]

The omega one only works with the 18mm injector if i understand correctly. Id much prefer a small bowl.

No, the Omega bowl only works with the 14mm nozzle and the diffuser, the 18mm doesn't fit. I think the confusion is that the 18mm nozzle was the one left over, and thus people chose to dedicate it the bowl's bottom joint so they could use the other two with the heater. The new, complete bowl kit includes both the 14mm and the 18mm nozzles to switch between for use as the bottom joint.

 

[Grass Yes]

I think im not into doing any mods and therefore looking at the omega. Does anyone know if the 14mm injector works with the oww sko shovelhead? The omega one only works with the 18mm injector if i understand correctly. Id much prefer a small bowl.

I'm not totally clear what you are saying about the Omega one? The Omega works with injector bowls with 14mm and 18mm inputs. It also works with 22mm diffuser bowls.

It does work with the SKO bowl, although that one is not my favorite. The phase3 and CouchLog glass bowls are better. I haven't tried the Vgoodiez 14mm input bowl.

The Vulcan is also better than the SKO infinity bowl but it's very different.

My personal favorite 14mm input bowl is the Joda CouchLog WPA. It's great to a great seal and works reliablely and flawlessly. Some folks don't like the adjustable screen but I do.

 

[coolbreeze]

There's a presale going on for the VerdaVap, a torch-driven ballvape for bongs, price is ~$115 USD. It's from Australia and his been developed by @VerdaVap with lots of input from FCers and redditors. I wanted to share it here because it seems really awesome and looks like a fine example of torchable ballvapes, like the Eighteen Millimeter Killer and the Chaos. There's an 8mm stem adapter in the works, as well.

 

[VapingYogi]

There's a presale going on for the VerdaVap, a torch-driven ballvape for bongs, price is ~$115 USD. It's from Australia and his been developed by @VerdaVap with lots of input from FCers and redditors. I wanted to share it here because it seems really awesome and looks like a fine example of torchable ballvapes, like the Eighteen Millimeter Killer and the Chaos. There's an 8mm stem adapter in the works, as well.

I was one of the people that @VerdaVap gave a prototype to.

I know so few Australian made products in this space so it was great to get a chance to try this prototype.

The Prototype was the oven/bowl components to test how they worked.

One question people always ask is IH compatibility... It works in the wand - however it wasn't built to be used with induction heaters in mind, It takes the wand a couple of cycles to heat the device to a temperature that will produce vapor. This is built to be a butane vape / to be used with a torch. In fact VV actually stocks a torch head that he recommends and it does make the heating process quicker; but my blazer work perfectly well. A note though: A small single flame or even a small triple flame torch will struggle to get this to the required temperature.

The difference between the VerdaVap and a lot of the other butane vapes is the significant amount of Stainless Steel that makes up the body and the heater matrix. The steel body of the VV is 14mm wide and the walls of the chamber that holds the balls is about 2mm thick. This provides a buffer when heating the device as it takes a fair amount of calories to heat the device to temperature, but it also means that the device stays at temperature for a lot longer than your average device giving you more than enough time to clear the bowl or pass the glass to a friend.

https://imgur.com/a/rW9LUFr

The material of the body of the device is stainless steel 304 and while its not magnetic, the choice of material was purposefully made as it has a a way of giving you some sort of indication that you have heated it to the right spot as the flame changes color, making it quite obvious that its time to stop heating. I believe in the discord he has mentioned the intention to provide different options for material - both the metal with 314 and titanium but also with different Australian hard woods.

... and before I forget... the bowl size is about 0.2g loosely packed, I've squashed more in and managed to clear it all in a single heat cycle, but the bowl is a fixed size.

I'm keen to see how the release works and keen to support and Aussie dipping his toes into this space.

 

[MTpromises]

I haven't tried the Tiodw Lite, I have only tried the Tiodw mini, all of their vapes seem decent none of them seem amazing. I'd recommend looking into the Omega, if you can wait there is a preorder option available right now. I really enjoy my omega, its my most reached for Ballvape for sure.

I think the Tiodw line was pretty amazing before more budget ball vapes entered the market. I know it's 23mm, but I think their v2 2in1 is maybe best in class compared to other wired 22mm diffusers.

 

[VapingYogi]

Just some side by side shots of the Tempest and the Thermal Accumulator 3

https://imgur.com/a/kE3Mde1