Im ecstatic to say that my couchlog is now in the mail and on its way to my loving embrace! I have been hyped on this thing since its release, so I really cant wait to get mine in hand. Do you lucky people who already have one have any must-know tips for me before I use it for the first time? I also have a bunch of questions, like the following: For dry hits, do you like 0, 1 or 2 pads in the mouthpiece? What is your preferred starting temp, and do you temp step with it or just stay on one heat setting?
There isn't a ton to think about with this one. It's similar to other logs in that regard. I would just load it up and go. It's probably ready to hit in 15 minutes, but I usually give a longer heat soak before using, which probably helps for cordless hits. Personally, I don't overfill the bowl and I do a light tamp. ~.05-.1g is my sweet spot. It seems to handle whatever you throw at it.
For dry hits, I'm always using the pads. I've got two in there right now... the more cooling I can get, the better, because those dry hits can be intense, at least on the temps I like. I do find that adding the pads impacts airflow a bit, and probably robs some of the vapor production as the material condenses on the pads. That's a tradeoff I can live with - no pads would be way too harsh. Even with the pads, I decided to order a nice J-hook from Oregonglassblower to cool the vapor down even more.
So far, I've lived around level 6 for dry hits, level 7 for water. Sometimes I'll go down to level 5 dry, which offers better flavor, but doesn't quite give me the roast I want. I don't temp step at all with this one.
When using through glass, I'd lose the pads, and maybe even the stem entirely! I've really been enjoying just dropping the bowl (with o-ring) directly into a 14mm female joint and ripping it. The downside of this method is that the bowl gets pretty damn hot, so you can't handle it right after the hit, have to wait a couple minutes for it to cool down. Handling is much easier with the stem of course. I pretty much always unplug the unit for water rips - I haven't noticed any performance loss here (for a single hit at least) and it's way convenient not dealing with cords on a bubbler.
Enjoy it and don't forget to post pics when it arrives!