Magic9 said:
So I asked for opinions in the EQ thread. These questions I'm sticking here.
I'll give a shot at a few . . .
1) Since the EQ uses a fan, is anybody worried about dust? Or foreign particles polluting the vapor?
No. Any unit with a fan or pump must have an intake, so ambient air enters the system. On the Q the air moves through the ceramic heating element, pretty darn hot. I've not seen any foreign matter in my water chambers (I use GonG to a bubbler or bong.)
2) One reason I'm leaning towards EQ is people say the HA lacks in the direct draw. I've never vaped before, is that really going to be an issue for a new vape user? (I see myself using 50% bag/50% direct)
I think you want to be clear about direct draw vs the whip. As you know, I don't have first-hand experience with the HA, so I'm only going from what I've read and seen. It appears the direct draw is through a short length teflon tube; I would be concerned with the heat that close to the element (but conceivably this could attach directly to glass? - check The Cloud if you don't know what I mean). A principal advantage of using a whip is that the vapor cools down progressively as it travels thru the whip, so e.g. on the Q the vapor as it leaves the Cyclone is virtually too hot to touch (running Fan 3 @200c) but at the end of the whip I've measured it at ~80F. I've seen a number of complaints about the whip tubing on the HA; the narrow diameter restricts flow, and it's not easy to adapt larger silicone tubing to attach to the crucible (I would think the pump would compensate for this, but perhaps that flow is too strong for the whip?).
3) I'll probably use the unit between the bedroom and living room (when the fam is asleep), would the EQ have any problem unplugging and plugging in repeatedly as far as electronics go?
No. Just uses a power brick, nothing special. About 8-10' total cord length from unit to wall.
4) I smoke daily, usually smaller amounts multiple times. My theory is the HA quicker heat up time (2 mins. vs 10 mins) favors the HA, but I would have to remove the bowl (if not finished). The EQ I could turn temp. down after initial warmup. Correct me if I'm wrong please.
If you leave herb in any bowl with the heat still on at probably >150C, the THC will slowly degrade. I haven't seen anything quantitative about how rapidly. My wild-ass guess is that it doesn't matter for maybe an hour or so, as long as it's not left on above the THC boiling point (baring in mind that the standing bowl temp varies by vape design; a lot of the Q's heat comes from the passage of air over the element, so if air isn't moving the temp and oxygen exposure is less). By the way, some materials - no idea if this applies to herb - degrade more with a total cool down/re-heat type cycle, i.e., it might not be good to be doing a full off/on kind of thing. I leave my Q on, in my office, thru the evening. I drop it to ~160c, and when I want to resume I crank the temp up to +230c; the Cyclone heats back up within a couple minutes and then I drop the temp down to my 200c target. If you elbow-pack, you can do this a bit more quickly because the vaporizing is not so much happening thru air circulation in the Cyclone as much as it is in the direct air flow thru the elbow dome.
6) Does the EQ require it to be bone dry crumbly?
Not at all. When you think of drying, it's important to distinguish between the process of thorough curing vs later drying out. Very bad if not cured entirely, having nothing to do with vaping per se. If the herb after curing is excessively dried out, there may be an oxidation or humidity issue to deal with. With the Q specifically, if anything you don't want the herb to be powder dry (or ground to powder), as it will have a tendency to clog the elbow screen.
7) Why the hell isn't this thread longer?
I have a couple of guesses, but since they're only guesses, I'll pass on this one.
EDIT* 1 more.
The HA doesn't go as high in temp as EQ. I know about the sensors and all. If the HA only goes to 205C, would it extract the compounds that are in the 220-230C range? Does the EQs REAL temp even get them?
Great question. My understanding is that the Q's temp readout adjusts for the differential between in the bowl and the element, the intent being to provide a reasonably close (since there can be other factors) indication of the actual vaporization temp. This was a change made in the Q vs previous Extreme models. IME based on results, the readout tracks closely to the vaporpedia chart. Arizer recommends 190-200c (little higher if elbow packing). Just going by the posts on the Q thread, my impression is that most vape in the 190-210c range, some ratchet up in steps to 230c (top temp is 260c). Plenty hot enough to cook the herb; I wouldn't worry about insufficient heat. I'm surprised the HA's temp doesn't go higher, but a possible explanation may be the physics of compressed convection, i.e., the heat may be more dense and sustained in the crucible capsule, resulting in more efficient extraction (as the manufacturer claims). Anyway, it's good to keep in mind that at ~220c you enter couch-lock territory. And note that carcinogens (not tars but rather chemical interactions with the heat, e.g., benzene) actually begin to form above 200c. Every one has their own sweet spot, but it seems few go much higher than ~210c.
Now, please notice the tip jar as you leave.
Figure if I'm going to be spending as much time as I do on these forums, I may as well put it to some good use.