Discontinued herbalAire

[stinkmeaner]

I agree that you don't have to leave the bud whole in the Herbal Aire, I get bags just as thick as my Volcano if I grind and pack directly into the chamber all the way to the top with a screen pushed down on top (no crucible).

Rabble-Direct draw works pretty well if you grind the herb like I just mentioned and works even better if you use a larger diameter whip. The thicker whip created more suction pressure and allows a larger air volume to be drawn with less effort and lung power. "Just think... larger drinking straw = more fluid"

 

[stinac]

So, i just got my HA in the mail today. Got it off ebay, seller vaporchik, new for $168 after shipping. I was disappointed when i saw that there were no packages on my front porch today, but then i looked in the mailbox and there it was in a box much smaller than i was expecting. Of course, as with every vape that i've purchased, i was surprised at how small the actually unite itself is. This is definitely something that could be transported around in a variety of things with relative ease. One thing i wasn't too impressed with is the weight of the unit itself. I knew it wasnt going to be as heavy as the 7th floor vapes i had the most experience with, but still, its light and i wish it had a bit more weight in the bottom so it doesnt tip or slide as easy. Not a huge deal tho.

I hooked it up and turned it on to 375F (seemed like a reasonable temp to get some nice thick bags) while i put a bag together (not very hard to do). It was heated up by the time i was done so i tossed in a little chunk of bud, i'd say somewhere just shy of .2g and dropped the crucible in. I then realized i had lost the white main mouthpiece already on my cluttered desk. When i found it (after 5-10 seconds of searching) and went to put it on, i noticed that vapor was pretty much billowing out of the chamber. So i hurried and put the mouthpiece and bag on and switched on the pump.

I was pretty happy with how fast the bag filled, much better than the videos i've seen with the previous stock pump. I see no need for a faster fill really unless you're a terribly impatient person or are filling multiple/larger bags.

So the vapor was good tasting and dense, and i got a couple bags like that. 2 big hits or 3 medium hits per bag on average. The next few bags started to get a bit of an overcooked taste that i havent really tasted since i used a MFLB. After about the 4th bag i dumped out the crucible and examined the herb. It was pretty brown and brittle, but there was clearly some darker brown on the outside and lighter in the middle still. So i'm not sure i'm 100% subscribed to the belief that unground bud is the way to go with the HA yet.

Next i tried something i had been interested in doing for a few months and loaded up some ABV to see if i can get the claimed 2 bags out of it. First i put a ssv screen on the bottom of the crucible and then loaded the abv and then put another screen inside on top of the herb, since i'm not sure how to go about putting the screen in the mouthpiece the opening is smaller than the screen by a good amount. I blew a bag (at375f) and sure enough got some OKish hits out of it, and a thinner second. I wasnt too surprised though because it was from my stockpile of abv that was a mix from since the beginning of the year, with abv from a dbv mainly, and some mflb and ssv. I was able to get a few hits out of this abv in my ssv also in the past. I didnt try setting the temp any higher because it just tasted like it was pretty close to burning already. I noticed there was a good amount of abv in the bag, and i looked and saw that the top screen i put in had moved out of place. Going to have to figure out a better way of keeping it in place before i mess around with revaping this powdery abv any more.

Next i tried some direct draw with a little bit of bud, about as much as i would normally vape in the mini wand with my ssv. Using a mouthpiece extension straw thing created too much of a hot spot on the back of my mouth and the straw itself got too hot on my lips. I found draws directly off the main mouthpiece to be a bit better, and one made me cough pretty good, i couldnt decide if it was a good "omg i'm getting good n' stoned" sort of cough or a "ack, that was harsh" cough tho lol. So i tried the really stiff and short whip thing and it actually worked ok. Not like a SSV, but i knew it wouldnt be. The restricted airflow also reminds me of using a MFLB, and didnt bother me much. I thought it made a world of difference as far as reducing the harshness though.

I didnt get as many hits out of the loads i've put in as i normally do out of the same amount in my ssv, but i think its just because i didnt start off at a lower temps. I plan on on doing some more testing before delivering my final opinion tho! But the first few bags definitely taste great.

cut 2-3 ssv screen with scissors and put them on mouthpiece.
http://www.tokeez.com/ - best bags

 

[ynwa]

Have one of these on the way. Hopefully will be here tomorrow. Is apparently the new 2.1 version, with the new pump. How noisy is the pump on this vape? Also, if i wanted to direct draw, or use the whip, do i still need to use the pump with it?

 

[steiner666]

Have one of these on the way. Hopefully will be here tomorrow. Is apparently the new 2.1 version, with the new pump. How noisy is the pump on this vape? Also, if i wanted to direct draw, or use the whip, do i still need to use the pump with it?

e

Well, i'm sure your HA has arrived by now and you've answered most of your own questions. But for future ppl's sake:
The upgraded stock pump works good and fills bags in under a bag <~ ok i'm going to leave that typo there because that's just funny (the correct answer was of course "under 1 min" lol, shows what this thing + some good tunes can do to ya).
The noise level isnt too bad i guess, but you may find yourself turning your tv up a notch or so. One ircuser said it might sound like a vibrator to ppl outside the room (cant remember who tho ) and i tend to agree. Also, you don't need to use pump with whip style use, in fact i recommend you dont.



and a couple impressions after using the HA some more:

wow, the whip works great and is just really consistent. all the ppl that use it have no trouble getting really good hits and find it much easier to use than the ssv or dbv and mflb by a significant amount. the temp regulating, retention and compensation on this thing is just great, makes it so mindlessly easy to use. The way it vapes whatevers loaded into it without any stirring also adds to this ease of use. Its much less involved of a process than it is with any other vape i've used.

so, at this point i think i rate it above the aforementioned vapes in the whip usage, so it definitely wins all around, with the additional +s of bag usage, lower price, and more portable.

After adding the additional screens, the only negative i can think of for the HA is the loading/unloading methods and how the rising heat still seems to be enough to at least partially cook off some vapor if left on and unused for whatever length of time. In fact, the thermal retention of the HA works against it in this case. I've combated this though by taking a few more hits on it after i shut it off, if the crucible is only partially cooked, just to help cool it off faster and make sure theres nothing going to waste after i set it down. Of course, you can always just dump the crucible out if you put a screen inside it on top of the herb, just make sure its not on any plastic or anything, like a bag or near tubing because it will be hot as hell.

They really need to make a slight revision to the HA, or design a whip/stem to be used with the current design even. just a crucible that can attach to an extended mouthpiece that can be easily pulled between hits. and a sturdier method of attaching tubing to it, because i find that mine is sometimes loose, esp at vaping temps.

In general, i whip-hit when its fresh and green, and use bags when its not, or if i'm vaping w/ a noob. Even tho both methods of usage vape the herb just as easily as the other, the bag extraction is where the HA really excels at squeezing every last drop out of your buds.

for $160+ship on ebay, its an easy choice

*edit*

and for the ppl who use the HA for bags and whips both - how many times have you tried hitting the whip b4 unplugging the pump? lol, i know i've done it at least half a dozen already. That and forgetting to hook it back up when i go back to bags

 

[stinac]

steiner666, loading is easy when you put screen into mouthpiece, so then you dont need to put screen on top of the crucible. Did you try whip + pump mode ? I love HA, since i got it, i dont use DBV. Simplicity is the key. I paid more then 350$ with extras + zephyr valve + shipment. I wanted old style simple and efficient vape, without display, usb and other unnecessary geek stuff, but thats just my opinion.

 

[steiner666]

steiner666, loading is easy when you put screen into mouthpiece, so then you dont need to put screen on top of the crucible. Did you try whip + pump mode ? I love HA, since i got it, i dont use DBV. Simplicity is the key. I paid more then 350$ with extras + zephyr valve + shipment. I wanted old style simple and efficient vape, without display, usb and other unnecessary geek stuff, but thats just my opinion.

Yeah i have another screen in the mouthpiece as well. I sometimes still put a screen on top of the herb in the crucible, especially if its ground or just a small amount, just to keep it held in place at the bottom of the crucible. I also like putting one on top so that i can just dump the crucible out and not have the herb fall out everywhere when i do.

As far as using the pump with the whip, i've tried it but didnt care for it at all. i think it works perfectly without the pump. Hell, even my g/f can get a good hit out of it with her short 2-3 second long inhales.

So far my only regret about this HA purchase is that i didnt make it sooner. This would have been a great starting vape. Although i dont think i would have learned as much about the technicalities and techniques of vaporizing like i did with the other vapes ive owned because of the sheer simplicity of this model lol.

 

[stinkmeaner]

steiner666...The HA is great, I have one even though I have a Volcano, I still like to use the HA because they are so cheap that you can have them around friends and parties without fear of loosing or breaking a $500 machine.

If you want better whip hits I have a tip for you, first is to grind the herb and pack it in the chamber without the crucible. Then get a larger diameter whip, this will draw more air with less effort just like comparing a large drinking straw to the little cocktail straws at a bar. To get the whip to stay on the teflon stem you will need to make a little shim out of something, I used a silicone plug.

 

[steiner666]

s...
If you want better whip hits I have a tip for you, first is to grind the herb and pack it in the chamber without the crucible. Then get a larger diameter whip, this will draw more air with less effort just like comparing a large drinking straw to the little cocktail straws at a bar. To get the whip to stay on the teflon stem you will need to make a little shim out of something, I used a silicone plug.

Yeah i usually do grind my herb up SLIGHTLY using my acrylic peg grinder instead of my good ones. Just a partial rotation that kinda just pulls it apart a bit. My original plan was to slip some SSV tubing over the mouthpiece and then fasten it on tight with a cable tie or something, but, as i mentioned, i think the whip works perfect with the smaller diameter tubing as it is. I take slow hits anyways, so it doesnt feel too restricted to me, and it forces other ppl who use it to take slower hits too because of the smaller diameter. Someday i may still try it with bigger tubing out of curiosity, esp if i get a second mouthpiece like i plan to, but for now i see no point, other than the possibility of being able to secure the tubing better than the stock ones connection.

Vaped some kiefy wandhash from my ssv on a little bit of herb in the HA the other night, got totally destroyed I was unsure of whether it would work as well as it does in my previous whip models, due to the heat source being on the bottom of the bowl and the hash being on top, but the HA surprised me yet again and i got a dozen sweet hits

 

[ynwa]

Have one of these on the way. Hopefully will be here tomorrow. Is apparently the new 2.1 version, with the new pump. How noisy is the pump on this vape? Also, if i wanted to direct draw, or use the whip, do i still need to use the pump with it?

e

Well, i'm sure your HA has arrived by now and you've answered most of your own questions. But for future ppl's sake:
.......

yeah i have the HA now and been using it regularly. I love it! The pump sounds noisy when you switch it on. But i stood outside the room with the door closed and couldnt hear it, so its not too bad. Someone on another forum suggested using a silent aquarium pump, havent got round to getting one yet to try.

I also love the fact that i can use the whip or even direct draw with it. All round great little vape, though not as cheap in the Uk as you guys are getting it for! (180, and that was the cheapest i could find)

 

[stinkmeaner]

It didn't even hit me until now, but it dawned upon me that you can use your SSV whip tubing for the larger diameter that I suggested.

 

[OO]

It didn't even hit me until now, but it dawned upon me that you can use your SSV whip tubing for the larger diameter that I suggested.

how would you rig it up?

i'm considering getting a herbie, and would like to know a good way of whippin it.

 

[steiner666]

It didn't even hit me until now, but it dawned upon me that you can use your SSV whip tubing for the larger diameter that I suggested.

how would you rig it up?

i'm considering getting a herbie, and would like to know a good way of whippin it.

I havent tried it yet myself, since i'm content with the stock whip. But i think other ppl have said you just slip the hosing over the white main mouthpiece and it stays in place fairly well. Seems that it will be a tight fit, so you may want to wet the mouthpiece and heat the hosing a bit to get it to slip on.



Ok, so, on a different note, I"m going to be cleaning my HA parts for the first time this week and I'm wondering how other people do it. I was planning on soaking the white stems and mouthpiece in iso, but I dont know what to do with the whip. Since its my main method of usage with fresh herb, there is a nice 5-6" of golden honey buildup at the one end of the whip that i def want to get to. I know that most ppl say using iso on hosing isnt a good idea, but i really want to get it all out without destroying the hosing itself.

 

[OO]

i got mine and am using for the first time now.

as for destroying the tube, this stuff is cheap at hardware stores.

BTW, the crucible is huge!

 

[steiner666]

i got mine and am using for the first time now.

as for destroying the tube, this stuff is cheap at hardware stores.

BTW, the crucible is huge!

it is a bit bigger than what i was used to, but i was used to the VB mini wand. Believe it or not, its actually the smallest bowl/loading chamber of any bag vape that i've really seen (someone correct me if i'm wrong). But it still works with small loads, especially if you put a screen down inside the crucible on top of the herb to h old it in place.

the herb i have usually isnt too compacted so i just pull a piece off a bud and jam it in there and it usually stays by itself tho. If you have bricked herb i could see it takinga bit more to get a decent bowl maybe. After breaking the vaped piece of buds up and comparing the size, it actually is about as much as i would normally use with the ssv and mini wand. I start at 350F and get decently visible hits, sometimes it take a hit to dry moist herb out before it starts vaping well, so most ppl would think "oh this isnt hot enough" and turn it up unnecessarily after getting nothing visible on first try. After a ~5 hits i turn it up to 365 or so and then repeat and then up to 375.

By this time i'm feelin the desired effect usually and i shut the HA off and save the rest for blowing bags between 375-400 later at night. When not vaping the crucible completely at once tho, taking a few hits after you shut the unit off is pretty much essential to make sure you dont waste anything IMO, because of how well it retains heat. I usually get 3 good hits off it as it cools

 

[steiner666]

Well, I cleaned my HA stuff out last night and just got done scraping up the remains . In short, it was more of a pain to clean than SSV/DBV for sure, but the end result is better.

How i did it was a mix of iso rinse and scraping with my SSV marble pick. I would start out by plugging one end of the mouthpiece and extension straws and filling them about half way with iso and then shaking them around and dumping them into flat glass cake pan. I did this a few times to each and after the iso coming out started to get clear rather than golden brown color, i switched to scraping them out with the pick. The stuff was significantly looser and easier to scrape out and into the cake pan at this point, but it still took a while to get it all. For the hose, i just did a couple quick rinses using a funnel on one end and then rinsed it out with hot water for a while. Seems to be fine.

So today i scraped the pan out (with my trusty katana since i didnt have razor blades) and got a marble sized ball of sticky shiny black goo. I broke it up a bit and rolled each piece around in powdered bud. This made it less sticky and easier to handle in the future. There was still a honey glaze on the bottom of the pan, so i took some buds and rubbed them hard on the pan to wipe it all up and i got about 4 nickle-sized buds that are coated in dark stickiness now too.

I havent got to try it out yet, but I know its going to be really good just by the look and feel of it, more concentrated than ssv wandhash cause no abv powder in it.. Will report back later on for sure.

 

[steiner666]

Update:

 

[OO]

the herb i have usually isnt too compacted so i just pull a piece off a bud and jam it in there and it usually stays by itself tho. If you have bricked herb i could see it takinga bit more to get a decent bowl maybe. After breaking the vaped piece of buds up and comparing the size, it actually is about as much as i would normally use with the ssv and mini wand. I start at 350F and get decently visible hits, sometimes it take a hit to dry moist herb out before it starts vaping well, so most ppl would think "oh this isnt hot enough" and turn it up unnecessarily after getting nothing visible on first try. After a ~5 hits i turn it up to 365 or so and then repeat and then up to 375.

By this time i'm feelin the desired effect usually and i shut the HA off and save the rest for blowing bags between 375-400 later at night. When not vaping the crucible completely at once tho, taking a few hits after you shut the unit off is pretty much essential to make sure you dont waste anything IMO, because of how well it retains heat. I usually get 3 good hits off it as it cools

i usually start below 325. this is because my friends have exactly the opposite problem.

they don't like the taste over 325.

i'll use it when they're done...

btw, does anyone else have any issues with the teflon mouthpiece falling out constantly.

i need to literally hold it in there to keep it from coming out.

i sent an email describing the problem to herbalaire on saturday, but they haven't responded yet.
this happens even after warm up.

the other problem is that the unit falls over constantly.

anyone have a solution for that?

 

[stinkmeaner]

I had another idea which I am willing to bet on for the Herbal Aire. I think if you drilled out the main stem that attaches to the herb chamber, you will increase air flow.

 

[steiner666]

btw, does anyone else have any issues with the teflon mouthpiece falling out constantly.

i need to literally hold it in there to keep it from coming out.

i sent an email describing the problem to herbalaire on saturday, but they haven't responded yet.
this happens even after warm up.

the other problem is that the unit falls over constantly.

anyone have a solution for that?

yeah the unit is definitely easy to tip over, when using a whip especially. Some more weight at the bottom of it would have been nice. Short of attaching weight to the bottom of it i cant think of a good way to stabilize it.

The mouthpiece is designed to fit tight when its hot. I know that mine fits really loose if i heat the unit up w/o the mouthpiece on. If i leave the mouthpiece on while its heating up I usually dont have any problem with it coming off. Again, its only an issue with whip mode usually.

 

[stinkmeaner]

yeah the unit is definitely easy to tip over, when using a whip especially. Some more weight at the bottom of it would have been nice. Short of attaching weight to the bottom of it i cant think of a good way to stabilize it.
.

Aside from Velcro to a table. I have thought of a custom coffee table like they use for De Verdamper in the Amsterdam coffee shops, they seem to have a double layer design that the Verdamper sits in to avoid it sliding or tipping, they also put some lights under that make the glass look cool.

I think a table like this would be cool for any glass fan that has a good amount of high end glass.

 

[OO]

still no response from herbalaire and it's been over a week, and i've sent two emails.
.......

 

[nicelytoasted]

I find that using soft silicone tubing (over the mouthpiece) helps to stabilize the unit as it's much more flexible with a good bend radius. I used a slightly longer length to take the strain off the connection at the mp. Haven't had any tipping issues here.

Agree with steiner, I always heat/cool with the mp in.

Jive: I'll try to contact them on your behalf and let ya know.

 

[steiner666]

Did a lot of bag-blowing this weekend with some friends. The ol' (er, still pretty new at least for me) HA did a great job making a 3.5g last the 3 days for 3 dudes, +some change. That's constant vegetative status too, with medium-ish grade materials. We were guilty of a bit of overindulgence for sure, at times almost like a drunken stupor and waking the next day with buzz still partially intact although i'm sure the magnitude of it all was no doubt magnified by everyone's coincidental vapor-diet of late.

Still, most impressive. The only area for improvement that I was seeing is my need for the high-output pump and larger bags. The size of the stock bags is great for 1-2 ppl IMO but more volume is needed for any more participants. Instead of going for multiple stock bags i'm going with 2 tokeez on rotation. This addresses the problem of vapor leaking out the tip of the mouthpiece extension straw after i remove the bag. No doubt it would be 3-5x worse with multi-bag mouthpiece. It would also be less bags to keep track of and away from deadly kitten claws.

On a different note, try filling a bag up and leave it on and pull the pump hose out. I'm sure there isn't this much, uh, backfiring with the hose attached, but it might still be an issue. So leaving an inflated bag on the top for an extended period might not be a good idea?



*edit*

So i've been looking around for the cheapest price on a HA high-output pump set, and i'm not able to find anywhere cheaper than the manufacturer's website's $75. I'm wondering if someone knows of a better place to find one.

I'm also think that, especially since i dont want the multi-bag mouthpiece that much, I could just get a higher output pump at a local pet store or something. Am i correct in assuming that most aquarium pumps would be compatible? Also, at what rate do the stock pumps pump out at, so I know what numbers to look for. I'm willing to bet i could find a pump with the same or better performance for less than $75

 

[tropf]

Hi there ...

Today I got this unit: It is working well.

But I dont like that the herb is toasted all the time, even if you are not inhaling it (direct draw).
Beside that it seems to me that my Herbalaire is getting much hotter (very near to combustion) than chosed - arrgh have to get an IR Thermometer.

Same here: http://www.fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?pid=68362

 

[max]

But I dont like that the herb is toasted all the time, even if you are not inhaling it (direct draw).

They don't hide the design. The crucible stays in the chamber until you remove it. But you don't get much of a vaping temp until you draw on it or until the pump is turned on.

Beside that it seems to me that my Herbalaire is getting much hotter (very near to combustion) than chosed

If you mean it gets hotter than the temp you select, then maybe you should contact herbalAire. I've always selected a setting about 375, and got fairly dark ABV after filling a bag or three. If you're using a setting higher than that, then I suggest lowering it before you decide the the vape has a problem. They've been making this model for quite a few years, and reported problems have been very few and far between.

From your link - "Anyway... after extensive testing there is no longer any doubt that the HerbalAire does lead to combustion. I start vaporizing at 170 C/338 F before gradualy increasing and even at this temperature there is some combustion. If you let the pot sit in the heated chamber without vaping it either with the bag method or the direct draw method, you can see a smoke, not vapor but smoke, rising from the "vaporizer"."He gets combustion (he says) more than a hundred degrees below combustion point (about 450 F)-only if the unit is defective, which is a lot different than "the HerbalAire does lead to combustion" which implies that it's a bad design. As for seeing smoke, vapor is often misidentified as smoke, especially if it's thick. Since he didn't say he smelled smoke (no mistaking the odor difference), I seriously doubt that it was.

"This is because the chamber that holds the pot is in direct contact with the heating element, causing the pot to burn." Again, this person, who is obviously new to vaporizing, has decided that the herbalAire is a bad design. In fact, he outright states that in his next post. Since he hasn't posted here in over 6 months, I'll take a little liberty with the rules and say he's full of shit. herbalAire wouldn't have sold a gazillion of these units over the years with a bad design.

I would set your temp in the 350-375 range and see how it goes. Your ABV should be medium brown. Even if it's dark you're nowhere near combustion. You can even turn your herb black without combusting, and I've never done that with the herbalAire in years of using it.

herbalAire has a history of excellent service, and they'll take care of you if you really do have a problem, but make sure you do first, and I can promise you that any suggestion you hear/read of a bad design with this vape is pure ignorance. The owner you link is just flat wrong with his opinion.