Discontinued herbalAire

[Amoreena]

Water filtration allows bigger hits.

My lungs won't hold bigger hits but I appreciate your comment. Many post here about using water. I want to keep it simple as long as vapor isn't toasting my throat.

... Many vapers are glass purists. ...

Based on the pictures you posted, I gather you're not one of them. My first vaporizer, which I used from last March until getting the HA, had an all glass vapor path. I don't taste anything different through this teflon. I know not everything can be tasted but would like to think that if there were toxicity issues associated with HA mouthpieces, it would be known here after so many years in production/use.

 

[cybrguy]

I am not very concerned with the toxicity issues for myself either, but if my immune system was seriously compromised I might think twice about that. In truth I'm sure I have smoked herb with paraquat and mold and many other nasties over my lifetime so that vaporizing anything has to be a step up in safety. Hell, I imagine some of the screens I have made/used have off gassed plenty of poison. Then again, as a kid I used to play with mercury in my bare hands, and do all manner of stupid things, and the gods of chance have let me live so far.
There are few guarantees in life but contemplating alternatives is often a safer path. If someone had told me at 13 how stupid sniffing glue was I'm sure I would have told then to "buzz" off...

 

[Amoreena]

... I have smoked ... nasties over my lifetime so that vaporizing anything has to be a step up in safety. Hell, I imagine some of the screens I have made/used have off gassed plenty of poison. Then again, as a kid I used to ... do all manner of stupid things, and the gods of chance have let me live so far. ...

Sounds like our lives followed similar paths as far as stuff smoked/inhaled. I smoked cigarettes for 44 years, too, until finding cancer and having a lung lobe removed in 2010.

 

[all_day_j]

There is no toxicity issue with Teflon or silicon

 

[cybrguy]

Oh, I get that. My point was just that that isn't really what I worry about. I have asked about that in the past and been reassured. But I never even considered it for the first 3/4 of my smoking life.

 

[all_day_j]

Its cool didn't want folks to get any wrong impressions about toxicity

 

[Amoreena]

At this point, both my hands are needed to hold the heated MP in place while pressing the unit onto the desktop (standing up for each hit because am not tall). Yesterday, I could still use one hand to hold the HA and the other for the MP. If it hadn't just provided such a nice buzz in a few tokes, I might be grumpy. But remain merely baffled by unique behavior and wondering what HA customer support will say when I call tomorrow.

 

[cybrguy]

That sucks. Hopefully they will be responsive. I was going to say you may not be able to get them today due to the holiday, but they are in Canada so shouldn't be effected.

I'm sure you will let us know what happens.

 

[Amoreena]

That sucks. Hopefully they will be responsive. ...

Yes, it does. Hope they will be responsive, too...and fast about it. Tried calling at 8:05 a.m., PDT, and left a message on their voice mail (inexpensive using 10-10-987). Then I submitted a message/email via their site.

... I was going to say you may not be able to get them today due to the holiday, but they are in Canada so shouldn't be effected. ...

That's what I thought, but when checking their province's time zone to make sure it had been at least 9 a.m. when I called, found that Canada's "Labour Day" is observed today, too. Sigh.

... I'm sure you will let us know what happens.

Definitely. Discussing it with husband last night, we figured that either the MP or the HA's ring must've been cut slightly off specifications to cause the failure.

 

[cybrguy]

Definitely. Discussing it with husband last night, we figured that either the MP or the HA's ring must've been cut slightly off specifications to cause the failure.

Right, that's what I'm thinking too. Hope it's the MP as then just replacing the MP would resolve it. I don't know how much of a hassle it would be to replace the ring, tho @Egzoset and a couple others have disassembled their units and can probably tell us.

 

[OF]

Has anyone else had (or read a post about) trouble with the mouthpiece ejecting itself from the unit when heated? If so, please share how it was resolved?

It's getting worse with use. Now, I have to hold it in place with my hands EVERY time I hit on it. The screen in the mouthpiece is not flat and evenly seated anymore. Guess that's due to teflon's expansion/contraction?

Something is wrong, obviously. As others have said this is basically unknown.

Normally you put the top on cold, and it's a fairly tight fit with straight sides. As it heats it should 'lock up', that is the hole gets smaller and the plug gets bigger. You can normally lift a hot HA by the top?

However, PTFE is a very soft plastic. Every time you've forced the hot parts back together you've run the risk of further 'belling' the opening (making it wider at the top than the bottom) and tapering the plug (ending up with it smaller on the bottom than top. Both types of damage will make it worse and degrade. Carefully look at the two surfaces and see if you can detect the tapers. Hopefully it'll be confined to the plug (the hole is backed up by metal), which is easy to replace.

More over, PTFE is 'slick' (low friction) so there's little to hold it against any taper.

If you think the damage is confined to the plug, I'd just contact the maker for another. Sadly, if it's the opening it has to go back. But in either case resist the urge to force it when hot, further damage is sure to result......which fits with the 'getting worse with use' observation.

Nothing but new parts (or serious mechanical work) will make it right.

Screens fit poorly into the plug, they have to or they would pop out again. I dome them upward then flatten them in place. I also use the factory coarse screen to hold a much finer one (3/8 inch?). I also usually throw a loose screen on top of the crucible (5/8 inch? I don't have my HA handy, it's out on loan). This screen is changed out every few loads (I flame them clean when I have a vial full of used ones), this keeps the upper screens much cleaner.

Good luck.

OF

 

[Amoreena]

@cybrguy - Also hope it's the MP. Am sure disassembling would void the warranty. Hope they offer a free replacement MP. That would be fair. I'll buy the TONG and a 4-pack of crucibles in case anything goes wrong shortening one.

... in either case resist the urge to force it when hot ...

Thanks, @OF. Problem is that I can't use it at all if I don't put pressure on to hold the heated MP in and force it back when it slips slightly out despite my efforts. This is beyond concern about making it worse. I absolutely do not see my previous vape as a back-up and don't want to smoke if it can be avoided. Have already tried to reach the manufacturer but it's a holiday in Canada, too.

 

[OF]

Problem is that I can't use it at all if I don't put pressure on to hold the heated MP in and force it back when it slips slightly out despite my efforts. This is beyond concern about making it worse.

Have already tried to reach the manufacturer but it's a holiday in Canada, too.

Sorry for not being clear enough. Install it squarely cold, then don't let it move up. That doesn't count as 'forcing it' since it's not distorting the soft plastic (the real degradation issue). Put it in cold, hold it in tight as it heats (and you use it) but don't force it back in hot?

As far as being a holiday 'up there', nonsense. Everyone knows Labor Day is a Yank thing. They think all they have to do it steal the idea, misspell it, and take the day off? Don't let them get away with that......insist they answer the phone.......

OF

 

[Amoreena]

Sorry for not being clear enough. Install it squarely cold, then don't let it move up. ...

Also sorry for not being clear enough. I AM installing it squarely cold and it would take more strength than I have, applied evenly around the circumference, to stop its upward motion. That MP will shoot several feet if left unattended when warm, even after turning the unit off.

... Don't let them get away with that......insist they answer the phone.......

Believe me, if it could possibly work, I'd try.

 

[Egzoset]

Salutations CybrGuy,

I don't know how much of a hassle it would be to replace the ring, tho @Egzoset and a couple others have disassembled their units and can probably tell us.

Unfortunately that would be quite a hassle because the white outer aperture teflon ring would be the very last element to go i'm afraid, everything else happens to be piled on top of it... At least in a v2.1 that is.

 

[all_day_j]

Does any one just go straight to 400° and leave there for the entire sesh? Although im satisfied with 365 I seem toenjoy 400 more.

 

[Egzoset]

Salutations All_Day_J,

Does any one just go straight to 400° and leave there...

Well if it's OKay to assume that's not about bags then i'd say in whip mode @ 400 °F it just roasts too quickly inside an HA crucible for my own taste and i happened to be the slow contemplative type, as i recall... To be exact this is why i came to prefer a glass bowl to the aluminium crucible + teflon mast setup, because my machine often timed out before i had decided i was finished and yet my ABV got dark-brown and totally depleted; because i didn't need as much as i effectively used while the rest was appreciation, which i found to represent a major part of the habit/ritual that i seek.

Unfortunately i possibly developped some cannabis-related intolerance causing me to react strongly when the 1st blow of aroma/taste arrived near 325 ~ 350 °F. That made me climb to 365 ~ 385 °F for a couple initial tokes and eventually i ended at 400 °F too. Yet that wasn't my best alternative it turns out.

...I seem to enjoy 400 more.

Compared to my pipe no electric vaporizer can offer the same range of bursting experiences and also provide self-moisturisation in a pocket format as a bonus - which i require consequently to that mild cannabic intolerance i just mentioned that started bugging me ~9 months ago.

It's no problem having 45 min. sessions with a pipe as well but the difference is the later naturally stops cooking in seconds between inhalations, alternately i remember that my own lazyness resulted in more browning i guess, since my glass wand could be conveniently removed between tokes and yet this hardly became a favourite feature of mine for some reason.

Do you feel 400 °F gives you more THC or is it a way to attenuate secondary effects, etc?

 

[Amoreena]

... I'm sure you will let us know what happens.

Their customer service person was pleasant and helpful. Today, he will send one regular MP, one TONG MP, one MP for the Elite model, a spare crucible in case we want to cut one down for the TONG MP, and a couple of extra extensions, too.

Now, it's just a matter of waiting for them to arrive...should be here within a few days.

 

[all_day_j]

Do you feel 400 °F gives you more THC or is it a way to attenuate secondary effects, etc?

Faster sessions and more satisfying.

 

[cybrguy]

Their customer service person was pleasant and helpful. Today, he will send one regular MP, one TONG MP, one MP for the Elite model, a spare crucible in case we want to cut one down for the TONG MP, and a couple of extra extensions, too.

Now, it's just a matter of waiting for them to arrive...should be here within a few days.

That's great. I assume they comped at least part of that. Had they run in to the problem before? The MP actually popping off was a new one on me and I have read a lot on the HA.

 

[Amoreena]

@cybrguy - They comped everything -- "expedited" shipping, too. He recognized immediately that the size must be off by an nth. Said it was very rare but didn't specify further. On the off-chance it does turn out to be the HA's inner ring (much less likely than a MP), they'll replace the unit.

 

[cybrguy]

I like it when vendors do the right thing. Golden handcuffs...

Even if it is the ring, you will no longer need to use the regular MP anyway.

 

[RUDE BOY]

@all_day_j When i was using the HA most of the time i started around 370 for 4-5 hits then bumped it up to 400. I found it made it less harsh then just starting at 400, no/less coughing for me this way. I would do 30-40 minute sessions hitting twice a minute at least. Good Stuff, Kinda miss it.

 

[Amoreena]

I like it when vendors do the right thing. ...

Their rep was helpful and cheerful. Seemed eager to please. I asked for the spare crucible because we planned to cut one for use with the TONG. No problem, he sent one along.

 

[*plainlazy*]

hi fellow herbalaire users.
as I have just bought a glass piece from dhgate im after the tong piece so I can use the HA with it. the mouthpiece i have doesnt fit the 19mm hole on my piece. its too loose.

being in the uk getting asessories or spares for vapes is hard.

I have found a stockist for the elite mouthpiece.
in the description says it mates with all glass pieces. but wont work with the h2.2.

is this true?

if so, any uk owners know where to get the h2.2 tong mouthpiece?
thanks