HERBIE 510 Stainless Steel Mesh Vaporizer

[sashka69]

Yes it's mandatory to read the coils cold.

I observed the hot spot situation from another perspective and instead of wondering why the airflow didn't help much, I was playing around with the coil.

In the manual you can see the original form of the mesh coil. Do you remember my hotspots? No wonder, I don't like the pre-built layout.

Here is my first try with NiChrome wire for a proof of concept. Inspired by tinymight.
The coil reads 0.78 ohm and was very sluggish in heating.

So I modded another mesh screen to get the biggest and most even heating area as possible.

I will try this new coil style the next few days, also with my beloved capsules, even with lid on it.



Meanwhile I'm very pissed about the loose air control of my stealth topcap. I need a better O-ring ASAP.

Also the drip tip is a real disappointment. I cleaned it with an iso cotton wipe and when it was dry the glass part was loose because it is glued on the metal part of the drip tip. I had to bend the metal a little bit so now the glass is held by pressure.

I ordered a stainless steel 810 drip tip. It also has a mesh.
This should have been shipped instead of this glued glass thing.

Nevertheless I like my herbie but it's really challenging to reach the personal sweet spot of performance.
________________________

Edit after some tests:

This new mesh layout rocks hard.
By far my best result since I got herbie.
I used a capsule - with - lid. Gorilla Glue.
Startet at 50W and finished at 62W.
Half opened airflow, moderat draw speed.
Stealth top cap airflow almost closed fully.


Now we're talking seriously!


Nevertheless, I hate the loose top cap airflow ring. It sucks hard when you are outside in the evening and while you're switching capsules, your loose airflow ring fells down to the ground, rolling away, so you have to search it for several minutes until you find it near a gully cover.

@Vape Engineering Is this covered by warranty? ;-)

 

[KeroZen]

There's a reason RBT vapes use a beefy gauge mesh, been there done that... With fine woven meshes and intermittent contact resistance due to the metal expansion, contraction, you are at risk of getting tiny spots in your mesh itself vaporizing. The metal gets white hot in no time and poof little fumes it's gone... possibly in your lungs.

Perforated / patterned sheet metal is the way to go folks. Completely eliminates the problem that woven wires have.

 

[shopdognyc]

There's a reason RBT vapes use a beefy gauge mesh, been there done that... With fine woven meshes and intermittent contact resistance due to the metal expansion, contraction, you are at risk of getting tiny spots in your mesh itself vaporizing. The metal gets white hot in no time and poof little fumes it's gone... possibly in your lungs.

Perforated / patterned sheet metal is the way to go folks. Completely eliminates the problem that woven wires have.

Is there then an option to overcome this for the Herbie? Change or rebuild with different materials?

 

[Hippie]

Like theses

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$3.85 Coil Father King SS316 Mesh Coil Wire (20-Pack) 20-pack - 0.15ohm (65-75W) at FastTech - Free Shipping

Probably the best deal for a Coil Father King SS316 Mesh Coil Wire (20-Pack) 0.15ohm (65-75W) USD 3.85 as of 6/18/2022 - Free shipping worldwide on all orders. Prices unbelievably cheap.

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BMTD Ni80 Mesh Coil (10-Pack) 10-pack - 0.16ohm (50-65W) / 16*6.8mm at FastTech - Free Shipping

Probably the best deal for a BMTD Ni80 Mesh Coil (10-Pack) 0.16ohm (50-65W) / 16*6.8mm USD as of 6/18/2022 - Free shipping worldwide on all orders. Prices unbelievably cheap.

www.fasttech.com

 

[dimmusp]

There's a reason RBT vapes use a beefy gauge mesh, been there done that... With fine woven meshes and intermittent contact resistance due to the metal expansion, contraction, you are at risk of getting tiny spots in your mesh itself vaporizing. The metal gets white hot in no time and poof little fumes it's gone... possibly in your lungs.

Perforated / patterned sheet metal is the way to go folks. Completely eliminates the problem that woven wires have.

Holy shit! I think I'm gonna stick with something more "tried-and-true" like my Crafty+...

 

[Vaporware]

Holy shit! I think I'm gonna stick with something more "tried-and-true" like my Crafty+...

If you’re more comfortable with the Crafty+ or something else that’s fine, but this is a replaceable part and the company or end user can eliminate that problem by taking @KeroZen ’s advice.

 

[PPN]

Hi, got mine today... firstr impressions are mitiged cause it's bigger than I thought and some small issues but there is good parts also.

I agree with the short user guide. Building quality seems sturdy despite the design... it appeals the sentence "built like a tank" but this is doesn't seems unadequated here (but so much used when it comes to german production and, sometimes, totally unadequated to the product/car/plane in concern).

Large bowl (no reducer for me), 3 parts a long ss ring+ a ss screen+ a short ss ring to keep the screen in place full stainless steel, it comes above the heating element, everything isn't screwed or maintened in place by anything else than the top cap when screwed... so when you unload it the whole bowl (3 parts) fall on the floor or the desk... not nice for easy unload and reload.

Resistance show 0.22 bon my Movkin Disguiser box, power mode set at 28-30w, full bowl of Grandaddy Confidential, 0.2-0.25 I believe, airflow minimal (1mm). 2 first hits are blanks, no vapor but a fresh good taste and vapor comes at the third hit no charred taste at the second bowl cause I added a finer screen above the stock one in the bottom of the bowl cause I suspected the burnt taste I got at the first bowl was coming from tiny bits of flowers falling on the heater since that taste appeared right after I stirred. Abv didn't comes out very dark cause I didn't want to push the power higher since the last reports I read here. I'm stocked the metal body doesn't seems to heat up a lot.

Drip tip size is very big, bigger than anything else I have for that task, sadly cause the mentionned glue is something not nice and I still not found another option.

Some good things but there is some room for improvements also. I'm only on day 1 so I'll let you know how things are going.

 

[oddjobold]

I was not in but DHL left my package outside in my drive. It was raining all day. My package was a little moist when I took it in.

My first impression. This is a solid piece of Germany engineering. Not so sure the drip tips are the same high quality. I will probably replace them with something in metal. Also slightly freaked out by the mention of glue. Not a big deal, drip tips are cheap. @PPN do a search for 810 drip tip.

The bypass ring is kinda lose when you reload. Everything is free to move or fall. Again no big deal, just care is needed.

The bowl is big. I half filled it and it used about 3 pinches. This is probably about twice as much as I would use in another vape. I did not get the reducer. Maybe I should have.

I stick it on my P80 and put it on 35w. I was impressed. The clouds are never harsh, and they surprisingly large. Taste was good, I have had better but solid tasty hits. After a while I got the same slightly toasted taste @PPN described, however it was never harsh at any point. Not to sure I was getting big clouds due to the amount of herb I was using or the efficiency of the vape. More testing needed

With some of the other reviews I was slightly concerned I had brought a lemon, but I don't think that anymore. I have only had one go and I like it. I think a bit of modding would make it better.

1) @KeroZen has made me thing perhaps a different coil would be better. Even just two Clapton's?

2) A new driptip for sure.

3) A finer screen above the coil.

4) Perhaps a new o-ring for the bypass ring?

I think there is plenty of room for tweaking.

Think I better have another go......

 

[shopdognyc]

Like theses

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Probably the best deal for a Vapefly Stainless Steel Heating Wire for Brunhilde MTL RTA (4-Pack) authentic / 7*(7*3mm) USD 5.14 as of 6/18/2022 - Free shipping worldwide on all orders. Prices unbelievably cheap.

www.fasttech.com

$3.85 Coil Father King SS316 Mesh Coil Wire (20-Pack) 20-pack - 0.15ohm (65-75W) at FastTech - Free Shipping

Probably the best deal for a Coil Father King SS316 Mesh Coil Wire (20-Pack) 0.15ohm (65-75W) USD 3.85 as of 6/18/2022 - Free shipping worldwide on all orders. Prices unbelievably cheap.

www.fasttech.com

BMTD Ni80 Mesh Coil (10-Pack) 10-pack - 0.16ohm (50-65W) / 16*6.8mm at FastTech - Free Shipping

Probably the best deal for a BMTD Ni80 Mesh Coil (10-Pack) 0.16ohm (50-65W) / 16*6.8mm USD as of 6/18/2022 - Free shipping worldwide on all orders. Prices unbelievably cheap.

www.fasttech.com

Thanks i'll try those out

 

[sashka69]

I will give KeroZens advice also a try and found some nice coils on German Amazon (search 'Nr.02 - M COIL 0.15Ω / SS316L' and go for the vandyvape ones) so they will arrive Tuesday or Wednesday. I will report back soon.

I fixed my damn airflow ring with a silicone anti-slip ring which I found in my Vape box.
In Germany they are known as 'Vape Band'. https://m.fasttech.com/p/7079208

Herbie gets better day by day. Improvement by improvement.


Paired with the new 'beefy' coils and the stainless steel drip tip I hope to see the finish line in terms of handling and performance.

 

[oddjobold]

A very quick fix for the bottom screen, add a 2nd screen. Luckily I ordered loads more. The 2nd screen seems to stop scoby snacks falling on the heater. I ordered 3 packets of screens, I had about 1 packet that were misshaped, with parts of the screen missing, those went in the bin. Again the screens feel cheap. I feel like I have a quality piece of german engineering with cheap drip tips and screens. No big deal these things are cheap, but annoying.

I should have got the reducer. I may have to pay for shipping again. You can use 1 pitch of herb but it shoots up and sticks to the screen of the drip tip when you suck. The bowl on its own is huge.

This time I went to 40w. I almost combusted. However I got good tasty clouds. Pretty baked. I feel like there are a lot of factors coming in to play here. To tame the beast I might remove one factor and not use the bypass. I think this is a tinkerers vape, lots to play with. Lucky I like to tinker.

Edit: I feel a different coil mesh would work better but I have no idea what to go with. Does anyone know what a splinter uses? Is this a closely guarded secret or open source? @Unklmark68

 

[arb]

Seems weird to hear it "feels like solid German engineering"after a listing of such basic ass issues.
The mesh is a known problem,glue........fucking glue?

You guys have any pics?

 

[sashka69]

I can make some photos in the evening from the whole device and the different parts it contains. I'm still on my work, in round about 6 hours I'm at home.

Yesterday I didn't use my tinymight at all. With latest optimizations herbie begins to make fun, even with capsules.

Edit: here are the photos.

1. Herbie assembled


2. Herbie on a Nunchaku 2.


3. Comparison so you can see the size


4. All parts disassembled. But not the stealth top cap in the upper left.




5. Herbie body assembled with herb chamber and smallest reducer (s&b capsule size). Herb chamber and reducer have to be dropped into the assembled herbie. So both parts fall out if you want to empty your chamber.

 

[Vaporware]

I hope @Vape Engineering is really seeing what new users are saying here. I do still think that the Herbie is interesting and it does look the most like an e-cig device out of all of the 510 dry herb attachments I’ve seen, but there are some comments here I think you should take seriously. I would consider some modifications before mass production if you want this to be more than a small niche product.

The potential of vaporizing parts of the heater and having glue in the vapor path bother me, but ease of use will probably be the bigger issue for the average user. Having even a screen fall out while reloading is annoying. Having multiple large parts fall as you try to empty/load it would frustrate most people.

I’m sure there are specific ways you can hold it to help keep it together better, but I don’t believe this is a solution that most people would accept, especially if they’re in a...less-coordinated state.

I hope you consider modifications to at least these aspects because I would like to see the Herbie do well and I’m afraid this version will have a hard time gaining much traction in the market at that price. If it were very cheap people might overlook these issues, but in the market you’re reaching I think most people would rather pay a little more and not have to deal with these issues.

I can only really speak for myself, but I know I would be more interested in a version that I believed was more safe and easy to use. I’m not sure the glue is a real safety issue where it is, but it does still bother me, and the mesh issue is a real concern for me. At least it’s replaceable, but I would consider shipping with something different.

Good luck whatever you decide to do, but please do give these initial user comments real consideration!

 

[sashka69]

You are right. For this price, people should get a better drip tip, better and more o-orings and better coils from the beginning.
Also a 'vape band' / anti-slip ring for the stealth top cap too.

It would be much better if the herb chamber would have threads so you could screw it into the body part of the herbie so it would not fall out anymore.

If there is some day a v2 herbie based on the modifications we were suggesting here... It would be great to trade in our early 'guinea pig version' to receive the actual one.

 

[PPN]

Is this ones might be good @KeroZen my friend? https://www.lepetitvapoteur.com/fr/fils-resistifs/7322-kylin-m-mesh-vandy-vape.html#

I believe the 0.20ohm seems better, I'm just afraid that's not the good shape to fit the HB510.

Thank you for your feedback @oddjobold , I may have harsh clouds cause I loaded full bowls, maybe less meds will produce less terpys hits. I vaped a third bowl yesterday, started at 28w and ended at 33w, one stir, abv came out not fully spent though. I believe I have to deal more with power, starting as low as 25-28w until the higher I can without to scorch my load. That's strange it need this power increase, with others 510 herbal atties I can stay at my favourite power setup for all the session, no power up (i.e with my Iheat I'm stuck at 28w, with the Imp it's 25w and DC Gen2 is 33w).

Yes, at the moment I use most of my 510 gear exclusively in power mode since I'm pretty tired to have to deal with the mod box setup to achieve nice TC hits... I'm convinced I could have a better TC experience if I used better mod box or if I installed Artic Fox or something else... maybe I'll try to upgrade my knowledge during the long winter's evenings!

Happy to know your HB510 works well with the P80, is the P80 a 1 battery mod box, isn't it? How is the battery life? with my 2 batteries mod box (old Movkin) with 2xVTC6, I was going from a 90% full charge to 40% in 3 bowls, although since there was some learning and training I think to be able to use it more efficiently concerning power consumption.

 

[oddjobold]

Went out with my Herbie for some birthday drinks yesterday.

First the driptip broke. It really is a POS. That went in the bin. Glued together. Luckily there was a vape shop on the way and I grabbed another.

Next I forgot about the lose stuff inside. Went to empty the bowl everything went flying, lost the screens. Managed to buy new screens on the way too.

Then I am dammed if I could get vapor from it. Lucky I had my POTV one as a backup.

I think what was happening was the herb was clogging the drip tip screen, and it is too far from the heater. When I got home I looked at my bypass top and inserted a screen in it. A 20mm screen fitted like a glove, should it have always been there?

Just tested my Herbie and it's now working again, in fact better than before. I am thinking the Herbie will take a little figuring out and modding but I am confident I can get it working real nice.

If you want a vape that just works, the Herbie is not for you. If you want something you can play with then get a Herbie.

 

[boon]

Is this ones might be good @KeroZen my friend? https://www.lepetitvapoteur.com/fr/fils-resistifs/7322-kylin-m-mesh-vandy-vape.html#

I believe the 0.20ohm seems better, I'm just afraid that's not the good shape to fit the HB510.

Thank you for your feedback @oddjobold , I may have harsh clouds cause I loaded full bowls, maybe less meds will produce less terpys hits. I vaped a third bowl yesterday, started at 28w and ended at 33w, one stir, abv came out not fully spent though. I believe I have to deal more with power, starting as low as 25-28w until the higher I can without to scorch my load. That's strange it need this power increase, with others 510 herbal atties I can stay at my favourite power setup for all the session, no power up (i.e with my Iheat I'm stuck at 28w, with the Imp it's 25w and DC Gen2 is 33w).

Yes, at the moment I use most of my 510 gear exclusively in power mode since I'm pretty tired to have to deal with the mod box setup to achieve nice TC hits... I'm convinced I could have a better TC experience if I used better mod box or if I installed Artic Fox or something else... maybe I'll try to upgrade my knowledge during the long winter's evenings!

Happy to know your HB510 works well with the P80, is the P80 a 1 battery mod box, isn't it? How is the battery life? with my 2 batteries mod box (old Movkin) with 2xVTC6, I was going from a 90% full charge to 40% in 3 bowls, although since there was some learning and training I think to be able to use it more efficiently concerning power consumption.

Salut @PPN
The mesh are 16mmx6.8mm.
I think this mesh are made of kanthal so you can't use them in tcr wattage only.

I have a better battery life on my iheat with the p80 in tcr (yes it's a single cell mod) than the disguizer . I'd say i can roast 5-6 bowl mini. (I 'll ount them) with arctic fox on my p80 with a vtc6. Sadly i don't recall how many bowl i could roast with the disguizer

Hope this help

Boon

 

[sashka69]

I think what was happening was the herb was clogging the drip tip screen, and it is too far from the heater. When I got home I looked at my bypass top and inserted a screen in it. A 20mm screen fitted like a glove, should it have always been there?

In the manual which you can download from the website (much more Infos than the shipped quick guide contains) it says clearly : if you use stealth top cap, you have to remove the screen from the normal top cap and insert it into the stealth top cap. It's described there.

While switching the screen I was thinking about the inconvenience why there isn't a screen in the stealth top cap.

 

[arb]

Now where has that company rep wandered off to.........@Vape Engineering

 

[dimmusp]

I think you didn't manage to actually tag them for some reason. Let's see if I can: @Vape Engineering

 

[PPN]

Salut @PPN
The mesh are 16mmx6.8mm.
I think this mesh are made of kanthal so you can't use them in tcr wattage only.

I have a better battery life on my iheat with the p80 in tcr (yes it's a single cell mod) than the disguizer . I'd say i can roast 5-6 bowl mini. (I 'll ount them) with arctic fox on my p80 with a vtc6. Sadly i don't recall how many bowl i could roast with the disguizer

Hope this help

Boon

Thank you @boon , do you mean the Vandy Vape ones or the HB510 ones are Kanthal ? tbh I slightly gave up with TC mode with most devices, I think the only one I use in TC mode is the DTV4 but I use my Iheat, Imp and DTgen2 in power mode. Personnaly I found that mode a lot more reliable than TC... although since I never uploaded Artic fox or similar TC files on my mods (I'm aware the Movkin can't be updated with AF but I have a Pico also).
But I still not found the tricks with the HB..., sometimes I can get a few good hits and sometimes get issues to see clouds, most of the time I end with a light abv which isn't fully spent but evenly colored (I stir), taste is good but not intense, it's surprising considering the load size... got some nice low temp reliefs although.

I replaced the driptip with a short 14mm glass ground glass piece (one end is 14mm glass and other end is simply cut) the 14mm end fit very well the HB top lid by friction but not a good on the go solution so I tried an old mp I got with the first Pipes herbal atty, it's wood and after I removed the bowl and replaced it with thicker o-rings it fits rather well but not as tight as the stock one. Last thing, I wanted to use it with the Movkin Disguiser (sbs old mod box) since the big profile of the HB... sadly I can't screw it in the base since it's so wide but after I added a heat sink it was doable! The HB sits slightly angled on the heat sink, but, since the design of the Movkin I can't anymore remove the top lid to get access to the bowl...by chance the drip tip hole is so big I can load, stir and unload easily by it and since I replaced that stock drip tip by a short 14mm joint glass piece it's very easy to pull out and replace. This is make the device a lot more compact.

I'm on the fence to order a Tesla Punk or a Uwell nunchaku to pair with my HB or my Iheat.... I know the Punk is only a power mode mod but that's not a problem for me since I dig to use power mode with the Iheat.

 

[shopdognyc]

Vapor Engineering seemed to be active until sale and then haven't seen them reply since. I know they been logged in.

I got a ship notice for mine a couple weeks back but won't track so don't think it ever shipped.

 

[sashka69]

Yeah too bad @Vape Engineering disappeared here. I hope they're fine and will come back soon.

Today is the second day I'm really satisfied by herbie. Reading here that lots of people have problems with vapor production and feel like me when herbie was new to me, I just wanted to let you know what I'm doing and why.

I know, you need several parts for my setup and lot of people didn't go for the reducer kit or hate capsules. BUT... if you have all these things, give my guide a go and respond back.


1. Do my coil mod I explained in post #201. This gives you a bigger and more even heating area. The mesh is easier to form if it was heated already so it becomes less flexible.

2. Do NOT preheat the coil. In the wattage I suggest to use, preheating until it glows orange is poison for the coil. When you push the fire button of your mod box, you HAVE to start inhaling. It's freaking on demand vaping.

3. Fill a s&b capsule with herbs and close it with the lid. Press it into the reducer, drop this bundle into your heating chamber.
Put top cap on. When using stealth top cap, open only 1 hole for maximum 30%.
Set your main airflow (from the body) half open.
Set your mod box in power mode 50W-55W.

4. Push fire button and start inhaling in a moderat (not too slow) draw speed.
I start at 55W and I inhale that fast that in ~4-5 seconds my lungs are almost full.

5. You will get 4-5 good hits at 55W. When there is less vapor, remove top cap and turn your 'reducer/capsule bundle' clockwise with your finger a quarter round. This is the alternative to stirring. Put top cap on and vape more hits at 55w. Later you can set 60w and start over again. I never tried more than 65W.

With this method I'm really satisfied and hopefully the better coils will improve this moreover.


Edit: I never explained why I use this wattage. There were some pictures from the manufacturer some time ago where you could see their wattage. It was 50w and 55w. I know what the manual says but hey, I'm using capsules and I saw that pictures.

 

[boon]

Thank you @boon , do you mean the Vandy Vape ones or the HB510 ones are Kanthal ? tbh I slightly gave up with TC mode with most devices, I think the only one I use in TC mode is the DTV4 but I use my Iheat, Imp and DTgen2 in power mode. Personnaly I found that mode a lot more reliable than TC... although since I never uploaded Artic fox or similar TC files on my mods (I'm aware the Movkin can't be updated with AF but I have a Pico also).

Yes the Vandys are kanthal so you can only use them in wattage. The OG HB mesh are made of SS so you can use them with TC.
From what i understood we want to avoid ss mesh glowing while kanthal is "safer" in glowing.