Iolite vaporiser

[max]

It might be a difference between Iolite generations

No. I have one of the first ones shipped back in Oct. of '08, as well as a newer version with all the herb chamber/mouthpiece upgrades. The only time I've smelled butane (technically the additive that gives it an odor) is during the filling process.

When my Iolite is going to through heating cycles it smells like the butane is being used but rather heavier than i thought. Is this normal?

If you really are smelling the butane additive during operation, then something's wrong with your unit. This catalytic process is designed to release/vent only carbon dioxide and water vapor. There is no way that the butane can be converted to heat, while leaking some butane intact out the exhaust vent. That would be like butane being exposed to a flame, and some of it somehow escaping the flame without being broken down into hydrogen and carbon. All that can escape is some carbon, in the form of soot, and the iolite system, like a hotter torch lighter, converts ALL the carbon to heat as well. Otherwise you'd be constantly cleaning soot from the housing. People claiming to taste butane with a vape like the VaporGenie are actually tasting the partially burned carbon.

 

[KBvrIP]

I have the newest generation Iolite and it has worked perfectly since day one. The vector butane is all i have used and will continue to do so. My friend also bought one with me and he called the GotVape customer service with questions of the heat up time. They informed him the most time to wait for your herbs to be heated up is 5 min with dryer herbs taking less time. We each get a solid 20 min of dense vapor before the pack is finished. I cant even imagine only getting 7 hits out of it as i usually wouldn't even be able to count the amount of hits i would get somewhere upward of 10-15. I use a great Diamond brand grinder and always great herb so I'm sure all this plays a role in the way my Iolite performs as it requires attention to the little things but they become habit and easy after a little bit of time with this great device. I would recommend it to everyone

 

[max]

They informed him the most time to wait for your herbs to be heated up is 5 min with dryer herbs taking less time.

You don't have to wait 5 min. for vapor, regardless of dryness. It may take that long to get a lot of visible vapor on exhale, but that's just mind games. I can get an effective hit at the 2 min. mark every time, and I've been using one, off and on, for almost 3 yrs. Granted, you do have better overall heat throughout the bowl after 5 min., but waiting that long may rob you of a tasty hit or two, since the best taste comes in the first heating cycle.

We each get a solid 20 min of dense vapor before the pack is finished.

How long you get from a bowl load depends on how much you load, how big your hits are, and how often you're taking hits. And some would argue that you can't get "dense vapor" from the iolite period. Ever. Under any circumstances. Dense, rich hits don't mean the same thing to every vaporist.

So you'll have to pardon my corrections for variables and subjectivity. Glad to hear that you're enjoying the vape though.

 

[KBvrIP]

Max you are right 5 min is just the maximum time they suggested you give it I would say I wait 3 min sometimes 2 and a half for mine I too hate wasting any hits from the start as they are the most flavorful. My comment about the dense vapor is just because a lot of people on this forum seem to be disappointed in either the strength of hit or appearance when I cant say I have ever felt that way. I have drawn hits that have made me cough more then blunts and joints have and the visibility of my hits has always been strong but dense was probably the wrong word as that indicates a thicker smoke. Just trying to give a few tips and reviews from my experience as I know the Iolite can be a little frustrating at times but in the end is totally worth it and sends me into the clouds every time

 

[Heywilson]

Ok more questions. Had the iolite since saturday been using it quite heavy. started to notice the performance has decreased. Cleaned the screen and other metal parts, hits a bit better but i lose all visible vapor after 5 minutes. I usually let it cycle twice until i start hitting it. Should I wait longer? It will still work even if I dont see vapor right? Im a noob when it comes to iolites and vaping. Thank you for all the help

 

[KBvrIP]

Heywilson if you have cleaned everything and still aren't getting good pulls you should try different heat up times just like with any vape everyone has there own personal preferences and you have to pick what works best for you and your herb. For example i have read on different vape forums peoples experiences with different heat up times, many people with medical herb have found they require longer heat up times. Just like any vape you have to experiment and find what works best for you obviously with the Iolite there is no temperature control so you have less options but heat up time and size of your bowl are two things you can control. I personally use just below a full bowl pack and let it heat up for 3-4 min usually going on instinct before i take my first pull, sometimes i use the stopwatch on my phone for help cause im too baked to keep track of time haha

 

[HighMtnSkier]

Anyone have any processing tips for really moist herbs? I remember reading some a few dozen pages back.

 

[Seek]

Dry them. Lol, just vape them, they will be dry after few hits. You will just use some vape power to dry it instead of vaping. Or you can dry it before somehow.

 

[nr-cole]

Anyone have any processing tips for really moist herbs? I remember reading some a few dozen pages back.

Do you mean like, just harvested, or are these ones you got off of somebody? If you need to cure quickly there's a thread on water curing in the Ask FC section. If they're just moist herbs then maybe letting them sit in your vape at a below-vaporizing temperature for half an hour might do it.

 

[Hai_Rypo_T'head]

Help! My iolite refused to ignite today. I pressed the ignition button over 40 times, and when I switched it off, the 'hiss' continued for about 15 - 30 seconds. I tried again, with a similar result. I then cleaned it, refilled with loosely packed dry herb, and refuelled with butane. It made no difference.

BTW, for several weeks it has sometimes taken 10 to 20 presses on the ignition button, before igniting.

Before I contact O & B, any suggestions/solutions would be welcome.

 

[nr-cole]

Help! My iolite refused to ignite today. I pressed the ignition button over 40 times, and when I switched it off, the 'hiss' continued for about 15 - 30 seconds. I tried again, with a similar result. I then cleaned it, refilled with loosely packed dry herb, and refuelled with butane. It made no difference.

BTW, for several weeks it has sometimes taken 10 to 20 presses on the ignition button, before igniting.

Before I contact O & B, any suggestions/solutions would be welcome.

Do you bleed your tank between refills? Air often builds up in the tank and tubing over time which can cause starting problems. Take a pen or other dull-pointed object, and depress the butane injection nozzle down firmly. You will hear a hiss of air and butane leaving the tank. You'll have to hold it down for a long time (think several minutes) until the hiss stops completely. It will keep getting quieter so listen carefully and make sure you get it all out. Then do another refill all the way and see if it lights in fewer clicks.

Generally more than 7 clicks means everything is not right with your Iolite. The three chief causes for this are not bleeding the tank, impurities from poor quality butane gumming up the works, and the Iolite being cold.

As far as butane goes, I only use Colibri, which in some places is sold under the brand name London. Since it's all I've used it's the only one I'll personally vouch for. There are other suggestions that people have used on here if you flip through the threads. General consensus is that although Vector is advertised as high-quality it's actually crap. The Iolite is much more sensitive to bad butane than a lighter.

The cold will also keep your Iolite from starting up. This probably isn't your problem since you mentioned it's been ongoing, but since butane is very cold, sometimes the Iolite will have trouble starting right after you fill it. Put it under your arm or in your hands for five minutes. Generally if I can't get it to start in five clicks, I let it sit for a few minutes and then try again. Works every time.

If none of this works, it probably needs service.

 

[Hai_Rypo_T'head]

nr-cole, many thanks for your suggestions. I did as you suggested, but it still refuses to ignite.

I'll contact O & B, and keep you informed.

 

[Hai_Rypo_T'head]

In case you missed it, google 'The illegal herb that fights cancer', and click on a link.

But no prizes for guessing which herb.

 

[Flatland]

Can you get some big clouds with this thing?

 

[SF Giant]

Can you get some big clouds with this thing?

In general no, this is not a hard hitting vape, if you wait for five minutes to heat up, grind your herb just so, use a slow ass draw, fill the bowl just right, face westward, rub your tummy and pat your head the first hit or two will be decent but I wouldnt say big clouds even then

 

[anivape]

Unfortunately not all brand new out of the box iolites are the same.

I opened up a new one this weekend, loaded it with the usual prepared dosage of meds,
and dam if this thing would not get as hot as any of my previous io's.

Now I can understand why some peeps say they have to wait minutes, or play tricks.
I tired several bowls over the weekend, with the same results, not hot enough.
This baby fails and is going back for an exchange.

I'll fall back to my current #4 who's only fault is that once warm, it gets cranky re igniting.
Click,click,click,click, gets boring, but when the io hits 190c in 45 seconds, game on.

If it doesn't reach the advertised 190c at 45 second mark, the whole dynamics of the device
is fucked, causing user disillusion and dissatisfaction.

need an easily way to verify temp after the first 45 sec's

My guess is this latest one didn't get past 180c, can't say for sure, just know it was week.

 

[Blood420]

Has anybody else experienced headaches when using the iolite in confined spaces?

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Has anybody else experienced headaches when using the iolite in confined spaces?

Do you know that there were cases and many reported day with gas refill butane abuse... as an inhalatory crack LOL. Most of the death cases were due to freeze of throat.. (Those guys probably too a monster rip lol) .
I help a stupid friend of mine who was paranoid to do bho in the open so we did in his bathroom and i got a huge headache in few seconds.
If somethings hurting you dont use it.. Might be butane intolerance or crap brand butane.. or bad batch of weed. or smoke..

 

[Blood420]

Well it's not the weed, I've been using the same strain for a while... unfortunately.

I'm using Newport Butane, the can says "Zero impurities", it's pretty cheap. Apparently one of the best brand of butane to use in the UK, don't know how true that is.

Butane intolerance.... I dunno, I've been smoking for 10 years, but for the last 2 years I've been using beeline when I'm hitting bongs/pipes

I should add that it's not just confined spaces I got the headaches. It happened on more than one occasion over a few days. I've taken a break from smoking too, just been vaping for the last 3 weeks. Never got headaches from the Volcano, or my newly acquired Launch Box, leading me to believe that it's almost definitely butane related.

I'm also fairly positive that I can smell some butane when the iolite is in operation.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that I happened to get the headaches during the 2 weeks of using only the iolite. I do have bad eating/sleeping habbits, but I haven't gotten headaches in a while.

 

[nr-cole]

I help a stupid friend of mine who was paranoid to do bho in the open so we did in his bathroom and i got a huge headache in few seconds.

There are no words...

 

[StickyShisha2]

i was returned my iolite from where it was loaned. still works well, but the sticker on one side is almost all unstuck.
they were keeping a sock on it while using and my guess is that it overheated the sticker glue.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

I help a stupid friend of mine who was paranoid to do bho in the open so we did in his bathroom and i got a huge headache in few seconds.

There are no words...

Things we do of friendship ...
Btw i have to say i have almost never used iolite... Once i tried but it took me 6 minutes to get some effective draw... and i had the feeling that my teeth are going to fall.. so i gave up ... 99% chance its due to my lack of experience but... I remember some butane smell in the vapor.. that terrified me .. as i imagined what can it cause in the long run even if it is only a though in my head and not real fact...

 

[Albert Hofmann]

Some of you who follow this thread may remember a couple months ago, a few pages back, my Iolite had stopped working entirely and I didn't have a reciept, so I was out of luck for a warranty claim. Well, I went into the shop where I bought it, told them my story, and lo and behold if the dude behind the counter didn't just print me up a replacement reciept. Called up iolites north American service center, told them I found my reciept, they issued me a replacement authorization number, I sent it off in the mail to them, and two weeks later I recieved a brand new replacement! This ones a ripper too! The initial heat up on this new one only lasts for about 20 seconds, and when it cycles, it never kicks on for more than about 2 seconds. All in all, it just seems to run a lot stronger than my old one ever did. Hopefully this one will last much longer, but if it doesn't, it's good to know that they actually do stand behind their warranty if you have your reciept.

 

[mvapes]

If you draw on the tube while the heat is cycling you will almost always get a butane taste and smell. I used to get headaches when I first started with IO a few years ago. Heres what I've learned thus far (please keep in mind some may sound redundant but I am only offering advice): The IO has to be cleaned all the time! If not you get the sticky icky build up between the parts and what happens is it retricts the aperture of the mouthpiece and from long low and slow pulls your actually depriving yourself of oxygen! When this happens any inhaled butane vapor is not only going to taste like arse but it will eventually give a killer headache. I take mine apart every week and give all the parts a 91% ISO bath. Next, dont overpack the unit. It should be packed to the top loosely while grinding as small as you can. I pulverize my green for the IO similar to the size for my MFLB, works like a charm. Second....I dont care what the can says, how expensive the butane is, or what anyone behind the counter of smoke shops says - if your not gonna use Vector dont use the IO! Anytime someone veers away from Vector regardless of the reason the Iolite will at some point give trouble. Now, when the unit turns on (once you see the light) I have found that if I let it go through two full cycles before I hit it I get a much nicer hit. After that I actually blow into the mouthpiece lowering the temp which in turn creates another cycle - once that is completely finished hit it again. Last but not least, while cycling DO NOT lay it on its side, try to stand it up....when on its side it doesnt seem to exhaust correctly and what Ive found is it starts to kick out that nasty butane fart smell. I hope I was able to help any you my FC brethren and if anyone needs help shoot me a message.

 

[El-Kabong]

I didn't have good results with my Optimizer but others on here have. :/

How is your iolite oriented when it's heating up?