Gunky
Well-Known Member
Log vape roundup:
A few months back I got a cherry PD. I use it a lot and was thinking of getting a backup for it and also wanted to send one to a friend as a gift. Woodeez happened to have a nice special on at the time so I picked up walnut Woodeez for me and my friend. Recently reading through the Aromazap thread I noticed there were some interesting aspects to the Zaps and the gearhead in me won out: I decided to complete my collection of all three (that I know of, anyway) log vapes descended from the ETerra.
Similarities:
-All three use the same ceramic resistor
-All three ship with the identical 12-volt Jameco adapter
-All three offer a similar if not identical copper oil diffusion cup (if you don't take the fancy diffuser on the Zap)
-all three include a small tin of beeswax-based polish
Accessories (accessories vary depending on the package you buy;
these are some standard included accessories):
PD: 3 vapor tubes, car cable, 2 muslin bags, tube cleaning bottle
WDZ: 3 vapor tubes
Zap: 2 (or 3) vapor tubes, car cable, glass tooty, aroma flower diffuser
Vapor tubes:
These are all pretty similar. The PD and WDZ have stainless inserts in plastic tubes. The Zaps use plastic tube with brass insert. The plastic used for the PD stems is white, partially transparent, and has a slightly softer feel to it. The WDZ and Zaps use opaque types of plastic which have a harder feel and click when striking a hard surface. The WDZ stem looks white while the Zap has an attractive cream to match the brass tip. WDZ tubes are about an eighth of an inch longer than PD, and the Zap tubes are around a half inch shorter than WDZ. The diameter of the mouthpiece is pretty close and I noticed I could get a pretty good seal if I slip the standard whip tubing from an SSV over the end of all three vapor tubes. WDZ and PD tubes are interchangeable but the stainless tips are too big to fit in Zaps. Zap tubes and tooties (and Ed's T&T wood Zap tubes) fit in any of the three brands.
Heat exchange port:
The PD and WDZ have a similar, loose-fitting stainless tube at the top of the unit into which the vapor tube tips are inserted. There is considerable room to wiggle and angle the tube while inserted. The Zaps, on the other hand, are made such that the brass tip on the vapor tubes fits quite tightly into the brass heat exchange tube at the top of the unit. The vapor tube, once inserted, does not have much play. The connection creates a tighter seal on the Zaps, yielding a different feel both to handling (ie inserting and removing vapor tubes) and to the quality of the draw. The tighter fit means less air
comes around the side of the tube and more goes through the heat exchanger. It may just be the units I have, but it seems to me that the Zap has slightly less restricted air flow, possibly because it has more air input holes - 6 compared to 2 on PD
and WDZ. To me there is a slightly more efficient feel in the draw through the Zap, as though you have to do less sucking to get things happening. The brass tubing used in the Zap vapor tubes and heat port is thinner and more flexible than the stainless of the PD and WDZ. Because of that and the tighter fit, there is some possibility the Zap could be damaged by not pulling the tube straight out, or accidentally pushing it the wrong way. With reasonable care this is not a concern. One other feature found only in the Zaps: a small screen inside the heat exchange tube to prevent herb from falling into the heater. This seems to work ok. Dumping out anything that spills into the heat exchanger with PD and WDZ works fine too.
Metal Core:
The Zaps use a brass core while PD and Woodeez use stainless steel. Weights are pretty similar on all three units and the different metals do not appear to affect functionality.
Overall:
The three brands are putting out pretty similar units. Functionally, they seem about the same to me. Customer service is top notch from all three brands. The muslin bags and tube cleaning bottle included with the PD are noteworthy accessories and add to elegance of use for any of the units. The glass tooty (get it with carb!) supplied by AromaZap gets my vote for top log vape accessory, and works with any of the three units.
All of these log vapes are made of wood, an organic material. Each species has differnt heat insulating characteristics and each piece within a given species is unique. So across the board, operating temps will vary depending on species and particular unit. They all seem to have a break-in period during which the temperature goes up a bit.
edit: mentioned screen in heat exchanger
edit: changed description of all vapor tubes to plastic for clarity as pointed out by Tom at PD
edit: forgot to mention that Zaps have a (free) option to include an LED lamp on the unit. I chose to leave it off - one less thing to break. They do look pretty cuddly though...
edit: added some detail on the vapor tubes
A few months back I got a cherry PD. I use it a lot and was thinking of getting a backup for it and also wanted to send one to a friend as a gift. Woodeez happened to have a nice special on at the time so I picked up walnut Woodeez for me and my friend. Recently reading through the Aromazap thread I noticed there were some interesting aspects to the Zaps and the gearhead in me won out: I decided to complete my collection of all three (that I know of, anyway) log vapes descended from the ETerra.
Similarities:
-All three use the same ceramic resistor
-All three ship with the identical 12-volt Jameco adapter
-All three offer a similar if not identical copper oil diffusion cup (if you don't take the fancy diffuser on the Zap)
-all three include a small tin of beeswax-based polish
Accessories (accessories vary depending on the package you buy;
these are some standard included accessories):
PD: 3 vapor tubes, car cable, 2 muslin bags, tube cleaning bottle
WDZ: 3 vapor tubes
Zap: 2 (or 3) vapor tubes, car cable, glass tooty, aroma flower diffuser
Vapor tubes:
These are all pretty similar. The PD and WDZ have stainless inserts in plastic tubes. The Zaps use plastic tube with brass insert. The plastic used for the PD stems is white, partially transparent, and has a slightly softer feel to it. The WDZ and Zaps use opaque types of plastic which have a harder feel and click when striking a hard surface. The WDZ stem looks white while the Zap has an attractive cream to match the brass tip. WDZ tubes are about an eighth of an inch longer than PD, and the Zap tubes are around a half inch shorter than WDZ. The diameter of the mouthpiece is pretty close and I noticed I could get a pretty good seal if I slip the standard whip tubing from an SSV over the end of all three vapor tubes. WDZ and PD tubes are interchangeable but the stainless tips are too big to fit in Zaps. Zap tubes and tooties (and Ed's T&T wood Zap tubes) fit in any of the three brands.
Heat exchange port:
The PD and WDZ have a similar, loose-fitting stainless tube at the top of the unit into which the vapor tube tips are inserted. There is considerable room to wiggle and angle the tube while inserted. The Zaps, on the other hand, are made such that the brass tip on the vapor tubes fits quite tightly into the brass heat exchange tube at the top of the unit. The vapor tube, once inserted, does not have much play. The connection creates a tighter seal on the Zaps, yielding a different feel both to handling (ie inserting and removing vapor tubes) and to the quality of the draw. The tighter fit means less air
comes around the side of the tube and more goes through the heat exchanger. It may just be the units I have, but it seems to me that the Zap has slightly less restricted air flow, possibly because it has more air input holes - 6 compared to 2 on PD
and WDZ. To me there is a slightly more efficient feel in the draw through the Zap, as though you have to do less sucking to get things happening. The brass tubing used in the Zap vapor tubes and heat port is thinner and more flexible than the stainless of the PD and WDZ. Because of that and the tighter fit, there is some possibility the Zap could be damaged by not pulling the tube straight out, or accidentally pushing it the wrong way. With reasonable care this is not a concern. One other feature found only in the Zaps: a small screen inside the heat exchange tube to prevent herb from falling into the heater. This seems to work ok. Dumping out anything that spills into the heat exchanger with PD and WDZ works fine too.
Metal Core:
The Zaps use a brass core while PD and Woodeez use stainless steel. Weights are pretty similar on all three units and the different metals do not appear to affect functionality.
Overall:
The three brands are putting out pretty similar units. Functionally, they seem about the same to me. Customer service is top notch from all three brands. The muslin bags and tube cleaning bottle included with the PD are noteworthy accessories and add to elegance of use for any of the units. The glass tooty (get it with carb!) supplied by AromaZap gets my vote for top log vape accessory, and works with any of the three units.
All of these log vapes are made of wood, an organic material. Each species has differnt heat insulating characteristics and each piece within a given species is unique. So across the board, operating temps will vary depending on species and particular unit. They all seem to have a break-in period during which the temperature goes up a bit.
edit: mentioned screen in heat exchanger
edit: changed description of all vapor tubes to plastic for clarity as pointed out by Tom at PD
edit: forgot to mention that Zaps have a (free) option to include an LED lamp on the unit. I chose to leave it off - one less thing to break. They do look pretty cuddly though...
edit: added some detail on the vapor tubes
Good to know what parts are interchangeable between the vapes, and that I can someday get one of cleardome's wonderful pieces of art.
