Hi Progress,
Careful visual observation of our testers using earlier versions of this product identified two typical profiles, which I can colloquially refer to as the "I want it now" smoker, and the "I want it right" vaporist. Nearly everyone on the FC forum is in the "want it right" camp, so I probably do not need to describe that.
The "now" type of user mostly wants to see something happening nearly immediately, and because they often smoke also, they have certain expectations as to how quickly they will be able to get 'high' on the device. Such users tend to be less interested in the details of operation and are mostly interested in "getting there" rather than in learning something new about how to do so most efficiently (the "journey"). Ironically, we also found that a significant percentage of such users actually want a taste that was more like what they would get when smoking a regular pipe. Although people here may have a hard time relating to this, our interviews of such users found that long habit (more than 12 years) and a certain amount of habituated ritual tended to be the reason for this unexpected preference.
To satisfy both groups of users (as deemed necessary by management), we elected to make it possible for the unit to be hot and fast for the mostly smokers and give control to the mostly vaporists. It is the control that makes all of the difference, and there are two kinds: control of the airflow (drawing breath control) and control of the added energy (heat or intermittent battery contact control). In justification of our decision, please bear in mind that there are a LOT more smokers out there than vaporists (at least 30 to 1 statistically)! To survive as a business, we have to cater to the real market.
In regards to control, remember that the "now" type of user is generally a lot less interested in learning how to operate the device to attain optimum vaporization. They do not want control (yet). They simply want to hit the gas (full throttle) and get there. As such, we provide general directions in the form of "load as if for a one hit pipe, apply battery contact continuously for 15 seconds, and draw evenly and slowly". This would normally provide at least 2 or 3 decent vapor hits and then about 2 or 3 more "smoker" hits (and yes, there are active ingredients in these latter hits -- we tested for this too; in fact, the different components that come off at these higher temperatures is a complex subject in its own right -- many smokers expect some of these aspects as part of their expected experience). As such, the maximum steady-state set point temperature of the heating element is usually calibrated to be just below that necessary for actual fiber ignition.
However, for the vaporist -- who is usually at least a little more willing to learn new bits of operating protocol -- there is an alternative. A dedicated vaporist can control the rate at which energy/heat is introduced by applying the battery to the contact intermittently, and they can also control the rate at which that heat moves/convects through the material by controlling the rate at which the draw happens. Naturally, the instructions for this are a little more complex -- including them in the initial package offering tends to scare off too many potential purchasers.
For the vaporists who care about optimal taste, I would suggest that you 1) apply less power and apply it more slowly (ie, use a lower max temperature), by pulsing the battery contact, and 2) control the breath and draw rate (slow it down as much as possible). The idea is to prevent the screen from reaching its max temperature and to draw the vapor out of the device slowly enough to let the convection cycle do its work. The actual duty cycle to use and draw rate will depend to some extent on the nature of the load and the ambient environmental conditions -- as well as user available lung capacity.
For "typical conditions", I would recommend that the optimum performance would be obtained using a duty cycle of 3 seconds on, 1 over the first few intervals, starting to draw breath only after the first full cycle has been completed, and then, a cycle of 2 on and 2 off for another 10 intervals, while all along drawing breath at the rate of about 5 cm/sec. A 1st hit like this should occur over a period of at least 20 seconds, followed by a 15 second wait period with no new energy applied or breath drawn. After the wait, a similar procedure would be used for the second hit, perhaps varying the duty cycle as necessary to account for preferred user taste the fact that the device is now a bit warmer to start with. Used in this way, it should always be possible (with a little skill) to attain a fairly even (although not perfect) browning and a much better taste. For most users, the manner of applying the battery and the rate at which drawing happens fairly quickly becomes a matter of intuition and is no longer thought of.
It is to be understood that applying energy continuously over any long interval is going to scorch the load. In our tests, the objectives are 1) to ensure that there is the right amount of heat to provide between 1 and 3 'good' hits if applying the battery for a moderate interval (15 seconds), and 2) to ensure that actual ignition does not happen even if applying battery power for far too long (more than 30 seconds on a single stretch). Without pulsing the power, and especially if applying heat overlong, we do expect to see blackening of the load. To some extent, having the steady-state max temperature be this high is necessary to ensure that there is enough 'top end' heat for effective control, even in fairly cold ambient conditions.
Finally, it has been our observation that even smokers who start using this device with no interest in the finer points of control above, eventually start modulating the applied power and draw rates on their own to suit their own preferred taste. In a few of our disinterested 'smoking' testers, after a few months of using it, have even fully "converted" to the purist camp (I am sure this is not a new theme on FC). What is of especial interest to us is the capacity for the Launch Tube to be a 1st vaporizer for people who are otherwise committed to conventional smoking. Perhaps people on FC can think of it as a pipe with 'built in training wheels'
I hope that this has been helpful.
-- Magic-Flight
Thanks for reminding me. For the convenience of readers, here is a trimmed quote of CD's observations in that post:Progress said:
In regards to the uniformity of the heating, it is true that material that is directly touching the screen, particularly in the bottom corners, will generally heat more/sooner than that near the top and center of the load. The available (natural) current of convection is by itself not quite enough to ensure even browning, unless the rate at which energy is added and taken away is explicitly managed by the user. To explain, I need to provide a little background.Clear_Dome said:
Careful visual observation of our testers using earlier versions of this product identified two typical profiles, which I can colloquially refer to as the "I want it now" smoker, and the "I want it right" vaporist. Nearly everyone on the FC forum is in the "want it right" camp, so I probably do not need to describe that.
The "now" type of user mostly wants to see something happening nearly immediately, and because they often smoke also, they have certain expectations as to how quickly they will be able to get 'high' on the device. Such users tend to be less interested in the details of operation and are mostly interested in "getting there" rather than in learning something new about how to do so most efficiently (the "journey"). Ironically, we also found that a significant percentage of such users actually want a taste that was more like what they would get when smoking a regular pipe. Although people here may have a hard time relating to this, our interviews of such users found that long habit (more than 12 years) and a certain amount of habituated ritual tended to be the reason for this unexpected preference.
To satisfy both groups of users (as deemed necessary by management), we elected to make it possible for the unit to be hot and fast for the mostly smokers and give control to the mostly vaporists. It is the control that makes all of the difference, and there are two kinds: control of the airflow (drawing breath control) and control of the added energy (heat or intermittent battery contact control). In justification of our decision, please bear in mind that there are a LOT more smokers out there than vaporists (at least 30 to 1 statistically)! To survive as a business, we have to cater to the real market.
In regards to control, remember that the "now" type of user is generally a lot less interested in learning how to operate the device to attain optimum vaporization. They do not want control (yet). They simply want to hit the gas (full throttle) and get there. As such, we provide general directions in the form of "load as if for a one hit pipe, apply battery contact continuously for 15 seconds, and draw evenly and slowly". This would normally provide at least 2 or 3 decent vapor hits and then about 2 or 3 more "smoker" hits (and yes, there are active ingredients in these latter hits -- we tested for this too; in fact, the different components that come off at these higher temperatures is a complex subject in its own right -- many smokers expect some of these aspects as part of their expected experience). As such, the maximum steady-state set point temperature of the heating element is usually calibrated to be just below that necessary for actual fiber ignition.
However, for the vaporist -- who is usually at least a little more willing to learn new bits of operating protocol -- there is an alternative. A dedicated vaporist can control the rate at which energy/heat is introduced by applying the battery to the contact intermittently, and they can also control the rate at which that heat moves/convects through the material by controlling the rate at which the draw happens. Naturally, the instructions for this are a little more complex -- including them in the initial package offering tends to scare off too many potential purchasers.
For the vaporists who care about optimal taste, I would suggest that you 1) apply less power and apply it more slowly (ie, use a lower max temperature), by pulsing the battery contact, and 2) control the breath and draw rate (slow it down as much as possible). The idea is to prevent the screen from reaching its max temperature and to draw the vapor out of the device slowly enough to let the convection cycle do its work. The actual duty cycle to use and draw rate will depend to some extent on the nature of the load and the ambient environmental conditions -- as well as user available lung capacity.
For "typical conditions", I would recommend that the optimum performance would be obtained using a duty cycle of 3 seconds on, 1 over the first few intervals, starting to draw breath only after the first full cycle has been completed, and then, a cycle of 2 on and 2 off for another 10 intervals, while all along drawing breath at the rate of about 5 cm/sec. A 1st hit like this should occur over a period of at least 20 seconds, followed by a 15 second wait period with no new energy applied or breath drawn. After the wait, a similar procedure would be used for the second hit, perhaps varying the duty cycle as necessary to account for preferred user taste the fact that the device is now a bit warmer to start with. Used in this way, it should always be possible (with a little skill) to attain a fairly even (although not perfect) browning and a much better taste. For most users, the manner of applying the battery and the rate at which drawing happens fairly quickly becomes a matter of intuition and is no longer thought of.
It is to be understood that applying energy continuously over any long interval is going to scorch the load. In our tests, the objectives are 1) to ensure that there is the right amount of heat to provide between 1 and 3 'good' hits if applying the battery for a moderate interval (15 seconds), and 2) to ensure that actual ignition does not happen even if applying battery power for far too long (more than 30 seconds on a single stretch). Without pulsing the power, and especially if applying heat overlong, we do expect to see blackening of the load. To some extent, having the steady-state max temperature be this high is necessary to ensure that there is enough 'top end' heat for effective control, even in fairly cold ambient conditions.
Finally, it has been our observation that even smokers who start using this device with no interest in the finer points of control above, eventually start modulating the applied power and draw rates on their own to suit their own preferred taste. In a few of our disinterested 'smoking' testers, after a few months of using it, have even fully "converted" to the purist camp (I am sure this is not a new theme on FC). What is of especial interest to us is the capacity for the Launch Tube to be a 1st vaporizer for people who are otherwise committed to conventional smoking. Perhaps people on FC can think of it as a pipe with 'built in training wheels'
I hope that this has been helpful.
-- Magic-Flight
in my inline is the best vapor feedback I could have....really lets me judge the hits 
