MinnBobber
Well-Known Member
It was @Kommyknocker who had his mV repaired and got a basket.
My mV is from April of 2014 and is all original
MiniVAP Vaporizer
- Thread starter stinkmeaner
- Start date
It was @Kommyknocker who had his mV repaired and got a basket.
My mV is from April of 2014 and is all original
MinnBobber
Well-Known Member
............................................................................................
@killick Did you get the brown cocobolo wood or blackwood adapter?
FYI, @stickstones now has J-hooks in stock at about a third of the cost of the fancy $30 ones.
I mostly use my mV with the AC puck. With that setup, the mouthpiece ends about 2" off the table.
With the battery , the mouthpiece ends about half way up the until.
I mostly vape standing up so would prefer if the mouthpiece ended much higher up (like even with the top of the mV).
However, if you vape in bed or laying on the couch, then it might be just right for you.
Cheap price to try a J hook
...................
Rimmed screen review: me likey!
you don't have to worry about the edges fraying, like the bare screens can do.
And with the extra wire baskets and flexicones from stickstones, you can load "ahead".
I don't vape out of the house, but if you did, it then takes 3 seconds to pull out used basket module and slip in a fresh basket. For outside in the wind and elements, that's a nice feature.
stickstones
Vapor concierge
So as I learn things from Hermes I will pass them along here. One thing they said the other day was there are three ways to load the MV. We all know about loading the baskets for max convection. And you can also load the bowl directly for more conduction. But the other way I hadn't seen was to load the basket and set it in the chamber without the flexicone on it. Then install the flexicone and screen in the lid like normal. Then close the lid. In this configuration the rim from the basket is touching the chamber walls and introduces a lower level of conduction than when packed directly into the bowl. It works best with the glass core or the teflon core with decarb chamber. So you can get a middle ground if wanted...try it out!
Kommyknocker
Well-Known Member
Around three or four weeks iirc.
I still haven't done anything further to my oddly placed heater.. My hybrid mv can really do the business though.
Hey @stickstones, you got info about placing the heater yets?
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killick
But I like it!
@MinnBobber The Cocobolo. It's absolutely delightful! Now I wish I would have ordered some screens as well, but thats next time.
@stickstones - you were right - the adapter is great! I've also been using it as a mouthpiece - kinda waiting for a bubble tea bubble to come bursting out, but what a smooth draw!
@stickstones - you were right - the adapter is great! I've also been using it as a mouthpiece - kinda waiting for a bubble tea bubble to come bursting out, but what a smooth draw!
stickstones
Vapor concierge
Not yet
Michel
Well-Known Member
Hello MV fellows 
Long time no see! Guess who had finally a repaired TCMV in the mail Thursday? Back again to share my experience after a hard testing over the week end...
After opening the box I inspected my unit and I still have enough to rant about the sharp plastic edges, the click-feel of the locking mechanism, manufacturing scratches over the new aluminum shells and a rattling wall adapter. I had the impression something is loose inside the wall adapter and fixed the inner plastic shell with some folded paper by myself...
The warranty process was quite fast (for Hermes). It took 6 weeks with shipping time in Europe included.
The email communication was a lot better since I used the personal email address. Arround 1 day (immediate) to a week for a response is ok for me. I feel like they could catch up finally with all the warranty cases and dead heaters since my shop received also a new batch of TC and GC MV's. All in all the whole warranty thing with the communication problems took me a few months anyways. good to have a mighty as back up. But since I know the warranty process better now, next time warranty should be way faster and easier.
The new heater has also the high frequent whining sound of my older unit when turned on. Annoying, but since I'm getting older I can live with this. Pets and children with their high sensitive ears for higher frequencies shouldn't be near the MV in any case... @bigmouth , it seems my unit does behave the same than yours. It was heating up but never stopped blinking twice, with a loud whining sound. Then it was freezing once and the front LED simply stayed solid after turning on. Still some bugs (in the firmware, I hope)
Sadly Alfredo used the old bleached out plastics again on my unit I cleaned with ISO before shipping. I guess he simply forgot about using new ones. Not aesthetic but since I'm used to oversee brittle plastics from my s&b portables I'm ok with this, too. At least nothing cracked, so far.
The white rubber around the bowl was replaced by a black one. Obviously this new rubber produces a strong smell and a light taste which luckily disappeared after some very intense sessions. The heater is sitting where it should and I can insert the decarb Kit with both rings. It makes a loose fit with the black rubber and nothing pokes out but it falls out by itself when I turn the unit upside down.
Ok, so far this was all I found for the negatives on my unit. I'm still convinced at this price tag I should have gotten a perfect device. But I think build quality and a better mouth piece was discussed enough and I saw some great solutions in this thread already. I like stickstones and ED's solutions, also mixchu's adapter with the f-bomb seems great.
Positive to mention is, after Alfredo replaced the housing, the black color tone of all parts are matching great together. Both LEDs are sitting tight where they should now. One LED was stuck 1-2 mm to deep in the housing on my older unit, now there are both making a seal with the housing. The printings and symbols are accurate now, my old unit had some bad printings.
Heat up time is around 5-7 minutes from cold to green. I think my old unit wasn't drastically slower but I never timed it and it was only working a few days or a week anyways before performance dropped slowly. Battery life is similar to the mighty if you don't do back-to-back sessions. The MV needs a charge in the middle of the day, too. But it shines when vaping more than one bowl in a session. Once it's heated up it seems to run strong without consuming much power and keeps up temp very battery saving because of the great isolation.
I really start to like the baskets and the very clean heater/bowl. The mighty would have been gunked up after such extensive usage. Probably I'll get some flexicones and baskets to preload for a quicker, less messier use. My wife would be happy since she hates dusts and crumbles on the table. I could limit spilling weed everywhere to once a day. The mighty has a filling tool but dumping the load in the ashtray and reloading often makes a little mess.
I got the decarb kit and tried the MV with both and without baskets and every loading style I know. I have to admit I'm impressed. I still have problems with the dryness of the vapor but the decarb kit seems to help a little since I don't have to draw as much hot air to get some good clouds. The hot air is really harsh (or dry to be precise) to the throat but the vapor itself is so smooth to the lungs in the same way. Weird. I can't find better words to describe. I tried to adapt my drawing technique to moisturize the vapor by drawing under my tongue and it works a little better. I'll try to experiment with different techniques and whips and see if it's usable for me without WT at all. But at the moment I can finish a bowl on red with the flexicone + and a 10cm whip, so no real problems here. The vapor itself is really smooth, sometimes I can't even feel I'm inhaling something else than hot air (which is really noticeable with the dryness of the throat) until I blow out a big (sometimes giant) cloud.
If I start a session on green or red directly with a large basket and simply draw my full lung volume, the MV seems to perform at least like the mighty, if not even better in terms of clouds from so little material combined with the very clear taste. I can't say anymore the mighty outperforms the MV in terms of vapor production. It's a little like apples and oranges, even with the decarb Kit and direct loading since the heating source isn't as near to the bowl on the MV and there still isn't much conduction happening. Anyway, the mighty can only produce one or two bad tasting tiny clouds with the MV's ABV (the other way round I did not even want to try. If you smell the ABV of the mighty after a very long session above 200 degrees you know what I mean). Even with a fresh bowl the baked or roasted taste comes up quite fast towards the middle of the session where the MV still delivers flavorful hits.
My wife clearly prefers the MV. She (is still combusting and) feels like she can get the same size of clouds with the MV with a shorter draw because of the bigger and easier air flow. But she has a dry throat feeling from every vape she tries, even the mighty.
I have to admit the mighty feels "clogged" after some MV sessions. Since the MV doesn't make invisible clouds anymore I really start to enjoy it, too. I was told by you guys the MV has to be defective if the mighty outperforms it significantly. This is so true. No "invisible" clouds anymore. I can fog up the living room now with one big draw after initial priming. Sadly the heat up time and the little more of attention and time the MV needs to produce big clouds still often make me reach for the mighty. S&b clearly wins in terms of consistent results and easiness of use and performance is influenced by less variables. When I'm at work, in the car, kids are around or I'm generally in a hurry or simply not sitting on the couch I exclusively use the mighty. But really I enjoy the MV if I have the time to give it the time and attention it needs. "Gut Ding will Weile haben" we use to say.
I had quite good results with pure kief in the MV basket, too. Nothing but dry dust left. Other concentrates are better in the mighty, imo. The more of conduction (or heat exposure in general) makes it easier to vaporize oils or waxes. Since I already messed the mighty up and the bowl is nearly always dirty and it needs a warranty anyways I'll abuse it for concentrates until sending it back to keep the MV clean like new.
Some last things to add: I did some (old school) calculations because I don't have any fluid simulation software. After the size and diameter of the heater the airflow should be laminar until a flow rate around 21 l/min without sensors, meshes or material in the air path. The optimal airflow rate after Hermes is 16 l/min which should still result in a laminar heat flow even if the diameter is reduced by the sensors/ meshes. Every hard draw way above 16 l/min should turn in a turbulent air flow. For me, every draw speed worked. But Imo (and like most of you already said) a slower, longer and probably laminar airflow results in thicker vapor and is more comfortable to the throat because the hot-air-to-vapor-ratio is better. At least for the MV (and the Mighty even if it's probably turbulent) this seems to work great.
To give a final conclusion to other interested buyers from the perspective of a Mighty addicted high tolerance user and severe ex-smoker: all in all I'm a lucky young grasshopper with my purchase if I'm high enough to oversee some issues I had (have). I might be on the boat for a gcmv to get more vapor with less hot air. But let's see if I can work out those last few problems I have and how long my unit works before getting to enthusiastic in our honeymoon phase. We just had our first Week-end together...
Long time no see! Guess who had finally a repaired TCMV in the mail Thursday? Back again to share my experience after a hard testing over the week end...
After opening the box I inspected my unit and I still have enough to rant about the sharp plastic edges, the click-feel of the locking mechanism, manufacturing scratches over the new aluminum shells and a rattling wall adapter. I had the impression something is loose inside the wall adapter and fixed the inner plastic shell with some folded paper by myself...
The warranty process was quite fast (for Hermes). It took 6 weeks with shipping time in Europe included.
The email communication was a lot better since I used the personal email address. Arround 1 day (immediate) to a week for a response is ok for me. I feel like they could catch up finally with all the warranty cases and dead heaters since my shop received also a new batch of TC and GC MV's. All in all the whole warranty thing with the communication problems took me a few months anyways. good to have a mighty as back up. But since I know the warranty process better now, next time warranty should be way faster and easier.
The new heater has also the high frequent whining sound of my older unit when turned on. Annoying, but since I'm getting older I can live with this. Pets and children with their high sensitive ears for higher frequencies shouldn't be near the MV in any case... @bigmouth , it seems my unit does behave the same than yours. It was heating up but never stopped blinking twice, with a loud whining sound. Then it was freezing once and the front LED simply stayed solid after turning on. Still some bugs (in the firmware, I hope)
Sadly Alfredo used the old bleached out plastics again on my unit I cleaned with ISO before shipping. I guess he simply forgot about using new ones. Not aesthetic but since I'm used to oversee brittle plastics from my s&b portables I'm ok with this, too. At least nothing cracked, so far.
The white rubber around the bowl was replaced by a black one. Obviously this new rubber produces a strong smell and a light taste which luckily disappeared after some very intense sessions. The heater is sitting where it should and I can insert the decarb Kit with both rings. It makes a loose fit with the black rubber and nothing pokes out but it falls out by itself when I turn the unit upside down.
Ok, so far this was all I found for the negatives on my unit. I'm still convinced at this price tag I should have gotten a perfect device. But I think build quality and a better mouth piece was discussed enough and I saw some great solutions in this thread already. I like stickstones and ED's solutions, also mixchu's adapter with the f-bomb seems great.
Positive to mention is, after Alfredo replaced the housing, the black color tone of all parts are matching great together. Both LEDs are sitting tight where they should now. One LED was stuck 1-2 mm to deep in the housing on my older unit, now there are both making a seal with the housing. The printings and symbols are accurate now, my old unit had some bad printings.
Heat up time is around 5-7 minutes from cold to green. I think my old unit wasn't drastically slower but I never timed it and it was only working a few days or a week anyways before performance dropped slowly. Battery life is similar to the mighty if you don't do back-to-back sessions. The MV needs a charge in the middle of the day, too. But it shines when vaping more than one bowl in a session. Once it's heated up it seems to run strong without consuming much power and keeps up temp very battery saving because of the great isolation.
I really start to like the baskets and the very clean heater/bowl. The mighty would have been gunked up after such extensive usage. Probably I'll get some flexicones and baskets to preload for a quicker, less messier use. My wife would be happy since she hates dusts and crumbles on the table. I could limit spilling weed everywhere to once a day. The mighty has a filling tool but dumping the load in the ashtray and reloading often makes a little mess.
I got the decarb kit and tried the MV with both and without baskets and every loading style I know. I have to admit I'm impressed. I still have problems with the dryness of the vapor but the decarb kit seems to help a little since I don't have to draw as much hot air to get some good clouds. The hot air is really harsh (or dry to be precise) to the throat but the vapor itself is so smooth to the lungs in the same way. Weird. I can't find better words to describe. I tried to adapt my drawing technique to moisturize the vapor by drawing under my tongue and it works a little better. I'll try to experiment with different techniques and whips and see if it's usable for me without WT at all. But at the moment I can finish a bowl on red with the flexicone + and a 10cm whip, so no real problems here. The vapor itself is really smooth, sometimes I can't even feel I'm inhaling something else than hot air (which is really noticeable with the dryness of the throat) until I blow out a big (sometimes giant) cloud.
If I start a session on green or red directly with a large basket and simply draw my full lung volume, the MV seems to perform at least like the mighty, if not even better in terms of clouds from so little material combined with the very clear taste. I can't say anymore the mighty outperforms the MV in terms of vapor production. It's a little like apples and oranges, even with the decarb Kit and direct loading since the heating source isn't as near to the bowl on the MV and there still isn't much conduction happening. Anyway, the mighty can only produce one or two bad tasting tiny clouds with the MV's ABV (the other way round I did not even want to try. If you smell the ABV of the mighty after a very long session above 200 degrees you know what I mean). Even with a fresh bowl the baked or roasted taste comes up quite fast towards the middle of the session where the MV still delivers flavorful hits.
My wife clearly prefers the MV. She (is still combusting and) feels like she can get the same size of clouds with the MV with a shorter draw because of the bigger and easier air flow. But she has a dry throat feeling from every vape she tries, even the mighty.
I have to admit the mighty feels "clogged" after some MV sessions. Since the MV doesn't make invisible clouds anymore I really start to enjoy it, too. I was told by you guys the MV has to be defective if the mighty outperforms it significantly. This is so true. No "invisible" clouds anymore. I can fog up the living room now with one big draw after initial priming. Sadly the heat up time and the little more of attention and time the MV needs to produce big clouds still often make me reach for the mighty. S&b clearly wins in terms of consistent results and easiness of use and performance is influenced by less variables. When I'm at work, in the car, kids are around or I'm generally in a hurry or simply not sitting on the couch I exclusively use the mighty. But really I enjoy the MV if I have the time to give it the time and attention it needs. "Gut Ding will Weile haben" we use to say.
I had quite good results with pure kief in the MV basket, too. Nothing but dry dust left. Other concentrates are better in the mighty, imo. The more of conduction (or heat exposure in general) makes it easier to vaporize oils or waxes. Since I already messed the mighty up and the bowl is nearly always dirty and it needs a warranty anyways I'll abuse it for concentrates until sending it back to keep the MV clean like new.
Some last things to add: I did some (old school) calculations because I don't have any fluid simulation software. After the size and diameter of the heater the airflow should be laminar until a flow rate around 21 l/min without sensors, meshes or material in the air path. The optimal airflow rate after Hermes is 16 l/min which should still result in a laminar heat flow even if the diameter is reduced by the sensors/ meshes. Every hard draw way above 16 l/min should turn in a turbulent air flow. For me, every draw speed worked. But Imo (and like most of you already said) a slower, longer and probably laminar airflow results in thicker vapor and is more comfortable to the throat because the hot-air-to-vapor-ratio is better. At least for the MV (and the Mighty even if it's probably turbulent) this seems to work great.
To give a final conclusion to other interested buyers from the perspective of a Mighty addicted high tolerance user and severe ex-smoker: all in all I'm a lucky young grasshopper with my purchase if I'm high enough to oversee some issues I had (have). I might be on the boat for a gcmv to get more vapor with less hot air. But let's see if I can work out those last few problems I have and how long my unit works before getting to enthusiastic in our honeymoon phase. We just had our first Week-end together...
MinnBobber
Well-Known Member
Hi,
has anyone figured out a generic replacement for the mV wallcharger piece at $66?
Any of the the gazillion PC chargers work?? thanks
has anyone figured out a generic replacement for the mV wallcharger piece at $66?
Any of the the gazillion PC chargers work?? thanks
Kommyknocker
Well-Known Member
Never ever even tried any that may have fit.. Nightmare though huh? Hope you had a nice freshly charged up batt my man 
MinnBobber
Well-Known Member
..........................................................................Never ever even tried any that may have fit.. Nightmare though huh? Hope you had a nice freshly charged up batt my man
I'm looking at using mine in a second location and don't want to transport the bulky wall unit back and forth. So, I'd really like to get another one, but inexpensive---not $66.
i can't make out the label. does the MV still use LiFePO4 battery chemistry? That is the deciding factor. Also, what voltage? my 3 amp charger is $30.
MinnBobber
Well-Known Member
The wallcharger specs:
Model FY 1803000 input AC 100-240 50/60 hz 2.0 A
output 16.8 V 3.0 A
FlyingLow
Team NO SLEEP!
I am late to the party and have 202 pages to catch up on... this is going to be my next/only/last vape purchase this year.
Could somebody give me a real brief rundown on all the accessories?
What is essential?
I am a bit confused between the two models offered, are they both portable or does the $400 version need to be plugged into a wall to operate?
Is there any difference in how the two operate, or experience and vapor quality?
Hope to learn a lot in these pages, time to get started.
(and flipping back to p1)
Could somebody give me a real brief rundown on all the accessories?
What is essential?
I am a bit confused between the two models offered, are they both portable or does the $400 version need to be plugged into a wall to operate?
Is there any difference in how the two operate, or experience and vapor quality?
Hope to learn a lot in these pages, time to get started.
(and flipping back to p1
)
Smknbud
Well-Known Member
The full kit comes with the battery for portability, and yes, the lower priced option needs to be plugged in. Both versions will come with pretty much everything you'll need, but based on how you plan on using it, other accessories may be in order.I am late to the party and have 202 pages to catch up on... this is going to be my next/only/last vape purchase this year.
Could somebody give me a real brief rundown on all the accessories?
What is essential?
I am a bit confused between the two models offered, are they both portable or does the $400 version need to be plugged into a wall to operate?
Is there any difference in how the two operate, or experience and vapor quality?
Hope to learn a lot in these pages, time to get started.
(and flipping back to p1
If your in the USA, I would contact @stickstones as he is the de facto rep on this side of the pond you would want to deal with. On top of that, he has all the standard accessories and many other optional ones.
looks like it is not LiFePO4 chemistry, which would be 14.6v for a 4 cell pack.
better call @stickstones for service.
stickstones
Vapor concierge
All that shit is Greek to me right now, but I can tell you that I had to open up an MV battery once and saw four 18650 batts in there, if that means anything. I suppose there are lots of differences among 18650's, though, yes?
oh yeah. LiFePO4 - the chemistry in the Tesla Car battery pack - is the safest, longest life (>2000 recharges), highest current output, fastest recharge, very low self discharge, and most environmentally friendly to fabricate, currently. it is like holding lightning.
The LiFePO4 cell is 3.2v while the typical Lithium Ion is 3.7v. There is a specific charge algorithm for LiFePO4 which is CCCV - constant current constant voltage - which specifies how the charging tapers off at the end of the recharge cycle.
i could have sworn that i read in the very beginning that the MiniVAP uses LiFePO4 (which is what interested me about the MV) ... but clearly i am wrong.
@MinnBobber - better pay the man the $66.
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stickstones
Vapor concierge
thanks for the education, @Hippie Dickie !
FlyingLow
Team NO SLEEP!
Nailed it!
I have also started using LiFe batteries on rc aircraft to power high voltage servos on my control surfaces. One thing I will add about these batteries is they are FAR LESS volatile than the LiPo packs I have been using for years. I still use LiPo to power my motors on electric planes, and they can combust in a crash or on the charger.
Thanks for the note sickstones!
justcametomind
Well-Known Member
Some shops sell a package containing the AC adapter AND the battery for 500+€.I am late to the party and have 202 pages to catch up on... this is going to be my next/only/last vape purchase this year.
Could somebody give me a real brief rundown on all the accessories?
What is essential?
I am a bit confused between the two models offered, are they both portable or does the $400 version need to be plugged into a wall to operate?
Is there any difference in how the two operate, or experience and vapor quality?
Hope to learn a lot in these pages, time to get started.
(and flipping back to p1
That should be the most expensive one.
In the first place I bought only the core+battery package since using the cradle, even if not much comfortable, you should be able to use if also with an empty battery.
You shouldn't need any particular accessory since the mV can be mated with glass on its own, with the cap removed, as you can see on many vids on YouTube from our member Roger Delalune (look for him on YouTube).
After one year of use, I bought also the ac adapter for when I'm home sitting at my desk.
But you could be OK without it.
Using ac adapter it maybe is a bit faster to reach the temperature you set, but it's a maybe.
You should know there are two versions of the unit, glass core (newer) and Teflon core.
Iirc the glass core can get hotter, extract better but flavour is maybe a bit inferior for a couple of users who tried both, the Teflon core is said to be a tad better for flavour and worse on extraction. But it's an opinion, I have a Teflon core and planning to send it back to upgrade to glass, as I trust Roger D opinion and he said it's well worth it.
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Kommyknocker
Well-Known Member
Huh?.. You shouldn't use the mv whilst it is seated on its charging dock.. If this is what you're say here.. If not, ignore me.
Smknbud
Well-Known Member
Did I miss something? Don't remember hearing or any mention of a ceramic core, but saw the Facebook post from Minivap........ @stickstones did you know? So teflon, glass and now ceramic core?
Edit: My bad apparently. Appears this is the new heater, not the core itself.
Edit: My bad apparently. Appears this is the new heater, not the core itself.
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subway13029
Well-Known Member
What??I just bought a glass and teflon core..am I really gonna have to do this too??can we do a triple hit??
Smknbud
Well-Known Member
My bad.....this is a new heater and not the core itself.