Discontinued Pax Vaporizer by Ploom

[MrNorml]

I have two "SOLO's" with glass mouth pieces and their amazing for flavor.
Is it worth getting a "PAX" or should I wait until the various issues are corrected?
$249 seems a bit steep? SOLO is $168.00
However the stealth factor is well designed!
I'm a bit clumsy and keep breaking the glass mouth pieces.
My floors are lime stone.
If the taste is not plastic the "PAX" could be a good choice?

Well. I too have 2 Solos. They are fantastic without hesitation or question (but have glass...). The PAX is a tremendous addition and I'm finding I'm using it over the Solo (maybe just 'new toy syndrome'?). I have broken I believe 4 glass mouthpieces so far. The Pax has ZERO plastic taste to me; it is very stealtyy; it is cool and hip. Yes, Pax is a great choice for a Solo owner to add.

 

[jambandphan03]

I had no bad or plastic taste from the pax either, and I got to try 2 of them (first one had a problem)

 

[pakalolo]

See all those flakes and crumbs on the ledge above the oven? That's the crap that drives me crazy. Even your little tool won't do a really good job pushing that into the oven, you need a brush for that. That's why I posted that the Pax cries out for an accessory, and even though you were one of the ones who couldn't see why I was complaining, you can't deny that you thought it needed one too.

elmomuzz is absolutely right. The Pax is a high maintenance device that requires frequent and careful cleaning. Based on your comments, it also requires careful usage if you want to avoid trouble later. Fussy is just the right word.

 

[willieR]

Have I told you all in the last 20 minutes that the little bowls are so cool... Bam! Like a shot of frozen schnapps. Except milkier or something.

That vape tool that was sold out on Amazon really worke extremely well. Packs the small bowl, scrapes the little flakes that irritate some, all around a great tool.

 

[newVaper420]

Yeah I try to do .2 or .25 packed tightly with my pinky. I need to get a better tamper tool.

As far as battery life, it died on me yesterday and I felt I didn't use it much, but. Never let it fully die. Now it died and I charged overnight. Around 10 I loaded it up, and took off charger. Had one session. Maybe 20 minutes. Had another session, 3:00pm 20 minutes. Medium and high. Battery is at yellow. Does this seem right? Does it need to calibrate a bit before the meter works? Or do I have a defective unit?

 

[JoeKickass]

elmomuzz is absolutely right. The Pax is a high maintenance device that requires frequent and careful cleaning. Based on your comments, it also requires careful usage if you want to avoid trouble later. Fussy is just the right word.

But that's just simply untrue, and I've been proving it week after week. All I do it scrape-clean the oven every now and then (like I do with every vape) and click the mouthpiece up and down after a sesh. It is much less fussy than say carrying around a bunch of batteries and is proving to be remarkably reliable.



I'm loving starting on low, and you get great taste the whole time! By the time you're bumping up to medium or high you already have the low-temp sativa effects creeping up on you!

 

[Deadshort480]

It's supposed to last 2 hours of continuous use. I feel this is an exaggeration. The battery should definitely go yellow after 40 minutes of use though. I'm getting closer to a bit over an hour. I have a nice little inverter for my car though so I charge on the go.

I always carry a pocket knife so that is my stirring tool. I have yet to dump the chamber to flip the load. I always do it in the chamber and then tap the flakes back into the chamber. I tamp with the oven lid. A pocket knife has so many uses besides stirring a chamber. I always recommend to everyone that they should carry a pocket knife.

I know I haven't had it very long, but fussy is not how I would describe this unit. It is not maintenance free though, you still have to take care while cleaning and you have to clean often. I clean mine every night. This may be a strange comparison, but like any decent firearm, if you want it to serve you properly then you keep it clean. I clean my firearms after every shooting session. I clean my Pax every night. They all serve me well.

 

[willieR]

I'm loving starting on low, and you get great taste the whole time! By the time you're bumping up to medium or high you already have the low-temp sativa effects creeping up on you!

This is what I'm finding. Using the low, medium and high settings all during one session. It so fast very efficient. This is a very interesting vape.

I think this is week two and not a problem. I have followed what I have read here.

 

[ataxian]

If you're big on discreetness and have the money, why not? The Solo is not discreet.

If $250 isn't much to you, you won't regret it even if you enjoy hitting your Solo more.

I like toys so I guess I'll spring for one. Discreetness is important to me.

 

[newVaper420]

It's supposed to last 2 hours of continuous use. I feel this is an exaggeration. The battery should definitely go yellow after 40 minutes of use though. I'm getting closer to a bit over an hour. I have a nice little inverter for my car though so I charge on the go.

I didn't even use it, and it went down to red. I'm charging now. I'm worried about it's battery life. I had two sessions, and it was red. It wasn't on all this time. I probably coulda got one more session in the red zone, but that doesn't seem right to me. Maybe I'll contact VapeWorld tomorrow.

Edit: I guess maybe it's right. 2 sessions of 20 - 30 minutes each. And 1 more at 20 - 30 minutes. I don't know, I just expect it to be longer I guess.

 

[SoCalShore]

That's what I am doing too willieR, I was going through way too much herb playing around getting to know the pax, now I am putting small loads in, just enough to cover the bottom, press and go. It does complete the load better, no stirring, you just don't get as many hits from on load. If I am heading out the door with it, I have been packing it, and setting it to low, so I can use it for as long as possible before I need to mess with the bowl.

Jam, Willie, and Vapinghole… I am so jealous. With it being sunday and a day off for the postman, I got out and went to a popular smoke shop to get ready for my pax arrival. Got the pipe cleaners and no iso. While I was at the smoke shop I saw other portables that they carry and none compared to the appealing look of the pax.

I'm going on a trip this upcoming weekend and I so hope that my pax arrives before I leave. I did get a e-mail confirming that my pax shipped with the link to track the package but this has rendered itself useless as most all of you have encountered.
I am a pretty light user, just using for aches and pains so it is very good to know that you don't have to pack the oven to full capacity to get desired effects. Thanks for the education!

 

[HSIHP]

I didn't even use it, and it went down to red. I'm charging now. I'm worried about it's battery life. I had two sessions, and it was red. It wasn't on all this time. I probably coulda got one more session in the red zone, but that doesn't seem right to me. Maybe I'll contact VapeWorld tomorrow.

Edit: I guess maybe it's right. 2 sessions of 20 - 30 minutes each. And 1 more at 20 - 30 minutes. I don't know, I just expect it to be longer I guess.

You need to work the battery in. Leave it on the charger over night for two days or so that battery gets broken in correctly. I had the same horrible battery life for he first 5 or 6 days until I tried this.

 

[the-vapist]

Has anyone tried add square metal block or washer into the oven to reduce the load size yet retain the tight pack in the oven. I was just thinking a stainless steel washer below the screen would reduce the depth of the oven but still allow air flow and heat transfer. I don't have the right size washer right now but I will be heading to the hardware store tomorrow.

 

[Deadshort480]

Has anyone tried add square metal block or washer into the oven to reduce the load size yet retain the tight pack in the oven. I was just thinking a stainless steel washer below the screen would reduce the depth of the oven but still allow air flow and heat transfer. I don't have the right size washer right now but I will be heading to the hardware store tomorrow.

Make sure that the screen will still snap into place with the washer under it. At the very least, make sure that the washer is stainless steel, make sure it is not plated, and really scrub it clean. There can be some nasty machine oils on washers. Personally, I wouldn't try this. It's going to throw off the heat displacement. Something that might work is another screen pressed down over a compacted small fill.

 

[jambandphan03]

I was wondering about screen sandwiches too, but we are still waiting on back stock for the extra screens.

 

[Deadshort480]

I wasn't even aware of the backordered screens. It seems like it would be a simple part to produce.

 

[jambandphan03]

that's what I was thinking too, but when I contacted VW about why I haven't heard anything about my order after a couple of weeks, they replied with a guesstimated shipping of mid to late Oct. ?? so that's all I know.

 

[Deadshort480]

So, I just got done with a session and I am twisted. Low temp setting gave me 22 visible hits with a couple of stirs. I bumped it up to medium and got another 7 with one stir. I'm not even going to mess with the high setting anymore. The ABV came out a golden brown, just a touch on the dark side. Good to add to the stockpile.

 

[druminfected]

Still doin more testing with my pax, to see if I like it more than my Inhalater atm, but now i ran into a issue where I turn my pax on and it flashes red twice and then turns off. Anyone know what this issue would be? I tried searching this whole thread but can't find anything, but I seem to get it to work when i open and close the mouthpiece a lot it with finally work.

As far as discreet, if someone was 0-20 feet from you, people would definitely sniff it out. I tried to use it out and people were definitely looking around to see who were the sweet smell was coming from.

Another thing bonus thing about the pax is it will double as a hand warmer in the winter, because wow it can get pretty toasty when using it on high setting, that's for sure.

 

[newVaper420]

As far as discreet, if someone was 0-20 feet from you, people would definitely sniff it out. I tried to use it out and people were definitely looking around to see who were the sweet smell was coming from.

While I haven't had people look around, I'm still pretty stealthy about it. However, I have smelled it myself like 10 seconds or so after I turned it on, whereas, with the WISPR, I have very little smell coming from there. When I smell it, I instantly perk up, but know that it is not a good thing for discreetness. Still, however, without people knowing you can easily put it right in your pocket while it's heating or such and no one would even know :-).

 

[Azathoth]

I'm amazed people who have mouthpiece issues are still sending their whole Pax in for replacement...

Seeing as we've been over all this before:
1) The only "un-fixable" problem is if the mouthpiece keeps getting stuck closed (just get the new mouthpiece or do my filing mod)

2) Keep iso out of the top of the Pax! *sigh* hopefully the last time I have to say it?

3) If mouthpiece has hesitation "catching" closed (the ring doesn't want to slide up) and resin in the spring chamber is causing the temp light to show up you must have a very dirty Pax. I've done nothing but clean the oven (no mouthpiece or stem cleaning for 3+ weeks) and I've only experienced these things very occasionally.

Thanks much for the tips, JKA. I've been following this thread since inception, and continue to do so after pre-order, so I'm aware of all of the issues and solutions people have been putting into place. As always, this forum is a fantastic place not only to learn about the various devices, but to find some amazing tips (which is why I always have my LB brush and a paperclip with me when I travel with my Pax).

Personally, I don't find it even slightly unreasonable to send in a unit for replacement. I've consistently, since arrival, had multiple issues with my Pax. It's a brand-new device, and for the amount that this device costs, I feel that it should function as advertised.

I also feel that following Ploom's enclosed cleaning directions leads to the temperature button freezing up, so it becomes the responsibility of the manufacturer to insure that units that experience this problem get fixed. I tried very hard to keep iso from getting around the button, but it locked up regardless. You may not find it necessary to clean the entire unit regularly, but I like having the airway and mouthpiece clean. The company itself writes that a "clean Pax is a happy Pax."

I'm very happy for you that you haven't had nearly as many issues with your Pax as I have experienced. This is one of the reasons I feel that I received a faulty unit, and hope that a replacement will resolve the issues.

 

[A P]

Hey guys. So I just ordered a ploom from vapeworld and I was just wondering how to clean it correctly? I've seen multiple posts of the temperature button getting stuck due to problematic instructions provided by ploom. What is the correct way to clean the device? Also, is vaping on the low setting worth it? or should I be using medium.

Thanks

 

[willieR]

Read the thread back through the last 5 pages

 

[jambandphan03]

About the red flashing light, the only thing I could think would be it needs to be charged back up. I have not seen a red flashing light yet on mine, so I am just guessing. If you charge it fully, and it still does it, I would contact Ploom Chat ASAP.

 

[Sonics420]

i guess i will clean my pax today, never knew it was that important to clean it.. how often do you guys clean? once a week? twice?

anyway this device is great, i just need a car charger for it or something since im always on the move and not near an outlet. i get over 25 hits every time i pack the oven really tight.