Silver Surfer Vaporizer

[grokit]

I like the SSV so far, but I've determined that I could not recommend it to anyone with poor manual coordination, diminished feeling in hands, or bad depth perception.

You don't necessarily think about these things until after you have a chance to familiarize yourself with a new product, but there is at least one fatal flaw with the SSV, at least if you have similar handicaps as myself: The SSV requires you to be coordinated enough to touch a piece of glass in the middle of the air with another piece of glass in the middle of the air, then hold it in mid-air for at least ten seconds. And then the piece of glass you have to touch moves everywhere.

Fail.

That's just poor design. It's possible to make a cool-looking desktop vape that is also ergonomic, but the SSV is not that vape. I'm inclined to think such a vape does not exist.

This is one definite advantage of the standard gg setup, you can just jam/twist the wand into the hc and let go. The hands-free clip can make it more secure, but it can be a pita to use. With seasoning, the standard gg wand will stay just fine without the clip, if you remember to give it that little twist upon insertion.

 

[hoptimum]

Then when I placed it in a coffee cup filled maybe halfway with water, it just popped, loudly, as it broke into two pieces. Kind of a cool sound. I didn't feel like I dropped it into the cup, but I must have.

was the heater cover hot when you put it in the cup with water?

 

[Aimless Ryan]

You lost me

I don't know how I lost you. It's this simple: If you're a gimp, the SSV is hard to use without breaking something or always worrying that you're about to break something. I had to buy a new HC after owning my SSV for only four days. I will almost certainly break the replacement, too. Partly because of my physical issues and partly because, like possibly all desktop vapes, the SSV was designed without people like me and Michael J. Fox in mind. I'm not criticizing anyone; just reporting things that most certainly matter to people who need a vape they can't easily break.

The heater cover was not hot. I said I don't know what made that happen. That may or may not have been my fault. I don't know.

Oh yeah. Some tubing arrived today with my new HC. I'm thinking I may have read where someone said they tried and compared different whip lengths, but I can't remember the results. Anyone have any thoughts about any particular whip lengths I may want to try?

 

[hoptimum]

I don't know how I lost you. It's this simple: If you're a gimp, the SSV is hard to use without breaking something or always worrying that you're about to break something. I had to buy a new HC after owning my SSV for only four days. I will almost certainly break the replacement, too. Partly because of my physical issues and partly because, like possibly all desktop vapes, the SSV was designed without people like me and Michael J. Fox in mind. I'm not criticizing anyone; just reporting things that most certainly matter to people who need a vape they can't easily break.

Oh yeah. Some tubing arrived today with my new HC. I'm thinking I may have read where someone said they tried and compared different whip lengths, but I can't remember the results. Anyone have any thoughts about any particular whip lengths I may want to try?

The Volcano might work better for you, since it doesn't involve any breakable glass or very much dexterity to use.
I believe the standard length is 3 feet. I've found 2 feet to be easier to handle and more flavorful.
Good luck.

 

[Stu]

SPHERICAL GG? or regular? reg GG is already hands free, in fact, you have to force it pretty good to get it on...

It's the regular GG. Thanks for clearing that up for me. You just saved me $15!

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I was thinking earlier today about how it is probably easier for disabled (klutzy) people like myself to use bag vapes than tabletop direct draw vapes, and how some people probably have to use bag vapes instead of direct draw.

That'll probably be me before long, but I'd rather not have to use bags. Consequently, I've been thinking a lot about what I, as a seriously physically disabled knocker over and dropper of things, would like in a tabletop direct draw vape. I think I've determined that a gimp-proof direct draw tabletop vape with important glass parts could easily be done.

If I had something like a little [heavy/bottom-heavy] mic stand type of device that could keep my wand in an in-use position, I think my SSV experience would be infinitely easier.

 

[jim-bob]

@Aimless Ryan : you might want to stop by the Plenty thread and look at what @ChooChooCharlie has rigged up with his Plenty. He's done some seriously cool customization to his Plenty, i think it could be very close to what you're looking to create.

Here's a post with a shot of it, but you should really check out his posts in the thread to watch that thing develop! http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/plenty-vaporizer.4657/page-47#post-920989

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I cut off my first new whip; only about 12".

Even though I am now aware that 12" is not long enough to be very useful, it does make it easier for me to use the SSV because I no longer have to focus on two different things at the same time (the wand and the whip). Instead I can focus exclusively on the wand, and devote both hands to the wand. Which is good. I think maybe 20" will be better, but I'll sleep on it before snipping.

 

[shredder]

Ryan, do you have access to cannacaps, or medibles?

I have a dear friend with epilepsy that had to go that route. He would need a hit, have a seizure, then break something or burn himself.


After some experimenting, he settled with 50/50 cbd/thc caps for night and thc medibles for day time.

I know this is slightly off topic, but it may be something to check out. Or maybe establish a baseline with medibles then use your vape for touch ups. Either way wishing you the best man.

 

[hoptimum]

I cut off my first new whip; only about 12".

Even though I am now aware that 12" is not long enough to be very useful, it does make it easier for me to use the SSV because I no longer have to focus on two different things at the same time (the wand and the whip). Instead I can focus exclusively on the wand, and devote both hands to the wand. Which is good. I think maybe 20" will be better, but I'll sleep on it before snipping.

A short whip is worth a try, being closer to the heater you can have both hands on the wand. Best of luck

 

[Aimless Ryan]

@shredder I didn't mean to imply that I shake violently like Michael J. Fox. I don't, though I'm not far from that sometimes and I think mentioning him may kinda give readers a better idea of how hard it is for some people to put a piece of glass in place without accidentally hitting another piece of glass, breaking both. I do have kinda jerky motion sometimes, but it's from MS, not Parkinson's. Also, I have no idea what cannacaps or medibles are. (I can make sense of what they are from the names, but I know nothing else.)

I have burned my hands quite a bit since owning my SSV. Nasty burns, too, that end up as big blisters. I guess it's mostly from the certainty that with the SSV, I have to handle glass that may be surprisingly hot on one end (because I'm yet to have been fully conditioned to keep from touching certain vape parts at specific times). But it's also because I now have to process a lot more sensory information than I used to, even though my capacity for processing sensory information is much smaller than it used to be.

I cut my 12" whip into roughly 8.5" and 3.5", then cut off a <17" piece (I'll call it 16"). So far the 16" whip seems just long enough to be noticeably better than any other length I've tried, but I suspect 20"-24" will be better. I bought 10' of tubing, so I get several chances to figure out what length works best for me.

One thing I like about the SSV vs. the Aromed is that the SSV's heater produces some serious heat. Which I experienced a little more than I wanted while I was stuck using only the long part of my broken HC. One time when I combusted, the herbs were at least an inch from the heater, which indicates that combustion was caused by convecting air that time, not conduction. I'm not sure the Aromed is capable of producing air anywhere near that hot, as it seems every accidental combustion moment I've had with the Aromed has been caused by conduction introduced by an extreme modification that places my herbs very close to hot thermal mass.

I don't think my Aromed's bulb is capable of producing anywhere near as much heat as the SSV. But to be fair, I've never been sure that my Aromed is not defective.

Also, when I use the word 'combustion,' I mean fire. I get the impression that when a lot of people mention combustion, they mean darker-than-usual ABV, which is not combustion. My interpretation of the word 'combustion' involves ashes (and that horribly disgusting taste of thick smoke). No ashes=no combustion.

 

[ChooChooCharlie]

@Aimless Ryan : you might want to stop by the Plenty thread and look at what @ChooChooCharlie has rigged up with his Plenty. He's done some seriously cool customization to his Plenty, i think it could be very close to what you're looking to create.

Here's a post with a shot of it, but you should really check out his posts in the thread to watch that thing develop! http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/plenty-vaporizer.4657/page-47#post-920989

Thanks for the kind words.
I can be a warped version of Snow White's dwarfs: Lazy, clumsy, shaky, crazy...

@Aimless Ryan - my handscrew clamp is 8 inches, not that I'm bragging.
Opens to max of 4 inches. Weighs 1.4 pounds.
Tattoo on it says "non-marring" so it must be true. About $15.

You must visit Pepe's pizza in New Haven, CT.
And, no, not old enough to have seen the Doors there.

 

[jim-bob]

Thanks for the kind words.
I can be a warped version of Snow White's dwarfs: Lazy, clumsy, shaky, crazy...

I'm a sucker for user modifications to make things more usable. This is seriously one of the coolest examples I've seen.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

You must visit Pepe's pizza in New Haven, CT.

I've actually been there! I got the clam pie because of TV, but I liked my friend's pepperoni pizza much better.

 

[ChooChooCharlie]

Happiness is a reliable plug-in vape.

And tremor friendly food.

 

[CalyxSmokr]

@shredder I didn't mean to imply that I shake violently like Michael J. Fox. I don't, though I'm not far from that sometimes and I think mentioning him may kinda give readers a better idea of how hard it is for some people to put a piece of glass in place without accidentally hitting another piece of glass, breaking both. I do have kinda jerky motion sometimes, but it's from MS, not Parkinson's. Also, I have no idea what cannacaps or medibles are. (I can make sense of what they are from the names, but I know nothing else.) Although I have burned my fingers a bit on a hot Air stem a time or three.

I have burned my hands quite a bit since owning my SSV. Nasty burns, too, that end up as big blisters. I guess it's mostly from the certainty that with the SSV, I have to handle glass that may be surprisingly hot on one end (because I'm yet to have been fully conditioned to keep from touching certain vape parts at specific times). But it's also because I now have to process a lot more sensory information than I used to, even though my capacity for processing sensory information is much smaller than it used to be.

I cut my 12" whip into roughly 8.5" and 3.5", then cut off a <17" piece (I'll call it 16"). So far the 16" whip seems just long enough to be noticeably better than any other length I've tried, but I suspect 20"-24" will be better. I bought 10' of tubing, so I get several chances to figure out what length works best for me.

One thing I like about the SSV vs. the Aromed is that the SSV's heater produces some serious heat. Which I experienced a little more than I wanted while I was stuck using only the long part of my broken HC. One time when I combusted, the herbs were at least an inch from the heater, which indicates that combustion was caused by convecting air that time, not conduction. I'm not sure the Aromed is capable of producing air anywhere near that hot, as it seems every accidental combustion moment I've had with the Aromed has been caused by conduction introduced by an extreme modification that places my herbs very close to hot thermal mass.

I don't think my Aromed's bulb is capable of producing anywhere near as much heat as the SSV. But to be fair, I've never been sure that my Aromed is not defective.

Also, when I use the word 'combustion,' I mean fire. I get the impression that when a lot of people mention combustion, they mean darker-than-usual ABV, which is not combustion. My interpretation of the word 'combustion' involves ashes (and that horribly disgusting taste of thick smoke). No ashes=no combustion.

::vibes::
Yeah I think the ssv takes coordination. Haven't used my new one yet but doesn't seem like a just turn it on and draw kind of experience. I think an Arizer Air or solo would fit that need better and I am sure there are others.
Not an expert but I think there is combustion before ashes. Think about when you use a lighter on a traditional bowl. If you hit the flame on a fresh bowl you get a bit of vapor right before it starts to turn black on top. That black is combustion

 

[Aimless Ryan]

I have an Air. Of my three vapes, it's the only one with parts I haven't broken while using or maintaining. But it's kinda too reliable and predictable for me to enjoy on a regular basis. It has very little potential for customization. It doesn't sit firmly on a desktop, have any mass, or operate without a battery. A small load that can be depleted in five or less hits with a modified SSV or Aromed (0.03 g) takes 5-8 minutes to deplete using the Air. And it became a true bench warmer the moment I figured out how to modify my Aromed how I need it.

I like the Air. I just like using the SSV and Aromed more (when everything is tweaked right). But the Air is very reliable and easy to use. It's good to have around as a backup, or especially on the rare occasion that I might need something portable.

 

[Vapor Loop]

You may want to look into the E-nano, And instead of stirring with the provided tool tap it out on a book, silicone dish or another forgiving surface then draw it back in, If you have serious lung capacity the E-nano can't get those SSV clouds, But it can extract a full load in a single draw, Don't get me wrong for the volume you pack in a Nano it's a cloud machine.

 

[Aimless Ryan]

E-nano is a log vape, right?

Underdog is next up for me. I expected to have already bought one early this year, but the great deal on factory second SSVs was too good to refuse. No regrets, but I hope to be able to afford an Underdog eventually/soon.

 

[Vapor Loop]

That it is. I have all three log brands currently being made in the u.s. I gotta warn you those dc cords like to crap out on you, I tend to forget the length and pull on mine eventually causing an internal break. The E-nano is the only one to use a nice thick a.c cable and it has a built in temp control. I still think the Heat island is worth the wait tho especially if you get custom work like i did.

 

[CalyxSmokr]

Finally trying an SSV and have to say that I love it. Crazily it feels like it takes less counterspace than an e-nano - just need a place to store the wand. I guess because you don't move the unit across your workspace dragging a cord to your wand. I have only used it with the DDave mod but even that is more clouds than I could ever do. Just spills easier than the e-nano although I love the zero draw restriction. Smoother experience.

 

[Raskin666]

Here is my review of the DDave Econo & Micro-Mod for SSV 1.75.
It really does turn the SSV into a precision efficiency machine. Do yourself a favor and snag one of these.

I received my DDave Econo & Micro-Mod for SSV 1.75 last night and felt compelled to report.
The product works incredibly well, simple, perfectly explained, efficiency like crazy.
I have not had a nose-tingling, flavorful, beautiful hit of anything like my trusty SSV with the DDave Mod. No need to stir!
So much more control over the dosage.

I would re-buy this product immediately if it were broken. This is now my favorite SSV accessory i have ever purchased (standard wand, standard w/tweak mod, ground glass wand, custom ground glass wand, LSV wand.)

Also of note:
Being a musician/computer worker, tendonitis/nerve issues make lots of wand handling/manipulating of accessories. annoying, and this provides the ideal way to take a single perfect dose without the need to do much.

THANKS @DDave FOR BEING AWESOME. A+++

 

[Aimless Ryan]

If you ever break a heater cover cleanly near the bend, consider trying this:

Tips:

• Cover the heater with the broken end down.
• Invert the wand screen.
• Use a second bowl-shaped screen so you can make a kinda UFO-shaped weed sandwich.

 

[shredder]

Just wanted to give a short review of the ddave mod kit.
In short it works, lol. I'm just now getting rid of pneumonia so my tolerance is low.

I used the 14mm wand. The basket screen holds an enano size load. Very tiny. I get 3-4 normal hits off one full load. The hits are full of flavor and one bowl gives me 3+ hour buzz. No doubt due at least in part, to my low tolerance after abstaining during my illness.

But over all DDave's kit is a good value IMHO. I would and will recommend it to anyone with a ground glass heater cover on their ssv.

 

[eideal852]

Just wanted to give a short review of the ddave mod kit.
In short it works, lol...

Yup, and I still can't believe it. More than once I've immediately reloaded the micro for a second, only to get higher than I want. Hard to believe the little basket can be so effective.