Silver Surfer Vaporizer

[VapePerson]

oooh. im getting some. nice find!
some concerns about the dust online but in this usage a non issue i think.

1. Great to hear! I hope you enjoy them like I did. They were noticably more uniform than my quartz or boro beads and the airflow was smoother.
2. My understanding is that they wouldn't dust under our usage because they are designed to be used in car bearings (constant motion and rubbing while staying smooth). A bearing that readily dusted wouldn't last a long time. Rubies are slightly harder than Si3N4 and would produce the slightest bit more dust, if anything and these bearings are cartoonishly durable.

Edit: I was doing some more googling and the bearings have a higher molar mass vs corundum (140 v 101 g/mol); and boro glass is higher at both at 180 g/mol. Interesting, but I'm not sure what the conclusion to make of this is. From what limited info I can find, corundum has a lower thermal conductivity than boro and the bearings. Shouldn't rubies be a net downgrade, the opposite of what Troy experienced?

 

[badbee]

thought it was rude

I guess I'm grumpy today.

7th Floor guys, I'm just saying you have a perfectly reasonable product, expanding on a design doesn't mean there is anything wrong with the original. But, constantly explaining a thing makes people think there are issues even where there are none.

corundum has a lower thermal conductivity than boro and the bearings. Shouldn't rubies be a net downgrade, the opposite of what Troy experienced?

My guess is that the key property is Specific Heat not thermal conductivity. Specific heat is the measure of how much heat energy is contained at a given temp, conductivity is how fast you can get that heat out. I think with good air contact (and this is where beads beat other configurations) conductivity doesn't have much impact.

The biggest problem with many cooling solutions is insufficient mass to absorb the heat. It doesn't matter how many dimples are in a glass stem if it has already heated up to a high temp. The same applies, in reverse, to these heating scenarios.

 

[Stu]

My guess is that the key property is Specific Heat not thermal conductivity. Specific heat is the measure of how much heat energy is contained at a given temp, conductivity is how fast you can get that heat out. I think with good air contact (and this is where beads beat other configurations) conductivity doesn't have much impact.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

+1 Gems react faster to temp changes,which mean they would be more responsive if the heater is PID controlled,but yeah thermal conductivity IMO is a double edged sword,cause they also cool faster. Maybe boro or quartz is the golden middle for performance .
Another variable to take in account is also the mass of the heater,heavier heaters hit harder .

 

[sunyata]

Ahoy bead experts! Has anyone messed around with stainless steel balls? Is there a consensus? If anyone has experience with beads on the cooling end (as some have tried on other vapes, in stems etc), I'd also be interested on any info there.

Apologies if that has been discussed on the previous 329 pages and I'm causing repetition ha.

 

[invertedisdead]

My guess is that the key property is Specific Heat not thermal conductivity. Specific heat is the measure of how much heat energy is contained at a given temp, conductivity is how fast you can get that heat out. I think with good air contact (and this is where beads beat other configurations) conductivity doesn't have much impact.

Thermal conductivity represents how evenly a material is heated. Yes it does affect heat up time, but that's in relation to its it's specific heat capacity and its density. And many other variables: even the color makes a difference.

To think of thermal conductivity, think of a glassblower holding a big stainless steel blowpipe - the reason there is a cold end to hold onto is because the material is not a great conductor, thus it does not heat evenly from one end to the other. If it was an aluminum tube, you couldn't hold onto it as the material conducts heat so evenly.

 

[VapePerson]

My guess is that the key property is Specific Heat not thermal conductivity. Specific heat is the measure of how much heat energy is contained at a given temp, conductivity is how fast you can get that heat out. I think with good air contact (and this is where beads beat other configurations) conductivity doesn't have much impact. [1]

The biggest problem with many cooling solutions is insufficient mass to absorb the heat. It doesn't matter how many dimples are in a glass stem if it has already heated up to a high temp. The same applies, in reverse, to these heating scenarios. [2]

1. Thank you very much for that info. Conductivity, to my knowledge, would affect how even the heat is, no? Using my knowledge from cooking, a cast iron pan has a lot of mass but doesn't heat evenly because of its conductivity. A stainless steel pan heats more evenly, takes less time to heat up, ultimately gets hotter. A cast iron pain retains heat better but it's very directional heat.
2. Are you saying the ideal material would have low thermal conductivity but a high specific heat?
I found:
Corundum: 0.850 J/g-°C
Boro: 0.830 J/g-°C
Si3: 0.800 J/g-°C
Ti: 0.52 J/g-°C

From what I can find, Si3N4 has slightly higher thermal conductivity:
https://www.accuratus.com/silinit.html W/m*degrees K = 30
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-metals-d_858.html @ 24.5 (This doesn't specify any particular alloy [of Ti])

Rubies/corundum have these both my material beat as well at 12 if the properties above are what are needed, which would explain why troy liked them so much. They dominate both Si3N4 and Boro, unless we could get Si3 with a 1.5mm aluminum core.

I think the chess pieces are laid out and don't consider quartz balls an option. Si3 won't fuse like boro can but at the cost of a slight performance drop over corundum. Plus, rubies are used as watch bearings I learned. If everything performs as they do on paper I'll have to eat crow on my initial skepticism to rubies.

Ahoy bead experts! Has anyone messed around with stainless steel balls? Is there a consensus? If anyone has experience with beads on the cooling end (as some have tried on other vapes, in stems etc), I'd also be interested on any info there.

Apologies if that has been discussed on the previous 329 pages and I'm causing repetition ha.

There is no consensus on anything yet AFAIK except that Quartz is awful. Stainless steel has been used and apparently affects taste (seen this mentioned several times) and I haven't used it personally. Experimentation doesn't hurt.
I used some beads in my wand behind the normal screen with a 10mm ddave screen in the airhole. It cooled the vapor but got gunked up fast, which is what Air II users who use glass beads for cooling also discover. Also, it makes the draw tighter.

 

[badbee]

1. Thank you very much for that info. Conductivity, to my knowledge, would affect how even the heat is, no? Using my knowledge from cooking, a cast iron pan has a lot of mass but doesn't heat evenly because of its conductivity. A stainless steel pan heats more evenly, takes less time to heat up, ultimately gets hotter. A cast iron pain retains heat better but it's very directional heat.
2. Are you saying the ideal material would have low thermal conductivity but a high specific heat?
I found:

The challenge with fixed wattage and low mass heating systems is that the temperature fluctuates widely. Adding some stored energy acts as a damper. Like shock absorbers in the car, it doesn't prevent movement, it just slows it down and makes the ride easier. Energy storage is equal to mass * specific heat. Ruby beads weigh twice as much as Boro and have a higher specific heat so you get more than twice the energy storage. Adding more thermal mass, of any kind, does the same thing but it's harder to achieve without custom glass. Rather than add that tiny (low mass) heater enhancement I think SSV would have gotten a much bigger improvement by making the heater cover much heavier with indentations on the inside to improve thermal coupling with the air.

Conductivity matters in the sense that something completely insulating just won't transfer the energy, but, once you get into a more reasonable range of conductivity the exact value may not matter. If the air reaches the same temp as the beads at the exit point you are good, reaching that point half way through doesn't change anything.

 

[blackstone]

The difference I found with balls was, I was able to turn it down a bit, and it eats through lots of stuff way quicker. The second part doesn't always suit me because, although I enjoy the immediate effects, it's over very quickly and im not swimming in material here to keep filling it.
Funny then that I heard 420vapezone is going to soon retire the SSV43 from duty for almost that reason! He seems to be getting through too much stuff too quickly with it and the tolerance is gone upward.

I think it's nice to be able to change and pick what works for you, even on a particular evening.
And yeah, I bet aluminium balls are where it's at but y'all are too scared to try them!
Well, plus they would move around too much on inhale!
Didn't hear much mention of emmisivity so far.
Maybe there should be a ball talk thread.

 

[VapePerson]

The difference I found with balls was, I was able to turn it down a bit, and it eats through lots of stuff way quicker. The second part doesn't always suit me because, although I enjoy the immediate effects, it's over very quickly and im not swimming in material here to keep filling it.
Funny then that I heard 420vapezone is going to soon retire the SSV43 from duty for almost that reason! He seems to be getting through too much stuff too quickly with it and the tolerance is gone upward.

I think it's nice to be able to change and pick what works for you, even on a particular evening.
And yeah, I bet aluminium balls are where it's at but y'all are too scared to try them!
Well, plus they would move around too much on inhale!
Didn't hear much mention of emmisivity so far.
Maybe there should be a ball talk thread.

For me, I'm trying to come up with a way to push the herb forward on a round wand. The ddavemod is nice but the round heater cover is so much more consistent and isn't spotty. You could get a 20mm basket screen with a 2mm rim made for fairly cheap from a company in china. They do the custom manufacturing for several vape companies dosing caps and custom screens I believe, including arizer. There's no reason they wouldn't be able to make a bunch of screens that sit on the front of the spherical wand and are just wide enough to fit inside. Now you have a 1 piece microdosing mod.

Emmisivity? That would relate to troy's original theory about radiation, conduction, and convection. Did he drop that theory, do you know?

 

[blackstone]

For me, I'm trying to come up with a way to push the herb forward on a round wand. The ddavemod is nice but the round heater cover is so much more consistent and isn't spotty. You could get a 20mm basket screen with a 2mm rim made for fairly cheap from a company in china. They do the custom manufacturing for several vape companies dosing caps and custom screens I believe, including arizer. There's no reason they wouldn't be able to make a bunch of screens that sit on the front of the spherical wand and are just wide enough to fit inside. Now you have a 1 piece microdosing mod.

Emmisivity? That would relate to troy's original theory about radiation, conduction, and convection. Did he drop that theory, do you know?

Well I read once that the beauty of owning an SSV or any vape from the Elev8 gallery is that you have glassblowers at your service if you have ideas like that, maybe bringing the screen/bowl forward in a wand, or even a heavy walled heater cover with dimples all over the inside!! They can make it happen and I'm sure they will work very reasonably with owners.
I tried making a basket screen for spherical but it wouldn't stay in place well, and some other mods were OK, but I always wanted to order a custom microdose style spherical wand from Elev8.
Then I just realised that this wand bowl I have (15.8mm screens) is pretty perfect!
I'll probably still get something though for fun, there are so many attractive things on their website lately I'm pondering treating myself with a few nice bits also.

The emmisivity thing is something I had in mind thinking of aluminium properties in vapes relating to the discussion about thermal conductivity etc. but it's probably something for a different thread and not here!

Have a nice evening, my SSV just warmed up so I'm off for a glass of water and a nice ride on the wave!

 

[VapePerson]

Well I read once that the beauty of owning an SSV or any vape from the Elev8 gallery is that you have glassblowers at your service if you have ideas like that, maybe bringing the screen/bowl forward in a wand, or even a heavy walled heater cover with dimples all over the inside!! They can make it happen and I'm sure they will work very reasonably with owners.
I tried making a basket screen for spherical but it wouldn't stay in place well, and some other mods were OK, but I always wanted to order a custom microdose style spherical wand from Elev8.
Then I just realised that this wand bowl I have (15.8mm screens) is pretty perfect!
I'll probably still get something though for fun, there are so many attractive things on their website lately I'm pondering treating myself with a few nice bits also.

The emmisivity thing is something I had in mind thinking of aluminium properties in vapes relating to the discussion about thermal conductivity etc. but it's probably something for a different thread and not here!

Have a nice evening, my SSV just warmed up so I'm off for a glass of water and a nice ride on the wave!

No. The beauty of the SSV wand is how big you can hit it; it's one of the biggest bowls there is.
The beauty of screens is the ability to instantly swap them out and get small doses as desired while bringing the material closer to the heater. If you're going to make a dimpled heater cover, why not make a place to keep the screens inside to hold the balls. In the whip at least, all you need to keep baskets in is a tiny $0.3 viton oring around the basket. Custom blown glass will be more expensive than a basket as well.

 

[blackstone]

Just had a go of my bone stock SSV and it really hit the fuckin' spot!
All the SSV glass is made by them so we might be surprised at how reasonably they could work with those who put a note with their wand order about how they like the bowl to be.
But ya, if diy screen mounting is your thing go for it.
I just went back to stock spherical after all my experiments!

I'm not sure the bigger flavor disc sized (20.8mm?) wand is for me and where I live rn, but I really love what I have here with the 15.8mm screens.
What size screens does your spherical take?

 

[VapePerson]

Just had a go of my bone stock SSV and it really hit the fuckin' spot!
All the SSV glass is made by them so we might be surprised at how reasonably they could work with those who put a note with their wand order about how they like the bowl to be.
But ya, if diy screen mounting is your thing go for it.
I just went back to stock spherical after all my experiments!

I'm not sure the bigger flavor disc sized (20.8mm?) wand is for me and where I live rn, but I really love what I have here with the 15.8mm screens.
What size screens does your spherical take?

15.8mm on my spherical wand, but I believe the opening is 21mm across and the basket I'd like made would probably end up 18mm across at the bottom.

 

[CapeDank]

The SSV was my first ever vaporizer. Bought it in 2016 and it's still going strong. It does not taste as good as an Arizer Solo II, but a solo cannot produce the magnificent clouds that this beast does.

It's perfect for when my friends come over. It's on-demand, efficient, effortless to draw from, and easy to clean and maintain.

It fell once before after I tripped over the cord. Literally bounced on the laminated wood floor and fell on it's side. Not even a scratch. This thing is truly worth every cent...

I completely quit every form of smoking since I got the SSV.

 

[zor]

After implementing the glass bead mod and a few other tweaks I enjoyed the second life breathed into this awesome vape and pick it up every now and again...but starting a recent sessions I forgot to lower the temp after cranking it up to max to heat up and almost choked on the ensuing combustion (was nowhere near ready for that ). Went through the cleaning process when I was reminded of one my least favorite aspects of the SSV, namely the tubing. From my experience, once smoke corrupts the whip it's a lost cause trying to eliminate odors/flavors from it, so I'm wondering what kinds of all-glass setups (or similar, just no rubber please) you guys may have. The wands I have don't have a good way of interfacing with other glass, but I figure I can outfit some other pieces that have a ground-glass end with a screen or a basket screen...

 

[fdotcombustion]

Hi guys,

I was looking to see if I can get some help/guidance. I sent in my SSV for repair to Elev8glass because the inner base where the heater slides through became unglued and loose. They reglued it and it seems to hit ok. The issue I have now though is that the heater cover is loose and wobbly it doesn’t go in with much resistance. It is loose enough that it can move around/out of place very easily with the movement of the wand. It even tilts forward at times and hits the curved part of the frame where you attach the wand.

The question I have is there a way to tighten it myself without sending it in again? I have the clip version could I bend it slightly toward the heating element with pliers or would I risk screwing it up? Shipping is expensive to just send it back and idk if I’d get charged a return fee as well.

I really thought they’d put a heater cover on and test the fit before sending it back since it was supposed to get a full refurb. It’s definitely not how it was prior to sending it in.

 

[Flow]

The question I have is there a way to tighten it myself without sending it in again? I have the clip version could I bend it slightly toward the heating element with pliers or would I risk screwing it up? Shipping is expensive to just send it back and idk if I’d get charged a return fee as well.

I really thought they’d put a heater cover on and test the fit before sending it back since it was supposed to get a full refurb. It’s definitely not how it was prior to sending it in.

I would do the same, removing heater cover and then use pliers to bend the clip a bit more toward the heating élément. It needs to lock the heater cover without to much tension on it...

I would go slow, and as soon as the heater cover doesn't wooble anymore, i would stop the bending...

 

[blackstone]

Also @fdotcombustion try having a look at these videos, you may need to slightly reverse the action carried out on the inner post at around 3m 30sec in the first vid.

And it gives a look at the clip in this video at 4m 5sec :

 

[Cervical CBD]

Alright I have issues again. Broke my original wand and have had 2 replacements both curved making the screens not fit right. Combine that with not being able to find the correct size? I have 1” (too big) and 3/4” (too small) and I get Scooby snacks.

 

[Ramahs]

Alright I have issues again. Broke my original wand and have had 2 replacements both curved making the screens not fit right. Combine that with not being able to find the correct size? I have 1” (too big) and 3/4” (too small) and I get Scooby snacks.

Just get the bigger one, and trim it down to the perfect size with scissors. That's what I do with screens from my local headshop.

 

[Cervical CBD]

Just get the bigger one, and trim it down to the perfect size with scissors. That's what I do with screens from my local headshop.

Found the correct size locally but it didn’t fix the real issue. The glass is curved causing the screen to curve and not fit correctly.

 

[Ramahs]

What do you mean that the glass is curved, @Cervical CBD ?

Like, is it not circular in the ring that the screen fits in?

 

[arb]

Found the correct size locally but it didn’t fix the real issue. The glass is curved causing the screen to curve and not fit correctly.

I had a couple wands like that.
A email and pic was all it took but that was a couple years ago and they seem to be having some serious quality control and customer service issues.
Enough so that I had to quit recommending their products sadly.

 

[Cervical CBD]

What do you mean that the glass is curved, @Cervical CBD ?

Like, is it not circular in the ring that the screen fits in?

Yes and the screen does not fit right causing it to move when I stir. Damn screen doesn’t take long and it’s curved so I get Scooby snacks. This is the 2nd replacement they sent me for the wand I broke...both had issues. The 1st wand was perfect.