Silver Surfer Vaporizer
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Rodney
Well-Known Member
is this the Baller Series version?
This one here
Silver Surfer Vaporizer - SSV - Baller Series
The Silver Surfer Vaporizer (SSV) has earned itself a place in the hall of fame for being one of the most user friendly heavy hitting vapes to ever be created! Much like it's little brother Da Buddha Vehicle the SSV required almost no maintenance and can be operated by almost anyone, even those...
Vitolo
Vaporist
It is the 1st desktop I ever bought, in 2009.
It is a traditional SSV... Standard HC, Hand Held Wand.
No balls, just a hard working tool!
coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
I have the Da Buddha, which is almost the same, with the baller setup and I can say honestly I don't think I have a more powerful vape. With a recycler and the lower temps the baller runs at you can take enormous hits without feeling heat. Flavor is surprisingly good given the length of the vinyl but a direct-hit glass wand is even tastier. It's also log-like in that it's safe to run 24/7 so you can just hit it as you like. I enjoy my ballvapes including the Screwball but this is at least as powerful, almost as tasty, convenient for drive-bys, and safe to just leave it run. I can't compare it to the TM2 but I don't think you'd be at all disappointed in the performance.
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TigoleBitties
Big and Bouncy
Completely agree!
Here's a pic of my glass path setup for my baller DBV. I got a factory second DBV with the baller upgrade for $200 US on @coolbreeze's recommendation and it's truly awesome.
This thing is a beast. A ceramic rod heater surrounded by 300+ rubies and encased in a glass housing with a 18mm female port. I've never been able to overwhelm the heater. With or without a group of friends. You just set one analog dial to your temp of choice and it's a rock of pure air convection.
I chose to upgrade from the wand+tubing to the all-glass path and it's amongst my tastiest vapes. I concur it is my most powerful vape as well. I leave it on 24/7.
Rodney
Well-Known Member
I just got back from church and have been thinking about buying this after reading what @coolbreeze & @TigoleBitties but could not decide until i read on reddit this thread
So its ordered now and be here Tuesday
$332 for you guys in the USA
A very good deal if you ask me and something to look forwards to.
So its ordered now and be here Tuesday
$332 for you guys in the USA
A very good deal if you ask me and something to look forwards to.
coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
Awesome! Can't wait to hear what you think. : )
Marcus
Well-Known Member
My SSV is still my go to vape. The ball upgrade is worth every penny for me. I hope you like it Rodney!
But I have a question, I'm on 240V here and I cannot have the thing turned on above just clicking it on. Same for my LSV too, that thing runs way too hot for me to leave on and use.
Are the heaters the same for 120V vs 240V? Does it matter what voltage is put through them? Would mine run cooler on 120V??
But I have a question, I'm on 240V here and I cannot have the thing turned on above just clicking it on. Same for my LSV too, that thing runs way too hot for me to leave on and use.
Are the heaters the same for 120V vs 240V? Does it matter what voltage is put through them? Would mine run cooler on 120V??
Pukka
Well-Known Member
I'm working on assumptions here (the FAQ is only kinda clear), bu it seems there are both 110v and 220v heaters. If you look at heater repair kits they come in both voltages. If you have a 110v heater running at 220 volts it's going to run way hot. You've doubled the working voltage at the same amperage doubling the output wattage. Either changing the heater rod out for a 220v version or using a 220v to 110v converter should fix things.
TigoleBitties
Big and Bouncy
Sounds right. With the baller upgrade, the temp range on my DBV is already limited. The heater becomes so powerful that I almost never use the dial past the 1 or 2 o'clock position and this would be for huge rips through water. Pretty sure it would combust at 3 o'clock.
As it is, my dial is often at the 11 o'clock position for tasty rips through glass only.
Marcus
Well-Known Member
I purchased both over the years direct from 7th floor... Both 220V versions with Uk plugs on.
Both became dust magnets on the shelf for years, until that ball upgrade for the SSV.
It would be nice to have more control over the thing and lower temps as I have to run it through water, but I'm not spending any more on the things and having to deal with import taxes and handling fees etc.
My solo 3 is kinda kicking the SSV back to the collecting dust shelf anyway.
Rodney
Well-Known Member
It just arrived and at first i was trying to use it without putting the heater cap on and no vapour then put the cap on and is decent but the inhale is different from other vapes so need to get used to it and not even put the balls in it yet and its decent.
A blue spark came from it and now it will not turn on........
A blue spark came from it and now it will not turn on........
TigoleBitties
Big and Bouncy
TigoleBitties
Big and Bouncy
Sorry you had a bad experience. Maybe another unit will pop up in the future. The Solo3 has become my fav portable. I don't expect you'll be disappointed.
Allen Ginsbud
I have seen the best minds of my generation
We’re not supposed to compare devices in threads like this, but I’ll make an exception and be brief.
I own both , and the SSV is probably better than the TM2 in most ways. The baller modification is very nice but not necessary. You can also add rubies in a cheaper DIY version. Just search for “SSV43.”
Flow
Well-Known Member
… and you could even cut a piece of a (broken-old-useless) boro-glass downstem to cover the heater and add thermal mass... mine is modded this way and perform like a charm ! cheapest mod i ever made !
When I had mine out and in use I left it on pretty much all the time. No issues.
hoptimum
Well-Known Member
The heater cover does get quite hot, especially if you're using beads. I turn mine off when I'm not using it. The SSV and DBV heat up in minutes, so I don't see the point of leaving it on.
coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
I leave my baller DBV on all day and take hits as necessary. It's running at a lower temp than it used to, fwiw.
I purchased a Silver Surfer a couple of months ago and I am not really sure why this is not talked about more often. I was looking for a desktop unit, purity and efficiency being big factors for me, I considered ball modding my flowerpot that has stored away for years but upon remembering how I didn't enjoy the form factor at all, decided to go a different route. Considered the DBV and VB1.5 but I preferred the idea of the SSV having a downward facing wand so that material does not fall into the oven.
I used it with no mods for a few weeks, then ordered the 3mm ball heater cover. After another week and some research I learned that there was also a 6mm version with different cover as well so ended up getting that to experiment as well.
So, the unmodded SSV is an incredible session vape, it has zero draw restriction and effortlessly gives out medium density clouds that are very flavorful. There is a lack of harshness that I found the flowerpot to have, i suspect the lack of metal in the heater plays a part in this, there is definitely something special about all ceramic or all glass heating. It mimicks the experience of a joint nicely.
What it loses out in relation to modding it is that it is not incredibly efficient, the heater is not so powerful and the air only travels a small distance touching the heating element , so it can be overwhelmed. This gives the need to raise the temperature to close to max (about 3 o'clock for me).
With the 3mm balls, there is much greater draw restriction, to the point I did not enjoy that factor. However the heat can be turned down a lot (11 o'clock) and the vapor is much more dense, efficient, and consistent. Since the heat is so dialed down and no points of air superheated, seems much smoother all the while.
With the 6mm balls, there is very open airflow like the unmodded version. However the performance is midway between unmodded and the 3mm ball cover.
The ball heater covers are very different from each other and in my opinion none of them are optimized in terms of design. The 3mm ball version is very narrow and is filled up with balls the whole length of the ceramic heating rod, while the 6mm version is fatter and is only filled in the portion of the heating rod that glows red hot. This is backwards in my opinion as the 6mm version would benefit from the extra heat from a taller pillar of balls while the 3mm version would benefit from a shorter pillar of balls in order to improve airflow.
I have been using the 6mm heater cover with 6mm balls plugging the bottom and front holes and then filling it with 3mm balls so that the red hot part of the ceramic rod is covered by 3mm balls. This provides the best results with good air flow and powerful clouds.
I wonder if anyone has experimented with 4mm or 5mm balls and with which cover?
If I were to guess I would say probably the 4mm balls would provide the best performance but I don't have any to experiment with and am not sure if ordering more bags of 4mm and 5mm balls will leave me with a better experience. It would make sense for elev8 to change the product lineup as none of the solutions feel definitive right now.
Besides all the experimentation, I can only say I am very demanding of vaporizers and I will not be looking elsewhere any time soon. This is an end game desktop solution. I am running it though a recycler with a whip coming out of the mouthpiece of the recycler. Very glad I chose the silver surfer.
I used it with no mods for a few weeks, then ordered the 3mm ball heater cover. After another week and some research I learned that there was also a 6mm version with different cover as well so ended up getting that to experiment as well.
So, the unmodded SSV is an incredible session vape, it has zero draw restriction and effortlessly gives out medium density clouds that are very flavorful. There is a lack of harshness that I found the flowerpot to have, i suspect the lack of metal in the heater plays a part in this, there is definitely something special about all ceramic or all glass heating. It mimicks the experience of a joint nicely.
What it loses out in relation to modding it is that it is not incredibly efficient, the heater is not so powerful and the air only travels a small distance touching the heating element , so it can be overwhelmed. This gives the need to raise the temperature to close to max (about 3 o'clock for me).
With the 3mm balls, there is much greater draw restriction, to the point I did not enjoy that factor. However the heat can be turned down a lot (11 o'clock) and the vapor is much more dense, efficient, and consistent. Since the heat is so dialed down and no points of air superheated, seems much smoother all the while.
With the 6mm balls, there is very open airflow like the unmodded version. However the performance is midway between unmodded and the 3mm ball cover.
The ball heater covers are very different from each other and in my opinion none of them are optimized in terms of design. The 3mm ball version is very narrow and is filled up with balls the whole length of the ceramic heating rod, while the 6mm version is fatter and is only filled in the portion of the heating rod that glows red hot. This is backwards in my opinion as the 6mm version would benefit from the extra heat from a taller pillar of balls while the 3mm version would benefit from a shorter pillar of balls in order to improve airflow.
I have been using the 6mm heater cover with 6mm balls plugging the bottom and front holes and then filling it with 3mm balls so that the red hot part of the ceramic rod is covered by 3mm balls. This provides the best results with good air flow and powerful clouds.
I wonder if anyone has experimented with 4mm or 5mm balls and with which cover?
If I were to guess I would say probably the 4mm balls would provide the best performance but I don't have any to experiment with and am not sure if ordering more bags of 4mm and 5mm balls will leave me with a better experience. It would make sense for elev8 to change the product lineup as none of the solutions feel definitive right now.
Besides all the experimentation, I can only say I am very demanding of vaporizers and I will not be looking elsewhere any time soon. This is an end game desktop solution. I am running it though a recycler with a whip coming out of the mouthpiece of the recycler. Very glad I chose the silver surfer.
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coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
Excellent write up!
I'd bet the 4mm balls would be a significant difference. I switched out 3mm balls for 4mm in one of my ballvapes and it is much less restricted but it does need slightly higher temps. I also used them in my DBV heater cover near the heat outlet slits as there apparently was an area where 3mm balls could slip through. I didn't use a lot of 4mm balls and it didn't change the performance. I'm not sure they'd fit down the tube, though.
Allen Ginsbud
I have seen the best minds of my generation
I do not, but many others do. I also use a much lower temp with the baller mod than without.
And I no longer accidentally combust when I forget to turn down the heat from maximum, which is how I typically heat up the device. That was a rather unpleasant experience that I don’t miss.