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??
It's amazing I'm hearing someone else say it! Yes,
This was exactly me when I first SSV43"d my 240V SSV!
Ball modding a 240V SSV can heat the air too hot for herbs even on the lowest setting.
I might have tried it once using a 110V transformer and it's possible it didn't quite heat enough on full power then.
But eventually I either asked Elev8 or found a discussion where they said it was perfectly fine to just use a regular dimmer switch for incandescent lighting on your source socket.
So I made up a little ext. lead with a dimmer inline.
With the dimmer I used it just took a little bit of setup to dial out some flickering or pulsing in the indicator lamp or some buzzing and it has been perfection ever since!
You just need to use an incandescent dimmer which works a min. load as low as 30-45 watts, I can't remember if the one I used is rated this low as it's zip tied in place in a box now, but it works fine!
I saw a 40-250W one online just now.
Is there a video somewhere with the ball version of the ssv ? Would love to see it,such a special vape this is was my first true desktop heavy hitter. I remember taking it after school in a friends shed and blowing down lol.
And red that should work for sure!! All glass ssv sounds freaking amazing !!
You could also search 420Vapezone content for SSV43 to get a general idea of balls in an SSV performance.
Reclaim from a pvc whip does not sound too yummy...
Meanwhile just wanted to update that I have gone back to the 3mm ball heater cover with 3mm balls. I have to order the 4mm ones to see if they fit in this heater cover in order to form a bottom layer of 4mm balls and try to cover only the red hot part of the ceramic rod with 3mm balls, in an attempt to improve the airflow.
With the 6mm heater cover filled with 3mm balls, while amazing for daytime use, combines great airflow with good clouds, even at max temperature the load never gets to the brown colour I like for night time use. Since getting the tempest I have been using the SSV only at night so a heavier hit is wanted. I believe what happens is, since the 6mm heater cover is much wider, and the ceramic rod not too powerful, I believe the balls on the outer edge of the heater don't heat up as much.
The 3mm heater cover is very narrow, so the ceramic rod heats the rubies very well. It is just a beast. I will try improving the airflow of this one, instead of trying to make the 6mm one more powerful. Maybe a few terp rods or 4mm balls thrown at the bottom of the 3mm heater cover would work if they fit, upto maybe an inch from the bottom, and then fill the rest with 3mm balls. This or 4mm balls throughout. More testing needed, but I am sure the balance can be found as it has more than enough power when filled with 3mm balls (I only use it below 12oclock power).
It's interesting reading your findings from your fun experimenting! I imagine it probably is down to where the glass is located in each cover and the volume or thickness of the glass parts and/or the balls, plus maybe the properties of rubies.
Maybe also the shape and size of the holes in and out of each cover.
From reading your posts, something makes me wonder is your ceramic rod height ok.
The rod can fall down a little in its sleeve and sometimes needs periodic checking or adjusting or it can cause symptoms like what you have mentioned.
Is your SSV a 240V? And you could turn it up full with some balls and still not be too hot?
I think the right height is a few millimetres below the heater cover ceiling in a regular spherical cover.
Maybe you knew this.
Thank you for making me aware of these new official baller cover kits through your postings around FC!
Well, the wait is going to be a bit longer now that I got it back...
Apparently it wasn't taken *as* good of care of as I had hoped and some repairs have to be made.
Its on its way to CO to be repaired and to acquire some new accessories.
Still excited to have it back
What a great, multi talented company, so dedicated to all of their ideas and systems. What other company could or would renew an older machine of theirs for another life, and can also pimp it up, tune it. Even fix a broken bong too!
Mixing electrical engineers and glass blowers with amazing imagination and impeccable customer service is always going to work out great for us!
Hope you enjoy your new old vape, it sounds cool.