Wow this thread is moving so fast right now! I wanted to quote a bunch of people and respond to things, but I think I can only manage to offer some updates and notes to my early "review" and offer some other general opinions in a less organized fashion?
So after an initially very successful 1st day of use with the SP, I ran into a few minor issues & bugs mostly regarding my mod settings, how I was using it, and technique
(spoiler: my notch coils didn't burn out yet, but maybe a little worn already?)
I had good results using the SP with some of my "smaller" or more restrictive glass pieces, (my 14mm klein torus clone and my 18mm small ash-catcher J-hook) so I wanted to try with one of my favorite hydratube / adapter rigs for inverted convection flower vapes...
I use it alot with my tubo evic, so I've named it my "tree of tubo" but now with the SP, could it be my "stempod shrub" or "stempod sapling"?
cute names aside, I love this setup and the all-18mm, high-airflow, low drag with the recycler. But my problem with this glass setup and the SP? Possibly too much airflow potential!
With the air throttle wide open and me huffing pretty hard, I was overpowering the TC @ 50w, with the temp set to 400F, I was seeing on-screen temps only in the 360-370's, resulting in meager vape
To fix this I set the max watts in TC to 60w (too much?
idk?) and reduced the air throttle to about 1/2-3/4, and I was able to get some clouds from this glass setup, but it wasn't fully satisfying.
Seems like the little notch coils couldn't stand up to the super-high-airflow type of convection vaping that I like thru this rig. Sucks, because the SP was working very well with my pieces that aren't so wide-open on the air
With max 60w in TC, with me huffing pretty hard, I would now see the SP & evic reach my set temps, putting out a steady 40-50w+ to keep up, but it seems I could still "overpower" the coils on demand by huffing as hard as I can, seeing 60w output, and coils getting too cool.
I briefly tried 75w but that seemed excessive, for the little coils and also maxing out my evic and 18650s, so I went back to 60w and tried to limit myself to accommodate the notch coils.
After having tried all my glass rigs that I like to use with flowers, it seemed past time to try the SP dry. I was a bit skeptical with my previous experience with dry convection, but I was pleasantly impressed! I couldn't get much at low temps, but using same temps I use with glass (400-420F) taking long, semi-restrictive draws with Dan's glass stem, I was able to get some pretty nice sized, fairly smooth clouds with pretty minor, minimal irritation!
I'm have a fairly sensitive vape-throat, and some of my other powerful vapes like the tubo evic are too much for me dry, so this was a nice surprise.
Now there's alot of discussion maybe I can still comment on...
@AJS I think you asked how's the flavor with the SP thru water? (or dry?)
Well, so far, I think the flavor on the SP is very good, almost excellent when you got everything worked out right on some nice flowers?
At best, I would give the SP an 8 / 10 on flavor, and I'm a pretty picky guy when it comes to flavor and vapes. By comparison, I would rate my beloved tubo evic as a 9/10, when running optimally, and the crafty I would say an 8 / 10, to compare a conduction vape, or just other portables I own.
Here's the kicker though: I'm finding that when I "finish" a load on the SP, pounding the shit out of a tiny ~0.1g sized pinch of herb, with repeated puffs to make sure it's really done (my habits are to waste very little) that these marginal, final puffs at the end aren't bad, they taste very neutral! Compared to other convection vapes I've tried like the tubo, chasing those last, ass-hits from the bowl can taste more nasty and less desirable.
Not as bad with the SP it seems
But here's why I say "at best"
After my first great day with the SP, I've noticed some un-even vaping and hot spots, now mostly on the side of my bowl, oddly
Not really sure why I was seeing this?
I noticed that one of the notch coils on my deck seemed like it was touching the airflow tube that is underneath it, and the other wasn't. I was not shorting the coil or causing any apparent problem and seemed to be vaping fine, but I later moved it anyways, and I started seeing more charring after I did this I think? Later I noticed that I might have deformed the coil I touched; it seemed kind of bent in the middle and not so cylindrical as before. The other side seemed unchanged beside the oxidized color. Looking at the deck sideways, I saw the notch coil that I moved was higher than the other, I moved it too high, probably causing the 1-sided charring, so I tried to level it with the other coil, not touching the air tubes, and the next bowl vaped more evenly. But with my high watts, and heavy-handed handling of the delicate notch coils, and seeing other people's issues with them now, that does not inspire much confidence in me about this little coils, especially with all the glowing, which I was concerned about from the start. This is making me want to try alternate heaters very soon, probably starting with DT's ceramic rods. Anyone who has success with alternate metal coils & heaters with the stempod, I hope you share your results & what you do
Also if I can give my
about the best ways for SP customers & fans & watchers to stay up-to-date with info from
@supershredderdan:
@Summer: thanks for posting up & sharing when Dan has live streams on IG, I know you're just trying to spread the good word.
However, I'm more with
@Hogni & some of the others in my views about IG, streams, and social medias in general? (maybe?)
IG is owned by one of the largest, most evil, data-mining-est company that has ruined the inter-webs that I once loved by spreading disinformation, manipulating people's behavior & driving them apart into mutually-exclusive echo chambers, throwing elections, & generally making people miserable. (sorry I can go on..)
Now IG isn't nearly as evil as it's proprietor, and I do browse some IG accounts for posts & videos of my favorite vape & extract companies and vape enthusiasts, etc. I admit it's a good resource to share & see whats up, especially for small & mid-sized companies & startups like Dan & Modpod labs.
But I will draw the line for myself at not signing up for these evil companies just so I can watch Dan's stream. I already have to block so many 3rd party cookies and enable so much potentially compromising javascript just to see this content that is constantly trying to track me, not to mention the cookies & JS trying to track you at un-related 3rd party sites even!
So sorry to rant on...
I'm not trying to direct my wrath at Summer or Dan in particular, but to answer Dan's question, what would be another source to post these videos & info? Youtube would be great, since anyone can watch that anytime without having to sign up for nothing.
But also to
@Hogni's comments, I also agree I can't be watching hours-longs live streams on the regular to get critical & up-to-date info...I also waste too much time on FC sometimes, I give what I can and read what I can, but if Dan or any fans watching could summarize the key points for us, that would be great
And also reddit...
meh... I follow links to reddit threads on occasion as it's a thriving community for vapes or...anything. But I try to avoid it if I can find the info elsewhere, like here. Too much Nazis & Nazi apologists, etc on reddit. Not to say that everyone contributing over there is, but I prefer to participate in Nazi-free environments & platforms that aren't financially supported by online fascist activities.
Sorry if I'm getting too personal or political for some. Some Nazis might like to vape also, or some of you may like Nazis.