Am I correct in thinking the TA3 doesn't have any sort of an indicator?
There is no indicator (temperature feedback) on the TA3. There "might" be one for the TA4 depending on demand PP may design one but its not for sure (
this is how I use it) for me its more a timing thing as I count to 15 seconds in my head (both to maintain concentration and also because it seems to be the sweet spot from cold), the bonus is the oven is always the same, the black turns cherry red in the same timeframe & if it doesn't it needs a clean.
Am I also correct in thinking that the Tempest will have an indicator?
The Tempest has temperature feedback features in the form of both click discs that go off at abut 170c and 210c and a visual indicator that you can use to get real time feedback as to the temperature of the oven within a range of 100c to 240c. The indicator even is available coloured so if you want a bright green one it comes withe the green Tempest titanium kit.
I had a hell of a good time playing with the Stunner last night, but trying to use it today is more difficult cos of the daylight and the difficulty in seeing the flame colour change. If either of these other "portable ball vapes" has an indicator so I don't have to concentrate on the flame colour, and so I can mindlessly use it during the day, it'll be an instant buy.
Without the feedback features the Tempest is harder to use than the TA3.
The TA3's size (by that I mean thermal mass) takes a lot more energy to heat to optimal temperature and this provides a bit of a buffer, you can keep heaping for a little longer (or shorter) than usual and still be ok as it takes a lot of heat to make a difference in the temperature of the oven. This buffer makes it hard to combust (unless your not paying attention or really trying to ride the line) but with the Tempest, a little too much heat (a few seconds) can scorch the bowl - its usually best when you overheat the tempest to stop, wait for the temperature to decrease - before hitting it - I go into more detail in a separate post (
here).
These feedback features, being both a realtime visual temperature guage and auditory click discs, gives you the best possible chance of getting the optimal experience, each time you use the Tempest.
For ease of access here are some examples of the features I am talking about in the Tempest
Overview - Tempest click disc's and visual indicator
Using the VI In the wand
Heating and reheating using a Triple flame (with click discs and visual indicator as a guide
more info)
** Note : I got the the discs and visual indicator very recently after my OG beta device was damaged; the click discs are not the final ones - but the VI is (both are accurate) & my wand is faulty, 260c is WAY to low to heat the Tempest on any other wand, recommendation is to start at 290c more information can be found in the manual (
here)