The Extreme-Q Vaporizer

[oldiebutgoodie]

Seek, and your advice re the risk of a user breaking the unit down far enough to find the piece?

By the way, totally off topic, my son was in Prague last week, his first visit. He absolutely loved the city and people.

 

[Seek]

I don't much get it what you're asking. If you can damage the unit by disassembly? Only if you loose pieces or try to pull the guts out before disconnecting the power and data cables. Oh and when/if you put the glas cover back, position the lip at the bottom into the hole in the big black support base or it could crack when you screw it back tight. In other words, the lip on the glass heater cover has a place there, you can't put it back randomly. The assembly is easy, just follow precisely this video:

At 1:35 you can see the piece under the ceramic between the wires that go in. He doesn't take it out, it's heater cover replacing tutorial.

I think I'll cal that support piece EQ's appendix. It's useless and sometimes it hurts.

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

When you posted previously that the piece was "hidden even when you disassemble it to almost core", it was not clear to me how much difficulty or perhaps risk there is to break the unit down that far. I thought it best to be sure before I opened it up for the first time.

Thanks for the vid. I had not seen that before. Tear down appears pretty straightforward.

 

[Seek]

The piece is not hidden, the part of it that gets molten is hidden - it's inside the ceramic. You can pull it out and see if it's molten. But when you only replace the glass cover, you don't need to pull that piece out.

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

Right. Thanks, it's clear now.

 

[Titamius]

Just took apart my EQ which has been in use for 6 months and its "appendix" looks ever so slightly melted, same as seek's. Also it has been up to 260 many times but was usually around 220.

 

[Tweak]

my modded EQ.... but as soon as I read about the plastic piece holding the heater melting and the circuit board next to the air intake, I had to inspect it myself.

So I decided to move on to the SSV, elbow pack works at the end of a SSV wand, .

 

[JCat]

Just thought I'd pipe in with what Kevin from Arizer told me (quote from an email)

"The piece you are asking about is not plastic, it is Mica, and poses no risk to you."

So apparently inhaling melted mica fumes is not harmful ...

 

[pakalolo]

Just thought I'd pipe in with what Kevin from Arizer told me (quote from an email)

"The piece you are asking about is not plastic, it is Mica, and poses no risk to you."

So apparently inhaling melted mica fumes is not harmful ...

No. Mica doesn't melt until it gets to about 1200°C. It is used specifically for this property. If this piece is truly melted, then it is not mica.

It makes sense that a part that could come into contact with the heater would be mica, so is it possible that what these pictures show isn't melting but some other form of wear? I agree that it does look melted.

 

[Seek]

It's indeed some strange material I can't identify much. Doesn't feel like regular plastic - more like very hard one. It makes high-pithed sound when I drop it - like very hard plastic, almost metal-like. It also looks and feels like some kind of hard plastic. The deformation absolutely looks like it was melted, or at least very softened by heat.

Edit: I've held in above EQ on 260 and F2 and after a while it softenede a bit so I could bend it in a corner somewhat. Can mica do this? I thought mica is more like crystalic and fragile. This seems like hard plastic.

Edit2: Put it on fire with matches. Flammable, fumes smells awful and plasticky. Mica is understood to be nonflamable and not fuming. Also it melted just like plastic when on fire. I don't think it's mica.

 

[JCat]

So I'm being lied to? About the Mica? If they don't respond here I'll email them directly and/or call them.

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

Mica is a silicate based mineral material. When I worked in electronics manufacturing we used mica extensively as an insulation material. It is found in different mineral compositions and can be used in wide range of formations and applications. IIRC the only risk associated with it - a serious one - was handling certain types of pressure-formed mica where the extremely fine powder mica residue could be absorbed by the body. Aside from that, I recall mica to be quite common and safe, used in components like capacitors. This mica has extremely high thermal resistance as pakalolo ref'd.

However, there is mica with a thermal tolerance of ~500C. If this piece is that mica, it would not withstand the heat of a match flame which is 600-800C. So the flame test is really not applicable because the Q doesn't (shouldn't) reach such a temp. It is also conceivable if not probable that the piece in the Q is not entirely mica; it could be a fused composite. My guess is that the piece has degraded by heat exposure over time and/or that the piece is a composite and the other material is what is degrading.

Here's an example of such a composite, a polymer fused with mica fiber. It has a lower melting point. It is hazardous only if it combusts, or if the body comes into contact with it in melted form.

http://www.plasticsmadesimple.com/DataSheets/PET_MSDS_FG.pdf

 

[Seek]

obg: I think you're right. The piece is sparkly, so there probably is mica. But it seems like some kind of composite. Yes, temp reached by matches is way higher than EQ can achieve, it only shows that it's not pure mica, bude some polymer infused with it. But I achieved softening of it when exposes to EQ's temps (260). The softening clearly occured in the unit as it's deformed. The question is: Does this release toxic fumes when softened? Or only when I ignited it with matches?

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

obg: I think you're right. The piece is sparkly, so there probably is mica. But it seems like some kind of composite. Yes, temp reached by matches is way higher than EQ can achieve, it only shows that it's not pure mica, bude some polymer infused with it. But I achieved softening of it when exposes to EQ's temps (260). The softening clearly occured in the unit as it's deformed. The question is: Does this release toxic fumes when softened? Or only when I ignited it with matches?

Yes, those questions are the key. The MSDS for the material I posted above (used btw in the fabrication of materials like the piece in question) are a useful reference point: "The material is not known to contain toxic chemicals", "none of which are known to be carcinogenic", and yet it "can burn in a fire creating a dense toxic smoke." Fumes which are created during fabrication may cause irritation to sensitive tissues or upset the respiratory system, but that's all. But if the finished material undergoes combustion a fundamental chemical change is induced, I forget the process name but it is analogous to pyrolysis in organic matter and common in chemistry, which formulates different new compounds; in this example, carbon monoxide and ammonia.

This is different than degradation (deterioration), although the appearance could be similar to the beginning of a melting (e.g., a softening). Degradation is a slow breakdown of the compounds, accelerated by stresses (such as prolonged heat, and expansion/contraction). But there is no leeching off, and in the case of a material like this example, even if it did leech there is no toxicity in the raw material anyway. It is the combustion, with melting as a consequence, that will result in the instant throwing off of just then created compounds, i.e., fumes containing gases like the above. Just as you experienced with the flame.

While the discovery of this degraded piece is unwelcome, I don't know that it is cause for health alarm. It does appear that the heat to its location is great enough to degrade the material over time, not good. But not necessarily uncommon; I've seen it happen in consumer electronics products and it is a challenge commonly dealt with by those who overclock their computers to maximum tolerances (as I do). Of course if the item is required for the device to function properly, then that is a different issue and definitely a problem. But if it is an "appendix", then it probably is no more than an annoyance, and represents no harm. At the same time, if the piece were to be found mostly decomposed or melted into a blob, that would suggest overheating. And a melting would suggest a one-time event; given that and its size, even then probably not harmful. Perhaps if a user is concerned, s/he should disassemble the unit and inspect the piece for evidence of such overheating, which could cause other problems.

 

[Jillscott_99]

Hello Everyone, I just joined up and am very happy to be here. I've been reading this thread going back approx 2 months and truly appreciate all the well thought out discussions and replies regarding the Extreme Q 4.0. There are some pretty intelligent people around here.

I've been doing research for a week now to decide on the 1st vaporizer I will purchase. My mind was pretty much made up to get the newest model Ariza Extreme Q 4.0 and then started to read about this piece of plastic(mica)that owners are having concerns about. Also, I've read in a number of places that the machine should be turned on high for approx 30 minutes before it is ever used to eliminate a oily/chemical/plastic smell. THIS CONCERNS ME!!!!!

Am I making a mistake buying this particular vaporizer? I've asked a number of retailers if this smell is something common to new vapes and they were all pretty shocked by what I was telling them.

So please tell me if you think this highly regarded vaporizer is truly great or needs improving? Im ready to make a decision. I don't want to pay for a volcano.

thanks so much,

Jill

 

[AdmiralAlpacha]

the 30 mins to burn off the smell is only when you first get it to make sure it is sanitary after shipping.

The plastic piece I'm not sure about.

Personally I love my extreme q regardless,

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

Jill,

Welcome of FC. IMHO this is the community for vaporists. And vtac and crew run a tight ship, too.

It's great that you're doing the research. To your questions . . .

I wasn't concerned with the first-time burn-off. Arizer recommends it "to burn off any residues from packaging", and this is true of some other vapes as well. I can't recall in this thread or the preceding this leading to a problem. I'm surprised that retailers you spoke with weren't aware of this, I would expect anyone who really knows the Q to know that the manual states to do this first thing. This really is a non-issue.

As far as the mounting piece that we've discovered might deteriorate over time, Seek's opinion is that even if that should occur, it doesn't affect the functionality. Mica is not a plastic, it's a very common widely used non-toxic mineral. It's temp threshold is well above the Q's heat capacity. The piece must therefore be a composite containing mica, again very common in electronics. My view is posted just above. There are thousands of Extreme users, and the customer satisfaction is high. The company has a solid reputation (although that was sullied a bit by early bugs in the Solo, but that's another story). Of course only you can decide what's right for you.

There is not really an official "4.0". That term just worked its way into the product description and stuck, it refers to the 4th generation beginning with the Tower. However, this year Arizer did make a number of tweaks, the so-called "27 improvements", but these are small refinements and don't constitute a new generation. Still, the quality is better and the warranty has been lengthened by a year. If you buy a Q, I suggest you be sure to get this '12 improved version. Also, IMO it's important that the seller be an authorized dealer, otherwise if you have a warranty issue later it could get sticky with Arizer. FC qualifies retailers and is granted discounts. Check this thread:

http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/retailer-discussion-discounts.1802

I checked with puffitup.com just a couple weeks ago and they were selling the Q to FC'ers for $175. That's very close to the prices on Amazon and eBay, and IMO worth it for dealing with an etailer which also has an actual shop, is an authorized Arizer dealer, and has a solid rep. Just fwiw.

Is the Q "truly great"? Well of course that's subjective, in the eye of the vaporist. Obviously it has sold well and continues to do so. It's definitely one of the more popular among FC'ers. That said, the philosophy here is that there is no such thing as a "perfect" vape. Each user has his/her own criteria and weighting. Personally, I think it's greatest strengths are its flexibility, ease-of-use, and quality. It's not the heaviest hitter though (although with an elbow-pack you can get close to the SSV, for example). It does bags well, although many feel that the HerbalAire is better in this respect (the HA uses a pump which is more powerful than the Q's fan). The Volcano is great, but IMO not worth 3x the price and it's bag only while the Q offers a whip. Bottom line, IMO it's an excellent product for the price. It was my daily driver until I got my Cloud. But I keep my Q for backup, for group sessions where the bag is better, or for guests who want to use a whip or glass piece (I'm a bit gun shy about others using my Cloud).

I hope some of the above is helpful. Feel free to ask any questions.

And again, welcome to FC!

 

[Jillscott_99]

AdmiralAlpacha ,thank you for your response. Oldiebutgoodie,WOW,what a great reply. There is no doubt I have come to a very good place for learning,sharing,and good company.

I am no longer concerned about the issues mentioned in my previous post. I have gone through a very significant part of this thread and it is obvious that the Extreme Q is the vaporizer I want.I've also read so many other positive reviews elsewhere with only a few poor ones.

In addition, I have been in contact with Steve,from Ariza service. My emails were answered quickly with great information. An excellent impression of this company and its service staff has been realized.

Some of the information Steve shared with me was how to recognize the newest model of the Extreme Q. He did explain that the "4.0" was primarily used by advertisers and not by Ariza. The newest model will have serial numbers that start with N19D or N20D or higher. If the number after the N is lower than 19 it is an older model. Also, the newest model comes in Midnight Black metallic finish only. The prior model was silver. Lastly, the temperature may be changed by 1degree celsius. Prior models only changed in 5 degree celcius increments.

The point about making the purchase from a authorized dealer is appreciated. I was about to order it from a retailer who normally doesn't sell them. He was going to get it from his wholesaler. It would be smarter to buy it from the authorized dealer you mentioned. $175 seems like a very good price with the guaranteed warranty.

thanks again everyone. cheers,

Jill

 

[vape4life]

I would be very surprised if Arizer is monitoring this thread.

Seriously? I would be very surprised if they WEREN'T reading this or the Solo threads, in fact i'm almost 100% certain i've had this discussion with Arizer in the past and can confirm that they do.

Where is KJ Rockwise now?

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

Seriously? I would be very surprised if they WEREN'T reading this or the Solo threads, in fact i'm almost 100% certain i've had this discussion with Arizer in the past and can confirm that they do.

Where is KJ Rockwise now?

You may be right. But Rockwise hasn't posted to this thread for 2 years, and the Solo thread for nearly a year (he isn't actually with the company though, right?). I'll re-phrase: If I had a serious concern, I wouldn't count on it being responded to here, I would contact Arizer directly.

 

[oldiebutgoodie]

AdmiralAlpacha ,thank you for your response. Oldiebutgoodie,WOW,what a great reply. There is no doubt I have come to a very good place for learning,sharing,and good company.

I am no longer concerned about the issues mentioned in my previous post . . .

I'm glad the feedback was useful. And that you received helpful info directly from Arizer, too.

Enjoy your Q! And FC - there is a wealth of information and experience here.

 

[vape4life]

You may be right. But Rockwise hasn't posted to this thread for 2 years, and the Solo thread for nearly a year (he isn't actually with the company though, right?). I'll re-phrase: If I had a serious concern, I wouldn't count on it being responded to here, I would contact Arizer directly.

I agree, they won't respond here. Not exactly sure on the connection, but i'm guessing he's not with the company, but I know he's tight with arizer.

 

[Sneech]

Hey everyone!
Another brand new member here at FC! I've also been reading this topic for a few weeks now and love all of the information the community shares with everybody! I was already 99% sold on the Extreme Q when I found this forum and read good sections of the thread after I had purchased it while waiting for it to arrive here. Having been able to use it for a few days now, I could not help but share my experience with the rest of the community like everyone has done for me in the past.

Let me start off by letting everyone know that I am not a chronic smoker. While in college i'd smoke mostly on the weekends so i'd be smoking about twice a week. This summer though I got a job in which all employees smoke multiple times a day so I found myself smoking more than I was used to and became concerned about my health, thus deciding to get the Extreme Q.

I had never tried vaporizing before so it was a brand new experience to me and my cousin who was with me when I first tried the unit out on Monday. We started by filling the cyclone bowl about half way to the black with some cherry K, and after letting it do its initial warm up at 260 for 30 min I brought it back down to 175 and warmed the bowl and mini tube for the bag for a few mins. I filled a bag at that temp using fan three and the two of us proceeded to consume the contents. The taste was amazing! Although it didn't taste like cherries per say, it had a very full taste of dank herb! After just one bag, we were both cruising pretty hard but I wanted to see how much I could get out of a half bowl so I stirred it up and filled another bag after raising the temp to 180. This bag was just like the first, full of flavor and vapor. Though, its not nearly like the amount of smoke you see coming out of your mouth after you hit a bong, there was good amounts of vapor on exhale which was good enough for my cuz and I.

My cuz and I just chilled for awhile after that cuz we were seriously high, and then after a couple hours, I decided to give the whip a try. Using the same stuff we filled the bags with, it took me a hit or so to figure out how to use the whip. The temp was turned up to 190 and I feel as though I pulled too slow the first time as no vapor came out but I did get a good bit of flavor. My cuz pulled a little harder and got a decent amount of vapor so my next time I pulled a little harder and got good results. After stirring and upping the temp after every few hits we were able to get around 6-7 decent hits from the same half cyclone that we used to fill the two bags. I was surprised and delighted by the amount of product I was able to get out of just one bowl!

Several hours later I tried an elbow pack w/ some pomegranate green D and the taste was simply to die for! I can not believe how amazingly tasty everything really is and how much I got out of what I used! I am extremely satisfied with my Extreme Q! I have the new revised edition and the black finish and blue under-light go perfect on my desk next to my blue keyboard and mouse. I would recommend this product to anybody looking into getting a vape!

On a side note, what temp and fan setting does everyone use for the potpourri? The bowl just has a tiny hole in it so the air cant really go through and at 150 for an hour w/ fan 1 I didn't really smell much wild flower scent anywhere in the room.

Also, to jillscott or anyone else purchasing a new Extreme Q, I got mine from got vape, which is an authorized dealer, for $140 brand new. Its $240 when you go to the EQ page, but there is a space to type and a price match button. If you put in 140 and click the button the price drops without any further inquiries.

 

[Tweak]

On a side note, what temp and fan setting does everyone use for the potpourri? The bowl just has a tiny hole in it so the air cant really go through and at 150 for an hour w/ fan 1 I didn't really smell much wild flower scent anywhere in the room.

Are you using just potpourri? I didn't have much luck with simply potpourri, but potpourri + some essential oils made my whole house smell great. I tried the cotton ball and oils but Fan 1 couldn't penetrate the cotton.

I did an experiment one night, starting at 200 degrees and working my way down, I could get some oil vapor all the way down to 135 degrees, so I'd say 150 would be a good starting spot.

 

[Jillscott_99]

Hey everyone!
Another brand new member here at FC! I've also been reading this topic for a few weeks now and love all of the information the community shares with everybody! I was already 99% sold on the Extreme Q when I found this forum and read good sections of the thread after I had purchased it while waiting for it to arrive here. Having been able to use it for a few days now, I could not help but share my experience with the rest of the community like everyone has done for me in the past.

Let me start off by letting everyone know that I am not a chronic smoker. While in college i'd smoke mostly on the weekends so i'd be smoking about twice a week. This summer though I got a job in which all employees smoke multiple times a day so I found myself smoking more than I was used to and became concerned about my health, thus deciding to get the Extreme Q.

I had never tried vaporizing before so it was a brand new experience to me and my cousin who was with me when I first tried the unit out on Monday. We started by filling the cyclone bowl about half way to the black with some cherry K, and after letting it do its initial warm up at 260 for 30 min I brought it back down to 175 and warmed the bowl and mini tube for the bag for a few mins. I filled a bag at that temp using fan three and the two of us proceeded to consume the contents. The taste was amazing! Although it didn't taste like cherries per say, it had a very full taste of dank herb! After just one bag, we were both cruising pretty hard but I wanted to see how much I could get out of a half bowl so I stirred it up and filled another bag after raising the temp to 180. This bag was just like the first, full of flavor and vapor. Though, its not nearly like the amount of smoke you see coming out of your mouth after you hit a bong, there was good amounts of vapor on exhale which was good enough for my cuz and I.

My cuz and I just chilled for awhile after that cuz we were seriously high, and then after a couple hours, I decided to give the whip a try. Using the same stuff we filled the bags with, it took me a hit or so to figure out how to use the whip. The temp was turned up to 190 and I feel as though I pulled too slow the first time as no vapor came out but I did get a good bit of flavor. My cuz pulled a little harder and got a decent amount of vapor so my next time I pulled a little harder and got good results. After stirring and upping the temp after every few hits we were able to get around 6-7 decent hits from the same half cyclone that we used to fill the two bags. I was surprised and delighted by the amount of product I was able to get out of just one bowl!

Several hours later I tried an elbow pack w/ some pomegranate green D and the taste was simply to die for! I can not believe how amazingly tasty everything really is and how much I got out of what I used! I am extremely satisfied with my Extreme Q! I have the new revised edition and the black finish and blue under-light go perfect on my desk next to my blue keyboard and mouse. I would recommend this product to anybody looking into getting a vape!

On a side note, what temp and fan setting does everyone use for the potpourri? The bowl just has a tiny hole in it so the air cant really go through and at 150 for an hour w/ fan 1 I didn't really smell much wild flower scent anywhere in the room.

Also, to jillscott or anyone else purchasing a new Extreme Q, I got mine from got vape, which is an authorized dealer, for $140 brand new. Its $240 when you go to the EQ page, but there is a space to type and a price match button. If you put in 140 and click the button the price drops without any further inquiries.

Dear Sneetch, thank you for this incredibly timely review and welcome to the club. Could you please answer a few questions pertaining to your info.

1) Was the $140 price a final price,including shipping (and maybe tax)?.
2) How long did it take for you to receive your Extreme Q after placing the order?
3) When you first got the unit and did the 30 minute burn at 260- Celsius I assume? and did you have the fan running as well? what setting please?

I'm glad you are enjoying your new vape. I'm going to order now.lol.

sincerely,

Jill