The Herbalizer

[lazylathe]

X 10
I find this to be very true with the Herbie AND miniVAP. The convection can extract all the goodies without making a lot of vapor clouds. Plus, I believe other vapes ABV comes out darker than the Herbie or miniVAP, due to not as precise temp control and convection.
For me, exhaling vapor means goodies are getting away so I'm 100% ok / prefer lesser vapor BUT maximum effects.

X2!
But i also exhale the @lwien way and this has improved my medicated state drastically!
Take a lung buster and hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
Exhale a small bit and then inhale fresh air and hold for 5 seconds.
Rinse and repeat till you have emptied your lungs and see how you feel!

 

[MikRoOrganix]

@Tex

I got really high from it, but the vapor production was pretty good, nothing amazing but it was nice. the other bags wren't that much vapor though, so it seemed that was the only bag worth it.

I will cotinue on with more testing. I grinded up the rest of my bud and then I have my grinder open now to dry off. My bud has bee in a bag in the freezer so maybe some moisture has affected it.

I still figured I would get a lot more vapor, but maybe I have to crank it up... I'm not too found of the flavor/high all that much at the higher temps liek 440+


@lazylightning thank you for this!


@John Lewus probably, and it's very fickle with the screens it seems, which imo is annoying. I feel like I'm spending more time cleaning my screens than I am getting medicated.

I do want effects, but I also want to enjoy the hit.

I also do the method where I hold my hits in for awhile, exhale, then inhale more air, then cycle untilI'm out of vapor. I've been doing this for awhile, before seeing it on thsi site though

Another method I like to use is the re-breathe method, which is to exhale into a bag, and then reinhakle that with more air. you need to make sure you add more air so you're not just getting high off of your co2 exhales There isn't a set amount of times to do it, just do it until you don't see vapor, taste anything, or w/e you feel like is enough. Happy vaping!

 

[stickstones]

that bag looks great! that is what you are after, so adjust your expectations.

And that weed is super wet/sticky. That's your biggest problem. You need to dry that shit out real good before vaping it. You get this right and most of your problems are over.

 

[Tex]

And that weed is super wet/sticky. That's your biggest problem. You need to dry that shit out real good before vaping it. You get this right and most of your problems are over.

I agree completely! That moist bud is the issue. Dry it out and you'll see huge improvements. I still dont know what others are talking about as far as a lot of vapor. I get such huge clouds all the time, its so strange to hear about anything else. Maybe I just got lucky and received a great unit.

 

[Been Vapin]

I have a new technique to go about changing the Herbalizer bags. Much easier than v1.0.

Just need to take some photos. Maybe tommarow.

 

[Chill Dude]

I get monster clouds all the time with Herbie! Keep your screens clean crank up the temperature and you'll be in cloud heaven. And yes, a little weed will stick to the top screen(especially when moist). After two hits, I open the bowl, stir and tap the weed stuck to the top screen back into the bowl. At that point the weed is dry enough to finish your session with minimal amount of herb sticking to the top screen. It's really not a big deal... No vape is perfect, but for me, Herbie is pretty fucking close!!!

If I use the fan assist all the time does that make me a lazy stoner? No really, I love the fan assist and use it every hit. It's kind of like having a vapor butler that feeds you vapor. A 15 second draw with fan assist at 425+ will fog up a small room!!

Oh yeah, I also wanted to mention that I never use water filtration of any kind with The Herbalizer. I only use the whip and I've found the vapor to be so smooth that I can take huge lung busting hits with very little if any harshness or irritation. No water needed here! YMMV....

 

[John Lewus]

@Tex


@John Lewus probably, and it's very fickle with the screens it seems, which imo is annoying. I feel like I'm spending more time cleaning my screens than I am getting medicated.

I do want effects, but I also want to enjoy the hit.

Like others posted I think your herb is too moist. I clean my screens once a month with iso and even then they are not visibly clogged. After each bowl I dump and use the herbie brush to get the particulate out of the bowl. I never go two sessions back to back and not brush out the bowl. That makes a big difference I think.

My herb is pretty dry to begin with and I use a SCS grinder which fluffs it up vs the fine grind. That has worked pretty great for me.

 

[Chill Dude]

I clean my screens once a month with iso and even then they are not visibly clogged. After each bowl I dump and use the herbie brush to get the particulate out of the bowl.

Good point! The Herbie screens are so fine that it's hard to tell if they're clogged or not with the naked eye. Early on, when I first got the Herbalizer and after a couple weeks of use, I noticed a significant decrease in vapor output. A lot of people on this thread said to clean the screens, but I ignored them because it didn't look like they were dirty or clogged to me. The problem persisted and I finally got over my stubbornness and cleaned the screens with an ISO soak and a toothbrush scrub. When I fired up Herbie, I was once again blowing huge vapor clouds!! Moral of the story...clean your fucking screens even if they don't look dirty or clogged!!

 

[Vicki]

If I use the fan assist all the time does that make me a lazy stoner? No really, I love the fan assist and use it every hit.

I use fan assist every time too! It's just easier for me, especially when I am sick.

 

[Vap2.0user]

stickstones
Any time your fan turns off before the bag is full you need to clean your screens. Swap the upper and bottom screens for a quick clean during your next session, but eventually this won't work and you will need to do a legit ISO clean.

On your comment here can you provide some more detail around this about the unit turning off before a bag fill means the screens are clogged. That's the first I recall hearing this on here and wondered if that's everyone's experience and most especially does the Herbalizer folks agree with this.

I'd like to agree with all the responses about clean screens being paramount. After I was having the same buyers remorse I took stickstones advice and cleaned my screens and my vapor quality straightened out right away. My process is to do a ISO soak while leaving the screens in the bowl and at the end of the soak I use an old toothbrush to give them good scrub. I felt the same buyers remorse some have reported here but once I got the screens taken care of my experience greatly improved to the point I just gave my Vapolution away (guess I need a new screen name now!).

@Tex
What kind of glass and technique are you using to get so many hits?

Has anyone tested different screen types from coarsest to finest? I tried a coarser screen I bought from a local head shop but I can't say that I noticed any difference but you would think you would see a difference from a finer screen. It would be nice if @Engineer would weigh in since I imagine the crew probably tried all types of screens before they settled on the ones we are using.

A technique I have tried that seems to work well in conserving herb and keeping the bowl nice and cool is to take a hit with the whip and right before I have filled my lungs and/or get to the point before coughing I pull the bowl off and keep pulling. You continue to get vapor and the airflow is great this way. In addition it seems the herb doesn't stick so bad to the top screen. Hope this helps.

 

[John Lewus]

A technique I have tried that seems to work well in conserving herb and keeping the bowl nice and cool is to take a hit with the whip and right before I have filled my lungs and/or get to the point before coughing I pull the bowl off and keep pulling. You continue to get vapor and the airflow is great this way. In addition it seems the herb doesn't stick so bad to the top screen. Hope this helps.

I do this a well. It works great. For me I got annoyed at the puffs of vapor that would come out every so often if I left my bowl on there so I started removing my bowl between hits. It reduces the amount of heat that builds up on the metal and thus reduces the amount of conduction that occurs. I do the exact same thing where my last bit of draw through the whip is as I am pulling off the bowl. Works great and no silly puffs of vapor being wasted.

 

[Tex]

@Vap2.0user - I'm using a bong my buddy bought me from DH Gate. Not a very expensive piece, but it's pretty nice and perfect for my needs. As far as my technique, I'm doing a pretty fine grind with very well dried bud. I start at 390 and we take 8-10 hits (depending on how many people I'm sharing with), and I tap/shake the bowl in between each hit. It usually takes a few hits to get the bud dry and really produce some vapor. Then I bump the temp up to around 410 and take 6-8 hits, and we usually get several more hits when we bump it up to 425/430 and max. I tap/shake the bowl very often, never going more than 2 hits without doing it.

 

[Fine Grind]

Any word on the new bags yet? Herbalizer website has been out of stock on bags for months & all 4 of my valves developed a big crack in the center from use pretty early on, they're becoming increasingly un-useable. Does anyone know about the status of the new valve design? Right now I'd take any generation of bag if they had any available, kinda frustrating they've been out of stock on an essential and consumable component for months now. I do still love this thing though for the record The bags hooked up to scientific glass is my favorite method, but the valves on my bags have had just about every bit of life carefully and slowly milked from all of them, depression-era style, and I've been stuck refreshing the Herbalizer shop page for months with no luck. I'm of the opinion that the valve design needs upgrading anyway, I hope that's still being worked on & would love to hear an update. Most importantly, I'd like to see that "Out Of Stock" status go away so I can get back to using bags again!

As far as new valves go, here are all the improvements I can think of right now that would make my day:

*Better retention of vapor - via better internal valve seal and better seal to the bowl

*Hands-Free operation without losing vapor - at this point my bags lose some amount of vapor during filling no matter what, but it can be improved by holding them onto the bowl manually, and this can get annoying. This has always been an issue for me, even when the bags were almost brand new. And not to be redundant, but the solution to this problem could likely be achieved via a better seal to the bowl when attached.

*More durability of valves - I am very gentle with these things, but they all started developing small tears after just a few uses, and it would just progress no matter how careful I was.

*Easier bag-change, if possible. The orange tape thing works, but I wonder if there could be something that would be a bit easier to work with that would also have a higher guarantee of getting a perfect seal for every bag change.


Also a tip on bag changes: in order to make sure you've made an adequate seal using the bit of orange tape etc, I give the assembled & empty bag a good hard suck, and if it's like you're hitting a brick wall, you know you've done the job right Whereas if the seal is not adeuqate, you can just keep pulling endlessly even after the bag is completely empty. I have filled bags where I neglected to do this test, and it leaked even more vapor than usual. But alas, even with a brand-new stock herbie bag, my original issues persist after just a short time.

Also I am honored that Herbalizer used my quote in their recent mailing! Mad love for all you guys here and at Herbalizer Let's just get those bags going dammit For science!

And by dammit I mean please and thank you


EDIT:
I think it would also be pretty sweet if there were an option to purchase just the bags instead of the bag & valve system, or even just the valves too! The bags get used up quicker than the valves & although you can get by with turkey bags at the grocery store, ime they are way harder to attatch to the valve without leaks because the herbalizer bags are custom formed for the valve, and have a much narrower opening. Less excess bag to have to try & wrangle around the tape - it's been taking me several attempts to get a good seal with my turkey bags. Whereas I look over at the stock herbie bags, and it looks soooo much easier to attach. I am sure there is a way for Herbalizer to still make money here...but having to spend $35 for 4 bags & valves every single time is a little much for my blood - I'd much rather just buy the replacement for the part that's broken rather than getting and also spending more than I need.

 

[lazylightning]

@Fine Grind's post about Herbie bags inspired me to take a few photos of my setup. I really enjoy using Herbie bags with scientific glass too but I've similar troubles with the valves on the Herbie bags leaking and having to hold the bag onto the bowl while it fills.

This felt like a lot of effort to repeat over and over. I also really wanted a good way to use my HT with Herbie. I read about other user's experiments creating a GonG connection for the Herbie bowl and tried a few of my own. I finally found something that worked really well.

I took some SSV whip tubing and cut a 1/4" slice of it off. I ran the slice of tubing under hot water and stretched and forced it over the Herbie bowl.

Then I slid a 18mm to 14mm reducer over the top of the bowl, using the SSV whip slice as a gasket for a tight seal. I just twist the adapter tightly onto the bowl.

Now I have a 18mm male connector attached to the top of both my Herbie bowls and can use GonG connectors for everything. I have an 18mm female whip adapter that fits over the Herbie bowl so I can use it with whip too.

For bags, I use an 18mm female to 14mm female adapter.

Then I take a 14mm whip adapter...

...and pop it right up into the valve of the Herbie bag.

I've had no leaking at all with this method during filling. The combined height of the 3 adapters also lifts the bag so it can rest on the opened top of Herbie while it fills.

I never need to mess with the bag as it fills. I just leave the whip adapter in the Herbie bag and pop it into any of my glass I want. I don't have to hold anything and can walk around with the bag firmly attached to my water piece with no vapor leakage.

Next step is figuring out a way to do away with valves altogether and just seal turkey bags to the 14mm whip adapter.

 

[mixchu69]

X2!
But i also exhale the @lwien way and this has improved my medicated state drastically!
Take a lung buster and hold for 5 to 10 seconds.
Exhale a small bit and then inhale fresh air and hold for 5 seconds.
Rinse and repeat till you have emptied your lungs and see how you feel!

Wow. Never thought of that. What is difference if I try to hold all the vapor for 10 seconds) without exhaling a little at a time and increasing oxygen consumption)? I will definitely try that method

 

[Skeena]

@lazylightning Why are you using the bowl that way?

 

[lazylightning]

@lazylightning Why are you using the bowl that way?

You mean without the silicone CoolGrip? I find that it picks up a lot of sticky herb bits and is hard to keep clean. I work on a 2,000 degree torch all day so am not sensitive to the amount of heat retained by the bowl without the silicone CoolGrip.

 

[Skeena]

No I was thinking about how the bowl looks strange, like it is 2 top pieces. And I know what you mean about the heat, I am a baker and the heat from the bowl seems like nothing when you have been grabbing stuff like baguettes from a burning hot oven.


edit: I see that this is how it looks when you remove the silicon, I have not done this yet, I just didnt expect the bottom of the bowl to be flush with the surface like that.

 

[RelaxedNow]

A few pages back in this thread, somebody (sorry, not sure who) recommended SSV tubing for use as a whip on the Herbalizer, stating that the larger diameter will draw better and produce more vapor. Well, I ordered the tubing, and received it yesterday (actually today, as I walked out to the mailbox at 1:30 this AM). After trying it, I'm happy to report that it results in a HUGE increase in vapor. Wow!

And I'm still loving my Herbalizer.

 

[MinnBobber]

A few pages back in this thread, somebody (sorry, not sure who) recommended SSV tubing for use as a whip on the Herbalizer, stating that the larger diameter will draw better and produce more vapor. Well, I ordered the tubing, and received it yesterday (actually today, as I walked out to the mailbox at 1:30 this AM). After trying it, I'm happy to report that it results in a HUGE increase in vapor. Wow!

And I'm still loving my Herbalizer.

..............................................................................
So was that SSv tubing just the clear vinyl whip tubing, 3/8" ID for like $6?
vinyl---any taste to it as I'm very sensitive to tubes that have a taste?
Thanks

 

[RelaxedNow]

..............................................................................
So was that SSv tubing just the clear vinyl whip tubing, 3/8" ID for like $6?
vinyl---any taste to it as I'm very sensitive to tubes that have a taste?
Thanks

Yes, that's it. I hadn't noticed, so I've just now done a taste test. I think I may have detected a slight difference in taste between the two tubes, but not very significant...... I can't even tell you which flavor I like better. Of course, it wasn't a blind test, so take it for what it's worth. But, for $6, I figured it wasn't a big deal to try it, and my initial impressions are good. I'm convinced that the increased airflow is creating improved convection, though I have to again stress that this is just my $.02.

 

[rogerrabbit]

Hello all,

So I have been using my unit for about a week and so far starting to love it more. Sadly one of my bags has a hole in it, but I'm starting to find a new love for glass.

I was reading suggestions and people were saying to grind up the bud fine, but I feel that makes the bud get stuck to the screen more.

I made a post about Grinders here http://fuckcombustion.com/threads/herb-grinders.15/page-207#post-710370 to which I am curious about the thoughts of people in here about Grinders. SCS grinders seem to be the preferred, but a 2pc or a 3pc?

Speaking of that, I am pissed off that Herbalizer is having a sale now http://www.herbalizer.com/shop/holiday-special/the-herbie-bundle.html wher you get a free 3 pc SCS, get 80$ off, and then free overnight shipping. I had paid full price almost 2 weeks ago, and it took a week to get me, plus I'm looking to get a new grinder....

Pretty upset by this, but I doubt that they would honor it for me, but maybe they would send me a free grinder .

Oh wells we can only hope...

Also @RelaxedNow do you have a link to that tubing? I found 3' of it for 20$ on ebay...


Thanks all!

 

[Tex]

The bags get used up quicker than the valves & although you can get by with turkey bags at the grocery store, ime they are way harder to attatch to the valve without leaks because the herbalizer bags are custom formed for the valve, and have a much narrower opening. Less excess bag to have to try & wrangle around the tape - it's been taking me several attempts to get a good seal with my turkey bags.

@Fine Grind

I'm using the turkey bags and have no issues with them. I used to use the method posted by a member here early on in this thread, but I too found that there was simply too much material to get a good seal. So I've developed my own method for converting the turkey bags and I'm having very good luck with it so far. I don't use bags as often as I used to (I prefer glass), but these work very well and hold a lot of vapor. The only leaks I have are from the valve to bowl connection. If I hold the valve on the bowl, no leaks. I know it's a PITA to hold the valve the whole time, but it's what we are stuck with for now. I hope to see some improvements in this area soon.

If there is any interest in how I make my bags, I'd be glad to share.

- Tex

 

[RelaxedNow]

Also @RelaxedNow do you have a link to that tubing? I found 3' of it for 20$ on ebay...

Thanks all!

Hmmm, posting links appears to be forbidden.

I googled "Silver Surfer vaporizer", then looked on one of the retail sites for the tubing under their heading "vaporizer parts". I'm not making a recommendation (that's forbidden too), but since you asked, the site had something to do with Vapor and Nation.

Now that I'm a believer in larger diameter tubing, I need to invest in a connector and a mouthpiece. Hopefully that won't restrict the flow too much all over again!

 

[Fine Grind]

@Tex

Thanks for sharing, I'd love to hear how you make your bags! I've been debating trying the Volcano valves as mentioned earlier in the thread but I'd prefer to get by with the Herbalizer valves & turkey bags if I can, would love to hear any tips you have.

And @lazylightning

Thanks a ton for sharing your adapter setup, that looks super versatile! I tried plugging the whip into the balloon to minimize leaks as others mentioned & it worked, but I didn't like the idea of all the whip condensation over the *many* bowls I run through this thing. But it looks like you have that issue solved with your glass adapter setup, totally going to try that myself when I get back in town. Thanks for the pics as well

Between the two of you guys I might even have my problems solved, at least with the bag-to-valve connection and the valve-to-bowl/adapter connection. Might never have thought of this stuff myself, this forum rules!