The Herbalizer

Whoa. Josh, sorry it didn't work out with the rest of the Herbalizer team, but I'm glad you're here! I assume you'll be moving on to other ventures?

Hopefully Herbalizer stays in business for a while so us early adopters can continue having support available for our purchase. Fortunately, my unit is still working great.

So for those of you that have a leaky valve, I'll bet you are on the 400F+ team, and for those of you who like the more gentle effects of lower temps.. your bag valves are probably performing great. Mystery removed?

Not exactly. Once I started noticing an issue with the first bag leaking, I tried a new one, and it had the same issue right out of the box. My issue is that once you remove the bag from the bowl, the valve won't seal completely, allowing wisps of vapor to slowly leak out when you're not inhaling. There is also the issue of the bag not sitting super securely on the bowl when filling. Again, this is out of the box IME. How much use at 400+ would you say it takes for the silicone to start re-molding? Is it instant?

Shame to hear about the aromatherapy function. I agree that it doesn't work as well as I thought it would. You do have to be right next to the unit to smell the oils. Even after leaving the fan on for a while, the scent isn't that strong and doesn't linger in the room for long. Could have been an awesome feature, but I'd rather use a different, less noisy method for essential oils. Oh well.

Despite the flaws, this is the best performing vaporizer I've ever used. Thank you Josh!
 

biohacker

H.R.E.A.M
@Engineer: thank you so much for taking the time to answer all my questions! I will step aside and allow others to keep firing away to be fair, but i'm so stoked that you are here because my Herbie knowledge just skyrocketed! I really appreciate your professionalism and courtesay to offer this information to our community. I've never been hit by a vape and company this hard since vapexhale introduced the Cloud and then EVO, and you have my support for life, for whatever you bring to the table!

For the immediate future, probably. Long term, in my opinion, unlikely. If you have a potential warranty issue, get it fixed now. The future is not clear.

This kinda concerns me as I just paid $900 for what potentially could be no warranty down the road. In your experience and opinion, how durable can we really expect the Herbie to be?

Thank you so much for the aromatherapy explanation! As someone that has removed the lid, I can't even use that function anymore. However, should I get a 2nd bowl - could I place the 2-4 drops of oil on the pad and diffuse it in freestyle mode at whatever temp I wanted without any negative effect to the heater? Bad idea?
 

Engineer

Well-Known Member
Not exactly. Once I started noticing an issue with the first bag leaking, I tried a new one, and it had the same issue right out of the box. My issue is that once you remove the bag from the bowl, the valve won't seal completely, allowing wisps of vapor to slowly leak out when you're not inhaling. There is also the issue of the bag not sitting super securely on the bowl when filling. Again, this is out of the box IME. How much use at 400+ would you say it takes for the silicone to start re-molding? Is it instant?
You are right, and there is a bit more to that story. The bags being sold now (or really soon) should fit securely on the bowl - a change was made. They should not leak out of the box, if they do then its a warranty issue.

This kinda concerns me as I just paid $900 for what potentially could be no warranty down the road. In your experience and opinion, how durable can we really expect the Herbie to be?
Herbie is freakin' durable. Its components are extremely high quality and it is designed to last from the inside out. How long the entire system will last is unknown because it depends so much on how YOU use it. If you wish to get the longest possible life out of it, let it cool down until the cooling fan turns off automatically. It is a bit annoying, but excessive heat is a slow killer of electronics. You shouldn't have to though, its just a good idea (with any electronics).

Thank you so much for the aromatherapy explanation! As someone that has removed the lid, I can't even use that function anymore. However, should I get a 2nd bowl - could I place the 2-4 drops of oil on the pad and diffuse it in freestyle mode at whatever temp I wanted without any negative effect to the heater? Bad idea?
Great idea actually! Use the lowest temp settings though, at high temperature the gentle molecules of essential oils are converted and destroyed.
OR... put the essential oils into the bowl on an aromapad, and with the unit turned off press the fan button. It will run for four minutes and fill a room fairly quickly.
 
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pakalolo

Toolbag v1.1 (candidate)
Staff member
Why? And compared to what specifically is glass superior?

Who knows why people feel that way? I don't myself, but since you've been reading FC for so long then surely you know that regardless of the reason, there's a large crowd that demands glass. From a marketing point of view, whether they are mistaken about the suitability of other materials is not the point.
 

Hippie Dickie

The Herbal Cube
Manufacturer
well, from my reading of fc, the large crowd demanding glass are talking about attaching the vape to bongs or other watertools (watertoys?) which i personally don't get ... just to be clear that's not what i was asking about, but rather only glass for the air path for bud and vapor.
 

pakalolo

Toolbag v1.1 (candidate)
Staff member
well, from my reading of fc, the large crowd demanding glass are talking about attaching the vape to bongs or other watertools (watertoys?) which i personally don't get ... just to be clear that's not what i was asking about, but rather only glass for the air path for bud and vapor.

While it's true that many of them do want to attach to water tools, the most common call I see is for an all-glass air/vapour path, the perception being that glass is the only completely inert material. This thread isn't really the place to discuss this.
 
pakalolo,

green2brown

Well-Known Member
I know a number of people who have passed on the Herbalizer solely because they want an all-glass air path. They claim it's a top priority for them, especially at that price point. It's an age-old myth apparently that glass is best. Who knows why. Maybe it's because combusting through glass is noticeably better IMO than combusting through other materials like a stainless steel pipe, and people have carried that notion with them when they switch to vaping even though vaporization utilizes much lower temperatures? Or maybe a lot of people have only tried some cheap, knockoff vapes with flavor issues? Who knows. But the masses do seem to prefer all-glass still. I personally prefer avoiding glass vaporizers for durability reasons.
 
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Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
The reason I prefer to use a bubbler with my Herbie is because of MY lungs. It really does help make the hits as smooth as they can possibly be, and I need all the help I can get in that department. :nod:

On a side note, I picked up 20 feet of tubing from 7th floor, and Matt was really great! :clap:
 

kimura

Well-Known Member
who needs all-glass if there are better materials available. especially if they are both inert and vaporphobic. condensed vapor seems to like to deposit itself onto glass. maybe other materials repel it . don't cater to the outdated assumptions of the past, rather, continue to educate consumers by demonstrating the value of progress. yes, I know, easy for me to say :)

I like the way glass feels in my mouth as opposed to plastic, but that really only covers the mouthpiece, not necessarily the vapor path
 

Mrmrmrmr

Well-Known Member
Is this vaporizer close to 100% convection? It operates differently from all my other vapes in that it doesn't irritate my lungs with heat, but I still cannot milk glass pieces like my Cloud, e-nano, or solo.

I experienced Girl Scout Cookies at 229c and that certainly was tasty!
It must be very close bio,I've noticed this too I can never really milk glass like with the enano but the medicated effect is tenfold!
 

Been Vapin

Fringe Class
@Engineer
I want to officially welcome you to the thread. I am a huge fan and supporter of your invention. Sorry to hear you have parted ways with the company. Maybe it was for the best? You know what they say, one door closes and another door opens.

Questions
1. Is there temperature variances among units? I see swear my friends units are cooler. My ABV is always darker.
2. What can you tell us about the air intake? I know @Vapodudule had raised some concerns regarding this. Perhaps he could chime in.
3. Do you currently use a Herbalizer?
4. My friends unit has some purple looking stuff in the bulb airpath area. What is this?
5. Any tips on using Herbie?
6. What's your Herbalizer ritual?
7. What features would you like to see in future vaporizers?
8. I have noticed "plastic dust" where the lid meets the unit body. It appears to be from opening and closing the lid. Is this normal?
9. What can you tell us about using surge protectors with Herbie? Recommended or no?
10. Is your @herbalizer email still valid? I would like to email you. You cannot receive PMs yet.
11. How does your vaping area look these days? Has it evolved from this?

Thanks and good evening
EaLZCSt.jpg
 

Mulehead

Well-Known Member
The reason I prefer to use a bubbler with my Herbie is because of MY lungs. It really does help make the hits as smooth as they can possibly be, and I need all the help I can get in that department. :nod:

On a side note, I picked up 20 feet of tubing from 7th floor, and Matt was really great! :clap:

What's your opinion on the bigger tubing Vicki?
Do you attach it directly to your herbie bowl?
Don't know if you've used it long enough but, does it get sticky?
Any other advantages over the stock whip?
I've been thinking about switching myself, and these are my concerns.
 

Scrimshaw

Vaped Crusader
Welcome Josh @Engineer! Thanks for making such a marvelous machine and stopping by here to generously share your ideas with us.

I am curious about any herbie-related intellectual property. Are there any patents granted/pending on the software, bulb or microcontroller? What are the implications for future products? I'm very excited by this technology and hope to see it take many forms in the future! :science:
 

biohacker

H.R.E.A.M
What's your opinion on the bigger tubing Vicki?
Do you attach it directly to your herbie bowl?
Don't know if you've used it long enough but, does it get sticky?
Any other advantages over the stock whip?
I've been thinking about switching myself, and these are my concerns.

I'm not Vicki but can answer your questions from my personal experience with the Herbie and 7th floor tubing.

Yes, the tubing gets attached directly to the bowl, eliminating the need for the coupling...very nice, no more popping out if not pushed in hard enough (giggity!).

The inside of the tubing does collect ABV and takes on the smell/taste until you do an ISO soak/cleaning. I STILL can't get the ABV out of mine though, so am not a fan of this tubing anymore.

Advantages over stock.....bigger diameter...more vapour and flow...eliminates coupling as stated..can use different mouthpieces....doesn't kink as quick.

I find the vapour harsher with the 7th floor tubing, so I went back to stock, but still getting a weird taste for some reason.

I am curious about any herbie-related intellectual property. Are there any patents granted/pending on the software, bulb or microcontroller? What are the implications for future products? I'm very excited by this technology and hope to see it take many forms in the future! :science:

This! ^^^^^ I've been curious how this could affect your future project @Engineer.
 
biohacker,
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Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
What's your opinion on the bigger tubing Vicki?
Do you attach it directly to your herbie bowl?
Don't know if you've used it long enough but, does it get sticky?
Any other advantages over the stock whip?
I've been thinking about switching myself, and these are my concerns.

I just ordered it, and it is still in transit to me. I'm hoping it will be here by Saturday so I can give it a try. :)

I'm not Vicki but can answer your questions from my personal experience with the Herbie and 7th floor tubing.

Yes, the tubing gets attached directly to the bowl, eliminating the need for the coupling...very nice, no more popping out if not pushed in hard enough (giggity!).

The inside of the tubing does collect ABV and takes on the smell/taste until you do an ISO soak/cleaning. I STILL can't get the ABV out of mine though, so am not a fan of this tubing anymore.

Advantages over stock.....bigger diameter...more vapour and flow...eliminates coupling as stated..can use different mouthpieces....doesn't kink as quick.

I find the vapour harsher with the 7th floor tubing, so I went back to stock, but still getting a weird taste for some reason.

@biohacker thank you for helping him out! Keep in mind I haven't used it yet, so I have no opinions yet. ;)
 

biohacker

H.R.E.A.M
Just had a sesh with the stock tubing, and was coughing at 210c using high quality girl scout cookies (yum). I detected that same tangy taste after using it for a bit so I just did another ISO soak to see if it takes it out again. I much prefer using the HT with silicon adapter...and I never cough unless I use turbo mode with the fan assist. HT>Bags>Whip IMHO.

So I decided to do a super fine grind in my electric coffee grinder and the clouds and effects are much more pronounced. I can also get the ABV much darker! This is the way to go for me forsure, with the only negative being a bit more tedius with the brush cleaning the bowl. Getting a small 2 piece grinder today so hoping that will be even better.

Still can't believe how awesome this vaporizer is! I feel like I can hold in the vapour forever it's so smooth, and the flavour is just incredible!
 

Engineer

Well-Known Member
I'd like to know more about the epoxy dots. Call me a purist.
There is nothing to worry about with the epoxy dots. They are fully cured with zero possibility of outgassing. One function of the epoxy is to hold the temp sensor in its critical position.

Questions
1. Is there temperature variances among units? I see swear my friends units are cooler. My ABV is always darker.
Ahhhh... a great question about unit to unit variability. Unfortunately the answer is yes, even with calibration. Earlier units had more variation because the assembly process was still getting figured out. Early units' calibration was set for +/-20F, currently they are allowed to be +/-10F. Calibration data was reviewed months after first deliveries and it was noted that a few got out the door that shouldn't have because they were running too cool - where they went nobody knows since SN tracking wasn't implemented yet. If you are concerned that your Herbie is running too cool, maybe you're right. And if so you have a few options. You can either first check it our yourself by following the instructions below, ask Herbalizer to review calibration data for your SN, or send it in for recalibration (as an early adopter they would probably do this for free).
The first is a home checkout by following this method:
1. Grind up your weed medium-fine and loosely fill the bowl 1/2 full
2. Make sure your screens are clean
3. Set the temp to 445F (229C)
4. Run it freestyle until the timer automatically stops after 2min
5. Shake the bowl
6. Run it freestyle again
4. Inspect the ABV on a white sheet of paper. It should be extremely dark brown, with almost no green at all; if its still green then its running a bit low
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Temperature control has two variables: precision and accuracy, and they are not the same. This visual will help you understand the difference. So from now on, when a manufacturer states "+/- xF", ask them if they mean accuracy or precision or both? And then there is temperature stability during use, which is holy grail of medical vaporization with flower - is the accuracy and precision maintained under use conditions? In other words, is the temperature accurate and precise while a human is sucking that whip or while filling a balloon => Flow Rate variability matters. It is incredibly difficult to maintain temperature under unpredictable and variable flow conditions that are as dramatic as the difference in lung size between Michael Phelps (@SLIM) and Tweety Bird. I could give a really good lecture on this subject, perhaps for a new thread [but not yet, lets clear out some more Herbie questions first].

2. What can you tell us about the air intake? I know @Vapodudule had raised some concerns regarding this. Perhaps he could chime in.
There isn't anything to worry about there. Air passes through a fan, then some silicone, then across some super-duper NASA approved plastic (0.001% outgassing), and then into the Thermal Reaction Chamber (TRC) that was described in response #1 here.
3. Do you currently use a Herbalizer?
Duh. :cool:
4. My friends unit has some purple looking stuff in the bulb airpath area. What is this?
I dunno, not from Herbie. Purple Haze?
5. Any tips on using Herbie?
6. What's your Herbalizer ritual?
7. What features would you like to see in future vaporizers?
Happy to answer specific questions for now, we can get into some open-ended dialogue later about advanced usages and such.
8. I have noticed "plastic dust" where the lid meets the unit body. It appears to be from opening and closing the lid. Is this normal?
I can't think of anything, send me a pic (PM it, sounds like an anomaly).
9. What can you tell us about using surge protectors with Herbie? Recommended or no?
Always a good idea with any electronics. Especially if you live in a building with an older power distribution system.
10. Is your @Herbalizer email still valid? I would like to email you. You cannot receive PMs yet.
Nope, that email address is no longer active. PMs are working from my end.
11. How does your vaping area look these days? Has it evolved from this?
Thanks for reminding me of what my home workbench looked like in 2012! Ha! And nice try :tup:

Welcome Josh @Engineer! Thanks for making such a marvelous machine and stopping by here to generously share your ideas with us.

I am curious about any herbie-related intellectual property. Are there any patents granted/pending on the software, bulb or microcontroller? What are the implications for future products? I'm very excited by this technology and hope to see it take many forms in the future! :science:
You are welcome sir! There are two relevant patents pending that you can look up on Google Patents by searching - mind you, the diagrams are mostly outdated. If there is one person who knows how to design around them.. he's looking at me in the mirror. It would be high risk for anyone else though.
 
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