Discontinued The NEO by Prrl Labs

pretty-chill

Well-Known Member
I ordered my NEO a few days ago, excited to receive it! Also got a miwak pipe to use with it but the reports on the cricket bowl have me interested in picking one of those up too. Reading through some of the comments, it seems like @Black_Prrl thinks one of the reasons the cricket bowl works so well is because of the thermal insulation properties of the wood bowl and this got me thinking about materials that could be used to make a very heat-insulating bowl/pipe. Turns out, nothing besides aerogel or fibreglass is going to beat wood, and those are obviously not good candidates for use with the NEO. I figured different wood species would have different thermal conductivity values so I did some research there and figured out that the lower the specific gravity of the wood, the lower the thermal conductivity and thus in theory the better the thermal insulation. Balsa wood came up as one of the lowest specific gravity woods I could find, and I was shocked at its thermal conductivity values! Balsa wood has a thermal conductivity as low as 0.0381 W·m−1·K−1 which is getting pretty close to one of the best thermal insulators, aerogel, which has a thermal conductivity of 0.02 W·m−1·K−1. To put it into context, most wood species have a thermal conductivity above 0.1 W·m−1·K−1, oak for example has a thermal conductivity of 0.197 W·m−1·K−1.

Long story short, if lower thermal conductivity and better thermal insulation are indeed correlated with better performance with the NEO, then a bowl and/or pipe made out of Balsa could be very good. Obviously, a lot of this is highly generalized because wood grain, age of wood, moisture content, country of origin etc. will affect the thermal conductivity values, however, it could be a worthy experiment. I'm sure there are some other very light/low specific gravity woods out there that would make good candidates too.
 

Black_Prrl

Manufacturer of the Neo and Terp Surfer
Manufacturer
I ordered my NEO a few days ago, excited to receive it! Also got a miwak pipe to use with it but the reports on the cricket bowl have me interested in picking one of those up too. Reading through some of the comments, it seems like @Black_Prrl thinks one of the reasons the cricket bowl works so well is because of the thermal insulation properties of the wood bowl and this got me thinking about materials that could be used to make a very heat-insulating bowl/pipe. Turns out, nothing besides aerogel or fibreglass is going to beat wood, and those are obviously not good candidates for use with the NEO. I figured different wood species would have different thermal conductivity values so I did some research there and figured out that the lower the specific gravity of the wood, the lower the thermal conductivity and thus in theory the better the thermal insulation. Balsa wood came up as one of the lowest specific gravity woods I could find, and I was shocked at its thermal conductivity values! Balsa wood has a thermal conductivity as low as 0.0381 W·m−1·K−1 which is getting pretty close to one of the best thermal insulators, aerogel, which has a thermal conductivity of 0.02 W·m−1·K−1. To put it into context, most wood species have a thermal conductivity above 0.1 W·m−1·K−1, oak for example has a thermal conductivity of 0.197 W·m−1·K−1.

Long story short, if lower thermal conductivity and better thermal insulation are indeed correlated with better performance with the NEO, then a bowl and/or pipe made out of Balsa could be very good. Obviously, a lot of this is highly generalized because wood grain, age of wood, moisture content, country of origin etc. will affect the thermal conductivity values, however, it could be a worthy experiment. I'm sure there are some other very light/low specific gravity woods out there that would make good candidates too.

Yes, indeed!! Though we haven't used balsa due to poor structural, durability, and absorptive properties, we have played with several different species of wood. Perhaps I'll make a pipe from some balsa and try it out! You are totally correct that grain direction, density, oil content, and several other factors can affect the efficiency and taste of the vapor.

That said, the differences between bowl/pipe materials is further down on the list of factors effecting efficiency with the Neo. And, all it takes to account for the material difference is a bit more priming of the bowl. Seal, airflow, and the properties of the herb itself are much more dominant. As is the construction of the bowl itself. A double-walled glass is quite efficient while a solid metal bowl will be much less efficient. Yet, a metal bowl will work just fine with a bit more priming. (Note: I really don't like the taste of having metal anywhere in my vapor pathway).

---------

To change subjects, we sponsored a giveaway with the Vaporizer Wizard (thanks @BuzzDanklin) on Reddit a couple of weeks ago. The question asked of folks was "Of all the devices you have combusted with in the past, which would you like to vaporize out of now?" We received a lot of fun responses.

Of course, a few people brought up using a beer or soda can. We laughed. Then, we thought, "Hmmm... Will it Neo?" So, we tried it.

For your Friday evening viewing pleasure, you can see the video on r/stonerengineering. Enjoy!

-Mark

P.S...and, yes, we are aware of the many dangers of smoking out of an aluminum can. While those risks are orders of magnitude lower at the temperatures generated by the Neo, there was likely some BPA off-gassing from the lining of the can. It was two pulls... I probably get more daily BPA compounds from my milk jugs.
 

JCat

Well-Known Member
Accessory Maker
What I would love to see is a glass pipe with a Purr Glass Bowl built-in. I'm partial to glass myself, and would love a small/medium sized pipe with a perfect bowl for it; would beat using a 14mm bowl w/ a j-hook for portability and just overall form-factor/experience.
 

pushpaw

Well-Known Member
Placed an order yesterday. I had already been on the fence and had somehow missed that Prrl Labs is local to me, so that made it a no-brainer. I get to (temporarily) satisfy my VAS and support a local business at the same time, it's a win-win for sure. I'm excited to try it out and see how it falls into my regular rotation. Currently my most used devices are a Flip Brick and a Splinter v2, with a couple other bricks (OG and Jr) and an omnivap here and there.

I'm looking forward to trying the Neo with a couple nice bubblers that I've had for ages but cleaned up and put away since my wife and I haven't smoked for years now.
 

Black_Prrl

Manufacturer of the Neo and Terp Surfer
Manufacturer
Plus with the short vapor path it would be straight flavor to the face!!

😅

If you REALLY want the shortest vapor path, try using the Purr bowl as a chillum. Josh, my co-founder, loves to do that. The vapor is warmer than through water, but the flavors are more intense--especially at 1-2 diamonds (after preheating).
 

Custom Flower Hardware

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
😅

If you REALLY want the shortest vapor path, try using the Purr bowl as a chillum. Josh, my co-founder, loves to do that. The vapor is warmer than through water, but the flavors are more intense--especially at 1-2 diamonds (after preheating).
I want YOUR PURR bowl pipe! I haven’t smoked in years and I’m not gonna buy just any pipe, but I appreciate your recommendation fully! :tup:
 

IAmKrazy2

Darth Vapor
I did see a recommendation to add a screen to a bowl. Has anyone tried those glass screens that are like jacks? Other options?

Im not opposed to SS but hard to get a SS screen to sit in a clean pipe.

Thanks all looking forward to trying this one out!
 

Custom Flower Hardware

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
I did see a recommendation to add a screen to a bowl. Has anyone tried those glass screens that are like jacks? Other options?

Im not opposed to SS but hard to get a SS screen to sit in a clean pipe.

Thanks all looking forward to trying this one out!
Personally, I don’t think a screen is necessary. I could see how some might like it though.
 

west-elec

Well-Known Member
Those little stars are good on combustion bowls, block the hole and raise the load. I've also got a flat snowflake that sits across wider bowls, with no central hole these are good because they spread out the convection air flow. I've got glass jacks but they aren't great, too pokey and awkward shaped, the larger star is better design for this purpose.
Problem is stirring, they dislodge and wedge sideways and are a pain in the arse. I find if I am packing a shallow bowl I don't need to stir at all, same with the TM basket screen. 2 or 3 hits to clear anyway so stirring isn't really needed.
 

IAmKrazy2

Darth Vapor
I am not one who is concerned about getting every last bit out of my ABV. So if performance doesn't suffer I have zero issue packing the pipes "traditionally" with no screen and ripping away!

Looking at the 18mm bowls that came with various glass and I never used them. The majority of my glass has been vape only so these bowls sat around. might be fun to try these odd bowls i got around with the Prrl. Give them new life.
 

SatanLovestoVape

Well-Known Member
I was using my Neo last night, and enjoying some quality vapor hits. It has been a fun device to use on different configurations. However, the vapor develop a weird burning taste. I think because about a week or two ago the glass piece fell out of the Neo, and a simple twist fixed the issued. Everything was good until last night when the taste was off. It taste like combustion with a slight plastic flavor, but the abv was normal. I was in shock, and had to unfortunately stop using it.
20210323_154927.jpg20210323_154943.jpg
 

Black_Prrl

Manufacturer of the Neo and Terp Surfer
Manufacturer
I was using my Neo last night, and enjoying some quality vapor hits. It has been a fun device to use on different configurations. However, the vapor develop a weird burning taste. I think because about a week or two ago the glass piece fell out of the Neo, and a simple twist fixed the issued. Everything was good until last night when the taste was off. It taste like combustion with a slight plastic flavor, but the abv was normal. I was in shock, and had to unfortunately stop using it.
View attachment 6603View attachment 6604

@SatanLovestoVape SO sorry to hear about that! That's one of the first run, where the manufacturer didn't prepare the bonding ceramic properly--resulting in the chimney coming off. The report of a smell is something new, and I'm surprised by that. There's no plastic anywhere except the battery mod, so not sure what the source could be. I'll DM you and we can get that fixed right away.

Glad that you've been enjoying it up to this point!

-Mark
 

arb

Semi shaved ape
@SatanLovestoVape SO sorry to hear about that! That's one of the first run, where the manufacturer didn't prepare the bonding ceramic properly--resulting in the chimney coming off. The report of a smell is something new, and I'm surprised by that. There's no plastic anywhere except the battery mod, so not sure what the source could be. I'll DM you and we can get that fixed right away.

Glad that you've been enjoying it up to this point!

-Mark
What is that wire made from?
 
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