I've had my Beta ti/ti since February and it has literally changed my life:
After nearly 30 years of combustion (on and off) and having also had DHV's for the past for 5 years; I finally fully switched, I also quit nicotine the week it arrived.
I already had a wand so was ready to go when it arrived. Sure there's a learning curve, but by following the advice in this thread and making small incremental changes I soon found my preferred setup and could ride the line to a sufficiently evenly toasted 1HE
nearly every time.
Flavour from this device is excellent, and only gets better as you get to know the limits you can push your material to. I can often feel when the front of the bowl gets too hot too quickly, and have learnt to alter my draw strength, carb and mouth seal (to draw less as needed) to catch it before it burns.
I had the Tempest for nearly 6 months in Beta state and at first I didn't touch my other devices at all, until the Tempest needed a clean and I went back to dynas & battery dhvs... for the first time I truly appreciated my other devices properly... perhaps quitting nicotine, sticking to the half bowl setting and consistent heat/draw methods contributed to this... perhaps I just needed a change.. I don't know for sure, but I now use them more regularly than before. Imo Moderation is the key.
My upgrade pack was due to arrive last Saturday, so Friday became deep clean day in preparation. During this process I dropped and smashed my wand insert. Bummer.
I installed the click discs and spring without issues. The new induction sleeve spun too freely to stay set so I removed, squashed it a bit and replaced it. Nice
.
My adapter is still on order thanks to the success of the launch, so I've been inducting with a
steady hand the past few days which has been unsurprisingly inconsistent bit very interesting..
Unwittingly playing with the variables of where and how to heat, mixed with airflow settings and draw strength has allowed me to get some of the same failures that other users are experiencing.. thin wispy hits, under cooked material & occasional combustion... my advice to these users....
1.Take your device apart, clean it, rebuild it, get to know it.. (ensuring all components are fitted correctly and snugly) if there's any play, its not right. Lick them rings (!) and try again or you'll pull air from around the hot material instead of through it.
2. Draw air through the device when cold, empty and loaded. Understand what the airflow settings do and pick one.
3. Reduce the variables. Lock down your cap and stem airflow and try to maintain a slow steady draw strength.
4. Not all wands are the same.. some appear to heat higher than others. Batteries also vary massively...If you don't have a wand and adapter, get them. If you have these and you're still struggling, the liklihood is that it's set too deep or shallow. The aim is to heat the ball area only. Not the indicators, and not the bowl. Try making small changes as the difference here is HUGE.
The Rosewood stem looks incredible on the raw ti, though I'm back on the ti stem until my adapter arrives as I have needed the extra cooling!
I also picked up a Reload2 with my upgrade pack. An awesome addition for when out and about or just to declutter the tray (jamjars away!). If its not been requested before let me be the first in the queue for a ReloadTi ... the raw titanium of the Tempest is awesome and it'd be great to have the reload to match!
The upgrade parts have definitely changed colour more than my beta parts did, turning golden with the heat (possibly exacerbated by my lack of adapter).. there's also some initial burn off taste which I expect to settle down with use. Clicks seem to be where I'd expect though I also expect these may change with use.
I currently set to 295 and stop at solid light. I take an initial 5 sec slow draw and the amount of vapour I get will determine how long I continue to heat for.
(Usually 3-5 flashes ish.. ymmv)
.. with the available variables your mileage will almost definitely vary. Expect this and find what feels right for you. When you get it right you'll know for sure, just go slow and steady and try to retain heat in your (air-cooled) cap.
Aside from the utilitarian raw titanium and lightsaberesque asthetic, what makes this device special for me is its versatility and efficiency. When you get familiar with it a full session can be completed in 2-3 minutes (load, heat, vape, dump vb). This is a huge plus for me especially when trying to be inconspicuous.
I dump VB into my reload and use a small nylon (beard trimmer) cleaning brush after each use, removing toasted materials, reducing smell and lengthening the cleaning interval. I have little to no residual smell because of this and discipline on storage etc. This has just become part of my ritual now and takes seconds.
Is this the first dhv I'd recommend to a first time user? Not without supervision; But I'd wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a potential end game device. Get this baby right and I'm certain it'll be out performing anything else in the market for the foreseeable future.
Cheers to Brenyo for bringing us this device, all the spares and for being part of this community, your attention to customer satisfaction is rare nowadays. Though its been tough to remain patient for everything; hats off to you for doing all this yourself this time around. Please get staff in future though