gordontreeman
Everythings coming up Milhouse!
By “wood oven insert” do you mean the wooden stem? I use mine all the time—I love it aesthetically, for the feel, and because it never needs cleaning. I put some boro beads in it that do, of course, need an iso soak here and there.
I don’t bother to stir, either. Partly I do small enough loads that I think it’s unnecessary or just a marginal enough benefit to not be worth the hassle to me. I do sometimes rotate the stem like others have mentioned to help promote even heat distribution, but I don’t have any specific system for it. Just if I pull the stem out and there’s an area that seems lighter—it’s probably more to do with a larger chunk with more moisture than anything to do with the heater, honestly.
And I don’t go super dark. I know a lot of folks like the charcoal look, but that doesn’t taste great to me and is close enough to combustion that I’m paranoid about releasing some of the compounds associated with combustion and vaping at higher temps. I usually aim for a dark brown, the color of a dark tobacco I guess? I just got into brewing loose leaf teas, maybe there a better comparison in that world
. @passenger the tea ceremony comparison is spot on. I got to partake in one with an apprentice geisha in Kyoto. Very cool and ritualistic, and that’s how I feel with my Toad. I have a few vapes that are much more fire and forget, but I really enjoy that it forces me to be a bit more mindful, intentional, and in the moment, personally.
Also while they take some patience to acquire, I much prefer a waitlist to a drop! Once your name is on the list the only cost is patience!
