Discontinued The Venus Apollo

[StormyPinkness]

I'm glad @villekille2 came through, I would of been really surprised if he didn't do something about it. I'm surprised his response was so amazing though. This is one of the few people/companies I'd give the benefit of the doubt to, pretty solid customer service so far.

I was all excited to try my vapor cooler but I got home from work late to find my batteries dead. I took a pic of it installed though, I really like the simple design. When I say simple I mean it as a huge compliment, I love simple effective things. Tonight's the night though. If I really like it I might try installing it in my big tube so it's hidden inside the unit and I still get an unobstructed view of led lit vapor coming up to see me.

 

[AtomicPB]

I am really excited about the new cooling unit and the 50W bulb. If my cashflow will allow me to afford those and a set of new batteries, I will have to test those.

Its really great to read the good experiences you guys made with the new accessories. Love to read your reports.

I have to admit though that the Apollo did not get used as much as I expected when I bought it. Shortly after I received it I got a TI Grasshopper which I used most if the time, because of the fast heat-up times. And now it is the VapCap and Omnivap, because I got tired of always recharging my single GH Batterie (they are not easy to obtain in Europe). I personally found the Vapor to be quite hot with the Apollo and used a little watertool most of the time. The taste is the cleanest I have ever experienced in a Vaporizer, but my experience is limited to the devices in my signature and the Volcano which I had the chance to use at Barneys Farm in Amsterdam.

If I go for taste, I always get the Apollo out. By the way, I did not modify my Apollo but use it vanilla and consider it totally functional without modding. Just holding a finger over the air inlet at the bottom most of the times. The mods look very interesting though.

All in all I really love the Apollo for its great taste but rarely use it, because other vapes seem to be more convenient at times. No worries to combust, cooler vapor without watertool, faster heat-up times and no potential risk of burning my fingers on a hot herb chamber are the main reasons for that. I can imagine though that the 50W bulb and the cooling unit are really addressing those things and might get the Apollo back into my hands a lot more again. Really looking forward to try them out.

 

[Kanyayweest]

No worries to combust, cooler vapor without watertool, faster heat-up times and no potential risk of burning my fingers on a hot herb chamber are the main reasons for that. I can imagine though that the 50W bulb and the cooling unit are really addressing those things and might get the Apollo back into my hands a lot more again.

I feel you big time on these points; when my previous Apollo was working it was a lot more work to use than the Mighty I was so used to. Although the new Apollo is still much less convenient than the mighty, if I need to get more medicated with limited material, I will usually choose the Apollo as bowls last forever. The 50W bulb really changes the game but the heat soak is unfortunately still required- I like to let the Apollo warm up for the factory set time from cold and then either put in the chamber a couple seconds after the Apollo is ready or wait for it to turn off and turn it on again before putting in the chamber and letting it heat for a bit. I would say the initial time to full clouds is now ~4 mins as opposed to the ~6+ mins I had to wait before. The cooling tube is so great though! If you get the pull on the Apollo down you can get much more vapor inside your lungs without a coughing fit, and the vapor isn't as harsh on the throat anymore. Really great with both of these new accessories. The new VTC 5's work out much better than the unreliable efest's as well.
http://imgur.com/udb6Qqk
Really miss the other Apollo though, too bad it won't even respond to the batteries
Got a bubbler I'll run the Apollo through tomorrow! I feel as though the experience from this vape is so variable; it's nothing like the uniform sessions on the mighty. Some sessions last a mere 5 minutes but others continue with cloud production until the 15 minute mark...
Some sessions leave AVB really light but after putting it in the mighty no clouds are found so I guess it's fully extracted and then sometimes the AVB is black.
Hoping to learn more on the technique on this vape, definitely one of my personal vapes, hate sharing it haha

 

[StormyPinkness]

The vapor cooler 100% works, finally got to try it last night. I actually said wow out loud after my first hit. Super tasty and it didn't bug my throat at all. I had forgotten just how damn tasty this vape could be. 5 used to irritate my throat a bit, but I was on 6 really laying on the boost and it wasn't bothering me at all. This was with the stock tube and bulb. I'm going to see how high I can go before my throat starts bugging me again.

I'm totally going to install it in my long tube, I definitely want to keep using the vapor cooler. I used to use the long tube to help cool the vapor, now it'll just be there to look pretty. I recently got some new sticky brick and dynavap vapes so I had been neglecting my apollo, this has totally rekindled my passion for my little easy bake oven apollo. I've already said it a couple times just off the looks, but now that I actually tried it I'll say it again, well done on the vapor cooler @villekille2

 

[villekille2]

new prototype has been tested. new longer heating element with a larger new style 50W bulb, new capless herb chamber with an adjustable herb capacity to prevent herbs flying around in chamber. vapor cooler, back plate air inlet closed 80%. Warm up 50 seconds. chamber half full. 2 draws, very solid clouds, and vapor was extracted completely. resulting abv looked perfect. Glass protection around the herb chamber prevented any burns.

 

[vapen00b]

new prototype has been tested. new longer heating element with a larger new style 50W bulb, new capless herb chamber with an adjustable herb capacity to prevent herbs flying around in chamber. vapor cooler, back plate air inlet closed 80%. Warm up 50 seconds. chamber half full. 2 draws, very solid clouds, and vapor was extracted completely. resulting abv looked perfect.

Sounds like heaven!
That eliminates all the "kinks" and further improves the amazing performance of Venus Vaporizer's halogen power.
The taste and intensity is mindblowing.

 

[vapen00b]

Sorry, can't edit. Please merge posts, if it's not tolerable @mods

Why is it this quiet in here anyway?

I received the vapor cooler last Saturday and just had two micro dose sessions running. It's fantastic. Not warm or even hot vapor anymore. About 0.015 in a Arizer EQ basket (to reduce bowl size) dropped into the chamber and lower power mapping at max. (Think it's 60% total. Not sure about the boost, guess it's normal or even overdrive)' not even a minute heat up.
Sipping on it - OMG. This is the purest flavor I have experienced. Still. I totally forgot about the very good taste, but with the vapor cooler it's stellar and so goddamn pure and fresh. Geez, number one for flavor in my line up, gotta admit.
Then I kicked in the boost when taking a Dre and it kicked me into orbit. Back on my mission, guys. Can't wait for the chamberless stem and further official design tweaks.
See you when I'm back on earth!

Might take a while though. Cause mission Helios is also on the agenda. It's here. Had two great sessions. Pics will follow over there. Might take some time though- gotta enjoy

 

[Chogyam]

Hi everyone! It's my first post although I've been following this conversation for a while. I've had a Venus since 2013 and, of course, I bought Apollo as soon as it was launched.

Can't agree more with vapen00b that the taste with the new cooler unit is incredible!

Would be cool to insert it to the long tube, like StormyPinkness is suggesting, but when I tried, I could not get it fit into the longer one. Maybe the glass is a bit thicker in the 80 mm tube. Also it is stated in the description of the cooler.

"- - Fits inside the standard glass tube. - -." (http://www.venusvaporizer.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=112).

edit. Surely it can mean just the standard as comparison to all the mods and stuff but caught my eye.

 

[StormyPinkness]

Ah, that's weird about it not fitting in the longer tube. I was sick over the weekend and didn't use the apollo, going to try switching it tonight. I want to try stepping up the heat too to find out where it starts to get uncomfortable for me now that the cooler is in there. 6 used to be a little harsh for me, with the cooler in I didn't have any issues, even riding the boost.

 

[Kanyayweest]

So I've been using the Apollo non stop more or less now...the clouds are crazy. Forget what I said about heat up time before-that was measured with batteries near dead. With fully charged batteries the 50w bulb needs to be turned on and allowed to heat soak for around 2-3 minutes and then you can pop the bowl in and start pulling clouds from the second pull! The vapor cooler should honestly be called the vapor condenser though, the amount of reclaim is insane. Here's a pic of the glass tube ~15 bowls in with the cooler
http://imgur.com/c0RZaJx
http://imgur.com/4BXmud8
http://imgur.com/hxo0jWW
Honestly it surprised me and don't know if you can tell by the pictures or not but the inside is completely slathered in gold

The new Apollo I received is a bit weird... The glass stem is now extremely difficult to push up and down to insert and release bowls. Almost impossible to get my bowls out unless the device has already gone through a session. Wonder what it could be. extremely flavorful and is slowly becoming my daily driver. I had the choice of either using the mighty or the Apollo last weekend and I'm happy to say I chose the Apollo, those 18650's are just too convenient.
Any news on when you can take preorders for the new units @villekille2 ?

 

[Herbie Hancock]

Bad news for me... I received the vapor cooler and the new bulb today. Couldn't wait to try it out! Well, the bulb was tricky, but within 10 minutes it was installed and the top screen replaced.
Fires it up for the heat soak, bulb fires up perfectly. But what's this? Smoke?!?! Okay it stopped. No biggie. I didn't do the extended start up, so I turned it off and started it again. Okay... more smoke. And more smoke and more. Hmmmm

It was getting really hot, so I turned it off. Okay, powered down. But the light is still on... not coming down. Still on. So o took the batteries out. Hmmm

I then let it cool down. Maybe go back to the 30w bulb. Only problem is it must have overheated as it is completely dead now. And the bottom portion of the touch strip is now darker.

Not happy

 

[Custom Flower Hardware]

Boy do i love this vape!

 

[pandaphysics]

I got the cap to my bowl in the mail recently and man this is so much easier. Still trying to figure out what temperature a like best. I really want to block some of the airflow. Might be time to order the vapor cooler!

 

[villekille2]

Yeah I feel the cooler is something that really changes the game. Just some little improvements in the firmware to add following features:
When the Apollo is turned on, it shows quickly the battery level (1, 2 or 3 lights).

And also, as some people have maybe noticed, if Apollo is on some surface with the touch area facing down, it might react and buzz as the capacitive sensing thinks someone is touching it. Now it is immune to this and only reacts to real touch.

 

[Kanyayweest]

Major improvements ville! Always got me upset when I though batts would have charge and then the Apollo would just turn off without vibrating. That's what the backup pair of batts is for! Also cool to hear that only human touch can turn it on now; having it facedown in a case with the batteries was a no go because of the one time it just kept buzzing all night haha.

Anyone unscrew the back of their Apollo and find the lightbulb "glued" in place? Opened the back up to push the battery connector up a bit as it went too far back... Be careful with other batteries guys. My Samsung 25R's are a bit bigger than the ones ville supplies, and I have to hold the Apollo upside down sometimes to get that 3 buzz battery connection. The sony's ville supplies are a bit smaller but no major problems yet. But back to the light fixture... It seemed like it was epoxy or silicon'd into place and some white material (kinda like drywall lol, don't really know what it was but it was the gluing agent dried up) cracked a bit and I'm worried if that goes into the air path? Will attach pictures if I can open up the back again without scaring myself. But we pull through the lightbulb as I can see holes through the fixture, and those holes had some of the white cracking gluing agent in there... Should I be worried? Seems like the air passes right through all this when inhaling. My previous Apollo (the one that stopped working) didn't really have the lightbulb held in place like this and would move around a bit, maybe that's the reason it broke? Also seems like each unit is subject to small workmanship imperfections which is underdstandable as they are made by hand with love and care. Unfortunately though, this units imperfection resides in the thin metal originating inside the Apollo all the way to under the heater with the words Apollo and made in Finland on it that you can see right above the heater http://imgur.com/0C3Nu4w
Yeah that metal makes it almost impossible for me to slide the glass tube up and down to remove and insert bowls. I have to have a bowl inserted and have a full 3 min heat up before I can even hope to move the glass tube. Maybe coconut oil will solve this? I'm not complaining; this vape was one ville generously blessed me with since my old one wasn't working anymore. I'm just happy to be able to vape and use this vape without problems!

Anyway, loving this vape and the taste and cloud production with the 50w is great! Still waiting to here about the chamber less bowl system!

 

[vapen00b]

Major improvements ville! Always got me upset when I though batts would have charge and then the Apollo would just turn off without vibrating. That's what the backup pair of batts is for! Also cool to hear that only human touch can turn it on now; having it facedown in a case with the batteries was a no go because of the one time it just kept buzzing all night haha.

Anyone unscrew the back of their Apollo and find the lightbulb "glued" in place? Opened the back up to push the battery connector up a bit as it went too far back... Be careful with other batteries guys. My Samsung 25R's are a bit bigger than the ones ville supplies, and I have to hold the Apollo upside down sometimes to get that 3 buzz battery connection. The sony's ville supplies are a bit smaller but no major problems yet. But back to the light fixture... It seemed like it was epoxy or silicon'd into place and some white material (kinda like drywall lol, don't really know what it was but it was the gluing agent dried up) cracked a bit and I'm worried if that goes into the air path? Will attach pictures if I can open up the back again without scaring myself. But we pull through the lightbulb as I can see holes through the fixture, and those holes had some of the white cracking gluing agent in there... Should I be worried? Seems like the air passes right through all this when inhaling. My previous Apollo (the one that stopped working) didn't really have the lightbulb held in place like this and would move around a bit, maybe that's the reason it broke? Also seems like each unit is subject to small workmanship imperfections which is underdstandable as they are made by hand with love and care. Unfortunately though, this units imperfection resides in the thin metal originating inside the Apollo all the way to under the heater with the words Apollo and made in Finland on it that you can see right above the heater http://imgur.com/0C3Nu4w
Yeah that metal makes it almost impossible for me to slide the glass tube up and down to remove and insert bowls. I have to have a bowl inserted and have a full 3 min heat up before I can even hope to move the glass tube. Maybe coconut oil will solve this? I'm not complaining; this vape was one ville generously blessed me with since my old one wasn't working anymore. I'm just happy to be able to vape and use this vape without problems!

Anyway, loving this vape and the taste and cloud production with the 50w is great! Still waiting to here about the chamber less bowl system!

I might have gotten this totally wrong, but I think the way you wanted to change the bulb was not the one intended and you have harmed your unit..? You should just remove the mesh screen being above the bulb with some pliers etc. - and then pull the bulb out..
Sounds pretty wild what you did.. Don't mean to critisize you bud - not at all. Might have gotten it wrong though.. Just trying to help.

@villekille2 will just be one step away from you

 

[Kanyayweest]

Didn't change the bulb... Just unscrewed the back plate on the unit. Seems like I might not have been clear haha. Simply unscrewing the screws from the back plate and removing the back plate yielded what i saw

 

[vapen00b]

Didn't change the bulb... Just unscrewed the back plate on the unit. Seems like I might not have been clear haha. Simply unscrewing the screws from the back plate and removing the back plate yielded what i saw

Ah, sorry bro... You were talking about the lightbulb CONNECTOR/HOLDER that is glued in place not the actual bulb. Haven't opened mine, never touched the backplate so I can't comment on that.

Concerning your "frozen glass tube" issue: Did you try the tube from your previous Apollo? It might be the glass that is slightly out of tolerance?

 

[villekille2]

The material you mentioned is ceramic material which we use to attach the ceramic halogen bulb holder to the stainless steel tube heating element construction.

It is certified not to outgas anything up to 1500 degrees Celsius, vacuum conditions etc, very good stuff. Earlier we used to just mechanically force the ceramic holders to the stainless steel tubes but it is not necessary anymore. What you desribed is perfectly normal and as I said this is nothing like glue / silicone but solid ceramic material, cured in high temperature.

I am sorry your glass tube feels to tight and does not move as easily as wished. It might be that the glasstube is a little bit bigger than normally, we need to check tolerances better!

a little bit of oil can help, and also if it is really too much tight, you can remove the black material that adds friction to the tube / apollo connection. just peel it away.

 

[brucee10]

Is there a US option for Glass tubes? I just traded a grasshopper for a used Apollo and it's in rougher shape than I planned on. I've got spare bulbs in both 20W and 50W, but the tube is completely stuck in the body and the end of the tube is shattered inside the unit.

 

[Herbie Hancock]

I have to comment. I now have a functioning unit with the 50w build and the vapor cooler. Wow wow wow! Nothing short of amazing. The vapor cooler makes it remarkably smooth dry. I use a spare tube to connect it to water. And I am blown away. If you look at my signature you will see I have a decent collection. But this one is special. It's still a train. It's just now a train that can hit top speed and stay there extremely quickly. Within 1 minute and 30 seconds.

It's amazing. It's special. It will always have a spot in my rotation.

 

[IAmKrazy2]

Love to see all the improvements. Always such an intriguing session portable, but now even moreso with recent improvements.

Sorry if previously mentioned but how well does this unit work with a full hand torn nug chunk? No grind just.a chunk in the bowl. Would love to know. Thanks.

 

[vapognak]

Sorry if previously mentioned but how well does this unit work with a full hand torn nug chunk? No grind just.a chunk in the bowl. Would love to know. Thanks.

it works very well I've found. One problem with the fairly large chamber is that when you have it grinded, it tends to fly around inside with the air flow. The chunk does not, and it's good. I'm now used to grind and put the material between 2 small sheets of mesh, inside the chamber, so it reduces the bowl and keeps material tight inside.

 

[KeroZen]

And what if you tamp it to make a little flat puck?

(...said the man obsessed by the puck technique...)

 

[vapognak]

And what if you tamp it to make a little flat puck?

(...said the man obsessed by the puck technique...)

tamping is good I guess but I fail to see how the little flat puck looks like

However I have played hockey