Discontinued Thermovape Cera

[OF]

Yes sure it was me putting on the mouth piece w/o having the wax fully melted in. The pressure broke it probably. Funny, Zeki talked me out of buying another He should have known I'm a gorilla.

Don't procrastinate during the steps because loss of heat and battery power...

Anything in the steps I missed?
I believe this is the same as the other electric torch, but glass herb holder I have. Since both are convection?
Any idea how many loads on standard AW 18650 provides?

Don't be too hard on Zeki, he's young, he'll learn..... A spare of something this cool makes sense to me.....

Edit: On reflection that sounds a bit off. Let me try 'some guys don't yet appreciate the value of backups for 'mission critical gear'?

I think you've got the idea of 3 steps down OK. Don't be shy about timing and power at first, efficiency and speed will come when you get used to the idea. After a bit it's automatic, really. You can look into an empty bowl and see how long to saturate your core (usually 8 or 10 seconds on fresh battery or faster?). Step one should be that long plus a few more seconds insurance. More than that simply heats the unit where we don't want it and wastes the battery.

No, Cera and other TV products are generally different from other convection vapes in that there is extra heat energy stored in the core before the hit you draw on. Where you can get in trouble is taking too long on Step 2, pulling too much heat out fo the core so by the time the load is hot the core is not.... My rule of thumb here is if I haven't got a solid 'test puff' after two full lung draws on Step 2, I go back to one, and give the core 10 or 15 seconds to fully recover. You want the core plenty hot for a full hit.

Remember you can leave the power on full time, don't be shy, it's your draw of air through the core that really controls the process.

It varies a bit, but expect about 30 minutes of total 'key down run time' from the battery. Half a dozen full sessions once you're up to speed?

FWIW I still bet they service the EO core plate under warranty.

OF

 

[Rocco]

Anyone elses Cera LL take a while to heat up? Like 45+ seconds and its rather mild vapor. Very good flavor, works, gets BURNING hot (if you touch near the mouthpiece or by the outside of the cartridge it WILL burn you and leave marks).

This is how My Cera acted before she stopped working unless pressure was applied, at first I thought it was battery issues but I tried all 5 freshly charged batteries and it acted the same, seems like A possible body strap issue? Do you have a soldered or laser welded body?

 

[Porquiplane]

This is how My Cera acted before she stopped working unless pressure was applied, at first I thought it was battery issues but I tried all 5 freshly charged batteries and it acted the same, seems like A possible body strap issue? Do you have a soldered or laser welded body?

No idea how to tell. Can see it LOOKS soldered/welded but no idea how to tell the difference. Last night it was attempted again. 30 second heat up with loaded chamber, but did small draws of like 1-2 seconds until about a minute in, then kept going with longer draws for about two minutes, then went one more minute with about 5-6 second draws.

All this time there was no visible vapor. Doesnt mean there wasnt vapor, but it wasnt visible in the slightest. Where the cart attaches (outside) and the mouthpiece (the piece covering the cart and the mp itself) got extremely hot. When the attempt was over took the battery out immediately (dont like the idea of supreme heat and batteries), and the + end of the battery was branding hot.

It worked mildly the first night first attempt, mildly the first night second attempt. Nothing last night.

As a side note (though it should matter THAT much), Whats being used is a flower/kief pressed cake that has been crumbled down for obvious heating reasons.

It very tasty, as expected, but very little vapor, and none last night after a full battery recharge (The battery is Orbtronic 2900 10Amp 3.7v 18650. Have a AW IMR 18650 from the Persei if that would work better...) and adjustment and near 3 minutes of attempting to gain vapor. The top heats up, and will burn you badly, but cant seem to get the vapor rolling inside...

 

[OF]

Do you have a soldered or laser welded body?

No idea how to tell. Can see it LOOKS soldered/welded but no idea how to tell the difference.

You can usually tell if you look close enough at the bottom connection to the screw plate (try peeking through the safety pin hole). The soldered ones are smooth and silver colored on the connection, the welded ones brass colored with half a dozen or so 'dots' for the welds.

But it doesn't matter at all. Soldered and welded connections have proven to be equally reliable (at 100% basically). It's the initial ones with crimped and glued connections that caused problems. Welding, while necessary for Ti, is just cheaper/easier to do in SS units. AFAIK there's no reason to fear or distrust soldered connections, the issue is a break in the strap, not failed connections. As a guess, the crimped version had some 'give' the soldered/welded ones don't? Strap break problems came with the change I'm told.

OF

 

[JoeKickass]

I found cera food!

Not bad for $20 a piece

If you're near san jose check out GSCC, you're wallet will thank you!

 

[VapoRoor]

I found cera food!

Not bad for $20 a piece

The GSC wax is so heavy! Love that taste !

GSCC just might be seeing some of me. Thanks man,
What a kickass Joe

 

[Porquiplane]

You can usually tell if you look close enough at the bottom connection to the screw plate (try peeking through the safety pin hole). The soldered ones are smooth and silver colored on the connection, the welded ones brass colored with half a dozen or so 'dots' for the welds.

But it doesn't matter at all. Soldered and welded connections have proven to be equally reliable (at 100% basically). It's the initial ones with crimped and glued connections that caused problems. Welding, while necessary for Ti, is just cheaper/easier to do in SS units. AFAIK there's no reason to fear or distrust soldered connections, the issue is a break in the strap, not failed connections. As a guess, the crimped version had some 'give' the soldered/welded ones don't? Strap break problems came with the change I'm told.

OF

Its silver. Looks like when i solder chipboards that same color and look.

But what would be causing this lack of vapor?

Would the AW IMR 18650 be better than the Orb batteries?

 

[PhotoRider]

Don't be too hard on Zeki, he's young, he'll learn..... A spare of something this cool makes sense to me.....

Edit: On reflection that sounds a bit off. Let me try 'some guys don't yet appreciate the value of backups for 'mission critical gear'?

I think you've got the idea of 3 steps down OK. Don't be shy about timing and power at first, efficiency and speed will come when you get used to the idea. After a bit it's automatic, really. You can look into an empty bowl and see how long to saturate your core (usually 8 or 10 seconds on fresh battery or faster?). Step one should be that long plus a few more seconds insurance. More than that simply heats the unit where we don't want it and wastes the battery.

No, Cera and other TV products are generally different from other convection vapes in that there is extra heat energy stored in the core before the hit you draw on. Where you can get in trouble is taking too long on Step 2, pulling too much heat out fo the core so by the time the load is hot the core is not.... My rule of thumb here is if I haven't got a solid 'test puff' after two full lung draws on Step 2, I go back to one, and give the core 10 or 15 seconds to fully recover. You want the core plenty hot for a full hit.

Remember you can leave the power on full time, don't be shy, it's your draw of air through the core that really controls the process.

It varies a bit, but expect about 30 minutes of total 'key down run time' from the battery. Half a dozen full sessions once you're up to speed?

FWIW I still bet they service the EO core plate under warranty.

OF

Thanks OF for the help. Practive make perfect.

I am buying 2 spares because I think this thing is the cat's meow. Have not found an unit that I need to throttle back instead of the other way around until the Cera. Enough said.

Oh not hard on Zeki, he will learn. I was surprised that he suggested I didn't buy one. Shows he cares instead of just being in business. However, once you find a good solution it really hurts to be without one. Like all things good have backup because all things fail for whatever reason. That's why NASA uses a min of 3 CPU's at all times to make sure they match...

 

[Rocco]

Porquiplane, my guess is the current is leaking or something of that sort? Im no genius when it comes to this stuff, its still kind of new to me but im picking up as much as I can.

 

[OF]

Its silver. Looks like when i solder chipboards that same color and look.

But what would be causing this lack of vapor?

Would the AW IMR 18650 be better than the Orb batteries?

Sounds soldered to me, FWIW. Very hard to tell what's wrong from here if you have no tools there to test with.....which is why I'm trying to put a kit together. I notice you haven't PM'd me to join in that?

As a blind guess, statistically it's probably the ground strap I think. No the IMR has a nearly trivial edge in performance if anything. Nothing you could find blindfolded I bet.

OF

 

[JoeKickass]

I tried to clean out the eo cart by running it empty... lol silly me, it never stops!

 

[toros23]

I tried to clean out the eo cart by running it empty... lol silly me, it never stops!

Haha, love it.. By the way, been meaning to thank you for posting info a while back about Revolution. Thank you! Have you ever checked out CannaCulture? They have some really nice products (especially if you like shatter) but a bit pricey.

 

[PhotoRider]

I tried to clean out the eo cart by running it empty... lol silly me, it never stops!

Are you complaining? cause if you are I can help.... I'll clean it for you. I'm all about helping others in need.

Wow $20/g is a good deal even up here and in the silicon valley no less. Amazing

 

[Porquiplane]

Porquiplane, my guess is the current is leaking or something of that sort? Im no genius when it comes to this stuff, its still kind of new to me but im picking up as much as I can.

Sounds soldered to me, FWIW. Very hard to tell what's wrong from here if you have no tools there to test with.....which is why I'm trying to put a kit together. I notice you haven't PM'd me to join in that?

As a blind guess, statistically it's probably the ground strap I think.

OF

So another attempt tonight with just straight flower. Very mild vapor. Again the entire top gets extremely hot.

I have a multimeter if that would help testing the unit. Just want to place it correctly and know what numbers to look for and where.

 

[darkrom]

So another attempt tonight with just straight flower. Very mild vapor. Again the entire top gets extremely hot.

I have a multimeter if that would help testing the unit. Just want to place it correctly and know what numbers to look for and where.

If the top gets hot then isn't it a clear sign that it is heating? I mean no offence, but is it perhaps just technique at this point? I'm not trying to be an ass, I just don't know how the top could get hot if the vape isn't working as designed. Its certainly different from other vapes, but I think having the T1 before is why there was little to no learning curve for me, but I know the T1 took a while for me to get it to the level where I'm at now.

 

[OF]

So another attempt tonight with just straight flower. Very mild vapor. Again the entire top gets extremely hot.

I have a multimeter if that would help testing the unit. Just want to place it correctly and know what numbers to look for and where.

I'm with DR here, if "the entire top gets extremely hot" I'm at kind of a loss for what more a guy could ask for. My thoughts too go back to material and technique. What's the story with your concentrate, is it 'known good'?

As I just posted to you in your nearly identical PM to me (which I got to first), the most useful measurement is probably the voltage drop across the ground strap. Probe one of the four screw plate mounting screws (medium size holes) and the end cap. What do you 'see'?

OF

 

[Skored]

So another attempt tonight with just straight flower. Very mild vapor. Again the entire top gets extremely hot.

I'm sort of with OF and DR on this as well. But I will say that in the past, my Cera got very hot without producing any visible good vapor. For a while I thought it was my technique, but in the end, it needed to be repaired. It is important to note that when the device didn't work properly, it got too hot for the lips after about 10 minutes. Now, in good working order, it's more like 5-6 minutes. So that may be a gauge for you.

Being new to vapeing, I found that it's really not that hard to get nice visible vapor with Cera... and if you are working at it too hard, it's possible that it may be the device.

I would suggest continuing to work on your technique just a little longer before considering sending it in for repair or a tune up. Key points here are fine grind and very dry flowers. You mentioned taking 1-2 second draws for a minute at step 2. I could never get it going that way. I find that it only takes about 20-30 seconds at step 2 to begin getting vapor. The key here is STEADY medium-slow draws, almost like you are sipping on a straw. But it is very important the the draws be of a steady and consistent speed to properly draw the heat through your load.

Hope you find that it's only your technique and you get it going soon.

 

[toros23]

I would suggest continuing to work on your technique just a little longer before considering sending it in for repair or a tune up.

Actually, I think probing with a MM like OF suggests is probably the best next-step. Don't want to needlessly waste any herb testing if there is an issue.

 

[Skored]

Actually, I think probing with a MM like OF suggests is probably the best next-step. Don't want to needlessly waste any herb testing if there is an issue.

There is no wasting of herb testing. It is either being vaped, or not and can be used at a later point. The only waste is in the energy practicing technique. I'll bet that his bowls look partially vaped. The problem is that he's not getting the delivery fast enough or at the desired pace.

But no problems starting with the MM to verify the device's operation.

 

[PhotoRider]

So Thermo-Essence is fixing my disk for free even through I clearly stated I did it i.e. not a warranty issue plus shipping. Wow. Happy camper here. I ordered two spares that already shipped.

I am starting to dislike this thing because I am now paranoid of being without it. Its in control of both the vertical and horizontal adjustments now, I entered the outer limits...

OK, starting using my new Cera on Friday with 2 grams of nice blond BDHO. Well just installed the last load from that. Boy this thing is a monster. Like my Dyna it goes fast, is great fun and sucks gas.

 

[darkrom]

What is BDHO? BHO with something awesome added? (genuinely curious!)

 

[PhotoRider]

What is BDHO? BHO with something awesome added? (genuinely curious!)

We use that term to mean "dried" Butane Dried Honey Oil (typically vacuum dried) verses BHO is a catch all for all honey oils extracted with butane. There is budder, wax, shatter, etc. BDHO is in cake form and powdery well until melted...

I'm not expert, and this is just my understanding and how I use the terms

 

[jpdnkstr]

We use that term to mean "dried" Butane Dried Honey Oil (typically vacuum dried) verses BHO is a catch all for all honey oils extracted with butane. There is budder, wax, shatter, etc. BDHO is in cake form and powdery well until melted...

I'm not expert, and this is just my understanding and how I use the terms

Very interesting! I like the distinction, as I always vac purge!

 

[Ricardooayee]

Do you guys think $200 is a good price for a complete E-liquid Cera?

 

[Zingbuddah]

Thats a great price! Why you listing it