nopartofme
Over the falls, in a barrel
I think you should try adjusting your draw speed. That was my biggest hangup when I was starting out. Cera's intake holes are small, both in the body and at the bottom of the cart, and the obstructive filter in the mouthpiece adds restriction as well.
What this means is that what may at first seem like a light draw is actually pulling air through at a respectable velocity. That is, given a constant strength of pull, the velocity of the air moving through the device that you're drawing from will increase as the restriction is increased, because the same amount of air is now trying to enter a smaller space.
I became proficient with the MFLB prior to getting my Cera, so I thought I knew how my draw correlated to air speed in the vape. But the restriction in an MFLB is minimal in comparison, and I had instinctively associated that feeling of free flow with the resultant air speed. It turns out that you can (and should) lighten your draw and still end up with the heat moving in the cart like we want.
Once you have the pre-heat down (step one of OF's three step process), try drawing very very slowly, even a little more slowly than you're comfortable with, and do some test puffs. Slowly work your way up in draw speed while continuing to use occasional test puffs to gauge your progress.
Drawing more slowly than you're comfortable with is only intended to provide a low starting point for your tests, as I think most would be surprised how much heat can be delivered to the herb with what at first might seem like too light a draw.
What we're trying to avoid is pulling too strongly too early in the process, as you can actually manage to cool the coil down with an early hard pull.
Test puffs are important here because the ceramic mouthpiece does an outstanding job cooling the vapor (and perhaps maintaining a small particle size in the vapor), to the point where I find it very easy to pull vapor and not realize it. Test puffs in proper lighting will help you learn exactly what you and Cera are doing together.
Using a little glass bubbler mouthpiece on it can help you see what you're doing more directly, as a learning tool. Like training wheels? Also, shimmying up the mouthpiece to watch the effect that a hard draw has on the glow at the start while in the dark with a mirror (the glow shines through the cart walls) lets you witness firsthand how pulling hard at the start can cool the coil down.
Given that it's working to some extent for you, I think it's unlikely that anything is mechanically wrong with it. Your story is very familiar to me; I experienced precisely the same thing and also instinctively feared something was wrong with the device. I got it sorted out though, as can be seen in the video in my signature here!
What this means is that what may at first seem like a light draw is actually pulling air through at a respectable velocity. That is, given a constant strength of pull, the velocity of the air moving through the device that you're drawing from will increase as the restriction is increased, because the same amount of air is now trying to enter a smaller space.
I became proficient with the MFLB prior to getting my Cera, so I thought I knew how my draw correlated to air speed in the vape. But the restriction in an MFLB is minimal in comparison, and I had instinctively associated that feeling of free flow with the resultant air speed. It turns out that you can (and should) lighten your draw and still end up with the heat moving in the cart like we want.
Once you have the pre-heat down (step one of OF's three step process), try drawing very very slowly, even a little more slowly than you're comfortable with, and do some test puffs. Slowly work your way up in draw speed while continuing to use occasional test puffs to gauge your progress.
Drawing more slowly than you're comfortable with is only intended to provide a low starting point for your tests, as I think most would be surprised how much heat can be delivered to the herb with what at first might seem like too light a draw.
What we're trying to avoid is pulling too strongly too early in the process, as you can actually manage to cool the coil down with an early hard pull.
Test puffs are important here because the ceramic mouthpiece does an outstanding job cooling the vapor (and perhaps maintaining a small particle size in the vapor), to the point where I find it very easy to pull vapor and not realize it. Test puffs in proper lighting will help you learn exactly what you and Cera are doing together.
Using a little glass bubbler mouthpiece on it can help you see what you're doing more directly, as a learning tool. Like training wheels? Also, shimmying up the mouthpiece to watch the effect that a hard draw has on the glow at the start while in the dark with a mirror (the glow shines through the cart walls) lets you witness firsthand how pulling hard at the start can cool the coil down.
Given that it's working to some extent for you, I think it's unlikely that anything is mechanically wrong with it. Your story is very familiar to me; I experienced precisely the same thing and also instinctively feared something was wrong with the device. I got it sorted out though, as can be seen in the video in my signature here!
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thanks for the effort anyway!
