I've been meaning to get back to this thread...super busy lately. But just wanted to say I tried the grav upline 3" taster as a stem this past friday... can't believe I havent posted in here since before that. But anyway...
I have mixed feelings on the stem so far. I've only used it once so I dont want to write it off too quickly, its definitely different.
My first maybe, 2 hits, I thought to myself I dont understand why anybody would chose this stem over the stock one. I forget where I was on the dial but it was most likely between 3.5-4.5, I just got back from work at the time and I tend to stick to lower temps at those hours. Those first hits were not nearly as smooth as the stock stems, I would assume because the CU is that effective, but I've also been wondering if its robbing some vapor. Rather than accumulating/condensing on a cool stainless steel CU, now you're getting all of that to your lungs. It would make sense to me anyway, because shortly after that I bumped it up a notch or two and was pretty high. I'll have to do some more comparison experimentation because I thought it hit harder than the stock stem, but that could be in my head. It certainly felt like I was higher than normal for the size of the load and the selected temps - which is what made me wonder about the possibility of the CU robbing vapor. So I was pretty happy with the stem at those temps
The downside - now that I had indulged a bit, felt really good, returned to the TM and raised the temp to 7 ish. Still got good vapor, wasnt nearly as harsh as the initial 1-2 hits, I assume because I had already vaped most of the good stuff and vapor density went down which is to be expected. The downside was that the stem got uncomfortably hot for me trying to do 2-3 hits at that temp, borderline burning my lips. After my couple hits I pulled the stem out to check the color on the AVB...the stem was so hot I wasn't even comfortable putting it back in the device so I left it out to cool. I was just worried it would radiate too much heat, or the expanding stem might but too much pressure on the interior of the unit, probably a completely baseless worry, but still after a few hits... you know how it goes. Rather be safe than sorry. That goes to show the CU does more than just cool the vapor, it keeps the stem cool as well, meaning less heat radiating back to the TM body.
That reminds me, the AVB, it seemed more even compared to the stock stem with CU. Not the "inside" of the puck, that was about the same, but the outer layer seemed more evenly toasted. Take that with a grain of salt as I've only done one bowl with this stem, but I was thinking maybe because the glass stem retains more heat rather than being absorbed into the CU, it helps heat the bud along the stem walls?
So my initial conclusion, although maybe too early to say for sure, its a good stem, especially for low temp usage. For high temp usage I would tend to go for a stock stem with CU, especially if its going to be a longer session, back to back hits, possibly reloading a stem - that said, I still want to try a high temp hit or two with fresh bud and a completely cool grav stem.
I still have trouble experimenting with different configurations, I only like to do it when I have a lot of peace and quiet in the house lol. Hard to actually pay attention to what I'm doing and such subtle differences (sometimes) if there's too many distractions/too many things I need to be doing. During the week, or if I have a particularly busy weekend, I just stick with what I know works and what I know will give me reliable and repeatable results.
@RustyOldNail I'm not sure if my issue was the same, but try removing the adjustable ring entirely. When you reset it, apply some downwards force before you start turning.
I believe that you need to compress the o-ring a little bit in order to get the cap threads to align with the body threads. Otherwise in my experience it almost gets cross threaded, and seems to bind within the first 1/8th of a turn or whatever and it feels like you have to force it too much to even try to get a little more. Giving a little pressure, compressing the o-ring, I found the cap hooks up to the body a little easier and you can turn it more easily. Still though, you dont get a TON of adjustment out of it as the cap is relatively short and an o-ring can only be compressed so much. The adjustment is pretty sensitive too, if the stem seems to be resisting, the tiniest bit of adjustment seems to loosen up pretty well.
also, if the TM interior body walls are dirty it also seems to add to the resistance. Just something else I've noticed.
. Until I can do the cork cover thing the stem caps will suffice.
