The Simrell chamber doesn't fit the ACXL. The chamber is a little wider than a DV tip on purpose making it slightly too wide to fit into the ACXL. The VaphitX tip holds a little more herb and it has holes on the side like a Helix DV tip, so I've been using that when I pull out the ACXL.
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SCAM WARNING! See how this scam works in Classifieds.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
I think its supposed to fit into an Alpha. Could be wrong about that. I could swear I read that somewhere but can't find it again daggumit.
Simrell makes several Dynavap compatible tips. As far as I know the one from Ed's TNT is specific to him.
coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's like a millimeter smaller in diameter than the Alpha SS chamber, fits the Alpha pretty well. It's a good mini-chamber for it.
that's correct, but I think both shops usually carry it.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
Well I think my power supply is fritzing out. Its not heating up that much. And I can't find my spare UD mini-VVPS (the one they put their logo on but don't sell any more). So I guess I have to buy a new VVPS.
It COULD be that its not making good connections - I have the Tekpower VVPS that they used to recommend (I guess they still do though they have it marked as a "bench power supply" but its marketed as a tattooing VVPS). That came with an adaptor cable with banana plugs to a 2.1mm female connector. The banana plugs have NEVER fit in the plug port properly - too loose. To the point where I had to strip down to the wires and wrap the wire around the connector. I did that with the red (power) wire, guess I'll go ahead and strip down the ground side and wrap that as well in case that side is just not making good contact anymore - if it rattles around in the connector port (and it does), its too loose.
In the meantime - any suggestions for what power supply to buy? I could go with the Tekpower again. Its $35 (I think it may have been $50 when I bought it 10 years ago) but there is still that problem with the connector ports requiring banana plugs and the only adaptor cable I ever found doesn't fit right. Plus I don't even remember where I found that adaptor cable LOL!
If stripping the plug off and using the bare wire works guess I won't need another VVPS... time will tell.
It COULD be that its not making good connections - I have the Tekpower VVPS that they used to recommend (I guess they still do though they have it marked as a "bench power supply" but its marketed as a tattooing VVPS). That came with an adaptor cable with banana plugs to a 2.1mm female connector. The banana plugs have NEVER fit in the plug port properly - too loose. To the point where I had to strip down to the wires and wrap the wire around the connector. I did that with the red (power) wire, guess I'll go ahead and strip down the ground side and wrap that as well in case that side is just not making good contact anymore - if it rattles around in the connector port (and it does), its too loose.
In the meantime - any suggestions for what power supply to buy? I could go with the Tekpower again. Its $35 (I think it may have been $50 when I bought it 10 years ago) but there is still that problem with the connector ports requiring banana plugs and the only adaptor cable I ever found doesn't fit right. Plus I don't even remember where I found that adaptor cable LOL!
If stripping the plug off and using the bare wire works guess I won't need another VVPS... time will tell.
coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
I had an intermittent issue with another log and the maker had me take a pin and pry up the tab cut out of the inside wall of the log's female plug, just slightly. It restored the connection and no problems since.
Flotsam
Well-Known Member
what i have typically done if banana plus are too loose is take a tiny flathead screwdriver and stick it into the longitudinal slots on the plug. Try and bend them out a bit and do this in a variety of locations on the plug. Doing this should make the plug a bit wider a bit and then should stick in the female receptable on the device. You have nothing to lose trying this if you were going to have to replace the banana plugs anyway.
All the connections on the plugs should be soldered if you have access to a soldering iron.
Octavia
No thoughts, head empty
Only the Air Core ones (ACXL), the standard and alpha cores (SC3/SC3+ and Alpha/+) can only work with stems afaik. I believe there are some other logs that support stems and dynavap tips, but can’t remember the brand(s).
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
I actually did that right after I posted, using one of my teensy screwdrivers for eyeglasses and such. It doesn't seem to have made any difference.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
I use default Dynavap tips with all my UDs, but it takes a piece of silicone tubing on the end of the stem to mate better with a "standard" UD. I can make this work with both the Alphas and the SC3s. But I have to remove the silicone tubing to refill.
Ed of Ed's TNT has commissioned a slightly larger OD Dynavap-type tip ($45 - don't know if that ever goes on sale!!!) that should fit snugly into the Alpha core - I intend to give it a try but don't have one yet.
Otherwise the ACXL is the best way to use standard Dynavap tips - and stems, the tips don't fit in any of the UD stems that I know of, they need 8mm ID (inner diameter) to take the Dynavap style tips. UD's glass stems are 10mm ID.
OH WAIT!!!! Here is how you can use any Dynavap tip with (almost) any UD stem:
Dynavap bong adapter
I just tried it. It fits down into either the standard or the Alpha size UD stems. It should fit anything up to 18mm - and you can of course use it directly with your bubbler or bong. It is manufactured as a 14mm to 18mm wpa (water pipe adapter aka bong adapter). It fits inside the 10mm ID standard size UD glass stem OK and fits down into the Alpha stem about halfway. I don't think this will work with the UD stainless steel stems.
Stem Sizes:
Small stainless tipped stems: 5/16" 7.9mm OD, 17/64" ID 6.75mm id
Standard glass stems: 15mm OD, 2.5mm wall, 10mm ID
Standard glass stems (thin wall no longer in production): 13mm OD, 1.5mm wall, 10mm ID
Alpha stainless tipped stems: 7/16" OD, 29/64" ID 11.5mm
Alpha glass stems: 19mm OD, 2.5mm wall, 14mm ID
Don't have measurements for the nylon stems but it might be possible to drop a bonger into a nylon stem - should be able to affix a Dynavap tip to almost any stem, at least for anything between 10mm and 18mm OD.
Looking at all this now I think you should be able to take a Dynavap B ($39) and stick it in a bonger ($15) to attach to your 10mm stem or bong/bubbler. Use the Fat Mouthpiece ($2) to adjust it for 14mm. This should work with any stem with an ID of 10mm to 14mm (with the Fat Mouthpiece).
So if you buy any tip and a bonger, you can fit it to any of your UD (and most other) stems. You don't need a complete Dynavap at all, and you can't use the caps with any UD - so you don't even need to buy the caps.
I'm glad you asked that question because it made me think and realize I can still use all my existing UD glass stems with my Dynavap tips and my ACXL or hopefully with Ed's Thermal Expansion tip in the Alpha.
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Hey man I really appreciate you writing this up. I'm going to do some more research and look at buying one.I use default Dynavap tips with all my UDs, but it takes a piece of silicone tubing on the end of a the stem to mate better with a "standard" UD. I can make this work with both the Alphas and the SC3s. But I have to remove the silicone tubing to refill.
Ed of Ed's TNT has commissioned a slightly larger OD Dynavap-type tip ($45 - don't know if that ever goes on sale!!!) that should fit snugly into the Alpha core - I intend to give it a try but don't have one yet.
Otherwise the ACXL is the best way to use standard Dynavap tips - and stems, the tips don't fit in any of the UD stems that I know of, they need 8mm ID (inner diameter) to take the Dynavap style tips. UD's glass stems are 10mm ID.
OH WAIT!!!! Here is how you can use any Dynavap tip with (almost) any UD stem:
Dynavap bong adapter
I just tried it. It fits down into either the standard or the Alpha size UD stems. It should fit anything up to 18mm - and you can of course use it directly with your bubbler or bong. It is manufactured as a 14mm to 18mm wpa (water pipe adapter aka bong adapter). It fits inside the 10mm ID standard size UD glass stem OK and fits down into the Alpha stem about halfway. I don't think this will work with the UD stainless steel stems.
Stem Sizes:
Small stainless tipped stems: 5/16" 7.9mm OD, 17/64" ID 6.75mm id
Standard glass stems: 15mm OD, 2.5mm wall, 10mm ID
Standard glass stems (thin wall no longer in production): 13mm OD, 1.5mm wall, 10mm ID
Alpha stainless tipped stems: 7/16" OD, 29/64" ID 11.5mm
Alpha glass stems: 19mm OD, 2.5mm wall, 14mm ID
Don't have measurements for the nylon stems but it might be possible to drop a nylon stem into the bonger and be able to affix a Dynavap tip to almost any stem, at least for anything between 10mm and 18mm OD.
Looking at all this now I think you should be able to take a Dynavap B (I think that's around $35) and stick it in a bonger ($15) to attach to your 10mm stem or bong/bubbler. Use the Fat Mouthpiece ($2) to adjust it for 14mm. This should work with any stem with an ID of 10mm to 14mm (with the Fat Mouthpiece).
So if you buy any tip and a bonger, you can fit it to any of your UD (and most other) stems. You don't need a complete Dynavap at all, and you can't use the caps with any UD - so you don't even need to buy the caps.
I'm glad you asked that question because it made me think and realize I can still use all my existing UD glass stems with my Dynavap tips and my ACXL or hopefully with Ed's Thermal Expansion tip in the Alpha.
Thanks!
nicknobody
Well-Known Member
Underdog has a nong for the alpha and they include a skinny silicone sleeve to make the seal perfect on the metal tip into the oven. I haven’t tried one on the ws chamber but I have a feeling it would well with it. Ask for one next time you make an order. I don’t remember seeing it for purchase on the site. It just comes with specific stems.
Also Hookahhead can twist up some glass intercoolers that drop in the regular alpha stem to help dial in air flow, reduce scooby snacks and look bitchen.
Highly recommend
It's weird to me that folks are trying to use DV tips with logs. In my experience the vapcap bowls aren't very good especially compared to almost every other stem I have. I definitely prefer the glass and SS tubes from UD. The paper tubes designed by Alan are also fantastic.
I like the simrell tip with the Woodscents but that's just because it's a massive upgrade to the tips made by dynavap.
Anyway, it's a big world, but I think there is little value for me in reusing those tips compared to a good stem.
I like the simrell tip with the Woodscents but that's just because it's a massive upgrade to the tips made by dynavap.
Anyway, it's a big world, but I think there is little value for me in reusing those tips compared to a good stem.
Honestly I hate screens. The Dynavap screens are the best way for me to consume with out messing with the positioning consonantly. Hit it, scrape it off in the debowler, reload it, hit it again. I spend way too much time adjusting screens on my enano stems. I even have Eds tnt wpa stem I have mothballed because the screens are a pain.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
I STRENUOUSLY disagree. The Dynavap tips work way better for me than having to muck around with basket screens that I make very poorly and don't want to have to make at all. I want to just drop stuff in there and go. I can do that with the Dynavap tips - they have a ridge to hold a flat screen with no worries. And you can get 100 mesh screens from DDave. The Dynavap "screens" are utterly useless. I have so much ABV down in the stems I can't reclaim the resin at all. I wasted $22 on extras of those LOL!
You can also just get the Dynavap Dosing capsules - these COULD be dropped down into a standard UD stem (pretty sure they'll even fit in the stainless steel stems but I don't have one to try, the Dynavap dosing capsules are a bit under 8mm OD) without having to haul the basket screen out to clean it all the time - the capsules encapsulate your herb very well and I don't see a lot of crud build up with them. I'm in the process of starting with clean stems and just the dosing caps to see how well they catch all the crumbs (already had abv down in my stems before I got the dosing caps).
I don't much like the dosing caps actually, they are REALLY small and fiddly for people with less than perfect hand control LOL! I had five. Now I have 4 complete dosing capsules and one that's missing the cap. I have lost a cap 3 times, only found the lost cap twice. Lost a capsule once, took me 2 days to find it. From being dropped on the floor, they bounce and roll and are really small and hard to see (especially the caps). But they do give me another easy way to use standard UD stems. And given the fact that I've only totally lost one piece in a month or more, they are pretty darn well designed. I don't have any trouble getting the caps on and off, though I can see where even that could be troublesome for some people. Its my fingers that are the issue here LOL!
Since I got my first UD I've been looking for an easier to use stem/screen setup. I have come up with all sorts of ways to get a flat screen into a UD stem. And they all work ok, its just ... they are FIDDLY.
With the Dynavap tips, all the fiddly-ness just goes away. I can drop a flat screen into a tip, stick it in one of my Dynavap stems OR a UD stem with the bonger adapter, fill it with herb, and use it directly with an ACXL. Ditto with the dosing capsules (you don't actually NEED a screen using a dynavap tip with a dosing capsule).
Hoping I can use my Alpha with Ed's Thermal Expansion tip the same way. Thus, all kluginess is conquered.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
8mm (a bit over 5/16"), though I've seen where some people say they have gotten away with using 3/8" (about 9 mm). I can't find any 8mm or 5/16" screens with small enough mesh (I like 100 mesh) but there is a guy who makes 100 mesh stainless and titanium 8mm screens to fit the Dynavap.
I like to keep my ABV out of my resin. Hence the uber fine screen preference.
coolbreeze
Well-Known Member
Thanks, man, I will rummage a bit and if I don't find it, I'll add it to my list. I gotta say, I love those nylon stems, the bowls are amazing.
Excellent idea!
Nice!Highly recommend
I realized after I posted about that I had a full kit of dowels to...move the screens with! So I've adjusted one of the bowls to me a bit smaller. One great thing about a modular bowl would be using a 10 or 14mm WPA with it.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
OK I said this wrong:
You don't need a bonger if your stem or bong opening is 10mm, the Dynavap B will fit in without it. Adding the $2 Fat Mouthpiece will adapt the B for a 14mm stem or bong. Adding the Bonger (instead of the Fat Mouthpiece) will act as an adapter for anything between 14mm and 18mm ID. Actually probably down to 10mm but the B is already sized for 10mm openings.
You don't need a bonger if your stem or bong opening is 10mm, the Dynavap B will fit in without it. Adding the $2 Fat Mouthpiece will adapt the B for a 14mm stem or bong. Adding the Bonger (instead of the Fat Mouthpiece) will act as an adapter for anything between 14mm and 18mm ID. Actually probably down to 10mm but the B is already sized for 10mm openings.
hotmeals
Serial vapist
The Bonger should definitely work with most 10mm and 14mm joints. I've heard it generally fits 18mm also, but I don't think they advertise that. Personally I am in the camp that feels like the fat mouthpiece kinda sucks as a 14mm adapter, but it's usable. The B does indeed fit very nicely in 10mm, as do all of the M stems, and many of their other stems/mouthpieces.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
I agree. But its only $2 so you're not out much if you don't like it.
I already miss being able to use my ACXL. I wish I knew what I did with my spare VVPS. I've had it in my hands at least 3 times since the move. *sigh*
CanikUser19
Trenchtown Rock
Best option I’ve used for my vvps needs:
https://refc-labs.com/products/advanced-telemetry-module?variant=41028135485629
I’m about to order two power modules to finally finish the dual bay shell I bought a long while ago.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
That is WAY overkill for my needs. Also mondo 'spensive. Your double bay dealy is going to run you around $150.
All I need is a 3 amp VVPS, a splitter cable, and variable voltage up to 12v. My current VVPS runs my Alpha and SC3/+ at 10.8v. It is only 2a but that's close enough to run 2 vapes which I won't do that often anyway. But if I DO buy a new VVPS I would prefer a little overkill, 3a capable, no changes possible for anything BUT the voltage or I'll end up constantly futzing up the settings.
Plus at this point I'm not so sure the issue is with the VVPS anyway. My Alpha and SC3/+ are both running fine on the current VVPS @ 10.8v, but even pumping the power up over 12 isn't getting me enough heat with the ACXL. Loose connection maybe? Or something else I still need to troubleshoot for? Same cables, same power supply, same stems, same weed. The standard UDs are working OK, but the ACXL is not heating up enough even if I pump up the power. It was hotter at first, but looking back I now think it was not up to snuff because I had to turn the VVPS up to 12.1 the first time I used it. When I got up to 12.6 and it wasn't getting any hotter, I unplugged the ACXL. because I was afraid to damage something.
It actually took me a couple of hours to figure out that if I didn't have a different VVPS, at least I had TWO spare UDs to test with the current VVPS. DUH!
Turns out they work fine, still at 10.8 or maybe a little lower (I did get a little volcanoing a couple times at 10.8, a little dark at the center but at least not fully combusted).
Can't find my multimeter but given the VVPS is functioning properly with 2 of 3 of my UDs, I think it behooves me at this point to look at that third (ACXL) UD.
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CanikUser19
Trenchtown Rock
Uh, was just a suggestion
. The modules are $35 apiece, the shell was $30. And I often run two logs at the same time and need more than 12v to run both. And the memory presets for the different logs. Yep a little more expensive. Yep in my opinion worth it.
CurryLeafTreehugger
Well-Known Member
Minor point but when I went and looked the shell was $35 and the modules were $36. Still, 2 shells, 2 modules - @$35/$30 that's $130, plus cables. Its a lotta money.Uh, was just a suggestion
Actually I take that back. Went back and looked again and that is a dual module already @$35 on sale (reg $40, also out of stock atm) so you only need one shell. So that makes it about $100 plus cables for your dual setup. $35 for the shell, $36x2 for the power modules, that's $107 plus whatever the cables cost.
TL;DR - Your setup will support up to 8 UDs, not just 2.
The power supply is limited by the current draw of the devices you plug into it, not the required voltage. Given your VVPS will go up to at least 12, and given that UDs are a 1a load, what you need is a device capable of putting out 2a or 3a to give you some head room (hence I would look for 3a to run 2 devices without ever maxing it out).
Those modules go up to 5a - that is plenty to run 4 devices and still not max it out. With ONE module, and one shell. And a splitter cable. You can get a 4 way splitter (I only need a 2 way splitter).
Think of the voltage as if it is a water tank (this is not really all that apropos but I think its a good enough analogy for now). Then the cables are water pipes. The water is current. The device you plug in is a pump. The pump pulls the water (the device pulls current) up to the max it can use, which for our purposes is 1a for the heaters in Underdog log vapes.
The power supply in your case can provide 5a per module.
So the pumps (our UDs) will only pull 1a of current max NO MATTER how much amperage is available. (No matter how full the tank is, the pumps only pump at 1g per minute so that's all the water that will be pulled through the pipes). We're going to assume that the tank refills exactly in pace with the outflow - like I said, not a perfect analogy, since voltage doesn't really get "used up" like water would (ignoring little details like voltage drop due to resistance which is basically how the heaters work, heat is created by the current running through the wires).
Now if you plug SIX UDs into a 5a power source, nobody will get their full 1a of current because there is only 5a available and you are trying to pull 6a.
Obviously there is a lot of stuff involving resistance, atoms, electrons, and a lot of other details of electrical engineering but basically that's what you need to know for these purposes. Get a VVPS that provides one more amp than you need to run your device(s) so you never max out the power supply (which would shorten its life and also NOT provide you with the full 1a that you need in a stable reliable fashion - it's likely to drop out from time to time at the edges of what it can provide and what you are trying to draw from it).
When you adjust the voltage you are changing the current delivered - if the voltage is reduced, less current will flow and will create less heat in the resistance heater inside the UD. If you increase voltage it (should) increase current flow. With our plumbing analogy, changing the voltage setting is like changing the water faucet - open for more water flow, close it down for less.
So your VVPS needs to go up to 12v, but as long as it can provide the amperage for each device, that's all you need no matter how many devices you plug in. 1 device, 12v max. 2 devices, 12v max. 100 devices - 12v max assuming your power supply is capable of delivering 101 amps (plus one to avoid hitting the max although if this 100a power supply was for real you'd probably need more than 1 extra amp depending on how much fluctuation there is per device on average).
So you don't really need a double power supply to run two devices. You just need something that hits your voltage target (usually 10-12 a for most people with UDs) and can provide enough current for each device (1amp per UD log vape). With this setup and leaving headroom to not stress the power supply, you can run FOUR devices per bay, or a total of 8 UDs. (Oh yeah and the appropriate splitter cables).
Could be useful in a party situation?