Discontinued VRIPtech Heating Wand

[stonemonkey55]

Luke - email me your name and let me see if I can find out what's up with your order

 

[UrDoinItWrong]

Ugh...picked up my V 3.0 today and it seems like it's not hot enough. I already had a "trusty" 2.0 that I had recently got back from a complementary repair (again). I unplugged it to plug in the new wand...discovered the new wand didn't work right (VT settings appear different than working wand I already had)...so I go to plug back in my older wand and NO LIGHT...IT DIED RIGHT THEN. lol, wtf, I have terrible luck with these things. I'm using a surge protector too. I swear to god if I have to contact Mark again (who is always cool) he's going to assume I'm a scammer or something!! ARrrggg, Stonemonkey, how easy is it to open one of these up to turn up the VT settings?

 

[biojuggernaut]

Cake. Follow the link above ^^ for a good and easy guide. If I could one suggestion however the board only need to be taken to the hole created for the temp dial. Any jewelers or small eye glass fix'em screw drivers will work. My VHW V.3 didn't work either, tried adjusting the VT1 the whole still no luck, so i just shipped it back.... :/

 

[NoSmoke]

Ugh...picked up my V 3.0 today and it seems like it's not hot enough. I already had a "trusty" 2.0 that I had recently got back from a complementary repair (again). I unplugged it to plug in the new wand...discovered the new wand didn't work right (VT settings appear different than working wand I already had)...so I go to plug back in my older wand and NO LIGHT...IT DIED RIGHT THEN. lol, wtf, I have terrible luck with these things. I'm using a surge protector too. I swear to god if I have to contact Mark again (who is always cool) he's going to assume I'm a scammer or something!! ARrrggg, Stonemonkey, how easy is it to open one of these up to turn up the VT settings?

I find that funny, I got mine a couple months ago from Mark and it died two days later, I gave up, both (original and replacement) are sitting in a box in my room, waiting to be shipped. I went thru about 7-8 wands from the beginning until now, customer service has always been GREAT, but i'm just tired of the hassle.

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Just an update for those interested, turns out USPS has done something screwey and not updated their service for more than a couple of people. Hoping to see my package today or early next week, but it's certainly not Mark's issue, more a beaurocratic one.

Can't wait to get vaping some Cali O!

Many thanks to SM.

 

[UrDoinItWrong]

Got my 3.0 to produce good vapor, it requires a slightly different draw rate/technique than my 2.0 wand.

Still, my duff isn't that dark.....although when I try to re-vape it in my Genie it doesn't produce much more vapor at all...so perhaps the new wand is just vaping it with less oxidation therefore making my duff lighter in appearance.

noSmoke, glad to hear someone else is killing wands left and right. I wonder what is so fragile about the element that it keeps popping...I was going to even try a better surge protector. Oh well. It really is the best vape, nothing gets me more baked. It's a shame. I will keep trying! (unless the cloud trumps it )

 

[biojuggernaut]

Got my 3.0 to produce good vapor, it requires a slightly different draw rate/technique than my 2.0 wand.

Still, my duff isn't that dark.....although when I try to re-vape it in my Genie it doesn't produce much more vapor at all...so perhaps the new wand is just vaping it with less oxidation therefore making my duff lighter in appearance.

noSmoke, glad to hear someone else is killing wands left and right. I wonder what is so fragile about the element that it keeps popping...I was going to even try a better surge protector. Oh well. It really is the best vape, nothing gets me more baked. It's a shame. I will keep trying! (unless the cloud trumps it )

Care to explain the technique your using to get more dank hits?

 

[stinkmeaner]

noSmoke, glad to hear someone else is killing wands left and right. I wonder what is so fragile about the element that it keeps popping...I was going to even try a better surge protector. Oh well. It really is the best vape, nothing gets me more baked. It's a shame. I will keep trying! (unless the cloud trumps it )

I doubt the it is the quality of the elements they are using. From what they have said they put a better brand of element in the VHW than what would typically come in the soldering iron handle they use. So I would guess they are using a similar style element as most of the top manufacturers.

I would say the problem lies with their circuitry in the iron handle or the way the glass cover is mounted, I know many type of heating elements like to be flush with the object they are heating, where as the VHW has the element inside a glass tube with air between which creates an oven like environment for the element which essentially cooks the element itself. If the element has a snug, flush fit then the heat from the element would penetrate directly into the glass which is a much more efficient way to use cartridge heaters.

 

[UrDoinItWrong]

Well, both my wands are dead now. Plugged in my 3.0 today and NO LIGHT. They both died within 3 months sooooo I'm sending them off again.

Oddly enough too, both of my wands died after being plugged in after a period of inactivity of a week/several days. So it wasn't overuse, they both juse died on the next plug-in after a significant rest.

 

[vapeArama]

Mark or Shadow vape wear are you, You need to have some one in the shop !

 

[Luke Skywalker]

All came in finally! Getting customers all sorted and tried out the heatwand last night was beautiful. Will be putting another order very soon. Hopefully will be a little less painful and long winded order next time but looking forward to getting the next one going sooner rather than later.

 

[vapormonkey]

Why can't Chris from 7th floor make a rock solid wand device and the Vripmaster add his awesome vortex glass that the 7th floor design can protect to a degree.

Team these two up and I'll pay $500 for my dream unit in a heartbeat. We need these two working together for best results.

 

[ShadowVape]

Sorry for the long absence guys our in-house customer service needs have been off the hook because sales have been off the hook and there is only so much of me to go around you know? Mark has asked me to check in and make sure everything was straight on FC because StoneMonkey said it was time (well and Mark included it in the job description)! So it looks like we have a couple of users with some issues to sort out creating posts that sort of make it sound like we're having all kinds of problems (we're not) so to give some statistically significant clarification to the post here I asked Mark to look at the tech log and compare to sales on the 2.0s since we're not selling them anymore and figure out just exactly how many issues we had with those units as a percent basis. The magic number: just under eight percent of the total number of VHW 2.0s sold have been serviced either under warranty or by paid element replacement service to date. Not spectacular, but not horrible either given the upside of the highest quality vapor extracted and delivered if used correctly period (sorry to fans of other products...all good....just speaking the actual vapor quality truth here/As Mark always says the best vaporizer is the one you'll actually use but when it comes to vapor quality we've staked our claim and back it). To be clear, some of those where repeats with the same customers, presumably heavier users and/or users who are intent on plugging into outlets with poor or non-existant grounds or rough power. We had a a handful of repeat problems with users who later admitted they where not using surge protectors with surge suppression (as recommended) and when did no longer had problems (go figure). And at least two customers who still had a problem even with a surge protector and who went to a voltage regulator to be sure (one of them sure that they would still have a problem proving the problem was ours) Voila....no more problem....just condensed broad spectrum moisture and ice conditioned aromatic vapor love. Damn I love typing that....

So getting to the 3.0s, which do in fact as Stinkmeaner has pointed out feature an upgraded element that is unlike any element used in the industry (see previous posts for more info on the difference between the 3.0's integrated circuit element and the 2.0s nichrome coil element as used on many other vaporizers), WE HAVE HAD EXACTLY ONE FAILED 3.0 ELEMENT!!!! And it wasn't a production unit it was a prototype used by one of Mark's bros who also went through three 2.0s in as many months until Mark got him on the 3.0 proto and when he fried that Mark finally started asking questions: i.e. what else is on that same circuit breaker??? The answer: some high powered lights that go on and off often at times that the wand is plugged in...and the location? An old house in the Sunset district of San Fran with far less than steller wiring. So now that that is clarified (Mark's bro by the way is now using a voltage regulator and a production 3.0 with no issues to date) all I can say is that we'll happily inspect the two units it sounds like will be coming back to us from FC users and repair or replace if they turn out to be #2 and #3. However, I should clarify here that ADJUSTING THE VARIABLE TRANSISTORS ON THE BOARD TECHNICALLY INVALIDATES THE WARRANTY UNLESS YOU DID IT WITH OUR PERMISSION AND INSTRUCTION WHICH WE WOULD HAVE NEVER GIVEN ON A 3.0 BECAUSE THE 3.0S DO NOT NEED OR BENEFIT FROM SUCH AN ADJUSTMENT. I'm sure Mark will tell me to just take care of BLOJUGGERNAUT under warranty anyway even if it appears the problem was casued by the adjustment that shouldn't have been made because that's what Mark does to maintain his mission of superior vapor for all. But please guys....do not make any adjustments to the variable transistors on the 3.0....it will not benefit. Instead follow the instructions to the T including the part about pre-heating, keeping the wand sealed in the intake throughout a couple of slow primer draws and the primary draws. Also, to be clear the load carcass as we lovingly refer to the spent herbs around here should be evenly light browned only...dark browning means you're slow smoking/ hybrid vapor/smoking. You'll notice that a benefit to the sequential venturi design of our VCBs and the vortex flow form function of the directed intakes on the VHW enable a very condensed but still clean aromatic vapor WITHOUT TURNING THE HERBS DARK BROWN OR CREATING DARK BROWN "HOT SPOTS" AS SEEN ON MANY OTHER VAPORIZERS. This is by design and a requirement if you want superior vapor quality.

We have now sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 of the new 3.0s and have had a few customers not properly follow the instructions and insist it wasn't getting hot enough just as we are used too with many new customers from the 2.0s. The majority of those customers figured it out with the tips given on our step by step page VHW direction set after they where emailed to them, but so far two have sent their wands back for evaluation and one of them has already been evaluated by Mark and I: in fact, we took video of us blowing thick blue Vapor with it and posted it in private for the customer to check. The customer has now admitted that the mistake he made was pulling the wand tip in and out of the intake to look at the herb instead of keeping it sealed until a couple of easy primer draws could get it going. The customer is now beyond stoked (as are all of our customers who take the time to get dialed in and give us a chance to help if necessary) and has said that "NOTHING COMPARES NOW THAT I KNOW HOW TO USE THIS THING RIGHT!" And then goes on to say 'THANKS FOR THE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE SHADOWVAPE AND SORRY FOR THE IMPATIENCE....I JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO GET TO THOSE VAPORS AND KEPT PULLING IT OUT TO TAKE A LOOK." Let's hope he doesn't say anything like that to his lady!!!

It's all Love here guys and while we do our best to be clear on the order page that this approach to vapor isn't for everyone we'll work with everyone who buys one until they are beyond satisfied. So NoSmoke or UrDoingItWrong or whichever one of you was giving up and sick of the hassle....trust me on this, we'll take care of you if you just contact us and ask. Since your an FC member Mark has even authorized his personal mobile # be given so you can talk to him yourself since he is always traveling and not always email capable. And to anyone else posting about problems please feel free to do so as we want the truth here, BUT PLEASE ALSO DO US THE JUSTICE OF POSTING THE RESULTS OF WHEN YOUR PROBLEM IS SOLVED AND YOU'RE INHALING THE SAME BLUE VAPORS WE ARE AND ARE INCLINED TO FORGET ANY PROBLEMS EVER EXISTED LET ALONE WHERE POSTED ON A FORUM SOMEWHERE!!!

I respectfully ask this of you because of two really good reasons (among many others):
1. VripTech is one of the main income sources for Mark and how he not only pays me, but also how he provides for his family and there is a tendency to have only the problems (a gross minority of our customers) and not the solutions or the compliments posted because the solutions lead to ridiculous vapor quality that makes any problems just fade away, (FC.com carrys alot of weight when customers are choosing what vaporizer to buy...don't forget or take for granted the power you wield here FC.com members!) and 2. Simple OG RESPECT! Mark was pushing vapor back in the '90s when virtually no one was (not with a vaporizer that actually worked anyway) and VripTech is a big part of why there is the industry there is now and even a reason for FC.com today!!! We enjoy a high 90 percentile customer loyalty rate for a reason: once dialed in on our system it's hard to use any other even with the complications simply because of the vapor quality attainable. If we could sit with everyone of you and dial you in in person I GUARANTEE WITH 100% CERTAINTY YOU WOULD BE AS THE MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE: STOKED ON VAPOR OF A QUALITY THAT IS OFTEN CALLED "LIFE CHANGING"....To say nothing of what Mark would be packing or would have given me to pack!

 

[IAmKrazy2]

Thanks for stopping in ShadowVape, I can not disagree with the best quality vape statement.

The first VHW 2.0 i received came to me not working properly. It barely heated up, and the elements never grew red. I was frustrated, like the other guy that i had waited for something brand new, and it seemed it hadn't been tested. In a couple of days i was on the phone with Mark and he overnight-ed me a new heating element. Since then, wow.

The way i torcher my current VHW i am surprised it is still working. This thing may lay on a low setting for hours and hours as i use bong after bong. Great vapor, that you just want to keep going back to if you have the med's to support the wand. I always keep mine on a power surge, and i have no issues what so ever.

 

[ShadowVape]

Thanks Darth Vapor.....appreciate the props. For those that know him I'm confident there will be 100% agreement Mark is one of the most generous people you'll ever cross paths with and his vision for VripTech started and is maintained not as a typical for-profit-business model but a superior-vapor-for-everyone model and he seriously goes above and beyond or authorizes me to go above and beyond ALL THE TIME for his customers even when it's obvious the customer wasn't using the products correctly. At the end of the day it's not even fair to compare Vrip products to most vaporizers in my opinion given the material differences and I for one have alot of respect for what he has done out of the love of vapor and sharing that stoke that simply isn't possible with other approaches when he could be making a lot more money and have a lot easier model doing it othewise. And yeah it's nice to have the meds to support the drive to keep the flavor flowin' heh? When your 2.0 does finally go I've been authorized to pass along Bro-Form upgrades on the new 3.0s to FC.com members with existing 2.0s. We're not making the Bro-Form price public by posting this time because unfortunately we then get every shopper who came through the forum asking for the same deal and simply can't do it, but email us and we'll get you sorted. BTW: you bring up a good point about the 2.0 element life. It does seem that leaving it on low for extended periods and only turning up when you need it as opposed to turning it on and off can extend the life of the elements. The engineer has said that it's the on full bore and off completely that beats up the elements as well as the rough or non-grounded power sources. We have customers that leave them on 24 hrs a day just turning them down when they aren't in use and then up when they want to take Vrips who swear this is the best way to go. But so far the 3.0s appear virtually bullet proof regardless so I for one am really enjoying the drop off in customer service issues for the elements. Again, thanks for the props bro...the forum was sounding a bit neg when we're used to lots of love!

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Hey guys I'm noticing that the heat element on my wand is touching the glass cover on the inside, is this okay or should I be making sure it's centered in the middle of the heater cover?

Hoping that Mark or Shadow get back to me soon too, already have another couple of grands worth of parts I need to order for down under customers.

 

[stinkmeaner]

**ShadowVape** What is the temperature range of the new version? (I don't mean the glass but specifically the element temperature) I know the similar product it is based on is normally around ranged from 200- 450C, is that changed?

 

[vapormonkey]

I've been a 10 year supporter of the Vripmaster and use his methods exclusively since the 90's. Thank you very much for the overview Shawdowvape, it really does help explain the scope of things. Does Vriptech offer any FC discount? I'd like to order directly to make sure I get the newest version.

 

[biojuggernaut]

Sorry for the long absence guys our in-house customer service needs have been off the hook because sales have been off the hook and there is only so much of me to go around you know? Mark has asked me to check in and make sure everything was straight on FC because StoneMonkey said it was time (well and Mark included it in the job description)! So it looks like we have a couple of users with some issues to sort out creating posts that sort of make it sound like we're having all kinds of problems (we're not) so to give some statistically significant clarification to the post here I asked Mark to look at the tech log and compare to sales on the 2.0s since we're not selling them anymore and figure out just exactly how many issues we had with those units as a percent basis. The magic number: just under eight percent of the total number of VHW 2.0s sold have been serviced either under warranty or by paid element replacement service to date. Not spectacular, but not horrible either given the upside of the highest quality vapor extracted and delivered if used correctly period (sorry to fans of other products...all good....just speaking the actual vapor quality truth here/As Mark always says the best vaporizer is the one you'll actually use but when it comes to vapor quality we've staked our claim and back it). To be clear, some of those where repeats with the same customers, presumably heavier users and/or users who are intent on plugging into outlets with poor or non-existant grounds or rough power. We had a a handful of repeat problems with users who later admitted they where not using surge protectors with surge suppression (as recommended) and when did no longer had problems (go figure). And at least two customers who still had a problem even with a surge protector and who went to a voltage regulator to be sure (one of them sure that they would still have a problem proving the problem was ours) Voila....no more problem....just condensed broad spectrum moisture and ice conditioned aromatic vapor love. Damn I love typing that....

So getting to the 3.0s, which do in fact as Stinkmeaner has pointed out feature an upgraded element that is unlike any element used in the industry (see previous posts for more info on the difference between the 3.0's integrated circuit element and the 2.0s nichrome coil element as used on many other vaporizers), WE HAVE HAD EXACTLY ONE FAILED 3.0 ELEMENT!!!! And it wasn't a production unit it was a prototype used by one of Mark's bros who also went through three 2.0s in as many months until Mark got him on the 3.0 proto and when he fried that Mark finally started asking questions: i.e. what else is on that same circuit breaker??? The answer: some high powered lights that go on and off often at times that the wand is plugged in...and the location? An old house in the Sunset district of San Fran with far less than steller wiring. So now that that is clarified (Mark's bro by the way is now using a voltage regulator and a production 3.0 with no issues to date) all I can say is that we'll happily inspect the two units it sounds like will be coming back to us from FC users and repair or replace if they turn out to be #2 and #3. However, I should clarify here that ADJUSTING THE VARIABLE TRANSISTORS ON THE BOARD TECHNICALLY INVALIDATES THE WARRANTY UNLESS YOU DID IT WITH OUR PERMISSION AND INSTRUCTION WHICH WE WOULD HAVE NEVER GIVEN ON A 3.0 BECAUSE THE 3.0S DO NOT NEED OR BENEFIT FROM SUCH AN ADJUSTMENT. I'm sure Mark will tell me to just take care of BLOJUGGERNAUT under warranty anyway even if it appears the problem was casued by the adjustment that shouldn't have been made because that's what Mark does to maintain his mission of superior vapor for all. But please guys....do not make any adjustments to the variable transistors on the 3.0....it will not benefit. Instead follow the instructions to the T including the part about pre-heating, keeping the wand sealed in the intake throughout a couple of slow primer draws and the primary draws. Also, to be clear the load carcass as we lovingly refer to the spent herbs around here should be evenly light browned only...dark browning means you're slow smoking/ hybrid vapor/smoking. You'll notice that a benefit to the sequential venturi design of our VCBs and the vortex flow form function of the directed intakes on the VHW enable a very condensed but still clean aromatic vapor WITHOUT TURNING THE HERBS DARK BROWN OR CREATING DARK BROWN "HOT SPOTS" AS SEEN ON MANY OTHER VAPORIZERS. This is by design and a requirement if you want superior vapor quality.

We have now sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 of the new 3.0s and have had a few customers not properly follow the instructions and insist it wasn't getting hot enough just as we are used too with many new customers from the 2.0s. The majority of those customers figured it out with the tips given on our step by step page VHW direction set after they where emailed to them, but so far two have sent their wands back for evaluation and one of them has already been evaluated by Mark and I: in fact, we took video of us blowing thick blue Vapor with it and posted it in private for the customer to check. The customer has now admitted that the mistake he made was pulling the wand tip in and out of the intake to look at the herb instead of keeping it sealed until a couple of easy primer draws could get it going. The customer is now beyond stoked (as are all of our customers who take the time to get dialed in and give us a chance to help if necessary) and has said that "NOTHING COMPARES NOW THAT I KNOW HOW TO USE THIS THING RIGHT!" And then goes on to say 'THANKS FOR THE GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE SHADOWVAPE AND SORRY FOR THE IMPATIENCE....I JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO GET TO THOSE VAPORS AND KEPT PULLING IT OUT TO TAKE A LOOK." Let's hope he doesn't say anything like that to his lady!!!

It's all Love here guys and while we do our best to be clear on the order page that this approach to vapor isn't for everyone we'll work with everyone who buys one until they are beyond satisfied. So NoSmoke or UrDoingItWrong or whichever one of you was giving up and sick of the hassle....trust me on this, we'll take care of you if you just contact us and ask. Since your an FC member Mark has even authorized his personal mobile # be given so you can talk to him yourself since he is always traveling and not always email capable. And to anyone else posting about problems please feel free to do so as we want the truth here, BUT PLEASE ALSO DO US THE JUSTICE OF POSTING THE RESULTS OF WHEN YOUR PROBLEM IS SOLVED AND YOU'RE INHALING THE SAME BLUE VAPORS WE ARE AND ARE INCLINED TO FORGET ANY PROBLEMS EVER EXISTED LET ALONE WHERE POSTED ON A FORUM SOMEWHERE!!!

I respectfully ask this of you because of two really good reasons (among many others):
1. VripTech is one of the main income sources for Mark and how he not only pays me, but also how he provides for his family and there is a tendency to have only the problems (a gross minority of our customers) and not the solutions or the compliments posted because the solutions lead to ridiculous vapor quality that makes any problems just fade away, (FC.com carrys alot of weight when customers are choosing what vaporizer to buy...don't forget or take for granted the power you wield here FC.com members!) and 2. Simple OG RESPECT! Mark was pushing vapor back in the '90s when virtually no one was (not with a vaporizer that actually worked anyway) and VripTech is a big part of why there is the industry there is now and even a reason for FC.com today!!! We enjoy a high 90 percentile customer loyalty rate for a reason: once dialed in on our system it's hard to use any other even with the complications simply because of the vapor quality attainable. If we could sit with everyone of you and dial you in in person I GUARANTEE WITH 100% CERTAINTY YOU WOULD BE AS THE MAJORITY OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE: STOKED ON VAPOR OF A QUALITY THAT IS OFTEN CALLED "LIFE CHANGING"....To say nothing of what Mark would be packing or would have given me to pack!

Thanks Shadowvape,
Sorry about the unit but you validating my warrenty makes me feel a whole lot better about my purchase!

 

[stonemonkey55]

Luke - a little wiggling is OK - no need to worry.

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Thanks stonedmonkey. It's working all good, was just worried direct contact with the internal sleeve of the glass may harm it.

Bloody blew my head off last night too. Soooooo toasted.

 

[ShadowVape]

Luke....the element should not touch at the top where the element glows orange but will touch down lower where the glass has a smaller ID by design. The inner glass that encapsulates the element is sand blasted but a small "cat-eye" is supposed to be left clear on the top so you can look down into it and see the tip of the element. It doesn't need to be perfectly centered just not against the side at the tip. If you think it has shifted you can remove the screw that holds the glass to the housing and finagle it a bit and then snug it back up. The element should be a bit loose as we purposely remove the ground plate screws so that the glass defines the position and if you shake the wand it actually will rattle back and forth in there a little..again this is by design and extends the life of the glass. If the tip of the element is laid up against the glass you'll find out pretty quick as you'll end up with a crack from the heating expansion and cooling contraction, and of course, you'll be covered under warranty. You'll sometimes hear a cracking-like sound when it cools, but not get any cracking. This doesn't happen on many units but on some including the one I'm using. As long as no cracks you're all good just enjoy the Vrapor I mean Vrips I mean Vapor...Yeah...we know it works, but I for one am still doing alot of testing. If this is going to happen though from the glass being in contact with the element or from a defect in the glass it will happen within a few uses normally and usually the piece will still be perfectly functional until a replacement arrives, in fact, we've had users who we've sent a replacement cover to remain using the cracked one for many months and end up dropping the thing and breaking it that way before actually needing the replacement (I guess for them the crack was a good thing LOL!). Funny how honest our customers are when they realize we just want them to be as stoked as we are on superior vapor everyday!

StinkMeaner in all honesty I'm not sure of the exact temp range of the new elements but do know that they get quite a bit hotter. I remember Mark talking with the engineer of a U.S. company that we where hoping could improve upon the imported element or at least sell us an equivalent U.S. made product and being told that this element had over 200% greater "watt density" than anything they could make us (not sure exactly what that means other than hotter!). I just tried to get Mark on the phone to get something more specific, but couldn't get him...will try to get some more specifics later and post or do me a favor and send an email to Mark @ headvripper@vriptech.com and just tell him who you are and I'm pretty sure he'll have something better than I tech detail wise. Suffice to say it gets alot hotter, but the heat is concentrated more at the tip which works better for this application and the realities of tooling the glass. BTW: The 3.0 cover does still work retro on the 2.0s you just don't use the thermal exchange coil and it will take a minute more or so to heat all the way up than it did with the old covers that where a tighter fit and the coils.

VaporMonkey we don't offer FC discounts per se as we believe that all of our customers deserve a a great deal and at the minimal mark-ups we make a living off of that's exactly what we offer. We do have an upgrade Bro-Form (wholesale) deal for those with a 2.0 who want to get the 3.0 (and will presumably do the same from the 3.0 to the 4.0 someday) so if that's you (or any other FC member or reader that should become a member...ahem...) just send an email to info@vriptech.com and I'll dial you in. If you don't have a 2.0 just know that as a FC.com member you'll tend to get special attention from Mark and he'll bust my balls if I don't jump if you need me to! If you've been a long time customer with alot of support over the years given to VripTech I'm happy to ask Mark by name if he'll hook you on a deal or throw something in no worries just hit me up @ info@vriptech.com.

 

[ShadowVape]

Oh and no worries BloJuggerNaut...we'll get you dialed in...sorry about the hassle and resulting delays!

 

[stinkmeaner]

Now that I have done more research on the subject, it seems that even many top Euro manufacturers are using Japanese elements in their irons that still use ceramic elements. I don't think many US companies have moved passed the NiChrome coil packed into a ceramic tube.

Basically what I am getting at is you are probably better with the element you have no matter where it is made.

 

[ShadowVape]

Stinkmeaner- you're assesment is money from what I understand. Same conclusion Mark came to after being really disappointed that the U.S. manufacturer basically said "we can't compete at any price." I know Mark was really pushing for these guys to be able to compete and was open with them that he felt a higher price point would be acceptable by the consumer for a U.S. made product but they weren't interested in even competing as our numbers wouldn't be big enough for them to justify the R&D and tooling expense at this point (and they didn't have any experience with the IC type of elements). They pretty much didn't want to supply us if we wouldn't accept the same old same old. So even if we change some of the components in the future to U.S. made (I know Mark has been looking at a pretty trick ceramic housing option) we'll still likely be working with the same element for some time to come as it's really proven itself through substantial torture testing. Even though we just started selling the 3.0s we've had the protos for at least eight months and have put some of them through the ringer with no issues with the elements or boards....only the glass has taken a beating and that is really the nature of glass and the trade off for the purity. The new 3.0 glass covers have addressed these issues competently and even offer some improvements in terms of thermal exchange, but as far as the elements go these seem to be the hum babies we where searching for. As per your previous post about proximity of the element to the encapsulating body the only thing I would think would be cool to try would be to get the same elements without the ceramic cast and have the IC laid up right against the glass and see what kind of efficiencies could be gained if any; although this would probably lead to issues with the glass. Always something in the pursuit of perfection...time for a Vrip! Somebody's got to maintain the daily R&D effort....