Discontinued VRIPtech Heating Wand

[charliedontsurf]

So to keep things short and sweet, I love this damn thing. The flavor is, as expected from an all glass airpath, absolutely superb. Vapor density is high and the whole unit is nicely constructed. I concur with the general consensus of hearty approval for the performance of the VHW 3.0.

Cons would be that it could have a higher maximum temperature, and I don't love the aesthetics of the dial.

Edit: this has pretty much taken the title for my favorite at-home vaporizer. The hype is all true and the flavor is just phenomenal. I'm interested to see how the Cloud will compare.

 

[lookmomnohands]

And now presenting...

The VHW meets Hamm Brushland's Hurricane.

My most cherished piece.

I would not be surprised if some thought it to be overkill vaporizing out of this beauty. I can understand that point of view. But personally, I love the function of both separately and together too much to care. I really do think they make a killer duo. The clear from the Hurricane is really goes deep into the lungs! Can't really describe the clear anyway else besides "unique". (Never hit any other recycling pieces so I do not know if that type of real deep pushing clear is typical of those or not.) Either way, I think it works really well with vaporizing.

Also might I add it took forever to get the right lighting. I must have been recording for about an hour straight at this point.

 

[notmyrealUSERname]

^ that is awesome!

thanks for the vid, there are very few vids of that style bubbler on youtube, and yours is the only one where it isn't being combusted out of!

how tall is your hamm bubbler?

congrats on a sick pickup!

 

[biojuggernaut]

NOICE

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Awesome video.. Awesome piece.. (Wish i had 1500 $ right now )

 

[norcal]

so there is no health risk what so ever presented by the silicon tip?

 

[lookmomnohands]

Thanks guys! I am glad you like it.

Yes, the genius of Hamm Brushland is sadly under appreciated. Quite the shame as I think his work blows most major glass companies out of the water. Check out the "Auto Bong" and the "Outside In" if you haven't had the viewing pleasure.

My piece is about 15". Funny how this is one of his smaller versions and it still has a massive look to it. When I made the vid, I did think to myself, "Hmm. Wonder what it would be like hitting the 23" one?"

I wish I had $1500 right now too. That way I could buy a few more Hurricanes.

 

[ShadowVape]

WOW! I've seen Vrips pulled through many a tube and bubbler contraption from some really talented and capable glass blowers (read: expensive pieces) by video and been lucky enough to experience Vrips personally through quite a few different pieces but I'm calling it now: that is the highest dollar and most unique set up for sure that I've ever seen! Love the hurricane effect and vortexing return of the H2O and again, nice lighting to show the blue tone of the vapor (not easy). What do we have to do to get you and your glass to the West side for some in-house testing lookmomnohands? I want to try that piece! I'll bring the goods for packing!

 

[ThCombustion]

Hey guys, my first and really only vape experience comes from a PD. I like the experience but am looking for something like the vhw that can deliver big hits. I don't have glass pieces; my PD is all I use now. So, my questions are these, what is the life expectancy on a VHW? And I saw the VHW and VWT Pro-Model Kit w/ VCBS_12mm. Is it the best way to go since I have no glass of my own. Seems like the most ergo choice. Any comments are appreciated.

~Sam

 

[ShadowVape]

Sam you found the right place if you're looking for larger inhalations and broader spectrum moisture conditioned and/or ice cooled vapor that simply tastes better! BTW: I, and probably most posters on this thread, believe that superior vapor = superior flavor = superior results (there are quite a few scientific articles out there now on the interspecial communication capabilities of volatile plant compounds, i.e. turpenes or the flavor molecules---reallly interesting and aromatherapeutically compelling reading). Nothing against the PD it's a great unit for reliability and ease of use and has alot of fans for it, and is probaby especially great for when you've got your butter-fingered friends over which the Vrip is NOT!!! LOL!

That said the VHW / VWT Pro-Model kit w/VCBS_12mm is a great and economical way to get started with the Vrip system. If you're interested we've been offering upgrades to a GonG connection so that you use the micro-diffused GJDS downstem and the VCBS_14.4mm for an additional $20 to FC.com members but it's not on the site so if you're into it just email us @ info@vriptech.com.

 

[Zargoff]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums. I recently purchased a vhw from puffiup.com, and because of a mistake/miscommunication between Vriptech and Puffitup, was able to get in just under the wire on a very low price for the item. Randy @ PIU went out of his way to make sure one was sent to me from another distributor since he was unable to send one himself. I was unhappy w/the one that was sent becuase of some cosmetic imperfections and sent it back. Randy overnighted me another one w/ quite a nice gift included in the box for my incovienience. What I am finding after having received my second vhw is that that they are not all identical. The one I have now has one normal size and one very small size vortex hole in the glass and the red led flickers when on. Bottom line they are made in USA and im sure are a quality product. The kicker is that I do not have any glass water tools and still need to purchase the VCBS in order to try it out, so I'm off to my local HS to check out some glass pieces. Once again my thanks to Puffitup for spot on customer service, and to all on the forums who have provided valuable information.

 

[ShadowVape]

Zargoff I hope the replacement VHW you got from PIU works out better for you but just in case please feel free to hit us up @ info@vriptech.com and we're happy to take a look at a pic and determine if a replacement cover is due----we will support product bought from dealers and always want our customers to get the results they should from their purchase. The intake holes don't have to be exact but should be close...you don't want a pin hole on one side and a roofing nail size hole on the other side and nothing with that kind of range is supposed to make it through QC. Although it's fairly easy to adapt regardless, the smaller holes are better for people that like to pull harder and have a difficult time pacing the draw nice and slow for milking it; larger holes are better for those that are good with a slow pull to get it going and want to finish with less drag. All of our pieces are hand blown so each will be slightly different even though we use the same tooling with a .2mm tolerance goal for certain dimensions on the bowls to enable the modular replacement capabilities---even with this you will have to "fit" some replacement pieces by grinding the o-ring down a hair or two---when you buy a completel chamber it should be well matched. Other dimensions are not as critical so not as tight and this leads to some unique characteristics piece to piece. Also, because we tool to such tight tolerances we can't flame polish (where you run the flame back and forth over the glass to smooth out tooling marks and other aesthetic imperfections) like other glass blowing applications so it's not unusual to see some minor aesthetic imperfections such as tooling marks or tiny glass fibers on the inside of where the intake holes where popped (these will look like tiny cracks to customers not familiar with the art). These minor aesthetic imperfections will not affect the utility of the piece and it's important to understand that if we only sold the very few pieces that don't have any aesthetic imperfections the cost would triple at least....it simply isn't practical and as anyone who has used the system will attest you will end up with scratched and scuffed pieces from the oh so blissful usage anyway. The VHW glass cover is a particularly challenging piece with 13 different tooling steps (we added two on the 3.0) two different torches (use a Hydrogen torch for the intake holes) and two annealings. We end up rejecting between 2 and 3 out of every ten to give you an idea of how much QC factor must be built into the price of these things....they are really a nutty product model that would never make sense if they simply didn't work so friggin' ridiculously well! For my own usage I personally pick VHW glass covers from a bunch since I am lucky like that and I will more often than not pick pieces with aesthetic imperfections so that I can get one with my preference of hole size which is my priority detail (pretty much right in the middle of the typical range measured in tenths of millimeters)! So go have a blast finding the next level in vapor while scuffing and scratching up your pieces from usage...it's what they are intended for and feel free to hit us up if any difficulties or feedback---good or bad!!!

 

[ShadowVape]

Spending the day on the mountain today and will be pulling Vrips by way of an inverter hooked to a deep cycle 12V battery and a small solar panel hooked to our geo dome----anyone else pulling Vrips off of solar? At only 60W the VHW is one of the only vapes out there making this possible! Something about knowing the power isn't coming from the power company makes the vapor even tastier!!!

 

[Bluntcrush]

I just ordered mine about a week ago, but this sounds like a great idea to try with a small travel bubbler on a camping trip!

 

[Zargoff]

I had some concerns about a recently purchased VHW. They were addressed fully and in great detail by customer service @ Vriptech. Big thanks to Mark for the education. Have fun on the mountain.

 

[ShadowVape]

Right on BluntCrush....we added the VWT BuB to the VWT line up just for such occasions, but it sounds like you've got some of the higher glass variations for your campsite!!! Let us know how goes when you dial into the collection. Usually higher drag pieces are favored, but there are so many variables and personal preference differences it's really required to just try every set-up you can.

We run the VWT PerK on the hill since, well since it's always sitting there in the dome and the more you can moisture condition the more you can inhale at a time!!! But I'm always rolling with a VWT BuB in the truck for a smaller footprint while going mobile. it's nice to be able to break down the mouthpiece and angle it anyway you want for ergonomics (or just center it if you're a centered type).

Thanks for the props Zargoff! You've got a one of a kind piece that works really really good...still talking about it here.

 

[charliedontsurf]

So my Silicone ring was looking pretty cracked through and I decided to remove it. There was a little crud left over on the glass but it cleaned up easily enough. Now that it's off I'm experimenting with different bowls, both without the silicone and with it loosely fitted.

Oil with a Vriptech?

I've found that a martini type bowl with a Volcano liquid pad formed into an appropriate shape works great for oil hits. Just crank the VHW and have fun.

 

[ShadowVape]

Holy Shit that looks effective for sure! Hit us up if you need another tip seal we also sell three packs on the site now for a few bucks sent USPS.

 

[ShadowVape]

Hey everyone have been intending to post about a common question / confusion we get: "are the screws that are supposed to be in the ground plate the element comes out of missing on the VHW by design or by accident?"

Answer: Design! We want the glass defining the final position of the element and since there will be slight deviations in the glass by virtue of the nature of glass removing the ground plate screws gives the perfect amount of play so that you don't end up with the element pushed into the glass at the tip which will shorten the life of the cover.

Hope this helps!

 

[Reijuojuejiavohykuij]

Had it since the 14th of February. Managed to get vapor yet surprised that the efficiency is negligible, so I'll vaporize some bowls within a short span but the high doesn't seem to exponentially increase like it would of smoking. I hold it in for as long as possible yet it's not anything like combusting where there's intensity of ripping. I just seem to get extremely mild vapor and a mild high even with recurrent bowls (of which if this was combusting I'd have been blazed). So I feel like I'm just wasting supply, excluding the vaporized remains (but I'm not sure if I'll eat them again since it seems kind of suspect, like carcinogens and other chemicals might be in them after they smoke a little).

Can't seem to get 'ripped' on it at all. Now I only have fan leaves and some smaller leaves left. I tried them and much to my dismay it was even more an epic failure, hah. With combusting/ingesting of leaves I can get hella ripped. But with this I feel like I'm just breathing in air almost, there's no intensity of rippling that happens. The taste is epic with all the intricacy of flavors yet I didn't buy a vaporizer for flavors but for getting high as fuck. I've gotten high with it, but it's airy/subtle compared to ingesting/smoking. I thought it was supposed to be even more efficient than combusting not even including the factoring of vaporized remains.

I know it's a steeper learning curve so I've waited 'til now to tell my experience. Maybe my cannabis doesn't have enough oil content. Yet, with combustion/eating this was never an issue. Difficult to even see the vapor in the pipe so I've had to check to see if I even inhaled vapor by breathing out a little after feeling like it's just gulping invisible potency of cannabis flavor.

For the silicon seal it is hard to tell if it's a proper seating since the silcon seal isn't even at all (though this may be intentional). Yet it just doesn't feel like an intuitive sealing connection between the VHW and VCB. But all this drowns out the positive aspects in the vaporizer, which there definitely are.

I've noticed too that the two air holes on my VHW are different sizes so the smaller one makes this whistling noise and doesn't feel like it's sucking in nicely like the larger one.

But yeah, I feel like sometimes I'll have to breathe steadier and slower and other instances drawing intenser to get vapor. I've tried all the techniques I've heard though it hasn't felt successful. Even tried pulling just from the two bowl piece yet the air's too hot. Maybe I should use the water tool as a bong and just use a flame, ha. Or just the bowl pieces as a glass pipe for combusting since all my pipes are malfunctioned (though I'd rather not combust because of carcinogens and whatever else). Guess I'm somewhat desperate. Just feels like a lot work for little high, but maybe I'm still fucking up.

Don't have a grinder and scissors, but scissors have the tendency to send pieces flying everywhere when cut so I just diligently broke the herb with my nails. Always stirred it too and tried to cover the screen completely. Would let it heat 7 minutes on maximum setting too, and then letting the bowl get heated.

A lot of times it would feel like the only method to get a marginal high was to smoke the herb, since the vapor didn't seem to be the carrier of noticeable potency, rather the smoke/vapor was the most potent. Also tried the screen position in two places yet I didn't apprehend any difference with that either (although my memory could be off now since I haven't slept since yesterday afternoon).

I've always experienced the initial draws of terpenoids/flavanoids (flavored perfectly and epicness complexity of appealing flavors and aromas) but the vapor inhalations after were minimal, just more of a generic body feeling instead of wholesome highness. But I don't think it's an issue of the VHW not reaching the correct thermal level.

Does anyone vaporize leaves with the VHW here? I was trying vaporizing some chamomile today in it but the vapor was even less than cannabis. Not sure where on the dial chamomile would be best vaporized at. Although, if the highest setting is 550 then it could be determined roughly since I read it's best at a certain range. Homegrown catnip as well is one I was considering.

The high I have gotten from the VHW hasn't been as long-lasting as smoking either. Oh yeah, and some/a lot of this may be just vaporizers in general, not just the VHW. That vaporizers just can't be as wide-ranging of efficiency as combusting. But that's relative to the observer.

 

[ShadowVape]

Reijuojuejiavohykuij you're definitely not getting something that you're supposed to and to be sure you've got a good piece I'd recommend you send a pic of the intake holes to info@vriptech.com and we'll scope it to make sure your piece is in the tolerance range---it's normal to get a little whistle on some pieces when you're finishing and pulling a bit harder but not usually through the slower primer pulls and initial milking or at least not very loud so it could be simply a matter of pulling too fast which as it turns out is the #2 mistake made by new users right after not maintaining the seal at the wand tip to the intake throughout the primer pulls, milking and primary pulls (don't pull it out until ready to clear).

That said I've got a couple of observations from what you've wrote that might be helpful: 1) you definitely want to use a medium to finer grind for full spectrum vapor concentrated into a few pulls like our directions intend---you just can't get around the surface area consideration and a grinder is the easiest way to go. If you just break it up a little and start vaping it you will get flavor releasing first (lower temp boiling points) and may not have much flavor left by the time you start getting the actives releasing which may explain your experience (definitely don't waste the load carcass as we affectionatly refer to it---use it for an oil or alcohol extraction). If you stir it after you dry it out with the first pulls it should break up a bit and this will help on the secondary pulls but you won't be able to get the same condensation and full spectrum of starting with a nice grind. 2) the tip seals are just small cuts of a medical grade silicon hose so won't be a perfect shape but should give you a full seal at the intake---if you're not getting a full seal you will be getting a lower apparant temp at the herbs in the bowl which will give you nice aromatics but no real body or concentration of the actives---also could explain your experience (we're happy to get you another seal to try if you think that could be it) and 3) in terms of oil content vapor is like truth serum for the herbs---if the oil levels are not high enough to create thick vapor without burning the leaf material than it's simply impossible to get a full spectrum vapor that is condensed enough to satisfy someone used to smoking. So before you give up try some high oil content herbs well ground with a grinder and take your time with it...if no go definitely send us some pics and we'll figure out what could be the problem.

Also, keep in mind many people associate the hypnoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) effect of large combustion hits with the results they are looking for---we can't exactly give that but if you take large well condensed Vrips and hold'em before exhaling there is no way you should be anything but ultra-satisfied even if you're looking for a little hypnoxia effect!

 

[vape4life]

Sounds to me like it may be user error due to the fact of being new to vaping. I miss my VHW 007 kit, that thing kicked some serious ass, but I just felt it was too fragile for my use, way too expensive to replace parts, and kind of cumbersome to use. If it wasn't for the Cloud though, i'd be back to either the VHW or the Herborizer. It's ALL about glass purity!

 

[charliedontsurf]

It's either user error, low oil content material, or a defective VHW.

When all the stars align, the VHW is one of the most impressive vaporizers I've ever used.

 

[Reijuojuejiavohykuij]

Yeah, wasn't sure if the whistling was indicative of a faulty technique of breathing or due to a size differential in the holes that could explain the absent efficiency. But the whistling sound itself is of course 'no matter.' I notice the less steady the draw equals the increased undulating of whistling.

I've tried a variety of rates of draw and knew about the gravity of seal maintenance but I realized now that there isn't any 'rush' to take pulls after the VHW is seated. Since the plant material isn't susceptible to combusting until heat is drawn through the herb via inhalations. Though I seem to read a lot of different optimal techniques suggested. Some that the primer pulls should be gentler, one that they should be 'strong.' And some suggestions that the VHW achieves optimum results via intense rips and some that just steady 'sipping' is superior.

Apparently slower pulls correspond to lower heat/lighter vapor and faster ones to higher heat/thicker vapor. But I wonder if thicker vapor is synonymous with higher active constituents being imbibed or not. Oh, maybe I get it now. It's preferential, but faster draws/higher dial temperature allows one to take less hits per bowl.

Yeah, I've read about hypoxia as an explanation for unsatisfied new vaporists that combusted. But shouldn't that happen with vaporizing too? From the duration of holding in vapor/not intaking oxygen. Buzzby suggested on another site's forum "that cannabinoids that boil off at higher temperatures and non-cannabinoid compounds that are byproducts of incomplete combustion" could explain the subjective experience of inadequate highness with those used to smoke.

It all starts to become a mental trip/trap as I ponder the infinite possibilities of explanations for the isness of what is. Ultra-funny, considering all multiplicity is illusory and everything is thingless. The whole is hella in the part, fuck.

 

[nugghuffer]

Hey ShadowVape, I placed an order on Feb. 29 and still have not received an email with a tracking number. I read the FAQ on the Vrip website and it said orders usually ship on Tuesdays or Thursdays, but it's been almost a week and a half and it still hasn't shipped. Are the VHWs in stock right now? I just ordered the wand and shorty bowl/GonG lower bowl, no tube or anything. Thanks in advance for your help.