X-Max Ace Vaporizer by TopGreen

[Dutch-Mic]

Try filling the bowl with AVB and run a burnoff at about 435F(cannabis combusts at 451F) and blow through the air inlet at the bottom. This worked for the terrible taste of a new Boundless Tera stock mouthpiece and the Starry as well. As long as you don't have a counterfeit Ace made with improper silicone the silicone is usually food grade high temp silicone and safe as well as inert from heat.

Hey thanks for the recommendation and the info about silicon!

I did the burn-offs around that temperature (220-230 Celsius), around five of them outside when it was storming (without the mouthpiece so that the wind could blow through the oven). I also have blown through the air inlet.

All my vaporizers didn't emit a smell like that, except for a Flowermate V05. The seller said that something was wrong with it and replaced the unit.

I'll try to put some herb in it to see if that helps.

 

[jardri]

Burnoffs must be at max temp! I did like 10 of them at boost mode in order to cure the silicone and dissipate the plastic and electronics smell.

Still I could smell a faint aftertaste when the unit was empty but after loading it with herbs for the first time that smell dissipated almost completely. And I said almost because silicone still had a very little smell.

This issue with silicone happens to every vape I have owned that has silicone and in this one its much weaker than any of my other units. With the Fury 2 it was so horrible I had to cure the silicone in the kitchen oven 35 minutes at 235ºC. You can do that and see if that smell dissipates.

Given it has SS isolated airpath, ceramic chamber and zirconia mouthpiece it´s almost impossible that you are smelling anything except the silicone, give kitchen oven curing a try and tell us later if your issues persist!

 

[Dutch-Mic]

Burnoffs must be at max temp! I did like 10 of them at boost mode in order to cure the silicone and dissipate the plastic and electronics smell.

Still I could smell a faint aftertaste when the unit was empty but after loading it with herbs for the first time that smell dissipated almost completely. And I said almost because silicone still had a very little smell.

This issue with silicone happens to every vape I have owned that has silicone and in this one its much weaker than any of my other units. With the Fury 2 it was so horrible I had to cure the silicone in the kitchen oven 35 minutes at 235ºC. You can do that and see if that smell dissipates.

Given it has SS isolated airpath, ceramic chamber and zirconia mouthpiece it´s almost impossible that you are smelling anything except the silicone, give kitchen oven curing a try and tell us later if your issues persist!

The silicon piece in the mouthpiece unit almost doesn't have a smell luckily. I did three more burn-offs (without the mouthpiece unit on the oven) and can confirm that the smell comes from the oven. I removed the screen that was on top of the spring mechanism and saw some black stuff under it. The smell and taste has improved, but still not up to the point I feel I can use the device with peace of mind. How it looks without the screen:



I launched the screen when it was removed and can't find it anymore. I can't put a spare screen back in it, but disclaimer: my fine motor skills suck.

At the moment my hypothesis is that there's a place in the airpath/vapor path that emits the strange smell, but I can't figure out exactly where.

 

[jardri]

Hello gentlemen!

I have used the Ace intensively for a few days and it has delivered good clouds and zero manteinance without clogging or reducing clouds (15-20 loads from 185 to 235ºC usually).

But there are 2 things that i would like to discuss with you:

1- There is a very faint noise, like a beep beep beep which I can hear when the unit is hot and mantaining temperature. I have heard something similar before and it was the heater going on and off constantly to mantain the heat but would like a second opinion. @PPN Issue or feature?

2- The silicone seal of the mouthpiece with the chamber is not air tight in my unit. I have noticed that if you blow from the bottom and block the mouthpiece with a finger, vapor comes out from the sides. This is an issue because cold air mixes with the vapor if you inhale hard. May help with cooling but it drastically reduces vapor output. I did the test using duct tape and the difference is very noticeable. Is this just my unit or is this a common thing?

Besides that I´m really liking how this unit performs, conduction vapes nowadays are getting surprisingly effective! This one, the Argo and the Cap are the ones I use and they are small, have good battery life, give good flavour have low manteinance and are efficient. All three can give good effects and nice clouds.

I remember that five years ago you had to pick if you wanted small (PAX, MFLB), efficient low manteinance (Solo 1), or good taste (Ascent) with no portable delivering all these features in one unit. Convection is taking the market by storm but I have to recognise there are great conduction vapes doing the job with better battery management, sleek and capable of delivering quality clouds.

@Dutch-Mic Keep us informed about your findings man! I appreciate your input.

 

[Petetbay]

2- The silicone seal of the mouthpiece with the chamber is not air tight in my unit. I have noticed that if you blow from the bottom and block the mouthpiece with a finger, vapor comes out from the sides. This is an issue because cold air mixes with the vapor if you inhale hard. May help with cooling but it drastically reduces vapor output. I did the test using duct tape and the difference is very noticeable. Is this just my unit or is this a common thing?

Try placing 2 or 3 of the spare screens above the silicone to shim the silicone holding the ceramic filter into the bowl taper for tighter seal.

 

[PPN]

I removed the screen that was on top of the spring mechanism and saw some black stuff under it

What it was in your opinion? Machining grease? Dust?
That's sad your unit came like that but thank you to point the issue, I'll transmit that to the team expecting to improve quality control. Please keep in touch with our support team, they will work something out for you!

- There is a very faint noise, like a beep beep beep which I can hear when the unit is hot and mantaining temperature. I have heard something similar before and it was the heater going on and off constantly to mantain the heat but would like a second opinion. @PPN Issue or feature?

Yes I think myself that's the heater keeping temp stable... do you find it loud enough to be annoying?

The silicone seal of the mouthpiece with the chamber is not air tight in my unit. I have noticed that if you blow from the bottom and block the mouthpiece with a finger, vapor comes out from the sides. This is an issue because cold air mixes with the vapor if you inhale hard. May help with cooling but it drastically reduces vapor output. I did the test using duct tape and the difference is very noticeable. Is this just my unit or is this a common thing?

After to receive my unit I told myself to engineers the magnets wasn't strong enough, do you think stronger magnets will fix that issue?

Thank you to keep us informed about your Ace's experiences, that's awesome to get that nice community, you help us to make our vapes better, thank you again!

 

[Dutch-Mic]

What it was in your opinion? Machining grease? Dust?
That's sad your unit came like that but thank you to point the issue, I'll transmit that to the team expecting to improve quality control. Please keep in touch with our support team, they will work something out for you!

I think it was machining grease, it was not dust, I'm 100 percent sure about that.

@Dutch-Mic Keep us informed about your findings man! I appreciate your input.

Hey man, likewise! Also love the part that you wrote about conduction units

I mailed with the Topgreen customer service. I'll keep everyone updated.

 

[jardri]

Yes I think myself that's the heater keeping temp stable... do you find it loud enough to be annoying?

I don´t find it annoying just barely noticeable. My old Arizer Solo had a constant electronic buzz that drove me crazy and made me sell it but this one is like a faint beep beep. Just wanted to make sure it is not an issue.

After to receive my unit I told myself to engineers the magnets wasn't strong enough, do you think stronger magnets will fix that issue?

I think the magnets are strong enough and stronger magnets won´t resolve the issue. I am thinking about a silicone seal rounding the chamber far from vapor and heat which might be cheap and easy to install. Sorry if i can´t explain it very well hope you understand what I say.

Thank you to keep us informed about your Ace's experiences, that's awesome to get that nice community, you help us to make our vapes better, thank you again!

Thank you! I LOVE doing this stuff, i do it with everything in my life, from toilet paper to the solderings of my motherboard. I am a Geek and a perfectionist and I like to tinker things and adapt them to reach their fullest potential.

Hey man, likewise! Also love the part that you wrote about conduction units

Thanks man!

 

[PPN]

I am thinking about a silicone seal rounding the chamber far from vapor and heat which might be cheap and easy to install. Sorry if i can´t explain it very well hope you understand what I say.

Do you mean to add a layer of silicone on the flat surface around the filter...? hmm, I'm not fan to add more silicone and don't think this is will change anything. Considering your test, (clog the mp's end and blowing in the air inlet) it will produce the same result with a lot of vapes and may not be a sign of a deficient seal since this is only way for vapor to escape (and a good sign showing how well the airpath is isolated!) . In a classic use the vapor will follow the easy path and except if you get a very huge drawing rate that's not an issue...imho!

Is somebody else found the vapor to be diluted with air?

Thank you for your input @jardri , not saying you are wrong, just trying to consider how much an issue it is...

 

[Andreaerdna]

I tryied to close the airport on the bottom of the ace, i wanted to do like with a vapcap, meaning creating a vacuum in order to extract more at once. I can report that there is no other air intake, it is as if completely sealed, at least it is the impression as the mouthpiece cannot seal but it is as if on my unit. On the other hand if i push air into the mouthpiece while covering the hole I can feel the air passing by (mouthpiece must get a little looser with positive pression while closing like a shell with negative pressure?). Results of vacuum was not satisfactory (no air / vapor, because it felt sealed)

After a week of use it has not become my dailyd, but it get use with great convenience when i juste want to sip while reading,or spending time on FC , without need to pay attention to what is going on inside my vape. 2-3 cycles of 5 minutes and the a full load of whole flowers is vaped in dozens of small sips, quite tasty on the toasty side from the beginning. Haptic feedback is convenient as the start and heat fonction too (as it buzzes turning off, i just triple click on power button and it is back where it stopped almost instantly). Cooling mouthpiece and auto dumping are also features i like

Adhesive cover seems to wear off quite fast just with heat cylcles (on the corners). It would be nice to have different covers to switch between.

 

[virtualpurple]

According to my DHL tracking my unit has been delivered! However I am still away from home for the next 5 days. I am still on a t-break as well though when I get home if I am solidly in the clear I will probably reward myself with a small dose not only to test the unit but then also to start the next experiment - how fast I can clear again after 1 dose.

 

[oddjobold]

Had a few goes on this little beasty. Overall i would say a solid vape. The flavour is very good for a conduction vape. Its well made and performs well considering its price. If you only had £100 to spend you would not go far wrong buying this. Thing is - i have spent more than £100 on quite a few vapes, and to be honest i prefer them. The tiny might is better in everyway, so is the dreamwood glow imo. I am just a convection snob, and the taste is still better with convection.

I dont like the mouthpiece on the ACE, too restrictive.

Overall as a starter vape i would recomend it.

 

[PPN]

I tryied to close the airport on the bottom of the ace, i wanted to do like with a vapcap, meaning creating a vacuum in order to extract more at once. I can report that there is no other air intake, it is as if completely sealed, at least it is the impression as the mouthpiece cannot seal but it is as if on my unit. On the other hand if i push air into the mouthpiece while covering the hole I can feel the air passing by (mouthpiece must get a little looser with positive pression while closing like a shell with negative pressure?). Results of vacuum was not satisfactory (no air / vapor, because it felt sealed)

After a week of use it has not become my dailyd, but it get use with great convenience when i juste want to sip while reading,or spending time on FC , without need to pay attention to what is going on inside my vape. 2-3 cycles of 5 minutes and the a full load of whole flowers is vaped in dozens of small sips, quite tasty on the toasty side from the beginning. Haptic feedback is convenient as the start and heat fonction too (as it buzzes turning off, i just triple click on power button and it is back where it stopped almost instantly). Cooling mouthpiece and auto dumping are also features i like

Adhesive cover seems to wear off quite fast just with heat cylcles (on the corners). It would be nice to have different covers to switch between.

Thank you for that feedback, glad you enjoy it!

About the adhesive cover... can I ask you which one you choosed? carbon fiber or wood grain? I have myself a carbon fiber unit and it doesn't seems to peel of at all after +2 months of use (at least 2 bowls per day) although I used once concentrates in and never was going hotter than 220°C except for that unique time.

According to my DHL tracking my unit has been delivered! However I am still away from home for the next 5 days. I am still on a t-break as well though when I get home if I am solidly in the clear I will probably reward myself with a small dose not only to test the unit but then also to start the next experiment - how fast I can clear again after 1 dose.

Like your experiment! Did you check thc content in your blood using cheap saliva tests or lab tests?

All in all I expect the Ace to deliver when you will break your T-break! Woh woh Who!! For best compromise I'll suggest a 195°C starting temp (or 382°F), medium grounded flowers, slightly tight packing (not too much cause it may impact airflow) and a good 10s between hits (yes this is conduction). This days I appreciate a lot to blend strains, usually 75%sativa and 25%indica for daytime and 50/50 for evening and rarely full indica cause it tend to asleep me (that year harvest was not abundant but Indicas are very strong... a bit too much for my liking).

Had a few goes on this little beasty. Overall i would say a solid vape. The flavour is very good for a conduction vape. Its well made and performs well considering its price. If you only had £100 to spend you would not go far wrong buying this. Thing is - i have spent more than £100 on quite a few vapes, and to be honest i prefer them. The tiny might is better in everyway, so is the dreamwood glow imo. I am just a convection snob, and the taste is still better with convection.

I dont like the mouthpiece on the ACE, too restrictive.

Overall as a starter vape i would recomend it.

Appreciate your trusty opinions, thank you. For now TopGreen main goal is to provide rather affordables devices with a high quality level. Trying to avoid plastic/silicone mouthpiece (only the Vital and old X-max V2 Pro got that sort of mp), trying to offer clean and isolated vapor/air path, using quality enough batteries and trying to offer the replacement battery option as often as possible. Although everybody know here how much I dislike non-replacable battery vapes... but there is a few in TopGreen line up, I'm trying to push up to offer a recycling program for them offering a big discount for every customer sending back his unit to the recycling program like some others manufacturers do.

About the too restricted mouthpiece, I agree that's not really free-flowing but there is a big improvement coming from our previous vapes at TopGreen. Starry's most common complain was the airflow and I found engineers made a great job improving it but I think they tend to keep it restricted to offer max performance without any learning curve or draw regulation, cause like you mentionned that's a good starter vape and we get that in mind. Although I'll transmit your complain to the team! By the way a too tight load could impact airflow ( a common issue with conduction vape cause that's known it prefers tight pack but in the same time too tight will block airflow...).
Thank you for your feedback!

 

[Dutch-Mic]

As I mentioned previously, my unit had a strange smell/taste that didn't fade away after cleaning. At the moment I can't give more feedback on the unit itself, but I can give feedback on the customer service:

The communication with PPN was top notch. He took my concerns seriously, good asked good questions about my Ace and made sure that Topgreen would take my concerns with my unit seriously. Another thank you @PPN !

I also contacted the CS of Topgreen itself. They took me and my feedback seriously. There's of course a language barrier and needed so clarify my concerns with my unit, but after the clarifications they responded great and decided to send a new unit.
That's the reaction that would make me happy if I would have bought the Ace (to be clear: I won the Ace in a contest).

 

[oddjobold]

Rather than the spring loaded oven bottom, why not make it adjustable? You can alter the height and reduce the oven size.

 

[virtualpurple]

Like your experiment! Did you check thc content in your blood using cheap saliva tests or lab tests?

All in all I expect the Ace to deliver when you will break your T-break! Woh woh Who!! For best compromise I'll suggest a 195°C starting temp (or 382°F), medium grounded flowers, slightly tight packing (not too much cause it may impact airflow) and a good 10s between hits (yes this is conduction). This days I appreciate a lot to blend strains, usually 75%sativa and 25%indica for daytime and 50/50 for evening and rarely full indica cause it tend to asleep me (that year harvest was not abundant but Indicas are very strong... a bit too much for my liking).

No Saliva or lab tests, I just happen to have a handful of urine tests, I would probably lean towards using those because that’s the most common test for pre-employment screenings here in the U.S.

 

[PPN]

As I mentioned previously, my unit had a strange smell/taste that didn't fade away after cleaning. At the moment I can't give more feedback on the unit itself, but I can give feedback on the customer service:

The communication with PPN was top notch. He took my concerns seriously, good asked good questions about my Ace and made sure that Topgreen would take my concerns with my unit seriously. Another thank you @PPN !

I also contacted the CS of Topgreen itself. They took me and my feedback seriously. There's of course a language barrier and needed so clarify my concerns with my unit, but after the clarifications they responded great and decided to send a new unit.
That's the reaction that would make me happy if I would have bought the Ace (to be clear: I won the Ace in a contest).

Thank you for the kinds words, but I will be totally glad when you'll get a well functionning unit in your hands, let us to know how things are going for your replacement.

Rather than the spring loaded oven bottom, why not make it adjustable? You can alter the height and reduce the oven size.

Yes, I suggested them something like that... I'm waiting the engineers reply. Although it will be less practical for quick unload and may be aged/used pretty faster than a spring loaded system, isn't it?

No Saliva or lab tests, I just happen to have a handful of urine tests, I would probably lean towards using those because that’s the most common test for pre-employment screenings here in the U.S.

Oh... that's an unforced T-break sadly... sorry but sometime life priorities rules and weed&vapes wait on the shelf for better days. Let us to know when you will be able to test that Ace you won!

Here some engineers replies I got from previous questions:

- Tiny beep-beep sound/noise when unit is heating up, it is normal!
The beep-beep noise comes from the Ceramic chamber. When Current goes through the wire in the ceramic chamber, it will have opportunity to have this kind of notice. Its normal, but not all of the chamber have it.

- How do you remove/replace the bottom screen
Pls use the long brush to push the screen from the bottom hole .You need be a little bit harder/stronger to push it out. Yes,it`s little bit tighter, because we will keep it in tight.

- Spacer: they suggested ceramic but asked me about the best heigth, I suggested 5mm, do you think that's good or do prefer it shorter or longer?

- battery jauge: I found it pretty inaccurate but it seems more recent units get a better jauge .They set battery voltage protection at 3.2v which is very low... I suggested 3.4v... @KeroZen , please, could give us your thoughts about the battery protection voltage? They told me the 3.4v I suggested might lead to a shorter recycling time... I don't understand since I thought it was better to not push a battery too low for durability and safety reasons.

That's all for today, but stay tuned, more to come!

 

[jardri]

So @PPN and @Andreaerdna as I understand the issue I have with airpath is just my unit?

 

[KeroZen]

3.2V is the cutoff for the Joyetech Evic devices for instance. It's a bit lower than others but indeed yields more run time, probably at the expanse of cycle life. If you get removable cells that's not so bad, if it's internal then maybe you would prefer a longer cycle life instead.

In all cases these modern chemistries can go as low as 2.5V without any problem so it's still in the safe zone, as long as they monitor the voltage during use to ensure it doesn't drop below that hard limit (and not just the resting voltage)

 

[Petetbay]

- Spacer: they suggested ceramic but asked me about the best heigth, I suggested 5mm, do you think that's good or do prefer it shorter or longer?

I've tried using the screen dosing basket for the Healthy Rips Fury 2 without the lid and placed upside down and fit perfectly. It reduces bowl by 9.3mm. With hash I put a spare chamber screen on top the basket, for herb I use only the basket. It works very good, a lot better than reducing bowl depth with the ejector which required higher temps to get proper vapor production.

A 5mm ceramic spacer I think is too short, 8-9mm would be nice or increasing the stock ceramic filter length from 7mm to 15 or 16mm would be even better so you don't have to deal with the spacer when using the ejector to do a bowl stir. That I think is the best option ending up with about a slightly larger than half bowl. A longer ceramic filter to go along with the stock ceramic filter would be nice and easier to work with as it would stay with the mouthpiece on removal.

Next up wpa, I am already sizing up how to drill out the mouthpiece to install 14mm and 18mm adapters. It looks promising, but I wish Xmax would release a proper one.

 

[Chingas]

Is somebody else found the vapor to be diluted with air?

Me.

So @PPN and @Andreaerdna as I understand the issue I have with airpath is just my unit?

Nope.

Mine has air leaks. I tested by wrapping my vape in plastic wrap almost up to the top where the seam is at the point the top piece meets the body. It was almost as free flowing as normal. I then wrapped that seam with plastic wrap as well and that did the trick. No airflow.

Feels good. Looks nice. That slider to empty mechanism is great. Hits are whispy since I can't get a good seal. Perhaps some kind of gasket would help it seal? Kind of like what the FF2 uses. Maybe design some sort of groove for the top piece to nest into would work.

 

[PPN]

So @PPN and @Andreaerdna as I understand the issue I have with airpath is just my unit?

Me.


Nope.

Mine has air leaks. I tested by wrapping my vape in plastic wrap almost up to the top where the seam is at the point the top piece meets the body. It was almost as free flowing as normal. I then wrapped that seam with plastic wrap as well and that did the trick. No airflow.

Feels good. Looks nice. That slider to empty mechanism is great. Hits are whispy since I can't get a good seal. Perhaps some kind of gasket would help it seal? Kind of like what the FF2 uses. Maybe design some sort of groove for the top piece to nest into would work.

I''m trying to figure how to improve that seal without to add silicone and keeping the design like it is... Like the groove idea @Chingas , I'll suggest your ideas or improvement suggestion to the team.

I agree the hits are (slightly) whispier than the ones out of my Starry although I explained that, in my mind, by the added airflow and, maybe, a soft heater. I found the taste to stay very nice for longer though.

3.2V is the cutoff for the Joyetech Evic devices for instance. It's a bit lower than others but indeed yields more run time, probably at the expanse of cycle life. If you get removable cells that's not so bad, if it's internal then maybe you would prefer a longer cycle life instead.

In all cases these modern chemistries can go as low as 2.5V without any problem so it's still in the safe zone, as long as they monitor the voltage during use to ensure it doesn't drop below that hard limit (and not just the resting voltage)

Thank you for your expertise! You are the battery master here, so if you say that safe and good I'll excuse myself to the team about my mistake... yes I still have to learn a lot of things, thank you @KeroZen

I've tried using the screen dosing basket for the Healthy Rips Fury 2 without the lid and placed upside down and fit perfectly. It reduces bowl by 9.3mm. With hash I put a spare chamber screen on top the basket, for herb I use only the basket. It works very good, a lot better than reducing bowl depth with the ejector which required higher temps to get proper vapor production.

A 5mm ceramic spacer I think is too short, 8-9mm would be nice or increasing the stock ceramic filter length from 7mm to 15 or 16mm would be even better so you don't have to deal with the spacer when using the ejector to do a bowl stir. That I think is the best option ending up with about a slightly larger than half bowl. A longer ceramic filter to go along with the stock ceramic filter would be nice and easier to work with as it would stay with the mouthpiece on removal.

Next up wpa, I am already sizing up how to drill out the mouthpiece to install 14mm and 18mm adapters. It looks promising, but I wish Xmax would release a proper one.

Hi, @Petetbay , thank you for your input, that's nice to know there is true microdosers here! I use myself a 5mm ceramic spacer and found it pretty nice to get an half load (or maybe a little more). About your idea to increase the stock ceramic filter length I don't find it efficient only cause, like a lot of conduction vapes, abv comes out lighter in colour at the bottom of the bowl where there is the fresh air inlet. Although I agree a 8mm spacer may be nice for microdosers.
By the way, why do you stir? this is a conduction vaporizer and stirring is absolutly unnecessary in my opinion. I even got perfectly browned whole flowers (same colour outside and inside the bud).

Yes I'm pushing them for a wpa too!

Have fun! Everybody!

 

[sloniu]

Hi. Why Ace is not available on the manufacturer's website and there is no official information about it? If this is a test version and the improved version will be coming out all the time, what about the people who bought Ace now? I bought Ace in Poland and there was no information that it is a trial and not final version.

 

[KeroZen]

I'll excuse myself to the team about my mistake

Heh it was not a mistake my friend! It's completely true that deeper discharges (as well as full-charges) will shorten the cell life. Ideally you would want to discharge only down to 20% and charge up to 80%, but then you would have a terrible run-time. For sure your cell would have a long life but you would recharge it very often!

This is why I precised that it is more a problem if the cell is not swappable (ie. internal battery) If it is then you don't care, you just can buy another $5 new cell and no big deal. Or well, environmental impact set aside of course...

 

[Dutch-Mic]

My replacement unit has arrived (thank you @PPN and Topgreen!) and it already smelled way better than the previous Ace after three burn-offs. I think I did ten of them (at 230 celsius) and cleaned the oven once with the provided alcohol wipe. It still had a bit of a new car smell, but nothing chemical like the previous unit.

I only vaped one bowl with a high CBD and low thc strain. I tamped the load to make a puck of weed and did one heating cycle. Started at 180 celsius. Already big clouds, taste was okay. Bumped it up to 200c and got even bigger clouds. The vapor is cooled nicely. Even though I didn't fill the oven completely the AVB was evenly browned.

I'm a flavor chaser, so I'm going to search for the best temperature for those delicious terpy hits. Let the testing continue!