sterbo

Wandering accross the web last week I, by a fluke, ran into a video on youtube from a guy that found that the hose on the Volcano, pushing air from the pump to the exhaust chamber was kinked thereby creating restricted flow.

A timely karmic hit seys I, given that in the past month I've noticed that my bags seem to take longer to fill. I had sort of chalked it up to a figment of my imagination or a glitch in my inverter while under sail, until I listened to what he had to say.
I went to take the cowling off (3 screws) and of course all proprietary.
Fuck em seys I, so it's plan B - a pair of needle nosed vice grips.
Hey, if they ever say it voids the warranty then we'll duke it out later, I mean we're talkin about my baby.
I'm a builder and still it was a bitch to pull those little fuckers.
Now the cowling is off and fuckin A, talk about a crimp. It's a wonder the motor hadn't failed.
One minute later I had pulled and repositioned the hose without any added mechanical devices such as he used.
Took a deep breath, set the table and gave her a go.
Turbo charge baby, the way she always promised

What a turn of events. The Volc has been awesome beyond measure, and now,
you know, kinda like the promise of a blow job and then finally the real deal...

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Trocisp

One of the many, many reasons I prefer my VaporWarez, I rather enjoy the fact that almost nothing can go wrong with it!

K.I.S.S.

Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

sterbo

If you look at the Volcano innards you'll find a lean and mean vaproizing machine young Tro.
For those of us who work with mechanisms of many kinds, day in and day out, the Volcano is a case in point.
A hose incorrectly spec'd is unfortunate and S&B should be taken to task for it, but "K.I.S.S." is why they made it, and why in part it's so immensely popular.
You'd feel that kiss like no other if they gave you the 'student rate', good bro...

Trocisp

Hah! If the volcano was 120 like the vaporwarez, I'd be all over it, I assure you!

Buzzby

I'm wondering how the hose got kinked. Apparently things were working well and then the slow-down began. What changed between the initial conditions and the present ones?

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sterbo

It's a soft gauge hose and a tough arc for the hose to begin with.
After repeated exposures to the heated air it basically just sags at the weak point, exacerbating the problem.
While I re-routed it (KISS) with a more logical bend I'll go back shortly and either change out the hose or just lay in a quick splint (i.e. copper wire). Piece of cake.
The bigger issue is that it's a serious defect and if the problem keeps surfacing among customers then S&B should acknowledge it and issue at the very least a bulletin on their home page offering up solutions while also taking responsibility for the problem...

5drive

A chink (kink) in the armor of the mighty Volcano. It just goes to show that nothing built by man is perfect and even the best designed and engineered products can develop a glitch sooner or later. This report by sterbo brings to mind a couple of other posts I can remember where owners were complaining about decreased air output. You'd think that Storz & Bickel would be aware of this issue by now.

Sterbo, do you think you've permanently fixed the problem, or is it likely or possible that the tubing will collapse again?

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sterbo

Thanks 5Drive. I was kinda holding my breath figuring you might take this opportunity to give me some flack (good natured or course).
Nice to note that your professionalism specific to analyzing and reviewing various types of vaporizers also extends to your interaction on this level.
Hard to say. I rerouted it in a much better fashion so it should be fine. However, I'm not comfortable with the 'gage' of the hose at it exists which is why, as I said, I'll probably just swap out the hose at some point.
As it now stands, the air flow is tremendous and the performance and usage results even better than when I fist got it.
I have spoken with Storz & Bickel in this regard. They are aware of the problem and at some point last year fixed it on new machines in manufacture.
I strongly suggested to them that they should publish a clear notice on the home page of their web site making owners aware of this issue and suggesting they call in to discuss the best solution. The person I spoke with agreed this would be prudent and said he would bring it up in their weekly meeting.
I was impressed with his willingness to listen and to find the best solution to my concerns which justifies their reputation as one of the best manufactures in the industry.
If they do in fact, post a website notice, then I'll forgive the fact that they should have done it before now.

On a side note, I will likely stop by their plant (given that's it's not far from here) and have the tech give it a look. He was more than amenable in this regard and said they would gladly check it out and replace, if necessary any parts they may have been compromised at no charge of course. At the same time they will completely review and recalibrate the unit which is something they do whenever a machine comes to them regardless of the initial problem.

For anyone reading this who has a Volcano or knows someone who does I suggest they either post here if they have any further questions,
or call Storz & Bickel directly...

1155 5th St # 104
Oakland, CA 94607

(510) 451-1553
xxx.storz-bickel.com

5drive

If you do take it to the US distributor in Oakland, I would definitely ask about the hose being in a different position. I wonder if they routed it the way they did so it would output the desired volume of air, but not the maximum volume. If your bag is now filling quicker than when the unit was new, it seems like you'd have less vapor per bag. This is the case with the herbalAire. It's easy to increase air flow and therefore decrease filling time by using a stronger pump. But you also decrease the amount of vapor in each bag. And if you did find a better route for the hose, I wonder if anyone at S&B would admit it?

sterbo

I asked and we discussed that possibility. The tech's answer was no. It's filling much quicker and the amount of vapor is consistent with how it's always been, just a quicker fill. As he said, the hose being free of any restriction is the way it was designed. You might be interested to note that + - 6 months after my purchase S & B came out with a revised model (prior to the new digital) with a stronger motor.
They didn't even blink and acknowledged immediately that they had made a manufacturing mistake (during the course of some undefined period of time) with the gage of hose and the improper routing of it.

They were polite, forthcoming and clearly interested in putting my (customer/s) interests at the forefront of their other duties.

Can't ask for more than that...