How to hack the temperature of your vapor box
Is your vaporizer running cool? Do you wish it was a bit warmer overall, or cooler? Can you convince us you're an electronics wiz capable of fixing your own unit with a new heater?
Through the bottom you have access to modify the temperature at highest and lowest knob position. You'll get electrocuted if you stick a metal screwdriver in there, so be very careful, have your living wills and trust in order. Turning the heat up too much might burn out the heater, which could put you in immediate jeopardy of not being able to vaporize. Here are instructions and information how to mess with the settings:
ATTENTION: UNPLUG VAPORIZER BEFORE MESSING WITH IT. IF YOU DON'T YOU COULD UNALIVE YOURSELF WITH DISCOMFORT**
**Your experience may vary
This is for hackers and electronics-familiar people only. Please attempt only if you are trained, skilled, or otherwise electrically minded. Be aware that the internal adjustment components are close to HIGH VOLTAGE leads. While "tampering" and "modification" technically "voids" your warranty, we personally don't care if you tried to adjust it, and will help you if you need assistance. You will burn the heater out if you turn the setting too hot. Please read very carefully and follow the procedure as closely as possible. Contact us for advice.
What vaporizers are eligible:
Vaporbrothers brand vaporizers with serial number larger than 126600, or ones that had the electronics replaced during a recent repair.
Selecting the adjustment tool - Insulated screwdriver or wood tool is best:
For safety, use a wooden screwdriver. A wood screwdriver can be whittled from a toothpick or dowel. Cut the end with a sharp knife.
(We may provide a toothpick tool if you ask for one). A wood screwdriver
will protect you from electrical shock. If you use a small metal screwdriver,
wear thick gloves or wrap it with electrical tape. Do not contact the metal
with your hand unless you're absolutely sure you unplugged the vaporizer.
Finding the adjustment dials:
1) Turn your vaporizer upside down and hold it so that the knob is at the top of your view.
2) Locate two holes just under the serial number. The vaporizer has two "potentiometer" adjustments inside, left and right, that set the high and low temperatures respectively. The adjustment dials can be found by carefully looking inside the vaporizers through two small holes in the bottom.
3) If you haven't found them yet, use a good light and look inside the bottom near the serial number. About a half inch inside you should see 2 round black components. Each black component will have a small white adjustment dial with a hole shaped like an arrow.
4) Before proceeding, save a note about which way the arrows are pointing. You can use this to reset your vaporizer back to the factory setting later if you choose. The position can be adjusted from pointing at 1 o'clock all the way clockwise to pointing to 11 o'clock.
Adjusting the vaporizer cooler or hotter (Left potentiometer):
1) The left adjustment sets the temperature at all setting of the knob. It affects the whole range of temperatures upward or downward. Rotating it to the left will increase temperature over all knob positions. Rotating it to the right will make the vaporizer cooler over all. A cooler vaporizer is easier to draw through at slow speeds without accidental burning.
2) Insert the tool into the arrow slot inside the left hole. Depending on if you want it to be hotter or cooler, you will adjust your vaporizer only about a quarter-turn at a time.
3) If you want the vaporizer to run COOLER, turn the arrow a quarter turn CLOCKWISE.
4) If you want the vaporizer to run HOTTER, turn the arrow a quarter turn COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. Beware that too much turning will burn your heating element out. If you cause your heater to run visibly red hot, its life will be reduced and your herbs may burn instead of vaporize. Proceed with caution.
5) Plug in your vaporizer and run it like normal, observing if you made enough difference or not. If you have a watt meter, a normal setting is 30-31W at full power after 10 minutes of sitting still. Reference voltage is 115V. If you're at a higher voltage the vaporizer will run a few watts higher. Adjust the potentiometer again as needed. Whip style vaporizers such as ours do not control to any particular temperature. They rely on you to check the results as you get familiar. Your herbs should turn slightly brown after about 6-7 hits. If the browning occurs before 3 hits, it’s generally considered too hot. If you ever accidentally set your herbs on fire, stop the hit immediately and blow the whip clean of smoke. If you can, draw the air in rapidly (but comfortably) to keep the air temp low. Vaporizers provide the most satisfaction the closer you can get to actual burning without setting the herbs on fire. Let us know if you want more of our opinion on vaporizing and temperature.
6) If you find you can’t adjust the vaporizer because the arrow started too close to its limits, please let us know. Your vaporizer will not get cooler or hotter than the range of motion.
Adjusting the lowest setting (Right potentiometer):
1) Please be familiar with the section above, how to turn and check the results.
2) This adjustment actually sets the difference between max temperature and minimum. We use it to change the lowest temperature setting (Knob at 6 o'clock).
3) Adjust the arrow component on the right, in the same way as the section above. Clockwise turns the temp down, Counter-clockwise turns it up. The vaporizer should run about 10W after about 10 minutes at the minimum setting. (at 115V)
Contact us if you have any questions or suggestions for us.