@momofthegoons - this is GA so maybe should move to release concentrate vapes, yeah??
I recently had the opportunity to test out the Tsunami from NewVape for a week. Edwyn and NewVape were very kind to send me a complete (and I mean complete) kit in a Pelican case and included shipping label for its return. My kind of service J
This is my quick first impressions on the Tsunami. I say that because I only had it for a week. If I ran it for six months or so I may well have other observations and insights. Hence, this being first impressions.
What Is It
Tsunami is an all in one (AIO) dab rig. It is a real enail in that it uses a hot runner type flat coil and a T-bucket banger and there are no pen type “ceramic around heating filament” atomizers here at all. It uses either Peak or Carta glass as the bubbler but I expect there may be an expansion of the supported glass as the glass adapters are separate items so new mechanical interfaces should be easily accommodated.
I did not take any pics, because I’m getting lazy. But there are from NewVape’s web site.
Base unit
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Base unit with heat shield removed to show T-bucket
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Base unit rear view showing the embedded PID and removable heat shield. Also, note on the side the knurled knob for securing the glass adapter to the base unit.
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The entire system assembled
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Glass adapter with Peak glass installed
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Carb cap and dabber
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IT ARRIVED
Tsunami showed up late on Sat via USPS. The box looked fine. No damage visible from the outside. However, when I opened it and then opened the Pelican case (or Pelican like case) there were items out of their slot in the foam and rolling around loose in there. Notably, the whip adapter which is pretty beefy. Higher density foam would solve this issue.
However, I note that this was just the test drive kit and at the present this cased version is not something currently up for sale.
Also, this kit came with everything. Base unit and power cord, glass adapters for both Peak and Carta, Peak and Carta glass, a whip adapter and whip, and both SiC and Sapphire 30mm inserts. That’s a lot of stuff that was packed into this case.
Build Quality
My impression of the NewVape’s Tsunami manufactured items is as always; their stuff is really top notch, heavy duty, and precision machined. There is no cheap junk made by NewVape and the build quality of their products are impeccable, IMO.
The base unit and glass adapters are machined from billet aluminum and are rock solid. The T-bucket is titanium as is the carb cap. The glass…..is glass (LOL). The PID is the same VapeCode white label PID they sell on their site for various applications. I have two dual PIDs of this type with my Micro 20 rosin press. They do what PIDs are supposed to do…hold temp.
Set Up
Putting Tsunami together for use is extremely simple because…well, it’s an AIO.
The one thing to keep in mind is to wet slightly the base of the glass or the adapter o-ring so it slips into the adapter easier.
The glass goes into the adapter, the adapter goes into the base unit, and there is a knurled nob on the side that you tighten to secure the glass/adapter.
However, after installing in the adapter and BEFORE installing into the base unit, fill the glass with water and draw on it to make sure it’s not over filled and will not leak out or get in your mouth. I used a plastic syringe to fill the Carta glass and I believe it was on the order of 35ml to get it to a level that I liked…about half way up the inner tube. I think it’s very difficult to try to fill one of these AIO glass pieces straight from a faucet and highly recommend spending a few pennies on a syringe.
The banger shroud that protects you from burns fits on easily and is held on my four rare earth magnets.
Simply drop in the insert of your choice (SiC or Sapphire)…well, drop it in gently. J
The T-bucket banger comes out of the unit very easily for maintenance, if needed. Remove the flat coil cover from the bottom by taking on the retaining nut. Then loosen the hex set bolt accessible via a hole in the right side of the base unit which will allow the T-bucket/coil to be pulled forward and out.
The power cord is detachable from the base. Plug it into the base and into a wall socket and now your Tsunami is ready to go.
Operation
The Tsunami couldn’t be easier to operate. On the right side of the base unit is the main power rocker switch. This switch is lit at all times and I have suggested to NEWVAPE that a better implementation would be to light the switch when power is turned on. This is a function of the PID that they buy from a 3rd party so it’s probably not changeable. The rocker switch does have the standard O and – markings for off and on, respectively.
Then press the momentary action button on the back that is the switch for sending power to the coil. I rather like, but don’t consider to be essential, separate switches for main and coil power and the Tsunami is configured in that manner.
The PID has up down arrows for adjusting temperature set point. I won’t try to address any other PID functions like auto-tune or changing variable settings. NEWVAPE has a good video on auto-tuning and I suggest checking the manuals for variables and how to change them. Personally, I don’t know enough about PID to want to get into the guts that far.
The PID will display the actual coil thermocouple temperature as it increases. This PID is set up to be very responsive which also means it tends to overshoot a bit on initial heat up. But, it quickly settles back to the set point and my observations are that temperature throughout the dab remained very rock solid and steady.
Then simply wipe your dab over the very large 30mm insert surface, cap, and draw and Robert’s your mother’s brother. Haha
When I received the unit it was already set for 550F set point which is my general set point for my other bangers. It worked well but I did find with the Sapphire that I enjoyed it better bumping up 20 degrees F to 570 for thicker vapor. I may well have liked to do similar for the SiC dish but ran out of time and needed to return the unit.
Cleaning
This was easy. Clean the glass like you do any other glass. I like Powdered Brewer’s Wash and the Carta glass came out sparkling.
The only thing a bit tricky to clean was the air path through the base unit to the glass. With the glass removed, you can see the air patch tunnel which is a few inches in length, max.
I used a flexible bottle brush, pipe cleaners, and ISO to clean this out. It really was pretty simple. By the by, these flexible brushes are quite handy. The one I have looks like this:
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I cleaned the inserts as I would inserts in any other banger. In this case, and as I was returning it to NEWVAPE and wanted it to be pristine clean, I put them in some concentrated Simple Green on a candle warmer (this is Shane of 710coils.com technique) and in a few hours when I took them out they were like new.
Alternatively, I do tend to clean inserts right in the banger on my Liger. I set the temp to about 190F, add a drop or two of distilled water, add one drop of ISO, and then jump in with a qtip as the ISO lowers the boiling point of the water so you need to be a bit lively about it. Works perfectly, IME.
And that’s about it for cleaning and I don’t know of any other maintenance that is required.
What I Liked
I’m surprised at how much I liked the neatness of an AIO. I have not bought a Carta or Peak and generally use my old Liger 20mm, V2 banger or some 710coils.com quartz bangers in a more traditional enail/rig set up.
But I like that its…well, all in one and not a lot of pieces to put together for a session (yes, in my situation I prefer to not leave vape stuff out on the table)
And, I like that there is no coil cable laying around. Nice and neat and no hazard to trip over or catch on your sleeve although there still is a main power cord.
Also, the base unit is quick hefty and will not move easily. It is very stable, particularly compared to some of my 14mm dab rigs. This is excellent for safety.
I liked the access to all parts for cleaning (more on this below).
I liked that I can easily see the entire insert from the vape position. I have 20mm and 25mm bangers but never have used a 30mm. Wow, it’s a lot of territory and easily facilitates wiping your dab thinly over a large surface. I know many like “terp balls” and similar but I just don’t see the need, but perhaps I do more modest size dabs than some others.
I liked the carb cap design. It easily went on the banger properly and was a good fit. The cap I received was a one-hole cap and I wouldn’t want any more airflow. Actually, I wouldn’t mind if the one hole was a bit smaller as I’m a big fan of boiling point depression with lowered pressure which is our objective with carb caps.
I liked the dab tool that was attached to the cap because it’s rather thin and therefore my dabs melted off quickly. This is a good thing and it’s not so thin as to be flimsy (and it is titanium after all)
I liked the Sapphire because I liked that it was clear and I could easily see what was left in the banger for clean-up. But, I didn’t notice any particular difference in taste with Sapphire dab surface that some others have noted. Now, I have old taste buds that have been through a lot so maybe I’m not the best judge of this. But to me, the SiC tasted the same, performed the same, and is less money.
I found the vapor to be very smooth and effective with either insert.
What I Didn’t Like
Aside from my suggestion on lighting of the main power switch, the only improvement that I recommended to NewVape was lengthening the dab tool that is screwed on to the carb cap.
The issue isn’t that my hand got hot or burnt from being too close to the banger. Rather, on dabs after the first one, when the chuck of Ti that is the carb cap is hot, when I went to flip the cap/dabber around to cap I hit my fingers on the hot Ti. No blisters but certainly an “ow” moment.
I suggest that they make the dabber and wood insulator an inch longer. One of NewVape’s concerns was the dab tool poking someone in the eye if it was longer. I never felt any real proximity of the dab tool to my eye and think an additional inch would not cause any issues while at the same time reducing the burn potential.
Where Does This Fit Into The Market
So, it’s no secret that this thing is expensive. The price is shown on NewVape’s website so its not like I’m spilling any secrets. It’s pricey, no doubt.
So yes, people willing to spend…say a $1,000 on a Sublimator may well not blink at the price of this extraordinarily well-made dab device.
But who else. Well, to my mind this is a wonderful device for the safety conscious. Whether its pets and children underfoot or a medically disabled person, this device is to my mind much safer than an exposed coil traditional dab rig hanging from a drop down hanging, in turn, from a glass rig.
I view it as safer for three reasons I touched upon above: 1) its heavy and is NOT going to tip over or be easily knocked asunder; 2) no exposed coil cable; 3) and no exposed hot banger.
On this last point, I would like to mention that the banger shroud is very effective. I had the Tsunami on for at least four hours and could still touch the shroud without issue and I’m very temperature sensitive (about the only thing about which I can be called sensitive! Haha). It was warm but no more than that.
And there may be ways to bring the price down. Volume is one thing. If this catches on and sales go up (and it is selling) then perhaps component costs can come down from economies of scale. But there may be other ways that NewVape can squeeze some cost out.
For example, the heat shroud is milled out of a solid billet of aluminum. I’m not a machinist or mechanical engineer but this is a part that seems very suitable for being stamped out of sheet metal rather than costly milling of billets.
The last thing I will say about cost is that there really are no comparables in terms of build quality or robustness that I’m aware of. But, there are AIO dab rigs such as the Puffco Peak for $379 which, to my mind, is a whack for a battery powered, pen type atomizer, device with a minimal confusing light as its only display.
I’m not taking shots at Puffco but I am trying to give some comparative insights.
I Want One
No more for me to say than that. But, I will have to budget for it…but I do want one. Edwyn, my birthday is 9 Oct (hint, hint, hint LOL)