The 'clyde 2801' juice feeding wooden box mod is hard to write about, because it almost defies description. It is a whirling mass of contradictions* that inexplicably works very well so far.
Received the mod in my mailbox 4/9/10 for review. It is a solid piece of white oak with a side panel that slides down and out for access to a hollowed out battery and juice bottle compartment. The top has a large brass fitting to affix an 801 atty into, and the side has a single button towards the top near the atty for vaping. The door has a large spring loaded button to squeeze the juice bottle inside the mod. The unit also came with a 801 to 510 adapter and two mysterious 'o' rings. The unit is made to take a 3.7v 18650 battery, but also accommodates two cr123's for some satisfying high voltage nicotine inhalation.
That's right, I said a solid piece of wood. I originally thought that it was a wooden box until I realized my error. It's the ultimate in retro, beyond steampunk. Well made and finely finished, it looks like a upscale piece of furniture mated with a wooden child's table game from The Cracker Barrel or Nicholson Farms. The large brass fitting and simple buttons reinforce this concept. With no LED to indicate whether the unit is on or being activated, I could see this being vaped in Victorian England by a member of the well heeled gentry.
There is one fundamental flaw in the design: the sliding door on the side depends upon friction to hold it in place and slides down. You can guarantee that repeated, sustained use will diminish the friction and eventually cause the door to slide out of its groove and fall on the floor, and it is starting already. Had the door been designed to slide up, either a simple ledge on the bottom of the box or a wedge cut would have solved this problem. Fortunately, everything is securely in place in the box and the loss of a door will not affect the functioning of the unit. Redeyedancer informed me that a bit of elmer's glue will help with this issue, and I'll try it in the meanwhile.
The other quibble I have about the unit is the vaping button. I'm used to mechanical buttons where I can feel a contact or a click when it is activated. The clyde box has a soft button and involves a little guess work about how much pressure to apply to it. So far, it is reliable and has stood up to many activations in its short life so far. As long as it continues to work this is not a problem, but I have to fight an urge to mash the button as hard as I can to ensure it will vape.
Other than the novelty of the wood construction, the obvious questions are how well does this thing juice and vape. First, the juicing. Unlike most of the other mods I have tried, this mod does not have flexible plastic tubing connecting the bottle to the atty; the bottle top is securely fasted to the atty a'la the Highping 510 mod and has just enough flexibility to allow the bottle to be inserted and retracted. It feels solid and secure. It juices easily with a quick light press of the spring activated button. Any flooding can be handled by simply removing the atty from the brass fitting and blowing into it from the battery end. Any excess juice is caught inside the brass top fitting, which can be cleaned by a napkin, paper towel or q-tips. The inside of the box is so far clean and dry to the point of being pristine.
As previously stated, the mod (for some reason, even I am not so much of an egotist as to refer to it as the 'clyde2801' or the 'clyde') comes with a 801 attachment and a 801 to 510 adapter. Being a 510 man and fan, I attempted to use the adapter first, but could see a lot of juice escaping from it when juicing. Resolving that I would try to work on my technique later, I went to the 801.
There is a tiny learning curve to the unit here, but it is nothing compared to the PhD of vaping knowledge required for the Carlos Juice Box. I was able to consistently vape it within an hour of receiving it. My advice is to give the button light, quick presses until you can feel and hear a little gurgling in the atty during vaping, and hold the unit vertically like a pipe with the vaping button pointing towards you. A little harsh atty taste will tell you when it's time to juice again. The unit appears to handle a straight PG or PG/VG mixture equally well.
I'm also liking the 801 atty in this configuration. It doesn't have quite the luscious flavorful vape of the carlos juice box special atty, but it definitely lives in the same neighborhood. Of the third generation (juicing) mods that I've tried so far, it would receive 2nd place for vapor production and a very close 3rd place behind the 901 Mr. Puffer for tastiness. (Let me emphasize that despite the rankings, this is very high praise.) Unlike the CJB, a malfunctioning atty could be very easily repaired or replaced.
And also unlike my CJB, I was very quickly confident about taking this mod with me alone out into the world. It has been very solid and dependable, though the size, exposed buttons and lack of an on and off switch hinder its portability a little bit. I would feel confident about putting this into an inside jacket or suit pocket; otherwise, I would loosen the atty to prevent accidental activations.
Huh, I almost forgot to talk about the 'o' rings! Redeyedancer tells me that they can be used to create an adjustable draw on the unit. A ring can be placed on the outside of the atty and slide down into the brass fitting to create a tighter draw for the unit. While I prefer the lighter draw, I'm impressed by the ingenious simplicity of this option.
So far, this has been a very solid, unique and enjoyable PV, and I'm very impressed. I'll report back with my findings after I put this block of wood through some extended (ab)use. Thanks for reading.
http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad131/clyde2801/?action=view¤t=DSC00025.jpg
*Dear God, did I actually quote 'Blazing Saddles' in this review?
Received the mod in my mailbox 4/9/10 for review. It is a solid piece of white oak with a side panel that slides down and out for access to a hollowed out battery and juice bottle compartment. The top has a large brass fitting to affix an 801 atty into, and the side has a single button towards the top near the atty for vaping. The door has a large spring loaded button to squeeze the juice bottle inside the mod. The unit also came with a 801 to 510 adapter and two mysterious 'o' rings. The unit is made to take a 3.7v 18650 battery, but also accommodates two cr123's for some satisfying high voltage nicotine inhalation.
That's right, I said a solid piece of wood. I originally thought that it was a wooden box until I realized my error. It's the ultimate in retro, beyond steampunk. Well made and finely finished, it looks like a upscale piece of furniture mated with a wooden child's table game from The Cracker Barrel or Nicholson Farms. The large brass fitting and simple buttons reinforce this concept. With no LED to indicate whether the unit is on or being activated, I could see this being vaped in Victorian England by a member of the well heeled gentry.
There is one fundamental flaw in the design: the sliding door on the side depends upon friction to hold it in place and slides down. You can guarantee that repeated, sustained use will diminish the friction and eventually cause the door to slide out of its groove and fall on the floor, and it is starting already. Had the door been designed to slide up, either a simple ledge on the bottom of the box or a wedge cut would have solved this problem. Fortunately, everything is securely in place in the box and the loss of a door will not affect the functioning of the unit. Redeyedancer informed me that a bit of elmer's glue will help with this issue, and I'll try it in the meanwhile.
The other quibble I have about the unit is the vaping button. I'm used to mechanical buttons where I can feel a contact or a click when it is activated. The clyde box has a soft button and involves a little guess work about how much pressure to apply to it. So far, it is reliable and has stood up to many activations in its short life so far. As long as it continues to work this is not a problem, but I have to fight an urge to mash the button as hard as I can to ensure it will vape.
Other than the novelty of the wood construction, the obvious questions are how well does this thing juice and vape. First, the juicing. Unlike most of the other mods I have tried, this mod does not have flexible plastic tubing connecting the bottle to the atty; the bottle top is securely fasted to the atty a'la the Highping 510 mod and has just enough flexibility to allow the bottle to be inserted and retracted. It feels solid and secure. It juices easily with a quick light press of the spring activated button. Any flooding can be handled by simply removing the atty from the brass fitting and blowing into it from the battery end. Any excess juice is caught inside the brass top fitting, which can be cleaned by a napkin, paper towel or q-tips. The inside of the box is so far clean and dry to the point of being pristine.
As previously stated, the mod (for some reason, even I am not so much of an egotist as to refer to it as the 'clyde2801' or the 'clyde') comes with a 801 attachment and a 801 to 510 adapter. Being a 510 man and fan, I attempted to use the adapter first, but could see a lot of juice escaping from it when juicing. Resolving that I would try to work on my technique later, I went to the 801.
There is a tiny learning curve to the unit here, but it is nothing compared to the PhD of vaping knowledge required for the Carlos Juice Box. I was able to consistently vape it within an hour of receiving it. My advice is to give the button light, quick presses until you can feel and hear a little gurgling in the atty during vaping, and hold the unit vertically like a pipe with the vaping button pointing towards you. A little harsh atty taste will tell you when it's time to juice again. The unit appears to handle a straight PG or PG/VG mixture equally well.
I'm also liking the 801 atty in this configuration. It doesn't have quite the luscious flavorful vape of the carlos juice box special atty, but it definitely lives in the same neighborhood. Of the third generation (juicing) mods that I've tried so far, it would receive 2nd place for vapor production and a very close 3rd place behind the 901 Mr. Puffer for tastiness. (Let me emphasize that despite the rankings, this is very high praise.) Unlike the CJB, a malfunctioning atty could be very easily repaired or replaced.
And also unlike my CJB, I was very quickly confident about taking this mod with me alone out into the world. It has been very solid and dependable, though the size, exposed buttons and lack of an on and off switch hinder its portability a little bit. I would feel confident about putting this into an inside jacket or suit pocket; otherwise, I would loosen the atty to prevent accidental activations.
Huh, I almost forgot to talk about the 'o' rings! Redeyedancer tells me that they can be used to create an adjustable draw on the unit. A ring can be placed on the outside of the atty and slide down into the brass fitting to create a tighter draw for the unit. While I prefer the lighter draw, I'm impressed by the ingenious simplicity of this option.
So far, this has been a very solid, unique and enjoyable PV, and I'm very impressed. I'll report back with my findings after I put this block of wood through some extended (ab)use. Thanks for reading.
http://s929.photobucket.com/albums/ad131/clyde2801/?action=view¤t=DSC00025.jpg
*Dear God, did I actually quote 'Blazing Saddles' in this review?
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If the 801 holds up to sustained use, and the door problem can be solved, this sucker may just not be just worthy enough to buy, but be a gotta-have purchase.
