Steam Monkey Product Updates and Discussion: Join the Troop!

[Lance_Wallen]

I'm going to double up on the quantity next time. I'm getting in the aga-s and igo-l soon. I'm also goign to have to scratch some of my aga-t inventory unless I can figure out how to modify the caps to make the last little boogers line up and not ruin the finish/quality of the device. I can't sell subpar so if I have to, I'll just eat the remaining aga-t's. It will lower my stock though.

 

[killnine]

Lance, keep them. They may line up with future pieces.

 

[Lance_Wallen]

I'm about to go through another round of top swapping incase I can get a few of these remaining ones together.

Keeping them is sort of pointless as far as matching with another batch. I've got the vendor making some updates to the design to eliminate the air hole alignment issue, so future batches will not have this problem

I'm looking at them and I think with my equipment I can do a little modifying without damage to the finish or device to get them to line up. I"ll try it tomorrow in the shop, if it works I'll sterilize them and put them back in in the stock, if it doesnt... I'll just eat em. I just took 11 out of stock, there are 5 left unaccounted for by orders.

 

[killnine]

I don't think anyone would look down on you for putting the extra caps on as damaged goods inventory for those who might want a replacement for a piece they drilled out or something.

 

[Lance_Wallen]

ok, after another round of mix and match, I've got 5 of hte 11 matched up pretty close, within 10 degrees or so of perfect so I feel ok selling them. My personal one is off more than that and it hits fine.

1 is about a quarter turn off, you can unscrew it a quarter turn and it's perfect but you can detect ever so slight of a jiggle in the cap so that one's going in my personal stock. I've got 5 that are way off, 180 degrees or more and they go in the "try to fix and keep em pretty" pile for tomorrow.

Even if I get these other ones modified and you can't tell I modified them, I probably wont' put them back in stock anyway. I just don't feel comfortable with selling a modified product like that. If it means I go out of stock for a week, so be it. I won't be getting any more Aga-T's until they modify the design. The aga-s that I ordered will have o-ring top caps so the threading won't be an issue and the igo-l's already had an oring top cap so no worries there.

I knew what I was getting into buying mass produced products, but to get people vaping and keep em vaping, you gotta have entry level stuff. The aga-t, even with it's manufacturing flaws (1 out of 10 apparently), is still a damn fine RBA and for the price... can't be beat.

I refuse to compromise my standards though so, if you miss out on ordering one in this batch, have patience... I will get more as soon as they make the changes I'm requesting.

 

[Elnroth]

Thank you very much for the kind words. I have a feeling thats why I just got a monster run on 500mesh and ran out =\

And... bonus, my supplier is being elusive so my follow up order is backed up >< I'll have more in stock soon hopefully.

That's a shame, I was about to order more 500

 

[Sgresham]

I just wanted to say how awesome of a job you are doing with your storefront. I have ordered twice from you, and both times I have received shipping confirmation on the same day, usually within just a few hours. It helps alot that I live very close to you, but if I order from you, I receive the product the next day. To top it off, your prices are phenomenal. Thanks for the excellent customer service!

 

[Elnroth]

ok, after another round of mix and match, I've got 5 of hte 11 matched up pretty close, within 10 degrees or so of perfect so I feel ok selling them. My personal one is off more than that and it hits fine.

1 is about a quarter turn off, you can unscrew it a quarter turn and it's perfect but you can detect ever so slight of a jiggle in the cap so that one's going in my personal stock. I've got 5 that are way off, 180 degrees or more and they go in the "try to fix and keep em pretty" pile for tomorrow.

Even if I get these other ones modified and you can't tell I modified them, I probably wont' put them back in stock anyway. I just don't feel comfortable with selling a modified product like that. If it means I go out of stock for a week, so be it. I won't be getting any more Aga-T's until they modify the design. The aga-s that I ordered will have o-ring top caps so the threading won't be an issue and the igo-l's already had an oring top cap so no worries there.

I knew what I was getting into buying mass produced products, but to get people vaping and keep em vaping, you gotta have entry level stuff. The aga-t, even with it's manufacturing flaws (1 out of 10 apparently), is still a damn fine RBA and for the price... can't be beat.

I refuse to compromise my standards though so, if you miss out on ordering one in this batch, have patience... I will get more as soon as they make the changes I'm requesting.

I might be able to take some of those misaligned aga's off your hands. I have some experimental wick setups I would like to try. Misaligned holes may not cause any issues for me.

 

[xbassman]

Hey Lance!

I placed an order for one of these about 10 minutes before you posted this.
I have been researching these for a couple of weeks and had decided I was going to get one for my first RBA.
I already knew about the issue with the hole not lining up from my research.

Then lo and behold I see a thread in the RBA forum linking to your site.
I follow the link and see you have set up the RBA with all the components I had already set on buying. Nice!
So I purchased it.

Now after finding this thread I am even more stoked!

Got my tracking today. Thanks!

ok, after another round of mix and match, I've got 5 of hte 11 matched up pretty close, within 10 degrees or so of perfect so I feel ok selling them. My personal one is off more than that and it hits fine.

1 is about a quarter turn off, you can unscrew it a quarter turn and it's perfect but you can detect ever so slight of a jiggle in the cap so that one's going in my personal stock. I've got 5 that are way off, 180 degrees or more and they go in the "try to fix and keep em pretty" pile for tomorrow.

Even if I get these other ones modified and you can't tell I modified them, I probably wont' put them back in stock anyway. I just don't feel comfortable with selling a modified product like that. If it means I go out of stock for a week, so be it. I won't be getting any more Aga-T's until they modify the design. The aga-s that I ordered will have o-ring top caps so the threading won't be an issue and the igo-l's already had an oring top cap so no worries there.

I knew what I was getting into buying mass produced products, but to get people vaping and keep em vaping, you gotta have entry level stuff. The aga-t, even with it's manufacturing flaws (1 out of 10 apparently), is still a damn fine RBA and for the price... can't be beat.

I refuse to compromise my standards though so, if you miss out on ordering one in this batch, have patience... I will get more as soon as they make the changes I'm requesting.

 

[Lance_Wallen]

Thank you for your business Sir

Your package was shipped today, depending on which shipping you chose, should be 2-4 days before ya get it. Lemme know what you think! I love getting reviews (Especially good ones heh) so feel free to spread the monkey love

-Lance

Hey Lance!

I placed an order for one of these about 10 minutes before you posted this.
I have been researching these for a couple of weeks and had decided I was going to get one for my first RBA.
I already knew about the issue with the hole not lining up from my research.

Then lo and behold I see a thread in the RBA forum linking to your site.
I follow the link and see you have set up the RBA with all the components I had already set on buying. Nice!
So I purchased it.

Now after finding this thread I am even more stoked!

Got my tracking today. Thanks!

 

[Lance_Wallen]

I just took a light file and a lot of elbow grease to one of the 'bad' agas... finished, hole lined up perfect, you can't tell I did it. looks exactly like one of the unmodified versions.

I think I'm going to sand down the rest, if I put em next to a "fresh from the factory" one and they look the same, feel the same, etc, I'm just gonna wash em up real good and put them back in stock. I figure, if you buy from any other vendor you'll have to do this yourself. I have good tools, know how to work with metal, and can save you the time so it just works outa the box. Looks like I might not be taking a loss on em afterall!

Thank you guys for the positive feedback and kind words!

 

[Lance_Wallen]

I need to re-order some mesh. Can I hear from folks who have used my mesh so far and how it's tasting/performing, etc? I need to know if I should change my supplier. I've gotten a couple of random reports of 'bad taste' from people on another site. They only oxidize by burning juice, they don't actually torch it so I'm wondering if everyone is having this experience or just people who don't properly purge the mesh with a good burning.

 

[Catharlex]

When mine gets here, I'll let you know. I plan on using it without oxidizing with some fused quartz in my AC9. I'm hoping for a clean flavor with that setup. The only mesh I have right now has already been rolled and oxidized, so yeah. I'll try to get back to you asap

 

[Arvidx]

I had no problem with mine, no odd flavors, it was as clean of a SS and hand coil setup as I have had, but then again I do torch mine with a little pocket lighter, I get them bright orange in each place and do it half dozen times, quenching between, on each half then flip and continue until the color is even.

I have not met a SS yet that didn't gas off a tiny bit of smoke to start, and I guess I dont have to taste whatever that is. I dont know how it works with a bic type flame, but I might try one to see...

I have heard of people saying that stuff wipes off their wicks. In a good hot flame, that black oxidization should be all but a permanent effect, black stuff that wipes off is carbon better known as soot. I dont get much if any of that with the torch, when I wet it and wipe it on the napkin, and absolutely nothing when I wipe my fingers on it afterwards.

 

[Lance_Wallen]

I think it's slightly possible the mesh might have some sort of machine lubricant or other residue and that is causing the issue. I always super treat my mesh and coil materials before I use them because... well, I'm about to burn and inhale... I don't want to freakin poison myself with some random factory crap I'm going to put an update on my product descriptions first and start dealing with a different vendor for restocking since I can't get a good answer out of my current vendor.

 

[Arvidx]

Thanks for the warning... Better err on the safe side and give them a good burn. Thanks for looking out!

 

[Lance_Wallen]

HAH, solution! 1. The chinese people hate me at this point because I'm way more annoying than the normal vendor apparently. One actually said to me tonight "You ask too many questions" heh

2. I finally squeezed this little gem out of my mesh supplier... "slight application of lubrication for easier insertion"... Translated, while the wires are being fed through the machine for weaving they are given a slight lubing to make it all run neatly... apparently it does NOT get a bath before being packaged.

The reason some people are having a taste and others aren't is their wick treating process, the only people mentioning a funky taste are those that don't actively torch red hot before use. So they aren't burning off the lube.

This is still a huge issue for me and I apologize to anyone who's had this issue, please wash your mesh and properly burn it to get it nice and clean. Another issue people seem to have is the way I shipped the mesh. I've received mesh folded up before and it never bothered me so I didn't expect that to be an issue. I am doing a couple things in the future to avoid both of these problems though.

1. I have changed vendors, I'm getting a higher quality material from a different vendor. The price I'm paying is a little higher but not enough to warrant a price hike on my site so you guys will still see the same low prices.

2. I will still be selling mesh in 12x12 quantities but the form factor is going to change. I will be cutting it down into strips instead of one large square, I'm still researching what form factor will accomodate 'all' wick needs, I'm leaning towards 2x12. The reason for this is twofold (pre-pun intended), I can avoid folding if I cut it into strips by rolling it around something to keep it from getting any creases, etc and it will make it easier for me to pre-wash the mesh to help pre-remove any residue so this issue doesn't show up again.

3. I will be updating my product listing to give a more clear warning on how to treat your products. I made the mistake of assuming people would consider any mesh/wire from a factory to be potentially 'dirty' in some regard and require some cleaning. I will be pre-cleaning but I will also warn on the product description that you should pre-wash or thoroughly dry burn your mesh and wire to eliminate any factory residue.

Thanks, as always for your feedback and consideration

-Lance

 

[Aurora-Oblivion]

HAH, solution! 1. The chinese people hate me at this point because I'm way more annoying than the normal vendor apparently. One actually said to me tonight "You ask too many questions" heh

Now that's funny!

If you are interested in moving one of those "off" AGA-T's for a little less, shoot me a PM - I'll learn how to fix it myself

 

[killnine]

Wash it in citric acid. It might even get the mesh passivating enough to oxidize on its own. Rinse thoroughly with distilled water though, don't want calcium deposits. That makes me wonder... (off to test).

 

[Lance_Wallen]

Wash it in citric acid. It might even get the mesh passivating enough to oxidize on its own. Rinse thoroughly with distilled water though, don't want calcium deposits. That makes me wonder... (off to test).

Citric acid strong enough to actually passivate the stainless steel is going to be something you do NOT want any residue of when you start vaping. Also, technically speaking, what we're doing to our mesh isn't 'really' passivating. The acid washing and passivation technique of treating stainless steel purges any contaminates, inclusions, or otherwise potential breaks in the chromium oxide layer on the outside of stainless steel that makes it stainless. When we "oxidize" our mesh what we are actually doing is heating it up to a point that the specific arrangement of metals on the surface is re-configured in a way that oxygen can effect the iron content in the steel as opposed to the chromium content and we get different forms of iron oxides on the surface as well as a slight addition of carbon soot (by product of blowing hot butane flame onto a surface).

My pre-wash when I process my bulk mesh is being put in place to reduce residue, I will not pre-oxidize wicks, that's just opening me up for a lot of complaints about my wicks not being oxidized 'properly' because of how much hit and miss you get with that process in general. It'll also add a lot of overhead to my processing. I am still just a one man show here and I do a lot of extra 'stuff' with my products already before I consider them consumer ready lol.


All that said, I'm going to be cutting the next bulk order of mesh into smaller parts for shipping, I need to figure out the best possible dimensions for shipping. I was leaning towards 2x12 and wrapping 6 pieces so my listing could stay essentially the same. I'm seeing some folks say that 2inches might not be optimal though so... I still need some feedback from RBA users.