Questioning the safe usage of a Volcano Vaporizer

1. Storz & Bickel decided to go with an aluminum heating element to allow the use of a purely analog heating circuit. Also, don't compare the Volcano heating element to lower grade vapes which also use AL, a lot of R&D has gone into developing the Volcano to ensure its ease of use, ease of maintenance, as well as absolute safety to the potential owner.

2. It is true many low end vaporizers use AL heating elements that are made sub-par and can cause un-healthy side effects from long term use. However, a claim made by S&B has their name and product riding on it, they would not risk saying this simply to sell more units. They have been manufacturing and perfecting the Volcano design and materials for over a decade, even the plastics used in the volcano are designed to withstand constant heating and cooling with no ill effects and still be cleaned by most convetionial non-polar solvents (IE isopropyl alcohol). Rest assured every part of the Volcano has been meticulously designed, even down to the metal shell covering it which acts as a grounding agent.

edit - Also the manor in which the Volcano using its heating element is a bit unique, the heating element is brought to the desired temperature and when the operator hits the (blow) button a suspended pump pumps air through a filter in through the element via long wholes in it and then through the herb which is suspended in the filling chamber, it is very un-exposed to the elements.

3. People purchase Volcanoes for a great number of reasons; many do indeed buy it for the status, it is a really great vape as well, and it does have an excellent warranty. My personal advice is to try one first, see if you like using a bag only design and one of two valve sets. The Volcano is truly amazing, but is not meant to be used in different ways like many other vapes these days so if it is not a match to you I would not recommend it.


Also, side note I have been a Volcano Classic owner for about 10 months and I have also serviced many vapes from Volcanoes to Extreme's and others on my college campus for many kids and have personally seen that the build quality is second to none in the Volcano.

 

I have no clue about the aluminium thing, so I won't try and give you an answer for that. All I can say is that i've never had any health issues or friends complaining, so it seems that Storz and Bickel probably put a lot of thought into that area. Plus the above poster seemed to do a pretty good job at that.

I can say that I brought mine because I wanted a bag vape with adjustable temperatures and I had enough money and thought I might as well go to the high end instead of checking out the cheaper options, and it seems to me that I made the right decision, and what really pushed me to buying was using one for the first time.
It's the perfect bag vape in my opinion (although you are paying a lot for it), it is perfectly built, a year of heavy use and mine has never broken or had any issues whatsoever, and only requires a clean every few months.

If you're looking for a bag vape, then its reputation is well deserved as being the best money can buy, but it is expensive and if you want thicker, smoke-like hits like you'd have in a whip, then I think you'll find the Volcano slightly underwhelming and it's not the best vape for conserving, even though you will end up saving a lot of money on Cannabis no matter what vape you have, but if you want big bags of tasty vapor which can be thrown around between friends or carried around the house with you, then the Volcano really is perfect for the purpose.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and if you do get one, i'd recommend getting a Solid Valve and Volcano Classic, I could be wrong but it seems that the digital you're just paying 100£ more for a screen, which doesn't seem worth it.

 

I do agree with you the digi is over-priced, however you should know this is because the heating element was redesigned and uses a completely different way of regulating the unit. The interface is of course a little different, however the micro-controller and the sensory equipment with it is what costs much more, as well as the firmware development.

The beautiful thing that many people don't realize about the Volcano Classic is its completely analog electro-mechanical design. Once it passes the S&B quality control it will last very very long since there are very few parts to fail, and those parts are of very high quality manufacture. No small circuitry to risk degrading over time, however I am sure the digi is made very well as well.

The solid-valve is best for home use and regular use, but if you plan on going to parties regularly you should buy an easy valve as it is definitely faster to operate and less chance of fumble due to design. Alternatively you can buy a valve kit manufactured for a volcano knock off know ass the "Phantom" which is essentially an easy valve filling chamber that has a quick release bag system on the mouthpiece like a solid valve if you wanted, cheap alternative if you need replacement parts in a pinch.

http://www.vaporherb.com/phvarekit.html