i personally turn it on in the morning, and turn it off at night, in the meantime when not using it i will turn it down slightly. this wear and tear has had no ill effects on the heating element yet, i still have it set at the same temp as i did when i first got it.
i was speaking with the guy who makes these units and asked him what the max life would be. he said that he has had the very first ssv on since it was made, i believe that was over 3 years ago. he also said that theorhetically, the heating element should have absolutely no trouble being on for 5 years straight, on its maximum setting. so the longevity factor should not be one that we, as a consumer, should ever have to worry about.
after a long time, we finally drank the alcohol, and you could definately taste the difference between that bottle and a fresh one. im not a big drinker at all(i only had a shot of it), so i cant say if there was so much thc in the mix to produce a high or not, but the shot wasnt as harsh on the throat as a normal one would be.
ive been meaning to throw another short vid up, if anybody has questions they want demonstrated with the ssv, let me know.
edit...
oh yeah, and as for the accessories, well, they are just that, accessories, some people will find them much more necessary than others.
the aroma top is nice, you can use that as a incensy type apparatus and vape at the same time. most of the other vapes that have a similar addon cap the vaporizing funtion when they are in use.
the ice chamber definately cools the vapor, but i dont find a need to cool the vapor, as it is not the vapor that is harsh with a hit, it is the expansion of the vapor inside of you. i guess the extra volume inside of the ice chamber serves as a minor pre-expansion chamber, so you would "feel" even less of a hit because of that. personally, if i had one of the ice chambers, i would stuff it with nugs, not ice. that way, when vaping, they get uber hash oil resinated. id use those for my stash to smoke(vape) out friends with.
the water filter/bubbler thing i dont see any use for. as discussed, i dont see a need to "cool" the vapor.
there are 2 versions of a hands free addon, if you have the normal style whip(such as mine in the video) there is an aluminum slide that you can place around the wand when taking a hit that holds it up in place. they also make ground glass wands/heater covers for a truly hands free connection. ive...never liked either, as it is really not much of a hassle for me to hold the wand up there for 15 seconds as i take a hit. i also prefer to stir the bowl and rotate it as im hitting it, and the hands free stuff just gets in the way of that. i also have beef with the term "hands free" because even with the wand secured to the unit, you are still holding the whip up to your mouth(unless you just kinda....shove the thing in your mouth and pinch it with your lips, but who wants to see that in a group situation), so its really only "hand" free.
the custom heater covers are just plain bad ass, and they are all blown in house by the crew. talk to them and they will blow out any design that can fit. here are the more popular ones, from the website
