The VaporBrothers “VB2 Multi Converter” Vaporizer has a straight forward, no-nonsense name.

• Designed by industry veteran, creators of the original box vaporizer – Vaporbrothers.
• VB2 Multi Converter – Uhhh, it converts things.
• Vaporizer – Into vapor!

I’m not in love with the name, whatever, I’m in love with the VB2.

Ceramics have long be at the core of the Vaporbrothers Vaporizer heating element, and they’re channeling that knowledge into a concentrate machine. [highlight]The first digital ceramic concentrate machine.[/highlight]

Anybody concerned about their health (and we all should be) will at one point or another have doubts about heating and inhaling through hot metal. The recent popularity of ceramic nails is a good indicator that, despite the somewhat short lifespan of ceramic nails, they vapor produced off of them tastes “better”.

The VB2 leapfrogs the ceramic nails with a digital, desktop design.

Will it hold up? Yes.

What does it do?

The VB2 has two functions.

Aromatherapy Diffuser: Place a small ceramic insert with aromatherapy essential oil into the VB2, set it on low, enjoy the wonderful smells.

Multi Converter: Place oil (wax, shatter, etc…) on the small ceramic dish in the center of the VB2 running on medium or high, inhale (direct draw, whip, or whip to water pipe), enjoy the taste.

My experience with the VB2

The VB2 is compact, it looks like a small crock pot. Plug it in, turn it on, green lights! Looks like Vaporbrothers stuck with the underglow theme. Its clever, and simple. Well, its simple once you figure out what all the blinking means.

The VB2 will always follow this cycle when turned on, even if it is currently at the desired temperature.

FAST GREEN BLINKING: Initial heat cycle designed to bring the heater to temp from cold.

SLOW GREEN BLINKING: Regular heating cycle.

CONSTANT GREEN ON: Ready.

CONSTANT ORANGE ON: Auto shutoff.

The specialized heat cycle saves the VB2 from suffering the same durability troubles that ceramic nails have. The ceramic in the VB2 is brought up to temperature in a consistent and even manner. Total heat up time is 3 minutes.

My VB2 sessions rarely last more than 15 minutes. After a full session with the VB2 the ceramic shell was hot, but I could still pick the unit up by the silicone sleeve.

Recently during an event I was able to check out a few VB2 units that were being run at high temperature for hours straight. They were HOT on the outside. Too hot to hold by the silicone, uncomfortably hot to the touch, but nowhere near as hot as exposed heating elements on current electronic nails. My takeaway from this is that I will not be bypassing the 15 minute auto shutoff.

Ceramic Body

The shell of the VB2 is a single large piece of ceramic. The electronics and control are housed at the bottom, as far as you can get from the heater in such a compact design. I understand that everything in the VB2, electronics included, is safe even at the highest VB2 operating temperatures. While I can’t prove this to be true, I haven’t had any concerns over the quality of the air passing through the VB2. The air doesn’t come in contact with the electronic components in the bottom of the VB2.

Ceramic Dish

These little disks are great! They’re one of my favorite part of the VB2, in part because they represent the weak link. Eventually a disk will break. None of my disks have broken in the few months I’ve been using the VB2, but I’ve been told that there are just so many heat cycles and so much poking a disk can take before it breaks.

I understand the science behind the little disks is nifty, there is a special ceramic formula involved which makes them more durable, smooth. Here’s the good news. The disks are cheap and they’re not SUPER fragile.

The only thing that would need to be replaced just so happens to be the one item that takes the most abuse, go figure.

Knob

Off – Low – Medium – High

Its a knob, it has a sturdy click, no way you’re going to bump it and turn the VB2 on.

Feet

Five small rubber feet. Doesn’t slip along the desk.

Domes

Ceramic: I use for aromatherapy.

Glass: I use for vaportherapy.

Silicone Grip

Comes in green or white.

Draw

Direct Draw: A direct draw stem will soon be made available, for the time being I use the silicone nozzle on the glass dome designed for the whip. Others have used the ceramic dome with the silicone nozzle, or a silicone grommet with a glass straw.

Whip: Stick it on the glass dome and either pair it with a water pipe adapter or a mouthpiece.

Maintenance

The VB2 gets dirty. While its easy to keep clean, its also easy to get it filthy.

Before I do any cleaning I make sure that no part of the VB2 is hot. It may sound obvious, but the last thing you want is a hot ceramic dish falling out.

The glass dome can be rubbed down with a towel and some isopropyl alcohol (91% or 99% work best). Some can “reclaim” oil from the dome, I don’t.

The same alcohol and rag method is perfect for cleaning the ceramic walls. I pour some alcohol out on the rag (or paper towel) and rub the inside walls gently. If some spots seem like they’re not going to come out, I’ll leave the alcohol covered rag right on that spot for a few minutes.

The ceramic dish is self cleaning, run it for a 15 minute cycle on high. One cycle should burn off most residue, the base of the dish will grey over time from all the poking and prodding.

I’ve been able to get my VB2 looking clean with some simple routine cleaning. I’ve seen the most gnarly looking units restored to a presentable clean state. There is a ring around the ceramic dish in my VB2 that will never be white again, I’ve come to terms with that, this is what I call clean and presentable.

Best practices

The VB2 is designed to vaporize the concentrated oil as its touching the ceramic dish. If you place a metal tool inside the VB2 against the dish and let the oil run down the heated tool the taste won’t be the same as dropping a dab of oil directly onto the dish without a tool.

Don’t touch the ceramic disk with your hand to check if its hot.

Handle the VB2 with an oven mitt or towel if you’ve been running it consistently on high for a few hours.

Preventative maintenance will keep your VB2 from looking like a battleground.

Verdict

The VB2 is best in class for concentrate use. It outclasses everything else on the market, which are mostly derivatives of the DIY E-Nail design. The taste from the VB2 is not only cleaner, but also less irritating for the throat. At a retail cost of $749 I wouldn’t expect any less.

The high price point makes the purchase of a VB2 a big decision, but I’ve yet to hear any regrets. I’ve heard justifications that nails, ceramic nails, torches, e-nails in any combination can be purchased for less, and its all true. I believe that folks who are serious about their health and the quality and taste of their concentrate will gravitate towards and be able to justify the costs of the VB2.

The Vaporbrothers team has a long history of standing behind their products. These guys believe that the VB2 is the right choice, and I agree. They’ve asked me to mention that the VB2 is still being tinkered with and perfected. There may be times that a unit will need to be returned to Vaporbrothers and serviced. As Linus from Vaporbrothers told me, “That’s why we have UPS.” The first two years, Vaporbrothers Limited Lifetime Warranty will cover UPS ground shipping both ways as well as the repair. After that, they’ll continue to repair the VB2 for the lifetime of the device.

I can personally attest to a happy and high quality experience with Vaporbrothers after a mistake on my part lead to a warranty claim. I couldn’t be any more satisfied.

Check out the VB2 over at Vaporbrothers.com/VB2 or find them for sale at VaporWarehouse.

 

 

VB2 provided gratis by Vaporbrothers for review. I do my best not to let that impact my views expressed in this review.