A 17mm (XL) isn't going to fit in a GVG. I know this because the 13.4mm (medium) barely fits. I have to give it a couple of taps to squeeze it in. I"m a fan of these. It works about as good as the Chore Boy but requires no work to get right unlike the way cutting up, cleaning and shaping a Chore Boy does. Someone, it might have been Gibran, suggested the 11.7mm (small) but I find it too small and hard to fit all of the spice on without if falling off. He's says it's better because it doesn't touch the sides. He may be right but I haven't noticed a difference.

The 17mm definitely fits in mine, but only in the upper chamber just bellow the ceramic filter in the top. The 13.4mm didn't quite fit into the lower chamber for me until I sanded it down in size a bit. Both sizes work for me although I find the higher position of the 17mm makes it easier to burn spice so I only use the 13.4mm now (without a mesh in place).

I'm wondering if the GVG's design changed at some point through the years because reports like yours as well as this mention that the 13.4 would touch the sides does not seem true to my GVG which is only a month old.

I found that the metal concentrate pad doesn't leave as much residue in the pipe when used properly.

Do you guys know any other places to order those disks? $15 is incredibly expensive for shipping when it can essentially be paid for with a postage stamp.

I originally ordered 5 of them from that site and at the shipping cost and unfortunately I purchased the small size when I should have purchased the medium size. I emailed them the same day I received them but never go a response from them, which is another reason I would prefer not to buy from them again.

Cheers

The small will work fine. It's just a bit difficult to get all the spice on it. Gibran2 uses the small. I have no idea who else sells them. I'd just stick with what you have. Did you contact them to see if you could return them? I think they have a no return policy of stuff like that. That's pretty common. Also you don't really need 5 of them. One should last a long time if you take care of it.

Edit: I was just thinking, if getting all your spice on there is an issue you can just melt it in and then add the rest.

Yeah, I emailed them and they just never replied. I did not try and call them though. I had no clue how many I would need as I never used them before this. I wasn't sure if they went bad or not, so I guess I wasted some money there. I have been able to get it all onto the disk and get it into the GVG each time so far, but it is difficult. I've also only gone up to 35mg so far, so when I start going higher, it will be even harder.

Cheers

Oh, I could be wrong about this but I vaguely remember someone saying that they ordered a carbon filter that is in the top piece of the gvg by itself and used that. I can't remember for sure but you may want to look into that. Honestly you may have to just breakdown and get the medium. I'm in love with the thing. Chore Boy is great and all but pulling it in and out and reshaping it and whatever is just not as clean of a set up.

the best piece to use, in my opinion, is the glass disc made by Health Stone Glass. it fits perfectly inside the GVG just under the top glass piece. you can preload/premelt your spice onto the disc, carry around or tilt the pipe and nothing will spill. you don't need any herb, nor do you really need any screens at the bottom. the stone holds all the spice (i've melted up to 50mg and it never seeps out the bottom)

the discs are also a fabulous way to dose goo - just weigh the disc, smear on some goo and note the difference.

pre-melting is a bit tricky - heat them from underneath...the stone gets hot enough gradually to melt the spice and it just seeps in. if you try to melt it from the top, you're bound to vaporize or even burn some while trying to melt it.

i've vaped from a disc that was a year old: no loss of potency whatsoever if kept airtight.

last thing: when one is used up, i just soak it in IPA for an hour, then torch off the residual alcohol and the stone is clean and ready to use again. voilá!

HSG - awesome little things...

Well, even though they are much more expensive, they come out to the same price after taking the shipping into consideration. The size sounds a big big though, 18mm. Does it fit all the way into the GVG or does it rest on the inner lip?

they are a bit pricey, but last forever. they are ground glass; good as new after cleaning. in the long-run, they are actually economical. you get what you pay for.

they do not slide all the way down to the bottom of the chamber, but slide in so that they rest within, just under where the top piece fits on. when you put the top glass piece back on, it rests upon the HSG. when hitting it with the torch lighter, i hold the jet about 4 inches above and start slow, inhaling gently. as soon as vapor starts appearing, i sort-of modulate from closer to a bit farther away. it's hard to burn it since it's embedded in the stone, but always want to avoid too much heat.

with this technique, it's quite easy to clear the entire stone/dose in one hit. by the time i exhale, i usually can't see the pipe, my hand or where to rest it down. incredibly effective.

also, quite good for traveling as one can pre-melt a bunch of discs, label them, and store them away. they are quite discreet; no one would know what they are.

one additional note: they are not perfectly symmetrical - by design. they are slightly tapered - almost imperceptibly. the tapered (smaller) side goes downward. this makes removal from the GVG/bong bowl, etc - much easier.

Where exactly can you find these? I've looked all over their site and can't find them.

Do you prefer it over the vaporgenie liquid pad?

I personally haven't used the liquid pad but others who are well experienced say that it doesn't work very well because of the shape of the "wire". Supposedly a round shape like the wire in it doesn't work well for holding on to dmt so it drips through easily. From the description of the health stone glass, I would imagine it would work pretty well. I can't seem to find the things though. I have to say though, I'm pretty happy with the carbon disk.

most of the common liquid pads are not very dense; rather porous. the health stone glass is quite dense like a stone hence, the name, although it is made of ground glass.

for pre-melting onto the stone it's hard to beat. the stone holds a lot of spice without even coming close to seeping out the bottom. if one pre-melts onto the the liquid pad, it can actually run out the bottom as it is not very dense comparatively.

the longevity of the HSG is also superior as it can be reused almost infinitely. the liquid pads eventually become burnt or frayed, so yes they are cheaper but in the long run need replacement more often. they can also become quite charred after repeated heating.

if one makes an investment of say, 5-10 stones, you can have many travels ready to go without further prep. once the spice is melted into it, the stone can be stored in any orientation without losing said quantity. once spent, clean them with IPA, let them dry and use again and again.

just remember, place the stone, tapered side down, into the top of the GVG, then place the top glass piece on top of it. the top piece will not go down as far as it does normally, but will rest on top of the HSG. there is still a buffer of space between your spice and the ceramic disc on the top piece of the GVG. keeping the flame 3-4 inches away you will easily vaporize the spice with little risk of burning it at all.