2nd EDIT: Now that the Indux is off the market, It's time to mention a few things. I have not used my unit in well over a year, unable to put ice water hash through it. It also raises questions and concerns about too slow of a heat up process. Everything about this is a no go as terpenes off-gas and vaporize for well over 100 seconds before you even take the first hit. The functions goes against the basic theories and principles of normal concern, and while there are some interesting aspects, I've included some additional cons.
EDIT: Since writing this article the #glowstick become my go-to insert.-12/12/20
Well, well, well. So, I've written several articles that thankfully, I did not publish about the Indux Labs Reflux. My opinions on this device have ranged more drastically than I could have drawn up. First, I'll just explain what the hell the thing is and how it works, which will answer a lot of misdirected questions, and hold most of my thoughts until after.
The Reflux
The Indux Labs Reflux is the first and only electromagnetic smoking apparatus, putting it in a class of its own. There is no other comparison, even in the mechanical function of the unit. The titanium rods or inserts heat-up independently of the glass or metal frame. It comes built to withstand WW3, so that's nice, especially right about now. This thing's seriously, solid aluminum plates bolted together into a classic desktop design.
Commercial Build
A heavy-duty commercial cord comes free from the back of the unit and attaches with a three-prong plug into the wall. On the back is the main power switch and probably a built-in surge protection. Once it's turned on there's the timer knob and the start/stop buttons to operate. You can turn the timer up to 100 seconds and press go! It runs almost silent, aside from the noise certain inserts can make spinning in the glass vial, but otherwise the machines operation is silent.
Titanium Rods
The Indux Labs Reflux comes with a bunch of titanium rods or inserts and with them, went my hopes and dreams of never using titanium to smoke with again. There are a ton of these titanium rods that come organized and labeled in individual plastic containers. You place whatever configuration of titanium rods inside a glass vial along with your precious hash, raising the first red flag. The vial, hash, and titanium rods are screwed back into the large round metal lid (Reactor) like below.
Set-Up
This big circular piece of aluminum seen above (the Reactor), sits partially inside and partially above the desktop unit itself. It's threaded underneath where the glass vials are screwed in. Once the small glass vial is screwed directly into the underside of the circular steel "Reactor," that's right, a silicone hose is attached directly above the glass vial. Didn't see silicone making a comeback did you? Me neither and another red flag in my initial evaluations. A titanium attachment comes as a mouthpiece and fits a 14mm female rig when inserted to the bottom of the glass fitting. I found it much easier however, to smoke it straight from the hose rather than connecting a glass rig or water-pipe.
Airflow
With everything ready to go, you insert the top half inside the desktop unit. You can see how it lines up above just before inserting. Looking inside the machine there's a thick coil the glass vial is inserted into the center of. The rest is just there to hold things steady, but with one hole and a silicone hose sucking air out of the glass vial, where does the air come in?
Bingo! You're looking at it. One hole sucks air out of the glass vial and the smaller hole is where air comes in. You can see this is about as basic a set-up as it gets. You're sucking air into and out-of a two inch glass vial and the circular steel contraption just holds them in place.
Some Spin
The hole is flawlessly drilled however, and some of the titanium parts are made to spin inside. The two #terpedo sizes and a couple thicker inserts will spin. Most sizes of titanium rods require several at once. The lower temperature configurations call for 8 to 16 of the thinnest rods, leaving little room for any movement inside.
My Reflux Run-Through (quick-start guide)
All assembled with a fresh dab of hash rosin and one 5/32 sized titanium rod, I hit the on button and wait... and wait... and wait... until the device turns off. I immediately turn it back on for a second 100 second cycle and just then can I take the first decent hits. I will usually get one good taster hit around the 100 second mark with minimal to no smoke and wait another 30 seconds before taking a second pull. I've learned to take tiny sips of air for a second or two during the initial 100 second cycle, but anything more throws the heat-up off entirely. About midway through the second 100 second cycle is when I can take several big back-to-back hits comparable to a dab-rig. I've dialed the 5/32 bit in as described and have used it this way ever since.
Hard inhalation is necessary to cause the titanium rod to spin and evenly vaporize the rosin. Soft or normal strength hits aren't quite enough and until it's almost up to temperature, the rosin prevents the titanium heating element from wanting to spin. With some experience you get the feel for it.
If you have the patience for a much longer heat-up, using numerous thin rods makes it easy to hit since the rods do not spin. Most of the titanium sizes require anywhere from 3 to 16 rods at once. I use the one or two sizes that can be used alone.
Temperature Fluctuation
Since you are sucking air directly in and out of a two-inch glass vial, the temperature decrease can be massive. The Reflux timing can change depending on how you inhale with the same sized titanium. The good news is there's endless combinations to try with room for error. Different configurations can have less fluctuation between hits and the temperature reductions are only really noticeable as its still heating toward a usable temperature.
Learning Curve
With this much said, it brings us to everyone's concern of usability. To answer the first question, "what is the learning curve?", for me it was extreme and outrageous! I wasted a ton of hash that a very simple guide or write-up like this one would have saved me. Pretty shocking to think, not a single publication or website picked this one up, yet they remain sold-out and are paid for in advance.
Full Transparency-
I wasted enough good hash in the first two weeks to never want to touch this thing again. I'd completely given up and was writing about the Reflux as the latest stoner scam, but I had a nagging feeling there was more to it. I didn't think a minute long heat-up made sense (it doesn't really, but works). I also spent hours trying each titanium rod size, unaware 8 to 12 rods are needed at once!
I think it was @Wolverinedabs that rescued my Reflux from dissolution, long after I'd given up hope. With only a timer and an on/off button it's all about your technique meaning how long you wait before the first hit. Having found a size that makes sense, the 5/32, the 100 second heat up before inhaling is crucial. Now the learning curve is massively reduced!
It Gets Me Higher! (never mind)
UPDATED EDIT: A fascinating side note was the increased effects felt from the induxlabs, however upon further investigations it was simply the lack of water leading to an increased effect. Try a few dry dabs and see what happens. After testing this numerous times, I'm convinced it was the lack of water and not the device.
"Do you really get like ten hits?"
This is the most common question needing to be broken down. When you take a dab of rosin with a torch and quartz, you get at least two or three big hits, along with several more. I usually hit it repeatedly for almost a full minute before my dabs are done. If you are dabbing at proper and efficient temperatures, you should already be getting numerous large hits from each dab. The indux requires slightly more rosin than a standard sized dab and while you can hit it numerous times, each dab only contains so much.
Concept and Concern
The Reflux has raised a lot of questions and unforeseen concerns. The titanium inserts can't spin or move, for that matter, until they heat up and the rosin melts. With the thinner rods heating even slower than the 200 seconds it takes the 5/32 to create smoke, you can imagine the inconsistent vaporization this can potentially cause. Plus the idea of waiting 100 seconds while your rosin's terpenes melt, off-gas, and dissolve is far from ideal. Loading dabs can be difficult and result in product not vaporizing if it isn't low enough in the vial. The Reflux raises a lot of questions that deal with vaporization temperatures and terpenes.
Cold Starts Rule
The Cold start style wins. I've written before about the drawbacks of starting your dabs on hot quartz and vaporizing them as the quartz cools, like traditional dabs. Yet, I still prefer regular dabbing as cold-starts can be difficult to gauge. Dialed-in the Indux becomes the perfect cold-start tech, raising the question: How long is too long?
(Or Do They?)
Rather than experiencing the cultivar's combination of terpenes and cannabinoids simultaneously, like a normal dab or smoked cannabis, too long of a heat-up causes terpenes and cannabinoids to vaporize and begin to combust independently from one another. With thc vaporizing at the high temperature mark of just under 500 degrees, the terpenes will have been depleted long before the THC begins to vaporize. The idea of heating up too slow, can in theory and in practice, vaporize each terpene nearly independently and never create the cultivar's full vibe.
Running the 5/32 titanium rod in the Indux, it creates smoke by the 100 second mark and is too hot or at full temperature sometime in the third 100 second cycle. I haven't found another configuration that heats up fast enough to be satisfying, without burning.
Our First Conclusion
The Reflux is intended for smoking high end concentrates and while you can run rosin through it successfully, it's not the device for the highest-end product: full melt hash. It is a fascinating idea and anyone who can afford the $1200.00 is getting something built to commercial standards that surprisingly, has a ton of adaptability and different styles of use. I hear it's great for the Sesh or customer sampling, which I can almost imagine. The concept has room for improvement or alteration as new heating elements are being designed, and different air-flow options are being explored. This makes the design adaptable and improvable over time.
An Imperfect Design
This is what the Indux is: A genius new idea that needs a whole lot of engineering to perfect or it's on you to figure stuff out. With that said, it's functional in the meantime and provides some seriously tasty hits. I use two glass vials in rotation and the same size titanium rod for each rip. Once you find your settings it can be an awesome way to smoke, share, and taste terps, but begs to ask the questions: Is a basic e-nail better? and the answer is yes.
The Final Word
UPDATE:
For an interesting new device that has some usability, the price-tag screams too much! I didn't pay for mine, but I wanted a refund. If it went for $500.00 I'd say give it a chance, but at its current price tag, there's just no way I can justify recommending this device to anyone. With the exact stability of any basic e-nail, that maintains ideal temperature and provides a normal dab, why look anywhere else? We will be looking for improved designs and new implementations however, as the risk & challenge of a new dab design is always to be respected.
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