Volcano Classic

The VOLCANO CLASSIC is the device desktop vaporisers have had to measure up to for more than twenty years. It works analogue: one rotary control, one scale, no electronics that could fail. Heating is by convection, an Easy Valve balloon is filled and holds the vapour for up to eight hours. Many devices from the 2000s are still running today — in vaporisers that is the exception, and the reason the Classic is still sold.

Features

• Pure convection heating with hot-air system
• Temperature from 130 °C to 230 °C, analogue via rotary control
• Temperature accuracy around ±5 °C
• Up to working temperature in about 5 minutes
• Balloon operation via the Easy Valve system
• Balloons store the vapour for up to eight hours
• Stainless steel housing with aluminium heating block
• Chamber of stainless steel and heat-resistant plastic
• Food-safe balloon materials
• Mains powered, holds the temperature for as long as you like
• Dimensions around 200 × 180 × 200 mm, weight around 1,600 grams
• Four Easy Valve balloons with mouthpiece included
• All wear parts available separately for years
• Made in Tuttlingen, three years manufacturer warranty

Who is the VOLCANO CLASSIC for?

For customers who want a desktop device and need neither display nor app. The Classic has a rotary control and a scale — nothing more. That is precisely its argument: there is nothing that can go out of adjustment, run flat or die on the software side. In retail it is the device for customers who look at longevity rather than features, and for everyone who finds the HYBRID too expensive but wants the same vapour quality. Because the Classic delivers exactly that.

Analogue control — strength and limit at once

The temperature is set with a rotary control and scale and lies within about ±5 degrees of the chosen value. That is coarser than the HYBRID with its ±1.5 degrees, and anyone wanting to find a setting again has to remember the position rather than a number. In return there are no electronics that can fail. In a sale this should be named openly: the Classic is the more robust device, the HYBRID the more precise one.

Easy Valve: changing balloons without tools

The Easy Valve system consists of pre-assembled balloons with mouthpiece that are pushed on and, after use, replaced as a whole. Four of them are included, plus an adapter balloon that can be refilled with balloon film. For retailers the balloons are the most reliable repeat business in the range: they wear out predictably, cost little and the customer comes back anyway.

Convection and vapour quality

The Classic heats only the passing air; the material touches no hot surface. That is why the vapour tastes clean and the load is used evenly — at the end the herb is evenly browned rather than patchy. The range from 130 °C to 230 °C covers everything needed in practice, and the fan delivers an airflow no battery device reaches.

Five minutes heat-up

It takes about five minutes to reach working temperature. That is the most obvious difference from the HYBRID, which is ready in forty seconds. At home in everyday use that is bearable — you switch on and do something else. In a shop as a demo unit it is a hindrance, because every demonstration needs five minutes of run-up. Anyone wanting to demonstrate the Classic is best advised to leave it running.

Build and longevity

The housing is stainless steel, the heating block aluminium. The Classic weighs 1.6 kilograms and therefore stands rock solid. Storz & Bickel manufactures in Tuttlingen and comes out of medical technology; the Volcano is approved as a medical device in several countries. In practice that means devices from the 2000s are still running and spare parts for them are still available — both unusual in this product group.

Chamber, screens and cleaning

The chamber is made of stainless steel and heat-resistant plastic and is inserted from above. What needs cleaning is the chamber, the screens and the valve cap. Metal parts can be fully soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Because the airpath is generously dimensioned little clogs up; a thorough clean every few weeks is enough, with knocking out in between. Blocked screens are the most common cause of declining vapour volume.

Spare parts and repeat business

Valves, balloons, screens, chambers and seals are available separately, and for years. For wholesale that is the real value of the device: a Classic in a household generates several times its purchase price in wear parts over its service life. Balloon sets, screen sets and valves therefore belong in every order that contains a Classic.

VOLCANO CLASSIC or VOLCANO HYBRID?

The HYBRID brings a touch display, ±1.5 degree accuracy, forty seconds heat-up, whip operation on top and a web app. The Classic brings the same heating core, the same vapour quality and the same build quality at a considerably lower price — no display, no app, balloon only. Anyone needing reproducible temperatures and the whip takes the HYBRID; anyone running balloon and valuing simplicity takes the Classic.

Why the Classic is still in the range

A device built practically unchanged for twenty years is a rarity in retail. The Classic has no model cycle, no software versions and no compatibility breaks in the accessories — today's balloons fit devices from back then. For dealers that means predictable stockholding and spare parts you do not have to write off after two years.

How to use it

1. Fill the chamber loosely with ground herbs and put it in place.
2. Switch the device on and select the temperature on the rotary control.
3. Let it heat for about five minutes until the indicator lamp goes out.
4. Attach the Easy Valve balloon and start the fan until the balloon is filled.
5. Take the balloon off and empty it at leisure; then empty the chamber and check the screens.