Originally Posted by darthnader
That's interesting, but can you elaborate? I don't see how a Volcano can blow heated air through a substance and into a bag better than an Extreme. If anything, it's lack of a variable fan speed makes it worse at this task. Every time I see a Volcano on video, the vapors are not as dense as with the Extreme. A slow fan will create thicker vapors. Looking at how fast the bag blows up on a Volcano, it seems like it just can't create thick vapors.
I also think the Extreme was better engineered. Whoever designed it is pretty smart and knows electronics and the market of stock electronic parts. The genius of the extreme (probably why it is less expensive) is that it uses stock (yet manufacturer configurable) parts. They're quality parts and put together well. It's also made of stainless steel, and is cool to the touch.
The Extreme is all glass for 5" before it goes into food grade tubing, whereas the Volcano is plastic. I'm sure it is a high grade plastic that can handle the temp, but with glass you know it is untainted. This is why I only use my iolite when I am out and about, and always use the Extreme at home.
The Extreme has an on board computer that controls the temperature, timer and various other features (audio, lights, etc).
To me, it's like if Macs were half the price as PCs. Extreme would be the Mac.
It's well made. It's just that they make better use of "economies of scales" electronic parts. The remote is something used by many different products -- they just get the manufacturer to print different controls on the button. The heater is probably something used in other industries. Their parts are less expensive because they buy parts that are commonly used across many industries. My iPod alarm clock has that same remote. I'm sure the computer with LED display is something used in other appliances. That's smart -- the parts are common so they're tested, true, and inexpensive.
It's very clever what they did. These Canadians out-engineered the Germans and built a better product for less. They're better at engineering and business.
I wouldn't assume German engineering and manufacturing to be superior. Look at the reliability of Audis -- awful. I've used German recording software that is just plain crap. The interface on the Volcano has an obvious flaw -- the increase and decrease buttons for temp are the same color and the arrows are both pointing up. Red = warmer, blue = colder, one should point up and one should point down.
You're paying for expensive German labor, taxes, and tariffs. As much as I'd like to subsidize their socialist lifestyles, I live in a dog eat dog world, so saving $300 works for me.
