7th Floor LLC is the company that makes the SSV!
The SSV evolved as an idea early 2002. After testing other desktop vaporizers before, it was decided that an improvement had to be made. The wand style vaporizer seemed to be the best in performance except that the quality was not there and the wand angle was an issue. The heating elements were going out every few months and in the dry climate of Colorado the box itself started falling apart. They worked great, when they were working, but just did not last long for the price, and damn was that angle useless. Finally the vision of the custom vape “the SSV” was developed!
The vision of the Silver Surfer was perfect. Not only the vision but the name came all at once. The need for a desktop vaporizer that would last a long time, perform very well and be stylish was apparent. The first thing to do was to find the right heating element. That was a long and time consuming process, and after testing 9 different name brand ceramic heating elements, the finest was chosen. It was not the most economical one available, but it was of the highest quality. Next the attention was focused on the glass pieces. The pieces were easy to draw and to describe, but no glass blower in town would take on the project. A book called “contemporary lampworking” was purchased (an amazing book if you are interested in working with glass in any way), then a torch, ventilation equipment, glass, gas, and oxygen. With a lot of time invested, a few months later some of the basic glass parts for the vaporizer were a reality. Now some of the finest glass wands found any place are produced by 7th Floor. The idea for the housing was always to use aluminum and, thankfully, it worked perfectly. Our line of SSV vapes are not just vapes, but are the most custom vapes in the world.
The SSV has gone through many transformations since its inception. Originally there was to be no acrylic base, and at one point it was completely vertical, but having it at an angle is just so much better. The SSV became a final product in April 2004, which is also when they entered into the market and started selling the way they do today. The SSV is still all handmade as it was in the beginning! Along the way the custom glass knobs have really evolved to make every unit different. The original SSV used a ceramic heating element encased in a metal tube, like the competition. If you have ever seen metal after it gets really hot it turns a different color, which can indicate that some kind of toxin is being release, so the metal tube was eliminated. This was the idea from the beginning, but it was a customer who provided the idea on how to keep the element in place. Now the SSV is the first vaporizer to offer a truly glass on glass experience and we at 7th Floor believe it is the best functioning custom vape on the planet.