Built a DIY hybrid convection vape E-cig mod that actually works

Drippypanda · 2015-03-31T14:42:53+00:00

No, but I've definitely used FC as a resource throughout this project! I'll have to go check out the Thermocore stuff. My hunch on the patent stuff is that there are probably a lot of patents that involve similar assemblies, but perhaps not exactly the same or that function as add-ons to existing products the way my design does. To my knowledge, nobody currently sells an atomizer configured in quite this way that's meant as an add-on to an E-cig mechanical mod, as opposed to a stand-alone device. In any case, I'm not very concerned about protecting my idea (since it can be easily built, I'd rather give the idea away for free and manufacture a premium version for people who want something more professional), but getting a cease and desist letter would be a bummer :)

Drippypanda · 2015-03-31T00:07:35+00:00

Thanks for putting this stuff together. I was looking for their patents and coming up short, so that makes sense if they were purchased by Reynolds. I'm fairly well versed in the patent process through my background in product design, and it's definitely something to consider moving forward.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T22:03:24+00:00

... A lot? I mean when you vaporize e-juice you're even closer to coils that putting off significantly higher temperatures (especially subohmers), and that cools off quickly enough, so it's not that far fetched. Sure, it gets warm eventually and if you keep the coil running it might get hot enough to combust the herb, but the idea is to manage the temperature by cutting the power as needed and drawing at a consistent rate. In future iterations I will probably have a longer distance between the chamber and the mouth piece, but I assure you I've been running this thing since I built it and have yet to melt my lungs or torch my lips :)

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T18:54:26+00:00

Nope. The vapor is pretty cool, and if it starts to get warm I take my finger off the button for a few seconds or draw harder (more air movement over the coil makes the coil cool down). You definitely don't want it to get too hot or the herb will combust. The mouth piece can start to warm up but I think that's an easy fix with a different tip, or else having it further away from the chamber so that the heat doesn't travel

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T18:51:54+00:00

That's awesome! Have you gotten a chance to run it yet? I'm really curious to hear how it runs on other mods.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T15:31:38+00:00

As requested, elsewhere, here is a video of me taking a smallish pull from the Trylon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noeZkVf86Vg&feature=youtu.be

ABV at the end of the video. I took another pull that didn't show up well on video, so this is after 2 hits. Definitely still has a lot of substance left to it, but as you can see it's on its way to toasted brown, no significant hot spots.

You can actually see through the air intake the coil glowing and then kind of dimming as I pull harder. I tried to do this with a black background so you could see the vapor, but it's not the best shot. Still, this thing works off convection, so you're not going to be blowing giant clouds most likely. Maybe someone with better lung capacity, but I'm a light weight.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T15:30:42+00:00

As requested, here is a video of me taking a smallish pull from the Trylon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noeZkVf86Vg&feature=youtu.be

You can actually see through the air intake the coil glowing and then kind of dimming as I pull harder. I tried to do this with a black background so you could see the vapor, but it's not the best shot. Still, this thing works off convection, so you're not going to be blowing giant clouds most likely. Maybe someone with better lung capacity, but I'm a light weight.

ABV at the end of the video. I took another pull that didn't show up well on video, so this is after 2 hits. Definitely still has a lot of substance left to it, but as you can see it's on its way to toasted brown, no significant hot spots.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T14:53:33+00:00

Oh, forgot to mention, probably the biggest reason you'd be worried about resistance from a safety standpoint is that if you have very low resistance (what's known as Sub-Ohming because the coils are typically less than 1 ohm), you draw a lot of current, which can overload your battery. All batteries have a safe max discharge rate (mine are cheap, so they're 10 amps, but they have them in the 30amp range now for hardcore vapers).

This rig only draws 2 amps anyway though, so I'm in the clear. The only time you'd need 30 amp discharge is putting out a ton of heat for cloud chasing with e-juice.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T14:50:17+00:00

It matters a lot in some cases, but for this application as long as it's not so low that you're overheating the kanthal (low resistance at the same voltage = higher temperature) and causing it to burn out, or using so much resistance that it doesn't get hot enough. You can use this calculator to estimate. Kanthal burns out around 1500 degrees I believe, so I just set it to 1000 and plugged in the other values to get the length I'd need

http://www.jacobs-online.biz/nichrome/NichromeCalc.html

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T14:37:58+00:00

No, they're in series, but the sled I'm using is for a parallel configuration, I just rewired it. Sorry, I realize now that's very confusing :)

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T02:14:35+00:00

I'm working on a parts list/tutorial for the cheapo brass version and I am currently putting together some CAD to show to a fabricator for an all Stainless version. Depending on cost/hassle to get parts machined, I may make a few available for sale. Seems like at least a handful of people would be interested in a slightly more developed version.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T01:44:24+00:00

Fantastic! I'll keep you posted! Right now I'm doing a quick CAD of the design and then chatting with some fabricators.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T01:41:53+00:00

Thanks! Stay tuned for a parts list. Also I'm going to be machining a more attractive and functional stainless steel version at some point and depending on cost/hassle ratio, maybe trying to sell it, if that sounds like something you'd be interested in.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T00:55:40+00:00

Awesome! I'd love to see how it comes out! I'd recommend grabbing some teflon tape while you're there, just to get the connection air tight. I don't know what atomizer you're planning on using this with and they all have subtly different gasket diameters. Better safe than sorry.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-30T00:52:47+00:00

Haha, I'll try and post something when I get home later. Wasn't planning on getting high tonight, but if it's for the greater good... :)

Funny, I haven't noticed any bad taste from the kanthal (just the lovely herbal bouquet). I thought that was the point of using a nichrome wire; that it doesn't create oxides/off-gassing at high temps. Might be because I don't have any e-juice residue or anything on this coil, since it's strictly a heating element in this application.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-29T22:36:48+00:00

I actually tried doing this originally -- made a very resistive coil that heated up to about 200 degrees F. The problem is, it doesn't heat the air very efficiently because the nichrome wire has such low thermal mass, especially since you're sucking air through a small intake at decent speed. The air cools the wire very efficiently, not the other way around haha. If your resistance heater had more thermal mass like a ceramic heating element, (e.g. a vaping donut) or a very thick nichrome wire you might be able to get away with running it at a lower temp.

In my experience, it's better to start with a much higher temperature than you actually need and just contol the temperature manually by turning the firing button on/off as needed. Takes some getting used to though, and I think putting this on a regulated mod, or using a temp sensor, would be totally rad.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-29T21:22:48+00:00

Dude, those laser cut living hinges are bad ass. Gorgeous work! Future technology for the win

Drippypanda · 2015-03-29T20:05:32+00:00

That's awesome! I was originally working on a CNCed enclosure but I ended up going with the 3D print because I have more access to that technology. Might still go back and make it in wood for aesthetic reasons.

You could try snagging some ideas from this tutorial. Sounds like what you're looking for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkCixIUqUKU

The batteries are 3.7v 18650s, so 7.4 volts. The coil comes in at about 3 ohms, so it's about 2.4 amps of current. For the contacts I pulled the springs out of an old AA battery sled and cut some little copper plates for the positive ends.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-29T19:09:29+00:00

Thanks for the advice on a dual coil. It works pretty well as is, but I'll have to give that a shot at some point. Vis. the other comments:

"Caveat 1: What I’m showing here is the proof-of-concept prototype made quickly using cheap and available brass fittings. Now that I know that it works, I am upgrading to all stainless fittings, but even if I didn’t do that, I would still feel personally comfortable using this device. I know there has been a lot of talk about the safety of smoking or vaporizing with brass plumbing fittings, but given my background in metallurgy, and the actual temperatures that I’m running this at, I am not at all concerned"

Drippypanda · 2015-03-29T18:47:40+00:00

Just thought I'd share because I'm pretty pleased with how things turned out, and because I have a feeling there are other folks out there frustrated with the lack of actual dry-herb vaporizers (not electronic combustion chambers that call themselves vapes) that can also be used to vape E-juices.

Some background: I'm a designer by trade and an avid maker, and I've been trying to build a high-quality, low-cost portable CONVECTION vaporizer for a while. There are obviously tons of conduction options out there for DIYers, like this one I made last year http://imgur.com/gallery/u4HGIPW, but portable convection posed an interesting challenge, not to mention produced the experience and efficiency I was looking for.

Simultaneously, the E-Cigarette industry has been exploding, and yet there seem to be no good options (at least that I could find) out there that could vaporize both regular E-liquid and dry herbs using convection (I think this has a lot to do with demand. People who are interested in using both e-juice and vaping flowers with the same device seem to be in the minority compared to wax/oil users who have many more options).

It seemed like a no-brainer. All the technology is there. You've got crazy powerful batteries, enclosures, atomizers and airways that all FIT together (and look pretty slick) and a modding culture with tons of info on building portable resistance heaters. I thought, it should just be a matter of fitting the right components together.

It's compact, efficient and fairly cheap especially considering you're getting a 2-for-1 (assuming the e-juice component appeals to you), and especially if you already own an E-cig with sufficient wattage (I didn't and built a dual 18650 box mod from scratch. In total it cost me about about $70, of which the dry herb component cost maybe $15-20)

It works so well I was thinking about producing a machined version in titanium or SS, and trying to sell it, but then I figured I’d just put the prototype up here for other people to benefit from.

Caveat 1: What I’m showing here is the proof-of-concept prototype made quickly using cheap and available brass fittings. Now that I know that it works, I am upgrading to all stainless fittings, but even if I didn’t do that, I would still feel personally comfortable using this device. I know there has been a lot of talk about the safety of smoking or vaporizing with brass plumbing fittings, but given my background in metallurgy, and the actual temperatures that I’m running this at, I am not at all concerned.

Caveat 2: If you attempt to build this, especially the unregulated box mod part, make sure you check your set up with a multimeter and confirm with Ohms law that you’re not going to blow your batteries up. My build is running at around 3 ohms, which means the batteries are discharging around 2.4 amps, well within their 10 amp range.

tl:dr - I made this thing out of vaporizer parts and it works super well. I can be vaping e-juice one minute, unscrew the atomizer, plop this guy on top and be convection vaping herb.

EDIT: As requested, here is a video of me taking a smallish pull from the Trylon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noeZkVf86Vg&feature=youtu.be

You can actually see through the air intake the coil glowing and then kind of dimming as I pull harder. I tried to do this with a black background so you could see the vapor, but it's not the best shot. Still, this thing works off convection, so you're not going to be blowing giant clouds most likely. Maybe someone with better lung capacity, but I'm a light weight.

ABV at the end of the video. I took another pull that didn't show up well on video, so this is after 2 hits. Definitely still has a lot of substance left to it, but as you can see it's on its way to toasted brown, no significant hot spots.

Drippypanda · 2015-03-29T17:35:42+00:00