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The Nomad From Morwood

GreenHopper

20 going on 60
Such a great photo, can't stop looking at it :)

Thanks man, I was inspired by @Dan Morrison's pics. I was having a play last night with my camera after getting some macro extension tubes I want to use for snapping some close up shots. I was also trying to figure out how to get some good lighting and this pic just happened.

I threw a matching scene up on my TV as a background and that worked out way better than I was expecting.

All in all a good start, hoping to get some more shots don't over the Christmas period.
 

Vaporware

Well-Known Member
Don't think I'll need any capsule loading system. I tried other glass cap capsules in other vapes, and they let too much air pass to create a good draw.

One thing I think a lot of people are missing about the design Dan posted is that these are not capsules to stick inside the stem where there’s room for air to go around the capsule. They’re basically like sticking a VapCap the diameter of the stem down above the heater, very much like I believe Ed’s logs work with actual VapCap stems and tips.

So the “capsule” would be like the VapCap tip and the rest of the stem would be like the VapCap stem/body.

If anyone still sees a performance problem there, please describe how it would be a problem so we can find a better solution if necessary! :)

In a whole, maintenance requires medium efforts with Nomad.

Thanks for posting your review! I don’t use tobacco, but that’s a lot of good information for people who do. :)

When you say the Nomad requires medium effort to clean though, it seems like it’s mostly your own custom stems that require frequent cleaning. I don’t think people who use the glass stems have to clean them as often, so it should be easy to maintain for most people.

I can’t think of any vaporizer you don’t at least have to clean the bowl or stem on.
 

Xelatsok

vapes tobacco modding the vapes
When you say the Nomad requires medium effort to clean though, it seems like it’s mostly your own custom stems that require frequent cleaning. I don’t think people who use the glass stems have to clean them as often, so it should be easy to maintain for most people.

I can’t think of any vaporizer you don’t at least have to clean the bowl or stem on.
Yeah, these are my mouthpieces need cleaning due to narrow air channels (not metal part, BTW). Glass requires less cleaning, hot washing in my case, but I broke one glass washing. Emptying the bowl is easier with metal version - I just knock it on trash can.
 

Vaporware

Well-Known Member
One thing I think a lot of people are missing about the design Dan posted is that these are not capsules to stick inside the stem where there’s room for air to go around the capsule. They’re basically like sticking a VapCap the diameter of the stem down above the heater, very much like I believe Ed’s logs work with actual VapCap stems and tips.

So the “capsule” would be like the VapCap tip and the rest of the stem would be like the VapCap stem/body.

If anyone still sees a performance problem there, please describe how it would be a problem so we can find a better solution if necessary! :)

I just looked at the mock-up pic again and I had it slightly wrong in my head; the “capsule” part is really just a straight piece of tube and screen, the o-rings and narrowed connector are on the stem side which keeps the capsules easy to load, unload and clean. Even the stem would still be easy enough to clean since it’s open on both ends.

Alternatively, this connector could even be a separate piece held into both the capsule and the stem by o-rings. It would just need a little lip sticking out the sides in the middle to keep it from going too far into the capsule or stem. That way you could even use the stock stems with capsules if you needed/wanted to, although shorter stems would be better for maintaining the Nomad’s look.

Oh, and you could put the second screen into the connector and let the stem come away as just an empty tube.

I think @Dan Morrison ’s design is better than anyone here (including me) has given it credit for, and I think this is a good potential modification to it. With either one there’s no effect on current users of the standard stems and a new option for people who aren’t as comfortable loading and unloading stems while they’re out, and with the connector as a separate piece it would be even more compatible with more stems.

The only real potential problem I see is having the capsule come off and stay in the body when it hits the o-rings in the collar as the stem is pulled out, but if prototypes showed that this was a real concern it could be addressed by just making the capsules very slightly smaller in diameter.

I know some of you have no interest in capsules at all, but if anyone who wants them is reading this, please let us know what you think!
 

GreenHopper

20 going on 60
I just looked at the mock-up pic again and I had it slightly wrong in my head; the “capsule” part is really just a straight piece of tube and screen, the o-rings and narrowed connector are on the stem side which keeps the capsules easy to load, unload and clean. Even the stem would still be easy enough to clean since it’s open on both ends.

Alternatively, this connector could even be a separate piece held into both the capsule and the stem by o-rings. It would just need a little lip sticking out the sides in the middle to keep it from going too far into the capsule or stem. That way you could even use the stock stems with capsules if you needed/wanted to, although shorter stems would be better for maintaining the Nomad’s look.

Oh, and you could put the second screen into the connector and let the stem come away as just an empty tube.

I think @Dan Morrison ’s design is better than anyone here (including me) has given it credit for, and I think this is a good potential modification to it. With either one there’s no effect on current users of the standard stems and a new option for people who aren’t as comfortable loading and unloading stems while they’re out, and with the connector as a separate piece it would be even more compatible with more stems.

The only real potential problem I see is having the capsule come off and stay in the body when it hits the o-rings in the collar as the stem is pulled out, but if prototypes showed that this was a real concern it could be addressed by just making the capsules very slightly smaller in diameter.

I know some of you have no interest in capsules at all, but if anyone who wants them is reading this, please let us know what you think!

Do you mean use a connector like this?

ITEM_40_1024x1024.jpg


But scaled down to the internal diameter of the Nomad's stem, uses orings rather than barbs and has a screen at one end.

@Dan Morrison could maybe make it out of PEEK?

That would be awesome but like you I'd worry about it getting stuck in the Nomads body section.

But if Dan made the o-rings grippy enough it could work.

Maybe have 2x O-rings on the capsule side and 3x on the stem side. That way the stem side would have more grip so removing the capsule wouldn't remove the connector.

It would also cause more air restriction which some will like and other will not.

If Dan made this I would want one plus extra casuals. :tup:
 

Vaporware

Well-Known Member
You got it! Just better materials like you said, although I’d probably go with metal to keep it thin and strong. Seems like a pretty simple thing to do. If Dan decides he doesn’t want to do it I’m sure a third party could make some for us, but given Dan’s style and attention to detail I think they’d come out best if he made them. :)

I don’t think airflow would be affected much, as long as the walls of the connector could be kept thin, and I think if the capsule did need to be smaller to come out easily it would only have to be very slightly smaller. We may not even notice the difference in diameter as end users.
 

GreenHopper

20 going on 60
You got it! Just better materials like you said, although I’d probably go with metal to keep it thin and strong. Seems like a pretty simple thing to do. If Dan decides he doesn’t want to do it I’m sure a third party could make some for us, but given Dan’s style and attention to detail I think they’d come out best if he made them. :)

I don’t think airflow would be affected much, as long as the walls of the connector could be kept thin, and I think if the capsule did need to be smaller to come out easily it would only have to be very slightly smaller. We may not even notice the difference in diameter as end users.

Yeh that would work, what ever material is easiest for Dan to work with I guess. It should be fairly easy for Dan to make a prototype.
 

Copacetic

Somewhere North of The Wall
@mopey_zoo_lion , Thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated and helpful!

For load packing, I think loose pack is the way to go. But you don't want any airspace.. you don't want to be able to shake the load around. At least that's my experience.

I wonder, do you have a charger that shows battery voltage? What voltage do you drain your batteries down to before you need to recharge? I go down to about 3.5 v.

And walk-vaping is not something I ever do, so it's been great to hear thoughts on it...I never would have thought about it otherwise! It totally makes sense that some draw restriction would be helpful here to help regulate airspeed. hmm. Seems like a variable draw resistance upgrade is gaining momentum.

The loading system keeps coming up, and that's why I've been focused on trying to find a solution. I think that a capsule loading system could be a nice upgrade.

Here is a rough drawing of what I'm thinking about.

It's basically small glass (or stainless) tubes, with a screen fitted into the tip, and another screen fitted into the wooden (or glass, or stainless) main stem. The two join with a couple O-Rings.

A little twist top carry case could accompany the capsules, with gasket material on the inside so that when the case is twisted closed, the capsules are all sealed air tight.

P1030881.jpg


With this method, there would be no touching of any screens, and no unloading issues. And loading is as simple as just pushing the stem onto one of the capsules in the case.

Thoughts on material choices??

For the capsule:

Stainless has the advantage of being thin-walled, and so can accommodate a slightly larger diameter chamber. Perhaps the stainless steel screens can also be silver soldered or spot welded to the rim, creating a perfect flush screen that won't ever fall out or fray at the edges.

Stainless also is most durable. And thin-walled capsules will most likely cool off quicker.

Glass has the advantage of looking cool.

For the main stem:

IMO, glass looks the best coming out of the top of the Nomad, so It'll be my aesthetic choice.

Downside to glass is that it can't be machined, so there would need to be a wood or stainless coupling adapter to go between the main stem and the capsule... That's two more O-Rings and one extra part.

Wood looks sweet as well, but with the disadvantage of not being easily cleaned.

Stainless is most durable obviously.

hmm..
I like this idea pretty much as is Dan :clap:
The only issue I see is that when pulling the stem out of the Nomad won't the capsule be pulled off the end of the wood tube, leaving it stuck in the vape?

Perhaps a slightly smaller diameter capsule would allow it to be pulled out of the Nomad without this happening?
A nice tight fit on the end of the wood stem would also likely help.

EDIT:
Apologies, @VaporWare already mentioned this possibility, and the same possible solution!


As for the 'suck to load' function, I'd like to suggest that a simple tube of plastic or bamboo , or wood (or anything really, even cardboard might work OK!) sized to fit over the glass capsule would allow the capsule to be pushed in 'screen first', so that we could suck the herb into the reversed capsule before removing it from the tube (with a finger over the open end) then pushed onto the wooden stem (as you drew it).
I admit that carrying this 'loading tube' around in addition to the Nomad, herb etc would be slightly less convenient, but if there were a caddy to carry a days worth of loaded capsules, the loading tube could be left at home making things very convenient.
This would be a very easy, cheap and easily replaced solution to allow 'suck to load' (which I also greatly prefer to any other loading style my other vapes require).

Another approach (albeit more complicated to make, and resulting in a fatter mouthpiece at the end on the stem) would be to make the wooden part of the stem that remains outside the body of the Nomad with a bigger diameter.
Big enough that it could be bored out big enough to accommodate the capsule in the manner described above so the stem could serve double duty as a stem, and (in the 'reversed' configuration) capsule loading tube.
This mean would mean you'd always have your loader with you.
Downsides are that it would result in a slightly 'fatter' mouthpiece at the end of the stem, and that it would take more time and effort to make.

As far as cleaning, I would simply use a thin walled SS tube to line the wooden stem.
Cleaning is easily done by warming the stem on a radiator or similar, and cleaning it out with hemp fibre or cotton (which can then be vaped easily :nod:
), I do this with my Vapcap condensers, and a wood/SS lined Milaana stem that I made myself, and its super convenient and easy (I quite like the taste too!).

If I'm describing this poorly let me know and I'll draw what I mean.

Honestly though, your original concept with a simple loading tube, a caddy for the capsules (and maybe an SS liner in the wood part of the stem) seems like the simplest and best way to achieve 'capsule use', I really like your idea as-is :bowdown:

I guess batch 2 aren't likely to be shipping before the end of the year, but any guesses on when it might happen @Dan Morrison?
 
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duff

Well worn
Just got a beautiful stem from @Ed's TnT. It fits as snug as the og stems
IMG-20181221-143436.jpg

The stem bottoms out in the Nomad just as the upper bead hits the collar.
IMG-20181221-143729.jpg

Inside, there is a recessed ledge that a screen sits on so it can't move up the stem.
IMG-20181221-143702.jpg

I've been loading it with no bottom screen and no screen in the Nomad with great results.
 

Copacetic

Somewhere North of The Wall
Just got a beautiful stem from @Ed's TnT. It fits as snug as the og stems
IMG-20181221-143436.jpg

The stem bottoms out in the Nomad just as the upper bead hits the collar.
IMG-20181221-143729.jpg

Inside, there is a recessed ledge that a screen sits on so it can't move up the stem.
IMG-20181221-143702.jpg

I've been loading it with no bottom screen and no screen in the Nomad with great results.
Nice!
Is it a little longer than the OG glass stem, or is that just the angle?
Top work from Ed as always, and it goes great with your Nomad too :rockon:
 

Dan Morrison

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
@Copacetic , Thank you for your input and suggestions! I ended up using some of my off-time away from the batch 2 Nomads in the evening to experiment with some of these recent stem loading ideas.

I started with a prototype wooden capsule, as outlined in my previous post.... but ran into a number of issues. Most of the time I felt like the capsule loading/unloading was just too much of a hassle for me.

But most importantly, airway design is negatively impacted by any capsule system I tried.

From my pipe making daysvI know that airway design is the biggest design point for any artisan tobacco pipe. The airway determines how well the pipe will smoke.

Ideally, airflow through the chamber should be consistent from the center to the outer edge. The geometry of the airway before AND after the chamber will have a big effect.

With the more complex capsule systems, it's difficult to design a simple solution that maintains the best airway geometry. This trade-off doesn't seem worth it to me.

I landed on this idea, which is simple... but is working awesome so far.

It's a cherry-wood chamber liner that may come stock to improve performance, but can also double as a capsule system.

It fits snug inside the stem, but can still slide in and out. By pre-drying the wood before cutting on the lathe, any change in diameter as the wood is heated can be minimized.

Taste is altered for the first couple sessions, with a mild woody taste, but that disappears quickly.


P1040181.jpg


Here is how I've been using it. With the two screens sandwiching the wooden liner.

I've also been using a 'push-rod' made from wood. This serves two purposes, to lightly tamp down my load, and also push the top screen out at the end of a session. Pushing on the bottom screen with the push rod pushes on the wood liner, which in turn pushes the top screen out. For people who can't use a fingernail to pick out the top screen, this is a great method. The herb is then easy to blow out, the wood liner stays put.

I keep my liner permanently installed, but it can also work as a capsule.

By removing the liner, putting it on a flat surface, and using a little funnel to load your herb material, you can then tamp down lightly to compress the load inside the liner.

The lightly compressed 'puck' of herb stays put inside the wood liner. You could load multiple wood liners in this way and store them in a case.

P1040182.jpg


Now for the exciting stuff,

I found that extraction efficiency and evenness was improved over stock. Especially in the area close to the screen near the side walls.

Here is an illustration of why I think this wood liner is improving the performance.

On the left, we have a cross section of the stock stem with a screen loaded. Notice in the red circles where there is an interruption to the smooth side walls of the glass. The bunched up screen material obstructs airflow causing an outer ring of dead air flow.

On the right, we have added the wood liner. You can see how the liner creates a smaller diameter chamber... but maintains a smooth sidewalls.

P1040185.jpg


Additionally, wood is my most preferred chamber material because of its thermal properties. I've noticed a significant change in heat-up time, and solid vapor production on the first pull from a cold start with a depleted battery and low-heat module. The glass stem stays cooler in extended use as well.

I think the combination of airflow improvement, chamber diameter reduction, and woods low thermal conductivity all work together to improve over-all performance.

@duff , That's awesome man! Looks great!

By having that groove cut into the ID of your wooden stem, you've created essentially the same airway design as what I've proposed here. I suspect that you've already noticed a difference over the stock stem. I'd be interested to hear your observations over time.
 

namasteIII

Well-Known Member
Sweet update dan, I like where that wood liner idea is heading. You've made such a great vape and now your getting close to making it even better. Honestly evenness of extraction probably plays the biggest part in the quality of a session. So keep trucking down that road, and get it nailed solid by batch 3.
 

sixstringsmash

Well-Known Member
Just got a beautiful stem from @Ed's TnT. It fits as snug as the og stems
IMG-20181221-143436.jpg

The stem bottoms out in the Nomad just as the upper bead hits the collar.
IMG-20181221-143729.jpg

Inside, there is a recessed ledge that a screen sits on so it can't move up the stem.
IMG-20181221-143702.jpg

I've been loading it with no bottom screen and no screen in the Nomad with great results.


Damn looks like Ed made a LOT of improvements to those stems since I got mine a few weeks ago, mine's all loosey goosey and I have to hold it in place to keep it from sliding out. Totally jealous over that one haha, looks great! I might have to hit Ed up again for a second one now I guess......


Every vape I've bought lately has needed a box mod and they are too complicated for my brain. I am so relieved that I will be getting a small, wonderful vape that doesn't require one. Or does it?

There are no settings to tinker with but this things completely unregulated so you actually need to be ten times more careful with these types of units than you would be with most box mods. Most regulated box mods have a chip in there with safety features that will disable the mod if it detects something wrong like overheating etc.... With the Nomad and other unregulated vapes theirs no chip in there to tell you something's wrong. If you have a tear in your battery or something and cause a hard short in this thing and you continue to keep using it without noticing, it might not just break, the battery might vent or explode and you can get seriously hurt so yeah you need to exercise a lot of caution when using this or any other type of unregulated unit.
 
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lieutenantlemons

Well-Known Member
For sake of discussion (and due to the Nomad's modular heaters), what are some cool things that you guys think could be done in the future? I think about this sometimes but can never really think of many use cases outside of maybe a heater specifically for concentrates? Maybe some sort of 510 threaded heater for ejuices and stuff?...
 
lieutenantlemons,

ZC

Well-Known Member
Personally what I'd like to see with the nomad's heater is build a Nomad+ body modeled after the form factor of the Zion. Instead of a stem holder slot like the Zi there's room for a modern box mod chip with a screen, while still making the unit much smaller than the Zi.

That and a plug-in adapter or body for the nomad heater.
 

RelaxedNow

Well-Known Member
Personally what I'd like to see with the nomad's heater is build a Nomad+ body modeled after the form factor of the Zion. Instead of a stem holder slot like the Zi there's room for a modern box mod chip with a screen, while still making the unit much smaller than the Zi.

That and a plug-in adapter or body for the nomad heater.

You said Nomad, but you must have been thinking Tubo.
 
RelaxedNow,

sixstringsmash

Well-Known Member
Personally what I'd like to see with the nomad's heater is build a Nomad+ body modeled after the form factor of the Zion. Instead of a stem holder slot like the Zi there's room for a modern box mod chip with a screen, while still making the unit much smaller than the Zi.

That and a plug-in adapter or body for the nomad heater.
While I definitely see the advantages of putting a chip with a screen in the nomad it's biggest advantage for me is it's mechanical aspect. Sure it's super simple but being purely mechanical means that if you take care of it the unit will last you a solid lifetime. Put a chip in there instead and now you've put a ticker on that unit because one day that chip is bound to fail and make the unit useless. It could be months or it could be years but all of those chips will fail at one point or another. A purely mechanical vape won't.
 

Abysmal Vapor

Supersniffer 2000 - robot fart detection device
With the Nomad and other unregulated vapes theirs no chip in there to tell you something's wrong. If you have a tear in your battery or something and cause a hard short in this thing and you continue to keep using it without noticing, it might not just break, the battery might vent or explode and you can get seriously hurt so yeah you need to exercise a lot of caution when using this or any other type of unregulated unit.
How about adding a chip for low-voltage protection ? There were those things back in the day for mechanical mods. Called kick modules.
They were eithre VW/VV/or protecting against battery drain like this one .
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0...cement-kick-module-for-colibri-mechanical-mod Please Note: this module will not work when the voltage is under 2.93V
I am also pretty sure there are a lot of small PCBs around that can do the same job.
Another option is to install a small Volt Meter,it would be addition challenge to the design,but i think aethetic wont suffer that much if it is hidden behind a piece off wood held to the body with magnets or something like that.
 
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ZC

Well-Known Member
While I definitely see the advantages of putting a chip with a screen in the nomad it's biggest advantage for me is it's mechanical aspect. Sure it's super simple but being purely mechanical means that if you take care of it the unit will last you a solid lifetime. Put a chip in there instead and now you've put a ticker on that unit because one day that chip is bound to fail and make the unit useless. It could be months or it could be years but all of those chips will fail at one point or another. A purely mechanical vape won't.
I definitely agree, I love everything about Dan's unregulated design.
I'd like the body for the heater as I described in addition to the one Dan already makes.

I'm a little less concerned about it breaking, simply because I honestly think the unregulated design isn't going to last forever either. At some point demand is going to shift and good 18650 batteries are going to be hard to come by. As car and electronic devices start to switch to different battery types we will probably see a time where high current 18650's aren't available anymore.
 
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