The "Project" DIY Herbal Vaporizer

[dilvish]

would anyone possibly be interested in a 3d printed heat shield for the project? i've been thinking about it, and i have two "issues" with the project: one, the wooden body looks like wood. not something i care about per se, but it would be truly incognito if it looked a little more like a regular ecig. two, it would be awesome if there was a little stir stick or scoop, like the stir stick on the lotus cap, or the "digger-outer" on the vapcap cap, on the heat shield, facing up from the outside of the body, so one could very easily stir the bowl without the need for another tool. in my opinion, these would make the project pretty much perfect, and totally ready for use in public.
so, i'm talking to a 3d printer about the possibility of making something like that, and we'd like to know if anyone else might be interested in buying it. we haven't talked specifics at all yet, any input or ideas you guys have would be appreciated.
i'll start off the discussion with this: does anyone think that the heat might be a problem with plastic in the first place? it seems to me it would be okay, although i'm by no means am expert on the matter. think of the plastic heat shield on the w9tech hercules; that guy gets hot, and i don't think it poses any health risks or risk of structural degeneration.
what do you guys think?

 

[KeroZen]

Plastics used in 3DP are thermo-plastics, not thermo-sets... meaning it's heat that make them liquid enough to be printable, and cooling makes them solid afterwards. But contrary to thermo-sets the process can be reversed and if you heat them enough they will become soft again.

I'm no expert but I think you would need to use Delrin/POM or another similar top-end engineering plastic, and to my knowledge they can only be machined or injected (high pressure molds)

 

[Pipes]

would anyone possibly be interested in a 3d printed heat shield for the project? i've been thinking about it, and i have two "issues" with the project: one, the wooden body looks like wood. not something i care about per se, but it would be truly incognito if it looked a little more like a regular ecig. two, it would be awesome if there was a little stir stick or scoop, like the stir stick on the lotus cap, or the "digger-outer" on the vapcap cap, on the heat shield, facing up from the outside of the body, so one could very easily stir the bowl without the need for another tool. in my opinion, these would make the project pretty much perfect, and totally ready for use in public.
so, i'm talking to a 3d printer about the possibility of making something like that, and we'd like to know if anyone else might be interested in buying it. we haven't talked specifics at all yet, any input or ideas you guys have would be appreciated.
i'll start off the discussion with this: does anyone think that the heat might be a problem with plastic in the first place? it seems to me it would be okay, although i'm by no means am expert on the matter. think of the plastic heat shield on the w9tech hercules; that guy gets hot, and i don't think it poses any health risks or risk of structural degeneration.
what do you guys think?

I agree with KeroZen, the normal filament for 3D printing melts around 200-300 degrees. OTOH, if you can find a higher heat resistant flexible PLA filament type product, if it even exists, your talking a big convenience as could eliminate the need for O rings. I'd think 400-500 F is more in line with the high temp O rings.
Stirring mid session is really a PITA, but pretty much par with other convection vapes that I've tried. I had posted this mod in the DIY Bulli Vaporizer thread which I'm still using as my favorite stem. In fact I have a second on the way. Also, could not find another Stainless pin so I ordered these which are actually made for RC cars steering mechanisms.

 

[enjiatt]

@dilvish Ive pretty much solely been using the Arizer Dome screen with a lid and I can vape pretty evenly with all of my builds.(i dont have the project yet but same concept) stirring is a simple suck and blow.

@E0x how did you implement the ELB in the Project? (edit: I see how you did it on page 4)

 

[dilvish]

I agree with KeroZen, the normal filament for 3D printing melts around 200-300 degrees. OTOH, if you can find a higher heat resistant flexible PLA filament type product, if it even exists, your talking a big convenience as could eliminate the need for O rings. I'd think 400-500 F is more in line with the high temp O rings.
Stirring mid session is really a PITA, but pretty much par with other convection vapes that I've tried. I had posted this mod in the DIY Bulli Vaporizer thread which I'm still using as my favorite stem. In fact I have a second on the way. Also, could not find another Stainless pin so I ordered these which are actually made for RC cars steering mechanisms.

thank you and kerozen for the input. i really love the project and am just trying to think of ways to improve it for out-and-about use.
and wow! awesome mod! i was thinking of something like that but never thought of a good way to do it. thanks again pipes!
@enjiatt that sounds awesome. i haven't had much luck without stirring myself; in fact there must be a tiny bit of a hot spot right in the middle, because if i don't stir, i find the middle vaped and the surrounding load green. but i'll be sure to try sucking and blowing now too.

 

[Pipes]

Improving is an on going "project". Always looking for better/easier ways. However, keep in mind, one of the goals is to keep it open source without dependencies. Meaning the materials should be accessible from common suppliers. The closest item on the parts list for the project with dependency would be the ego adapter but can't see them disappear any time soon.
If anything should break on the project, sourcing the part should be easy. Thus, making it immortal in regards to parts availability.
Lets say the outer wooden shell breaks. A couple inches off the top of a broom handle will substitute for the dowel. From there, a drill and a Dremel tool along with some sand paper will get you going again.
Also, for the artist, using the wood gives opportunity to really come up with crazy carvings to really personalize the piece.
Really glad you guys are liking it and having fun. Looks like this project is working out and think it has potential to really gain momentum. Just need a few more makers to get it going strong. Hopefully, we will start to see others take the plunge into the endeavor. Gives a good justification to get that Lathe you've been itching for. At least that's what you tell the wife....lol Did I type that out loud. Shhh.
Originally I got my Lathe from Canadian Tire for Christmas but after reading many reviews I returned it and got this one from BusyBee. Got it on Sale for under $200 CND.
Just throwing that out there....

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

I picked it up again last night to give it a shake now that I'm home again and settled down somewhat... I'm not sure what differences happened because I've started to get some more manageable results. Ohms locked at .51, 490f, and TCR 130 on my IPV D5. I find that after heating up the first bit I almost have to feather the button every second or so to get it stable with my mod, otherwise it hits the "dry coil" message and cuts power for a little bit. Still not getting those two/three hit done stems yet but I'm getting closer.

 

[Pipes]

I picked it up again last night to give it a shake now that I'm home again and settled down somewhat... I'm not sure what differences happened because I've started to get some more manageable results. Ohms locked at .51, 490f, and TCR 130 on my IPV D5. I find that after heating up the first bit I almost have to feather the button every second or so to get it stable with my mod, otherwise it hits the "dry coil" message and cuts power for a little bit. Still not getting those two/three hit done stems yet but I'm getting closer.

Yes, this "dry coil" has been talked about in the Bulli thread. Never had this with the Evic but remember with my D2 I had to back off on the power some. Joules with the D2 and suspect the same with the D5 instead of watts. Try it at 40 Joules. Problem was the D2 timed out quickly if coil remains at the same temperature too long without giving the power. If your quick on the draw, you can work it at higher Joules.
Give it a try.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Yes, this "dry coil" has been talked about in the Bulli thread. Never had this with the Evic but remember with my D2 I had to back off on the power some. Joules with the D2 and suspect the same with the D5 instead of watts. Try it at 40 Joules. Problem was the D2 timed out quickly if coil remains at the same temperature too long without giving the power. If your quick on the draw, you can work it at higher Joules.
Give it a try.

Just vaped up another stem, prolly 80% vaped to my liking. 4 or 5 hits I don't remember, I stopped counting at 3... Yeah with the IPV5 (sorry for incorrectly referring to it as the IPV D5, it's just IPV5). I was using higher Joules (75). Dropped it to 40 just now and tried another hit out of a fresh stem, small amount of medium grind just to cover the screen... 40 Joules is the ticket. No more feathering the button. I can't figure out what the hell I was doing wrong before. I dropped the TCR a little bit but otherwise the settings are similar to when I had issues with this thing. I'm not sure. 40 Joules, 500f, 0.51 ohms, TCR 130 is the ticket. I didn't intend to vape three stems back to back, what the hell.

 

[enjiatt]

Just vaped up another stem, prolly 80% vaped to my liking. 4 or 5 hits I don't remember, I stopped counting at 3... Yeah with the IPV5 (sorry for incorrectly referring to it as the IPV D5, it's just IPV5). I was using higher Joules (75). Dropped it to 40 just now and tried another hit out of a fresh stem, small amount of medium grind just to cover the screen... 40 Joules is the ticket. No more feathering the button. I can't figure out what the hell I was doing wrong before. I dropped the TCR a little bit but otherwise the settings are similar to when I had issues with this thing. I'm not sure. 40 Joules, 500f, 0.51 ohms, TCR 130 is the ticket. I didn't intend to vape three stems back to back, what the hell.

Now someone can stop me if Im wrong (please do) What ive noticed about the evic mini chip vs the YIHI chips is that I feel like its useful to know what your actual needed wattage for the coil is.


I can max out the evic mini or rx200 on watts and what ive noticed is that it will shoot up to the allotted wattage that you set then once coil is getting closer it starts to pull back and start its PWM. Once PWM starts it ranges between 30w and 50w depending on the coil that I am using.


With the ipv5 I cant just set the joules to max or it will try to shoot those joules into the coil for too long. So with the IPV5 I think it just depends on the coil you are using. Just keep playing with the watts. The problem with the IPV5 is that is never shows anything to indicate what your coil is doing L I think that’s the main downfall, all my other mods (evic mini, rx200, dna200) show me something that indicates whats happening.


@Pipes did you find a new supplier for the 1mm SS tubing or are you going to stick with the 1.5mm?

 

[Slow Draw McGraw]

When I get hot spots, it seems to be in line with the path through the wooden stem.
Wonder if doming my screen would help any?

 

[E0x]

When I get hot spots, it seems to be in line with the path through the wooden stem.
Wonder if doming my screen would help any?

yes , i ended with the same conclusion , but dome don't work for me a least , what work best is the elb of arizer EQ, the problem is that the air path of the mouthpiece is too much narrow that the chamber , if you check the firewood you can see that the chamber is smaller ( a bit ) that the mouthpiece air path.
i think if we can find a way to do the same with will get a lot less hot spot.

 

[Slow Draw McGraw]

yes , i ended with the same conclusion , but dome don't work for me a least , what work best is the elb of arizer EQ, the problem is that the air path of the mouthpiece is too much narrow that the chamber , if you check the firewood you can see that the chamber is smaller ( a bit ) that the mouthpiece air path.
i think if we can find a way to do the same with will get a lot less hot spot.

I have Arizer screens lying around, I will give that a try thanks!

 

[Pipes]

Now someone can stop me if Im wrong (please do) What ive noticed about the evic mini chip vs the YIHI chips is that I feel like its useful to know what your actual needed wattage for the coil is.

@Pipes did you find a new supplier for the 1mm SS tubing or are you going to stick with the 1.5mm?

I think it's all in the built in programming. Figure the "dry wick" protection is considered a "feature" of the YiHi chips. I figure it monitors the wattage needed to keep the coil at temp and if no external cooling is happening it assumes the wick is dry of juice and goes into that protection mode. A feature that is not good for our application. Lowering the power is changing it's time calculation giving the user more time to start inhaling thus cooling the coil and causing the wattage to rise and the protection to stay off.
In theory the higher the wattage the faster the temperature will rise and keep maintained while air is trying to cool it. For the most part I think we are in overkill area on this area. I remember doing tests and found 40 watts is fine for most. More maybe for using a bubblier with fast draws.

For the ss tubing. Still waiting on that boat from UK. Once I get it, I will determine if the thickness will be a problem or not. My plan "B" is to pay that extra buck or two and get 9/16" tubing from McMasters. Second last group of piping on that link. What's good about this size is the ID is almost 1/2" on the nose. Just a tad bigger than what the current tubing is.

@Slow Draw McGraw, if you remove the wooden mouthpiece from the tube, you will see I did widen the tip after the hole in an effort to achieve what a doom screen would by creating an air gap between the screen and the thinner stem hole. Wonder if blocking the center of the screen somehow, thus forcing the air to go around the outside would help..? Would cause more frequent cleaning I'd imagine.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Now someone can stop me if Im wrong (please do) What ive noticed about the evic mini chip vs the YIHI chips is that I feel like its useful to know what your actual needed wattage for the coil is.


I can max out the evic mini or rx200 on watts and what ive noticed is that it will shoot up to the allotted wattage that you set then once coil is getting closer it starts to pull back and start its PWM. Once PWM starts it ranges between 30w and 50w depending on the coil that I am using.


With the ipv5 I cant just set the joules to max or it will try to shoot those joules into the coil for too long. So with the IPV5 I think it just depends on the coil you are using. Just keep playing with the watts. The problem with the IPV5 is that is never shows anything to indicate what your coil is doing L I think that’s the main downfall, all my other mods (evic mini, rx200, dna200) show me something that indicates whats happening.


@Pipes did you find a new supplier for the 1mm SS tubing or are you going to stick with the 1.5mm?

No, but at least on my IPV5 I can see the volts jumping around in real time while using it. You could work out what it's doing using the locked ohms and given Joules. In any case I'll drop by the shop tomorrow and see if one of my friends there has an Evic VTC Mini he can lend me for a six pack or if I should order one online. Don't get me wrong, now that I've figured something out I'm getting better results with the IPV5, I'm getting the dry coil warning by the time I should have stopped hitting. At those lengths (through my bubbler) when I go to stir the stem the hotspot is darker than I'd like. I also tried vaping one of my "80% vaped to my liking" stems at 7 on my Solo and got a small whispy cloud, so it's more like 100% vaped to my liking. I can't do "no stir 100% vaped" stems like @E0x otherwise I feel like I may risk ignition again (which I don't think I've had since the first few times I used it!), but I'm starting to believe it's due to the chip that the mod uses more than technique at this point. I'm getting my desired load vaporized in 4-5 hits consistently now with stirring, just did it right now actually. I'm starting to think maybe I should have bought the evic VTC Mini to begin with, but I got the IPV5 for less than the ~$38 I could have bought the Mini for and only had a 1 battery mod (IPV D2) so I thought it would work out... perhaps YiHi chips aren't the best for this application...

edit:

yes , i ended with the same conclusion , but dome don't work for me a least , what work best is the elb of arizer EQ, the problem is that the air path of the mouthpiece is too much narrow that the chamber , if you check the firewood you can see that the chamber is smaller ( a bit ) that the mouthpiece air path.
i think if we can find a way to do the same with will get a lot less hot spot.

You want to make the vapor path narrower to see the hotspot go away/work to our advantage right? If you have a Solo stem laying around (with the thicker stem end and thinner mouthpiece body) you can use that. I used a piece of thin 1/2" silicone tubing around the mouthpiece end and put a screen in, so the inner diameter of the stem is smaller than using the stem normally/using the wooden SS stem. At least in my case the hotspot was still there and the need to stir present. Given previous posts and the Bulli thread I'm not sure if it's just the nature of the beast or a problem with different manufacturers using different specifications or not. Give that a try and see what happens for you.

 

[nondarb]

I leave mine at 75W without problems

Wow, what are the benefits of this wattage? I've been cruising around 45w.

yes , i ended with the same conclusion , but dome don't work for me a least , what work best is the elb of arizer EQ, the problem is that the air path of the mouthpiece is too much narrow that the chamber , if you check the firewood you can see that the chamber is smaller ( a bit ) that the mouthpiece air path.
i think if we can find a way to do the same with will get a lot less hot spot.

I believe depth has more to do with it. Some of the stems I've been using have a narrower ID and don't really yield better results. I also believe a conical bowl shape similar to the hammer stems may be ideal, in my kayfun 2.1 body/stem I changed from a basket to a conical type screen cone up and have found slightly better results. I've also found adjusting my coil a bit really helped out too, if you're hotspot seems to favor one area try pushing the coil away from it. I still spin the stem regularly.

 

[enjiatt]

@Quetzalcoatl I say if you are going to get another mod to get the Cuboid. I think it gives you the most versatility for upgrades yet still maintains a small form factor. If you dont care about size then I say the rx200. Im pretty sure that all three of these Mods use the same chipset.

If you have extra money you wouldnt be mad at the DNA200 (although it isnt necessary, but is nice)

@nondarb leaving it at 75w makes sure you will always have the fastest heat up time for your coil. That chipset is pretty good at regulating but not overshooting the temp.

 

[Slow Draw McGraw]

Orbiter with The Project

So I did a bottle cap screen method over the hole in the draw tube. Still getting a hotspot but that's only because I'm running through water for testing. If I draw directly the hot spot is smaller and faint. The bottle cap screen also decreases bowl size and bring load closer to the coil as you draw. Before I was putting smaller amounts for agitation to the load.

 

[nosmoking]

Orbiter with The Project

I was hoping to see some vapor videos in here soon! Thanks a lot Slow Draw.

For those of you that are noobs to ecigs or lack much knowledge, did you find The Project to be easy to understand and would you recommend it for someone who does not really have a lot of ecig or even basic electrical knowledge. I'm the kinda guy that hooks an old car battery to his sons powerwheels vehicle when his battery wouldn't charge anymore. Two wires I can figure out, but is the voltage correct and am I killing the battery or the motor I have no clue. Hopefully that gives you some perspective of what kind of idiot I can be when talking things electrical. Your advise and responses will all be appreciated!

 

[Slow Draw McGraw]

I was hoping to see some vapor videos in here soon! Thanks a lot Slow Draw.

For those of you that are noobs to ecigs or lack much knowledge, did you find The Project to be easy to understand and would you recommend it for someone who does not really have a lot of ecig or even basic electrical knowledge. I'm the kinda guy that hooks an old car battery to his sons powerwheels vehicle when his battery wouldn't charge anymore. Two wires I can figure out, but is the voltage correct and am I killing the battery or the motor I have no clue. Hopefully that gives you some perspective of what kind of idiot I can be when talking things electrical. Your advise and responses will all be appreciated!

I am brand new to this. I figured it out after a little to tinkering. We're all here too buddy, more than happy to help.
I have a little more knowledge than you on certain things it seems, but I assure you, if you own a smartphone you can get this down. Just make sure you know what you expect. You won't blow ecig clouds but the clouds it does let out are nice and best part is pretty much on demand. I went to the theatre and took the project with me and it worked great.

 

[E0x]

testing the nano stem , the are big but look cool and cold the vapor so you can take bigger hit without a glass, still getting hot spot

 

[E0x]

the heavy use can make the coil get increment in the ohms ? because over the time my coil reading is changing , when i get it was 0.53 then go up to 0.57 now is .60 and everytime the ohms change i need find the right temp again ( min temp that i can vape and max temp that i can vape without combustion ) and this is a pain , any idea about this ?

 

[Pipes]

To me, sounds like connection. Remove the Project from the mod and use a Q tip with ISO to clean both the contacts. Ensure its screwed tight enough as well. Report back.
TIA

 

[E0x]

To me, sounds like connection. Remove the Project from the mod and use a Q tip with ISO to clean both the contacts. Ensure its screwed tight enough as well. Report back.
TIA

same , but i think i have a problem with the pin of my mod, i will monitoring it to see what happen

 

[Pipes]

It should be a spring loaded pin on the mod. Do not attempt to turn it!

The following applies to anyone having such a problem of ohms drifting in an upwards direction and main connection is tight.

Here's a couple things to look at on the Project side:

1/The bottom screw being counter sunk too far not giving good contact. This would be caused by it being over tightened or was border line to start with..? If this is the case the lower bushing will need replacing.
2/The upper portion has become too loose. Caused by not initially tight enough or more likely an accidental over heat in the learning curve or setting mishap. Have a close look at the insulator between the washers. If an over heat occurred it may be visibly crushed. Pending on how severe, simply tightening will correct the issue. Needle nose pliers and a phillip's a screw driver will do for the procedure. Just be very careful poking the pliers around the coil. Tighten with screw driver so no need to turn the pliers. If the insulator looks too dangerously crunched and washers have little clearance, the insulator needs replacing.

I have included with all the projects some extra insulators in the case of this failure. The coil is robust enough that bending over to the side, as shown in my previous pics and video, and allow easy removal of center nuts, bolts and washers. The lower insulator is very tight and I used a vise to push into place. The upper insulator is also a tight fit to get the inner lip inside the washer. I collapsed the inner lips to get in and then used a dart end or a poker of some kind to straiten out the collar once in the hole. Re-assembly is easier with the coil already with the appropriate sized hooks already bent to wrap around the post.
Be careful the the lower larger winding of the coil does not touch the center post when you tighten it up. Also, be cautious not to over tighten as the bottom insulator will collapse too much. Easy to do as can really torque it with the screw driver. In fact, some collapsing is good and necessary as it acts as a lock washer.

Good luck and let me know how things are panning out.