VapCap Induction Heater for Desktop and in Car Use

I ordered these 12mm ones and the VC doesn't fit. Also, the glass is so thin that if you're planning to drop your VC in, I'd put some cotton on the bottom. Or it may continue out the other end..?

@Pipes I use a round thin layer of cork in the bottom of glass tube, it avoids glass breaking and allows to choose by how thick i made cork stopper how fast cap will click

Cork charred at first usages but now seems quite stable since few months ago I first used it

Edit: i recall I have coil switch not in the bottom of the glass tube as in portside

For others waiting and wondering.... My Portside (mailed Monday) has arrived in Chicago. Hope they pass it right through from there. If so, would probably be here Friday or Saturday.


Dontcha just love those old made for MTV videos from early 80's? I remember when this was one of like less than 100 in the rotation. God, I'm gettin old!

EDIT: And it's already on its way from Chicago! WOOHOOO!! Shan't be long now.

Pipes said:

I ordered these 12mm ones and the VC doesn't fit. Also, the glass is so thin that if you're planning to drop your VC in, I'd put some cotton on the bottom. Or it may continue out the other end..?

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ahhh Dang good to know! I ordered 5 of those as well haha guess I'll have to find something else to use them for.

@Andreaerdna I like the cork Idea though! That would be nice for adjustments

@Pipes My Portside arrived this morning! Only done one bowl so far, but everything seems to be working perfectly. I didn't time it, but it definitely heats faster than with my torch. Did about about 5 cycles and mine seems to be set up perfectly for the click temp, I felt like I was in no danger of overheating no matter how many cycles I did as long as I didn't go over click. I -did- go about 3 seconds over on the last though, ABV came out dark dark brown and perfectly even. I already love this thing, thanks so much Pipes.

Got my portside and my batteries today . I'm letting them charge for now and will give it a try soon !!! Thanks again Pipes !!!!!!

I'v made the switch to VapeCaps and no more plugs and batteries. So now I'm looking at this and thinking "Cool!"

My Portside is due to arrive today. Hope it comes before I have to go out for family picnic (with no vaping! ). Anxious to try her out tonight, though.

Yo @Pipes , this thing is amazing . I can't believe how quick the click comes . I originally thought I would have to let it t go past the click , but I was wrong . You are a genius !!! I know I had to pay for my portside but I still feel like I owe you . Thanks again for making my day a little better.

Krazy said:

I'v made the switch to VapeCaps and no more plugs and batteries. So now I'm looking at this and thinking "Cool!"

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I did the same! Now I'm settled on a nice mix of batteries and butane Got all bases covered.

With that in mind...

Received my Portside this morning, and its a fucking marvel! Def recommended!

Got mine charging, batteries came yesterday portside & car charger arrived today

Pipes said:

The gauge is only for battery level checking. Press the gauge's test button and 5 LEDs show the level for 5 seconds. To show the heater is on, the glass tube has LEDs which make it glow.

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Can we use the portside while charging it, how many bars should be visible optimally?

Ideally you should wait for the first full charge but after that, using while charging won't hurt anything.
It should only take a couple hours to charge to full, less if batteries already have a decent charge.

Does it matter if the batteries for this have been used individually elsewhere? I have some 18650s that don't get much use. Also, do they all need to be the same type/brand?

Best to keep all the batteries the same. Can be used cells but should be same vintage to avoid the BMS from refusing to charge due to imbalanced cells.

Yep, I must get one of these things!!

So I switch to VapCap to free myself from electricity. But then OMG induction heating! So perhaps I need a butane powered battery charger?

Anyhoo, I'v sent of a PM to get on the waiting list. Skeletor or Portside? I like the very different looks of both.

This is a great little portable power brick, all on its own.

Of course v.2 could add a 510 port for versatility.

Also jumper cables for my car battery

Loving mine so far! Charged up pretty quickly with new LG HG2's from IMR. Only got to play with it a little bit late last night (while very buzzed from being out) - and quickly through one good load this morning.

Mine is taking a little longer than others, but I guess what I initially expected. Taking about 20 seconds on a cold cap, and 7-8 on subsequent heats. Thinking maybe a few charging cycles may help. I gotta go back through thread and check, but don't recall any possible adjustments to be made, right?

EDIT: Just figured out I had a BAD BATTERY. Glad no mishaps! First bad one I've had. Will update below, soon.

One small quibble, but all good. Magnet next to port is not whatever type hold VC in center (I forget what they're called). Works for cooling and VC will kind of sit on it's edge. Pretty sure it would flop right off at slightest vibration at angle I'll have it mounted in car. Thanks to pipes for using killer good sticky stuff instead of glue. Popped magnet off and replaced with DynaMag I bought for this before I realized mag would be included in about 2 seconds.

Like I said, just a quibble. Portside is awesome in use. Wish mine were just a little quicker - like as fast as a dual jet torch - but even with slightly slower heat up I love it and think it will be very convenient. Really anxious to try it in car, and maybe even in a cargo pocket. Could be a bit heavy in pocket, but not too bad after a test run around the house. Nothing taking in another belt notch shouldn't be able to handle. Will be great to vape out and about without having to fiddle with a butane lighter!

Really like the way I can feel the click so well that I don't have to rely on the sound. Should be great in use because won't have to turn down music in car, or be trying to hear click from cargo pocket on my thigh in whatever noisy place. And, gotta say it is so f'n cool the way it lights up when you insert the VC.

Got mine yesterday. It rocks. Thank you @Pipes for making this a reality!

I don't think I'll be using a torch at home anymore. It's much more relaxing to just reach over with one hand and dunk the tip to heat instead of having to use both hands to aim the torch and spin. And the light is nice! So much nicer than a single LED would have been.

@flotntoke 20 seconds seems really long... I'm using Sony VTC6's and get 4 seconds for initial heatup and 2 to 3 seconds on already warm caps. Hope you can get it resolved.

marduk said:

Got mine yesterday. It rocks. Thank you @Pipes for making this a reality!

I don't think I'll be using a torch at home anymore. It's much more relaxing to just reach over with one hand and dunk the tip to heat instead of having to use both hands to aim the torch and spin. And the light is nice! So much nicer than a single LED would have been.

@flotntoke 20 seconds seems really long... I'm using Sony VTC6's and get 4 seconds for initial heatup and 2 to 3 seconds on already warm caps. Hope you can get it resolved.

Click to expand...

Edited above, but probably good idea to create this new post - also just edited.

I had a bad battery. Just figured it out when I took them back out and put on NiteCor D2 to fully charge instead of using Portside charger. Bad batt came up as .66v (scary!) then "Err". Charging a new one now. Glad this was from set of 4 instead of 3! Was going to use 4th in other portable.

So, maybe a good idea to charge these with something that will give more info - or show bad batts - before putting into Portside. Is just my luck to get bad batt of one I was saving for this, and just happened to be away from home last night and took batts and Portside (but not D2 charger) because was so anxious to play with it.

I think pretty amazing it worked at all with bad batt in there. Glad nothing exploded, and hope I didn't do any damage to Portside. Only about 10 to 15 total heats like this, so hopefully I'm all good.

Last batt should be charged within hour, so will know soon.

@Pipes is it safe to stick a magnet inside the enclosure? I replaced the included magnet, but the attraction between magnet and cap is stronger than the adhesive, so when I remove the vapcap the magnet comes with it.

I removed the batteries and tested putting another magnet wrapped in electrical tape inside the case opposite the magnet on top, and that holds really well. I'd rather not go with a permanent glue because I expect the magnet to weaken over time from the heat, and I'd like to be able to swap it out easily when that happens.

Now that I'm about to close everything up with the magnet inside, I'm just wondering if there's any reason I shouldn't do this.

Pipes said:

Nope, that was never asked and is actually a very good question.
A phillips screw driver will be needed along with the 3 each, "flat top" 20 Amp minimum drain batteries.
Fastest method will be to remove the two screws on the left on the front and the opposite two screws on the rear. The right side will slide forward along with the front plate leaving the main stuff and rear panel behind. The battery holder will then be directly accessible once pulled 1/2 way apart. I am going to mark the polarities, as the molded markings are more for parallel configuration and can be confusing. But nothing will work until you get it right anyway, thanks to the protection.

BTW, have made a slight mod to the Skeletor and will post a bit later.....

Click to expand...

Is pass through charging possible?

grokit said:

This is a great little portable power brick, all on its own.

Of course v.2 could add a 510 port for versatility.

Also jumper cables for my car battery

Click to expand...

You know it would actually be great to chuck a USB charge port in the mix, that way it could act as a 'mobile/any usb device' charger.

I'm still waiting for the slow boat to bring mine but it's great seeing all the feedback from everyone else.

CharmCityVapeGuy said:

Is pass through charging possible?

Click to expand...

I believe it can

flotntoke said:

Edited above, but probably good idea to create this new post - also just edited.

I had a bad battery. Just figured it out when I took them back out and put on NiteCor D2 to fully charge instead of using Portside charger. Bad batt came up as .66v (scary!) then "Err". Charging a new one now. Glad this was from set of 4 instead of 3! Was going to use 4th in other portable.

So, maybe a good idea to charge these with something that will give more info - or show bad batts - before putting into Portside. Is just my luck to get bad batt of one I was saving for this, and just happened to be away from home last night and took batts and Portside (but not D2 charger) because was so anxious to play with it.

I think pretty amazing it worked at all with bad batt in there. Glad nothing exploded, and hope I didn't do any damage to Portside. Only about 10 to 15 total heats like this, so hopefully I'm all good.

Last batt should be charged within hour, so will know soon.

Click to expand...

Hope the new batt works for you and brings your heat-up time down.

Yes it can be used as pass-through while charging.

I had thought about a USB charger board actually. But like keeping this as simple as possible. Less to break...
It is actually a very powerful 12 volt power bank via the charge port as it is. With the right cord, it can drive many of your 12 volt devices.

Sticking a second magnet inside the enclosure is OK except if the magnet falls off, thus making a possible short. If nicely secured you should be golden.

We need someone need to cobble together a 2.1mm male > female usb c cable & commence testing

Nice leisurely toke by following the click. But if I count to three or four after the click, I hit huge clouds with my phatpiggie 14mm vapcap bong adapter.

Very pleased.

No burning or charring.