Fluxer Heaters, induction heaters for Dynavap

Hi all,

Sorry for not completing more heaters over the weekend, but this cold kinda knocked me on my ass. At least I've been getting some rest.

In project news, I did begin building the first of the top mount temp control units today before having to take a break for a while, as I mentioned in my last post. The next half-dozen units I'll be building are each 14mm/top mount temp control units, so there will be a bunch of these in the wild soon, and I hope they are well received. This is the second one, in a natural finish case (still need to do the lid):



The range of control afforded by the knob is not huge, but it is enough to take the edge off the 14mm coil - you will notice its effects, but it's not the multi-second delay I had hoped it might be. As I explained earlier, the temp control circuit I'm using has some limits I need to observe, or I put the power relays at risk.

The current specs I am using have a wide safety margin (the takeaway from last weekend's "power relay testing extravaganza"), so although the range is less overall, 100% of the range I offer is safe to use at any time, even on min power with a 14mm coil and a cold Dynavap. Which, by the way, is the most stressful thing you can ask this heater to do.



So, I am feeling good about the newest features.

BTW, I have some 15mm OD borosilicate tubing coming tomorrow, so we will see if a 15mm ID coil is the Goldilock's size.

I still need to send more pre-build emails, etc., as well as invoice and ship the ones I've completed. Those things will be coming soon. Thanks for your patience.

Cheers,

Seeing the top mounted dials is nice. Since you have those parts in hand now, I guess I'll have to choose if I want it or not when you email me. I think the last time we spoke you said that the dial would delay things since you didn't have those in yet.

Either way! Can't wait!

Although this is awesome, its not helping my indecisiveness on the 14/16mm selection. You throw in the 15mm and I'm about to implode.

I decided to use another personal day for this cold I've been fighting and hopefully spare my colleagues from catching it.

I was getting restless lying around in bed, though, and decided to make the most of the energy I had. What follows is a combo "How It's Made" (since you guys said you liked those) and also a batch #2 progress report.

I recently took delivery of another batch of PCBs, and I need to populate these with their SMD components, and then reflow solder them to the circuit board.

How it's Made Series: Reflow Soldering a Deluxe PCB

This is what that process looks like.

It starts with a printed circuit board:

The current PCB, including a slight tweak (the holes at lower right) for better parts placement.

Solder paste is applied to the flat silver pads via a jig and stencil:


The jig and stencil, at the ready, above.


The same jig and stencil, now populated with a circuit board.


Applying solder paste to the board, via the stencil.



Another shot of the solder paste (the excitement is palpable, eh? )


Stencil lifted, revealing the solder pattern transferred to the PCB.




When I drop in the components, I like to start in the middle and work my way to the edges of the board.




Populated, ready for the heat.


Another view, pre-reflow soldering.


"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die."

Reflow soldering uses very hot air (up to 480°C in some cases ) to melt the solder paste into a liquid. Once liquified, it flows smoothly between the components and the PCB. It cools in place, locking in the components and also conducting electricity. At least, that's the theory. The reality is close to that, but IME it requires some hands-on adjustment with a pair of tweezers to make sure it all comes out as expected.


Post-reflow soldering.

How I spent several hours of my sick day today


That's it for now. I'll finish these 14 PCBs as heaters pretty soon (starting tonight and into this week), once I feel a bit better.

I am behind on my email and such - surprise! - and intend to send out more pre-bulld emails later tonight.

UPDATE: I just sent out 12 more pre-bulld/option confirmation emails. Some of the names may not be active.

BTW, I am now up to names added on December 26, so if you think I missed you, please drop me a line!

Cheers for now,

Have you considered converting a small toaster oven to reflow? It would probably save you quite a bit of time from using hot air and you could be up and running for a couple hundred bucks.

We use one on doing small run boards or when we don't want to setup our pick n place and heat up the big guy. We have a couple of the older models and I have one at home for personal projects
http://www.whizoo.com/reflowoven

maxvapor710 said:

Have you considered converting a small toaster oven to reflow? It would probably save you quite a bit of time from using hot air and you could be up and running for a couple hundred bucks.

We use one on doing small run boards or when we don't want to setup our pick n place and heat up the big guy. We have a couple of the older models and I have one at home for personal projects
http://www.whizoo.com/reflowoven

Click to expand...

Thanks @maxvapor710 !

Why...yes! TBH, it’s on my short list of tools I want to pick up, but I’m probably still a batch or two away from buying one. On my radar, though.

mr_cfromcali said:

Hi all,

Sorry for not completing more heaters over the weekend, but this cold kinda knocked me on my ass. At least I've been getting some rest.

In project news, I did begin building the first of the top mount temp control units today before having to take a break for a while, as I mentioned in my last post. The next half-dozen units I'll be building are each 14mm/top mount temp control units, so there will be a bunch of these in the wild soon, and I hope they are well received. This is the second one, in a natural finish case (still need to do the lid):

The range of control afforded by the knob is not huge, but it is enough to take the edge off the 14mm coil - you will notice its effects, but it's not the multi-second delay I had hoped it might be. As I explained earlier, the temp control circuit I'm using has some limits I need to observe, or I put the power relays at risk.

The current specs I am using have a wide safety margin (the takeaway from last weekend's "power relay testing extravaganza"), so although the range is less overall, 100% of the range I offer is safe to use at any time, even on min power with a 14mm coil and a cold Dynavap. Which, by the way, is the most stressful thing you can ask this heater to do.



So, I am feeling good about the newest features.

BTW, I have some 15mm OD borosilicate tubing coming tomorrow, so we will see if a 15mm ID coil is the Goldilock's size.

I still need to send more pre-build emails, etc., as well as invoice and ship the ones I've completed. Those things will be coming soon. Thanks for your patience.

Cheers,

Click to expand...

Great updates as always! Can’t wait to hear how the 15mm insert performs!

Another night of compulsively checking my email I see.

Hahaha, sooo...im a bit of a DOPE (heh).
I thought my first contact was on 1/7......turns out I was wrong...I had written into the website to get information and get on the list on 12/14 but then completely spaced that I had done so.
Yesterday I was reminded that I had by receiving an email asking for my options and paypal email.

Woot!
So hopefully i should have my grubby little hands on my unit soon!
**Edited to point out unfortunate turn of phrase^^**

**on a good note for others still waiting: There is now one less person in front of you, as i was on the list twice 8D (one from here, one from direct email from website)**

I got an email last night too! Woo! I can't wait to try out my new little monster machine.

Over the last week or so I have been around the house doing things and working from home, and multiple times I found myself wishing that I didn't have to use a torch every time I left my desk in my office. I can't wait to have a mobile heater that can come around the house with me and I don't have to fetch cables or have to worry about butane.

I cannot wait.

mario said:

I got an email last night too! Woo! I can't wait to try out my new little monster machine.

Over the last week or so I have been around the house doing things and working from home, and multiple times I found myself wishing that I didn't have to use a torch every time I left my desk in my office. I can't wait to have a mobile heater that can come around the house with me and I don't have to fetch cables or have to worry about butane.

I cannot wait.

Click to expand...

Hopefully you got TWO emails last night...

(I may or may not have followed through on my threat to prank anyone who mentions compulsively checking their inbox with a fake fluxor email. Now I have guilt. I’m sure yours will come soon!)

-dab8- said:

Hopefully you got TWO emails last night...

(I may or may not have followed through on my threat to prank anyone who mentions compulsively checking their inbox with a fake fluxor email. Now I have guilt. I’m sure yours will come soon!)

Click to expand...

Well it would be hard to fake since it was part of an email thread that Jeff and I started a while back. So you would have to go through a LOT of trouble to sneak an email into that hahha

Well, I can confidently say that I'll likely never use a lighter for my vapcap again.

This is an awesome experience.

mario said:

Well it would be hard to fake since it was part of an email thread that Jeff and I started a while back. So you would have to go through a LOT of trouble to sneak an email into that hahha

Click to expand...

Oh thank goodness!

hahaha. I always check my email headers before sending out personal information! What kind of millennial do you take me for? If I didn't know how to shop online safely I would have died of starvation years ago.

Got my email last night also. I have a Pipes PSM and honestly can’t wait to have two heaters in the house as well as compare them. I went for the 14mm coil as it sounds like the way my psm works if I let it click twice but also have the option to only let it click once for a cooler temp(my caps have about a 2-5 second delay in clicks). Also I’m looking forward to 3+ times the battery capacity compared to the PSM, I did 8 caps from start to finish Sunday and needed to be charged as it died on the 7th.
Since I received a IH about two weeks ago I have hardly used any other vape. If I do I’m doing it out of guilt, lol. A portable IH has been a game changer for me. I even velcro’d my dynastash onto the PSM so it’s just charge, grab and go.

That's awesome! I love seeing pics of the other IH's out there and getting to compare them. I can't wait to compare my lucid customs to the FD. I have a feeling that I am going to find the 14mm coil much more suited to my needs than the slow heat of the Lucid.

I have used the mighty I think twice since I got my desktop IH, and I am sure once I get my FD I won't be using it hardly at all anymore. But it is such a good vape I can't even think of selling it. Having one electronic one on hand won't kill me and if that is the only one I have left of all my electronic collection (which was large at a time) then I think I'm ok with that.

Have you thought of selling the components, for someone who wants to use their own enclosure and battery pack?

Edgedamage said:

Have you thought of selling the components, for someone who wants to use their own enclosure and battery pack?

Click to expand...

It's not something I'm interested in doing at this time. Sorry.

odc57 said:

I just got my e-mail and can't wait until I get it. What size batteries do you use 18650 ???

Click to expand...

Yeah 3 x 18650's
Edited to add at least 20 amp continuous current. (I think it was 20)

Still loving my FD. No problems with the speed of the 14 mm coil, in fact, it doesn't even seem all that fast anymore. I guess we're used to it, eh?

We get about a days use out of the batteries so I'm glad I've got two sets. I'm still thinking about a home, plug-in IH. Waiting to see how the MF comes together, hope plug-in is a feature.

Hi all,

OK, finally feeling more like myself today, and less like the "before" person in a NyQuil advert.

I spent a large portion of the last several days simply being sick and dealing with the effects of that. (Trip report: Not recommended.) The silver lining, however, is that I spent some time in the shop when I felt up to it, so the project has moved forward some. More on that in the second part of the is post. But first:

R&D news: 15mm inserts are here!

15mm inserts are here, and available to choose as an option.



No video yet so you'll have to trust my words.

I've run half a dozen bowls through the 15mm coil now (over time, not in rapid succession! And I was sick, so take that into consideration, lol!), and have a good sense of where the 15mm slots in the coil lineup.

I would describe the 15mm ID coil as "a more aggressive 16mm coil". That's an accurate description.

The 15mm coil seems to offer the most range of the three coil setups, as it will heat its contents hotter than the standard 16mm coil, but it can also be dialed back to a level on-par with the stock 16mm coil's behavior.

I would NOT describe the 15mm coil as "a less aggressive 14mm coil" - that's NOT as accurate a description.

The 14mm coil is capable of delivering a particularly penetrating type of heat that the 15mm coil does not seem to be able to quite duplicate. This seems to be a unique quality of the 14mm coil, rather than any failing on the part of the 15mm coil.

BTW, the 15mm OD glass comes in 1M lengths, and I have to cut these into (many!) 17mm to 20mm length pieces to work with them. I've done that and have a bunch of 15mm OD pieces ready to be used. I forgot to take pictures, but maybe will next time.

If you are on the list and want a 15mm insert instead of your previous choice, please send me a message (by whatever means you used to communicate with me originally) and I will make the change to your order. This is true even if we have already confirmed your pre-build choices - it's still an easy change for me to make at this point.

Anyway, I have *plenty* of all three tubing insert sizes available - all the same price, totally your preference. Choosing your desired tubing diameter has become a key element in getting the most from the Flux Deluxe, so please ask questions and make yourself acquainted with the differences! As more of these get out there, there will be more user feedback to reference.

It's also easy to change your coil if you change your mind down the road. If you decide you want to try a different coil size, just send it back to me and I'll change it for a small fee ($15 total for parts + labor, plus shipping). Obviously, this is harder if you live in the EU or Australia, but even then, it's doable.

BTW, I have a few 13mm OD inserts on order as well, and I'll report on them when they get here. Not expecting them to be better, necessarily, but I am curious how well they'll work. Or not.


Batch #2 Updates:

I snuck out to the shop when my energy permitted, and I currently have 11 heaters in various stages of completion:


Six fully populated PCBs, mostly 14mm coils, waiting their turns to be fitted to cases.


The full shot of the eleven heaters currently in process.

Of the next 20 heaters I am currently preparing to build (including the 11 above), 16 of them are going to use the 14mm coil. So there will be a lot more of these coils in the wild soon.

As @Moses Baca wrote in his recent post, the 14mm coil does use more power than the other coils. This is due to the superior coupling efficiency it's able to achieve with the Dynavap. Induction heating can be very efficient that way (via superior coupling), and the piece will draw more power through the heater if the magnetic connection is good. The 14mm coil heats the Dynavap more rapidly than the other sizes, so it only makes sense that it uses more power to do so. As the First Law of Thermodynamics says so eloquently, "You can't get something for nothing."

Waiting lists, hype, and your patience

I want to close this update with a quick note on the waiting list, the current waiting time, and how to best manage your expectations.

The current, active waiting list is around 150 people. That's due almost entirely to this thread, a few user reports, and word of mouth. I have made almost no effort to promote these heaters beyond standing up a web site (that could use some attention, tbh) and posting a few videos to my Fluxer Heaters YouTube channel.

Thanks! I am awed by your response!

At the moment, I seem capable of building 20-40 heaters per month at the quality I want to deliver.

You guys do the math.

At the moment, this level of demand is manageable - I lose some percentage of people due to the long wait, but the folks that are left are familiar with the project and its various twists and turns, and seem to appreciate that these are hand made devices, and as such were worth waiting for.

Now, if this were my main gig and I was in it for the moneymoneymoney above all, I'd be making some changes to grab more of those dollars before they floated away. Apparently my motivations for doing this project are a bit more complicated than making a "simple" cash grab.

There is a wait for these heaters, and there will continue to be a wait for these heaters.
The list will continue to grow.
At a certain point, some people will become frustrated that this process is not moving more quickly, because they signed up six weeks ago and I have not sent them a pre-build email yet, and dammit, six weeks is a long time to wait for anything in 2019.

And yet...these things are hand made - quite hand made, as it happens. The process takes time.

Sigh.

So, if you find yourself in one of these mental loops and are very frustrated that I have not reached your position in the list yet, I would ask that you take a deep breath and consider the above - it may not make you feel any better, but it will explain why these things are take as long as they do to complete. If you are truly desperate to use an induction heater and just can't wait for me to finish one, go and buy one - buy a cheapie on Amazon, buy one of the $46 SJK dental tool heaters on ebay, etc. They aren't perfect, but they work. If you still want one of mine when your turn finally comes, you can likely sell your interim purchase in the classifieds here or on /r/EntExchange.

I could make these more quickly, but they would not be as well made. Trust me - there's no joy there for either of us.

Thanks for your continued patience! I have some more time set aside in my schedule for Fluxer work tomorrow afternoon and over the weekend, so I hope to make a bigger dent in this waiting list in the next few days. We'll see how I do.

Thanks, all for your continued support!

Cheers,

@mr_cfromcali Well said!

The honesty, transparency, communication and craftsmanship is why I will wait as long as it takes to get this beaut. Bravo Mr_C

(I think that might be my little gunmetal buddy in that pic...squee)