The Toasty Top

Thanks for the warm welcome mom and TV, this openness and goodwill is one of the many things I really enjoy about this community!

Not as much going on over there but everyone is also always welcome in the 'dog house'

There you go again Alan. You always seem to come up with a solution of some kind.
See, an opportunity to keep old Zap customers even happier.
Get that tubing and make some.
Then climb on the log vape flow and put a click to buy on your website (for everything).
Damn guy, you gotta make it easy for those folks thinking about a TT.
I live in Idaho. Think about it. No worse than.........
Here's the deal Alan. It's about balls(with integrity) and bullshit and the wide gap in between. You got no bullshit so.........

You are the balance guy. Give your potential customers more balance.

Thanks for the support Rick. I will definitely make the TT more accessible. Nice to have an opportunity to help old Zap customers as well as new Toasty Top customers.

I am using the Silcon brand silicone tubing from us plastics that chucku provided. I have tried other brands, but Silcon holds true on their dimensions. Very good stuff.

mom,

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23884&catid=799

This is what I use. Larger temp range (-100 - +500F) and it costs less than the Tygon. It is perfect for my E. The extra 100 degree working range may come in handy since you would be using it on the stem tips. US Plastics is also a joy to deal with, very fair prices and fast shipping.

Alan what ID and OD are you using for your silicone?

Guess Im gonna be placing another order of tubing

gvape said:

Alan what ID and OD are you using for your silicone?

Guess Im gonna be placing another order of tubing

Click to expand...

I'm using 1/4" OD 1/8" ID silicone for my 1/4" SS tubing. I also stretched it over the 5/16" SS tubing, but it is very tight and difficult to stretch. 5/16" OD silicone tubing should work better for 5/16" SS tubing.

Thanks appreciate that. Gonna order some of both. Cant hurt to have some laying around for other future projects/vapes.

Toasty people = good
Toasty fingertips = bad

This looks like a worthwhile tweak. Those SS tips get hot!
Could this work w the copper cup, Alan? (a strip of silicon around
the rim of the cup for singe-free removal from the TT)

Always good to have some extra silicone tubing around the house gvape. You never know when you will need it. Case in point. I am a bit of a pack rat and had kept a short section of 1/4" silicone tubing from a broken steam iron for about 20 years. I was looking for something to go between glass and stainless steel tubing and found that little piece of tubing. It was a perfect fit.
I also kept a short strip of 7/8" silicone tubing. It is only 1/4" long. I was wondering why I have kept this piece of tubing. Well, it happens to fit perfectly around the rim of a copper aroma cup. Thanks for the suggestion esrever! The silicone should hold up well to the heat and aroma oils. Kind of a rim to keep oil from running down the side and potentially getting in the heat sink.
Guess I need to order some 7/8" tubing as well.

YES! The copper cup silicone is genius! I am going to go do that RIGHT now.... I always just pick it up super fast and drop it before I feel anything... But this idea, you are on to something alright!

Lol that is brilliant; i've been using the same method as g-vape. Ninjahands.

Thanks for the updates Alan. My life is mad and hectic right now, as I'm moving to Wales on wednesday. Nice to hear that the wood is holding up. And how about that microwave? Madness.

Has the color changed much? I imagine the wet wood, dry wood, and beeswaxed wood will all look quite different, and I'm banking on that last stage being stunning. And even if it turns out grey and dull it will still be my special mahoe Toasty Top.

A slightly hotter Top wouldn't kill me, either. Sometimes I set my maple top on a bed or something to insulate one side and boost the temps a few degrees. I like my vapes hard-hitting and all-consuming. nothing light brown for me; I want my ABV on the edge of blackness.

thanks alan!

Ninjahands. I love it. Hope things get settled for you quickly when you get to Wales Orestes. I'm sure things are crazy now. I have started the other half of the blue mahoe wood on the microwave treatment. It seems to be working very well. Hardly any cracking. It gets one minute on high and then into the freezer to cool off. I haven't noticed any change in wood color. I have a feeling it should really soak up the beeswax. That will really bring out the chatoyance. If I can pull it off, the temperature should be fairly high. You should get fairly dark ABV especially with the new silicone covered roasting tips.
I will keep you updated on the wood drying. Hope it will be dry enough soon.

LOL @ Ninjahands... What a great way to put it.

Does it need to be a bigger piece of wood if you make a tower out of it?

gvape said:

Does it need to be a bigger piece of wood if you make a tower out of it?

Click to expand...

The wood for a tower is actually a bit shorter. The Tops are 3.5" and the body of the Tower is 3.25" tall. The diameter is about the same to start. I can trim it down in areas to make the tower hotter.
I have found that it is all about how well the wood you are using conducts heat. A wood with poor thermal conductivity will will provide a higher temperature as it can't dissipate the heat fast as a wood with good thermal conductivity. The amount of wood available to absorb the heat will also make a difference in the final temperature.

Cracking though on the inside of the that stacked tower would be a mess though. . . which is my assumption as to why no one here on the forum has shown up with having purchased one from Alan. This is very reputable;


Alan my question is if the tips are 1/4 and the silicon makes up for that extra 1/16 to make for a perfect seal in the Top? Any luck on finding SS 1/4 tips for my zap? What should happen if I were to use my top without a screen over the heating element and the silicon burned. I asked you this in the last post but I don't think I made myself clear of there being no screen.


~ not saying I use my top without a screen, but I have lost the one I had and luckily found a few hours later.

biojuggernaut said:

Cracking though on the inside of the that stacked tower would be a mess though. . . which is my assumption as to why no one here on the forum has shown up with having purchased one from Alan. This is very reputable;


Alan my question is if the tips are 1/4 and the silicon makes up for that extra 1/16 to make for a perfect seal in the Top? Any luck on finding SS 1/4 tips for my zap? What should happen if I were to use my top without a screen over the heating element and the silicon burned. I asked you this in the last post but I don't think I made myself clear of there being no screen.


~ not saying I use my top without a screen, but I have lost the one I had and luckily found a few hours later.

Click to expand...

The seal is actually made at the end of the roasting tube. The roasting tube won't fit into the heat sink tube because it is too big with the silicone stretched over it. The silicone wouldn't burn even if it could touch the heating element directly. The silicone is rated for approximately 100F higher than the heating element temp. I have also experimented with just a short section of tubing stretched on the roasting tube. It allows the roasting tube only part way into heat sink tube but still seals on the end of the heat sink tube. This mostly covers the tip from accidental burns and still allows the roasting tube to engage with the heat sink tube. I will post some photos.
The only risk with using your TT without a screen in the heat sink tube is that you might get some herb contacting the heating element and it might not smell the greatest. If you always hold the TT horizontal when you use it, there is a lower risk of getting material into the heat sink tube. The heating element is very easy to remove if you do need to clean the inside of the TT.

There are no worries of cracking on the inside of the Toasty Tower. It is really no different than a Toasty Top wood-wise. I just have to be sure to remove all moisture from the wood before turning so the wood won't shrink any more. I'm only taking the diameter down slightly. That first one I posted was an experiment. The outside surface will be smooth and curved. No sharp edges. I have actually only made two towers so far. I'm using one and my gf has the other one. I'm finishing up a batch of heat sinks now, so I will get some Towers made up soon. I want to give them some heavier more ornate legs made from exotic wood. They will be much more stable that way.

You can use my Toasty Tubes on the new RZ as confirmed by mom. They are the identical size. I will send you some silicone tubing pieces when I get it so you can see if there is a configuration that might improve performance for you. They can be used on the TT or RZ roasting tube SS tips.

I'm fairly certain I will be ordering a Toast Top soon, I just want to be sure about one thing. The $120.00 does not include the wall wart.. correct? Also I was wondering what the wood options are as of now? Thanks

GhostVapor said:

I'm fairly certain I will be ordering a Toast Top soon, I just want to be sure about one thing. The $120.00 does not include the wall wart.. correct? Also I was wondering what the wood options are as of now? Thanks

Click to expand...

You are correct. $120 is for the Top, stand, copper aroma cup, beeswax bee'ds and bamboo skewer tools. I initially wanted to give as much flexibility in purchasing as possible, but I am going to update my website for a complete setup purchase option.

I have so far made them from Sugar Maple, Dark Cherry, White Oak, and Quilted Maple. I'm working on a Blue Mahoe Top right now for Orestes and have some Black Walnut that I am going to try from a previous request. I also want to try some Osage Orange wood I have.

Thanks for your interest.

The microwave oven works wonders on Blue Mahoe wood. I was able to completely dry the wood until it was suitable for a Toasty Top. The wood was very wet when I got it. This piece had some pretty bad cracking, but the microwave treatment seems to have closed up all the cracks. It turned out better than I had expected. There should be no further cracking now that the wood is completely dry. The chatoyance of this wood is just incredible. The color changes with just the slightest change in orientation. One side of the wood is actually lavender in bright sunlight. I have never seen a wood with such depth. This one has been heated up and saturated with beeswax. The beeswax really penetrates and darkens the wood a bit. The other piece of Blue Mahoe is still drying and has no cracks in it.
This one runs about 410F. It will probably run a little hotter over time as the wood in contact with the heat sink becomes thermally altered. It is about the temperature I was expecting. It can provide very heavy hits.



Here is the photo of the silicone sleeve on the tip of a Toasty Tube I promised earlier. I like this configuration much better. It still covers most of the tip for safety, but positively engages the heat sink tube for a more positive seal. It also lets the roasting tip down into the heat sink tube for a little higher roasting temperature. The Toasty Top will work with or without the silicone sleeve.

Excuse me for stepping out my place Alan; I was under the assumption the inside of the tower have layers to get a higher temp. Good work that top truly is beautiful; but what allows it to run at 405F? Is it based on the density of the blue Mahoe?

No worries bio. Thanks for the compliment.
Blue Mahoe is a very light weight wood. It is also quite soft. It does not have very good thermal conductivity so the heat tends to build up more. It really soaks up the beeswax which penetrates deep into the wood. I'm liking it more and more.

Jealous.....

I knew it would look good but that is just fantastic. Well turned Alan! Ahhh I can't wait until I can hold it in my hands. It must have soaked up a lot of wax. Helluva lustre

Wow Alan that is what I have been waiting to see, the Mahoe is the shit! You schooled me with the "chatoyance" had to look that one up, a very good descriptive word for this species. The Mahoe is so full of vibrant colors, different light and different angles reveal a wonder of beauty! Microwave huh, am gonna have to remember that, maybe you I can get some instructions from you on that process, I like that you said it even closed the cracks to some degree, I am intrigued. You gotta get some Mahoe with the white creamy sapwood, that is a hella contrast! Great work Alan, great work, congrats Orestes!

Thanks much Orestes and Ed. Sorry to tease gvape. I had almost given up hope on the wood. One end had a crack big enough for a quarter to fit in and then it closed tightly back together. I was shocked. I think the microwave forced the moisture in the center of the wood back into those outer drier fibers. The entire piece of wood equalized in moisture content.

I just hit the wood for one minute at a time on high in the microwave (no longer ever) and then put it in the freezer until it cools. I test for moisture by holding my glasses above the wood when it comes out of the microwave. Droplets were actually forming on my glasses when I started drying the mahoe. Eventually, my glasses don't fog indicating there is no more moisture.
Every wood will react differently in a microwave. Oily exotic woods do not do well in my experience. It must have a grain structure that will allow fast movement of moisture. Testing on a scrap piece would be advised.

I may have to keep this one as my new "go to unit" and turn the one with no cracks for Orestes. I'm getting tremendous hits with that new silicone sleeve on the roasting tube with this TT. I can put the roasting tube into the end of the heat sink tube and still get some room air mixing to lower the temperature initially for great flavor. If I push the roasting tube into heat sink tube it seals on the silicone sleeve and all you get is hot air from the heat sink through the roasting tube. I'm getting very good extraction.