Physics of an Induction Heater (for DynaVap)

tgvp

Well-Known Member
Hey there,

I recently bought an IH for my DV and the currently available model was the UFO, a simple looking (kinda like a BT speaker) and cheap IH but with an interersting customization, you can tune the deepness of the DV insertion in the heater by swapping glass tubes. The description and what I read on the internet (and on this forum) just says that different tube length will lead to a more or less aggressive heating. And this is where I struggle, cause I don't care about the emotional state of my heater, I just want to achieve an efficient extraction of both taste and effect, thus my need of a better understanding. As a side note, until now I've been a (mostly happy) single flame butane torch user for 2 years.

From what I remember from my physics classes is that inductive heating is generated by an varying electrical current passing through a coil generating an electromagnetic field in which a conductive metal piece is inserted and the generated eddy currents in the said piece will dissipate as heat by Joule effect. In our case, the the coil is in the heater, surrounding the glass tube and the conductive metal piece is the cap of the DV. So the tip will heat up and by conduction will transfer part of its heat to the tip. And when I draw, the air will heat up by contact with both the cap and the tip and will flow through the weed (partially pre-heated by contact with the tip) to extract the brain-nutriments I crave for.

Now we introduce the variables, first one being the depth at which the DV is inserted. With the default tube which is shallow, there is less of the cap exposed to the magnetic field, so I suppose the energy absorbed is more or less the same, but as the hot part is located closer to the tip of the cap, where the click mechanism is, then it will click faster, having less time to dissipate heat in the tip, resulting in a lower temperature for the extraction? And by contrast, with the deeper tube, more of the cap is exposed, so it will have more surface to dissipate the same amount of energy, resulting in a slower heating of the click mechanism, but more dissipation in the tip, thus achieving higher temp when I draw?

Another variable is the method, such as the pulse method or doing 2 heatings back to back by using the magnet to cooldown the click mechanism faster. Once again, in my undestanding, by doing the pulse method, you input heat in the system, but interrupt before the click in order to give time to said heat to transfer to the tip while avoiding to let the cap reach the temperature where it clicks then repeat it which results in a build up of heat in the tip. And by using the magnet, I fasten the cooling of the clicking mechanism even if the rest is still hot and I can start a new heating faster. But by using the magnet, I will dump part of the heat into said magnet instead of the tip, so wouldn't it be better to wait for a few seconds to let part of said heat reach the tip then sticking it to the magnet?

Last one is the width of the glass tube. As 2 of the bundled tubes have the same depths but one is thicker than the other. I don't get what is the difference regarding to the heating as glass is transparent to magnetic fields. So what's the point?

Does any of this rumble make sense? I'm probably overthinking it as always, but I've got a quite nice heating method with my torch for both weed and rosin (with the DynaCoil) and while I'm happy with weed by using just the "middle tube" up to the click and repeating until it is tasteless, for the rosin, I'm not as satisfied yet.

P.S. Those are the parameters I see for this specific heater, but some models give access to customization of the electric power (W) in the coil or have an infrared thermometer. I suppose the power gives an effect similar to the depths (lower power will result in slower heating -> more time to transfer heat to the tip before the click) and the temperature... I don't know, as it can only read the temp on the surface (the cap) and not inside (the tip). If you have an opinion on those, I take it too
 
tgvp,

badbee

Well-Known Member
Overall your understanding seems correct. Many users feel an optimal heating time to click from room temp is 12 to 15 seconds. If it clicks faster not enough time was allowed for the heat to move around (as you said), too much slower and heat travels into the stem making the hit hotter but not better.

Apart from that it's hard to find an answerable question here. Yes my friend, you are over thinking it. There are lots of discussions of this sort of thing in this thread: https://fuckcombustion.com/threads/diy-induction-heater-builds-and-references.49760/unread
 

fogbank

Well-Known Member
Last one is the width of the glass tube. As 2 of the bundled tubes have the same depths but one is thicker than the other. I don't get what is the difference regarding to the heating as glass is transparent to magnetic fields. So what's the point?
The thicker glass tube is included because it allows the VC to sit centered in the heater with less "wiggle" room. Otherwise it does not affect the heating. And the UFO no longer comes with interchangeable tubes. It now only comes with the thinner glass tube with the glass bottom. No bottomless tube and no silicone spacers.
 
fogbank,

TommyDee

Vaporitor
Hey there,

I recently bought an IH for my DV and the currently available model was the UFO, a simple looking (kinda like a BT speaker) and cheap IH but with an interersting customization, you can tune the deepness of the DV insertion in the heater by swapping glass tubes. The description and what I read on the internet (and on this forum) just says that different tube length will lead to a more or less aggressive heating. And this is where I struggle, cause I don't care about the emotional state of my heater, I just want to achieve an efficient extraction of both taste and effect, thus my need of a better understanding. As a side note, until now I've been a (mostly happy) single flame butane torch user for 2 years.

From what I remember from my physics classes is that inductive heating is generated by an varying electrical current passing through a coil generating an electromagnetic field in which a conductive metal piece is inserted and the generated eddy currents in the said piece will dissipate as heat by Joule effect. In our case, the the coil is in the heater, surrounding the glass tube and the conductive metal piece is the cap of the DV. So the tip will heat up and by conduction will transfer part of its heat to the tip. And when I draw, the air will heat up by contact with both the cap and the tip and will flow through the weed (partially pre-heated by contact with the tip) to extract the brain-nutriments I crave for.

Now we introduce the variables, first one being the depth at which the DV is inserted. With the default tube which is shallow, there is less of the cap exposed to the magnetic field, so I suppose the energy absorbed is more or less the same, but as the hot part is located closer to the tip of the cap, where the click mechanism is, then it will click faster, having less time to dissipate heat in the tip, resulting in a lower temperature for the extraction? And by contrast, with the deeper tube, more of the cap is exposed, so it will have more surface to dissipate the same amount of energy, resulting in a slower heating of the click mechanism, but more dissipation in the tip, thus achieving higher temp when I draw?

Another variable is the method, such as the pulse method or doing 2 heatings back to back by using the magnet to cooldown the click mechanism faster. Once again, in my undestanding, by doing the pulse method, you input heat in the system, but interrupt before the click in order to give time to said heat to transfer to the tip while avoiding to let the cap reach the temperature where it clicks then repeat it which results in a build up of heat in the tip. And by using the magnet, I fasten the cooling of the clicking mechanism even if the rest is still hot and I can start a new heating faster. But by using the magnet, I will dump part of the heat into said magnet instead of the tip, so wouldn't it be better to wait for a few seconds to let part of said heat reach the tip then sticking it to the magnet?

Last one is the width of the glass tube. As 2 of the bundled tubes have the same depths but one is thicker than the other. I don't get what is the difference regarding to the heating as glass is transparent to magnetic fields. So what's the point?

Does any of this rumble make sense? I'm probably overthinking it as always, but I've got a quite nice heating method with my torch for both weed and rosin (with the DynaCoil) and while I'm happy with weed by using just the "middle tube" up to the click and repeating until it is tasteless, for the rosin, I'm not as satisfied yet.

P.S. Those are the parameters I see for this specific heater, but some models give access to customization of the electric power (W) in the coil or have an infrared thermometer. I suppose the power gives an effect similar to the depths (lower power will result in slower heating -> more time to transfer heat to the tip before the click) and the temperature... I don't know, as it can only read the temp on the surface (the cap) and not inside (the tip). If you have an opinion on those, I take it too
I'm going to save this and paste it for whoever wants to understand induction heating. You have good instincts and some good schooling to back that up.

You are right about the click-delay based on depth of insertion. There is a refinement to consider in the way to think of this - the heat is targeted with an extremely hot band in the middle of the coil. The distance the clicker is from the center of the coil determines when the heat reaches the clicker. Longer distance means longer transit for the heat. You are correct in your assumption that quicker clicker means less heat.

Now you have a UFO which is closely related to Orion (1). Orion was known to heat too quickly for some (like me). This makes for some wild variation between different caps. As you slow the heating rate, caps start clicking closer to the same temperature at the same ingress depth of the cap. This is another variable worth exploring - total power. Some of us tune IHs with coil variation. This affects how much of a load the cap presents to the IH. I try to tune for 60-70 watts for my preferred heating rate. All my caps are ready at the click in multiple IHs. This slightly milder bake also makes for less condensation of my vape on the stem/condenser walls. If you get a light brownish reclaim, you are heating too hot. If you get a thick deep red reclaim, you're in the zone. The difference is significant in how often you clean your vape. Like weekly vs. monthly+ sort of thing.

There are precious few truly extraordinary heaters out there in both build quality and performance. Fluxer Heaters is a legend among heaters and Pipes makes the HotShot and Brute as a pair of awesome portables. The Wand by Ispire too is a wonderful offering. These my my top 3.

And a simple way to look at induction heating - yanking electrons around magnetically at 200Kh. Literally a magnetic field reversal at a very high rate by incorporating a DC to AC inverter. Collisions generate the heat. The cap is analogous to the secondary output of a transformer.
 

YLLVAPE OFFICAL

Well-Known Member
Accessory Maker
I'm going to save this and paste it for whoever wants to understand induction heating. You have good instincts and some good schooling to back that up.

You are right about the click-delay based on depth of insertion. There is a refinement to consider in the way to think of this - the heat is targeted with an extremely hot band in the middle of the coil. The distance the clicker is from the center of the coil determines when the heat reaches the clicker. Longer distance means longer transit for the heat. You are correct in your assumption that quicker clicker means less heat.

Now you have a UFO which is closely related to Orion (1). Orion was known to heat too quickly for some (like me). This makes for some wild variation between different caps. As you slow the heating rate, caps start clicking closer to the same temperature at the same ingress depth of the cap. This is another variable worth exploring - total power. Some of us tune IHs with coil variation. This affects how much of a load the cap presents to the IH. I try to tune for 60-70 watts for my preferred heating rate. All my caps are ready at the click in multiple IHs. This slightly milder bake also makes for less condensation of my vape on the stem/condenser walls. If you get a light brownish reclaim, you are heating too hot. If you get a thick deep red reclaim, you're in the zone. The difference is significant in how often you clean your vape. Like weekly vs. monthly+ sort of thing.

There are precious few truly extraordinary heaters out there in both build quality and performance. Fluxer Heaters is a legend among heaters and Pipes makes the HotShot and Brute as a pair of awesome portables. The Wand by Ispire too is a wonderful offering. These my my top 3.

And a simple way to look at induction heating - yanking electrons around magnetically at 200Kh. Literally a magnetic field reversal at a very high rate by incorporating a DC to AC inverter. Collisions generate the heat. The cap is analogous to the secondary output of a transformer.
from the customer feedback on yll ih, it seems they more like 45W--60W, and temperature is around 195 ℃。especially the temp mode, you can get tons of flavor.
 
YLLVAPE OFFICAL,

TommyDee

Vaporitor
Understood. I stated my range is 60-70 watts. Not a flavor chaser since I can't taste squat due to my daily usage. To me, even 70 watts is tame enough to get consistent clicks between multiple caps.

The temperature is all about how long you bake the VC. That is the nature of induction heating. It just keeps getting hotter.
 
TommyDee,
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