regulated vs unregulated power supplies for "log vapes"

[u bwade wunner]

I know it'll depend on the log, but roughly how long will a given log take to adjust to a new voltage?

If the airpath is already hot at 11v or 12v and you raise it 1v probably 5 minutes or so should be fine.all these logs use the same elements so heat up times should be similar. I usually move my log up to desired temps from 12v and wait 5 mins or so before i hit and all is good.

Excessive heat over time will invariably wear out your'e elements.logs running at 12v as most logs have been for years has worked out fine.The new variables push the elements a little more and its still a relatively new area so consider yourself a pioneer fred and just keep an eye on things.Less heat is better.i'm sure OTH or Hazy will check in and help out soon I m sure and let you have his experience with VV
i guess though you should just play and d ont worry too much,when the shtf you have lots of friends here who will help you out

little tip i found for building up heat in youre log without turning up the dial is I sometimes leave a half used stem that ive hit from fresh earlier in my log just before bedtime for 10minutes or so and just let it cook on 12v heat.Then I hit and get nice cbd effects which knock me out pretty quickly.


I see youre on the Hi list.A great idea.when did you preorder?

 

[placetime]

I just tried it in my CRZ, and my mystery log vape

Hey Fred--what's this "mystery log vape"?

 

[Frederick McGuire]

I've been on the HI wait list since the end of march.
I've got a good collection of vapes, so I'm not too worried how long it takes to get my hands on It.

The mystery log vape is made by another FC member, but he's not ready to fully announce it yet.
So for now it's a mystery

I've been playing with the VVPS tonight.
13.8v was the highest I want to go with the mystery log vape, based on the color of the ABV.
I'm giving the UD a go now, I'm just sitting it so that the power cord stays connected.

 

[u bwade wunner]

how is that mystery vape hitting compared to youre ud?

 

[hazy]

I had been unknowingly running my PD for years at about 14V, leaving it on for sometimes months at a time. I only realised late last year how many volts my unregulated transformer power supply was pushing. The PD is still running just as well as ever, although it does have a bit of a rattle now.

So seems like yet another log vape is about to be announced? That should be interesting...

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Honestly, I haven't given them enough time to compare them yet, but I'm liking how the mystery log vape hits .
It is apparently very similar to the HI in construction, with a few differences.
I slightly prefer the look of the UD, but that comes down to the woods mostly.
Tasmanian Black Wood for the UD, Sapele for the Mystery Log Vape (MLV? I know we love acronyms around here )

It seems the UD needs a bit more juice than the MLV, it was hitting nice at 14.2v, and could probably stand to be a little higher.

 

[u bwade wunner]

UD posted here recomended voltage limits for his underdog vape.just saw it and thought it might be useful here

 

[Frederick McGuire]

I snapped a few pics while I was making my power cord for the VVPS.
Enjoy :
My Tools:

• Soldering Iron
• Desktop Vice
• Solder
• 2 Plugs for the Power Ports in my VVPS
• 2 plugs for connecting to the log (1 backup)
• 3m of electrical cable

A Closer Pic Without the Soldering Iron

A Closer Pic of the plugs

A little piece of wire to bridge the pedal port in the VVPS - I twisted the wire strands together, and added a bit of solder to them. It kept them together, and made it easier to solder it to the plug.

The Wire soldered into 1 of the power plugs - I could've just bent that top tab down a bit and soldered it to the base, but I'd already made the bridging wire

The finished pedal plug

The Power Supply end of the power cable, with the cord soldered on

See Above

The Finished Cord

I forgot to snap pics of the other end, but its basically the same thing, just using the smaller plug.
The 3m Cable is really handy, it means I can have the VVPS basically anywhere in my room, and the Log will reach me

 

[placetime]

Great post Frederick! I feel certain many people will benefit from your explanation and pics.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Thanks
I wasn't sure if it would be a bit redundant, as it is really quite a simple job as far as electronics stuff goes, But I figured if anyone is on the fence about making up some power cords or whatever, it could help

Also, if you're not up for soldering, you could use a hot glue gun to secure the wires in place, you'd just need to make doubly sure that the wires themselves are making a good connection.
It's a less important with solder, as the solder will make the connection if the wire is that tiny bit off...

 

[placetime]

If someone's never dipped their toe into soldering or wiring at all, I think that pics and explanations help a lot, even with a beginner-level project like making a cable like this one. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, but not everyone has a person easily available to ask things like "can you help me solder a new cable for my vaporizer?"

 

[delta 9]

i recently got a tattoo power supply from ebay/china and it cant supply the current needed to drive my woodeez log vape. it is like the one in this kit , http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Tattoo-Start...Beauty_Tattoos_BodyArt_SM&hash=item1e70c70ab0
it can supply curent to a small computer fan 125mA but cant supply the 800mA needed for the log , the power supply just bogs down and voltage goes down to 3-4volts, the power supply doesnt seem to get hot or anything.

 

[hazy]

Have you shorted the other socket? You need to do this because it expects a foot switch to be connected to it.

 

[u bwade wunner]

the power supply just bogs down and voltage goes down to 3-4volts, the power supply doesnt seem to get hot or anything.

Hey Delta 9 Conas ata tu?

I picked up two of these power supplies on ebay from a dealer in hong kong and I found that when i used it afetr 5 minutes or so the voltage dropped dramatically to 7 volts.i found that the issue was the Voltage regulator which is bolted to the bottomof the power supply was overheating and causing the voltage to dip.although the power supply was cool .the reg was hopping hot.I just drilled a 1 x 1 inch piece of aluminium to make a heatsink for the regulator and bolted it to the regulator.It solved my problem,no more issues and its on 24/7.Frederick i think you had similar issues with voltage drop a while back with these cheap supplies.

the reg in the power supply looks like this.

when it overheats your e voltage will drop quite suddenly.take out the bolt securing the reg drill a hole in a piece of aluminium or similar and bolt this to the reg and chassis.the idea is it will draw heat away from the reg and allow it to function as a heatsink.use a bit of alu 3 or 4mm thick.
Go dublin in the all ireland.

 

[delta 9]

hazy, ya i shorted the other socket,
u bwade wunner ta me go maith,
The problem is that the power supply drops voltage straight away so reg doesnt even get that hot . I will try and get some aluminium and see if a heat sink will cure the problem,
Slainte,

 

[hazy]

Haha yes I forgot about the chip overheating. Shouldn't try giving technical advice when I'm vaked

 

[delta 9]

sorry for delay in getting back , i had to find a piece of aluminium for a heatsink for the voltage regulator chip in the tattoo power supply. Fitted and it made no difference to its operation it still does not work , power supply just cant deliver the current needed. i have noticed now from trying it out with the cover off that when voltage drops there is a squealing noise from the transformer , so i think that maybe the problem(transformer not up to delivering the current) as the regulator chip does not seem to get hot at all.

 

[u bwade wunner]

Hmmmm I can t help any further delta, sounds like the int.transformer could be playing up though.

I have a question for the electronic gurus.Is it possible to reduce the maximum voltage produced by tattoo psu s?.My model kicks out 18v max which is too High for me.I d like the display and the voltage to max out at say 13v max.
Can it be done easily maybe by changing the regulator or turning a pot?.I have been trying to find a cheap variable unit with an led display but these higher Voltage tattoo power supplies are all that are coming up for a reasonable price sub $20.Thought i might ask here as well as work to see if a mod can be done easily.

Or has anyone seen a cheap variable psu with LED display that limits volts to 12v or 13 max as standard.

 

[djonkoman]

couldn't you do something easy like loking up where on your knob(I assume it has a knob to regulate the vltage, since my vvps, not a tattoo one, has a knob) it reaches your desired max. voltage, then putting something there so that the knob simply will not turn past that point?
but if it has a display, why is the higher max. voltage a problem?

 

[u bwade wunner]

ive seen my element glowing almost white hot.i want to limit the psus output on the circuit to prevent overheat risk.maybe knobs are available that would work.would like it looking pro bro.im handy with a soldering iron

 

[OhTheAgony]

Djonko's idea was my first to. You could perhaps attach a small pin of some sort to the knob, & another one on the PSU itself so it would block the pin/knob from moving any further then the desired voltage.

Another thing you could do is make a cord with a resistor in it (between the PSU and vape), you'd have to calculate how much resistance you need to take enough voltage off so it maxes out right where you want it to.

But perhaps you could just turn a pot to reduce the maximum voltage as well, I couldn't tell you unless I had it here to nose around in it myself though.

To be honest it seems more trouble than it's worth, isn't it easier to just pay attention when handling it? Perhaps you could place it so you won't be able to accidentally change the setting, or make the knob turn a little heavier by putting one or more rubber bands around the axle?

 

[u bwade wunner]

yes to be honest i m just looking for an easy way to restrict the voltage inside.i will look into it somke more and report back if i find out anything

 

[hazy]

A safe and easy way of reducing voltage is to use rectifier diodes. The diodes will drop about 0.6 - 0.8V each, so you need to put a few of them in series. Use a 1N5401 or similar as these are rated for 3A. They only cost about 10 cents each. I've actually got a bag of them lying around here somewhere. You'll need to put them inside the power supply so that you can reconnect the voltmeter after them. Also, the diodes need to be connected in forward bias, which means that if you are placing them on the positive output, the line on the diode faces away from the power supply. If you don't do this it will block all of the power output.

 

[u bwade wunner]

ok and I guess the display on the psu is dependent on the output voltage so If I fit these diodes the display will output the correct voltage too.sounding good
tell you what Ill snap the guts of my unit and post it here,thanks Hazy

well its too late to add so Ill just ask Mods to merge
Its difficult to get a clear shot of the inside of my psu,but here goes a few pics to give you some idea.

In the pic above I have shorted the pedal circuit (the plug in the pedal socket has had its contacts cut and folded then soldered and a vinyl cap to cover the joint)


This is My 2nd Unit which was replaced by the seller after the first one experienced voltage drop.I still have the first unit and its is in use every day.This replacement also has experienced voltage drop on test so needs a heatsink fitted to the regulator like the first one to rectify voltage drop.All in good time

the arrow in the pic below points to where i fitted the heatsink on the first unit.

that will give you very little scope i know Hazy and Co. but its a start.My idea is to find a quick way to limit the voltage on these units to 14V Max.Im not having any issues.Its something the whole community maybe by themselves or with a friend who has a little soldering expertise could use to play the game a little safer.These units are suitable relatively cheap and suit Log use imoa.

the dilemna is turning Voltage up either accidentally or because the owner may have little technical knowledge. leading to element over heat which will shorten the life of the element and start a very big F... off fire.17V running through a log element is neither fun nor safe.Costly repairs hurt user and eat into the manufacturers work schedule and allow less time for manufacture and development,and we all love new developments in the log world dont we?.
These PSUs are becoming popular now..in the wrong inexperienced hands these units are like a kid with a match.D ont mean to scare anyone.just a duty of care thing for me.

just sayin

has anyone seen a cheap unit with the display that will stop at 12 or 13v?

 

[OhTheAgony]

I don't have any further tips atm Bade, sorry. But perhaps Hazy sees something I don't.

Just wanted to respond to your question about similar units with a lower max voltage.

Simply put: there aren't any, or at least not that I'm aware of. There is a train transformator I've found that goes up to 14,2V, but it just comes with a big knob with numbers on them (1 to 10 I believe) & it doesn't have a display that shows the voltage. Everything I found with a display either goes up to 12V, 15V, or higher. And believe me, I've searched (which doesn't mean it isn't out there of course, but if it is it is damned hard to find).

I think the simplest safe way for non-technical users would be to find a affordable regulated 13,8V (laptop) PSU and use it with one of those cheap LED dimmers posted earlier in this thread. I've been looking in to ways to add one of the simple voltmeters with a display that Alan pointed us towards to to one of those dimmers, but I don't think that idea will fly. I mean, it works, but it looks like shit & it's pretty fragile. It easier to place everything in a small electrical box, but than it isn't a real easy solution anymore..