The Bud Toaster - (currently: Model 14, version 3)

[skippymcware]

HD,

I disagree. Each version looks significantly better than the last. I think you are closing in on a good solution. If it were me, I would be looking to start with a large block of wood and pocket it out one way or the other. Maybe start with a large middle portion that you drill straight through in several places to make several large hollow cavities, and then put a thin top and bottom on it. You could even drill holes that were perfect fits for the batteries so they would be well supported and located.

As for sheet metal work, try one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-H5958-Sheet-Metal-Pliers/dp/B0007D2C1A
*maybe not these pliers specifically, but something like them

Between that, a $20 drill press vice, and a rubber mallet with some lead shot in it (deadblow hammer), you should be ready to tackle whatever light duty sheet metal work comes your way.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Skippy - thanks for those suggestions.

One of the early Bud Toasters ("The Perfect Cube") did have three wood pieces. A center piece, 2" square by 1" high, was drilled through with a 1 3/4" bit. The top and bottom were 2" square by 1/2" high wood. All held together at the four corners with 1 3/4" wood screw (up from the bottom). The final vape was a 2" cube. Fixed temp, took 15 minutes to reach vape temp ... dropped 50 degrees with the first toke ... gradually got heat saturated and too hot after about 30 minutes.

The problem was the heat eventually causes the wood to swell -- each piece at a different rate, so the pieces didn't fit well after a month or so of vaping. i thought it looked like crap at that point.

i need to make a desktop sheet metal brake with some fixed stops so i can drop in the strip of ss and bend. The jaws of my vise are too small to allow bending conveniently.

And, yeah, these batteries aren't going to work this way. i may have to resort to using a cable from the control pcb to the battery pack. but, damn, i hate having a power cord.

i may just have to redo the enclosure --- yet again.

 

[skippymcware]

You are right, a brake would be best, but don't forget that you can buy all sorts of different types of vice jaws. Again, I am just trying to think of low cost solutions. Nothing beats a properly outfitted shop.

As for the different warping rates, you could use aluminum on the top and bottom like you were mentioning. I know that these suggestions are not that helpful because a good design is all in the details, and I am addressing none of them, but my project is at a standstill until I hear back from some people. I suppose I am getting my design fix vicariously.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

FIRST VAPORS ...

... were enjoyed at 6PM today.

The newest version of the digital temperature control vaporizer is now undergoing comprehensive testing.

Here it is sitting idle on the table:

Here it is in operation:

Today marks the culmination of one year of travel in a new dimension. It was just over one year ago that i first loaded the PIC developer system on my tablet computer to begin learning about, and programming, the PIC micro controller.

Now, after two open-air prototypes ("Watch out! Don't touch that, it's 400F, it's f*cking HOT!"), i now have a closed unit that doesn't require a certification exam to be able to run safely.

But, even after only 6 sessions, there are some obvious, glaring problems. Definitely not giftable, yet. Drat!

 

[Hennessy1414]

looks so fresh and clean! At least you have a grippable unit to work with now! the kinks will wash away quickly once that brains blazes away at some new ideas


keep on innovating!

 

[skippymcware]

hell yes. that looks sweet.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Thanks, guys.

Here are some initial test observations:

takes 40 seconds to get from room temp to 420F
first green flash (the "TOKE ME NOW" indicator) in about 90 seconds, at which point i can get a thin hit
two minutes to more steady green LED, at which point i get 8 to 12 dense hits, with a stirring of the vial after 6 hits
the power plugs on the back are noticably hot when the session is over

This pretty much ends this design diversion of having the batteries integral to the "vape" itself. i'm going back to using a cable that will plug into a separate battery sled. This has some major ease-of-fabrication advantages. And the fit-and-trim of the final unit will be better and easier to achieve.

But i am enjoying this fully enclosed, battery powered, all glass, digital temperature control vape. Hell, yes.

 

[owin]

Looks pretty awesome.

 

[chloe]

wow SUPER cool man!!

 

[ghib]

hey what's up hippie? great to find you here. I was back on vaporinfo a while ago when you posted on there and got parts and started working on one of your units back then...I never got very far though. I've been vaping with a thermostatic controlled cermaic solerding iron element with a glass sheath that you use on top of bowls, similar to a "hot glass" vaporizer. Seeing this thread has made me really want to build one of your toasters, even if it is simplified. I've got some picAxe chips I could use if I'm able to make something like your more recent unit.

Earlier you mentioned a piece of ss pipe with circular grooves in it, but I wasn't able to understand what you mean, could you explain?

For making boards you should check out this technique I found, you use a sponge saturated with ferric chloride and are able to etch boards super fast http://www.instructables.com/id/Sponge-Ferric-Chloride-Method-Etch-Circuit-Bo/. Also for transferring the toner to the paper, have you been cleaning the boards with a solvent and sandpaper/steel wool/bristol pad or what? I find that if you heat the board some before you put the graphics on it it sticks more easily, but it can make registration difficult since you're doing double sided boards. Also lots of pressure is important. Also I've seen people hack old laser printers to use for pcb artwork fusers like this, http://storm.ca/~rheslip/pcbfuser.htm

I'm very impressed at the amount of progress you've made in your design.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

thanks for everyone's interest and comments on my obsession ...

ghib - i think i was referring to model 12, which was a cylindrical design:

the top and bottom caps are grooved with a hole cutting saw, the body of the vape is a stainless steel sheet that is formed into a tube, and wrapped with black leather (to hide the manufacturing defects), which slides into the groove:

Friction holds the whole device together without additonal fasteners required.

Or, the more compact version using this fabrication technique, that was used for the first PWM controller experiments:

 

[Hippie Dickie]

testing update ...

i find it makes a big difference where the temperature sensor is located. It simply MUST be at the hottest part of the coil -- in the current build, this is in the center of the coil vertically.

In the last prototype, the probe was measuring about 100F below the hottest point. i keep overestimating how much heat travels in glass -- it's not much. That produced a much harsher vapor, i think because it took so much longer to reach a stable temperature.

This one produces vapor that is full, and sweet, and sensuous. (i do love my pot, oh my!).

And, operationally, i love these independent, removable batteries. What was i thinking, that they should be internal to the vape body -- dumb, dumb, dumb.

So the next build will go back to the power cord -- which changes a lot of fabrication details. And i can reduce the size by 1/2". It will now be 2" wide by 2" deep by 1 3/4" high.

And the duty cycle algorithm is self-adapting -- just a bit of AI (as much artificial intelligence as i can squeeze into a hundred bytes of code). It adjusts the startup parameter to get to vape temp in the shortest time with the least overshoot. And it tries to zero in on "the number", that is, that value of duty cycle that will balance all thermal properties and maintain a stable setpoint temperature (42 perhaps?).

Now that this build has run a couple dozen times, it does appear to be behaving "better". The start-up overshoot is slowly decreasing. And the time to the GREEN LED "toke me" signal is getting shorter - about 30 seconds faster than the prior prototype -- 90 seconds from startup instead of 120 seconds.

The next model will be really exciting ... i can hardly wait.

 

[chloe]

i love the GREEN led "toke me"...i haven't read this whole thread...but do you mind me asking how much parts is roughly for this?

 

[Hippie Dickie]

about $25 for the electronic parts for the digital temperature controller.

about $5 for the wood and leather and screws.

$10 for the digital thermometer

the batteries are $15 each, takes 2 to run and you should have a spare pair.

charger is $50 <--- needs 12vdc up to 10 amps

the ac adapter (provides 12vdc at 6 amps) for the charger is $25.

borosilicate glass tubes:
16mm x 150mm test tube is $1.50
13mm x 100mm test tube is $1.00
12mm x 35mm vial is $0.50

Parts total about $175 complete and ready to run.

Assembly extra.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i'm guessing with the right china connection, in a blister pack at the WalMart checkout, will retail for $35.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

now i found a MicroChip part for $1.80 that can charge 2 lithium cells.

Add a $10 AC-to-DC wall wart (regulation not necessary) and that replaces the $25 AC adapter and the $50 charger listed above.

So, parts cost is down to $100.

 

[vap999]

I particularly like the compact unit. It looks like it could even be used as a hand-held?

Could you post pictures of the units as they are used? For example, what are you inhaling through and how does it connect to the heaters? ?

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i do use the unit (post #104) as a hand-held. The batteries make it a little too heavy for my taste -- which i take to mean it would be too easy to drop.

This one (#104) is only the third vape to use my temperature controller. i'm still jiggling and juggling the form factor to find the best size and configuration. The next unit will fix the battery "problem".

i'm losing this weekend to a family event, so i'll post "how i use it" pictures when i return.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Could you post pictures of the units as they are used?

Sure ... here's a complete session showing the pieces and operation

(1) This is the bud vial (or the "bowl"). It is 1/2" diameter (12mm) by 1 3/8" long (35mm):

(2) So add some bud to the vial. This is a typical amount for solo or duo toking:

(3) Here is the loaded vial - this will yield a dozen hits

(4) The vial is toked using a glass test tube (13mm x 4" long) -- the "whip" -- that rests on the top of the vial. Here are the two ends that mate

(5) This shows the proper configuration of the vial and the whip

(6) And, this shows the way the two glass pieces mate when inside the vape body -- not airtight, no ground glass fittings. This works quite well as is, and the glassware is incredibly cheap and strong.

(7) Enough yapping ... let's get it on ... drop the vial into the vape

(8) Okay, now to plug it in ...

Here's the back of the vape with the battery plugs

Plug in one battery

Plug in the second battery, and the blue LED is on

(9) Hold the bottom button for 2 seconds and the green "Ready to Go" light comes on

Release the button and the green LED will go out and the red LED (under the vial) will come on (not visible in this shot) to show the heater is working

(10) After 90 seconds and the green LED will come on again to signal vapor is ready

... place the whip on top of the vial

(11) take a toke

the whip doesn't clear unless you lift the whip from the top of the vial.

i also like to use a 16mm x 6" test tube as the whip ... when that sucker fills with vapor it's like a vapor "shooter", or pass a toke to the gf

(12) And, after the session, this how the vapor poop looks

 

[DeepFried]

All I can say is holy fuck I want one bad.

 

[chloe]

WOW!! great job man....u iz da man!!

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Thanks, guys.

Comments about prepping the bud ...

The bud is dried until there is minimal water in the vapor when a bud sample is vaped -- the water will collect on the walls of the whip if the bud is still too wet. It is very easy to sample fresh picked bud, by the way.

Then, the bud goes into the jars ... yada yada ... burp the jars ... cure, etc. ... yada yada.

The day's ration of bud is kept in an Altoids can for convenient access, which sits on my desk next to my keyboard.

i never, ever, never, ever use a grinder -- this bud has sticky trichomes and would gunk up a grinder. i just crush a piece of bud between thumb and middle finger, crumbling it into little bits (seen next to the quarter) and dropping them into the vial.

no grinder. sacrilege.

 

[skippymcware]

Looking good. The glass vial system looks like it works really well. It is especially nice since you can pack a few of them, cap them, and take them with you. Whatever I end up with will have to have a cartridge system like that. Tough to figure out, though.

On another note, I found this guy. I'm sure you don't need it anymore, but it is going to save my life.

http://ryanjmclaughlin.com/blog/arduino/thermocouple-interface-board/


I figured I would throw it out there in case you have a use for it.

vape on.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i think the glass vial system works great. there is NOTHING like a pure glass vapor path ... and nothing bad introduced into the vapor.

That's a good find! While he says "they can be tricky because you cannot solder thermocouple wire", i find i can embed the connection in solder and that seems to work just fine. i figure the solder holds the probe lead against the copper foil. cause that's a big-ass connector he's using - almost the size of my whole vape.

i got some new toner transfer paper and making pcbs is a lot easier. i just made the two i need for the 4th prototype -- still had to go over the traces with the very fine point Sharpie, but the transfer was pretty good compared to what i was doing before. 4 minutes of ironing at a setting of about 350F.

i hope to drill, etch and populate the pcbs later today.

 

[kalinga]

Sure ... here's a complete session showing the pieces and operation...

nice