'The Misty Log' - DIY wooden Log Vaporizer

[blokenoname]

Well... you're running a liiiitle bit hot there, me thinks

Here are some pics of used heater covers, both from cartridge and halogen heaters. As you can see, their degree of discoloration is somewhere between 350-440°F/176-227°C, which is the effective temp range, we're aiming for.



Never in my life managed to fry the teflon insulation of that socket! Teflon melts at 327°C/620°F! So whatever happened there, shouldn't have happened under normal conditions. No idea about an overloaded contact (how does this happen?), but at a first glance, I'd try to get rid of that ScotchBright crap pad there, to center the bulb. It's at least an unknown factor, property wise. Try some proper ss fine mesh gauze (#200 should do).

Crimping the bulb to the wiring is o/c doable, but has the detriment of the user not being able to change the bulb himself. A halogen bulb's life span is usually much shorter, than that of a cartridge heater or resistor. When used properly, the ceramic sockets won't overload or fry. S/thing went very wong there.

 

[TommyDee]

Yea, I recognize the fried wire failure. Perfect storm. The Scotch Bright is the real deal. It will cut the fuck out of you if you get careless. It is a very long curly strand say 1/16" wide and maybe 1-2-thou thick. But its tangled! I hear you on the gauze. I have some screens to order while I am at it. But $2 on 3 serious heat radiators for life... come-on - gotta try that as it past the material tests.

I do have a really nicely 'heat-darkened' screen now

Thanks for the images for target coloration. This was definitely a stress test. Also hear you on replaceable bulbs. I have an idea.

 

[Vaporooni]

The ceramic bulb holder works for me as well. No over heating what so ever. Just pure convection. A little ss tube just around the bulb produces the right amount of heat with 12v and a 20 watt bulb.

 

[TommyDee]

I was more aiming for gold plated contacts to use as 'elevators'.

 

[blokenoname]

The ceramic sockets work absolutly fine, when adhering to their specs. The heat output you accidentally produced there, exceeded those specs by far

Maybe that fine, curly Scotch pad stuff got between the ceramics and the bulb, touching the leads and causing kind of a short... maybe the stuff itself s/how intensified the heat, being highly conductive, but having low heat capacity (no mass, to speak of).

Simplest way of fastening the bulb directly to ss wiring, is twisting the ends of the ss wire into tiny spirals, which then can take the bulb's leads. Voila... your ss bulb socket!

And say thanks to @MUSA Vaporizer for that idea

 

[TommyDee]

I didn't exceed the specs because the power supply was 12V so it could only pull the rated output. The contact resistance was the fault in this case which caused heat to melt Teflon and char the copper wire. Indeed, well over 450C. I'll do another run with these contacts. The idea behind tests such as this is to see where the margins are. If 10W is the norm and it failed at 20W then the margin is less than 2x or 200%. For safely related design parameters, that is insufficient. Typically you want 400% for safety margin.

 

[blokenoname]

The ceramic G4 sockets are not limited to work with 10w bulbs only, but should work safe and reliable with all, or at least most G4 socket 12v bulbs. Otherwise, consumers would have a hell of a problem
20w bulbs are also working totally fine in the Bud Eaters, when you scroll a page back or two.

Meanwhile... I was discussing variant heater covers for the Halo Misty with @brainiac



This heater cover has a 11mm OD trunk, that contains the bulb, while there is a smaller diameter heater port, consisting of two steps: the uppermost is of 8mm OD, and allows Vapcaps to slide over now (instead of sliding into the core tube); the second step is of 9mm OD, allowing my 12mm/9mm glass stems to slide over.

In principle, you can rig up any variant of heater port size with the telescopic ss tubing.

Still a bit fine tuning needed, though. Load is further away from the heater now, which probably requires upping the voltage a bit and air flow is still suboptimal, as it seems, that I made the ss mesh pad too thick, that dims the glare shining up through the center tube.

 

[TommyDee]

I'm certainly not saying these sockets don't work. I'm saying that if you have a questionable connection for whatever reason, this failure mode is a looming possibility if you are leaving it run at 20W. It could well be one out of a 1,000... but it happened to be the first one of 10 that I've thoroughly tested. Could this happened at 10W? Who knows. Not going to test that.

I removed the discoloring on the tube and replaced the screen. No Scotch Bright this time. Also realized two things; a 3/4" screen really doesn't want to come back out of the 12mm tube... and if I leave the screen recessed the depth of a VC, the VC can sit right in the tube on top of the bulb. No steps, no mess, no fuss

 

[blokenoname]

Good!
But does it seal well enough?

The VC fits perfectly well into the 11mm heater cover of the Halo Mistys here too. Halo hc is 11/10mm OD/ID; VC has an OD of 10mm. Snug fit and good seal. So the VC step/adapter is actually redundant there. This is just pure proof of concept fun, using it there
Originally, the small VC adapter is intended to make use of the VC tips an option for the cartridge driven steel core Misty, that has a smaller, 9mm heater cover and works sith the smaller 5/16"/8mm ss tips.

For the Halo, the 9mm adapter/step only makes sense, as it could then also be used with the smaller tips of the steel core Misty, UD and HI and also with the 12/9mm glass tubing, instead of the 11.5mm Arizer stems.
They're nice, but the fixed glass screen and shortness of the bowl section limits their usefulness somewhat. The 12/9mm glass has adjustable screens, to accommodate different load sizes.
That was the idea discussed with brainy

Edit:

There... much better!

 

[blokenoname]

Oh, look...
Halo Misty - Full Metal Jacket - Edition




9mm heater port bushing working fine
So if you don't own or like using Vapcaps for some reason and/or don't like the Arizer Solo/Air glass tubing, that goes with the Halo core... that simple bushing now allows you to use the smaller 5/16" ss tips, the Underdog, Heat Island and my own classic steel core Misty are using and also allows for use of glass stems and GonGs, with an inner diameter between 9mm and 10mm.

So... enough R&D for now and time for some R&R

Edit:
@TommyDee
Please do us a favour and take a flame to the wiring's insulation of your ceramic G4 sockets and report the results. Thanks
The same G4 socket is availiable also with low grade silicone insulation and meant to be used with LEDs, which produce no heat. That stuff can only stand up to 160°C and so is no good for Log making, as it'll probably go up in flames. Usually... the silicone tubing seems coloured black and white. Teflon is blue and brown.
Exeptions from the rule possible, of course, as is the rule of all low voltage DC electronics

So... if your insulation goes up in flames or melts like a plastic bag after a few seconds of torching, you might've found the cause for contact resistance shooting through the roof

 

[blokenoname]

@brainiac

Plum WonG mod

 

[brainiac]

@blokenoname
It's an adapted adapter . And probably the only hybrid WonG in existence . Nice work .

@TommyDee
I think my G4 sockets are the same ones that you have. I thought the wiring's insulation looked a bit 'plastic' so I held a lighter flame against one of the leads and it combusted literally within one second. Yours and mine are the one's with the black and white leads and not the blue/brown ones that are PTFE coated.
Anyway, as Bloke suggested, check it and see.

 

[TommyDee]

Yes, it is white and black. Fake Teflon? What next!

@blokenoname Now you gone and done it. Bigger bowl - 12mm tube

 

[Diggy Smalls]

@brainiac

Plum WonG mod

I still don't quite understand how this works but I'm liking what I see

 

[brainiac]

Yes, it is white and black. Fake Teflon? What next!

If I were you I'd chuck 'em out.
It's not just that they're combustable - those black and white leads might gas off at relatively low temps. Even out of the direct airpath that's not a good idea. I've just ordered a batch of the PTFE brown/blue ones - and they're just as cheap as the b/ws.

 

[TommyDee]

I'll just strip all the insulation and add my own PTFE tubing. Easy enough. Yesterday I came up with a different joint. Imaging holding the metal while saturating at 10 watts ...and as an aside, also provides the air path so I can seal these shitty sockets.

Okay, quick build to test things out - 8V for a wonderful first draw on the VC. 10V on the second draw showed scorching. Digger-duff-combustion due to poor technique on draw 3.

1/2 oz

The tube is just split in 6 places making for point contact. The depth could be as little as 5mm to minimize the 'flags' that will take on radiated heat. Overall, the heat transfer is very tolerable for the base. The base is a piece of green Flowering Quince stem shrink-fit to the tube. A cork plug is the wire's strain relief.

 

[blokenoname]

Completed set!

I still don't quite understand how this works but I'm liking what I see

You mean, how a Log vape works?

Here is a vid, introducing and explaining the features of the Woodscents Log.

And another one, showing off the Heat Island /HI Log with a bong.

 

[Diggy Smalls]

Completed set!

You mean, how a Log vape works?

Here is a vid, introducing and explaining the features of the Woodscents Log.

And another one, showing off the Heat Island /HI Log with a bong.

No, I don't understand how your adapter works. It comes apart into two pieces?

I have a Toasty Top with heat island core and an older underdog I love log Vapes and one day I want to make one of these halo ones

 

[blokenoname]

No, I don't understand how your adapter works. It comes apart into two pieces?

I have a Toasty Top with heat island core and an older underdog I love log Vapes and one day I want to make one of these halo ones

Ah... no!
It functions like any other WonG, or better, there is no real function in the two part design other, than making the top section above the taper a bit longer

@brainiac sanded down the original Plum and sycamore WonGs, which were among his early attempts and kindly posted them to me. Though they look besutiful and the fit and seal is reasonable well... the taper itself was a bit on the longish side and the top section above the taper a bit too short, extending hardly a centimeter from the glass, which made it hard to pull the WonG w/out burning your fingers, when clearing the chamber

So I shortened the taper at the bottom and added a new top section, made from two 20mm x 10mm wooden 'buttons', you can get in any DIY market for plugging up holes in wood

Set in a short 9mm OD/8mm ID ss tube, to connect both sections and the top end of which can then hold the 5/16" (8mm) ss tip or a Vapcap tip.

Now the WonGs have the right proportions and you've enough room the grab the WonG and pull it from your bong

 

[TommyDee]

How much space should be between the herb and the bulb again? I have a screen above the bulb but it seems to want a little more gap than an 1/8".

 

[blokenoname]

How much space should be between the herb and the bulb again? I have a screen above the bulb but it seems to want a little more gap than an 1/8".

That's about 3 point s/thing millimeter? Much too hot/close for the bulb.

Halo Misty heater covers are quite short! Only 4 cm in length.

Bulb extends 2.5cm into the heater cover from the base. The debris screen sits at 3,5cm. Remaining 0.5cm form the heater port and the length, a steel tip can slide into the heater cover.

So... 1cm away from your load, the bulb sits here.

 

[TommyDee]

That explains a lot TY!

 

[blokenoname]

That explains a lot TY!

With the 5w resistor and the 7.5w cartridge heaters, you can go closer to the debris screen. But the bulb is to powerful for that

@brainiac
As a sidenote re fastening the heater tube to the washer with the 0,3mm thick steel:

Just thought: why am I trying to machine down steel that is so thin (0,3mm), there is hardly anything left for machining down to begin with

Hell.. you can cut the 0,3mm ss tubing with common scisors
Here's the 11mm x 0,3mm tube! So we simply make a single small cut of maybe 3-5mm length at the base of the tube, squeeze it a bit together and then hammer it very gently through the hole in the M10 washer (hole is 10,4mm)
Once that is done, you now just need to hamner the extending tubing flat and have a nice mechanical connection
All without grinding and sanding and filling of the swear jar

There will be a tiny fold now at the base of the hc, where the tube got squeezed together, to fit through the bit smaller sized hole, but that'll be out of sight anyway, so deep down in the heater well

Also... the new 11mm tubing has arrived from Menzel

 

[brainiac]

@blokenoname
Thanks. I'll certainly try that out .
Anything that makes heater cover construction easier has got to be worth a go .

 

[blokenoname]

Reworked & fine tuned the second variant heater cover with the WS style heater port, that allows the VC to slip over