Discontinued A Hot Pod

[hazy]

I've got my manufacturer's approval (thanks vtac ) so I can start answering some questions.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the compliments! One thing I would like to make clear though, is that I am not a woodturner. I pay someone to turn the pods to my specifications and they are sent to me by mail. Also, the glass parts are made elsewhere, although I hope to take on this job myself at some point. I live in a small apartment in the middle of a city and have no workshop. I just do the electronics, design, assembly, and of course testing . Fortunately my girlfriend doesn't mind me having bits of vaporizer lying around.

The pod is designed for high temperature 24/7 operation. Although only glass tubing is used, I hesitate to call it an "all glass" air path. This is because air from outside is drawn through the holes in the pod, so the air comes into "contact" with wood before it is heated by the element. In turn, the air is exposed to the element which is ceramic and metal, before it finally makes its way into the bowl via a stainless steel screen. In a real all glass air path, the element itself would also be contained in glass. Well that's my opinion anyway. Having said that, I do find that the hot air produced by the pod tastes clean. The Kunos oil used to finish the pod does have a smell to it at first, but this dissipates within a few days. The Banksia pod itself has a faint, vaguely nutty smell about it, but I need it shoved right against my nose to detect it. The pod has a completely smooth finish (apart from the holes of course!).

SD_haze: well spotted! You can see some flowers in bloom, as well as the pods which have dried up and will eventually drop to the ground. Banksia should grow well in the San Diego climate.

Thanks Alan and Dave for dropping by, you guys rock

 

[placetime]

Congrats on getting manuf. approval! I made a quick vaporpedia page: http://vaporpedia.com/wiki/Hot_Pod

Do you have a website up?

 

[hazy]

Thanks placetime, that looks great. I've got a simple website set up at oojibah.com/hotpod
It's just a single page at the moment. I probably won't update it until the pods are ready for sale.

 

[underdog]

Congrats on getting your official manufacterer status hazy.. looking forward to seeing how your project progresses as you move into production. Looking forward to seeing some more pics, reviews, videos etc..

 

[momofthegoons]

So fun to have new options! I can't wait to check this out. It has such a unique look to it.

 

[hazy]

Thanks Dave, I'm glad I got the manufacturer status sorted out. I didn't know about it until I got a PM telling me I needed to apply for it. I guess it pays to read the forum rules every now and then, as things have changed a bit since I last looked at them.

I like your enthusiasm, mom. I must admit I really like the look of these pods myself. It's a privilege to work with objects of such natural beauty.

A bit of an update: I've tweaked the design slightly and I'm waiting for another prototype pod to get turned. It might be another week or so before it arrives, as my woodturner needs to order a new batch of Banksia pods. Hopefully this won't delay the beta units too much. I want to get the design as close to perfect as possible before releasing anything out into the wild

 

[Vitolo]

 

[weedemon]

congrats dude a sexy piece of wood there for sure!

interested in seeing how this thing performs! also glad you cleared yo the "all glass airpath" i await with anticipation

 

[psyshaman]

A home grown log style vape... As much as I dont need another and have been trying to be on an FC hiatus in order to curb VAS problem I have... I WANT ONE OF THESE! Well done!!!!

 

[natural farmer]

I really love this hazy!!! It looks awesome and it sounds like it's gonna work great too! Congrats!
How is the draw by the way? I had come to the conclusion that the HI has the less restricted draw among long vapes and that's the reason I was hoping for it to be my next home vape, along with it's ability to produce a lot of heat.
It would be nice to send a beta to an FC member who also has a HI so he can make some comparisons...

 

[Ed's TnT]

Very nice and innovative Hazy, I wish you much success with these! Job well done!

 

[hazy]

Have to admit I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the responses... thanks everyone

ili, I only have a PD to compare it to and the pod feels a little less restricted than that. I tried one of Dave's silicone stems with the PD. It fits over the outside of the heat port and it is less restrictive again due to the larger ID of the silicone tubing. Many of Alan's stems fit over the heat port in a similar way so those should be less restrictive than the 8mm ID glass stems that I use. I will soon be building an experimental pod that accepts larger diameter stems, so if that's important to you then stay tuned. I personally like the small stems for direct draw and they are also economical. The larger diameter stems have their appeal too and I can understand why some people might want this option.

Given the current discussions going on about log vapes, I should give you some of my thoughts on the materials used in this vape. I'm not attempting to build a vape with the "purest" air path. I think that a true all-glass air path would be awesome, and it's an interesting design challenge. I'm inspired by simplicity of design. I feel that the judicious use of modern materials allows for a design that is still capable of providing a very clean and safe air path. Silicone is used in ovenware and in medicine. Even so, the pod has been designed to ensure that the silicone is mostly eliminated from the air path. I chose to use glass for the heat tube not as some kind of gimmick, but for its thermal properties and because it is the easiest and most suitable material available to me. It also matches the glass stems. Although I don't think glass makes much difference to the taste of the hot air produced by the pod, I do think it makes a difference as a stem. This vape is designed around the use of glass stems. I find that glass stems have significantly improved my vaping experience in every aspect.

With regards to glues, although I feel that PVA is extremely safe, I am thinking of using silicone to seal the wooden plug into the base of the next prototype pod instead. This means that the adhesive remains on the outside of the vape (although hidden underneath), with essentially no possibility of contact with the air path. The silicone is the type of goo that's used to make aquariums, so its toxicity once fully cured must be extremely low. The silicone takes a few days to fully cure and during this time it off-gasses ascetic acid, which is basically vinegar. Another useful property of silicone is that it might be more easily removed should complete disassembly of the pod be required.

 

[Futuretvowner]

 

[NewVape]

Am eagerly awaiting this one. Even my wife who doesn't medicate saw it and said "oh that's a pretty one you can leave that on out on the desk" lol

 

[Papa Woody]

Hazy, Beautiful pods dude, great concepts and what a nice way to elevate the state of "Pod Vapes". Good luck in your business, I'll be following this one.

 

[OhTheAgony]

Thanks for sharing that Hazy, it sure can't hurt in light of recent events

I'm getting more and more curious to try one of these.

Will the inner glass tube be user replaceable in case of breakage btw?

 

[charliedontsurf]

I gotta check out the new threads more often, because the Hot Pod is beautiful Hazy! I wish you the best and hope to own one someday.

 

[hazy]

Thanks everyone. OTA, I've designed the pod so that it can be easily disassembled by the owner. I've tried to make use of simple and easily obtainable parts so that if anything needs replacement, it can hopefully be found locally. I'd like to think that any pod that I make will last the owner a lifetime. The inner glass tube is less fragile than you'd think. It is well recessed into the top of the pod and is only held at that end by silicone, which is shock absorbing. It would take one hell of a shock to break the glass tubing. In fact I think the pod itself would crack before the glass does. The wood in this vape is relatively more fragile than that used in other logs because it is thinner (most of the centre is bored out) and more brittle. However this shouldn't be a problem in normal use. You won't see any demonstrations of it being driven over by a truck or thrown onto the road etc in this thread.

I'm more concerned about the glass stems. If they are dropped onto a hard surface they're almost guaranteed to smash. It's one of the reasons I've designed them to be simple and using standard metric sizes. Any glassblower should be able to supply small lengths of borosilicate tubing quite cheaply. I don't want pod owners to feel that they are locked into only getting spare parts and accessories through me.

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Sounds nice hazy
Can't wait to get my hands on my beta version

 

[psyshaman]

You're a lucky man Fred, be sure to let us know how you like it when you get it fired up!

 

[Frederick McGuire]

Well, I'm only on the beta list right now.
So I'll have to wait until hazy is ready to send out the beta pods.

But once he does, I'll be letting you guys know
( and I'll be shooting a few vids )

 

[OhTheAgony]

Sounds great Hazy. & no worries, I don't usually drive over my vaporizers, I just can't help dropping them sometimes

I must admit I've always looked at my vaper stems as somewhat disposable. The more expensive they get the longer I want them to last, but I don't expect the same durability of those as I do of the unit itself.

Good thinking making them in a easy obtainable size though, I wouldn't want to be unable to use my vaporizer just because I'm waiting on a 5 buck stem to get shipped half way around the world

 

[Vitolo]

Exciting times!

 

[psyshaman]

Very exciting times indeed UncleVito!

I've just proudly joined the beta ranks for this home grown log style fog maker! Go hazy go!

 

[charliedontsurf]

I envy you beta testers!

Amazing how nature has neatly provided the body of one of the most beautiful log vapes yet seen, in as large a number as Hazy cares to manufacture. Thanks nature, thanks Hazy.