Hello
The spring is part of the switch mechanism. Its a compression spring. The switch type is a momentary pushbutton switch, which means that electrical current does not flow unless the switch is pressed and held down. As soon as the switch is released, it turns OFF. So, yes, you can leave the battery in the device.The battery is held in by friction.
We may have other woods in the future, but for now its only maple. The wood has to be heat-resistant, so maple works well.
Wood body dimensions (without the battery) are 3.6 inches long x 1.5 inches wide and 0.75 inches tall.
The corrugated, U-shaped metal foil is the heating element. When the switch is pressed (and held down) electrical current flows through this heating element. Power dissipation is about 20-25 watts. So it gets hot FAST.
The heating chamber is pretty easy to clean. The heating element is not delicate, so it can be flicked with the fingers to dislodge material. Also, it can be heated with the glass window removed. This will burn off any gunk stuck to the heating element. So its sort of "self cleaning". The borosilicate window can be cleaned with alcohol or soap water. The window is super easy to clean. The wood surface inside the chamber will acquire a resin coating, but this seems to seal the wood after a while.
If any parts become damaged, they are user-replaceable. The entire device is held together with seven Torx screws (#7 drive). We will be selling replacement parts on the VG website. So if the body becomes really dirty or damaged, you can simply replace it.
We are working on a video, which will be ready soon. Still waiting on parts, though. Its taking forever!
A few other details:
The borosilicate window is 1/8 inch thick, so this adds to the 0.75 inch thickness. So total thickness in the window part is about 0.875". The battery holder is slightly thicker than that. Max thickness in the battery section is about 1 inch.
The borosilicate window has a magnet attachment. The window does NOT rotate. The window must be pulled off. This is better than a rotating attachment because it cannot come open in your pocket. We tried prototypes with rotating attachments and they 1) were hard to clean 2) smeared resin over the wood, and 3) came open in a pocket or backpack. So with this magnet design, you dont have to worry about any of those things.
The LED battery indicator lights up GREEN when the battery has enough energy to vaporize. It lights up RED when the battery is about 95% discharged and must be recharged. This is really important because lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO) batteries are damaged if they are completely discharged. So you must stop using a battery when the LED turns red. Batteries are good for at least 300 charge-discharge cycles. They will cost about $5 each. 18650 LiFePO batteries are very common and available from many vendors. They are commonly used in RC model cars and planes.
mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.
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