DIY Induction Heater Builds and References

[TommyDee]

Update! So I got home from work I used some of the copper wire that I had from the power supply wiring. I tighten the coils, fired her up had 10.5 volts which was about 62-65 watts on my other meter.

Put the induction heater so it was easy to see the tip of the cap coming through stuck it out about a an eighth of an inch and, And did definitely hit hard I thought maybe I combusted so I checked ABV perfectly golden green, went for round two still taking a decent amount of time got a little distracted It clicked I pulled out got another huge hit check the ABV definitely riding that line of combustion like a dark roast coffee color no ash (honestly I don't even know if that's combustion or not in vape terms) but I definitely learned to respect the click and squeezing the coils together definitely made a big difference I think I might turn down the voltage a little bit if my next run is that dark.

I could definitely see why people actually build diy it's so customizable especially with the variable voltage

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Turning down the voltage at the same ingress will bake it exactly the same, just slower. Make the flat of the cap flush with the bottom of the coil. It won't take you quite as far to the edge. Maybe a 1/16" past the coil will give you a good hard hit. Remember to gauge the second bake, not the first.
Also, that copper banding should be something like twine, cotton, or anything non-conductive. Although that epoxy is tough - it ain't that tough ;] Not to mention that the IH is probably heating the copper wire as well, and that is what will soften the insulation.

I don't know much about induction heaters but I'm curious if anyone here has ever tried to use one with a titanium nectar collector? I'm thinking a 10mm titanium nectar collector might be able to get hot enough?

Titanium won't heat much at our expected pace. The cap is what makes VCs heat - the heat is transferred to the tip - and while drawing, the tip heats the cap. You need something that reacts to the induction field.

 

[PutOneInTheAir]

Okay I took off the copper and added some string, thank you!

I have two questions what do you mean if you turn down the voltage it will still vape it the same? Are you saying If I rent it at 5 volts I would get the same color AVB if I ran it at 12 volts? Is the temperature constant and just the higher voltage is the faster it gets to that temperature?


The second is I've seen a few pictures of DIYs or the guy soldered his coil is there any negative effect to this or is it okay to do? It was pretty cool he basically split the coil into two sections he had four loops on one side and six on the other four different intensities

 

[TommyDee]

Remember that 'delay' function I talked about? As you put the CV deeper in the coil, you are effectively delaying the click so more heat gets into the cap. Definitely experiment with this but your findings will come to this conclusion. Ingress depth determines the bake at the click - power, managed by voltage control, just says how fast it gets there. Like anything baked, it takes time for a proper bake. However, if you bake it too fast, you loose consistency between caps. These are two independent settings for an IH.

Null_Gull is doing some wild shit. It is not as straight forward as it looks. Keep an eye on him though.

 

[PutOneInTheAir]

Remember that 'delay' function I talked about? As you put the CV deeper in the coil, you are effectively delaying the click so more heat gets into the cap. Definitely experiment with this but your findings will come to this conclusion. Ingress depth determines the bake at the click - power, managed by voltage control, just says how fast it gets there. Like anything baked, it takes time for a proper bake. However, if you bake it too fast, you loose consistency between caps. These are two independent settings for an IH.

Null_Gull is doing some wild shit. It is not as straight forward as it looks. Keep an eye on him though.

Very interesting!

 

[510vaporent]

Titanium won't heat much at our expected pace. The cap is what makes VCs heat - the heat is transferred to the tip - and while drawing, the tip heats the cap. You need something that reacts to the induction field.

Ok but stainless steel might work?

 

[RustyOldNail]

Ok but stainless steel might work?

I briefly held a titanium dabber tool with tiny ball end tip, in my first IH (SKJ DENTAL IH), just to warm up the tip.
The tiny tip began to glow immediately, I quickly pulled it out, tip is now colored blue. You could certainly try your nector collector tip, if I recall some of them are quite small at the tip end.

 

[TommyDee]

I have one of those @RustyOldNail - its plated steel. Put a magnet up to it. Also put your Ti tip in the IH without the cap and see what it does. I'll get a gain ratio for ti at some point. Never thought to do so LOL

@510vaporent The cap is stainless steel but a different alloy. I don't think your capless stainless tip will heat very much either. At least not fast.

Okay, time to test this theory... Gain ratio for Ti and SS tips coming up...

...Edit - okay, not too shabby, I get a gain ratio of about 2.5:1 on just the two tips. That should definitely give you some warmth.

 

[PutOneInTheAir]

I guess it was meant to be but I got a notification on my phone today saying that my 18 to 14 mm glass insert will be delivered today? I never ordered it but I guess I did at work with my phone in my pocket.

To my surprise if it's very good and the DynaVap sits in it nicely. I know a lot of people use the guitar one which makes sense because you could lower it past the cap or whatnot but it seems to be working okay so far.

One thing I'm wondering is and I'm guessing it's just nature the beast but the stem and everything still gets really hot Even if I used my BB9 glass stem there's so much heat going through the tip, like to the point it's hard to hold. Is that normal or any opinions on how to fix it? I was thinking turning up the amperage for a faster extraction last time maybe for the stem to get hot instead of the slow
I'm going to try to get her soldered up this weekend I can't find my soldering gun

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[RustyOldNail]

I have one of those @RustyOldNail - its plated steel. Put a magnet up to it. Also put your Ti tip in the IH without the cap and see what it does. I'll get a gain ratio for ti at some point. Never thought to do so LOL

@510vaporent The cap is stainless steel but a different alloy. I don't think your capless stainless tip will heat very much either. At least not fast.

Okay, time to test this theory... Gain ratio for Ti and SS tips coming up...

...Edit - okay, not too shabby, I get a gain ratio of about 2.5:1 on just the two tips. That should definitely give you some warmth.

I tried the quality HL Titanium ball dabber with a strong magnet, and NO attraction, odd?

 

[TommyDee]

No magnetism says it is ti. 2.5:1 gain ratio says titanium is as effective as a weak cap @RustyOldNail

I guess it was meant to be but I got a notification on my phone today saying that my 18 to 14 mm glass insert will be delivered today? I never ordered it but I guess I did at work with my phone in my pocket.

To my surprise if it's very good and the DynaVap sits in it nicely. I know a lot of people use the guitar one which makes sense because you could lower it past the cap or whatnot but it seems to be working okay so far.

One thing I'm wondering is and I'm guessing it's just nature the beast but the stem and everything still gets really hot Even if I used my BB9 glass stem there's so much heat going through the tip, like to the point it's hard to hold. Is that normal or any opinions on how to fix it? I was thinking turning up the amperage for a faster extraction last time maybe for the stem to get hot instead of the slow
I'm going to try to get her soldered up this weekend I can't find my soldering gun

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Pocket dialing is one thing but pocket ordering just the right thing is a twilight zone phenom.

You once asked why some coils are small. You might have it figured out right here. Short coils tend to focus the heat much tighter. They are harder to tune but they seem to cause less extraneous heating. My first IH, used well over 6 months, used to vape off the reclaim in the area past the CCD. When I cleaned those, they would have some charcoal on the walls that took quite a bit of scrubbing with ISO. Since I've started using shorter and tighter coils, this hasn't been an issue. Basically, the the bigger coils also heat the cooling fins.

Seems you like a good hard bake. You will deal with more heat in general as well. I do wooden stems for this reason. Unlined plain simple stems. Wood makes an excellent thermal insulator.

 

[PutOneInTheAir]

No magnetism says it is ti. 2.5:1 gain ratio says titanium is as effective as a weak cap @RustyOldNail


Pocket dialing is one thing but pocket ordering just the right thing is a twilight zone phenom.

You once asked why some coils are small. You might have it figured out right here. Short coils tend to focus the heat much tighter. They are harder to tune but they seem to cause less extraneous heating. My first IH, used well over 6 months, used to vape off the reclaim in the area past the CCD. When I cleaned those, they would have some charcoal on the walls that took quite a bit of scrubbing with ISO. Since I've started using shorter and tighter coils, this hasn't been an issue. Basically, the the bigger coils also heat the cooling fins.

Seems you like a good hard bake. You will deal with more heat in general as well. I do wooden stems for this reason. Unlined plain simple stems. Wood makes an excellent thermal insulator.

That's very interesting because I found that resin / charcoal when I clean mine last night and I was thinking how weird that was but never really associated it with that. Definitely took some hard cleaning with a q-tip and ISO

What I was doing actually and it seemed to work pretty good was I started to separate the coils towards the bottom on its own and I had maybe six of them around the glass piece and it seemed to go real good.

But of course since I had a variable voltage one somehow things got shuffled around and of course the knob got turned high and when I turned it on it instantly made a loud squealing noise I unplugged it and it died.
It's a bummer I killed it right when I was having fun, not a expensive deal but it was fun seeing how the different variables change the wattage and everything even at the same amps.

 

[RustyOldNail]

No magnetism says it is ti. 2.5:1 gain ratio says titanium is as effective as a weak cap @RustyOldNail

I was pretty sure it was titanium when I first posted that it turned bright red inside the SKJ IH, I assume by your statement that if the titanium is small enough or thin, that it does get hot.

I suggest to the person @510vaporent that was asking about using a small diameter titanium tip for their nectar collector, and see if it heats up. If it’s slow, or doesn’t heat up, good experiment. The strength of you IH should be factored as well. I don’t have a NC TI tip to test. Good luck.

 

[GI]

Hi, what exactly i need to build a micro usb charger on the ih 2s and 3s ? Is the bms plus usb regulator or it's another circuit ?

 

[510vaporent]

I suggest to the person @510vaporent that was asking about using a small diameter titanium tip for their nectar collector, and see if it heats up. If it’s slow, or doesn’t heat up, good experiment. The strength of you IH should be factored as well. I don’t have a NC TI tip to test. Good luck.

I would love to test it out myself, but I don't want to waste the time or money. I would only be interested in using one with a small NC for a portable dab set up. I was eyeing up the ranger induction heater. Looks decent for the price

 

[badbee]

Hi, what exactly i need to build a micro usb charger on the ih 2s and 3s ? Is the bms plus usb regulator or it's another circuit ?

This gets asked a lot but I haven't seen a home built version due to the complexity. For 5V USB you need a boost circuit to increase the voltage to battery charging levels. Here is a little board that will work for 1C LiIon charging (just as an example, it's not micro and 1C won't work for an IH): https://www.seeedstudio.com/Lipo-Ri...jRRWW6pLfrjsrPAkiHTRzwKYOx-yZeIYaAoTpEALw_wcB With more searching you might find one for 2C or 3C, or you could build your own.

 

[TommyDee]

2S 3S 4S 8.4V 12.6V 16.8V Step-Up Boost Lipo Li-Ion Dc 5V Type-C Charger | eBay

3-Cell(3S) 12.6V Version 2-Cell(2S) 8.4V Version 4-Cell(4S) 16.8V Version li-on li-po Lithium Battery. Input current : 1A(1A Version);2A(2A Version);4A(4A Version). Charging current : 0.55A(1A Version);1.1A(2A Version);2.2A(4A Version).

www.ebay.com

 

[GI]

2S 3S 4S 8.4V 12.6V 16.8V Step-Up Boost Lipo Li-Ion Dc 5V Type-C Charger | eBay

3-Cell(3S) 12.6V Version 2-Cell(2S) 8.4V Version 4-Cell(4S) 16.8V Version li-on li-po Lithium Battery. Input current : 1A(1A Version);2A(2A Version);4A(4A Version). Charging current : 0.55A(1A Version);1.1A(2A Version);2.2A(4A Version).

www.ebay.com

and...the Ampere to use ? what difference between1 2 or 4 A ?

 

[TommyDee]

1 and 2 amp versions will work. Be sure your USB wall-wart can handle the higher current. I've pushed my BMS' to about 1.5 amps on the charge side. The 2 amp version will charge at a 1.1 ah rate and draw 2 amps from the USB supply.

 

[OGablogian]

Hi all!

So I made my own induction heater. I figured early on that I wanted something to put down on my desk, so size and batteries didn’t really matter. I followed the ZVS IH-module guides and ordered the parts. While waiting I started looking at all the great diy ih heaters made by all you fine folks on here and the reddit-diy-ih-sub, and got especially interested with the models that had a way to control the energy output. Most of you did that through pwm options, usually done alongside intricate mods to the IH-module. Those awesome models looked way too complicated for my novice soldering-skills, so with the help of a user whose name I forgot (sorry!) I decided to take a bit easier route; to simply control the voltage input of the IH-module, since it works anywhere from 5 to 12V. So I placed a DC-DC step down converter (XL4016 200W 8A, input 4-40V, output 1.5-36V) before the IH-module. Picked the one with a wired potentiometer. And of course curious to know at how many watts I get the best hits, also added a cheap voltage+current meter.

Long story short; I made a wall powered induction heater with voltage regulation, by using a step down voltage converter and a current+voltage meter. Works great (so far?), and I’m absolutely delighted with the result.

My findings, playing with different (continuous, not pulse-based) energy outputs controlled by a XL4016:

• There’s a loss of efficiency of about 0,2v, probably due to the XL4016 module.
• Operating the IH-module at higher voltages will draw slightly more current from the power source (mine delivers 12v 7.5A DC). With a 2019M tip and captive cap, at 11V the Dynavap draws 5.8A max, at 8V this is about 4.3A max.*
• At the start of the heating cycle, the dynavap draws slightly less current. For example, a cold dynavap @ 8V starts at 3.95A, and ends around 4.3A.* I don’t know if this is due to the modules used, or some physics stuff with the temperature of the metal cap.
• Using lower voltages gives much bigger vapor extraction. At 11V (=63W) my flower is green-brown after the first hit. At 8V (=34W) Dark brown all the way through.

* results depend on the cap used. All my results were achieved using the same captive cap.

Which leads me to the following hypothesis:

A larger energy output results in faster heating of the dynavap (duh), results in less time for the energy to transfer to the tip, results in a lower temp of your flower when inhaling, results in less vapor production. Also allows you to taste the terpenes a lot more.

Some pictures …

https://imgur.com/a/ReoKK8T

All in all … I’m very happy with how it turned out, and can really recommend this setup. An IH heater is imo a gamechanger on it's own, but variable energy output (be it voltage or pwm) just adds so much more versatility. 8V for the 'one and done' hits, 12v for flavor and multiple hits per bowl.

Planned improvements:
- Nicer wooden box, perhaps a bit smaller if I place all the parts a bit better.
- add second blue led below the glass tube + coil
- get a V+A+W meter, instead of a V+A. Maths is hard

Thanks all for reading, and I'm totally open for any suggestions for improvements, positive criticism.

 

[TommyDee]

That is probably the best setup available for a mains powered IH. Variable voltage is the right way to manage power levels.

That converter with the remote potentiometer is perfect as it has a 12/24V switch making it harder to over-voltage the IH when you lock it to 12V max output.

There is a physics thing going on with heating the cap. As the cap heats, it changes its interaction with the IH. This is very similar to how MODs sense temperature of a particular coil material.

Have a look at this supply - it features a constant current output making for a different type of regulation;

LTC3780 130W DC Synchronous Buck Boost Step Up Down Voltage & Current Regulator | eBay

300KHz switching frequency. Synchronous rectification technology uses a dedicated power MOSFET with very low on-state resistance to replace the rectifier diode and reduce the rectification loss. Synchronous rectification provides the most efficient power conversion available, up to 98%!

www.ebay.com

Also this is a great meter; https://www.ebay.com/itm/193432933924

 

[OGablogian]

That is probably the best setup available for a mains powered IH. Variable voltage is the right way to manage power levels.

Thank you so much. That means a lot, coming from one of the IH-DIY greats. BTW, your coil wrappings look so frigging tight, just perfect. If you ever wanna do a youtube tutorial or guide on that, I'd watch it gladly.

That converter with the remote potentiometer is perfect as it has a 12/24V switch making it harder to over-voltage the IH when you lock it to 12V max output.

Jup, though my power supply maxes out at 12v anyways.

About the converter im curently using tho ... Like I said, at almost any voltage, theres a loss of efficiency of about 0.2V (so 8.2 becomes 8.0 when the zvs is activated, 11.2 becomes 11.0). Except when I turn it up to 12V. Always drops down to 11V when in use, so at 12V my loss of power becomes 1V. Can't get it to go any higher than that. Now 11V x 5.9A is more than enough, but still ... Do you think setting the step down converter to the 24v mode would allow me to get 12V -> 11.8V? Powersupply won't deliver more than 12V @ 7.5A anyways, so no risk on over-voltage even in the 24v mode (since it's only a step down converter)?

There is a physics thing going on with heating the cap. As the cap heats, it changes its interaction with the IH. This is very similar to how MODs sense temperature of a particular coil material.

Yeah, I figured as much. Still not much idea about how induction works, other than 'something with energy and a coil', but it seems logical that the energy requirements change when the circumstances of the material inside the coil change.

Have a look at this supply - it features a constant current output making for a different type of regulation;

LTC3780 130W DC Synchronous Buck Boost Step Up Down Voltage & Current Regulator | eBay

300KHz switching frequency. Synchronous rectification technology uses a dedicated power MOSFET with very low on-state resistance to replace the rectifier diode and reduce the rectification loss. Synchronous rectification provides the most efficient power conversion available, up to 98%!

www.ebay.com

Also this is a great meter; https://www.ebay.com/itm/193432933924

I find the XL4016 200W 8A one to be perfect for the 'standard' wallpowered design, spec-wise. No real need to go any bigger. But for anyone wanting to use a wider range of power supply specs (or even with batteries?), it could be very nice indeed.

Loving that meter tho. Gonna order one of those.

 

[TommyDee]

Thank you so much. That means a lot, coming from one of the IH-DIY greats. BTW, your coil wrappings look so frigging tight, just perfect. If you ever wanna do a youtube tutorial or guide on that, I'd watch it gladly.


Jup, though my power supply maxes out at 12v anyways.

About the converter im curently using tho ... Like I said, at almost any voltage, theres a loss of efficiency of about 0.2V (so 8.2 becomes 8.0 when the zvs is activated, 11.2 becomes 11.0). Except when I turn it up to 12V. Always drops down to 11V when in use, so at 12V my loss of power becomes 1V. Can't get it to go any higher than that. Now 11V x 5.9A is more than enough, but still ... Do you think setting the step down converter to the 24v mode would allow me to get 12V -> 11.8V? Powersupply won't deliver more than 12V @ 7.5A anyways, so no risk on over-voltage even in the 24v mode (since it's only a step down converter)?


Yeah, I figured as much. Still not much idea about how induction works, other than 'something with energy and a coil', but it seems logical that the energy requirements change when the circumstances of the material inside the coil change.


I find the XL4016 200W 8A one to be perfect for the 'standard' wallpowered design, spec-wise. No real need to go any bigger. But for anyone wanting to use a wider range of power supply specs (or even with batteries?), it could be very nice indeed.

Loving that meter tho. Gonna order one of those.

True about the max output since it is a buck driver only. I was using mine with 19.5V laptop supplies. As to why yours drops a full volt at 12V seems odd. I suspect there is a diode drop that has to be accounted for. Definitely try undoing the 12V limit since you are input limited.

The unique feature of the other converter is the constant current. I've played with this on my wired IH. It is a way to closely mimic a constant power output. It is more sensitive between caps than the voltage control. All my caps might have a range within 10 watts without changing the pot although they may have a gain ratio range from 3:1 to 6:1. It is a way to automatically regulate voltage as that is what constant current does.

My OG VVPS pushing ~60 watts on a hot cap;

 

[OGablogian]

True about the max output since it is a buck driver only. I was using mine with 19.5V laptop supplies. As to why yours drops a full volt at 12V seems odd. I suspect there is a diode drop that has to be accounted for. Definitely try undoing the 12V limit since you are input limited.

The unique feature of the other converter is the constant current. I've played with this on my wired IH. It is a way to closely mimic a constant power output. It is more sensitive between caps than the voltage control. All my caps might have a range within 10 watts without changing the pot although they may have a gain ratio range from 3:1 to 6:1. It is a way to automatically regulate voltage as that is what constant current does.

My OG VVPS pushing ~60 watts on a hot cap;

Aaah, I see. A variable constant energy output instead of just variable constant voltage output. Will certainly consider this model if im ever building another one. Though for now, I think I don't really mind that bit of extra milliamps during heat-up of the dv.

Playing around some more with my energy output, I find I really love low output usage. 7.5V @ 4A = 30W just clears the whole bowl in one massive hit. Pure chocolate colour throughout.

 

[OGablogian]

Can't edit my previous post anymore, so a new one ...

At the moment, I'm using https://www.fasttech.com/product/5236304-iwodevape-replacement-glass-tank one of these to wrap my coil around, and a piece of a wooden dowel to set the DV at the preferred depth (centre of the coil equates to centre of the cap). Now, sure, I could flip around my IH, the dowel drops out, and I drop in a slightly taller or shorter dowel. But I want something more fancy, like a knob to turn to set the depth. You guys got any thoughts on that? Could probably lego it, but might take up too much space, and temps and plastics and all that ...

 

[MK]

I find depth isn't something I change - once I find the proper coil placement and dynavap depth, it is set. I like fitting cork plugs to the proper dimensions for a set it and forget it approach. The cork is fitted to the glass and tall enough to fill between the bottom of the glass and the bottom of the box. Secure and no glue required, so very easy to take out for maintenance.

You could certainly glue a screw to the bottom of your box and thread or have a threaded insert for your dowel if you wanted a quick twist adjustment of height. Just make sure the screw (if metal) doesn't extend in to the coil area. Or you could make a little tension slip with multiple dowels/toothpicks and some heat shrink/tape - a central dowel glued to the box has other dowel(s) parallel to it, all wrapped together so that the free, outer dowel(s) can shift up or down to adjust your depth. I played with both of these methods and both worked fine but were ultimately not needed for my builds.

You could get a lil fancy with it and attach a dowel/cork to a momentary switch so that you can press your dynavap down in to your heater for it to fire up. Definitely want to consider the heat exchange in this scenario but can be managed easily.

Options!