Fluxer Heaters, induction heaters for Dynavap
- Thread starter mr_cfromcali
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- induction heater
Moses Baca
Colorado State Reformatory #8755
I love the responsiveness I get with a fresh set of batteries! That's why I want a home plug-in model, (hint...MF!) so I can have that extra quickness all the time.
Initially I thought a slower heating time would be easier, more relaxing. But now, after spending some time with my 14 mm coil, I've changed my opinion. I think the quickness makes it easier to use. A slower heating time gives me more time to get distracted, which increases my chances of overheating.
With the quicker heater, I'm on and off. I can still go past the click for a second or so, which I generally do on the first couple hits to warm up the VC. But it doesn't magically combust if I miss the click. I spend less time heating, more time doing my other stuff.
Congrats to those who will soon receive their FD's! I'm looking forward to more reviews. Snow day here so my wife and I will be putting ours to good use today. I've been using it quite a bit already today, in fact, which inspired me to post this!
Initially I thought a slower heating time would be easier, more relaxing. But now, after spending some time with my 14 mm coil, I've changed my opinion. I think the quickness makes it easier to use. A slower heating time gives me more time to get distracted, which increases my chances of overheating.
With the quicker heater, I'm on and off. I can still go past the click for a second or so, which I generally do on the first couple hits to warm up the VC. But it doesn't magically combust if I miss the click. I spend less time heating, more time doing my other stuff. Congrats to those who will soon receive their FD's! I'm looking forward to more reviews. Snow day here so my wife and I will be putting ours to good use today. I've been using it quite a bit already today, in fact, which inspired me to post this!
Been gone for a while and just got caught up. No invoice for me just yet. 
(Probably because I am in the minority now still going with the 16mm and chose to go for the top mounted temp control.)
Thanks for all the updates @mr_cfromcali ! In regards to your comments on the waiting list and times, I signed up on December 13 when there were options to chose from then. We are about 2 months from that point, and although that is quite the wait for this day and age, I am extremely happy for it. Now there were more options for me to chose from and see the many upgrades that have to the unit and will be benefiting from them.
Whenever I do get my unit, I will post pictures of it next to the PSM if no one has done so before then.
(Probably because I am in the minority now still going with the 16mm and chose to go for the top mounted temp control.)Thanks for all the updates @mr_cfromcali ! In regards to your comments on the waiting list and times, I signed up on December 13 when there were options to chose from then. We are about 2 months from that point, and although that is quite the wait for this day and age, I am extremely happy for it. Now there were more options for me to chose from and see the many upgrades that have to the unit and will be benefiting from them.
Whenever I do get my unit, I will post pictures of it next to the PSM if no one has done so before then.
Obsessed 2
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the detailed follow up! Your transparency and communication with your pose is commendable. Well done, sir!Demystifying the waiting list:
As of today (February 11) the Flux Deluxe waiting list is currently ~150 names, which is amazing to me! Thank you for your suport and belief in this project!
The earliest name on the current list was added November 1. Yes, there is still someone on the list from November 1! They delayed initially, then chose to wait for the top mount temp control to come out, but anyone feeling salty about waiting times should keep in mind that someone else has been waiting for theirs since the day after Halloween!
Currently, the first 38 names on the waiting list are people who were added before January 1.
How the list works:
What you saw when you joined:
You wrote to me and I added your name to the list, and noted that date. I also sent you a confirmation/reply asking for more info (color, coil size, etc.). The rest is a black box.
What happens behind the scenes:
As I build these heaters, I try to keep an active pool of around 25 orders that are info-complete and ready to be built. I pull from these as cases and other parts become ready to use.
An order is "active" once I send you a pre-build email, asking you to confirm your build options. BTW, if you have changed your mind and no longer want one, this is a good time to tell me that, as a confirmation here means I'm going to build you a heater!
As I receive replies (or not), active orders are then sorted by their ready-to-build status. I need to know your coil size, case color, and top mount temp control preference to build your heater. If I have sent you a pre-build email, I consider your order ready to be built once I know your choices. The orders that are ready to be built are then sorted by the date I added your name to the list. In this way I'm always trying to build the next order for which I have all of the necessary data.
When the active pool gets down to a handful, I send out a pre-build email to the next cohort of 20 or so, and ask people to confirm their colors, coil sizes, top mount temp control preference, etc.
I break these replies down into standard vs. top mount temp controls, then sort these groups by coil size.
I'll then look to my case selection and see what's ready to go, what needs to be glued up and/or drilled, etc.
I try to build in the order people were added to the list, but in actuality, once I've sent that pre-build email, I'll build your heater as soon as your info is complete.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
That's my process - opaque as hell, but hopefully that explanation helps.
(and yes I worked from home 90% to make sure I could play with my Fluxer and 10% because i'm still slightly sick)
JibbsIsMe
Well-Known Member
Mine cleared Canada customs on the 8th, and it's still sitting in Richmond (across the country)
I think it may be getting delayed due to weather. gah, I can't wait!
Hi @Slickwilly - sorry for the delayed reply. I saw your post a bit after you made it and had intended to go back, read it and reply, etc., but I must have gotten distracted. Sorry.
The silicone pads look like an interesting solution, and I am very happy to check 'em out. I'll take that up w/you via PM. I like the safety that the pyrex buttons bring, but the pads could be a better overall solution. Happy to take a look, try to melt a switch or two, see how they hold up.
Without writing a novel or getting too pedantic, the answer has to do with a property of magnetic induction heating called coupling efficiency.
To use a commercial induction heating company's definition:
"The relationship of the current flow in the work piece and the distance between the work piece and the induction coil is key; the closer the coil, the more current in the work piece. [...] Many factors in the induction system can be adjusted to match to the induction coil and optimize the coupling efficiency."
The Dynavap, with cap, is approx. 1cm in diameter.
The 14mm OD tubing has walls that are ~1.2mm thick, so its ID is ~11.5mm.
The 15mm OD tubing I tracked down is only 1mm thicker (duh), but all other things being exactly equal, it isn't able to achieve the same degree of heat penetration or speed as the tighter 14mm coil.
I can't speak for anyone else's heaters, but as the last sentence in the above quote indicates, induction heating works best when it is tuned to the work piece being heated. The coil and the piece being heated need to work together, and physical proximity is probably the most important factor. However, there are other factors at work beyond coil diameter. The composition and gage of the copper wire used to make the coil, the capacitors used to "fuel" the circuit, and the transistors that actually do the work of creating the magnetic field - these components have to work together. I chose components that worked well together to make a good induction heating circuit.
The Flux Deluxe is optimized to heat a Dynavap. That's all it has to do. Furthermore, it doesn't need to do it for more than ~10 seconds, and often for less than 5 seconds. I designed it with that principle in mind, and the parts work well together for that purpose. As it happens, they work even more efficiently the closer you wind the coil around the Dynavap. I didn't understand that as well when I made Flux Deluxe #002 as I do now, but I'm trying to make the most with that knowledge now that we have it.
Sorry that got wordy. Hopefully that helps?
The silicone pads look like an interesting solution, and I am very happy to check 'em out. I'll take that up w/you via PM. I like the safety that the pyrex buttons bring, but the pads could be a better overall solution. Happy to take a look, try to melt a switch or two, see how they hold up.
Without writing a novel or getting too pedantic, the answer has to do with a property of magnetic induction heating called coupling efficiency.
To use a commercial induction heating company's definition:
"The relationship of the current flow in the work piece and the distance between the work piece and the induction coil is key; the closer the coil, the more current in the work piece. [...] Many factors in the induction system can be adjusted to match to the induction coil and optimize the coupling efficiency."
The Dynavap, with cap, is approx. 1cm in diameter.
The 14mm OD tubing has walls that are ~1.2mm thick, so its ID is ~11.5mm.
The 15mm OD tubing I tracked down is only 1mm thicker (duh), but all other things being exactly equal, it isn't able to achieve the same degree of heat penetration or speed as the tighter 14mm coil.
I can't speak for anyone else's heaters, but as the last sentence in the above quote indicates, induction heating works best when it is tuned to the work piece being heated. The coil and the piece being heated need to work together, and physical proximity is probably the most important factor. However, there are other factors at work beyond coil diameter. The composition and gage of the copper wire used to make the coil, the capacitors used to "fuel" the circuit, and the transistors that actually do the work of creating the magnetic field - these components have to work together. I chose components that worked well together to make a good induction heating circuit.
The Flux Deluxe is optimized to heat a Dynavap. That's all it has to do. Furthermore, it doesn't need to do it for more than ~10 seconds, and often for less than 5 seconds. I designed it with that principle in mind, and the parts work well together for that purpose. As it happens, they work even more efficiently the closer you wind the coil around the Dynavap. I didn't understand that as well when I made Flux Deluxe #002 as I do now, but I'm trying to make the most with that knowledge now that we have it.
Sorry that got wordy. Hopefully that helps?
mario
Well-Known Member
Ok. It arrived. I've gone through a number of bowls with it, and I can say I am in love. I turned the dial all the way up and it is working awesome.
I have to get my technique right again. If you push too hard, the cap caves in and makes the click hard to define. I also think it might click faster if it is depressed, can't tell. But there is a sweet spot between pressing too hard and the switch activating. So I have to resist pushing it down too hard.
It has a completely different feel from my LucidCustoms which takes much longer to heat up and requires the switch mechanism and all. I love how the FD is one handed in that manner.
It extracts everything from Omni in about 3 hits. It's powerful and quick when it gets up and going. (I have the 14mm coil)
It's everything I hoped it would be. Thanks again @mr_cfromcali
I have to get my technique right again. If you push too hard, the cap caves in and makes the click hard to define. I also think it might click faster if it is depressed, can't tell. But there is a sweet spot between pressing too hard and the switch activating. So I have to resist pushing it down too hard.
It has a completely different feel from my LucidCustoms which takes much longer to heat up and requires the switch mechanism and all. I love how the FD is one handed in that manner.
It extracts everything from Omni in about 3 hits. It's powerful and quick when it gets up and going. (I have the 14mm coil)
It's everything I hoped it would be. Thanks again @mr_cfromcali
BTW...in case anyone is curious, I can now say from [cough] "experience" that the Flux Deluxe can survive being fully submerged in a washing machine for 15 minutes. 
I removed the batteries, took it apart, and dried it off. I then turned the PCB upside to drain any moisture trapped in the on/off switch, and waited 24 hours. That was a few days ago, and it's been working just fine since. So, I do not recommend this, but if you accidentally submerge your FD, it probably won't kill it. Probably.
I removed the batteries, took it apart, and dried it off. I then turned the PCB upside to drain any moisture trapped in the on/off switch, and waited 24 hours. That was a few days ago, and it's been working just fine since. So, I do not recommend this, but if you accidentally submerge your FD, it probably won't kill it. Probably.
Jill NYC
Portable Hoarder
Wait, did you do this on purpose? If so then, holy cow, you are one thorough tester!BTW...in case anyone is curious, I can now say from [cough] "experience" that the Flux Deluxe can survive being fully submerged in a washing machine for 15 minutes.
If by accident then HOW? I mean a DV I can see missing but the FD? Hilarious!
Just part of the magic of using marijuana, maybe?
I can't imagine how it went from being next to a basket of laundry to being in a basket of laundry, but that's how it happened. 
Once it was in the basket, though, it was a short trip to the wash. The funny (?) part was 15 minutes later when I went looking for it, and slowly realized what had most likely happened. 
It's all good, but it's also probably best not to repeat this one. The Flux Deluxe is NOT IP67 or IP68 rated.
Updated to add: Hmmm...I'm closer to passing an IP67 than I realized: "IP67 means the unit can be dropped into a body of water up to a meter deep for half an hour." (same link as above). I should have left it in through the spin cycle.
testymctest
Well-Known Member
My FD arrived this AM too! #42 is Charging at moment so wont be able to test drive until later tonight. Packaging, form and finish all top notch 
. More to follow once i take it for a spin.
. More to follow once i take it for a spin.
Dank_Star
In space no one can hear you purr.
…Stonewashed then ?
started@52
Well-Known Member
Received my 14mm gunmetal tonight. Here it is unboxed and compared in size to a PSM
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started@52
Well-Known Member
It heats faster and hotter then the PSM. I’m going to have to get use to it. Well made, sleek, powerful! Battery should last about 3 times longer then the PSM also which is a big plus. Wish I could turn off the led, can a wire just be cut and sealed?
Yes. At some point I’ll add a jumper or DIP switch to make that easier, but just clip the wire cleanly near the PCB connection.
started@52
Well-Known Member
Which one?
The thin red wire that lands on the PCB nearest the switch is the positive lead for the always-on green LED. The other thin red wire is the positive for the red LED. That is true for all PCB revisions.
Neither LED uses very much power, but it’s yours now, so if one or both LEDs bother you, feel free to clip its lead.
Updated to add a pic:
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Dank_Star
In space no one can hear you purr.
@mr_cfromcali Just dropped in this fine morning to say I hope you enjoy your well deserved break...I will miss your updates and that positive energy ! 