Fluxer Heaters, induction heaters for Dynavap

Mangu

Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info! I'm building my own, and this thread has proved invaluable.

One thing I still don't understand though. Is the whole SS tip heated up by the induction coil, or just the cap?
And if it's the cap, is it the whole cap? Or only the disc that clicks? I've had a few sessions where the AVB is noticeably darker at the tip, so it would seem it's hottest at that end.

Cap is the main heat source but conduction happens with the tip because it’s all metal. Yes the abv gets darker at the open end as heat dissipates while your pulling it through.
 

mr_cfromcali

Accessory Maker
Accessory Maker
Hi all,

Just a brief (?) update to say that the new MOSFET solution I discussed last week has passed all of the tests I have come up with so far, including several situations that caused the previous MOSFETs to fail a high percentage of the time. :tup:

I installed the new LR7843 chip on several different testing units. It has been working very reliably all week and I did not experience any failures of it during testing; so far, so good. It looks like a viable solution, so I have decided to move forward with it. I have been fighting this issue since mid-February, and it has been a tremendous PITA for me and my users. I am very eager to see if this new solution truly solves the problem(s) and allows a much higher percentage of these heaters to survive in the real world.

One comment: I have noticed that the LR7843 chip heats slightly less aggressively than the NVG5890N chip it replaces. In practical terms, I have found in my testing that the new chip needs an extra second or so of heating time to achieve a similar level of heating as the old chip. I mention this because a) it's true, and b) some of us are obsessed with this sort of minutiae, so I want to be as transparent as possible about this change. Some people found the previous NVG5890N chip to be too aggressive, however, so a slightly less aggressive chip is probably a good thing.

I am finally satisfied that I have a solid solution for the Flux Deluxe's MOSFET failure issue. Now, this probably means I'm just setting up all of us for more pain on this issue, but I'm very ready to see how well this new chip performs in the real world, so I have begun installing it on the heaters I have been waiting to repair. As of this afternoon I am about half way through that queue: I have fixed five heaters so far, and have another six to go. I'll complete those tonight and tomorrow, and will ship the repaired heaters back to customers on Monday. I'll send tracking numbers once they go out.

Early next week I'll share some new features and improved construction techniques with you, which I think you'll appreciate, and will also start making new heaters again. More on all of that coming soon!

This has been a grind, but I know a lot of you are eager for one of these heaters, so I have been reluctant to give up on the design. Thanks again for your support and patience while I plowed through this! :love: I am hopeful the future will be smoother.

Cheers,
:leaf:
 
Last edited:

Obsessed 2

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Just a brief (?) update to say that the new MOSFET solution I discussed last week has passed all of the tests I have come up with so far, including several situations that caused the previous MOSFETs to fail a high percentage of the time. :tup:

I installed the new LR7843 chip on several different testing units. It has been working very reliably all week and I did not experience any failures of it during testing; so far, so good. It looks like a viable solution, so I have decided to move forward with it. I have been fighting this issue since mid-February, and it has been a tremendous PITA for me and my users. I am very eager to see if this new solution truly solves the problem(s) and allows a much higher percentage of these heaters to survive in the real world.

One comment: I have noticed that the LR7843 chip heats slightly less aggressively than the NVG5890N chip it replaces. In practical terms, I have found in my testing that the new chip needs an extra second or so of heating time to achieve a similar level of heating as the old chip. I mention this because a) it's true, and b) some of us are obsessed with this sort of minutiae, so I want to be as transparent as possible about this change. Some people found the previous NVG5890N chip to be too aggressive, however, so a slightly less aggressive chip is probably a good thing.

I am finally satisfied that I have a solid solution for the Flux Deluxe's MOSFET failure issue. Now, this probably means I'm just setting up all of us for more pain on this issue, but I'm very ready to see how well this new chip performs in the real world, so I have begun installing it on the heaters I have been waiting to repair. As of this afternoon I am about half way through that queue: I have fixed five heaters so far, and have another six to go. I'll complete those tonight and tomorrow, and will ship the repaired heaters back to customers on Monday. I'll send tracking numbers once they go out.

Early next week I'll share some new features and improved construction techniques with you, which I think you'll appreciate, and will also start making new heaters again. More on all of that coming soon!

This has been a grind, but I know a lot of you are eager for one of these heaters, so I have been reluctant to give up on the design. Thanks again for your support and patience while I plowed through this! :love: I am hopeful the future will be at least a little a bit smoother.

Cheers,
:leaf:
Thank you! A truly deep felt thank you for your perseverance. Looking forward to seeing the new features.
 

started@52

Well-Known Member
Received my repaired, coil changed from 14mm to 15mm and updated to my liking internal red when activated only LED. So far so good! The 15mm turned all the way up felt like my 14mm, turned down to min and it’s perfect for fully charged batteries, might have to turn it up as battery voltage drops but won’t know for a few more bowls. And yes my cells are wrapped (in clear which I don’t recommend because it’s hard to see when the wrap gets nicked and will change to a solid color from now on).
9-CF82-A30-9058-4-E0-A-8134-A4002164-B46-C.jpg

ABC5-A61-E-C0-BB-46-B2-8-EE6-CBA062-C1-C329.jpg

DD424067-EE55-4490-9679-11-F72-B36-B204.jpg
 
Last edited:

Obsessed 2

Well-Known Member
Received my repaired, coil changed from 14mm to 15mm and updated to my liking internal red when activated only LED. So far so good! The 15mm turned all the way up felt like my 14mm, turned down to min and it’s perfect for fully charged batteries, might have to turn it up as battery voltage drops but won’t know for a few more bowls. And yes my cells are wrapped (in clear which I don’t recommend because it’s hard to see when the wrap gets nicked and will change to a solid color from now on).
9-CF82-A30-9058-4-E0-A-8134-A4002164-B46-C.jpg

ABC5-A61-E-C0-BB-46-B2-8-EE6-CBA062-C1-C329.jpg

DD424067-EE55-4490-9679-11-F72-B36-B204.jpg
I forget how small and compact these are. @started@52 love the red led only-when-on feature that you have. Great pics. Thanks for posting!
 

Jethro

Well-Known Member
Maybe it's been discussed before and I apologize if so but is there any issue with leaving the internal switch on for an extended time between sessions? I forgot and came back inside the house and sat the green light... oops, didn't seem to totally kill battery life. Is it bad for the device?

Loving this thing since wed night. Working flawlessly. Heats better and more consistantly than the torch. Absolutely awesome device! I'll keep testing it HARD throughout the week lololol
 

mr_cfromcali

Accessory Maker
Accessory Maker
Maybe it's been discussed before and I apologize if so but is there any issue with leaving the internal switch on for an extended time between sessions? I forgot and came back inside the house and sat the green light... oops, didn't seem to totally kill battery life. Is it bad for the device?

Loving this thing since wed night. Working flawlessly. Heats better and more consistantly than the torch. Absolutely awesome device! I'll keep testing it HARD throughout the week lololol

Fantastic! Very glad to hear your heater is working well, @Jethro !

There's no issue with leaving it on all day or overnight - I do it all the time by accident - but the LED does use a small amount of power (20mA), and it will eventually run the battery down.

The next version of the Flux Deluxe includes a small DIP switch on the circuit board to let you disable the green LED if you want to. More on that very soon.*

From a safety standpoint, the heater circuit should only draw power and generate heat when activated. As long as you are running it from the battery, it is protected by the thermal fuse. The thermal fuse will open (and cut power) if its temp hits 110°C. This prevent a "runaway heater" situation.

I may not have stated this explicitly before, but if you use the included mains charger and charge via the DC port, I recommend charging with the heater turned off, as that is the safest configuration; the on/off switch isolates the heating and charging circuits.

*I am very sorry to keep teasing you folks by hinting at new features instead of actually introducing them, but I needed to prepare for a family get together/reunion this weekend and ran out of time to finish the new feature video. . I'll do the new feature reveal next week for sure. Promise! :D

Cheers,
:leaf:
 

caseball2051

Well-Known Member
Do you think that putting a fluxer in a golf bag for use on the course is a bad idea?

It will function just fine, I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about it rattling around all day over hills, cart paths, etc.

Any opinions here?
 
caseball2051,

MothChewMoth

Gamer Extraordinaire
Do you think that putting a fluxer in a golf bag for use on the course is a bad idea?

It will function just fine, I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about it rattling around all day over hills, cart paths, etc.

Any opinions here?
My uneducated opinion is that as long as it's secure and not bouncing around on it's own, it'll be fine.
 

mr_cfromcali

Accessory Maker
Accessory Maker
Do you think that putting a fluxer in a golf bag for use on the course is a bad idea?

It will function just fine, I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about it rattling around all day over hills, cart paths, etc.

Any opinions here?

I would recommend picking up a harder case for it. Something like this is good:

Digital Camera Case for Canon... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DYHBNDS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

There are pics of the FD in this same case earlier in the thread. Other cases may be good fits as well, but this one is known to work

Internally, there isn’t much to rattle around as long as the lid stays tight. The above case and the rubber band should do the trick.

Once you get past MOSFETs, it’s a reasonable hardy device. I accidentally put one through the washing machine once, also mentioned upthread, and it worked fine after thoroughly drying out overnight. (FYI, it fell into the laundry basket and accidentally got dumped into the washer with a load of clothes. Not fatal this one time, but also not recommended, lol.)

Hope that helps.
 

lookhigh

FC member
Do you think that putting a fluxer in a golf bag for use on the course is a bad idea?

It will function just fine, I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about it rattling around all day over hills, cart paths, etc.

Any opinions here?
It could heat up your golf bat/club :lol:
 
lookhigh,

Jethro

Well-Known Member
I went through at least 3 grams today with mine.

You know what is really nice? The Vapcap is such a good vape buf can be hard to introduce to people due to the heating learning curve. Not like it's real complicated, but the Fluxer IH takes all that out of it. You can just tell people to hold it until the click and then draw, simple! That's a bonus.
 
Top Bottom