Fluxer Heaters, induction heaters for Dynavap

Mono Loco

Well-Known Member
Wow ... All the features I wanted! Of course, now that I know more about them, I want even more features! A 2nd parking magnet would be good, and a voltage potentiometer would be cool, to adjust the power and corresponding temp. Can the coil height be adjusted like on the Flux Deluxe?

Pipes has his B.B. kit (bare bones) that is awesome for both the frugal (poor) folks and the DIY crowd who want to make their own custom chassis. Is there any chance that you might offer a similar, fully functioning drop-in assembly like the B.B. at some point?

Finally, a " Simple Flix" edition, in one color only ( no option), with no " bottom of the heat chamber" activation switch, might be worth consideration. Such an offering could be made in production runs to have an "always in stock", available to ship, option. It would be really nice to have an Uber-affordable model.

You're awesome! Thanks for your continuous efforts to evolve your product line!
 

AcidFlashbang

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

I had hoped to have the following ready to announce in time for 4/20, but the pandemic has done a number on my supply line, and it took longer than I anticipated.

Allow me to introduce what I hope will be another solid, well-liked Fluxer device:

Introducing the Flix™, a small desktop IH for Dynavap:


It's coming soon, but it's not ready yet, and in fact, some of the final details are still being worked out. But the device itself is ready, and once the parts get here I hope to begin selling these along side the Flux Deluxe. The device will be less complicated to build, and this will let me price it lower. At present, I anticipate that will be less than US$115, shipping and power supply not included. The Flix will run from any 12VDC, 10A PSU with the correct tip, and these are widely available from Amazon, eBay, AliExpress.com, Banggood.com, Walmart, etc. for $15 to $20 shipped, including a mains plug that is correct for your country. There is no way I can offer them at this price - the weight alone makes shipping of the Flix prohibitive - and I think this will save you about $25 vs what I would need to charge to include one. You can also power the Flix via car battery cigarette lighter adapter, or even from a Flux Deluxe with the right cable. It's a pretty friendly device in that regard.

Anyway, please check it out and let me know what you think. More details - and ordering info - will be coming soon, but for now I just want to let you know that this is going to happen and should start to be available by early or mid June.

Cheers, and thanks as always for your support!
:leaf:
Very nice! Would love to get one with a 16mm TG coil. Is the LED customizeable?
 

mr_cfromcali

Accessory Maker
Accessory Maker
Hi all,

Thanks for the kind words and welcome reception for the new unit! :love:

It's 4:20 am in my world, which is both kinda cool, and also very late, lol. I'll answer a few Q's now but I need some sleep, but I'll be back ;)

Wow ... All the features I wanted! Of course, now that I know more about them, I want even more features! A 2nd parking magnet would be good, and a voltage potentiometer would be cool, to adjust the power and corresponding temp. Can the coil height be adjusted like on the Flux Deluxe?

I appreciate your speed, @Mono Loco , and your wants list, but that's not what this device is for. It is intended to be a small, simple desktop IH that's cool to use and look at, and every bit as effective as the FD, while also being more affordable. And it's also super friendly and easy to use it with a water pipe, or even as a hand held "lighter". That's enough!!

No 2nd parking magnet, sorry. Voltage cannot be regulated easily in my design without the ability to dissipate 100W, which is more than I want to tackle in a tiny device like this. You can try powering it with an 11V PSU if you want to go that way... The relay needs about 10.5 volts to operate, and anything above that should power the circuit...though if you heat too long it will trip the thermal fuse and shut itself off for a bit. :p

The coil height can certainly be adjusted, as with my other heaters - that part is the same as the FD, but the mains powered PSU amps up each coil size's aggression a bit. I will probably offer this with a thin-walled 16mm insert as stock (1.2mm walls vs the "standard" Pipes insert of 1.6mm; for the sake of completeness, the thick walled 16mm insert has 2mm thick walls). This is one of the details I am still finalizing.

Pipes has his B.B. kit (bare bones) that is awesome for both the frugal (poor) folks and the DIY crowd who want to make their own custom chassis. Is there any chance that you might offer a similar, fully functioning drop-in assembly like the B.B. at some point?

I have given this a lot of thought and the short answer is no, I don't anticipate doing this any time soon. All I see are support headaches and liability issues. Sorry. :shrug:

Finally, a " Simple Flix" edition, in one color only ( no option), with no " bottom of the heat chamber" activation switch, might be worth consideration. Such an offering could be made in production runs to have an "always in stock", available to ship, option. It would be really nice to have an Uber-affordable model.

Thanks! This is a good idea and one I might adopt down the road a bit. I like it, and will give it some thought. :tup:

You're awesome! Thanks for your continuous efforts to evolve your product line!

Thanks for your support and feedback! Also...although this device is going to be the next addition to the line up, it may not be the only device I'm developing... :brow: ...but it is the apple of my eye at the moment, and I need to get it to market as is before I get too distracted with other projects.

Very nice! Would love to get one with a 16mm TG coil. Is the LED customizeable?

Thanks! I'll likely offer some Custom Shop options for it down the road, but I'd like to keep them limited so I can fulfill more of these, more rapidly.

OK, all - off to get some sleep. TTYL :wave:
 
Last edited:

Mono Loco

Well-Known Member
Are we gonna' see "Mr. C from Cali" on Shark Tank soon?
It might be time to quit his real job, open an ISO 9000 facility, get all the certs. (UL, CE, etc.) and secure his legacy ... before we start seeing Chinese clones an AliExpress for $50 (or whatever price they'll come up with to compete with the Dental Heaters!).
 

Baron23

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Thanks for the kind words and welcome reception for the new unit! :love:

It's 4:20 am in my world, which is both kinda cool, and also very late, lol. I'll answer a few Q's now but I need some sleep, but I'll be back ;)



I appreciate your speed, @Mono Loco , and your wants list, but that's not what this device is for. It is intended to be a small, simple desktop IH that's cool to use and look at, and every bit as effective as the FD, while also being more affordable. And it's also super friendly and easy to use it with a water pipe, or even as a hand held "lighter". That's enough!!

No 2nd parking magnet, sorry. Voltage cannot be regulated easily in my design without the ability to dissipate 100W, which is more than I want to tackle in a tiny device like this. You can try powering it with an 11V PSU if you want to go that way... The relay needs about 10.5 volts to operate, and anything above that should power the circuit...though if you heat too long it will trip the thermal fuse and shut itself off for a bit. :p

The coil height can certainly be adjusted, as with my other heaters - that part is the same as the FD, but the mains powered PSU amps up each coil size's aggression a bit. I will probably offer this with a thin-walled 16mm insert as stock (1.2mm walls vs the "standard" Pipes insert of 1.6mm; for the sake of completeness, the thick walled 16mm insert has 2mm thick walls). This is one of the details I am still finalizing.



I have given this a lot of thought and the short answer is no, I don't anticipate doing this any time soon. All I see are support headaches and liability issues. Sorry. :shrug:



Thanks! This is a good idea and one I might adopt down the road a bit. I like it, and will give it some thought. :tup:



Thanks for your support and feedback! Also...although this device is going to be the next addition to the line up, it may not be the only device I'm developing... :brow: ...but it is the apple of my eye at the moment, and I need to get it to market as is before I get too distracted with other projects.



Thanks! I'll likely offer some Custom Shop options for it down the road, but I'd like to keep them limited so I can fulfill more of these, more rapidly.

OK, all - off to get some sleep. TTYL :wave:
Very nice, Jeff. Super and I'm sure it will sell well. Great product placement idea.

So, I'm an Aug Flux Deluxe reservation so I'm starting to get a bit excited as you are finishing up July. Outstanding.

Take care and stay safe.
 

mr_cfromcali

Accessory Maker
Accessory Maker
Thanks, all! I've got a mix of Fluxer and non-Fluxer stuff going on at the moment, so I'll be checking into the thread periodically today, but not thread-sitting.

My thoughts on pre-orders: I personally don't like pre-orders, so I doubt I'll do that. I've pre-ordered my share of "boutique" guitar effects pedals over the years, and am still waiting several years later for a couple of "pre-paid" pedals to show up. So I am not a fan of pre-ordering stuff, and would much rather sell these as off-the-shelf items once they are ready to ship. The only mystery I want is when the parts I've ordered will actually show up. :sherlock:

My thoughts on waiting lists: I have been living with the FD waiting list for about 18 months now, and don't want to maintain two of those if I can avoid it! I am exploring some different ways of doing things w/this device, but one of the reasons this thing even exists is because I wanted to offer something easier for me to build, that isn't a "bespoke", custom made device. I can make a lot more of these in the same time it takes me to make only a few FDs. The price reflects that. :rockon:

One of my main goals when designing this device was to make something that requires less "craft" to assemble. I think the FD is great, but it takes a lot of separate processes, each with their own steps and sub-processes, to pull one together - see the previous 67 pages of this thread for more info, lol. The Flix features the same circuitry as the FD (minus the batteries), but the devices are much less demanding to construct - no battery packs to painstakingly build, one magnet to glue instead of eight, and thus only a small amount of excess glue to clean, etc. Building the Flix will still take time, but the time required is more proportionate to the value of the device. The FD, honestly and from my heart, still has way too much value packed into its construction for what it is. I tried to adjust the FD's price to reflect this situation a few months ago, and it turned a lot of people off, so I ended up adjusting the warranty period to balance the value I am personally investing into each device. I like making the FD and have made about 250 to date (plus an untold and ungodly number of testing units), but they certainly don't make themselves.

In contrast to the FD, I should be able to build 5 to 10 of the new heaters every day or two, while still completing about the same, modest number of FDs I've been putting out, more or less. The new device should also relieve some pressure from the demands to make more FDs, as not everyone wants to use the FD as a portable, and the new device is a lot cheaper and smaller. It fills a needed gap between "what people want" and "what they are willing to pay for," while still letting me put a slick little heating device into people's hands and on their desks. :tup:

-----------------------------------------------------

Tone is tricky in an online post, so please know that the above is not meant in anger or anything like that, but I think I owe it to you to communicate and be transparent in my motives when possible. You - my customers, and especially the participants in this thread - have been extremely loyal and supportive of my projects to this point, and this new unit is my attempt to meet more people's needs where they are at financially, rather forcing people who want a FD to meet me at my desired price point. ;)

Bottom line: I like making these heaters, and I like making things that make people happy - it really is its own reward and makes up for some of the extra value I have been putting into each FD. I think you'll like the new heaters a lot, and I think I'll be able to provide them to more of you, and much sooner!

Thanks for reading my screed, and thanks, as always, for your support! I'll have more updates on the new device as my case vendor provides them.

Cheers, stay safe, and have a great weekend if you are in a part of the world where the weekend is different than the other days of the week...;)

:leaf:
 
Last edited:

Mono Loco

Well-Known Member
I've pre-ordered my share of "boutique" guitar effects pedals over the years, and am still waiting several years later for a couple of "pre-paid" pedals to show up.
Ha. The moment I heard the guitar in your video of the Flix, I thought, "huh, that music, along with the brushed aluminum chassis, makes me think I'm looking at a video of a one-man-shop's custom stomp pedal, not an I.H.". Seriously, no kidding!
 

LongDraw

Well-Known Member
Any thoughts/updates on the mother fluxer?

Love the flix and will likely pick that up when available. Big fan of the plug in since i don't have to much of a need for portability. Nice option, but have loved the 2 plug ins i have as i never wonder if i am getting less power as a battery dies.

Keep up the great work, love seeing the fluxers and new ideas.
 

mr_cfromcali

Accessory Maker
Accessory Maker
Any thoughts/updates on the mother fluxer?

Thanks, @LongDraw ! I appreciate your feedback.

Regarding the Mother Fluxer: Actually....Yes, I recently revisited the design and updated it to use SMD components and also added the FD's battery meter circuit. I actually have two different drafts of the MF that I am currently evaluating: one based on the FDs circuit arrangement, and another version based on the Flix's circuit. Both versions work well, and one may yet see the light of day, although I may only offer it in limited quantities.

From a cost of goods standpoint, the MF is more expensive to build than the FD, and building it is almost as much work as building the FD, so I'm not sure it really has much of a future as a product. :shrug: Do people want to spend $225 or $250 on a portable IH? Because based on the components and the time it takes to build, that's where the MF currently lands, price-wise.

I'm going to be head down in the Flix for a bit here, plus I still have a looooong queue for FDs, but I would be willing to make a limited run of MFs if people are interested in paying that much to buy one. With the other, cheaper options available, I just don't see it being successful, but I do have 30 or 40 of the cases on hand, so making a small run is possible. The bottom line, however, is still the bottom line, and based on the cost and effort involved, the MF is absolutely NOT going to be a cheap date. If a $250 portable IH powered by 3x 26650 batteries sounds like your cup of tea, please send me an email or PM. Otherwise, we may just have to consider the MF "the one that got away."

Now, having said that, I may have a few other devices in my head, and/or in various stages of development. ;) I may have more news in the future, if or when said potential devices pan out. If and/or when that happens, the faithful readers of this thread will be the first to know. :D

:popcorn:

Cheers,
:leaf:
 
Last edited:

LongDraw

Well-Known Member
@mr_cfromcali completely understandable. I agree, i think getting to that price point i would want an enclosure that was more custom/wood type.

Would you be able to move my name from the mother fluxer list to the flux delux? I already have some IHs so not in any rush. or just let me know and will fill out the form on your site.

thanks again.
 

MAbud

Well-Known Member
@mr_cfromcali thanks for all the communication! Just received and paid my invoice for my two heaters!!! Can’t wait to try them out.

are there any particular batteries people are liking? Need to order a bunch today :)
 

AcidFlashbang

Well-Known Member
@mr_cfromcali thanks for all the communication! Just received and paid my invoice for my two heaters!!! Can’t wait to try them out.

are there any particular batteries people are liking? Need to order a bunch today :)
LG MJ1 will give you one of the best capacities with sufficient CDR (3500 mAh). Also be prepared to wait longer for the batteries than the heater unless you're close to where the batteries are shipped from :p
 
Last edited:

TommyDee

Vaporitor
For an IH, you can relax the specs a little over serious MODs. The most this should draw is 10 amps. I'm running mine with protected cells capable of 10 amps. What I am saying is, go for capacity. Mine are 3500mah EVVA cells. If they can do 10 amps continuously, that is a good cell. Buy name brand, always, when buying Li-ion cells.

Don't try to put protected cells in your Fluxer. They won't fit.
 

MAbud

Well-Known Member
For an IH, you can relax the specs a little over serious MODs. The most this should draw is 10 amps. I'm running mine with protected cells capable of 10 amps. What I am saying is, go for capacity. Mine are 3500mah EVVA cells. If they can do 10 amps continuously, that is a good cell. Buy name brand, always, when buying Li-ion cells.

Don't try to put protected cells in your Fluxer. They won't fit.
thanks all mine are 3,000 man I believe but should be fine
 
MAbud,
Top Bottom