Log vape resistors - My DIY Log Vape

[lazylathe]

Time for some pictures!!!
This was the last version with the glass heat tube

And this would be version 5!
Took about an hour in total to make, so not bad at all!
I modified the test tube and made a new SS stem.
The only metal in this version is:
The resistor wires
The DC jack
The thin aluminum plate holding the test tube. This will turn into SS if the wood survives the heat!

All the parts

The insides

So far this vape works very well! It does not use a lot of herb and the clouds are very impressive.
I will be taking it to a friends this afternoon that has never vaped before, so it should be interesting feedback!

 

[Buildozer]

@lazylathe, what do you think about something like this for a glass heat tube?

 

[lazylathe]

@lazylathe, what do you think about something like this for a glass heat tube?

I will contact them and see what they can do for me!
Usually with small orders their prices can be quite high, but worth a shot!

 

[Buildozer]

@lazylathe, I wasn't really suggesting to go through them.. I just wanted to show you the image.

Your vapes are looking sweet so far.. Better and better... I always look forward to updates in this thread.. I'm glad you are so persistent about making a vape.. It's been interesting to read about the trial and error, and pointers.. Some day (soon hopefully) I plan to join in on the fun.
Nice Job

 

[lazylathe]

@Buildozer I will contact them anyway, you never know unless you ask!
And if it means even less metal, then that is a winner!

I am waiting on my Stainless Steel heaters to arrive and once they are tested i will be able to decide which works better, resistor or cartridge heater.

 

[lazylathe]

Still loving using this vape!
It uses way less herb to get the desired medicated effect!

There are some modifications it needs:
* Shorten the heat tube a bit to get a full roast
* Shorten the overall length a bit. I have some 90 degree connectors on the way.
* Make some wooden stems, although i am liking the simplicity of the tubing.

 

[lazylathe]

Another version is up and running!
I still have a few more ideas to make it more like what i want.
I want to change the DC jack for something else, maybe a cord

This version is rocking the glass tube but i have wrapped it in a shiny SS foil on the outside.
So the air path is still glass, trying the foil to concentrate the heat a bit more.
I have also installed another screen in the stem. There is one at the back and now a movable one so you can select load size and how close to the heat you want it, seems to work quite well.

The glass tube is secured by a stainless steel mesh. I installed a thin medical grade silicone ring onto the glass tube as i found i was breaking glass because i was tightening the screws a bit too much. Kind of acts like a shock absorber, so the glass can take a bit of abuse before breaking.

I also installed a bit of heat shrink tubing over the DC Jack as i found my fingers would get burnt sometimes. This has solved that issue!

We are still using the SS stem with a bit of tubing attached, works like a bomb and you can watch the oils collecting! We hit a ball of the oil a while ago and it was pretty good!

You might notice the top is out of round… the wood was a bit wet when i was turning and boring the holes. It seems to have settled down now!

Here are the pics!

 

[lazylathe]

Not satisfied with the heat core design…
The glass tastes great but it does not hold the heat to well, so i experience a lot of cooling between hits.

I swapped it out for a stainless steel heat tube and it is functioning much better!
Massive clouds and many hits without too much cooling.
Taste is slightly compromised but it is not too bad.

Will give it to my friend to test for a week.

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

Not satisfied with the heat core design…
The glass tastes great but it does not hold the heat to well, so i experience a lot of cooling between hits.

I swapped it out for a stainless steel heat tube and it is functioning much better!
Massive clouds and many hits without too much cooling.
Taste is slightly compromised but it is not too bad.

Will give it to my friend to test for a week.

Nice. Couldnt the glass tube work even better than the stainless tube if you had it more insulated with wood? With the picture above the wood doesnt seem to be insulating much.

 

[lazylathe]

It might but i would have to find a thinner test tube and so far i think 10mm is standard.
I will look around and see what i can find, may even contact those Alibaba guys mentioned earlier.
Just have to make up a drawing with measurements for them.

The air is the insulator here but maybe the gap between the glass tube and the wood needs to be smaller.

Still got a long way to go but i am having fun along the journey!
And my friend is loving it! He hates it when i take it away for modifications! LOL!

 

[olivianewtonjohn]

LOL where can I find friends like you who can make me a log vape? Thats badass and I appreciated learning the just of how they work.

 

[CentiZen]

What is the thickness of the glass you are using? Could thicker/thinner wall thickness improve heat retention and transfer? Or heating the core more? I know the Cloud runs at about 260c core temperature, to compensate for the thermal problems caused by glass.

 

[lazylathe]

I am thinking that a narrower diameter glass tube would work perfectly.
Will be looking at other options as well.

So far the glass has been my favourite type of heat tube, however i think the resistor or the power supply may be a little too small to cope with the amount of heat being removed when drawing.

I am very keen to try the Stainless steel heaters and the ceramic heaters.
Just waiting on some inline dimmers to arrive and the SS heaters.

I also have an idea to try and just have all the equipment installed in the bottom compartment on the vape. This would allow for a narrower diameter hole and thus utilize the wood more for insulation.

Still have lots to think about!

 

[natural farmer]

You have very close to the Hot Pod design mate… Why don't you PM hazy to give you some tips on dimensions and diameter of the glass tube?

 

[lazylathe]

I love the freely shared info on this forum!!
It is a rare thing to find on the WWW.

I have read the Hot Pod thread and love the way Hazy has been progressing!

I want to veer away from what we all see here everyday. It may not be too far off but i want it to be unique and different.

What i have now is a very rough clone of a lot of the wood vapes with a few of my own design changes and techniques.
Ultimately i want to be able to build a reliable, easily serviced vape that will suit my friend and help him out as much as possible! A few other friends may benefit along the way, none of them are on the forum so i am not competing with anyone, just doing my own thing.

I am hoping that the raw power of an AC stainless steel heater or the ceramic heaters will overcome the heat loss experienced with the resistor.

And i also have a lead on some fancy Kyocera Ceramic heating elements!! Looking forward to those guys!

So for now i think the resistor vape will be put on hold until the other parts arrive. I may try the mod @Alan has discovered and try the glass tube again. I really do love the flavor i get when using the glass tube!

For now i will amble along the vape road and try many different options, some may not seem logical but you never know till you try!

 

[stickstones]

Ultimately i want to be able to build a reliable, easily serviced vape that will suit my friend and help him out as much as possible! A few other friends may benefit along the way, none of them are on the forum so i am not competing with anyone, just doing my own thing.

This is how Tom at Purple Days got started. If you do it well enough it may run away with you...good luck!

 

[natural farmer]

I really like the idea of the perforated metal screen above the resistor! It must dramatically improve the airflow in the stem's bowl, which I believe is a weak point so far in logs! Kudos for the thought! Now why not trying a different hole pattern for this like the one in Cera or the Lotus? Avoiding the centre holes? It should improve the airflow even more... Maybe...

 

[lazylathe]

I really like the idea of the perforated metal screen above the resistor! It must dramatically improve the airflow in the stem's bowl, which I believe is a weak point so far in logs! Kudos for the thought! Now why not trying a different hole pattern for this like the one in Cera or the Lotus? Avoiding the centre holes? It should improve the airflow even more... Maybe...

Kind of a pain to make though...
I will most likely just use a fine SS mesh screen, less thermal mass and easy to replace if lost.

I think the hole placement helps if the stem is sealed to the heat tube and then you can play around with hole patterns etc... But since the air flows freely from the bottom and around the sides of the stem i do not think it will help that much. Never know though!!

 

[Alan]

@lazylathe - Thermal mass at the resistor is good. I was going to try wrapping the resistor with ss foil before I tried the ss tubing. I didn't have any foil but did have some tubing. The foil will shield the radiant energy emitted from the resistor so the wood doesn't get so hot. It will add some thermal mass at the hottest location to provide more heat transfer to the air. It should be very easy to install. The more surface area, the better as long as it doesn't restrict the air flow. Fins / vanes would provide the best convective heat transfer. The fins should be shiny. I agree with the screen in the tube. It would be nice to have some sort of swirl to the air, but the protection of the heating element with a screen is necessary.
Happy modding.

 

[lazylathe]

@lazylathe - Thermal mass at the resistor is good. I was going to try wrapping the resistor with ss foil before I tried the ss tubing. I didn't have any foil but did have some tubing. The foil will shield the radiant energy emitted from the resistor so the wood doesn't get so hot. It will add some thermal mass at the hottest location to provide more heat transfer to the air. It should be very easy to install. The more surface area, the better as long as it doesn't restrict the air flow. Fins / vanes would provide the best convective heat transfer. The fins should be shiny. I agree with the screen in the tube. It would be nice to have some sort of swirl to the air, but the protection of the heating element with a screen is necessary.
Happy modding.

Thanks Alan!
That makes me think of turbine blades.
If some thin SS blades that curve up the SS heat shield could be fabricated that would mosy likely work well.
Now if only i had a CNC machine...

I have also been frequenting RepRap forums as they also use heaters to heat up a nozzle so that the nylon wire is softened and something can be rapid prototyped.
Hmmm, thinking again!
I could design something like that is SolidWorks and then print it in a light cured resin and then cast it.
Just have to find a suitable metal. We use a lot of Chrome Cobalt based alloys here that are medical grade.

 

[Alan]

Try forming the ss foil into a square tube larger than the resistor. Squeeze the corners of the square tube together until they form 4 vertical fins around the resistor. Twist the foil tube to form the fins into a spiral and tighten the foil onto the resistor. As long as it doesn't touch the bottom wire, everything should be fine. The air will have to follow the spiral in the glass tube and come out swirling. I may have to get some foil and try it myself to see if it makes a difference.

 

[lazylathe]

Nice one @Alan !!!

I may have to get some thinner foil to test it out with.

The only issue i have with this is i want to try and reduce the amount of metal in the air path, but it looks like the resistor needs a bit of help when in a glass tube.

@Alan I think i should come hang out in your shop for a while and we can bounce ideas around!


So i am rocking the SS shield over the resistor as @Alan is.
It seemed to help a bit but in my vape it was not a good noticeable increase.
So i decided to make a very tight fitting stem to reduce air mixing and WOW!!!!
There is a bit of drag but the clouds are massive!
And all of this is achieved further away from the resistor and combustion is still possible!
Only problem i see is the glass breaking…Which kind of defeats the purpose.

 

[lazylathe]

My inline dimmers have arrived!!
Time to test out the ceramic heating elements i have!

 

[lazylathe]

Too late to edit above post...

So last night i decide to rig a ceramic heater up to the new dimmer switches.
I used an old, modified enclosure that is used strictly for testing out new ideas.
It has been through a lot and does not look pretty at all!
I also tried to shorten it after the fact and my skew chisel dug in and ripped the top!
A new one will be made for the ceramic heater.

I also need to measure the heat zone of the heater to figure out dimensions of the enclosure.

Heat up time is about 2 minutes on a medium setting, less than a minute when you turn it to full and then down to an operating temp.
The element is housed in a glass tube and i have also used a glass tube as a stem.
The only metal in the airpath is a SS coil i made to hold the heater in place and two SS mesh screens.

Draw is unrestricted and taste and flovor are really good!
I could really taste the spicy craziness of the Jack Herer last night, very nice indeed!

We are away for the weekend so nothing will be done on this project, hoping to get a good start on it during the week!

Some pictures for thought!

The stem

Ceramic heater in glass tube

General shot

And to go back to the resistor vape for a bit!
Here is a few pics of the extraction i can get from my unit.
I do not take it till it is completely spent as it makes me cough too much!

The load size with a Pinnacle bullet for basic size. The load will be a 1/4 of a bullet

After the first draw

Second draw and done for me!

A nice light brown with only a few specs of green left.
That was enough to do me for over an hour.

 

[stickstones]

the ceramic/glass is exciting! You probably already know this, but the dbv and ssv have different shaped heater covers and openings. There has been discussion here for years about how the shape of the ssv glass cover and its opening seem to give it a thicker vapor stream than the dbv. just food for thought...