O ring fumes

[kalel]

I dont see many folks mention the O rings fumes

Nearly all vaporizers ( dry herb ) have rubber o rings

They are usually close to the heating element or chamber and certainly encounter heat.

Who's to say you aren't breathing those fumes in?

I recently saw a guy with a device on reddit showing a picture of his o ring slightly melted. Was it installed faulty? Possibly but he said he never saw it until after about a year. So is it possible long-term heat recycling can lead to deterioration of the o rings and then we breath that in?

 

[TommyDee]

O-rings out-gas with heat. They need to be put in places tested for maximum exposed temperature. Cheating is bad.
Do look at how much of the o-ring is exposed to the vape path and is there any actual airflow at the o-ring?
Calculated risk by manufacturers under normal operating conditions.

However, that plastic used on many portables... those plastics out-gas too. And they say that is safe! BS.

Ratings are critical. Viton is good to 200C, Buna-N is no worse than being at the drag strip, and silicon pretty much doesn't off-gas at our temps.

O-rings tend to breath. They take in and expel moisture. Normally what stresses an o-ring is when the space provided is insufficient to allow for swelling. This breaks down the material and either deforms it or makes it brittle. O-rings can swell as much as 20% with just heat, again noting the need for space. None of this is dangerous but does shorten the normal life of an o-ring.

 

[howie105]

Nearly all vaporizers ( dry herb ) have rubber o rings

Not all O-rings are equal and the rubber ones I know would be iffy for many vape uses. However I use a lot of high temperature silicone O-rings and have never melted any of them, I hope the guy on reddit gets his fixed.

 

[Tranquility]

https://www.marcorubber.com/o-ring-material-quick-reference.htm

 

[kalel]

O-rings out-gas with heat. They need to be put in places tested for maximum exposed temperature. Cheating is bad.
Do look at how much of the o-ring is exposed to the vape path and is there any actual airflow at the o-ring?
Calculated risk by manufacturers under normal operating conditions.

However, that plastic used on many portables... those plastics out-gas too. And they say that is safe! BS.

Ratings are critical. Viton is good to 200C, Buna-N is no worse than being at the drag strip, and silicon pretty much doesn't off-gas at our temps.

O-rings tend to breath. They take in and expel moisture. Normally what stresses an o-ring is when the space provided is insufficient to allow for swelling. This breaks down the material and either deforms it or makes it brittle. O-rings can swell as much as 20% with just heat, again noting the need for space. None of this is dangerous but does shorten the normal life of an o-ring.

Yep i think there are a lot of folks using material to just get a product on the market but aren't thinking too much about the consumer who is breathing it in.

AS for the silicone. I saw a pic here on this forum from the MV1 of the green silicione getting in the pathway and melting slightly. So we must be reaching temperatures that can degrade them.

Here's an interesting breakdown of different o rings and silicone temps for when things degrade. Seems that us folks would be hitting those temps 370 to 400

https://mykin.com/rubber-temperature-range

 

[TommyDee]

I'm gonna suggest not. If your stainless steel next to an o-rings isn't turning colors, then the heat has been managed. Below is a color-temp chart that can be used as a tell-tale. My VapCap shows signs of 500F but at the o-rings are still 'normalized' so they never reached 350F. Similar test just require a coupon of stainless steel to see if certain temperatures are reached.

Several good options for most application

 

[Baron23]

I like allorings.com for rings I use on my semi-auto shotgun gas systems.

There is a VERY wide variety of material available for o-rings and make overly broad statements of their negative health impact is...well, perhaps not completely informed.

Someone above posted a link to an o-ring material chart.

Here is another.

https://www.allorings.com/o-ring-materials-comparison

 

[kalel]

I'm gonna suggest not. If your stainless steel next to an o-rings isn't turning colors, then the heat has been managed. Below is a color-temp chart that can be used as a tell-tale. My VapCap shows signs of 500F but at the o-rings are still 'normalized' so they never reached 350F. Similar test just require a coupon of stainless steel to see if certain temperatures are reached.

Several good options for most application

Interesting information. Thanks