The Bud Toaster - (currently: Model 14, version 3)

[B.]

I'm gonna start saving for this bad boy now. $500 may seem like a lot, but let's say sales start in august, then I only have to put aside $65 a month until it's ready, which is only 32.50 per paycheck. That's not so bad at all. I'm in for one for sure. Can't wait.

I can see bud toaster prototypes going for a shit load of money on antiques roadshow in about a hundred years

 

[Bubar]

$500 is a little absurd. The batteries may be $100 after you get the pack and charger, but the other costs are very low.

I have 3 clones (with my algorithm, just same LED indicators) of your vape and 9 of mine (LCD readout). Of course mine run off of old comp power supplies and not nice batteries, but still I wouldn't charge more than $150 for the LED version or $200 for the LCD. Even the extreme vape, which has volcano like operation or regular whip operations and a remote can be had for 250-300ish. 3 of the LCD versions are spoken for, but the 3 LED and 6 remaining LCD ones are availible. I can be reached at engineered.inebriation@gmail.com.

If anyone is in Seattle I'll sell you one with free repairs/code updates. (Outside of seattle, customer pays shipping)

 

[Hippie Dickie]

$500 may be a lot absurd, but that's what the genuine, original, Hippie Dickie Bud Toaster will cost. i will only be making 1,000 units.

Total parts cost is about $120, of which $100 is the batteries and charger. The typical retail price is ALWAYS set at 4x to 5x the parts cost - across all industries (at least in the computer industry). There is more involved in a retail product than parts cost.

And i don't work cheap. But the information is free to one and all to make their own, or start their own business, based on this information. i want to see vaporizers everywhere. That's more important to me than making money myself on this design.

After all, i have the best vaporizer already. What more do i need?

 

[Lo]

I love following your progress Hippie even though much of the technical stuff is over my head!!

Would a Bud Toaster user have to have knowledge of programming, etc. to operate the device?? I'm very intrigued by your work!!

 

[Hippie Dickie]

gosh, no, programming knowledge definitely NOT required.

All you have to do is press one button ... wait 90 seconds ... take 12 hits.

repeat as needed.



All my prior vaporizers required a large dose of Hippie Dickie to operate correctly (which guaranteed i was included in the session, eh?) ... so i distilled Hippie Dickie into a computer program and put it in this version of the Bud Toaster. All you need to do is be there.

 

[the electrician]

so just how well does his thing actually work? hows it gonna stand up to a different set up that i just blew 500 on (say a $300 bong and a $200 vaporizer)? i can turn on my current equipment wait 90 seconds and get thousands of huge hits and it only cost me about 300 odd

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Good question. Well, it works for me.

When i do a 100x exam of the vapor poop, i'm not seeing any trichomes.

After 8 years of building vaporizers, i have come (recently) to appreciate that the reason for this, and the most important feature of a vaporizer, is accurate temperature control.

And i have also discovered that the only way to get accurate temperature control is to use a LiFePo4 power source, that can deliver 120 amps on demand -- although i only ask for 12 amps. (i tend to over-engineer my projects -- must be genetic ... my dad preferred screws over nails).

And i personally like the portability.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i tried a slight modification to improve the user interface ... i buffed the bottom of the oven tube, right above the red LED, and now the red light is channeled to the edge of the oven tube ... much better ring of red light to show the heater coil is heating:

i'd like to figure out a way to make the edge of the inner vial glow green when at vaping temperature. This would save one woodworking step: drilling a hole in the bottom wood disc for the green LED to show through (as in my avatar).

 

[B.]

Sorry if this was already asked, but what type of warranty will you be offering? Lifetime?


Also, the new light inside is cool, and I like the idea of getting the green light inside too, hope it happens.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

warranties can get complicated so i like to keep it simple ... 100% satisfaction guarantee, no questions asked, money back guarantee.

i would say lifetime warranty, but i figure i've only got about 20 years left (that would be old for males in my gene pool), so really, probably only a 20 year warranty, i.e. free replacement parts. And a YouTube video of how to replace the board. Should take about 60 seconds to swap out the motherboard - no tools required.

Yeah, the green light should be visible from the top ... i hardly ever look at the front where the green LED is currenly mounted ... but then again, if the control algorithm is functioning properly, it is not necessary to see the green after it first comes on.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Test update (01/28/2010):

The first production motherboard is operational.

Two main points:

(1) temperature rise is most ever experienced: 14F per second, so it is going from room temp to vape temp in about 30 seconds.

(2) the MOSFET is running cold to the touch. This is a major improvement -- in all the previous PWM implementations (5 or 6? i've lost count but the vape bodies are all in a drawer) ran wicked hot (burn your skin hot). This one has no increase in temperature. No wasted power ... should get much longer battery life ... MOSFET lifetime should be virtually infinite and no waste heat conducted to the other components.

Two problems:

(1) red LED is not turning on even though the coil is heating (oops, my bad ... just spotted the problem)

(2) the startup button press sequence doesn't work (had to jump around that bit for this test), but otherwise the software seems to be working normally -- still not exactly right re: maintaining setpoint temperature (about 10F wobble), but normal at least.

But i am ecstatic that the MOSFET is pumping full power and staying cold to the touch.

Also, there is no sound from the switching of the MOSFET like all the previous models. That's a relief, and perhaps when the MOSFET sings it means it is not being switched optimally.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

First vapor! (i just couldn't resist) ... and yeah, the red LED is working properly now.

So, except for a few software bugs, i don't have any more problems to resolve (famous last words, eh?)

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

...except for a few software bugs, i don't have any more problems to resolve (famous last words, eh?)

Paying for parts and tooling for the first production run?

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i've got enough parts to do the first 5 and i will attempt to do the milling with my existing tools ... then i need to get a laser engraver/cutter/drilling machine to do the wood milling and glass cutting/drilling and order parts for the rest of the 1000 units.

but yes, i am pushing forward with production.

 

[Rocket J Squirrel]

Then more power to you and full speed ahead!

 

[zombonaut]

Wow! Cool! How much plant material in a load for the Bud toaster?

I would love to have somthing like this that vaps a small load well ala the PD.

Or better yet a choice between a "party" bowl and a one hitter style one.

 

[Purple-Days]

Just a heads-up. Beware of the lasers, in the , < $2000 category. Software compatibility seems to be an issue with some. Like, 'runs on XP Home only, not XP pro' etc. . And Vista might be a real problem with any. I have been looking into them, but don't want to buy an extra computer just to run the laser.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Progress]

HippieDickie,

Congratulatins on your continued progress and success.

I just have one more question about the Toaster (ATM).

How long do you anticipate the internal battery of the unit to last before losing the ability to hold the same charge (as I donlt believe there is a way to plug the unit in while using it--please correct me if I am wrong)?

 

[Progress]

HippieDickie,
Congratulatins on your continued progress and success.
I just have one more question about the Toaster (ATM).
How long do you anticipate the internal battery of the unit to last before losing the ability to hold the same charge (as I donlt believe there is a way to plug the unit in while using it--please correct me if I am wrong)?

edit: One more question...I apologize if this has already been covered,but I couldn't find the answer and was wondering how long a charge will last and when it should be recharged to best maintain the life of the battery. Thanks (in advance) for your insight.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Zombo - i don't have a fractional gram scale. The bud vial is 0.5" diameter by 1.375" long. i never fill it more than 1/2 full and don't pack it down so there is ample air flow through the bud. i get 6 to 10 hits from one load (i always lose count about halfway through the session). The Bud Toaster has no problem satisfying 3 people, but it's not really a party vape. You really should have more than one to satisfy a crowd.


Tom - thanks for that warning, i have noticed that comment by some vendors that they don't support WinXP Pro. However, it looks like i need a closer to $5K model to get some features i can use with another project that takes about 180% of my time. Or should, anyway. But the whole concept of CO2 laser cutter is new to me and i'm studying it quite extensively right now.

Progress - i need to test this new version, but for the previous version one charge lasts at least 30 minutes which is good for five 7 minute vape sessions. i stay vaked all day and one pack lasts me all day. i switch between two battery packs. These LiFePo4 batteries have a lifetime of more than 1000 recharge cycles -- at least 10x the typical rechargable. So i am recharging one of the packs each morning. So a battery pack should last 3 years before the batteries degrade and need to be replaced - or 6 years of vaping total.

Recharging takes 10 minutes per battery if totally spent - total of 20 minutes max.

 

[tuttle]

But the whole concept of CO2 laser cutter is new to me and i'm studying it quite extensively right now.

What are you looking to do with the laser? Are you planning to just etch, or are you trying to drill holes in the cherry? The reason I ask is laser cutters don't work that well with woods over a certain thickness, it gets very burny. You might want to instead look at a simple 3 axis CNC (or even build one http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Three-Axis-CNC-Machine-Cheaply-and-/ )

 

[The Oracle]

Hey Hippie,

We worked with some laser cutters for our prototype cases. Generally lasers can be used for drilling, engraving and cutting. There are several variations of laser, each can be geared towards a specific material. As mentioned, if you decide to use a laser for wood, it would be ideal for engraving a logo or the like but not for cutting (create nasty burn marks). Most of the laser cutters we have dealt with so far have been very open and honest about their capabilities. Hope it goes well and congratulations on your progress so far!

Cheers!

 

[Hippie Dickie]

ideally, i plan to cut leather, drill and groove the cherry (1/4" deep circular groove), and drill and cut the glassware.

re: cutting causing burn marks - is that if i try to cut with just one pass? my plan is to make several passes and cut about 1/16" per pass - probably have to refocus (or raise bed) for each pass. Speed is not a priority - multiple passes is just fine.

Even if the laser can't drill the glass an etched mark should make drilling with the dremel and diamond bit a whole lot easier.

 

[Purple-Days]

I wonder how accurate the leather cut must be. Because burning leather may not be the best shop smell, even at it's minimum. Believe me.

Look for an e-mail about contacting our laser man. He might have the best answers. If not there is another fellow up the road.

ps. if you need leather, for 1000 units, talk to Churchill at http://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/sides.htm
Hides and sides...

 

[Hippie Dickie]

The leather cut is very simple -- 2" wide by 7.5" long. This could be done on a shear. However, i may need to fasten the ends together (to form a tube), so i may need to punch some holes.

Thank-you for the link on the leather -- he has nice stuff. i got a nice piece of pink leather on eBay that will be a special present.