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

[FungusAmungus1012]

Hey Hippie.
I've been browsin your thread for a while now and finally finished reading it.
You seem to have a great thing going over here. Seems like a really nice vape you are constructing, so good luck on reaching your production goal

I noticed the comment about the water filter four posts up, and I threw together a paint sketch of what might be possible:

To be honest after finishing the sketch I thought the whole idea is kind of redundant (wouldn't some of the thc be soaked up by the water? I know its more of a fat soluble compound, but still it would probably take away a small percentage anyway).

So I thought that something like this would be a bit better:

A cylindrical tube of ice that could be easily made with a silicon mold for the freezer and then just slides right into a small reservoir that collects the melting ice.

Either way, I think its something that should just be an accessory for die hard fans

Good luck once again,
Fungus

 

[B.]

i think its funny we keep pushing water filtration on you.

also funny you mention long thin cylinder ice trays, i grabbed a 3 pack at bed,bath and beyond yesterday for 3.99.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

... must ... resist ... water ... filtration ...

it's just that having a large glass tube with vapor flavored water in it is not compatible with my computer work area. my vape sits on my desk always within arms reach, and i tend to knock things over. i already spilled some drinking water into my keyboard and had to get a replacement -- but NMB keyboards are hard to come by (some on eBay, i know). This $20 Logitech i got at Staples is crap -- touch is way too soft for me.

i do think about it ... i like the idea of the inline water filter that is floating (!) around the threads -- but the one available doesn't do it for my taste.

 

[FungusAmungus1012]

Hmm, maybe a double lined cylinder with a liquid in it that will freeze? Something like:

| | | |
| | | |
| | | |

that way no messy spills (unless you crack it)
and it cools the vapor

 

[Hippie Dickie]

(unless you crack it)

which i do all the time -- well, i certainly knock the glassware over often enough. Sometimes it bounces, sometimes it cracks.

But when the vapor cools it condenses. IF it is possible to cool the vapor in the middle of the air stream, then what does it do? turn into droplets? would that require more humidity in the air stream?

Maybe a water chamber, where the vapor gets a bath, is the better technique.

 

[AGBeer]

... must ... resist ... water ... filtration ...

it's just that having a large glass tube with vapor flavored water in it is not compatible with my computer work area. my vape sits on my desk always within arms reach, and i tend to knock things over. i already spilled some drinking water into my keyboard and had to get a replacement -- but NMB keyboards are hard to come by (some on eBay, i know). This $20 Logitech i got at Staples is crap -- touch is way too soft for me.

i do think about it ... i like the idea of the inline water filter that is floating (!) around the threads -- but the one available doesn't do it for my taste.

A little off topic but - your keyboard is the easiest thing to heal. (I spilled milk in mine let it dry and cleaned it) If you can get it apart without losing the keys, the 'sheets' inside can be washed and dried with no damage. OR - if you can get something large enough, put it in with a bag of rice. I have saved countless wet electronics with the rice trick. It drys em out nicely!

(Back to the BT conversation)

 

[Hippie Dickie]

thanks for the keyboard cleaning info. i did take it apart -- it has about 20 screws holding the thing together. i think i need to alcohol wash the conductive vinyl sheets but i don't have time right now to do the job properly. it was easier to just replace it -- all the keyboards at Staples sucked, so i went for the cheapest one.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Model 14 Version 2 - unit #2 ... (!)

i made a tiny bit of progress, but for the first time, all the manufacturing steps are pretty clear in my mind. All the little copper strips and the mounting protocol are worked out. Now, if reality will cooperate (as if), i should be able to crank out some more units.

i had misplaced, but today found again, the 4 additional mahogany cubes waiting for millwork and electronics to become Perfect Cubes, units #3, #4, #5 and #6.

This was a fast week, so i'm taking today off work, and probably tomorrow, too.

So, here is the heater coil mounted on the pcb:

First three views aroound the pcb:

Now, to show scale, are some finger tips holding the guts:

What's new is the copper clips holding the coil. And the Deans plug attached to the populated pcb.

 

[VWFringe]

beta units are on a very slow rollout and the first 10 are already assigned.

you will need to wait for the retail version ... hopefully in time for Festivus gift-giving&getting season.

At one time i thought you lived in Africa or Australia and observed a different form of Christmas...hehe

Finally got clued into the Seinfeld ep by a news item about someone in an OC (socal) jail who was getting steak dinners as part of his Festivus religous beliefs, or something, stupid me, hahahaha

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

That is just so pretty and elegant, the copper clips, the layout...i see a slight difference in the bottom of the coils, they're not wrapped in to support the bottom of the tube (I'd always wondered how that effected heat at the bottom, this looks easier to duplicate, just wondering if any kind of bump stop will be required to keep the tube from bottoming on the pcb?)

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Thank-you for your kind words.

The hottest part of the coil is in the center of the coil (length wise), so additional loops under the tube don't provide (much) additional heat. i have tried winding the coil so the middle of the coil is at the bottom (fold the nichrome in half, then wind the coil), but i don't think it really matters all that much. That also puts both ends of the coil at the top of the coil, which makes mounting the coil more of a challenge.

As it turns out, the tips of the two sheet metal screws are underneath the oven tube and provide the bump stop.

 

[VWFringe]

HAHAHA....elegant, cool

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Then, all of sudden, there were two of them ...

9:30 AM -- First vapor for unit 2

unit three is just waiting to be assembled (i used pcb #3 in unit 2, so the label doesn't match the unit number -- i soldered pcbs #2 and #3 in the same work session before going on to assemble unit 2).

mahogany on the left, cherry on the right. the next batch of units will all be mahogany.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Model 14 Version 2 - Unit #3 takes shape ...

Got a little time in the wood shop yesterday and milled the body for unit #3:

First drill the top of the cube: 15mm center hole and the two 1/8" dia holes for the light pipes:

Then, turn the cube over to bore it out:

First, the 1.75" dia hole for the pcb and the bottom cover:

Then the 1.5" dia hole for 1 7/16" deep, then 1.25" dia hole for 1/8" deep:

Mill the back face of the cube for the Deans plug:

Mill the front face for the thermometer -- 1.25" dia about 3/16" deep, then 3/4" dia for the battery, then groove the top and the bottom edge of the 1.25" hole to allow the thermometer case to snap into the front face:

This shows the groove a little better, and where the Deans plug pokes through the back:

Finished body after everything has been dry fit and a little sanding and rounding of the edges:

 

[stinkmeaner]

Have you noticed any different thermal qualities between the wood species?

I am not sure it would matter with your design like it would a log type vape since it has closed loop temp control. I definitely like the less pronounced end grain pattern of the Mahogany, it looks more even with less contrast between sides.

 

[VWFringe]

Happy Festivus, Dude!

http://usershare.net/mpfx7d2vdpsz (Boil that oil.mp3)

hope you enjoy my small gift of music for your Christmas, hope the lyrics make you smile as much as i did

Merry Christmas, friendly acquaintance or much admired fellow traveller...

(no im not gay, "not that there's anything wrong with that!")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GMZjkNW5b8

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Have you noticed any different thermal qualities between the wood species?

way too soon to tell. i am seeing a difference between unit 1 and unit 2 -- unit 2 takes longer to settle, but i'm not sure why.

Thanks, VWFringe ... i did enjoy.

 

[Mithras]

Are these going to be for sale?

 

[B.]

yes

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Are these going to be for sale?

that is my intention ... i am working out the production details now by fabricating 10 beta units for extensive field testing. i'm estimating another 6 months before commercial sale.

 

[Mithras]

Cool, looking foward to the finished result!

 

[ACE OF VAPE]

It's been amazing and inspirational, watching your progress these last 34 pages, it would have made a great reality show. Can't wait to see a production unit.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Thanks ACE OF VAPE ... well, can't do that quite yet, but here's pre-production unit 3 ...

First vapor at 3:21PM after a night of chasing reality failures -- finally tracked the problem down to a dead MAX6675. Could have gotten fried by some of the sparks i saw when trying to get to first vapor:

Front view:

Bottom view:

(Still trying to figure out the instructions to be etched into the bottom)

took some photos of the heat shield construction:

marked and tabs cut:

trimmed, tabs bent and shield rolled into 1.25" diameter cylinder:

and inserted into the cube (also shows the power plug with copper strips):

This version of the heat shield worked out very nicely -- i eliminated the two clips i used before and just drilled the tabs on the shield so #4 sheet metal screws hold the whole unit together.


Now i just need to make units 4 and 5, then launch into the first run of 10 production units. i've decided on another iteration of the printed circuit board to use thicker copper (2.5oz) and a solder mask -- no silkscreen legends yet, however.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Unit 3 is being subjected to thorough and further ongoing testing and it has exhibited unique behavior -- compared to the other 2 units of this series.

1) delivering a fuckton more current to the coil -- now seeing 17F per second temperature rise during initial power on mode ("vStart") ... unit 1 only hits 6F/sec and unit 2 can hit 12F/sec. Reaching vape temperature in 30 seconds now. Same cable, same power pack, same power plug, same pcb, same copper strips. Guessing maybe more of the MOSFET drain in contact with the coil, and slightly larger coil clips. Eventually, performance will standardize when i can get parts made the same instead of hand crafting each and every piece-part.

consequently, there is more overshoot ... obviously, the code needs an AI injection to dynamically adjust the cutoff temperature to eliminate the overshoot.

2) thermometer reading is 20 to 30F lower -- more accurately reflects the air temp hitting the bud, but damn if i know why that is.

i've just about convinced myself to get rid of one of the buttons -- two are enough:

click Button1 to increase temp 5F,
hold Button1 to restore factory settings (only at power on, before startup),

click Button2 to decrease temp 4F,
hold Button2 to start the vape session (only at power on).

This frees up some real estate on the pcb so the power feed copper strips are less cramped.

3) longer settling time to SETPOINT. i've seen this before when the gain coefficients are too large -- creates lots of little overshoots -- could be due to the larger current flow. AI could fix this, too. The amount of remaining battery charge also affects temperature stability.

Currently, the only factor the AI attempts to adjust is the duty cycle bias value.

This last week i've made several passes through the math routines -- something still isn't right. Unit 2 will heat up to 250F and then it cuts off. Reboot and it completes the entire 7 minutes vape session. math overflow? math underflow? logic fault? But this unit 3 is working flawlessly -- same code. Go figure.

Anyway, my head is in the code and it's time to tackle these issues and finally nail them down.

... damn ... reality ... keeps ... intruding ...

 

[ErbsMan]

Just wanted to say greetings from the UK, been following this thread for some time!
This unit looks promising, Love the heating idea! (glass airflow) and the shape of the unit.
Will you be selling them to the UK aswel? I hope so for im def going to be purchasing.

Again, very cool and dont let reality beat you!

 

[Hippie Dickie]

ErbsMan - the battery charger is universal input (120 to 240 AC, 50Hz/60Hz), but need the proper plug adapter to change from US to those funny EU type plugs.

i'll start US only, but if i can figure out the customs/tariffs issues i'm open to doing international sales.

well, the nice thing about reality is, that when it fails, i'm on the verge of understanding.