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

[Hippie Dickie]

... Do you think the PCB traces will hold up after a lot of connecting and disconnecting of the deans plug? ...

i don't think there will be any problem - the way i am soldering the Deans to the PCB is with a piece of 16awg copper wire that goes through what was the #2 sheet metal screw hole drilled through (and tinned) the pcb. Incredibly strong and secure attachment. There will be no upward/downward forces - only straight in and out.

i would love to see pictures of your PCB when you get them.

 

[Stoomboot]

Ah, yeah that sounds very sturdy.

I will make plenty photos when the PCBs come in. I almost can't wait. A real PCB should make my vape a lot more usable, the perf-board I currently use is very fragile and I can't easily attach it to the vape itself. I plan on mounting the PCB in a ABS enclosure and screwing that to the vape.

 

[Stoomboot]

Hi,

Stoomboot here reporting on some new stuff. My PCBs came in a few weeks ago! Lets start with some pictures:




I am very happy with the result. This was my first time designing a PCB and I also never soldered SMD components before.

There were a few mistakes I made. The first one that poped up was that I didn't use the right footprint for the heater mosfet (Dpack instead of D2pack). I solved this by scraping away of some of the solder mask with a flat screwdriver.

Then I discovered that I had made some errors in the mirroring of the display pins (because the displays them selfs are on the front of the board but the connections to the shift register are made on the back). I was able to simply fix this problem in software.

I originally planned to mount the board in an ABS projectbox but accurately drilling/cutting the required holes proved to be very difficult. For now I will just mount the board directly to the vape.

This board also has a feature that the previous prototype didn't have. The board gives the microcontroller the possibility to turn itself and all supporting circuitry off. This means I don't have to mess around with the battery connectors to turn the unit off, instead I can just hold the button for > 5 seconds. When I want to turn the vape on again, I just press the button again and it will turn back on.

I also did some experiments with a PT1000, a platinum based temperature sensor. I only have to write some new code to make use of it.

The next thing I want to do is improve the glassware. The holes in the current ones are way to big and get clogged by little pieces of plant material.

Well, thats it for this post.

Happy vaping,

-Stoomboot

 

[Hippie Dickie]

The next thing I want to do is improve the glassware. The holes in the current ones are way to big and get clogged by little pieces of plant material.

how big are the holes? i assume you've seen my screed on how i drill the flat bottom vial and the end of the draw tube.

i talked to a geometry teacher a couple of weeks ago about the angle of the tangent to the surface of the draw tube where the vial touches the draw tube. So, by grinding the inside edge of the vial at this angle, the fit between the draw tube and the vial is improved ... noticeably. this also mitigates irregularities with the edge of the open end of the vial.

i also rough up the bottom of the draw tube so the fit with the vial is more like a ground glass fitting ... very little (if any) air leakage.

i may be repeating myself ... end of year business activity has me burned the fuck out.

 

[Stoomboot]

Yes I did read your posts about the drilling (and all other 54 pages ). I used 1,5mm diamond drills. They didn't fit in my dremmel so I had to use a regular hand drill. That also made them a bit bigger I think. I did find a new chuck for the dremmel at my local DIY store, but I still need to buy it.

Bellow are some pictures of my tubes. The camera makes them look way dirtier then they actually are. Last month I cleaned them with alcohol and extracted the oil back out of it by vaporizing the alcohol. Worked rather well.




As you can see I don't have flat bottom vials, just regular test tubes (I could not find a store selling them here in the Netherlands). I stuffed a screen in the draw tube so the little pieces don't get in my mouth.

I think what I need to do is buy the chuck and maybe order some smaller drills. I am also considering using a 20mm tube as the drawtube so I can drill more holes (the tubes you see in the pictures are both 16mm). While testing I noticed, like you also mentioned a few post back, that more airflow == more vapor.

I guess I will just have to keep on trying

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i had a problem with the collet (chuck) of my dremel being too large to hold the 0.75mm bit -- think it was 1/16" -- and couldn't figure out a way to increase the diameter of the shaft using tape. so, i cut three 1/2" lengths of plastic insulation from 28awg solid copper wire ... i bunch these around the shaft and shove it into the collet. and now there is a sufficiently tight grasp and the bit is centered in the collet.

 

[Stoomboot]

This is the chuck dremel sells: http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=4486 it should be able to hold my drills. But I will try some pieces of isolation first, much easier then going all the way to the store . Thank you for the idea.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

UPDATE!

ok, so i gave myself a festivus present of taking a day off to work in the shop ... and low and behold what should emerge, but the first new cube in 3 (?) years ... first vapor @ 4:20pm ...

this one is to test the new heat shield at the top that prevents herb crumbs from falling inside the cube (around the oven tube) and prevent the wood cracking around the oven tube; and a recessed Deans plug (for a sleeker profile); and a new idea for the heat shield. see, i have always tried to make a cylinder with two tabs for attaching the bottom cover, and just two days ago it occurred to me that i could cut the shield in half, with one tab per half. omfg! all of a sudden the mounting holes line up perfectly with no alignment problems (unlike the jiggling required with the cylinder).

and i plan to see how many more cubes i can make this week.

also drilled a bunch of vials, so worked through that process again ... goes pretty quick and learned lower Dremel speed is best.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

Amusing myself ...

so, back into the work shop today ... i was determined to drill some draw tubes, and actually did manage to drill the ends of 8 tubes (16mm diameter by 150mm long), and since it was handy, one 25mm by 150mm draw tube.

see, i am convinced that a larger diameter draw tube instantly cools the vapor when the vapor is drawn into the more expansive space. i have certainly seen this when comparing a 13mm by 100mm to the 16mm tube. so, just to take the idea to an extreme level i ordered a bunch of 25mm by 150mm tubes. today i finally drilled one ... and tested it.

here is the relative size of the 16mm and the 25mm:

and positioned for use:

and based on preliminary results, by two users, bigger is cooler. i had it above 430 with no cough or harshness, whereas 415 is the limit with the smaller tube.

also, faster extraction of the actives ... really open draw resistance, i.e. none at all, even though the 16mm tube is very easy draw.

 

[Stoomboot]

Very nice progress Hippie. I noticed the same effects when switching from a 12mm to a 16mm draw tube. When I get around to drilling again, I will put some holes in a 20mm tube.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i find drilling glass to be the most annoying task - the underwater thing can be difficult ... however i managed to wind a coil of thick copper wire to hold the tube and template, for hands-free drilling.

i really like the new cube with the soldered on Deans plug ... initial warm-up is hitting 17 degrees F per second ... totally soldered power pathway is much lower resistance ... and i get a surprise every time i plug it in - when i don't see the protruding Deans plug:

i need to think about recessing the thermometer flush with the cube surface.

 

[KeroZen]

I wouldn't like putting such a large tube in my mouth, though, for what it's worth.

And I don't know if faster extraction is always something one might need/want... When the session is too short you might be tempted to do another one before the effects of the first kick in... Also it's cool being able to lay back and enjoy a long sipping session...

 

[Hippie Dickie]

@KeroZen - i hear you ... the big tube has been an interesting change of pace ... still just testing ... will probably include several different size tubes with the final product.

 

[KeroZen]

Ah if it's an option, then yes please go on! As long as the original size is still usable and available, it would be a very interesting bonus.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

The Bong Cubed ...

i am beginning to develop a deep appreciation for the bong, when it is sitting on the cube.

i just figured out how to describe the difference between the two size tubes ... it is like sipping through a straw versus sucking on a garden hose (who hasn't done that?) ... it's not a restricted draw with the big tube, but it does feel like evacuating (pulling a partial vacuum) from a large space.

testing has only just begun, but there does seem to be a noticeable difference in effectiveness. i'm guessing this is why people like the bong.

finished making yet another cube ... took some debugging (bad soldering on MAX6675) but now it is working swell.

 

[KeroZen]

Yes I think this 'vacuum clearing' effect tends to force you to take big hits rather than small ones, because you need to clear it everytime. So in a sense it's more efficient to clear it less frequently and take large rips 'while you are at it'.

Also it's not really vacuum but rather blank air so it tends to produce a less favorable vapor/air ratio for small hits (ex: 1 part air, 1 part vapor) compared to big hits (ex: 1 part air, 3 parts vapor)

A similar issue is at play I think in the FlowerMates: the FM5 and FM8 have roughly the same bowl size, but the FM5 has a very short vapor path whereas the FM8 is pretty long. The first produces warmer hits that are surely more irritating to the throat, when the second is super cool and smooth... Yet for some reason the FM5 feels more satisfying to me. I need to take larger hits on the FM8 to get the same amount of vapor, and as it's colder I tend to get less cues from my throat, adding to the effect.

But I'm not a bong person in the first place, I have weak lungs and prefer sipping on a small straw rather than a garden hose!

 

[Hippie Dickie]

i rarely clear the tube after the draw ... i just let the vapor sit in the tube swirling around and cooling a bit ... although drawing on the big tube is cool even at 440°F, which is normally way too hot and invokes a cough with the smaller tube. i take a half lung hit, pull away and continue inhaling fresh air.

i think this is why i was having a problem with the case design (for the past year) - i've been waiting for the bong tube to arrive ... this MUST be available in the case, along with the 16mm tube. i'm working on the case design mods in my head as i do work-work today.

 

[Stoomboot]

I finally got around to drilling some new glassware ! Actually, I did it a few week ago but you got to test them first, right?

I first tried putting some isolation and heatshrink around my drill but I couldn't get it to where it wouldn't wobble. So, I left my cave and went to the store to buy the Dremmel chuck accessory:



As you can see, it holds the drill very well and it also allows you to remove it without using a wrench.

For those interested, I also added a picture of my 'drilling setup'. I noticed the water pressure coming from the faucet slowly lowers, so I ordered a little pump from Ebay. This will also enable me to use a footswitch so I can see where I am drilling better. While I wait for the pump to arrive I will try to get my hands on some smaller drills. The 1,5mm drills still require a metal screen inside the draw tube.

Also, I drilled some holes in a 20mm tube. And WOW that makes a difference! Much cooler vapor! I think because the bigger tube has more surface area to cool the air. This tube has definitely become my favorite.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

And WOW that makes a difference!

i definitely agree ... like having two different vapes. it needs a syringe plunger to fill the big tube with vapor ... a vapor shooter ... four shooters for $1 - mix or match - at the herb lounge.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

just got a new battery charger to test and evaluate ...

i only had to install the male Deans plug. rocking 3 amps, baby! A fully depleted 2cell pack recharges in 45 minutes. i can live with that! the power pack provides 90 minutes of vape time.

i've had a change in design direction with the battery pack: for maximum reliability, the two cells will be soldered to a pcb and function as a "pack". thus, the need for a new charger ... all my other chargers only do one cell at a time.

in the new case design, power packs are replaceable - it plugs into the case, so a second pack can be swapped in when the first one dies. packs can be charged in the case or with an included adapter outside the case.

so, all current flow is through soldered connections, except for the 36" power cable from the power pack in the case to the cube. and, in fact, the only fundamental flaw i have found in the whole design is that the high current eats the stranded cable at the Deans connector. this will now be a trivial replacement item.

business is somewhat dead (where's the retail economy???) so a nice 3-day weekend in the shop. striving to get at least a little closer to the finish line.

 

[bounce5]

How much does this vaporizer cost? Do you have a website?

 

[Hippie Dickie]

not available for sale, yet ... have a couple of domain names, but no website, yet.

 

[Edwardo]

Just awesome.

But not a good idea to try to decipher those schematics after vaping

Sorry to say though, the "bud bomb" name is taken. I've got a metal pipe that looks like a little torpedo called the bud bomb.

Ha, I had that very pipe many moons ago, but it was called "Agent Blue", and was pretty rubbish in all honesty. This was before i knew vapes existed, I am now wandering if this is / was supposed to be a manual vape whereby you heat and then inhale. At the time i just thought it was a combustion pipe. Maybe it is...

 

[Hippie Dickie]

looks a bit like a metal Ubie ... and with the right temperature control it can vape ... requires some technique

i outsourced that job to the PIC processor.

 

[bounce5]

Is this compatible with water filtration? Can you put a waterpipe adapter on top and/or put a hydrotube on top of it like the PNWT? Or is it only capable of dry hitting?