'The Misty Log' - DIY wooden Log Vaporizer

[Abysmal Vapor]

So pick up lead free brass. When fluids come into contact with a leaded brass, lead can leach from brass into fluids, hence all plumbing brass has to be lead free. For the lead to vaporize, the brass would have to be heated close to 1700°f hence brass used in HVAC doesn't have to be lead free. You're more likely to inhale lead from lead solder, which all of you seem to use.

As far as Essential Oil (EO) being toxic when heated, then extracting the EO would have caused them to go toxic, because they extracted EO through distillation, which involves heating the plant. People have been using warmers for EO long before diffusers came on the market. Sometimes changing the particle into its gasses state actually makes it more therapeutic. Ex- putting some eucalyptus in a hot bowl of water and breathing in the vapor. But like everything else, modern medicine has a fear of anything that can cause people to be less reliant on their products, hence the fear of EOs that is put out there.

Well you asked ,i answered. You can take your chances with "has to be" ,rather then getting something labeled as leadfree. I dont use lead solder, also in my builds ,the heater is not in the airpath the whole concept is way different than those vapes with cartridges cemented at the bottom,lol.
As far as essential oils ,they are very concentrated,toxicity is about the dose, not only byproducts in manufacturing process. Having a few drops vaporize in your room is way lighter experience than inhaling them directly. You can do research on the types of oil you used, most of them are irritatives and some even caustic,just put a drop on your skin .

Essential oils – Health warning

Essential oils are any plant-based, volatile oil that contains a mixture of chemical compounds and have an aroma characteristic of the plant. Commonly used essential oils are eucalyptus oil, clove oil, tea tree oil and aromatherapy oils.

www.healthywa.wa.gov.au

Looking at your build you are using brass at the bottom,which as mentioned is very conductive in the area where the leads are, i would rather use an insulator there or at least something less conductive.

 

[sayvay]

Well you asked ,i answered. You can take your chances with "has to be" ,rather then getting something labeled as leadfree. I dont use lead solder, also in my builds ,the heater is not in the airpath the whole concept is way different than those vapes with cartridges cemented at the bottom,lol.
As far as essential oils ,they are very concentrated,toxicity is about the dose, not only byproducts in manufacturing process. Having a few drops vaporize in your room is way lighter experience than inhaling them directly. You can do research on the types of oil you used, most of them are irritatives and some even caustic,just put a drop on your skin .

Essential oils – Health warning

Essential oils are any plant-based, volatile oil that contains a mixture of chemical compounds and have an aroma characteristic of the plant. Commonly used essential oils are eucalyptus oil, clove oil, tea tree oil and aromatherapy oils.

www.healthywa.wa.gov.au

Looking at your build you are using brass at the bottom,which as mentioned is very conductive in the area where the leads are, i would rather use an insulator there or at least something less conductive.

You should see the warnings they give on sassafras essential oil. They even go so far as saying to rush one to the hospital if they come into contact with it. They say it's a carcinogen, cytotoxic, and a psychotic. Yet it wasn’t very long ago when sassafras essential oil was an everyday ingredient. The root was even more popular; it was the principal ingredient in the most popular drink root bear. The point is allopathy is about a single ingredient doing a single thing; they are first coming to grips with the fact that a whole can differ from the parts. For the longest time, allopathy wouldn’t even look at essential oils because it is a concoction of chemicals. The funny thing is there is now research showing sassafras essential oil as a cure to cancers, and a bunch of other wonderful things.

The part about the brass bottom being conductive is true, and properly insulating it may help the log safely get to the upper 400° range. But it’s more the washer that touches the wood. The brass bottom is only touching the stem and washer (there is air space on all sides except for the top). The leads are safe as they are high temp wires that can withstand temps well over 1000°. The leads are coming from the heater, so they have to be high temp wires. Your heater has to have leads too.

 

[sayvay]

Thanks to @Abysmal Vapor and his nitpicking criticism, I know figured out a solution to the problem of the log smoking when heated to the mid 400°f range. I left the solution out of my second build but used it in my first build, which will explain why I didn't run into this issue in my first sloppy build. The solution is furnace cement. They rat this stuff at 2000°f, and I did some testing. I took the heater and placed it on the plain wood and the wood covered with a thin layer of the furnace cement. The plain wood instantly started to smoke and burn. But when place over the cement, the heater will no longer damage the wood, even when kept there for multiple minutes. I don't know why I’m still sharing my advances here, as I should probably just start selling my upgraded devices for the $300 range. By the time I’m done, my log will out-smoke the underdogs by a long shot. No comparison hands down domination.

 

[underdog]

.... By the time I’m done, my log will out-smoke the underdogs by a long shot. No comparison hands down domination.

 

[brainiac]

Still pursuing the ultimate Rustic.. here's the halogen iteration of this silver birch, full live edge set.

Note the peeling bark that survived it's transition from tree branch to functional log. Possibly not a long term feature if it's in daily use. Otherwise the bark should retain it's present appearance - including the glossy sheen parts.

On the desk this bark/bulb synthesis creates a stark contrast between it's natural aspect and it's function as a vape.

The debris screen there is made up of two standard screens between which are six layers of #400 mesh stainless steel. Made the heater cover from ss tube 11mm OD with a 0.3mm wall (from a section that @blokenoname gave me ). That 0.3 makes it easy to work and the ID takes a 10mm tip. So it's good for commonly available glass straws, ss tubing or a dynavap. 10w G4 halogen bulb does the cooking, fixed into a sinolec ceramic bulb holder. They were discussed back around post #856 and are a good choice for the job. High temp insulation on the wires has German recognised VDE certification. They're at least x3 the price of the cheap ones - but still only about £1 each. The diameter of the bulb holder shank is 7.5mm so I drilled the through hole to that diameter. The friction fit holds it securely.

Works well. Gives mid brown ABV at 10.5v .

 

[sayvay]

@brainiac that looks gorgeous. It’s like a camouflaged vape that can blend perfectly into nature. Some questions, can it do back-to-back hits? What if you wanted to vape at higher temps, can it accomplish that, say to get more of a burnt color but not yet ashes?

 

[sayvay]

Here is a final update on my progress as I don't feel like this thread is alive or welcoming to my ideas. I am going to stop posting here after this update. I had a log which I over-drilled and used that as my test log with the furnace cement. With the furnace cement in I can safely bring the log to the upper 400°f range by running the heater at 16-17v using about using about 26-28w of power. But at this range the log gets sightly uncomfortable to touch as the log itself can reach 130°-150°f.At 18v 32w of power the bowl reached close to the mid-500°f range and it's at this point that the log smoked a bit and became uncomfortable to touch. There is also a problem that I didn't foresee, in order to pack a bowl, one will have to touch a boiling bowl. I am improvising with a few ideas and here are some of the upper attachments I am playing with; they are all screw on so I can switch from one to the next at any point.


My primary user for now turned out to be the 1/2”-5/8” copper reducer, the sizes are in refrigeration sizing I.D (as plumbing sizes uses O.D). I threaded the 1/2” end, which fit perfectly onto the 1/4” NPT nipple. Now I just double up the bowls and dump the top bowl out when I am ready to pack another cool bowl. The 5/8 end also fits into an 18mm down stem. The other copper reducer is a 1/2”-3/8” with the 3/8th end fitting nicely into a 14mm down stem. Finally, I have the lead-free brass 1/2” barb, which also fits into a 14mm down stem. If one wanted other fitting, it won't be too difficult to find. yet threading the copper reducers was quite a challenge. As one will have to grip the copper enough to let the tap do its job without crushing the copper.

As far as smoking, I made some health herbal smoke mixtures, as this gives me a better idea of how this performer in real-world settings. I currently prefer to smoke it at about 23-26w of power, which gives the herbs a dark chocolate color when finished. All the herbs in the bowl cooks remarkably even and I am completely satisfied with the smoke and end results. If I wanted to sell this, I would have to drop the heater down to 30w max (just to keep it safe) possibly remove the voltmeter from within as that is the least heatproof thing. And give it some nice staining. But for now I am satisfied with what I have, so I am going to stick with this version for a while.

 

[Vaporooni]

Here is my idea using an 18mm boro glass heater with a Stainless steel insert around the halogen bulb to distribute the heat. The 20 watt halogen Osram bulb is powered by a 12 volt adapter and a dimmer switch to adjust the temp. The heater never goes past combustion which would be 451 degrees fahranheight. The heater gets to 420 degrees fahranheight and that's plenty hot enough for me. Now I am starting a new project using the same universal glass pieces, The only difference will be is I will be using 6mm quartz terps around the halogen bulb and 26 guage stainless steel wire to hold the halogen bulb in place. I'm using a decanter as the halogen lamp stand that has a power supply going through the side of the glass drilled with a Dremel.

 

[brainiac]

@Vaporooni YouTube's requirements for proving one's age are a little too intrusive for me. Have you got any stills ?

@sayvay Glad to hear that you've found a setup that works for you.

 

[Vaporooni]

@Vaporooni YouTube's requirements for proving one's age are a little too intrusive for me. Have you got any stills ?

@sayvay Glad to hear that you've found a setup that works for you.

Eventually I will take some pics of my new project. Stay tuned...

 

[brainiac]

This is the third unit to emerge from the silver birch branch. I took the option on this one of retaining a section of the side branch and pressed it into service for the jack connector.

It’s fitted with the 95J20RE resistor which is a slightly larger version of the 25 (see @blokenoname 's post #944). I made the heater cover myself and have to say it’s not my favourite job. Cutting stainless steel tubing, fixing the base, drilling screw holes. filing air inlet holes and fitting the debris screen. It's a grind.

Normally, the heater would be wired directly to the jack connector but that's not an option with this shape. Heater and connector get their extension wires attached first, they then get soldered together in the base well. Actually, a slightly easier job than direct wiring.

Note that on all three, I’ve only rounded the wood on the inner face and thus retained as much of the bark as possible. There two aims here. Firstly, and this goes without saying, it must be a working vape – otherwise it’s a paperweight. The second aim was to conserve an essence of the wood in its original state, such as you would see if walking through a birch grove.

So, left has the 95J20RE, centre has the 25J20RE and the one on the right is a halogen. There's a couple more usable blanks from the same branch but I'll move on to something else for the next outing.

Good logging, all.

 

[Vaporooni]

https://ibb.co/yhVqgKf https://ibb.co/GvZyBk7 https://ibb.co/Gvw07Fx https://ibb.co/PwdHzY8 https://ibb.co/WnpgcSy https://ibb.co/ngH1fW1 My project is finally completed. I decided to use a stainless steel cup with holes in it to go over the halogen bulb to disperse the heat to the herb. I also used a cork with a hole drilled into the center to allow air to enter over the halogen and then into the herb chamber. The cork also keeps the wires separated and also keeps the halogen bulb in place. I've also placed a glass tube over one of the stainless steel wires to keep the wires separated.

 

[brainiac]

A friend of mine recently came up with some fully seasoned Magnolia. There was only enough of sufficient diameter for two blanks but with some thinner pieces useful for stems/WPAs. Here's the section I chose for this log.

​

The diagonal stripe persisted under the bark and adds much to the visual interest. It also offered a natural location for the jack connector.

​

Very attractive smokey effect with brown edging on a creamy white background. Amber glass tips fitted to an 18mm WPA and a dd stem. The glass - from a drinking straw - has a diameter of 10mm which slots neatly into the 11mm OD x 10.4mm ID heater cover (from a section of tubing given to me by @blokenoname ). I went with halogen for this one as I think it suits paler wood particularly well.

​

That's running at 10V which cooks herb to a mid-brown. Six layers of #200 ss mesh under the debris screen keeping the light output under control.

Good logging all.

 

[Cheebsy]

That magnolia looks almost like bone! It's stunning @brainiac

 

[dallasxus]

Wow beautiful pieces!

 

[Summer]

@vaporous, your 2nd link doesn't work.

@brainiac , which performs better iyo, the halogen or the non-H?

 

[brainiac]

Hi Summer
Well, halogen units provide more than enough heat for roasting herb and concentrates. Indeed, like some cartridges and resistors, they need taming with a VVPS to avoid combusting the material. Halogen heat-up times are less than half those for cartridge/resistor units. And, for me, the light they produce adds a little something to the whole vaping experience.

Halogen downsides, though not huge, are worth a mention. Draw stems need a larger diameter to fit the larger heater cover - so will not be compatible with 8mm or 5/16" stems. Probably of more significance is the issue of durability. Manufacturers claim a life of 2,000 hours for the bulbs - which is good but not as good as a cartridge/resistor. Also, if a cartridge/resistor unit gets knocked off your desk it's no big deal but for a halogen unit it might be. The bulb itself is robust enough but the filament may become detached from one of it's contacts. For this reason my halogen logs are built to ensure that bulb removal/replacement is a fairly straightforward job.

Hope that helps.

 

[GI]

I see this and wonder if can work for halogen screen.
https://greendream.shop/epages/a89f...4987-b6f3-c8e5565032e2/Products/1-K-SIE-SC-20

 

[brainiac]

The idea of using infrared halogen bulbs in vape construction has been discussed previously by KeroZen. I also thought it worth checking out and recently managed to source 10w G4 infrared bulbs from a Chinese site. They arrived a couple of weeks ago. I ran some tests that showed that they're perfectly viable. This section of yew branch made a suitable blank for a prototype infrared log. Here's how it worked out.

As you can see from that bottom left picture the light is greatly diminished by comparison with a standard G4 10w though it's still too bright to use with only a debris screen, i.e. it still requires the #400 mesh ss screen underneath but the six layers could be reduced to two or three. It produces a pleasant warm red glow from the air inlets at the base of the heater cover - slightly brighter than it appears in the photo. Heat output is roughly similar to the standard bulb.

How 'infrared' the bulbs actually are I don't know. If that's just a halo bulb with red glass does that make it IR? The pins have a diameter of 0.8mm whereas on the the standard bulbs it's 0.6mm so they don't go in/out of the socket easily. That makes them a bit less user servicable. And they're twice the price of a standard bulb - although that's still cheap compared to the resistor/cartridge options.

I'm working on a batch atm (halos and resistors) and I'll certainly use some of the IR bulbs. The light is attractively warm and strikingly different.

Good logging


@Bad Dog in case you want the full report.

 

[Bad Dog]

its a lovely piece @brainiac love the branch plug, superb !

 

[underdog]

Holy shit that's a beautiful piece!

What's the going price for a beauty like that?

The idea of using infrared halogen bulbs in vape construction has been discussed previously by KeroZen. I also thought it worth checking out and recently managed to source 10w G4 infrared bulbs from a Chinese site. They arrived a couple of weeks ago. I ran some tests that showed that they're perfectly viable. This section of yew branch made a suitable blank for a prototype infrared log. Here's how it worked out.

As you can see from that bottom left picture the light is greatly diminished by comparison with a standard G4 10w though it's still too bright to use with only a debris screen, i.e. it still requires the #400 mesh ss screen underneath but the six layers could be reduced to two or three. It produces a pleasant warm red glow from the air inlets at the base of the heater cover - slightly brighter than it appears in the photo. Heat output is roughly similar to the standard bulb.

How 'infrared' the bulbs actually are I don't know. If that's just a halo bulb with red glass does that make it IR? The pins have a diameter of 0.8mm whereas on the the standard bulbs it's 0.6mm so they don't go in/out of the socket easily. That makes them a bit less user servicable. And they're twice the price of a standard bulb - although that's still cheap compared to the resistor/cartridge options.

I'm working on a batch atm (halos and resistors) and I'll certainly use some of the IR bulbs. The light is attractively warm and strikingly different.

Good logging


@Bad Dog in case you want the full report.

 

[brainiac]

Thanks @Bad Dog . I've used the same 'side branch for jack connector' idea on Rustics made from silver birch and European walnut. It certainly gives the log a distinctive appearance. Initially I tried to keep the other side branch - the one on the back, but it gave the unit an awkward shape. Removing it however, revealed that lovely knot where it joined the main branch.

@underdog Coming from you Dave, that's some seriously high praise. Many thanks. As for price, I doubt this one will leave my collection but I'd put it's monetary value at around £300. For comparison, the batch I'm working on will come in at half that price.

 

[underdog]

I gave up 'collecting' Logs after losing almost my entire previous collection in the fire but I might have to acquire one of these
beauties.. I'm particularly fond of these natural looking Rustic pieces.

I have to somehow pay cash for hand surgery at some point so my budge is probably blown for the next few years at least but if
not I'll probably buy one eventually.

Hmmm... unless you'd be interested in trading for Dog(s).. any core types you don't have?

Thanks @Bad Dog . I've used the same 'side branch for jack connector' idea on Rustics made from silver birch and European walnut. It certainly gives the log a distinctive appearance. Initially I tried to keep the other side branch - the one on the back, but it gave the unit an awkward shape. Removing it however, revealed that lovely knot where it joined the main branch.

@underdog Coming from you Dave, that's some seriously high praise. Many thanks. As for price, I doubt this one will leave my collection but I'd put it's monetary value at around £300. For comparison, the batch I'm working on will come in at half that price.

 

[brainiac]

Hmmm... unless you'd be interested in trading for Dog(s).. any core types you don't have?

Absolutely. I'm sure we can work something out. I'll pm you.

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Nice work! It is first time i am seeing red glass bulbs,what brand are they.I know Osram have ones with IR coating,it is just not red,it is supposed to reflect back heat on the coil and make it shine 30% more for the same wattage. While here i think it is more of IR filter,which is also great, cause it filters most of spectrum which is most harmful for the eye,and also increase the heat output,kind of like frosted capsules. Also those thick pins are great,looks like they are covered with Niobium like the osram ones to prevent oxidation.
Btw do you do those logs on a lathe, or you are just sanding them down to shape ?