The people's vape.

[TPV]

Hello.
Since I started using mj almost daily I have developed a throat sore that lasted for a good while, like months. That made me think about my health and I started looking up vaporization technologies and started to experiment. Since I am not wealthy to buy vaporizers (volcano, etc) and I do enjoy the process of designing things for myself I have started to tinker and experiment. Found out about these nifty ceramic PTC heating elements that only reach a specific temperature and do not go higher due to the ceramic material properties of increasing resistance and shutting the electric current down thus only achieving the design target temperatures.
After experimenting with arduino and lcd panel for the vaporizer interface I settled on a regular industry standard PID termperature controller which is way more convenient.

Long story short, after maybe a year my design converged into what I call "The people's vape", with a housing made of lasercut Baltic birch plywood, a temperature controller that powers a ptc resistance through a solid state relay. Very simple components, not much to break here. Polycarbonate (lexan) transparent cover (heat formed) to watch the material. Solid polycarbonate sheet is very tough and resistant, does not get hot enough to become soft unlike acrylic sheets, thermoforming polycarbonate is an art in itself.
The vaporizer reaches into operational temperature in 1 min 20 seconds. Can be used individually or by a party.

Here is the website The people's vape. Currently I have no shop but I do intend to sell it on person to person basis.
I ask $100 usd plus shipping, mind you I live in Mexico.
Comment, critique and suggest.
Some pictures:

 

[Timps27]

Love the DIY ingenuity!

 

[MidwestMelancholy]

This looks like a desktop version of the magic flight box and I love it!!

 

[Razhumikin]

What keeps the herbs from moving off the plate while inhaling?

 

[TPV]

Inhalation does not disturb herbs much, if the unit is bumped then it naturally can move. There is a stainless steel mesh that catches anything on the output. Unlike hooka's thin hoses where the flow of air is much faster, the Hudson RCI corr-a-tube's diameter is big enough for the regular inhaling to occur without disturbing the herb. Inhaling rapidly or blowing air in will disturb the herb.

 

[GoldenBud]

welcome and good luck,
what's the heater shape, size? do you have a photo of how the heater looks like?

 

[lazylathe]

@TPV

Looks very neat!!
Can you show us some videos of it in action??

I also have to point out the tube you use is wonderful for medical purposes that it was designed for.
For cannabis use it is a nightmare...
There are millions of crevices for the vapor to cool and condense on the surface of the tube before it hits the lungs. And then there will be trying to clean it spotless after a few uses.
Would you be able to change it out for a medical or food grade silicone tubing?

 

[TPV]

The heater is composed of 2 flat aluminum sheets that sandwich the ceramic plates and it is all wrapped in orange kapton envelope.
more about ptc.
The ones I am using have the overall dimensions of 100x15x3 mm or roughly 4 x 1/2 x 1/8 "

Can you show us some videos of it in action??

Well no videos of usage so far, however the actual vaping cession is quite uneventful. The vapor is hardly noticeable and with the flow of air is barely noticeably.

Would you be able to change it out for a medical or food grade silicone tubing?

I have considered the use of food grade silicone transparent hose, and it is a very good upgrade to the vaporizer, however at the time I also learned about hudson rci one and decided to use it since it was locally sourced by med supply stores. Silicon rubber one is more expensive but can be sourced from aliex in a range of suitable diameters.

About the vapor condensation I do have to note that it does happen mainly in 2 spots. On my main unit that I use one of the spots is located right on the output and another one right before the mouthpiece, where I usually hold it with my hand. These areas are light brown in color.

With the material I get around here to use my vaporizer with, I havent got enough condensation to warrant a cleaning job, ymmv.

 

[buffalosoldier11]

I think this is the most fascinating new vape device I've seen in years.

 

[el sargantano]

Soo interesting

 

[Joshtownsend]

i think this is brilliant. good job