First Time DiY Vaporizer .. and it Works Great!!

Discussion in 'Vaporizers' started by DigitalOsmosis, Apr 27, 2010.


  1. Hello Grasscity! I've recently finished putting together my first vaporizer and wanted to share. First let me start off by saying this was not a low budget discount project. But with competition being things like a $550 volcano and myself having some disposable income I decided to do it right. I have learned some and there are some things I wouldn't do next time, but I'll get more into that at the end. Here she is!


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    I used a Steinel HG 2310 with a Steinel 20mm Reduction Nozzel. The thing I went really overboard on was the heat gun ... I was expecting spaceship like controls so I could dial in very precise temperature. The 2310 does deliver temperatures from 120 to 1200 degrees in 10 degree increments which is really impressive, but because of how it measures the temperature, once you add the reduction nozzle or vaporizer tube, back pressure causes the actual air temperature passing through the chamber to be much lower then the dialed in temperature. I had a digital multi-meter with a thermal probe attachment which helped a lot. I find I achieve optimal vaporization at 340-360 degree range, and to achieve this I have to set the heat gun to 450-470 degrees (always use the lowest fan speed setting). Basically since the digital readout isn't accurate, springing for an advanced model that had this feature is just overkill. A $60 analog adjusted heat gun would work just as well after you calibrate it with a thermometer. I believe Stienel makes some heat guns in this range and I would recommend them cause they have a wide range and use ceramic heating elements.

    For the vaporizer chamber I used all stainless steel. I was reading some discussions about the dangers of brass or pvc, and stainless really isn't that expensive or difficult to get. I ordered mine from Murray Equipment and they were fast and accurate. For my design I'm using two 3/4" couplers, and two 3/4" close nipples. I put a coupler and nipple together really hard with pliers and that forms my main chamber, and the other two pieces act as adapters to the smoke bag and reduction nozzle that I take on and off when I'm loading it up. I ordered a bag of 3/4" stainless steel pipe screens thinking it would fit in 3/4" pieces, but they were too small. I went to a local head shop and picked up a few larger ones that I believe are 1" and they work really well.

    It might be hard to see, but in the first picture below the screens are actually bigger then the inner diameter of the coupler. Work it around your thumb to work a concave shape to the screen and you'll end up with a little bowl that can slide down inside. The bristles around the edge of the screen will press into the threads and hold it in place. Once the first screen is in place, add your herb and then put in a second screen on top to prevent anything from blowing up into the bag.


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    Finally the bag. I just used a turkey sized oven bag I bought at target, and the top piece of a lifewater bottle as the mouthpiece. Tip: Put mouthpiece in the bag before you seal the one end, cut a hole, and put it in place from inside. This makes it a lot easier to seal around. That's it!

    Pack the chamber, give the gun a few seconds to reach full temperature, put the chamber over the nozzle and after a few seconds put the bag over the chamber. Hold the bag up to encourage more free airflow. Once the bag is full, remove the chamber and bag as one piece (so the chamber doesn't ever really get hot), separate the bag from the chamber, and put the lid on the bag. When you're ready, take the cap off and enjoy. The vapor stays viable for a while, but it does slowly condense to the sides of the bag as it cools down so don't wait too long.



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    I hope this helps some people trying to get started, and maybe generates some feedback from some more experienced vape users. The only thing that bothers me about this design is the half of a plastic lifewater bottle I'm using as the mouthpiece. It doesn't really melt, but it does warp some from the thermal stress and I'm worried about toxic vapors even if the quantity and risk is small. I can't however think of a better substitute so any ideas would be appreciated :)

    ~DigitalOsmosis

     
  2. umm try getting rid of the plastic (use some type of metal what would work)
     

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