Vaporizer Principles 101
by The BonJ
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This file details the construction and operation of a vaporizer. A
vaporizer (for our purposes) is a device which raises the temperature
of mj high enough to cause the active ingredient (THC) to vaporize, but
not enough to induce combustion. The benefits include higher healthier
highs and a major increase in the buzzed/buck ratio!
The vaporizer detailed here, based on a thread in alt.drugs (thanks for
all the great ideas!), is low priced and easy to construct. My design
criteria where as follows:
(1) Simple to operate,
(2) Stability and ruggedness,
(3) Compatibility (easy to get replacement parts).
The plans are based on the first vaporizer I built and any suggestions
for modifications and/or improvements would be greatly appreciated for
subsequent revisions of this file.
Latest Revision: 9/19/94
Inception: 9/19/94
Introduction:
The format followed is for the mechanically impaired (i.e. me), so if
this seems obnoxiously simple and detailed, it's probably because it is.
Deviate/modify or mutilate the design however you want-but please
let us know of any ass kickin' ideas that hit you.
Here are the 3 rules I found most helpful in building stuff (remnants from
my model rocketry days)
(1) Collect/buy/steal ALL the necessary parts or reasonable facsimiles
of them before starting the actual construction.
(2) Buy/borrow/steal ALL the necessary tools. Try not to skimp here.
Having the right tool for the right job is a MUST(I learned this the hard way. Many schools/colleges have woodshops! Take advantage!
(3) Most importantly...PATIENCE. Don't underestimate this! It can make
make or break this most precious educational device. That is:
(i) Take your time buying the parts (unless you have lots of $$$), you might find stuff on sale, in trash piles, or fromfriends.
(ii) Apply (i) to the tools as well.
(iii) Before cutting, drilling, gluing, or whatever, recheck (and
rethink) what you're about to do. Does it make sense? Is
this the right side? Etc. It sucks to get halfway done,
screw up and have to start over, which brings us to...
(iv) Read/reread/reread/... the instructions until you are 100%
(not 99%) sure you know what to do. If you're unsure ask
someone! It's amazing how helpful people can be! (Just tell
them you're building a tornado chamber for a school project,
model rocket, cloud chamber :) , or something equally bogus)
Phase I: The Parts
Part # Comments Est. Cost
---- --- --------- ---------
a) 33W Solder Element 1 Radio Shack(RS) (64-2082) $9.00
b) Solder handle 1 RS (64-2080) $7.00
c) Wood (8x8x3/4) 1 Dimensions are given for a guide $1.00
d) Wooden dowel (24x1/2") 1 Check out indoor clothes racks :) $1.00
e) Extension cord 1 Optional $2.00
f) 2 liter soda bottle 1 Make sure it has black base $2.00
g) Small brass bowl 1 From Head shop or Plumbing supplies $2.00
h) Rubber Grommet 1 Auto supply (wheels, etc) $2.00
i) Aluminum foil Just need a little Free
j) Wood screws 3 About 1/2" is fine $1.00
k) Clear Silicone 1(Tube) Any hardware store $4.00
m) Small Block of wood 1 About 2x2x3/4 is fine Free
n) Rubber band 1 Should fit snuggly around the bottle Free
Total Cost ~ $31.00 (This is an UPPER bound for sure!!)
Phase II: The Tools
Tool Comments
---- --------
A) Screwdriver For wood screws
B) Exacto knife To cut plastic
C) Saw Obviously for the wood
D) Hacksaw (optional) Cuts dowel nicely
E) Drill w/1",1 1/8",1/16", [*] bits Try to get kind of close on the bits.
F) Ruler Very handy!
G) Pencil ditto!
H) C-clamp ditto!
I) Sandpaper (optional) We wouldn't want any splinters
J) Protractor (optional) For fun with trigonometry!
[*] You'll also need a bit the same width as your dowel (1/2")
Phase III: Construction
Step 1: Base
(1) Trace out an equilateral triangle on wood ©.
(2) Cut out triangle from wood, see fig 1.
(3) Sand down all sides and edges.
Hints:
(1) Use ruler and exacto to create a "guiding" groove (v-shaped)
for the saw.
(2) An equilateral triangle has equal sides with 60 deg angles,
so a protractor might be nice.
Step 2: Mount
(1) Label one side as T (top) and the other B (bottom).
(2) Draw (on BOTH sides) three lines as follows:
Bisect each side of the triangle and mark it. With the ruler draw
a line (label l) from the bisector to the opposing vertex.
The result is three lines intersecting in the center of the
triangle (label it IP).
(3) On the top side, drill (1 1/8" bit) about 1/8" at IP. This is the
resting bed for the solder handle.
(4) On the top side, drill (1" bit) about 1/2" at IP.
(5) On the bottom side drill (1" bit) at IP to complete the hole. The
reason for drilling on both sides is to prevent splintering on the
surface.
(6) Sand any roughness down.
Step 3: Legs
(1) Cut dowel (d) with hacksaw into three 8" pieces (These are the legs).
(2) Since I didn't have a drill press, making the holes for the legs in
the base was a little tricky. Here is how I did it:
(a) On block of wood (m) drill a hole (with the bit of dowel width)
at about 15 degrees off the normal all the way through.
This is known as a jig (Fig. 2). Draw a reference line along
the jig.
(b) Place the base bottom side up on your workbench. Then align the
jig with a line (l) so that the jig hole is about 1 1/2" from the
vertex. Clamp it all down and using the jig as your guide, drill
through the base. Make sure that the tilt of the jig points
outward. Repeat for the other two vertices. Now you should be
able to slide the dowels in and voila, you have a stable table!
It should look sorta like a landed UFO (bearing gifts for
humanity)! I didn't glue the legs in, because I liked to take
them out for traveling purposes :)
Step 4: Chamber Base
(1) Take 2 liter soda bottle (f) and cut out a circle of about 2" radius
from the bottom with the exacto knife. Take care to cut so as not to
destroy the little holes around the perimeter of the base. You should
be able to detach the black base (label CB) from the bottle. Do it.
Put the bottle aside for step 5.
(2) Align CB onto the wood base (Top) so that it is facing up, centered,
and the lines (l) can be seen through 3 of the "screw holes".
(3) With the smallest bit you have, drill 1/4" into the 3 holes.
(4) Put silicone (k) around the bottom of CB, realign it with the drill
holes, apply pressure, and then screw in the 3 screws (j) into the
drill holes. Now this is fixed! Add silicone liberally to make sure
it's sealed up nice and tight...wouldn't want to loose anything.
Step 5: Chamber
Note: As you can see, placing the bottle into CB gives a nicely
sealed chamber. Another bonus is, no matter where you are,
finding a replacement chamber is exceedingly simple.
(1) Cut a small hole towards the bottom of the bottle (but not low enough
to be covered by CB) with the exacto knife.
(2) Fit the grommet (h) into the hole. Shave with exacto if the hole
isn't big enough. If you screw up...get another bottle :)
(3) Save the cap to the bottle (this is the "mouthpiece cap")
(4) Place a rubber band around the bottle and use it to hold a coin over
the grommet.
Step 6: Bowl Element
Note: Since I couldn't find a bowl that would screw nicely onto the
tip of the soldering element and I wanted a good contact
without getting to fancy...
(1) Take a thin strip of aluminum foil (~1/4"x1') and wrap it around the
tip of the soldering element (where the solder tip would normally go)
(2) GENTLY try and twist the bowl on. Remove foil (in small strips) if
necessary.
(3) Once the bowl is on, use the eraser end of the pencil to crimp it
into place (look inside the bowl-push down on the foil sticking up
over the soldering element tip).
Phase IV: Operation
Putting It All together:
(1) Place solder handle cord through hole in base, pull it through until
the solder handle rests nicely in the bed you've made for it.
(2) Screw the soldering element into the handle.
(3) Load the bowl.....drum roll please! Note: Just a little, i.e,
the bowl should contain less than 3/4 its capacity. Pack it with a
pencil eraser or something similar.
(4) Mount the bottle into CB.
(5) Turn it on (plug it in - or better yet, connect it through a
switch).
(6) Wait until vapors appear (3.5-4 minutes) and turn it OFF. Otherwise
it might start to burn :(
(7) Remove coin, remove cap, HIT, have next person place finger on the
grommet, replace cap, go to the end of the line.
Comment: Taking the cap off gets to be a pain, so a resting cover
will work nicer. I am going to try cutting off the
threaded part of the cap...
(8) You should be able to get 3 to 6 good hits (depending on the quality
of your grass) out of this small amount!
(9) Remove bottle, PUSH HANDLE OUT FROM BOTTOM. Tap bowl gently into
ash-tray, replace handle. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH ELEMENT!!!!!!
(10) Replace coin on bottle, goto (3) and repeat until everyone is
happily baked! And notice how little of your precious stash has
been used!
Phase V: Transportation and Storage
As an added bonus, vaporizers have great STEALTH potential, unlike
pipes, bongs, etc. Break the whole thing down, put it in a box, add fluff
and bango, you now have an art kit, or science project, or model
railroading fog device, or whatever! By fluff, I mean chuck in some clay,
paint brushes, paints, wires, model parts, etc into the box.
Miscellaneous:
(1) I think that the solder handle can be replaced with the sockets used
for christmas lights (like the candles).
(2) I have found that the vapor is far less pungent than smoke (another
stealthing bonus), but the bottle acquires a strong scent after a
couple uses and may need to be replaced (cleaned?).
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