Custom-built PTC Ceramic heating elements

[quasimod]

Thought you guys might be interested in this material, and this company. It looks like they will make custom sizes and shapes. They use this stuff in hot glue guns, hair-straightening irons, rear-window defrosters, etc.
PTC Heaters (link)

Positive temperature co-efficient - PTC heating elements are small ceramic stones with self temperature limiting characteristics. PTC stones have fast heating response times and plateau once the pre-defined reference temperature is reached. The shape of these stones can be be designed to be square, rectangular, round, ring or doughnut style. Above the reference temperature, the semiconducting and ferro-electrical properties of the ceramic are utilized to produce a rise in resistance of several orders of magnitude, and hence produce it's self limiting properties.

This resistance rise can be experienced over a temperature range of a few degrees Celsius. This PTC attribute results in a heating element that self-regulates at a pre-set temperature and automatically varies its wattage in order to maintain that pre-set temperature. Hence, a greater degree of thermal dissipation (cooling) will result in higher power.

The materials used are doped polycrystalline ceramics based on barium titanate. Once the ceramic body has been formed through processes including blending, milling, drying and sintering, metallized contacts are applied to the surface to facilitate electrical connection.

[Arkayne]

12V appears to be the min. input voltage. Almost anything would be an improvement over the NiChrome coils, but with current batteries, I'm not sure a 12V PV would be feasible.

[quasimod]

12V appears to be the min. input voltage. Almost anything would be an improvement over the NiChrome coils, but with current batteries, I'm not sure a 12V PV would be feasible.

I may be talking out of my south end, here, but I think too many people are artificially constraining themselves by trying to come up with incremental improvements to current designs. I wouldn't care if it used 220 Volts at 50 Amps, had a 5 prong plug, was big as a microwave, and had a big crank-handle sticking out of the side that I had to wind up: If it consistently and effortlessly pumped out huge clouds of awesome tasting vapor without all of the BS we have to deal with now, I would buy one.

Just sayin'.

[DaMulta]

I've used those before. Also known as a tec. One side will get super cold(sub zero), and the other side gets super hot.

The problem with them is that they take a massive amount of power to run. It takes one of these to power them Switching Power Supply - Mean Well Switching Power Supply Manufacturer

Also you can burn down your house really easy if your not careful. I've almost done it lol.

[Lightgeoduck]

another thing to think about is the cooling time.... I mean after you finish your hit will it still be vaping juice? and also 6v vaping hits good and people have talked about 9v being too much...and highly not suggested. sooo voltage is important isn't it?

[Lightgeoduck]

I may be talking out of my south end, here, but I think too many people are artificially constraining themselves by trying to come up with incremental improvements to current designs. I wouldn't care if it used 220 Volts at 50 Amps, had a 5 prong plug, was big as a microwave, and had a big crank-handle sticking out of the side that I had to wind up: If it consistently and effortlessly pumped out huge clouds of awesome tasting vapor without all of the BS we have to deal with now, I would buy one.

Just sayin'.

Also that would just be insane IMO i mean if your logic were the case then everyone would just use the theatrical fog machines and fill it with vape juice (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT) there are limits, to what you can and should do based on improvements...... the idea is a start but IMO doesn't look like the HOLY Grail of atties.... But Hey it might spark another idea... you know like brainstorming..... I am not the sharpest bulb in the cookie jar..... just don't take it the wrong way ok

[quasimod]

sooo voltage is important isn't it?

I suppose it is, but isn't that mainly because the higher voltages cause the nichrome heating element to get hotter?

They say that they make all kinds of shapes, sizes, and temp ranges (self-regulated to within a few degrees +/-).

I don't think it's the same stuff DaMulta is talking about, since they use this stuff on all kinds of household appliances, like hair-straighteners and hot glue guns.

Don't get me wrong, guys, I have no idea what I'm talking about here. I'm no modder (the "mod" in quasimod is short for "modern"). However, I did see a picture of a soldering iron, once...

[quasimod]

.... just don't take it the wrong way ok

No problem, I don't get all huffy over a little constructive criticism. Also, I am fully aware that I'm clueless about this stuff. I just ran across that site and thought the same thing as you did: "Hey it might spark another idea"

[quasimod]

Speaking of hot glue guns, here are some pics of one that a guy has disassembled to make a "precision" mod (non-vape-related). You can get a little peep at what I think might be the housing for the heating element:

Precision hot glue gun

[quasimod]

Also, I wasn't actually suggesting that my high-voltage, microwave-sized, crank-handle design be implemented, I was just trying to illustrate my point through hyperbole. My point is that all vaporizers don't need to be super-mobile PV's that you use all of the time. I can suffer through a couple of hours with a temperamental little PV when I'm out, then switch to a less mobile (but more awesome) unit when I get back inside my home, office, or car.