Serious posts for serious modders.....and the not so serious are welcome too. :)

[lorikay13]

Ok.....I'm being hassled for not making enough posts and unfortunately posts I make outside this forum don't count. Even if they did it wouldn't matter since I'm not even allow near the modding forums and when I have tried to participate in discussions about the REST of the equipment I use I get shunned like a wet leper in a bath house. So.......I'll just talk to myself. Comment if you like. I will make every attempt to post things that are valuable information and know that I thoroughly research before I post. (That means I SKYPE bigblue30 and ask him if I'm right )

Solubility parameters..........why should you care?

For any actual scientist types out there I'm sorry....but I do have to dumb this WAY down simply to save space.

You should care because the use of PGA, everclear, pure grain alcohol, ethanol...whatever you call it is a common practice for us. I personally fill my ultrasonic cleaner with it. So here is the wiki definition:

"The Hildebrand solubility parameter (δ) provides a numerical estimate of the degree of interaction between materials, and can be a good indication of solubility, particularly for non polar materials such as many polymers. Materials with similar values of δ are likely to be miscible."

OK miss smartypants squirrel...that that still doesn't explain why we care. Well...in the spirit of the ECF mantra...pictures or it didn't happen..this is why:

Fortunately I was astute enough to contact a real scientist BEFORE I sent a scathing email demanding my money back for those tanks. That happened btw after a 30 second rinse/dump with PGA.....and it happened INSTANTLY.....they popped in half in my hand...it was really quite amazing. So that is how I found out about solubility parameters. Here is an excerpt from the email I received:

Compare the solubility parameter of the chemical to the solubility parameter of the plastic. If the two numbers are close (within about one point), then the chemical may dissolve, swell, or crack the plastic.

The solubility parameter for PMMA ranges from 8.9 - 12.7, depending on the grade.

The solubility parameter for glycerol is 21.1. This is more than one point different from the solubility parameter of the plastic, so no problem.

The solubility parameter for propylene glycol is 14.8. This is also more than one point different from the solubility parameter of the plastic, so again no problem.

The solubility parameter for ethanol is 12.9. Depending on the grade of PMMA you have, this is potentially very close to the solubility parameter of the plastic. This could definitely explain the cracking... although completely destroying the tank in under 30 seconds is still impressive!

If you think this through you will quickly realize why this is so important to us. The number of variables that can be involved are staggering.....because heat and pressure undoubtedly effect these interactions as well as the addition of other chemicals. I also asked him if plastic can off gas while it's submerged and the answer was yes...it can. But for the time being, lacking exhaustive studies etc I would say it's a safe for me to recommend that you don't use PGA to clean any plastic vaping gear. Because there is a RANGE here....everything isn't just going to self destruct....but you could weaken it enough for it to fail under use and who knows what the BYPRODUCTS of these reactions are.

oh and do I even need to point out......tank crackers.......I have always thought this and now Ifeel I was right....if it cracks your vaping vessel maybe you shouldn't be vaping it.

Cheers!!! As your reward for reading through this I'll let you see something out of my collection...since...sniffsniff....I'm not allowed to come out an play anywhere else.....this is the valentine vapemail I sent myself...Thats the NGP Moon...hand made on a lathe in Hungary.....dual coil hybrid dripper....one of 5 in the world. What you can't see is the switch.....the first and only magnetic slide switch.....you dont push it....you slide it with your pinky.

oh yea....brushed brass hybrid drip tip by 2Puffs

 

[lorikay13]

If you are new to rebuilding you might be surprised at the reason for the rubber gloves...it's not to protect your beautiful hands...LOL...it's because dishwashing gloves are made to provide a tight grip on slippery things....they are also very useful for getting things apart that dont want to come apart....usually the cap off an RDA or a drip tip.


Tip for the day....if you have two metal pieces that seem to be stuck together and you don't want to take the vice grips to one of them..put the whole mess in the freezer for half an hour. Then use your rubber gloves and they should come right apart. Unless you cross threaded something.... :0)

 

[lorikay13]

that cloud.....was made with a single 11wrap 28gauge micro coil .........1.8 ohms.....on my favorite atomizer....Helios on a Titan.

Cheers!!!

 

[CES]

nice description of the mechanics/chemistry of tank cracking LK

 

[lorikay13]

Thanks CES.....I was warned that my posts have to have merit....since as you can see...SOOOOO many people at ECF are interested in SmokeStik. So I'm trying.....I can't imagine it will last for long. Can you tell how much I resent having to do this??? I think Axil Rose is probably just around the corner.......

 

[CES]

the bad girl's thread has been kinda quiet lately.

i don't rebuild, and only have several mods..so i'm not sure how much i can contribute.

Can you convince SS to make a mod?

 

[lorikay13]

hahaha...funny Steve and I were just talking about that this morning....and I am quite positive the answer is no. It's just not what we do. And what would we make? A mech mod? Out of the question for liability reasons. The cost of r/d, engineering and testing would be emmense and then really what would we make that isn't already here? I think by now everyone knows if you want a rock solid mod that can do almost anything you buy a Provari......or if you like box mods you get something handmade with a DNA or a Nivell chipset in it.

And I hope you know my snippy attitude is certainly not directed at you or any of the people who are kind enough to keep posting here. I really do appreciate you. But I have been told that I have to devote a significant amount of time posting on ECF and what I post in the BadGirl thread does not count.

 

[CES]

but...but....the bad girl thread is one of the best threads ever.

my mods...reo, segeli, zenesis, MVP....

 

[lorikay13]

I really do. I'm not here to defend it per say.....but sometimes you lose site of the bottom line here...and that is that whatever it takes to keep people from smoking.....is never a waste of time. It would have been more appropriate for me to say it's not my thing. I have done it and I will admit a certain childish glee in creating clouds...LOL But what I have found is that it's very much the same thing as the concept of "chasing the dragon" for drug addicts....it's never enough.....you get used to a certain level and pretty soon it just isn't satisfying you anymore....and I think it's very complex as well. I believe that a large part of cloud chasing has to do with social media.....I dont think people sit at home alone and chase clouds....I think the take pictures and make videos and then get on FB and chat about their phat clouds......and that is part of what we get addicted to.

I actually am making a valid and interesting point here btw.....it has to do with the nature of addiction itself. And I think that vaping is a whole new "thing"......I am very retisant to use the word addiction but I'm sure it's possible....certain people can get addicted to anything. But to make a blanket statement that replacing tobacco cigarettes with vapor is just trading one addiction for another? I'm not ready to make that statement. There is too much positive that comes from vaping.....much more than just replacing nicotine. And NONE of it was ever a factor with smoking. I think it will be a long time before it's all figured out and frankly I don't think it matters....the bottom line is....vaping is FUN....and it's a fun way to interact with other people.

so...here's the Titan with dual flat kanthal coils...total resistance .07 ohms......I don't know...I guess thats a bigger cloud?????

 

[lorikay13]

I will enjoy making this post....because I know no one will pay any attention to it and therefore will miss out on this amazing new Kanthal wire that finally became available to the end user. Please note that is an 18350 mod with an IgoS on it.



cheers!

 

[zelda]

I'm paying attention Lorikay.

 

[CES]

Heya Z!

 

[lorikay13]

Hi Zelda...I'll pm you.

 

[lorikay13]

well it's been a while since I posted here......and since the last time I got my order from Stealth Vapes in the UK...they have some really nifty little things called "the screws of destiny"...LOL!! They are knurled little screws that replace those hideous little alan screws in the deck of so many RDA's....so you don't need any tools at all to build your atty. I also got some "gap spacers" which safely and attractively fill the gap that is left sometimes between your atty and your mod. This happens especially if you like to build frankenmods like I do....take parts and pieces of several different mods to make one.

And here is my frankenstien project for the week.....I searched the world over and could not find the bottom fed atomizer I wanted...Vicous Ant has stopped making both the BF Hornet and the BF Cyclone....so I finally broke down and made my own. This started out as an iGoS....the mod is a vintage Phidias bottom feeder made of California Pepper.

 

[CES]

gorgeous mod LK

 

[lorikay13]

thanks CES...I was real excited to get my hands on it. I can remember back in the day....and I'm sure Katya does too....when buying an eGo or Riva battery was a BIG deal....I mean my GOD......$30 for ONE battery????? LOL. We had heard about "mods" but there was no such thing as tube mods yet....and having a Phidias was just out of the question....who in there right mind would spend $100 or more on an ECIG??? Weren't we doing this to save money??? Isn't that why we hoarded cartomizers and chatting ENDLESSLY about how to wash them and how many times you could reuse them?? LOL!!!!

well times have definitely changed, at least for me. But I do still remember that first RBA spacekitty sent me.....I thought it was the dumbest thing I had ever seen....why the HELL would anyone want to fiddle around with this stuff when you could buy perfectly good prefilled cartomizers???? I even had a now famous modder make me a custom bottom fed box mod with a 4081 connection so I could use SmokeStik cartomizers on it...LOL. Suffice it to say I just got that one back from Brad Gruss/sweetvapes with a nice new 510 connection This one is Purple heart wood and maple burl......



Thanks Brad!!!

 

[CES]

i remember your horror at the RBA. That's changed just a bit, yes?

I also remember realizing that it just wasn't worth it to try to wash cartos. They never, ever dried.

 

[lorikay13]

yup....plus I'm sorry....there is just something.....I don't know if there is a politically correct word for it.....but something about washing an item that costs less than a dollar.....when the very same people thought nothing of literally burning their money.....well it just rubs me the wrong way.

 

[lorikay13]

Got a hot tip for you cloud chasers...two actually.....

#1 ceramic tweezers.....get them at Vapor Kings for $15 they are a game changer for rebuilding....really. Totally none conductive....you can shape and tweak your coils hot and on the fly

#2 GPlat 26 wire by Vapinology ....Platinum wire...another game changer. If your into subohm this stuff is super low resistance so you can get an increased surface area and still have a subohm build. If you are not into subohm the same thing applies....to a point. I3 wraps gives me 1 ohm....11 wraps gives me about .8 and 7 wraps is about .5. So again....nice surface area..low ohms. The pro...it's super stiff so you can easily build a tight microcoil right on your form, whatever that is. The con...it's super stiff...lol. ...so very unforgiving...once you shape it it's shaped...and its super expensive. $25 for 15 feet of it...so you don't want to "play" with this stuff...get it right the first time. I suggest some friends get together and buy a package and share it...then you can try it out without spending a bunch.

Have fun and vape safe!

 

[itsrayray]

Just saying, but I appreciate this thread. Been lurking, stopping by to say hi!