OK I believe I will step in here and clarify a few things for everyone.
I am the son of a firefighter and a closet pyromaniac I feel that I am somewhat qualified to break this down.
SMOKE is the product of combustion. To get SMOKE you need a flame not just heat. The fire creates both a chemical and physical change to the object it is burning. While something is burning it is releasing vaporized components of its makeup and smoke. Certain vapors that are given off are feeding the fire while others are being released into the air and surrounding environment.
Vapor is created by heat alone with out flame. Without the flame there is no combustion hence no smoke. Most liquids without a flammable component can be heated well past their vaporization point. Liquids with a flammable component can be heated to their vaporization point safely and once you pass that you will reach a flash point where it will be hot enough to ignite the vapors and cause spontaneous combustion. But that is a science lesson for another time.
What we do is vaporize the juice. we heat it to a vaporization point and draw in the vapors from this process, no combustion is taking place.
If you want to do an experiment to see what I am talking about then here is an easy one.
Everyone knows what burnt wood looks like.
Take a can like a paint can, maybe pint sized. cut a 1/4" hole in the center of the lid. put enough wood chips in the can to cover the bottom. you can fill the can to half full if you like but at least cover the bottom so there is enough wood to see what is happening.
place the lid tightly on the can and place it on your stovetop and heat the can.
Once the wood reaches a certain temp it starts to break down and release vapor that can be seen coming through the hole. This will be a clear vapor and not smoke. it will kinda look like gasoline vapors.
Now be very careful as these vapors have a flammable component to them. If you wanted you could actually burn these vapors but for safety reasons do not do this in a house.
I also saw something about the coil getting red hot earlier in this thread.
The coil gets red hot due to the fact it is dry and is not transferring heat to anything. Air is a poor thermalconductor and does not cool very well. That is why we use a liquid coolant in our car engines. Liquids make a great coolant due to their inherent ability to absorb heat. They have a higher thermal conductivity than air.
I assure you the coil does not reach temperatures of 500-600 centigrade as mentioned earlier. that kind of heat would make your lips burnt and and would be to hot for the vapor to use.
I am the son of a firefighter and a closet pyromaniac I feel that I am somewhat qualified to break this down.
SMOKE is the product of combustion. To get SMOKE you need a flame not just heat. The fire creates both a chemical and physical change to the object it is burning. While something is burning it is releasing vaporized components of its makeup and smoke. Certain vapors that are given off are feeding the fire while others are being released into the air and surrounding environment.
Vapor is created by heat alone with out flame. Without the flame there is no combustion hence no smoke. Most liquids without a flammable component can be heated well past their vaporization point. Liquids with a flammable component can be heated to their vaporization point safely and once you pass that you will reach a flash point where it will be hot enough to ignite the vapors and cause spontaneous combustion. But that is a science lesson for another time.
What we do is vaporize the juice. we heat it to a vaporization point and draw in the vapors from this process, no combustion is taking place.
If you want to do an experiment to see what I am talking about then here is an easy one.
Everyone knows what burnt wood looks like.
Take a can like a paint can, maybe pint sized. cut a 1/4" hole in the center of the lid. put enough wood chips in the can to cover the bottom. you can fill the can to half full if you like but at least cover the bottom so there is enough wood to see what is happening.
place the lid tightly on the can and place it on your stovetop and heat the can.
Once the wood reaches a certain temp it starts to break down and release vapor that can be seen coming through the hole. This will be a clear vapor and not smoke. it will kinda look like gasoline vapors.
Now be very careful as these vapors have a flammable component to them. If you wanted you could actually burn these vapors but for safety reasons do not do this in a house.
I also saw something about the coil getting red hot earlier in this thread.
The coil gets red hot due to the fact it is dry and is not transferring heat to anything. Air is a poor thermalconductor and does not cool very well. That is why we use a liquid coolant in our car engines. Liquids make a great coolant due to their inherent ability to absorb heat. They have a higher thermal conductivity than air.
I assure you the coil does not reach temperatures of 500-600 centigrade as mentioned earlier. that kind of heat would make your lips burnt and and would be to hot for the vapor to use.
