I've been following this thread for a while now with extreme interest. I think you guys are on to something, but I believe there is a technical problem that must be overcome in order to use a misting nozzle. Most of these nozzles (perfume bottles, etc...) are designed to work with very thin liquids (i.e. alcohol-based perfumes). The glycerine-based solutions that our beloved e-juice is based on is much thicker than that. As an experiment, I diluted some VG from the baking supply store with distilled water, just like I do when I'm mixing my own juice. Didn't bother with flavoring or nic content, as I know I wasn't going to inhale the result of what went through the nozzle anyway. When I tried to pump the e-juice through the nozzle, I just got a drop that formed at the nozzle tip. I assume this is because the nozzle simply couldn't mist the thicker liquid, or there wasn't enough pressure, but still because the liquid was thicker than what the nozzle was designed to work with. If we pursue this line of thinking (creating a mist from the e-liquid), then we must find a nozzle that is capable of creating a mist with e-liquid specifically. Moonman's fantastic UPAC mod (search in the modder's forum for "UPAC") employs a pump nozzle similar to what many folks here have discussed, but he drills straight through the nozzle to simply use the pump to dispense the fluid.
Personally, I don't care about throat hit, or whether the cloud is hot or cold. I frequently smoke a hookah with ice in the lower chamber, and enjoy the cool burst of vapor. What does concern me is that the mist from a nozzle seems to contain much larger drops than vapor from an e-cig, which is much more like the vapor from a hookah. Think about it this way. When one drives a car through a thick fog (an inland fog, not coastal fog), the windshield doesn't get as wet as when there is a heavy mist (such as one might find driving a coastal route. This is because the droplets are larger. Since I'm wary about e-liquid on my hands, I'm not sure I want to spray it directly into my upper respiratory system to condense into liquid.
I believe the best solution is a direct feed to a heating element, but I think we need something more reliable than the current nichrome coil currently employed in our atomizers.
For the liquid feed, perhaps a miniaturized peristaltic dosing pump (wwwDOTwilliamson-shopDOTcoDOTuk/100-series---6v-dc-145-cDOTasp) would do the trick. It wouldn't fit into a penstyle form-factor, but neither would a reasonably sized juice container. It could easily designed into a juicebox or magnum mod.
Bear with me going off-topic for a moment, but this ties into another idea I've been researching for some time.
If this fed the e-liquid directly to a stainless steel wick (wwwDOTsouthernsteamtrainsDOTcom/misc/stainlesswirewicksDOThtm), which encased or was in close proximity to a heating rod (sunelectricheaterDOTcom) or plate (wwwDOThotwattDOTcom/miscellaDOThtm) (see bottom of page for the device), I think we might have a solid substitute for the "designed to fail" solution on the market today. All the parts I have referenced are miniaturized and cost-effective components that I believe could be assembled to create the perfect (imho) PV.
Unfortunately, my skills end at the design end of things. I'm capable of paper napkin-type designs, and can research data with the best of them (required voltages and temperatures, etc...), but I have no electronics or fabrication skills, and two left thumbs. I was trying to follow some threads about USB ports in a juice box to charge the batteries and/or work as a passthrough (ala JantyStick), and it made my head hurt. I would be happy to work as part of a team to build such a device, but cannot do it on my own.
I don't think there is more than $85 dollars in parts costs (my wild guess includes the parts I spec'd, plus a wild guess for fabricating a box, basic electronics, etc...), and I'm certain that many would pay as much as $250-$300 for such a handheld device. Consider the feature set: dual 3.7V batteries (wired in parallel to vape for several days), a simple liquid delivery system storing 3-5ml of juice, and a maintenance-free heating/atomizing element that didn't burn out once a month (if you're lucky).
Sorry for the munged URLs, but I don't have enough posts to include real URLs yet. Moderators, please forgive my transgression, I simply couldn't get my point across without these references. I'm not a newbie to forums (in general or this forum specifically) or e-cigs, just to this site as a poster. Please don't punish me for my enthusiasm and desire to participate?
Anyone want to jump on board with this?
Q4mK
