Intro and question about personal vaporizers / boxes

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andy_jackson

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Apr 20, 2011
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Hi,

I smoked cigs at a pack a day for 11 years and quit when I knocked up my wife. I took up smoking pipes (tobacco) which I still really enjoy. The problem is, there is no such thing as a "quick smoke" with a pipe. Its something I need to sit down and enjoy for 30-60 minutes. This is basically impossible in cubicle hell or at an airport.

So E-cigs appeal to me for the quick nic. hit, to regain some sense of taste and smell for blended pipe tobaccos and the ability to stick it to the man as tobacco taxes resemble an appollo mission anymore.

Which brings me to my first request for oppinion:
What is a good box or personal vaporizer to start with? I like the idea of carrying just ONE box that I can fill with lots of fluid, charge from a USB jack and get buzzed from. I've seen a few online like the janty stick or REOmod but they look to be manually operated and batteries manually swapped. I'd like something suction operated so I can velcro it to the back of my motorcycle helmet and suck of a tube while riding.

I'll pay more for something decent up front. Esp. something with a permanent (or as close as possible) atomizer since I personally believe all these small vendors in the US will get shut down and foreign ones blocked so philip morris can pimp poor quality ones at huge markups if anyone will at all. Besides, Uncle Sugar won't sit idly by while people enjoy themselves; he's going to get his pound of flesh by hook or crook.

Anyway, look forward to getting into vaping a bit more while the window is still open.
 

dormouse

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Digs

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andy_jackson

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Apr 20, 2011
6
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Midwest, USA
Automatic batteries and wind on the back of a motorcycle helmet will likely be a disastrous combination. Some models may not be sensitive to wind noise, but definitely do your research before buying.

Good consideration. I have a backpack for riding that has routes for hydration tubes or earbud wires that run from inside the bag and out the straps right under the helmet. I could route some surgical tube through there to a pocket in the bag where I could stash a PV. Vacuum vs sound activiation is another requirement to add to the list I suppose.
 

andy_jackson

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Apr 20, 2011
6
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Midwest, USA
There's an eGo automatic battery kit at Janty eGo SET - AUTOMATIC VERSION. That and maybe a clearomizer coupled with that gooseneck might get you close.

So a clearomizer is basically a cartomizer (cartridge+atomizer combined) that is large like a tank?

I bet that would work mounted in a box with a large battery. Does anyone make a atomizer/cartomizer with an integrated vacuum switch? That seems like the logical place to put it to me instead of down by the battery.

Thanks for the help. The biggest problem is all the different products out there. I imagine that eventually this market will consolidate a bit with only a handful of different product types. Right now its extremely confusing.
 

MickeyRat

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I bet that would work mounted in a box with a large battery. Does anyone make a atomizer/cartomizer with an integrated vacuum switch? That seems like the logical place to put it to me instead of down by the battery.

That eGo I posted the link to is the largest battery I've seen that has automatic switch. Automatic batteries aren't all that popular with the kind of vapers that get into the multiple battery mods. In fact, I'd say they are downright unpopular with that bunch. If you were willing to consider a manual, you could build your own with the switch on a wire I suppose and operate it remotely with your left hand. You could even put the atomizer remote from the battery box. Four 14500s in parallel would probably last 2 or 3 days that way.

From a technical standpoint, I'm not sure that what you want to do is even feasible with auto batteries. The problem's the tube going to the backpack. With auto batteries, you're going to leave that tube full of vapor and it will condense. Eventually, you'll either have to empty it out or get a mouth full of juice. If you control how long the battery fires, you can let it up while you're still sucking to get the vapor out of there. Manual or auto, I'm concerned with how satisfying it's going to be after cooling while going through that tube. Remotely mounting the atomizer would solve that problem.

How bad do you want this? It's an interesting technical problem but, I think you're going to have to go through several iterations and a lot of tinkering to get it to where you want it. When you get enough posts, you might want to ask in the modders forum. They might be able to help.
 

CBB

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There are a few difficulties that will be an issue with the proposed rig.

The longer a tube type goose neck the colder the vape will be. Running through any length of tubing the vape will condense and in a short time have water trapped in the tube , minimum problem would be gurgling potentially getting a mouth full of condensed vapor, you would need a drip trap in the tube. I have only seen one reliable auto feeder and it uses an electric pump. A wick drip feeder is very prone to leaking or simply wicking itself empty. An auto battery would have to be a flow sensitive diaphragm, if it works by sound at all highway speed wind noise would set it off even in a container. An open face helmet with a mouthpiece would look very odd and possibly lead to enough pressure differential to trigger an auto battery, a full face helmet would fog with the excessive moisture of vapor.

Basically if you can't physically smoke in any given circumstance you won't be able to vape either.
 
Ok, now thats loser talk. Smoking while riding in full gear has always been my dream. I am obviously a genious visionary with the likes of oppenheimer and kennedy :p

But in all seriousness I let go of the microphone activated idea and can't seem to find a small and inexpensive vacuum switch. So right now its a no go. I ordered an e-go (from madvapes) and some parts to start experimenting. I spent twice as much on the little switches and breakout boards they have than the e-cig....what a great place to find that sort of stuff! Anyway, I'm thinking now that the helmet option will be doable with a tube and a remote bite switch. to keep tube short it will velcro to the side of the helmet.

Other question to pass the time making 5 posts: remember when vaping alcohol was cool for like 2 weeks a few years ago? Who's tried dropping grain alcohol in their e-cig to get drunk? (won't do that on bike ;) )
 
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MickeyRat

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But in all seriousness I let go of the microphone activated idea and can't seem to find a small and inexpensive vacuum switch. So right now its a no go. I ordered an e-go (from madvapes) and some parts to start experimenting. I spent twice as much on the little switches and breakout boards they have than the e-cig....what a great place to find that sort of stuff! Anyway, I'm thinking now that the helmet option will be doable with a tube and a remote bite switch. to keep tube short it will velcro to the side of the helmet.

Other question to pass the time making 5 posts: remember when vaping alcohol was cool for like 2 weeks a few years ago? Who's tried dropping grain alcohol in their e-cig to get drunk? (won't do that on bike ;) )

I don't think you can buy what you want but, it sounds like you want it bad enough to try to build it. I and others have pointed out that the long tube to the atomizer is probably a non-starter. I'm pretty sure long wires to a battery box can be done. It does mean that the atomizer and juice supply will have to be mounted remotely from the batteries as well as whatever mechanism you use for activation. I'm not familiar with a bite switch so I can't comment on whether it would be feasible to activate the atomizer with your mouth while trying to get the vapor with your mouth. A switch that can be activated with your left thumb seems more practical to me but, I won't say no to the bite switch.

I will suggest you do some reading in the modders forum to get more familiar with the practical aspects involved.

As for the alcohol, some people add a few drops to increase throat hit but, not for inebriation. It wasn't my goal at the time but, I have been exposed to alcohol fumes strong enough and long enough to produce intoxication. It's not a pleasant experience. I avoided it after that. I also have some concerns about the health aspects of inhaling alcohol at the concentration necessary. In other words drink yer likker, don't try to vape it.
 
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ya, I'm leaning towards a build at this point. I ordered a bunch of stuff from madvapes (its really a great place for an eletronics dork). My trusty old Zen Vision M mp3 player finally died on my this weekend so I'm thinking that would make a great box complete with 4 tactile buttons and viewing window.

To smoke while riding I figure I'll have to add a hard system on/off switch and that works out well with the mp3 player case since there's a space for a recessed slider. If I use a short tube and velcro it to the helmet its not that hard to reach up with the left hand, give the play button a little click and suck some vapor. Hose would only have to be a few inches long so not a lot to worry about with condensation.

If that doesn't work I know someone makes soft and flexible tactile switches. You commonly see them on cheap laser sights for guns. They look like a piece of bicycle inner-tube with wires. that could be added to a reo box or something as well I guess.

And now thats 5 posts so I guess I can continue this in the modder forum. Thanks for the feedback folks!
 
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