Looking for some advice on a genesis type atty/box

[shortyjacobs]

So I'm thinking of building something like what's below. I am thinking it would be cool to screw in different tanks of juice, (and keep spare caps on the ones not in the PV) so I can cycle through juices. Case will either be as shown, (kind of remote control shaped), or a 4x AA type box. I figure I can epoxy a 2 mL vial lid into the case top, then cut an oversize hole for the wick, then epoxy a hunk of ceramic on top of the lid for some thermal insulation, (so I don't melt the plastic lid - this way the SS mesh never touches plastic).

But that's where I get caught up. How should I make the connections between my wire from my VV circuitry to the kanthal? I don't want to just solder it, as I want the coil to be easily serviceable. I'm thinking of a simple screw-type connection - anyone have tips on this?

Next - how do I make something to enclose the atomizer so I can breathe in the vapor? Any tips on how to seal it? (my only thought was an O-ring in a groove I cut in the ceramic, or an o-ring in the gap between the ceramic and lid, and an appropriately sized tube-thing sliding over it...but then how do the wires get in to where they connect to the kanthal?)

Finally - do you see any other huge glaring errors here?

OH, another idea I had was to make a plug out of silicone that the vial slides over, and have the kanthal go through that, and have a wider plug that I stick onto it that the vial could go on to...I've got 100% food safe silicone already, but it's not the 2-part kind, just the "in a tube" kind, I think amine catalyzed moisture activated cure??? Would that work?

Thanks!!! I can't wait to start this.....still working on a few of the parts...

 

[Gabe1291]

Well for a mouthpiece holder and cover you could try a cut off syringe for a quick and dirty one, or take a look at THIS thread, you might be able to use a pill fob to accomplish what you are after. Just use the lid with the hole drilled through instead of the ceramic tile and you'll have a screw on cover.

 

[shortyjacobs]

That's great gabe. I was thinking along the same lines this morning - maybe I can have a base that's epoxied to the mod, and a tube that screws off for access to the coil. My big hangup was figuring out what I could use that screwed apart....I was thinking pens, but they are a bit too small methinks. I'll definitely check these out!!!

Side question for all: Mostly I see people connect the kenthal coil directly to either IC contacts or screws or needles. I'm wondering if there's a reason why I couldn't solder the ends of a kenthal coil to some lower resistance wire, (say, 18-24 AWG SS wire), and connect THAT to my contacts? This way, I could position the contacts low and out of the way. I could make up a batch, (say 10) of kenthal wires with the ends soldered to SS wire. It would make changing the coil a lot easier, as I wouldn't have to worry about getting the IC/screw contacts as close as possible to the mesh spiral wick....any problems there?

 

[shortyjacobs]

Also, my mesh arrives today (400 mesh SS with 36% open space from McMaster), and my Kenthal arrived a day or two ago. DAMN that kenthal is TINY. Everyone takes pics in macro mode here - very helpful for detailed views, but I never realized how itty bitty this all is!! I hope my fat fingers can handle it!

 

[asdaq]

SS wire wont solder without acid based flux, and kanthal has aluminum in it, so it also doesn't like solder. You could do j-hooks to do that, but you could use silver wire too.

I'm not sure this method would save time though.