Ok. So my first mod has officially been built! Technically its my second, because I hooked a 510 up to a battery box to run it off AAs a couple weeks ago, but this is my first full build. My idea was very similar to the Fog Log which I've seen posted about on these forums. I hadn't heard of said device until I had began purchasing materials, but when I found it (http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/thag-built-chuck/22961-fog-log.html) I decided to just follow the same layout since it had been used and proven before.
Everything went smoothly, I started by mounting a 510 connector into a copper pipe cap, then I drilled a brass flathead screw into a plastic circle to use as my positive connection. I then proceeded to connected the positive terminal to the switch and the switch to the heating element. So far, so good. Everything was looking clean, so I glued in the positive terminal and moved on to the final steps. I drilled a hole for the switch in the body (which is solid copper) and closed everything up. I placed a spring on the bottom cap (also copper) and popped in the battery, only to have my hopes and dreams core gaping bliss crushed... no vapor.
Luckily for me, I hadn't fully sealed it up yet! So I took it apart and began trying to trouble shoot it. I started off with the battery. I wired it straight to the heating element, and sure enough it works fine. I moved on to the switch, connecting it to the battery directly, and yep it works! So then my final thought is dang, I must have messed something up with the brass screw in that stupid plastic circle! But I decided to try one more thing. I thought to myself, there's no chance that I need to ground the negative end. Its connected to the bottom cap, and everything is made of copper! But I tried anyways. Opened up the bottom, slid in the battery, and connected everything as I did normally. Positive terminal to switch, switch to heating element.. but this time I had a wire from the negative on the battery to the heating element and I grounded it there. Bam! Its alive! Problem? If I ground it to the copper cap which the 510 connection is mounted in, I get nothing. I thought that was weird. I tried another idea... instead of having the grounding wire run from the battery to the heating element, I used an alligator clip to clamp it to the top of the device, on the opposite end from the battery, and ran the wire from the 510 connection to the body of the device. Still works fine. So what I can deduce is that the body is conducting just fine, but there is something wrong with the cap that the 510 connection is seated in. For the life of me, I can't figure it out. I even thought that perhaps I used too much glue or something, so I decided to glob a good chunk of solder in the gap between the heating element and the side of the cap, thinking that would be a good enough conductor. Well, it didn't work. It only worked when I attached an alligator clip to the solder itself, but even attaching it to the copper right next to the solder, it doesn't work. So there it is! My predicament. Sorry for the novel! And my apologies if I misused any terminology, I am new to this after all! Anyways, thanks to anyone brave enough to read through that whole thing. I appreciate it!
Everything went smoothly, I started by mounting a 510 connector into a copper pipe cap, then I drilled a brass flathead screw into a plastic circle to use as my positive connection. I then proceeded to connected the positive terminal to the switch and the switch to the heating element. So far, so good. Everything was looking clean, so I glued in the positive terminal and moved on to the final steps. I drilled a hole for the switch in the body (which is solid copper) and closed everything up. I placed a spring on the bottom cap (also copper) and popped in the battery, only to have my hopes and dreams core gaping bliss crushed... no vapor.
Luckily for me, I hadn't fully sealed it up yet! So I took it apart and began trying to trouble shoot it. I started off with the battery. I wired it straight to the heating element, and sure enough it works fine. I moved on to the switch, connecting it to the battery directly, and yep it works! So then my final thought is dang, I must have messed something up with the brass screw in that stupid plastic circle! But I decided to try one more thing. I thought to myself, there's no chance that I need to ground the negative end. Its connected to the bottom cap, and everything is made of copper! But I tried anyways. Opened up the bottom, slid in the battery, and connected everything as I did normally. Positive terminal to switch, switch to heating element.. but this time I had a wire from the negative on the battery to the heating element and I grounded it there. Bam! Its alive! Problem? If I ground it to the copper cap which the 510 connection is mounted in, I get nothing. I thought that was weird. I tried another idea... instead of having the grounding wire run from the battery to the heating element, I used an alligator clip to clamp it to the top of the device, on the opposite end from the battery, and ran the wire from the 510 connection to the body of the device. Still works fine. So what I can deduce is that the body is conducting just fine, but there is something wrong with the cap that the 510 connection is seated in. For the life of me, I can't figure it out. I even thought that perhaps I used too much glue or something, so I decided to glob a good chunk of solder in the gap between the heating element and the side of the cap, thinking that would be a good enough conductor. Well, it didn't work. It only worked when I attached an alligator clip to the solder itself, but even attaching it to the copper right next to the solder, it doesn't work. So there it is! My predicament. Sorry for the novel! And my apologies if I misused any terminology, I am new to this after all! Anyways, thanks to anyone brave enough to read through that whole thing. I appreciate it!
