My latest mod, inspired by all of you.

[TnA]

As far as solder irons. Rat shack has not made a good pencil iron in quite a few years. If you want a good work bench iron go for a solder station type. Me personly chose the butane solder iron. It heats up is about 15sec, has a great recovery, can use it anywhere and plenty of heat ( for soldering work like we do here I use a low to med setting. High will melt your shi!! ) I have used and abused these guys for years and they just work

KoS, I've owned and used various butane soldering irons too and for the most part, am pretty happy with them (far better than the current pencil iron I recently bought!). However, I wanted to avoid the excess heat that is dissipated by them for fear of melting plastic in some of the tight spaces. I'm definitely sold on this battery one from radio shack and it will be my current go-to soldering iron. (Heats up very quickly, cools down very quickly, and the majority of the heat is concentrated right at the tip) Too bad the cost of batteries for it could get a little prohibitive.

 

[KoS]

I avoided the battery one because I thought it was cold heat. Might have to do a lttle research. Ya I can't see the batterys lasting long. If it is not cold heat then that is on hell of a load on a battery. Very curious to how it works.

 

[Shadowdr]

I am very confused, I can check the terminals and I get 3.6 volts but still it will not work with the atty attached. When I check a battery, again I get no voltage? Are the terminals not the threads and the center? Does the + and - matterwhich is which?
Is it possible that air must flow through the center hole, I think that the center is air tight and all the air comes from the slots on the side?

I can get a very little amount of smoke by drawing very very lightly, so it works just not well. Is a regular lithium battery enough to give all the current needed? I have a 3.6 backup battery I got at RS. It measures 3.6 at connection spots. This is the battery I have.

 

[nicowolf]

I am very confused, I can check the terminals and I get 3.6 volts but still it will not work with the atty attached. When I check a battery, again I get no voltage? Are the terminals not the threads and the center? Does the + and - matterwhich is which?
Is it possible that air must flow through the center hole, I think that the center is air tight and all the air comes from the slots on the side?

I can get a very little amount of smoke by drawing very very lightly, so it works just not well. Is a regular lithium battery enough to give all the current needed? I have a 3.6 backup battery I got at RS. It measures 3.6 at connection spots. This is the battery I have.

That battery should vape like a locomotive. I think you are saying that you are getting 3.6 volts with multimeter leads on the center post and the threads. If that is the case, you should have power. Check that the atty is good (I have driven myself crazy testing with a bad atomizer). Check that your center post is making contact with the atomizer properly. It should be almost flush with the top of the threads.

 

[TnA]

I am very confused, I can check the terminals and I get 3.6 volts but still it will not work with the atty attached. When I check a battery, again I get no voltage? Are the terminals not the threads and the center? Does the + and - matterwhich is which?
Is it possible that air must flow through the center hole, I think that the center is air tight and all the air comes from the slots on the side?

Shadowdr, did you end up purchasing a radio shack size N switch for your atty connection or are you still using the scavenged rca jack? Have you conducted a continuity test w/ a multi-meter to make sure all of your connections are good? Sounds like you might have something grounding you out and my immediate hunch would be the rca jack if you are still using it.

You are correct. The center post is your positive and the threads/outside connection of your rca jack/size n switch is the negative.

Air does not need to flow through the center hole...that's only neccessary when you are utilizing the automatic sensing switch in the 901 battery which you are negating by creating a manual switch box.

 

[Shadowdr]

Ok, I am a ...... The battery I had would not work, not enough amps I guess. I looked at the one online and it stated 2.1 MAH, I thought that meant that it wouldn't last long not that it wasn't worth a crap. After realizing that I had a AAA in my passthrough I put it in and it smoked like crazy. The real shame is that the other one I pitched probably worked as well. I dug it out of the trash and besides the small warped spot from the solder gun it looks OK.

I will edit with a pic when I am done cleaning up.
I left a lot of extra wiring but was not sure how the new solder gun would work. It worked great fo 7.99. I moved the switch on this one to the end, it was a little harder to fit in but I like that it is unseen on top.

 

[TnA]

Awesome...glad to hear you got if figured out, Shadowdr! After this epic journey, I'm looking forward to seeing the pics!!

Good looking box mod! Are you using heat shrink tubing or something as an insulator at your atty connection? (can't really tell what the material is)

 

[Shadowdr]

It is actually tubing from a rish tank, with paper rolled up over the wire to make it a tight fit. The clear stuff is the Epoxy. I feel kinda dumd that that 14.00 battery didn't work but it vapes like crazy with the pass through battery. I am happy it is over, now I have to wait on the good batteries!

 

[kinabaloo]

It is actually tubing from a rish tank, with paper rolled up over the wire to make it a tight fit. The clear stuff is the Epoxy. I feel kinda dumd that that 14.00 battery didn't work but it vapes like crazy with the pass through battery. I am happy it is over, now I have to wait on the good batteries!

The first one is, in a way, like building a prototype. When you do the second one, it will be a breeze; and just that bit neater all round

Well done!

 

[Sun Vaporer]

IMO there is a real issue with using a 901 atomizer and countersinking it into the box as everytime you take a drag, you are not drawing in fresh air--Rather you are drawing in the air inside the box with IMO is not good with glue and especially if you have not used lead free solider--that is why I do not advocate countersinking the atomizer and employ putting the battery thread for the atomizer right in the wall of the box------Sun

 

[kinabaloo]

Sun - It would be possible to put a vent hole in the case right next to the air inlet on the atomizer; even connect the two with a piece of flexible tubing.

The glues used can be low-vapor ones and should cause no problem once set.

Maybe this is a worry too far? It's not as though the air we breathe is otherwise perfect.

 

[kinabaloo]

Let me put it this way. We all actually already live inside a box, filled with glues, and all manner of other substances - a box we call a room or house. Carpets or wooden flooring, walpaper, furniture, upholstery - there's glue everywhere.

The computer we are typing on right now is blowing out air from a hot circuit board covered in solder.

We need some sense of perspective.

 

[Sun Vaporer]

Let me put it this way. We all actually already live inside a box, filled with glues, and all manner of other substances - a box we call a room or house. Carpets or wooden flooring, walpaper, furniture, upholstery - there's glue everywhere.

The computer we are typing on right now is blowing out air from a hot circuit board covered in solder.

We need some sense of perspective.

Kinabaloo--I hear you and people are free to build them as they like. I just do not like the idea of the heat that is thrown off by the atomizer in the box against the glue and solider. My preference is to build it so the atomizer is attached to the box sucking in outiside air. That is my take on the design. I choose not to draw hot air from the inside of the box that is heated by the atomizer directly. But please design as you like---that is simply my take on it and I build mine without employing any glue at all ------Sun

 

[Shadowdr]

Mine cane out that way because of the atty connection. I actually had to grind a few slots on the connector or it wouldn't draw any ait at all. Just by mistake but I do think I like the idea of outside air more then the battery air.

 

[kinabaloo]

Kinabaloo--I hear you and people are free to build them as they like. I just do not like the idea of the heat that is thrown off by the atomizer in the box against the glue and solider. My preference is to build it so the atomizer is attached to the box sucking in outiside air. That is my take on the design. I choose not to draw hot air from the inside of the box that is heated by the atomizer directly. But please design as you like---that is simply my take on it and I build mine without employing any glue at all ------Sun

I think your point is not wrong or silly or whatever; but i see the risk as extremely minor. I do like the idea of not using glue; rather nuts and bolts - good old engineering This is definetely worth some consideration.

 

[kinabaloo]

Mine cane out that way because of the atty connection. I actually had to grind a few slots on the connector or it wouldn't draw any ait at all. Just by mistake but I do think I like the idea of outside air more then the battery air.

What about all the air coming out of the computer, the TV, hi-fi, fridge, cooker, toaster, hairdryer, mobile, lighting, air-con etc.?

Well, it can be made either way; still more or less the same process

 

[nicowolf]

Kinabaloo--I hear you and people are free to build them as they like. I just do not like the idea of the heat that is thrown off by the atomizer in the box against the glue and solider. My preference is to build it so the atomizer is attached to the box sucking in outiside air. That is my take on the design. I choose not to draw hot air from the inside of the box that is heated by the atomizer directly. But please design as you like---that is simply my take on it and I build mine without employing any glue at all ------Sun

This is the best part about modding your own. You can build it to suit your style, your priorities, and your goals. It doesn't take all that much learning compared to the amount of control that we gain by having the knowledge and skills.

 

[Shadowdr]

This is the best part about modding your own. You can build it to suit your style, your priorities, and your goals. It doesn't take all that much learning compared to the amount of control that we gain by having the knowledge and skills.

Agreed, and thanks for that knowledge. I would have never even thought of this and today I found myself eying flashlight cases for future mods.

I am used to modding processors video cards and other computer parts but not this kind of thing.

 

[kinabaloo]

Agreed, and thanks for that knowledge. I would have never even thought of this and today I found myself eying flashlight cases for future mods.

I am used to modding processors video cards and other computer parts but not this kind of thing.

I noticed you in the Evolution thread earlier

There's no stopping now !

 

[NomasTomas]

.....14.00 battery didn't work but it vapes like crazy with the pass through battery. I am happy it is over, now I have to wait on the good batteries!

I have a similar battery, but from Frys and have been scratching my head on this too. multi-meter checks out showing no shorts, but very little vapor comes out with this battery. It seems that the higher mA-h, the lower the vape. I'm no battery expert, but it seems like the 900 mA-h batteries are the way to go. Can someone explain this? I don't know that much about batteries/mA-h ratings to say with any certainty.