Odd Question--Magician looking for advice using ECIG in prop

[DanLeftyMagic]

Good Afternoon Everyone...

My name is Dan, and I'm from Mount Joy, PA....I am currently a children's/family magician in the Central Pennsylvania Area. I ordered a prop that uses an ecigarette as its source of "fog" or "smoke"...the gentleman who designed the prop is a person who vapes regularly, and came up with the idea to use it inside a prop. It uses an air pump inside the prop, attached to a tube...The ecig he is using is a disposable version found at any gas station, and he has the tube hooked to the "lit" end. The smoke/vapor comes out through the mouthpiece/filter portion.

I've watched several videos online trying to learn as much about this as possible, and have been doing my research trying to understand all there is to know...there is a lot!! I have a basic understanding of the difference between atomizers, cartomizer, and clearomizer style.

I am looking to upgrade this system to an extent to produce a bit more vapor/smoke from the unit. I don't need it to contain nicotine. If need be and if possible, I can use 0mg nicotine e-liquid, or just buy fog juice or VG. This really is all new to me, and i just want to produce a bit more vapor.

I would like the unit to be rechargeable as well instead of having to always replace it with a new disposable cig...the only thing i want to buy for replacement would be the fluid and any parts that break down over time in the unit.

I look forward to any help you guys can provide. Thanks in advance

Dan

 

[SpaceCowboy]

Hey Dan! Interesting question, and i'm not entirely sure if i can help or not but i'll sure try. Does it only work with the type of batteries that automatically fire when you inhale, or side buttons? or do you just screw in the cartomizer?

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

the current ecig in there fires up when air is going through it...so yes when you would inhale...

 

[novamatt]

the current ecig in there fires up when air is going through it...so yes when you would inhale...

This is your big issue here. The automatic batteries (ones that fire when air goes through as opposed to firing when you press a button) are pretty unreliable for vaping purposes and really only come in the cheap disposable stuff. If you're not opposed to doing a little bit of wiring, you could probably wire a fire switch up to the same mechanism you're using to trigger the air pump, but it may be a little more complicated.

Either way, you could buy a cheap clearomiser to have a tank you can fill up, but I'm not sure how that would work with the mechanics of the air tube system. Honestly, your best bet here is to talk to the guy who designed it and ask if he's considered using more reusable parts. If he's a regular vaper, he probably knows this stuff is out there, and may have chosen what he did for specific reasons based on the design.

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

I am thinking of going with a blu recharagable unit with a set of extra cartridges which I can fill with fog fluid or VG...that would possibly be a better solution then having to keep changing the disposable sets. Any thoughts?

 

[yzer]

It seems to me that you are looking for an inexpensive alternative to a fog machine. Go to the drug store and buy a $6 or less bottle of Glycerin USP. Put a few drops into a hot sauce pan. There, you have a fog machine. You may want to play around with different heat sources, but that's the basic idea.

 

[novamatt]

That's probably not a bad idea. I forgot that Blu makes automatic batteries. If you're going to go that route, though, I'd recommend Njoy over Blu for purely ethical reasons - Blue is owned by Lorillard, so your money goes to big tobacco. Njoy is an independent vapor company without tobacco ties.

The disclaimer here being I don't understand the details of how your smoke machine works, so I can't say for sure this would work with it. That said, it's essentially the same thing as the disposables, but with rechargable batteries and refillable cartridges.

...and I never thought I'd recommend an Njoy or Blu to anyone on these forums, but it looks like you've finally brought us a good use case for them.

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

Can i open the Njoy carts up and refill them with either fog juice or VG? I think this will be the best solution long term...yzer...i can't go the route you are saying because the prop is already designed and in my possession...it currently uses a disposable ecig...im just looking long term to avoid having to keep buying the cigs....i want to basically make a 1 time purchase, recharge before a show, refill the cart, and have it ready to go...

 

[yzer]

Can i open the Njoy carts up and refill them with either fog juice or VG? I think this will be the best solution long term...yzer...i can't go the route you are saying because the prop is already designed and in my possession...it currently uses a disposable ecig...im just looking long term to avoid having to keep buying the cigs....i want to basically make a 1 time purchase, recharge before a show, refill the cart, and have it ready to go...

If the hose fits a standard disposable ecig then it will probably fit many of the e-cigs, mods or APVs that we use. I recommend a simple mechanical mod type device equipped with 510 cartomizers of about 2.0 ohms resistance. Fill the cartomizer with 50/50 water/Glycerin. You will need to figure out some way to keep the power button pushed down during use. Look for a nice big high drain 18650 IMR battery (and charger) to power the device.

An ecig or APV with electronics may not work for you because these devices have timers that limit the power-on time. In fact, depending on how long you keep the cartomizer powered on you may well burn it out if it goes dry. A carto tank or other atomizing device may work better for you for longer operating times.

 

[novamatt]

Can i open the Njoy carts up and refill them with either fog juice or VG? I think this will be the best solution long term...yzer...i can't go the route you are saying because the prop is already designed and in my possession...it currently uses a disposable ecig...im just looking long term to avoid having to keep buying the cigs....i want to basically make a 1 time purchase, recharge before a show, refill the cart, and have it ready to go...

Yes, Njoy sells refillable carts as part of their kit.

 

[yzer]

Here are some examples of the gear I am talking about. I have not taken the time to shop around for best deals or best devices. These are just examples of what I am talking about.

Here is a mechanical mod that will fit 18650 IMR batteries...
Magneto II by Smoktech - 101 Vape

This is a rechargeable IMR 18650 battery...
Efest IMR18650 2000mah - button top - 101 Vape

Here is a charger for the IMR battery:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/nitecore-um10.html

This is a 510 cartomizer...
2.0 ohm low resistance cartomizers

This is Glycerin USP...
CVS Pure Glycerin USP - CVS.com

 

[Grimwald]

Smokeless Image has automatic batteries and several different atomizer devices. Might try Halo as well.

Another thing...my neighbor is a model plane nut. On his battery powered plane he was working on a smoke generator that he uses VG from Walmart with a coil and cotton, hooked up to a li-ion battery pack. He flips a switch to produce 30 seconds of fog. Not sure how it worked in operation, but when he was testing it on his patio, I thought he had set his house on fire. I think there is a youtube video about it somewhere.

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

I just got back from my local smoke shop. Explained what my intention was. I bought for starters to try a green smoke rechargeable ecig. If this works after refilling the cart, I will keep it as 1 idea. I wouldn't mind trying a vaporizer with an auto battery. I'm sure that would be fantastic as well. I'll keep you guys updated

 

[drunkenbatman]

I just got back from my local smoke shop. Explained what my intention was. I bought for starters to try a green smoke rechargeable ecig. If this works after refilling the cart, I will keep it as 1 idea. I wouldn't mind trying a vaporizer with an auto battery. I'm sure that would be fantastic as well. I'll keep you guys updated

Yay, magic! You're on the right track there with everyone's replies -- but some are getting a pretty intense for unobtrusive magic. If you want to stay in the same form factor & all that, you really just want to increase the VG in the cartomizer. Greensmoke or any of the simpler cartomizer-styles are fine, just take a paper clip and slide an end into the hole at the top and wiggle off the cap. Inside you'll see a tube and filling around it -- that filling holds the eliquid. Refill by adding a drop, rotate, drop, etc. Try not to overfill and let settle. The stock mix used is usually 80/20 PG/VG on those types of things, and the more VG the more vapor -- just vegetable glycerin. So using the same setup but replacing with more VG will give you more vapor, till you hit the wall of what a cartomizer/device cutoff will do and can start looking at something fancier in a similar form factor.

I'm not sure about getting it out of the cartomizer to start besides vaping; I mean, I've never really had to, just clean dirty & used ones. You can probably just rinse with the cap off and let dry really well
hih

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

well sadly the GreenSmoke didnt work...it must have a flap or something in it...i can't go the reverse way trying to get smoke out of the "filter"...that was a waste of 15 bucks...i guess on to try something else

 

[Warpigs]

Rosco Vapour Fog Machine 200822200120 B&H Photo Video

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

warpigs that is sadly not an option with this effect...it needs to fit in that spot that is already designed in the box...

 

[Warpigs]

Ahh ok, I'm sorry

 

[DanLeftyMagic]

i tried to return the ecigs to my local smoke shop...was told no...so I'm stuck with 1 rechargeable electronic cig and 2 carts...oh well..maybe ill take up this style of vaping lol

 

[Sthur]

http://youtu.be/ItORJmByj2U