The Inspirator mkII: Convection Vaporizer [~$10-$20 to produce in bulk]

[amor_fati]

i had a question about melting the spice prior to putting it in the bubbler. i see in the photo it looks like some waxy clump sitting on the metal mesh. is swiy saying to 'melt' this into the mesh before attempting to vaporise? wouldn't this lead to loss of vapor to atmosphere? what if one has flaky crystals, do they 'melt' without giving off vapor?

It works just fine no matter what sort of freebase you have, but SWIM prefers little clay chunks, because they're easier to keep track of and load. If SWIM occasionally does overheat the glass when loading, it'll give a little vapor, but that will just sit inside the device 'til it settles.

and i had a quick thought about the ceramic, too. do u think that a disc could be cut out of the ceramic that would plug a regular glass pipe? i mean take a glass pipe, put in some ash/herb, then spice, then plug the pipe with ceramic disc and use torch?

SWIM's ceramic fiber doesn't seem quite as workable as that, as it falls apart fairly easily once it's cut. This piece is compact enough that it's not an issue, however.

 

[WSaged]

i had a question about melting the spice prior to putting it in the bubbler...is swiy saying to 'melt' this into the mesh before attempting to vaporise? wouldn't this lead to loss of vapor to atmosphere? what if one has flaky crystals, do they 'melt' without giving off vapor?

If you do it correctly (and this may take a few times to learn well), you shouldn't loose anything at all while pre-melting the spice into the Brillo.
I "watch" for the smell...which will show itself right before the vapor starts to form...as I melt it, if I start to get a whiff of that distinctive DMT vapor scent, I'll blow gently on the top of the bowl to help cool it down quickly.

You should not let it get hot enough for the vapor to begin forming!!
Just hot enough for the crystals to start melting!!...then take the heat away & just let them finish melting in on their own!
The type/size/shape of crystals doesn't matter at all, except that smaller "flaky crystals" will obviously melt much faster than 1 or 2 larger, solid, crystal formations.
So you just warm the bowl for less time.

*Basically, you clean your Brillo (metal mesh scrubber) to prepare it (check the Wiki) & stuff it in the bowl, rather tightly...but not so tight it restricts air flow.
*I twist it into a thin tube about an inch long, before putting it in a bowl, then I'll make a loose coil with it, as I stuff it into the bowl.
*Then I'll use the flat end of a long, round object...like the end of a pen or something...to stuff it tightly into the bowl.

*TIP*I try to leave at least a 1/4 inch of space between the top of the Brillo & the top edge, or "lip" of the bowl. So when the dose is placed on top of the Brillo, it will not fall off, or anything like that, because there is a cup-like wall around the surface of the Brillo stuffed in the bowl. Makes everything easier!
(The bowl I use is actually quite deep & works very well for this!)


*The pre-measured dose is then placed on top of the Brillo to start the melting.
Sometimes with the smaller, "flaky" crystals, you may need to do this a little at a time, since they take up more physical surface area then 1 or 2 bigger, solid crystal formations & usually look like way more then 50mg to the eye...but measure just the same. So in this case, I'll put like half the dose on the Brillo & melt it in, as it is melting, I'll keep adding a little more of the crystals, until the entire dose is in the Brillo.

*To start the melting, I'll use a torch lighter around the outside of the glass bowl, to heat the bottom area of the glass bowl where the Brillo is located, but not the top area, where the unmelted DMT is.
I'll constantly move the flame side to side, across the bottom of the glass bowl, while I constantly turn the bowl 360 degrees to make sure that the Glass bowl & the Brillo inside are heating up evenly on all sides of the metal mesh.
*AS SOON AS I SEE THE CRYSTALS START TO TURN INTO OIL...OR GET A WHIFF OF THAT DISTINCT DMT SCENT...I IMMEDIATELY TAKE THE FLAME AWAY & LET THE CRYSTALS CONTINUE TO MELT INTO THE BRILLO BY THEMSELVES!!!!!
*To help cool it down, if I do smell that smell, I'll gently blow a little cool air down into the bowl & onto the top of the Brillo.
(BTW, at this point even the crystals that haven't fully melted down into the Brillo, are melted into each other & to the DMT that is down in the Brillo, so none of the goods tend to waif out of the bowl when I blow in there)
*REMEMBER: after you take the flame away from the outside of the bowl, the Brillo is still absorbing the heat from the glass, so wait until the melting has definitely stopped, before heating up the glass again to continue melting.

*Once the entire dose is loaded into the Brillo, I usually let it cool down completely before vaporizing it. This seems to help it to not just run out the bottom & into the stem of the bowl.
(BTW, this is not really a problem I've ever had (although I've read other people mention it) & I think it has more to do with the way I twist the Brillo into a tube & tightly coil it into the bowl, then anything else. I try to make it into a shape that will hold the DMT oil & feed it back into itself while it melts & runs along the wires of the mesh)


OK, OK......I know I just waaaaaaay over explained how to prepare a dose on a Brillo (metal mesh) bowl.
This is really not at all difficult....I just explained every 'lil detail of how I do it!!
You can always just stuff some Brillo in a bowl & melt the DMT into it while taking you first hit, but you will burn some of the spice & it will not be evenly distributed across the whole Brill's mesh, so it will tend to run more & burn up easier.
Also, not every bubbler, or bong works equally as good for this method of vaporizing. You need a medium sized pipe/bong with a "thumb-carb"...NOT a "pull-stem"!!! That way you can keep the heat source above the bowl the entire time & maintain a good vaping temp.
And the thumb-carb's hole needs to be big & wide enough to clear the whole chamber of vapor easily.


So there you go...another post with way too much, over-explained info from WS.....
...do with it as you will!


Cheers!!
WS

 

[biopsylo]

thanks amor, and WSaged for explaining this in such detail
much appreciated:d

 

[amor_fati]

A screen works best, and the tek's been updated (though some of the images are refusing to update). No more scrub-pad necessary.

The full description and instructions are in the wiki article.

SWIM will do more testing with this, but it's possible that a second screen may be beneficial to facilitate higher doses. It seems to work just fine (amazingly, in fact) as it is, but only time will tell.

SWIM modified the cleaning instructions. Since he no longer keeps acetone on hand, but only IPA, he's using IPA as the cleaning solvent; however, acetone should work just as well.

 

[amor_fati]

SWIM's piece seemed to lose it's effectiveness last night (not producing vapor as quickly as it had before); SWIM was trying all sorts of methods to remedy the problem (different sorts and sizes of holes poke through the ceramic plug), but nothing seemed to help. Then SWIM poked it in such a way that the screen lifted ever so slightly off of the ceramic, and suddenly he's back to thick columns of vapor just pouring into the chamber! SWIM had apparently pushed the screen down a bit too much prior to use.

Anyway, this could be a huge potential problem for anyone who gives this a go, so SWIM's going to have to do one of two things: SWIM could write up a detailed procedure for how to calibrate airflow in the device and amend it to the wiki, or he can try a slightly different style of screen by putting two modified screens together into one cylindrical screen component (like an eraser head) and hope that it doesn't get clogged by the ceramic--as SWIM believes was happening considering how readily ceramic fiber seems to restrict airflow.

The modification of the screen would probably be the best bet considering that it would enable to screen to more easily hold an abundance of spice without coming into contact with the ceramic, and if it turns out facilitate improved airflow, all the better.

 

[amor_fati]

Well, it seems that calibration is the key. A properly calibrated inspirator will work flawlessly without any further maintenance. A second screen is certainly nice for holding more spice away from the ceramic, however.

 

[amor_fati]

SWIM came up with a procedure for calibration of The Inspirator. He hopes it's easy enough to follow; it should at least guide the process to help feel it out.

SWIM can't wait to try this with a little bubbler pipe, if he can get his hands on one. Otherwise he'll try and develop a simple homemade alternative (which he may do anyway).

 

[gammagore]

Excelent amor_fati, I just love the way SWIY comes up with these new smoking methods. Just genious.

Keep em coming

 

[amor_fati]

Excelent amor_fati, I just love the way SWIY comes up with these new smoking methods. Just genious.

Keep em coming

Thanks! It's SWIM's pleasure to be of service. It's interesting for SWIM to engineer on such a small scale and be able to...well..."experience" the fruits of progress. It's nice to be able to remove all the unnecessary complications in the art of vaporization--really gets to the heart of the experience.

 

[amor_fati]

Here's another idea: Ceramic grain in place of fiber, but with a bit of fiber at the intake to keep it from spilling out.

Also there's plenty of porous ceramic items on the market to make you VG style device. Possibly something like these.

 

[Trickster]

All your photos show that the dropper's tapered end points up. If you heat it from that end then you vaporise spice by heat transfer, not convection, because hot air goes up.
Please explain what do you mean by convection.

 

[amor_fati]

All your photos show that the dropper's tapered end points up. If you heat it from that end then you vaporise spice by heat transfer, not convection, because hot air goes up.
Please explain what do you mean by convection.

The air is drawn through the device, so the hot air goes down. Convection is a mode of heat transfer, as is conduction. If the screen were the primary component heating up (as with the machine), this would be heat transfer by conduction, but since the air passing through seems to be the primary cause of vaporization (as evidenced by the lack of runoff), this is conduction. This is how the VG works as well, and that is also considered to be a convection heated vaporizer.

The only factor that's still uncertain is the part played by heat diffusion. SWIM would imagine that the ceramic acting as a heat-sink would diffuse the heat by pulling it out of the airflow and evening it out. The air passing through is likely relatively cool until heated in turn by the ceramic. Generally SWIM holds the torch nearly perpendicular with the piece, pointing it directly at the ceramic.

 

[amor_fati]

SWIM's trying to think of a decent and safe method of preventing oxidation of the screen and keeping the piece thoroughly clean. His current idea is to keep the piece in a dropper bottle (as the dropper, in it's normal place with screw cap and dropper bulb) filled with anhydrous IPA. SWIM's question would be whether IPA would help prevent rust or whether it would promote it in any way. From his research, it would seem to possibly prevent it, considering it's various uses in automotives.

SWIM's proposal is that the piece be fitted to a dropper bottle with cap and bulb in place, the bottle filled with anhydrous IPA, and the piece be used to suck up and squirt out IPA a few times and finally filled with IPA prior to capping and sealing. This would be an easy way to keep your piece clean prior to every use, though it would require that the IPA be burned off every time, this wouldn't be a strenuous task at all.

SWIM was thinking something like this:

and the less tapering, the better.

The IPA could be poured into a collection vessel when it becomes too saturated, and, after an extended period of collection, eventually evaporated to have the resin dissolved in vinegar and treated with zinc for recycling in whatever manner deemed fit.

This could also be a safer way of transporting the piece along with some amount of spice if all IPA is removed from the piece and bottle, some spice chunks placed in the bottom of the bottle, and the piece and cap replaced as normal. It would be a convenient way to keep everything together and protect the piece from damage in transit.

What would be really handy is if a small improvised bubbler (a small vessel with a two-hole stopper, stem, and a mouthpiece) could be constructed large enough to hold all of this in its chamber for transport. Something similar to this:

 

[Trickster]

All your photos show that the dropper's tapered end points up. If you heat it from that end then you vaporise spice by heat transfer, not convection, because hot air goes up.
Please explain what do you mean by convection.

The air is drawn through the device, so the hot air goes down. Convection is a mode of heat transfer, as is conduction. If the screen were the primary component heating up (as with the machine), this would be heat transfer by conduction, but since the air passing through seems to be the primary cause of vaporization (as evidenced by the lack of runoff), this is conduction. This is how the VG works as well, and that is also considered to be a convection heated vaporizer.

The only factor that's still uncertain is the part played by heat diffusion. SWIM would imagine that the ceramic acting as a heat-sink would diffuse the heat by pulling it out of the airflow and evening it out. The air passing through is likely relatively cool until heated in turn by the ceramic. Generally SWIM holds the torch nearly perpendicular with the piece, pointing it directly at the ceramic.

Aha, so this is what they call forced convection. Don't you think that SWIY's device will be more efficient if the dropper's tapered end points downward? Covection will be more efficient because hot air goes up naturally. SWIY would not have to inhale before the spice starts to evaporate.

SWIM also thinks that ceramic does not play any significant role in heat diffusion as its heat conductivity is poor comparing to that of metals and even glass. She believe that its only role is to create some space between the metal screen and the torch flame thus preventing local overheating = burning.

Re. SWIYs bubbler. there is a standard piece of lab glassware called gas washing flask/bottle. They come as small as 125 ml.

 

[amor_fati]

Aha, so this is what they call forced convection.

As opposed to natural convection, yes.

Don't you think that SWIY's device will be more efficient if the dropper's tapered end points downward? Covection will be more efficient because hot air goes up naturally. SWIY would not have to inhale before the spice starts to evaporate.

Doesn't really seem necessary, and it would complicate things a bit. If one were to heat the piece at any angle without negative pressure, the vapor would probably get way too hot (as happens when this device is allowed to rely on conduction heating or possibly natural convection, due to a lack of adequate airflow) and would also be more likely to condense prematurely simply for lack of facilitation of a chamber to readily flow into.

SWIM also thinks that ceramic does not play any significant role in heat diffusion as its heat conductivity is poor comparing to that of metals and even glass. She believe that its only role is to create some space between the metal screen and the torch flame thus preventing local overheating = burning.

This wouldn't explain the lack of runoff though, as if the screen or glass were heating faster than the air flowing through it, the spice would run down the glass. Also, the use of ceramic as opposed to scrub-pad helps keep the glass a bit cooler, due to acting as a heat-sink (which is the primary function of ceramic fiber in any high-heat application). Another reason SWIM believes convection heating is in play here is because use of this device, where there is also space between the product and the flame, doesn't work nearly as well and results in runoff. Note that the device in the link works without a heat-sink between the flame and the spice, and the only reason it works at all likely due to conduction heating of the plug and glass even though some amount of hot air is being drawn off the flame; the lack of diffusion of the air results in the air being unevenly heated and also not heated enough.

Also, if the flame is pointed directly down the piece, the length of the ceramic and the screen, itself, both glow and the device doesn't work quite as well and also results in runoff (like if "the machine" were used with too small of a plug, so conduction heating over a small area). At an angle, only the tip of the ceramic glows, the vapor is much nicer.

To put SWIM's theory a bit more clearly, the flame heats the ceramic--which reaches high temperatures quite rapidly as evidence by it's common use as a flameless heating filter--the airflow then cools the ceramic by pulling heat off of it (though the cooling factor is insignificant compared to the level of heat transferred to the airflow)--as evidenced by it's continued vaporization without further heat application, and the air diffused through the heated ceramic heats the spice (just as with butane powered blowers/soldering irons containing a ceramic filter, which can maintain upwards of 500C to keep the butane burning even after only an extremely brief period of flame heating).

Re. SWIYs bubbler. there is a standard piece of lab glassware called gas washing flask/bottle. They come as small as 125 ml.

Thanks for the info. This may be of some use for an alternative labware bubbler design. SWIM loves the glass stopper implemented in some of these devices.

 

[amor_fati]

After a good deal of experimentation, SWIM has concluded that this device functions best with one screen--as pictured--rather than two. SWIM thought that a second screen would help the device hold a larger dose but found that two screens could often result in a bit of runoff due to keeping the product a bit too distanced from the ceramic heat-sink. A single screen seems to hold any normal amount of spice well enough off of the ceramic to prevent burning as long as the airflow is calibrated properly, even with an incredibly short ceramic plug. Now that he's discovered that the simpler approach is the best in this case, he'll likely shift focus to trying different sizes of ceramic plugs--to include one that fills almost the entire device leaving only a minimum of space to load the product.

 

[amor_fati]

Two new additions to the tek:

-SWIM's been experimenting with loading the piece dropwise with a highly concentrated acetate tincture to some great success. He's found that simply feathering the piece with a flame after each drop-set (three seems to be a reliable amount to maintain adequate surface tension and remain in the piece) enables him to load practically as much as he likes and also to eliminate the taste of acetic acid.

-SWIM has also followed through with his storage idea using dropper bottles filled with IPA.

On the left are two Inspirators preserved in dropper bottles of IPA, and on the right is a 7.4mL dropper bottle containing a tincture of 1.5g (~7mg/drop) freebase spice in acetate form (this one may not be edible, as it may not have sufficient conditions for preservation, but SWIM's working on an integrated tincture that can be vaporized as well as administered orally).

 

[OpeningPandorasBox]

I dont want to step on any toes and it this seems like a great little device but can someone tell me how this is different from the device i have recently posted The Key V2 - DIY Water Pipe Vaporizer - DMT Discussion - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

Just curious as this device got some attention and even got on the wiki


also I want to thank you as the use of ceramic fiber in your design inspired me (no pun intended) for a design tweak in my own.

 

[amor_fati]

Just curious as this device got some attention and even got on the wiki

Because I wrote the wiki. Ceramic fiber isn't always the easiest thing to come by, so SWIM believes he may be the only one to have put this to use, despite some of its early attention.


As a warning, ceramic fiber can be difficult to work with, as it doesn't always work quite how one would imagine. Any loose bits of ceramic will clog air passage. It works with SWIM's device because he can pack it in tight enough for it to retain its form.

As to the differences: SWIM's device is smaller, glass, uses a ceramic heat-sink, and has a tighter airway. From his experiences with many types of smoking devices, SWIM would imagine that your device doesn't lend itself to the sort of pressure and rapid heat transfer that would result in such rapid vapor formation as the inspirator is capable of. SWIM's used machine style bubbler bowls in the past with great success but for some inefficiency (such as drippage, which he never seemed to be able to remedy in that particular method), and he wouldn't imagine your device being too much different apart from better protecting the product from the flame.

SWIM is interested to see how your device evolves, however.

 

[amor_fati]

SWIM's beginning work on an upgrade of this device based on his extensive experience with its strengths (rapid vaporization, high pressured intake, protection from flame, ease of cleaning) and it's weaknesses (runoff after repeated use within a session or careless heat application). The prototypes for mkII of this device will use tiny glass beads or steel bearings locked behind the ceramic and screen plug, held in place with a separate screen plug. Two of these prototypes will be essentially the same as the old model, but with the beads or bearings. Another more radical idea will employ a removable ceramic element in conjunction with the beads or bearings.

SWIM's also considering attempting a modification of "The Key" with ceramic fiber in the manner already mentioned here by its creator, though with further modification in an attempt to eliminate the possibility of runoff, altogether.