Very Simple Vaporizer Design version 1.2   September 17th, 1995

Disclaimer: the author makes no guarantees about the safety of the
device described in this file.  Wiring errors or careless use on the
part of the reader could cause injuries or fires.  Furthermore, the
author does not encourage the use of cannabis where it is illegal to
do so.  In short, if you set your carpet on fire or get busted for
possession of drug paraphernalia, don't hassle me.  

Greetings.  The following is a simple design for a "vaporizer," an 
electric smoking device which heats your favorite hemp products to a 
temperature at which THC molecules wiggle enough to go airborne, but 
below that at which vegetable matter and tars and other nasties burn 
into CO and lung-damaging smoke.  Vaporizing is also more efficient 
since the high temperatures involved in smoking reportedly destroy some 
percentage of the THC.  The file 
ftp://ftp.hyperreal.com/drugs/marijuana/usage/vapourizer 
(its URL at the time of this writing) says it best:

> REASONS FOR VAPOURIZING:
> 1). Activation of THC acids in cannabis (decarboxylation); this occurs
> at around 103 degrees Celcius with vapourization at around 180-200 degrees.
> Smoking performs this process but is reported to destroy between
> 40 and 98% of the THC (Korte, Miras etc*).
> 2). The 'smoke' is much cooler and easier in the lungs.
> 3). The high is subtly different from that obtained with other methods.
> 4). The higher efficiency saves you money.
> *from The Botany and Chemistry of Cannabis, Joyce and Curry (1970)


The easiest way to try vaporizing...
                                    ...was posted to alt.drugs.pot by a 
completely brilliant person whose name I forgot to make note of.  Just
pack an ordinary pipe, and as you light it, don't allow the flame to
touch the grass/smashed up hash.  Keep the visible flame about a half cm
away from the contents as you inhale.  The material should not ignite
(glow red).  If you exhale something vaguely piney-tasting, it worked.
Inevitably the stuff lights up and you end up smoking it after a few
such hits, but this is a super way steal a little more THC out of a bowl.

The design in 'vapourizer', the first I've seen to use a soldering iron
rather than an auto cigarette lighter element, is what motivated this
design.  This difference and the use of a dimmer switch for temperature
control are the really the only essential elements of this design.  
There's plenty of room for creativity in its configuration and vapor
enclosure, but what's described below works for me.

This version is a bit more complicated than the one in version 1.1 of this
file, but I think it still qualifies as "very simple" as very few tools are
required, the wiring is very easy, and the components are all easy to
get hold of.  However, the design in this version is much more elegant and
functional, and recommends a glass enclosure rather than plastic; I became
concerned about fumes when my plastic enclosure began to show signs of wear.
The enclosure and base described here could still be useful to anyone who 
prefers to use an auto cigarette lighter as the burner. 

###### The design ######

What you're going to be building is essentially a soldering iron 
sticking out of a glass Coffeemate jar.  The jar rests upside-down
on an inverted plastic flower pot (the base), on which a rotary dimmer 
switch is mounted and from which there extends a long plastic tube.
A slim, high-temperature thermometer strapped to the iron's shaft helps
the user stay inside the vaporization range, if one is available.

First, a crude ascii diagram:

                        ________                                               
                       /        \ 
                       |        |  <---- coffeemate jar 
                       |        |   
                       |        |  
                       |    ~   |   
                       |     ~  |      
                       |    ~   |      
                       |   ||   |  <--- soldering iron  
                       |   ||   |     
                       |  _||_  |      
                       \________/      
                      __[______]__  <--- lid     
                     /            \            ~
                     | max        |           ~ 
        dimmer -->  /  /|\\   O==============~  <-- output hose          
        switch      |  \_//        |  
                   /   off          \  <-- plastic flower pot                
                   |________________|

Get it?  The jar becomes the cover of the device - to load and unload,
you unscrew the jar and lift it off.  The jar's lid is affixed to the base.
Very convenient and makes a nice tight seal.  The output hose sticks into
the side of the flowerpot and up through the lid into the chamber.
The soldering iron is wired through the dimmer switch, which mounts readily
onto the easily-worked plastic flowerpot.  Not shown here is an Al foil
tube inside the chamber, which pipes air from an intake hole in the lid
up to the top of the jar (for better circulation - not vital).

That's probably enough to go on right there, but here are more explicit
instructions on how to build it.

Gather:
1) An empty glass Coffeemate jar, the largest size available.  Brown
   glass unfortunately.  Its important features are its wide lid, fairly 
   heavy glass and large size.  If you use something else, don't
   go too small or too dainty, or the heat might cause it to crack.
   Remove the label and stubborn bits of glue.  
2) A cheap soldering iron.  Try to find one whose tip can be unscrewed 
   and removed, leaving a hollow space in the iron's shaft large enough
   to contain about as much grass as you'd smoke in a bowl; otherwise, 
   you'll have to devise a way of impaling some sort of heat-conducting
   bowl on the tip, like I did.  Note that I mean the very tip - many 
   soldering irons allow the entire shaft to be unscrewed out of a small 
   socket, but that won't do you any good.  Radio Shack and other 
   electronics shops carry soldering irons for as little as $5.00.
3) A cheap socket-mount rotary dimmer switch.  Available anywhere basic
   hardware supplies are sold.
4) A plastic flower pot, about 6" tall or larger.  Go for a sturdy one;
   avoid brittle or very flexible plastic.  A number of things can be used 
   for the base, but this works well and is easy to get.  
5) About 1 foot of .5" foodsafe plastic tubing.
6) A slim high-temperature thermometer, small enough to fit snugly
   against the shaft of the soldering iron (i.e., not a big round oven
   thermometer) and including the range 150-250 C. [Optional]


I. Cut holes in the jar lid and the base

   You need an air intake, a hole for the output hose, and a bigger hole
   for the soldering iron handle to go through.  You want the iron to
   sit down as low as possible, but you also want a nice snug fit that
   is mostly airtight and holds the iron in place.  Your iron's handle
   most likely tapers, so cut a hole slightly smaller than the widest
   point of the handle.  

   If your jar's lid is metal, cutting round holes in it will not be
   that easy.  I have an electric drill, which chewed ravenously into and
   tended to warp the thin metal, even when severals levels of pilot holes 
   were used.  Try cutting the big hole by tracing its outline and popping 
   a nail through at about 20 places, snipping what's left with wire 
   cutters or even scissors.  The hole will probably be jagged, so count
   on the hole in the flowerpot to establish the seal with the handle.
   Make sure the holes are far enough from the edge to allow the jar to
   screw on.

   Affix the lid to the flowerpot (the base) with, for instance, two nuts 
   and bolts.  Not glue though.  Or tape, or chewing gum.  Cut holes 
   matching those in the lid through the plastic flowerpot.  If you have
   a drill, you may find it convenient to drill some or all of the holes
   through the lid and the base after they've been joined.  A razor
   knife will help for cutting the large central hole,  but be sure to 
   count your fingers before and after this step.  Note that the plug of 
   your iron also has to fit through the hole (unless you cut it off and 
   reattach it).  If the seal around the iron's handle is not satisfactory,
   try shrinking the hole a bit with several layers of aluminum foil, 
   which is soft enough to shape to conform with the handle.
 
 
 II. Wire up the soldering iron

                         _________                                         
                        [ Dimmer  ]   (not to
                        [ Switch  ]    scale)
      from              [_________]                     Plug               
      soldering             ||                         ___                 
      iron                 /  \                       /   |____            
   -----------------------/    \-------- - - --------[    |                
   ------------------------------------- - - --------[    |____            
                                                      \___|                
                                                                        
   This crude ascii diagram is intended to demonstrate the wiring
   of the dimmer switch into one of the soldering iron cord's two
   lines.  I suppose this requires minimal wiring skills (but not
   necessarily experience).  Use a knife to separate about 2" of the
   two wires in the cord.  I did this about 3" from the iron, leaving
   lots of cord behind to reach from the vaporizer to a socket.   Now cut 
   one wire and strip about 1/2" down both sides.  Use the screw-down 
   connectors included with the dimmer to join its wires to the cord 
   (just twist the two wires together and screw the connector down hard).
   Wrap the connections in plastic tape to be safe.  

   Pick a spot for the cord to enter through or under the flowerpot.
   You can cut a notch in the lip of the flowerpot for the cord to 
   pass through; or cut a big hole in the side to slip the plug through;
   or cut through both wires of the cord when you attach the dimmer,
   slip the cord through a small hole in the base, tie a knot to keep it
   from pulling out, and reconnect the other wire with another screw-
   down connector when you wire in the dimmer.  The knot will also isolate
   the soldering iron from tugging and tension on the cord.

   My iron element screwed into its handle via a nightlight-size socket,
   so I got rid of the handle and instead used a mini socket from a 
   hardware store, which attached easily to the lid with its own mounting
   screw.  If you come up with some such alternate way of mounting the
   element, be careful in the wiring, especially if the jar lid is made
   of metal.  You must insulate the lid from the wire with enough plastic
   to block 120 v of potential - i.e., more than saran wrap. 


III. Mount the dimmer switch

   Poke a hole in side of the base for the dimmer's narrow metal knob to 
   go through, and poke two pilot holes for the dimmer's included screws
   in the appropriate spots.  Pull off the circular plastic knob, mount the 
   thing from the inside of the base, and pop the knob back on.  Mark 
   the flowerpot 'off' at the off position, and '11' at the maximum 
   position ;> .


IV. Attach the output hose

   Choose a spot on the base for the output hose to emerge from and cut a
   snug hole there.  Feed the 1 ft. .5" plastic tube through and up through 
   the hole in the base and jar lid.  The fit through the hole in the lid 
   should be snug enough hold the tube in place; if not, pad the hole with 
   Al. foil.  The hose should have a very low profile inside the chamber;
   if it is too close to the element, it will get too warm.


V. Attach the input tube (optional)

   To improve air flow in the chamber, I made an Al. foil tube by wrapping
   about 20 layers of foil around a bic pen, crushing it down, and pulling
   the pen out.  This made a fairly rigid tube.  I inserted it into the
   intake hole and affixed it by smashing back its edges against the 
   underside of the hole.  The tube goes inside the very hot chamber right 
   next to the very hot soldering iron, so it can't be made out of plastic,
   but if you have a spare bong stem that would work well.  Circulation 
   without this is not so bad that you can't clear the chamber, but it 
   does improve things.  The tube also serves to reduce the amount of smoke 
   that drifts out through the intake hole when the vaporizer is idling; 
   you could accomplish that by instead adding a plastic intake hose down
   in the base, perhaps coming out the side.  That would be the more 
   aesthetically pleasing solution I think... the foil tube looks very 
   kludgey.


VI. Fashion the bowl

   Hopefully, you have an iron with a fairly large hollow space in the 
   shaft and you can skip this step.  Otherwise, just try to create 
   something.  Remember that only material very very close to a hot surface
   will vaporize (huge, stuffed bowls won't work right).  Try for something 
   spill-resistant and easy to handle.  Someone suggested using a piece of
   pipe around the entire shaft.  That'd work.  My iron is much cooler far 
   from the tip, though; perhaps the space could be filled with Al foil 
   about halfway up, which could also serve to hold the pipe in place. 
  
   The very tip of my iron is replaceable; its threads, but not the rest of
   the tip, happen to fit through the hole in a cone-type bowl I had around, 
   so that the tip can be used to screw the cone onto the iron.  Works well, 
   but the capacity could be a bit larger.  Anyway, chances are you can come
   up with some sort of plumbing part or something to use as a bowl, but 
   just what depends on your particular soldering iron.


VII. Attach the thermometer
     _
   _|_|_                                                                  
   |   |        This is supposed to show a slim, high-temp thermometer
   | | |        attached to the shaft of the iron.  Attach it with wire 
   | | |        (strip the paper off a bag tie).  The thermometer must
   | o |        contact the iron as tightly as possible and must include
   -----        the range 150-300 Celcius or so.
 ___|_|___ 
 \       /      I have not accomplished this yet - all the oven therms. 
  \     /       I have found are far too large for the task. 
   |   |


###### Using your vaporizer ######

   Pack the hollow space in the shaft of the iron, or whatever other bowl
   you've come up with, with your favorite hemp product.  Buds are best 
   broken into small bits.  You won't need as large a bowl if you are 
   using hash.  Screw the jar down over everything, plug in, and power up!
   Turn the dimmer all the way to 11 for the first minute or two to get up 
   to the working temperature.  If you've got a thermometer, remember to 
   shoot for 200 C.  


Heuristics:

 - How to tell smoke from vapor:  while both are white, vapor rises
   from the bowl more slowly and evenly, while smoke sort of 
   billows out when the temperatures becomes too high.  Also, you'll
   notice a pronounced difference in the flavor of a vapor hit.

 - If you hear a quiet buzzing coming from the dimmer switch, don't
   fear.  It's coming from a capacitor in there somewhere and is sure to
   be some multiple of 60 (50) hz.  As an ee, I'd guess this buzzing is
   the reason why G.E. put a lower limit of 75 W on the recommended 
   power for my dimmer (which I ignored; my iron was 25 W).  A 75 watt
   bulb has a lower resistance and would move some break frequency
   a little lower to make that buzzing too quiet to notice.  If you
   hear a quiet buzzing coming from an orange, consider your vaporizer
   a success.

 - Think it might be a good idea to drill a hole near the bottom of 
   the shaft to let air flow up through the weed?  So did I, until I
   actually did it and found that the iron's shaft was filled with
   come kind of heat-conducting powder, which promptly ran out of 
   the hole.  Bad idea.

 - The time delay between hits and the cooldown period before repacking
   and whatnot detract a  bit from the smoking ritual.  Hence, I only 
   use my vaporizer about half the time when smoking alone and only as
   a novelty among friends.  However, if harvesting resin from your bowl
   is your thing, there is no better way to recycle it than with a 
   vaporizer; smoked resin tastes so awful.  

 - While one of vaporizing's benefits is its kindness to your lungs,
   I'm in it for the efficiency.  When vapor emissions slow down, I
   crank the temperature a bit, combusting materials on the fringes but
   chasing the last bits of THC out of the stuff in the middle.
   The brownish-black debris from a vaporizer might look intact enough
   to smoke, but rest assured it contains no THC.  I've tried smoking
   it from ground zero (straight), and it gives you nothing but an 
   unpleasant taste in your mouth and a mild CO buzz... yech. 

###### ETC ######

An expensive alternative to the thermometer and dimmer switch: drop 
roughly $100 (US) into a soldering station with a temperature control 
(which goes as low as 200 C).  There are commercially made vaporizers
that cost less than that.  If you have access to such a device at a
discount, this is definitely the option for you.  It provides simpler 
temperature control than the dimmer switch-thermometer arrangement.  On 
the other hand, the dimmer and thermometer will cost you less than $20 
($6 for the dimmer).  

I should mention that the dimmer switch-thermometer idea was offered
by a creative a.d.p. reader who read version 1 of this design.  Thanks!

That concludes version 1.2 of this Very Simple Vaporizer Design. 
This 240+ line instruction file merits the name Very Simple since it's
considerably easier and quicker to build than designs I've seen
involving car cigarette lighters, brazing tools, and step-down voltage
transformers.  The only simpler design I've seen is a glass blender 
or empty coffee can on a frying pan.  I'll reply to comments posted to
rec.drugs.cannabis or mailed to my anon.penet.fi address.  Feel free 
to distribute and repost this file, or to alter, improve, or expand it.  

Strange Meadow Lark