DIY Halogen Vaporizer

yeah my 20w dont do much

Put one together. Used the 20w and it ain't workin so well. It chars the chron, but I'm not getting much vapor, whats the deal. Any recomendations?

well i know where to buy a 100w bulb but i dont know where to get the base for it... and i bet that with a dimmer dial it would work great... add a digital temp gauge and bam!!! its the shit....lol

homerdog said:

Put one together. Used the 20w and it ain't workin so well. It chars the chron, but I'm not getting much vapor, whats the deal. Any recomendations?

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Sorry you are having trouble. If it is charring it could be that you have the screen with the herb too close to the bulb. Remember it isn't the bulb that you are using for the heat, but the hot air coming off the bulb. The herb should be on a screen above the bulb.

Many people have included a dimmer switch. That is an excellent way to keep it from getting too hot.

BTW to all the people who have modded it and such, GREAT WORK! I saw some mighty fine vaporizers in this thread. The concept is pretty simple and a pretty fun weekend project.

One word of warning though, do not use glues,tape or anything like that near the heating element. That is not something you want to be breathing in.

The brass pipe is just to hold the bulb in place, and to provide a cylinder to hold the herb & screen.

I didn't go into too much detail because once you have the idea down, it is really easy to go from there.

As far as comparing to other vaporizers, I'd say it is equal. The final result is vapor.

crazy7605150 said:

well i know where to buy a 100w bulb but i dont know where to get the base for it... and i bet that with a dimmer dial it would work great... add a digital temp gauge and bam!!! its the shit....lol

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The UtiliTech 120V 20-watt Xenon Accent Kit light is PLENTY hot enough. You don't need a 100-watt bulb. If you put your herb directly on that bulb it will burn it to a crisp in seconds. If you are not getting any vapor, move the screen with herb closer to the bulb.

Def made the mistake of having tape too close at first, uhh nasty sh*t. I have a dimmer but couldn't find the correct tools to trim it, so it will fit under the casing. How long should I be waiting for vapor with the 20w how visible is it) and can chron be too dry to vap effectively? Maybe I'll just pack (loosely) the hell out of it and give it another try. Put a bowl pack in last time with little return on vapor.

The herb can be dry. I've not noticed the moisture to be an issue. You can actually vaporize fresh herb because you aren't actually burning the chlorophyll.

I'd say after 5 minutes it should be hot enough. With vapor, you won't actually see much of anything. It will appear like a faint mist. Also you want to pull very slowly to allow the hot air to move slowly through the herb. If you pull fast, it will not be nearly as effective.

Your spent herb should have the smell of (for lack of anything better) dry popcorn with a slight toasty appearance.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll give it another go, guess I'm used to seeing "smoke". Waited a few minutes last time and didn't feel much so I packed up the bubbler, I'll try it solo later tonight. I only made the hole like 1/4" in the top, more is better, or just right?

If you get smoke, it is too hot. To remedy that, either turn the bulb down with a dimmer, pull faster, or wait until the bulb cools and move the herb further up from the bulb. Some people go for the faint vapor first...and gradually heat it up for light smoke. The commercial vaporizers will burn your herb just as easily if they are turned up.

You know it is working if the spent herb smells like popcorn and is brown. Also, you do not want to look at the light. It emits UV. That is one reason why I suggested using the brass pipe and brass cap with the hole in the top. The hole size is optional and will effect the rate of draw. Mainly there to keep the light from spilling out too much.

Tried it again last night, this time just went all out and packed it up fat. Worked much better, under side of the pack got a little crispy, but the rest looked like what ure talking about, caught a nice one too!

I feel like a bug though, I can't help looking at the light, then my eyes feel funny.

Hey guys - I just built this thanks to your brilliant design and direction but I'm having am issue I can't resolve ... My halogen is smoking all on it's own.
Ive removed the rubber tubing, for fear that it was melting, not the issue. I also made sure the light wasn't touching the brass, just in case that was causing the smoke.
I even removed the light from the box, and just plugged in by itself it smokes??
Anyone experience anything like this?

FriendofTom said:

Hey guys - I just built this thanks to your brilliant design and direction but I'm having am issue I can't resolve ... My halogen is smoking all on it's own.
Ive removed the rubber tubing, for fear that it was melting, not the issue. I also made sure the light wasn't touching the brass, just in case that was causing the smoke.
I even removed the light from the box, and just plugged in by itself it smokes??
Anyone experience anything like this?

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You touched the bulb with your fingers...DONT....the oils are burning from the glass and u ruined the bulb go get a new one and DONT TOUCH THE LENS
you can try and clean the other one with a mircocloth but for 2 bucks might as well get a whole new bulb

Also to much oil can cause the bulb to pop so be careful

Thanks, Johnny! That was exactly the problem. I figured it out later that night and that's exactly what I came up with. I just burned the oils off and everything was fine.
I didn't know the oils could cause a bulb to pop, thanks for that tip. I just replaced it tonight on your word. Thanks.

No prob
Now you can throw me some +rep =D
Good to see everything worked out well

Mine is working well. Just thought I'd throw in one adaptation that makes it a lot nicer to use. Wrap some close hanger metal around the copper top a couple times and make a little handle, that way you can take the top off without burning your hand.

Wow those vapes look pretty sick. I'm totally going to make one.

If you're having trouble with the dimmer, the voltage of your dimmer doesn't match that of the bulb. You can ask a dude at the hardware store or w/e which dimmer will work a certain light, 'cause they're not all the same. Other than that, it's all good.

What an awesome design. I definitely need to find some time to build this. +rep

btw, is this safe.... lol

Just don't burn your fingers and you'll be fine. I've been smoking a couple times and just grabbed the top without thinking about it. Hence why I made handle.

not safe in that way, i mean safe like vaporizing it. does that bulb burn anything that we dont know about that we could also be inhaling. toxic vapors?