How To Make A Vaporizer For Smoking Medical Marijuana

Here’s a home made vaporizer we can really get behind.

Lets just take a second to be completely honest here. There’s no point in suggesting that this is possibly for smoking tobacco.  Medical marijuana is legal (well, not federally), in several states, and we’re sure there are hackers there that would really enjoy making something of their own instead of just buying something.

We’ve covered a few below and they always seemed to have something in common. They use soldering irons for heat. Inevitably someone points out what a bad idea this is.

pot

They are right to do so. There are a multitude of possible bad things that could exist on that soldering iron, or the adhesive you use to fasten things to it, that you probably shouldn’t breathe.  That soldering iron is what drew us to the project in the first place though! It’s a hack! Shame on us (maybe we’ll tackle pressure rated PVC next).  It is like drinking beer through a lead pipe.

So, why would someone want to use a vaporizer? It is slightly healthier. You’re not burning all the plant material and inhaling it, you’re heating it to the point that the thc and magic goo inside boils and makes vapor, which you breathe.  We don’t know exactly how much healthier it is, but it has to be at least marginally better than burning things and inhaling it.

A very popular device for this is the Magic Flying Launch Box or MFLB, a portable vaporizer that retails for around $100.  People have figured out that the thing is quite simple. A wire mesh is heated to roughly 360F (180C) degrees or more by shorting out a battery. That’s it.  You might be thinking , couldn’t I use an E cigarette? Well, probably not, they don’t get hot enough. It would be a cool hack though.

 

When building something like this, you need to do a little research and make absolutely sure the materials you are using aren’t going to kill you. Some wire meshes are coated in zinc or other chemicals. Solder obviously needs to be considered as well. You weren’t seriously going to use treated lumber for this were you? What are you, stoned?

Many people have done DIY versions of the MFLB. Some are super quick and trashy, some are more detailed in their build, and some are even solderless.

294 thoughts on “How To Make A Vaporizer For Smoking Medical Marijuana

  1. STOP POSTING DRUG hacks.
    A. Smoking marijuana is illegal at the federal level. Like it or not it is a fact and if you don’t like work to change the law.
    B. it could get hack a day blocked by schools.

        1. except we both know beer isn’t legal at schools, just like pot.

          how about instead of trying to censor every article on a website intended for a worldwide audience, you go talk to your schools IT person if it gets blocked. the only problem with my plan is it requires human contact on your part

          1. How about we leave the moderation to the moderators.
            Nothing worse than a back seat mod bitching about stuff he disapproves of in the comments section.
            Fear of censorship is no reason for the rest of us to impose self censorship in an effort to gain mainstream acceptance.
            Like it’s ok to post defence distributed links for 3D printable gun files to schools, but not a medical beneficial delivery system.
            As for federal law, the world doesn’t revolve around the USA, and vaporisers themselves are not illegal regardless.

          1. This is a worldly forum. Things like this are about as extreme as a post on beer hacks to the unworldly USA. I like the world! I’m not afraid to know what’s going on everywhere. As for censorship, it’s pretty much the responsibility of the parents. Sure it’s much easier if the fed govt did if for you but it’s time to man up, do the hard thing and talk to your kids about the uncomfortable things.

          2. Or just keep them off the damn computer! Nothing annoys me more than lazy parents demanding the Internet be kept safe for their children. If you wanna have children, you’ve chosen to bring an immense responsibility upon yourself. A bare-minimum it-keeps-em-out-of-my-hair parent is not good enough. If you’re not prepared to be responsible for an idiot with a bad attitude who won’t thank you, then simply don’t have kids.

            Computers are expensive! It’s easy to keep a kid off the Internet, just don’t buy them one! And know that, if they have a computer in their room, no amount of “nanny” software’s gonna keep a 14-year-old boy from his pr0n!

            There’s my other related peeve, “I want a baby!”. You get a baby for 2 years, then you’re stuck with a human being who’s going to live til he’s 70. And if you fuck him up, that’s going to last a long time. It’s a long-term sortof plan.

            Basically I think it should be very difficult, and quite painful, to get pregnant. You can keep sex the way it is (thanks!) but I think the default fertility mode of humans should be “off”. It’d make for a better world, if also one that dies out in 2 generations.

      1. The vibrator one was also over the line. termite is in chemistry books at least it was in mine. The stripper one could also have been missed. This is the second pot hack in a short amount of time.

        1. So when did you Luddites and bible beaters learn to use computers. If you don’t like whats posted here, do us all a favor and look elsewhere. There are lots of things that are illegal merely because the government can get more money to police them and more jobs are created.Look at what happened during Prohibition, the FBI became a real force and the gangsters got enough of a foothold that they are still a problem today. We have had a war on drugs for the last 30 years, and so far the drugs are winning. If we legalized drugs like they have in some parts of Europe we would remove the profits that power the drug cartels and remove the violence that comes from it.
          Well, that’s my soapbox speech for today, NEXT!

        2. No offence, but you have to be really uptight to find a vibrator offensive. It’s not like you never jerked off in your life, is it? Besides, if you don’t want to read about hacked vibrators or marijuana, is it such a big deal for you to just skip those posts?

          Would you be more comfortable if posts about drugs or sex would be labeled as such in the title (i.e. [NSFW] and [DRUGS]), so that you could avoid reading them more easily?

    1. It’s not necessarily illegal in other countries though! There are plenty of hacks on hackaday that might be illegal in various countries, or even in certain states of the us. If hackaday refrained from posting hacks because of their illegality in some locations, then loads of the more interesting hacks wouldn’t make it onto the site!

      Also, for this hack, actually constructing the vaporiser isn’t illegal, and much of the technology used in this hack could be re-purposed for other devices, such as water heaters, so I think it’s still good information to have out there, even if the usage of the end product is illegal.

          1. We speak English around the world. And while Hackaday’s servers, and (I dunno, all of?) their staff are in the USA, that’s irrelevant. Dude, have you met the Internet? Internet, meet dude. Dude here thinks he’s on Compuserve, or in someone’s living room.

          1. Freedom of speech doesn’t extend to encouraging people to break the law. So regardless of whether or not it is moral, even if the state won’t prosecute, smoking pot is still illegal in California, Colorado, and Washington.

          2. No, Freedom of speech does not extend to encouraging people to ***immediately*** break the law, as in inciting a mob or riot. Imminent lawless action.

            “the [Supreme Court] found that Hess’s words did not fall outside the limits of protected speech, in part, because his speech “amounted to nothing more than advocacy of illegal action at some indefinite future time,”[1] and therefore did not meet the imminence requirement.”

            Telling people about how to make a vaporizer is fully protected speech.

        1. lwatcdr, go fuck yourself, other people around the world are also allowed on the internet and don’t follow US law like idiotic sheep, even if HaD is hosted in the US, other people around the world are allowed to view it, so who cares if stuff posted here is illegal in the states…. Pull your finger out and stop being such a moaney little bitch!

    2. Cracking Code is illegal at the federal level. Cracking Cell phones is illegal at the federal level. Violating User Software Agreements is illegal at the federal level. Building electrical circuits that emit radio frequencies without a FCC license is illegal at the federal level.

        1. Nearly all electronics release some EM radiation. That is why everything you can legally buy in the US has that fun FCC compliance script or icon on it somewhere. If you make your own stuff, and don’t pay the gobs and gobs of money to get each test revision tested for compliance, it may be illegal to use (probably) or posses (unlikely).

          1. @Moses: I don’t think this is what cde is referring to.
            Even if he was referring to EMI, I have an FCC amateur extra license and deal with some aspects of radio transmission in my Real Life Job (including as a chief engineer of an FM broadcast radio station in the past)– I haven’t seen anything radio-related on HAD that struck me as illegal.
            This post certainly covers a device that is illegal for it’s intended use, though.

          1. For the record, bladeRF can be used for many, many, many legal purposes, or could possibly be used for illegal purposes.
            On the other hand, anywhere in the primary target audience of this website, this vaporizer is illegal to use for it’s intended purpose.

      1. If there’s a more useful way I can take my heroin or crack, why not? Taking drugs is the sole concern of the individual. This is the site that posted a hack for breaking into hotel rooms! And bloody interesting it is too!

        It’s not, currently, illegal to share information. Actually that’s out of date, it is, in lots of cases. But it shouldn’t be. Reading about drugs doesn’t get you high, and reading about those ridiculously poor hotel-door locks hasn’t actually caused any of them to open.

    3. While I’m not in favor of smoking marijuana, you have completely missed the point lwatcdr. Should we not allow people to learn chemistry because people use it to make explosives and some really nasty drugs? You do realize the exact same knowledge is also used to make life saving drugs for you and your family? I can go on, but the point is, too many people want to stick their head in the sand and ban anything they don’t understand. As a result of that mentality, we (the U.S.) are rapidly slipping behind other countries economically as well as in our education.

      The U.S. have sat on their laurels for too long, hiding from the very things that puts food on our tables and money in our wallets. Stop being a moron and take that for what it is, knowledge.

        1. I know, try copper plating a DIY PCB for THC (funny, I try to type THC and my spellcheck wants to replace it with fucked. But I digress). One of the key ingredients is banned in the U.S. drug related I guess.

          This sort of overreaching control is exactly why the U.S. school system churns out blind sheep whose sole.purpose is to spend money they don’t have.

        2. I believe meth production is what is behind glass lab ware restrictions. Ironically in TX you may still be able to buy glass tubing at an oil field supply store, although it’s a bit bigger than chemist might ordinarily use. Ask for glass sight tubing.

      1. Yup. You’re lead by your money classes, bankers and investors. Who don’t know or care where actual value is generated. And people grow up wanting to be lawyers and stockbrokers.

        The Germans respect their engineers, as do the Japanese. I’m pretty sure the Chinese do too.

      2. Here is the point. I have often referred people to Hackaday to show that “Hacking” does not mean doing evil. I have even referred kids to read HAD so that they too can learn to Hack in a positive way. That is now dead. I just can not suggest that any young person come to this sight. Sure it is fine for adults but it is now not okay for people that are not. Frankly this is more High Times the HAD.

          1. A vast number of morons think hacking is evil. The same also believes hacking is illegal as well. I’ve been openly barred from jobs because of this notion. Yes, thanks to the U.S. and their laws, grievances and lawsuits are pending. >:)

    4. Oh your poor virgin eyes! Someone posted information on drugs! Won’t anyone think of the children!?

      Seriously, you contradict yourself when you express a desire to violate the First Amendment (Yes, that’s right: talking about illegal things, short of actually doing them, is not just a constitutionally protected right, but falls under the very goddamn first constitutionally protected right!) and then demand that people work to change US federal law. How on Earth could people ever expect to change oppressive laws in they’re unable to change others’ hearts and minds, get the masses comfortable with a taboo subject, and coordinate themselves in taking down said oppressive laws?

      See, I’d rather see all technical information be made freely available. Let this site link to PiHKAL with detailed tutorials on how to synthesize and refine, say MDMA, Aleph-4, or 2C-T-7; let’s call it a chemistry hack for all I care. The more the merrier! Information is power, and I believe that power belongs to the people. (Besides, information wants to be free!)

        1. Erowid is just a starting point. Mostly good for reading experiences, checking up on laws, and getting safety-related info, that sort of thing.

          My point was simply that I don’t care what Hack a Day posts, legal in the US or not, just that they continue to have the gall to post it. It could be a well-documented step-by-step tutorial on synthesizing designer drugs for all it matters.

    5. May I point out that if a school blocks HackADay, you should simply report that school to the net, then stand back and watch the fireworks?

      Or, for that matter, take any of a very large number of perfectly legal alternatives to kick your school into the 21st Century? To quote a friend who became VERY sig-worthy, “Information not only wants to be free, it wants to run people down and mug them in back alleys.”

      One of the natural consequences – and BENEFITS! – of living in the Information Age.

    6. Hackaday is already blocked in our school(because web address includes hack) so no any harm done, and this is not the most serious post, I took it humorously. I would myself not use tools to this, because of said health risks, even tough I probably get more toxins and other bad stuff in my body by soldering and hacking than if I would smoke marijuana x3. And there have been possibly many more articles which could get site banned, arduino clocks that could be converted to bomb timer? And gods know what else… So I think this article is not big deal.

    7. This is not an America only site.

      If they stop posting drug hacks be quad it’s illegal to smoke pot in the states. (Though not in Amsterdam)
      Should they also stop posting gun hacks because handgun ownership is illegal in many counties (though not in the states)
      Should they stop posting beer hacks because whilst perfectly legal it’s illegal to drip in Saudi Arabia?

      Stop being so closed minded.

    8. Smoking weed is illegal?
      I mean, not selling but smoking.
      Where I live is totally ok, you can smoke even on the street, the police can’t do anything about it, but you can’t sell or buy weed.

    9. Amazing how many sheeple think there are such things as federal laws.

      Jurisprudence of the United States of America is that laws only are enacted as local [city/town/village], semi-local [county], and universal [state].

      The functions at the federal level consist merely to mediate betwixt states in disputes, and provide a cohesive response to international trade and treaties.

    10. What, you think you’re the entire audience and get to dictate what appears here? Not so.. and it obviously has audience appeal. A little tip to help you not look like a jerk in the future: just because you’re not into it doesn’t give you the right to try and prevent others from reading it.

      1. F’n “A” ABC kick some a$$.

        This person is probably addicted some prescribed synthetic crap.

        Hell there is more people fucked up alcohol than any other drug but it’s still very legal… Hmmmmm

      1. longest thread ever?
        Anyways to fdjsklfhdslkj..and anybody else who can’t see past their own prejudices.
        a couple of points
        First off, Vaporizers,( regardless of why they were originally developed) became popular among people who were using mary jane for relief from the symptoms associated with chronic/terminal illnesses or the negative side effects of the medications used to treat them. The ability to separate the therapeutically beneficial elements of “the devil’s delight” from the inflammatory and possibly harmful soot and tar by products normally associated with sparkin one up was an aspect particularly well received by lung and throat cancer patients. Having an easy to use, flame-less, built in ignition certainly made it easier on those suffering from advanced MS, or Parkinson’s to use.
        Which is, by the way, legal in many states.
        Of course, people who use the REEFER! to unwind or party like it not only for the above reasons, but also because when properly used, a vaporizer produces virtually no second hand smoke or odor. This makes it possible for them to enjoy their filthy, sinful habit without upsetting the sensibilities of busy bodies with nothing better to do than concern themselves with what others put in their own bodies.
        And this by the way, is now legal in CO and WA.
        That brings us to the next point, which is, people DO NOT like the federal laws concerning marijuana use and how they are applied and ARE changing the laws via the democratic process.
        Which makes the subject of this article CONTROVERSIAL, not ILLEGAL, something the public school system seems to have NO problem discussing with children.
        Besides your fears that HAD might be banned at schools because of this seems largely unfounded. I doubt there are many schools that make it available since students might accidentally learn something that’s useful or relevant , which seems to fly in the face of current public education policy.
        Then there is the point made by many others that HAD is a worldwide open forum. Were they to censor everything that was potentially, partially or totally illegal somewhere, it’s relevance and usefulness would cease to exist.
        But it’s a free country where you live.
        My advice is for you to exercise that freedom by NOT reading any post that offends your sensibilities. After all, having an open mind is not required. It just helps.
        So go pour yourself a couple fingers of jack, pop in your VHS copy of “Reefer Madness” drift back in time to when the world made sense you. If your lucky, your wife will bring you your pipe and slippers.
        Enjoy!
        Ursus.

    11. First off. There are no restrictions on providing information. Thank the 1st amendment for that and also it is the application of that information that could get some persons in trouble. Let the police worry about enforcing laws and just chill out.

    12. well maybe they should educate the children on the end cannabinoid system. I have a seizure disorder and this plant keeps me alive. Vaporizing is the best way to distribute this medication.

    1. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

      Galvanized steel is coated with zinc. Zinc fumes are highly toxic, which is why there are many, many precautions (including, frequently, “Don’t ever do that.”) surrounding the welding of galvanized steel.

      Using galvanized steel for something that you are deliberately heating and inhaling from is far dumber than inhaling drugs in the first place.

      1. Hey, my IQ = 155, and I’m like really clever. And I smoke the shit out of drugs all the time. Similarly there are plenty of stupid people who don’t. I take it you have figures to back up your assertion that drugs = dumb. Cos otherwise you’d just be talking out of your arse, in public, and you’d look like an idiot doing that.

        1. err ok. If you cant see that I was joking fair do’s turns nout clever people cant tell stuff like that. Also telling people about your IQ here is like saying you have loads of money in dubai. Not only that its vulgar,

          1. I know it’s vulgar, but it’s a quick rebuttal to being called “dumb”. I don’t make a habit out of it.

            In any case I wasn’t replying to you. I was replying to Stripey’s assertion about inhaling drugs in the first place. I thought it was pretty clear.

            So, nothing to do with your joke, which was pretty amusing.

          1. For some reason a bit of dialog from Futurama comes to mind…

            Nibblonian: You are the last hope of the universe.
            Fry: So I really am important? How I feel when I’m drunk is correct?

        2. Easy there, Excitebike. Quit jammin’ the ‘B’ button. I would encourage anybody with a 155 IQ to familiarise themselves with the idea of comparative adjectives in English, such as “dumber” – which you’ll note makes no absolute valuation regarding the stupidity of either activity, and only notes that smoking from galvanised steel is far dumber.

          Pull your trousers up. Your whiny, defensive pants are showing.

      2. Don’t breath fumes from overheated galvanized wire. You can suffer “metal fume fever” with symptoms including fever, chills, thirst, headache and nausea. With long term exposure you can lose your sense of smell, or even suffer mineral deficiency. You have been warned.

        That said, I think classifying zinc as “highly toxic” overstates the danger. If you want details, here’s the scoop on welding galvanized steel [http://www.nakedwhiz.com/weldinggalvanized.pdf], complete with references. I wear a respirator when I have occasion to weld galvanized steel, but working outside and not breathing the plume of vapors would probably suffice. Breathing zinc fumes is low on my list of health concerns.

  2. Ya, this can be made for less than $5 in materials. Also the e-cig comment is just dumb as shit. E-cigs use a glycol based solution that is dripped on an atomizer. Tetrahydradelta4cannibol wouldn’t be released in a usable form if you just juiced it into an atomizer. I’ve heard you would have to make a tincture(which Idk what the technical specifications for are) if you wanna drip it on an atomizer from an e-cig and actually get high. They have small vaporizers that do hashish or hash oil, but these are above $100 too

      1. I’ve advised people I know who smoke against that. Butane is not volatile enough to be removed at normal temp and pressure, so you end up vape-ing the butane as well. And that just ain’t healthy. You’d need a still or vacuum to remove 99% of the butane.

        If you are using butane as a solvent, use a vacuum apparatus to increase the amount of butane remove, or better yet use a different solvent. Find a old Merck chem manual, and pick your solvent from that. I forget which one I ended up recommending for someone’s baked goods, probably everclear or moonshine or if THC is strongly non-polar a cooking oil and just waiting longer. Cooking oil isn’t as good for vape, but better for brownies.

        1. Better to use butane than toluen or benzene if you want pure THC. Boiling point of butane is -1C, you could also use propane with boiling point of -42C. Heating your extract a bit (~50C for example) should let you remove enough.

  3. Posts like this will get HaD banned from quite a few places.
    I am in the military and our system admins love keyword blocking sites that mention drug use.

    HaD needs to realize weed is illegal for most of their readers. If we wanted to learn about new ways of smoking weed we would Google it. We want to see innovations and new ways of using old technology.

    1. Sucks being in the military, then. That, and the getting killed. If your lifestyle choices have limited your Internet access, go complain to your provider. The Internet doesn’t have to adapt to your needs. It’s meant for grown-ups who decide for themselves what they’ll read.

      Anyway militaries have all sorts of amazing tech. If they won’t share it with hackers, why should we care about them?

      1. Huh?… I’ve never associated the phrase “drug user” with “grown-up.” Stoners remind me more of little children who are too immature to understand that eating candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day will eventually make them sick.

        If your internet connection is not screened or censored, good for you. For many in the real world, certain kinds of recurrent subject matter on Hackaday will eventually get the site blocked.

        Because of your awesome I.Q., which you alluded to earlier, I’m surprised that I have to explain the obvious: “Navy” wasn’t criticizing HAD or asking for censorship. He was simply voicing concern that editorial choices here might ultimately prevent him (and many thousands of others) from being able to enjoy HAD in the future.

        The owners/operators of HAD are free to publish what they want. The question they’ll ultimately have to consider is whether applying some kind of standard with regard to content/subject matter will hurt the site’s overall traffic, or in the long run, help to preserve it.

        1. This is just stupid. It might get Hackaday banned from his workplace, and GOOD. He’s squandering my tax dollars. If I have to pay for him to occupy an office chair then he should be working.

        2. “Stoners remind me more of little children who are too immature to understand that eating candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day will eventually make them sick.”

          Got any research backing that up, or is that a gut feeling?

    2. I agree with this assessment, I spent 8 years as a Master at Arms in the Navy and can tell you that at times, uncle sam’s puppets get all uptight and start hacking at eachother by taking a microscope to everything you see hear and do.

    1. I’d actually like to see some harder-drug-related hacks, if only to drive off the ignorant, butthurt kiddies who are unable to imagine that other societies exist outside of their isolated bubble.

  4. Please never sensor hacks.
    My PVC potato gun blew up, yes pressure rated, it’s the failure mode w compressible vs non compressible working fluids almost blew a kids nut sack off he’ll be fine by the time he’s old enough to use them.

  5. FWIW the main benefit of a vapouriser is the immense efficiency. To put it crudely, since I don’t have the drugz or the mass-spectrometer with me I’d need otherwise, but you get way way more stoned from a vape than you do from any other method of smoking, for the same amount of drugs. Or the same amount stoned for less drugs. Cheaper and healthier.

    Because, as I believe you mentioned, the various chemicals aren’t being destroyed and oxidised through too much heat. Just enough heat is the key, but vapourisers are usually slow enough that they don’t need too much control, just on and off at the right time will do.

    1. unless the vape is occurring in a vacuum or inert gas environment, then the smoked substance is being oxidized to some degree. The heat alone will cause some of the material to oxidize, you can’t avoid that if oxygen is in the mix anywhere.

      1. What, below the burning point? Burning = oxidation. Unless you mean just the gradual oxidation that happens to all sorts of compounds left out in air, the stuff that can spoil food etc. Cos in that case a vape is causing no *extra* oxidation above the background amount.

  6. Small complaint: In the Venn diagram, the Hacker circle doesn’t overlap the Marijuana Smokers circle nearly enough. I’ve never met a pot smoker that wasn’t a hacker of a sort, although their hacks are generally limited to devices to smoke marijuana with.

    Many pot smokers i have met seem to enjoy playing a game where you must construct a marijuana smoking device made soley of things provided in an arbitrary hotel/motel/timeshare room. The results are often rather humorous and require two people to operate.

    I think we shouldn’t forget that we’re talking about a device to vaporize a dried flower. It’s not a device to smoke crack or PCP, it’s just a flower. I should know as I spent a year on the side of a mountain in N. California growing them, and believe it, nothing scares those mountain people more than the idea of legalized pot. If you hate the idea of hippies living up in the mountains growing and drying these flowers, then work to legalize pot because it will put them all out of a job as marijuana becomes worth the same as a dozen long-stemmed carnations.

        1. Joe1. I have to disagree. The deciphering and manipulation of the genetic code might possibly be the greatest hack of all. And while like all technology, it has the potential for misuse, the possibilities for the benefit of all of Mankind are staggering and may well hold the keys to our future. As with any cutting edge science, the more people that understand and share knowledge of it’s workings the less chance there is for a few to misuse or abuse the power it represents. Sorry to stray off topic, but if the ability to “turn off” disease and the negative effects of aging in an otherwise functioning system doesn’t represent the greatest hack of all, I’m not sure what is. (wouldn’t it be cool to find the “dumbass” switch? Granted it would make a thread such as this one less entertaining :) Ursus.

      1. I think so. They do use lithium batteries, which can supply the current for a heater. If they weren’t using all that current, I’d imagine they’d use disposable watch batteries, and it’d only be to light up the LED on the end. That itself’s an achievement, such a tiny heater, that can go so hot and yet be held in the fingers coolly, with however much insulation.

        I’d like to see a teardown. They’re not expensive to buy, anyone used one to try quit? And failed? Or succeeded? Either way you’ve got a spare one!

        1. I’ve got one apart before. Not much inside. A battery, LCD display with backlight on a PCB with an unmarked chip(some sort of micro controller). I haven’t got the heater end open yet. Still working on it. As for pictures. I’ll try and get some up as soon as I’m done.

        2. Basically it’s a wick made of a material (Stainless steel mesh, fiberglass, cotton, silica, even porous ceramics) with a coil of resistance wire (typically Nichrome 80 or Kanthal A-1) with a resistance in the neighborhood of 2.5 +/-0.7 Ohms. Wire is connected to a 3.7V Lithium Ion (typically LiMn) battery with a momentary switch.
          Push down the button and the wires get hot.

          TLDR: It’s a battery powered toaster with a wick.

    1. PEG or Vegetable glycerin is used as a carrier for the nicotine in E-Juice. My understanding is that the VG/PEG is atomised by the heating unit and the nicotine is transported in liquid form in the atomised glycerin droplets.

      Cannabis extracts need to be decarboxylated before being introduced to the PEG/VG solution (unless ‘cooked’ in a pressure vessel before hand) as the e-cigarette can not decarboxylate the solution when being used.

  7. It’s like the 3rd soldering iron vaporizer posted here, and all these times you’ve warned about the chemicals. How about someone hacks up one taking in mind, and eliminating all the risk? :P

    1. What actually is the danger from a (brand new, obviously!) soldering iron? I once took the tip out, and used the rest as a basis for a quick ‘n’ easy vapouriser. I, and however many brain cells I have left, am still here.

  8. being stoned does not make you stupid, getting high promotes regenerative brain cell growth in the memory centers of the brain. while a good hack and a good write up, that last part perpetuates the negative stigma, of getting stoned equals making them stupid, that marijuana smokers have had to endure for the last hundred years.

    1. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA
      *inhales*
      HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

      “promotes regenerative brain cell growth”
      “the negative stigma. . .that marijuana smokers have had to endure for the last hundred years”

      Oh god, my sides. Yes, pot smokers are so oppressed. It must be really difficult living in this literally hitler police state. DAE literally 1984? Are you really that delusional?

      1. You should read some particular reports. All sorts of horrible and wrong shit goes down. And your prisons have institutionalised rape. An endless source of comedy for tired gag-writers.

        You know there’s just about no rape in UK prisons? If you raped someone in a British prison, they’d put you away with all the other rapists and paedophiles, cos your life wouldn’t last a minute mixing with the regular prisoners. Yet in American prisons it’s part of the culture, used by the prisoners and the staff alike. Not that the staff commit many rapes, but they are often complicit.

        The USA is fucked-up. You’ve got some nice people, and some complete mud-heads. But your government and police have turned into enemies of the people. You’re a rich man’s playground, a hell for the poor, and a feeling of vague dissatisfaction for the rest. I wouldn’t enter your country, even with no intention to use drugs. I’d be genuinely scared of the cops, the terrible attitude that some of them have, and their high chances of doing what the hell they like and getting away with it.

        1. I’ve been reading your comments, and you are a delusional nutcase. Have you ever even *been* to the US? Oh my god, marijuana being illegal =/= police state. Take your paranoid conspiracy claptrap elsewhere.

          1. I’ve just said. I wouldn’t want to go. And I’m just going on things I read. Perhaps you don’t read the same stuff I do. Feel free to argue the facts, if you have any.

            You ever had a run-in with the police? Or do you think you’re immune cos you’re not a drunken redneck or some teenage gangsta, like they show on COPS? Worst thing about that show is the quality of idiot they have to find, to make the cops look clever.

            Here’s some guy I found in a quick look round the web. There’s lots, lots more.

            http://www.newschannel5.com/story/18241221/man-loses-22000-in-new-policing-for-profit-case

            Since they changed the law that now lets the police keep any cars they “suspect” have been bought with drug money or used in drug transporting, a lot of people with nice cars have found themselves under police “suspicion” all of a sudden. Selling off seized assets, as well as keeping seized cash, funds a lot of modern police budgets. You want your stuff back, t’s up to you to prove you’re NOT a drug dealer.

            It’s not everyone that gets fucked-over. But all you have to do is get the attention of the wrong guy, and it descends upon and fucks your life, and there’s nothing you can do. I’ve read endless stories of this happening to lots and lots of people. You can ignore it, but it’s still there. You’ve been lucky. Be grateful.

          2. Graylord in the 1980”s comes to mind. And they wonder why people flip their lids when no one gets nailed for that greedy nonsense in a trusted position. I think it’s a bit like the mythical Russian Roulette, quite frankly.

  9. If you would like to have an informed point of view, go to You Tube and search Donald Tashkin. Dr. Tashkin is a professor at UCLA medical school. He has spent the last 25-30 years researching chronic pot smoking linkage to cancer and other lung health issues. He makes it clear that he worked hard to find that linkage, assuming that all the crap in the burned plant sugars, etc. must SURELY have health implications. He has gathered all of the research done in this area by other researchers as well. The bottom line is that neither he or other researchers have found any lung damage in subjects’ heavy daily smoking of The Herb. Repeat, none. No cancer, no emphysema, Nothing.

    However, researchers DID find a link between between heavy chronic pot smoking and lung cancer! That heavy pot use was found to DIMINISH a specific family of lung cancers, namely Squamous Cell Carcinomas. Like it or not, them’s the facts. The remedy for those suffering pot hysteria is FACT.

    Having said that, pot smoking can cause temporary impairment of certain brain activities. Has anyone else here tried to combine smoking and differential calculus or computer programming? Good luck with that! The solution to that problem is the application of common sense. Program by day, and enjoy The Herb when the work day is over. Well, duh!

    1. “Has anyone else here tried to combine smoking and differential calculus or computer programming? Good luck with that!”

      Actually, yeah! Sometimes handy for freshening your ideas when you’re stuck headbutting the same bug for ages.

      But of course, I don’t think anyone’s ever asserted their right to be stoned at work. So that’s not really any more responsibility that to turn up shaved and wearing clean clothes. And smoking, which is not the only way of ingesting drugs, may be bad for your health. But we’re grown-ups. It’s my damn health and I’d be on to a loser if I aimed my existence at prolonging and preserving it as much as I could. I’ll sacrifice a few HP for a few laffs and some good times with friends.

      1. me as well. Shit, I’ve done some complete projects under the influence. soldering too (though more serious / dangerous power tools aren’t a good idea).

        sometimes I’m just not motivated or interested when I’m sober, but when I’m under the influence it seems a lot more interesting.

        I’ve also done some EE homework as well, that would include a little bit of differential calc.

        I don’t think marijuana makes it any more difficult or any easier, just different.

    2. Well folks, you heard it here first! Marijuana cures cancer. Let me guess, “Big Pharma” and “The Corporations” just made it illegal because they can’t make a profit? Yet again the man is just bringing us all down! The fundies and the one percent are oppressing you. The gubbernment just wants to keep pot illegal because big pharma would literally go out of business because marijuana is all you need. Luckily glorious Europe has made pot legal unlike stupid AmeriKKKans.

      Sound about right? Jesus, I feel stupider for having written that.

      1. What? At least his post was legible.
        I think the thing to take into consideration is that we can link cannabis use with decreased cancer rates. It is a mistake to make the conclusion that it cures anything. Just that something about smoking it might cause it’s users to not get cancer. Or maybe all pot smokers use an incense that prevents cancer. Or maybe being happy all the time prevents cancers, more study is needed, break out the bong!

        1. well it won’t cause cancer unless its grown like tabacco is
          “Radioactive polonium-210 contained in phosphate fertilizers is absorbed by the roots of plants (such as tobacco) and stored in its tissues. Tobacco plants fertilized by rock phosphates contain polonium-210, which emits alpha radiation estimated to cause about 11,700 lung cancer deaths annually worldwide.” Naturally grown tabacco(or non industrial fertilzed) has never been shown to cause cancer. Inhaling radioactive materials that the lungs can’t clean out is the main cause for lung cancer which has actually increased even though the number of smokers has decreased. Maybe our government should have thought before blowing up atom bombs in our atmosphere and showering us in radioactive dust thats so easy to breathe in.

  10. DAE LE WEED!?!?!

    No, but seriously. This site has gotten absolutely ridiculous. Look, it’s not even that marijuana is illegal, it’s that stuff like that is pandering, intellectually bankrupt trash.

    1. Then send something in.

      Think we have the time to sit on the Internet and find every single thing we post ourselves? Nope. We have Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program to play. It’s you guys (and gals) that make Hackaday.. What you send in is a reflection of what you see on Hackaday.

      1. I’m not even blaming you guys, it’s that the population has gotten progessively less mature over the years, and the comments even more insipid. You are right that the content reflects what the readers want. Unfortunately the readership is more asinine than I thought. I mean, I guess the problem I have is the absurd kind of crap you see in the comments here, for example that marijuana is a panacea that promotes brain growth. Right. That, and the tired, adolescent pseudo-anarchist, anti-authority idiocy is just too much.

        1. I have to agree here. This place is more like a teenage hangout every time I check in. The “editors” seem to just shrug it off. (Brian is ok sometimes. Caleb is almost always a pompous fool)
          I guess if that works well for the business folks, that’s great.
          I, for one, am getting close to the point where it’s not worth it for me to stop by anymore. And I actually buy things from the advertisers because I have a real job.

  11. What? ‘Still concerned about the crap in the smoke? Then Google “The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics” and read the article “Cannabis Vaporizer Combines Efficient Delivery of THC
    with Effective Suppression of Pyrolytic Compounds”. Yes, after much work with gas chromatography, researchers found that vaporizers work. Again, them’s the FACTS. Again, well duh!

  12. I see things like this, and I wonder… Couldn’t you just roll a joint using aluminum foil, instead of paper, and gently heat the outside with a lighter for an expedient and disposable vaporizer?

    1. You can smoke heroin in a similar way. Don’t know that it’d work well with cannabis. You’d need too much heat for too long.

      For heroin, one rolls a tube of foil, then places the drug on a flat sheet. Then hold a lighter underneath the sheet, and “chase” the melting drug around, inhaling the smoke. This works because heroin melts. Cannabis would stay solid, and in the same place. By the time you’d got it vapourised, the foil would have failed or burned through.

      I suppose it might work with a dry pipe. Just a brass pipe with a bowl on it. Instead of lighting it, hold the lighter far away enough that the drug just vapourises, not burns. Interestingly this is how one smokes crack.

    2. I have been told that using aluminum foil in any sort of home made smoking device is a bad idea.

      Perhaps HAD should make a post informing people what materials are safe and what materials are not safe to use for home made smoking applications.

  13. The main issue with vaporizers is the temperature at which the air or vapor is, most of the time too high to be healthy to inhale. So if the heater is around 250 deg cel to get vaporization, when it enters your mouth/throat/lungs, it is still far over water’s boiling point (100 deg cel) so that part of your body vaporizes also… There is some cooling from the pipes but that reduces over time, we need something more like the Tornado vapo.. Also. shorting a battery is really bad in a way, depending on what type you use, it will certainly heat up and maybe blow up too… So what is paper to metal vapors or you know butane to electric heat, butane’s oxidation (burning) equation only gives out CO2 and H2O…

    “C4H10 + 13/2O2 —— > 4CO2 + 5H2O

    Or

    2C4H10 + 13O2 —— > 8CO2 + 10H2O” (http://www.blurtit.com/q6742124.html)

    1. I’d worry about the battery too. I wouldn’t worry about the temperature though. It’s only a very small amount of weed needs to be heated up, so just a small amount of air. Upon mixing with normal breath, the overall temperature will be barely above ambient. Same way smoking a cigarette works, tobacco burns very hot, but the smoke’s average temperature is ok.

  14. The hack wasnt as interesting as the comments.
    I have learned that…
    People believe myths. People believe myths without researching facts. People are retarded. If this hack was labeled ‘Cheaper way to burn nicotine liquid’ then half of these amazing comments would disappear. Myths are important for entertainment reasons… without myths we wouldnt have Santa and the Easter Bunny, jesus and god, Palin and Alex Jones.

    I have have also learned that complaining on the internet gets you made respect and it actually helps your cause, but im pretty sure that this one is a myth too.

    1. I’m kind of embarassed to admit this but. . .does anyone else think religion is a lie used to oppress people? It’s really brave of you to admit that you think that on a site where everyone clearly disagrees.

      And in case you can’t tell, yes, I’m being sarcastic. Keep pandering.

      1. Good Sir \ Ma’am
        It was an allegory directed at the plethora of individuals who take hear-say as fact and regurgitate it as if they knew what they were talking about in the first place. Not necessarily a specific ideology, but some sort of societal manipulation that (sub) consciously changes emotional status when faced with an ordered list of graphical representations of sounds.

        Example: How do you feel before and after reading these ordered lists.
        I gay-love weed masturbation with Romney abortions on nine eleven.

        (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

        1. I read that as a news headline ‘Romney abortions Seven-Eleven’ with a picture of Romney flipping a table over with big gulps, scratch off tickets, and hustlers majestically flying through the air. It made me a little upset.

      2. Ignoring intended sarcasm and the question isn’t intend for myself. Religion being a lie or not no one can prove, but the evidence shows that some are used for oppression. Anyway commenting from a pseudonym does reveal identity is really hard to call brave.

  15. Please somebody who lives outside the US where industrial hemp is legal send a hack to the tip line that uses hemp. Hopefully it will get featured creating another day of entertaining comments, hemp being illegal in the US you know. Internet filters are poor tools when used by organizations too lazy to put in place guidelines to manage their use.

    1. Hemp is legal. You can buy hemp bags, hemp soap, hemp rope (the reason why it is still legal). Technically Marijuana is legal if you can magically get the tax stamp for it, which has never been made. It is just a quirk of the legal system that makes THC in your bloodstream a Prima Facie crime. Tis a disgusting abuse of reason to be honest.

    1. so, What is the best battery to use? also, what is the best metal screen to use?

      Im considering just taking apart one of my regular vaporizers to toy with the heating element and wire mesh with some different voltages.

      1. I wouldn’t. Assuming you bought your vapes, they’re probably best as they are. If they hit the right temperature and put in enough watts of heat, they’re fine. You could add digital temperature control if you wanted, but you really only need to hit one particular temperature, no advantage going hotter or colder.

        You could still try adding functionality to the rest of it though. Plenty you can do with a bit of tubing and some Blu-Tack.

      2. @ dALE-

        The eneloop 2500mah are best. Having a MFLB style vape myself, using anything below 2200mah doesn’t get the screen warm enough for the vape to happen. Rechargeable.

        I have since converted a ATX PSU, make a mock AA battery, and use this in place of batteries when I’m not travleing.

        I’ve been looking at the DIY vapes. The MFLB sytle (which this one is) are usually the cheapest, and smallest. I’ve seen people using SS 316 screens from teaballs to 100 micron screens. The next best one for DIY I’ve seen is the Bud Toaster someone posted above. That is just warm air running over the material. No metals, just air and pyrex glass.

        -Kefner

  16. This is an interesting idea, but I’m concerned about how different battery chemistries would function. The design doesn’t so much “short out” the battery as it does hack together an impromptu heating element.

    Different batteries, however, have different responses to the current draw that will be imposed. The worst case scenario is that your battery actually ruptures and/or catches fire. Spilling a battery’s electrolyte is probably less safe than just smoking to begin with.

    I’d love to see some specification of the resistance across the heating element and what that means in terms of discharge rate for various types of batteries as well as recommendations on which batteries might be appropriate to use. LiMn batteries, for example, can handle very high discharge rates and they could be recharged for reuse.

  17. This is hilarious… I actually made my own vaporizer because i was sick of burning myself with a torch. I made a cheesy 555 PWM circuit power a nichrome-ceramic heater i made with a dremel. At first it was powered by a car battery, then an ATX power supply, and then i used an open frame PS. My newest version uses an Apex Micro H-bridge chip, so I can reverse direction and avoid corrosion of Nichrome when using DC power. The H-Bridge chip also has current sensing built in, so i get some sort of temp control as well.

    Its funny, i’ve always wanted to get on hackaday, but i never posted my build because i figured hackaday wouldn’t put it up… I suppose i’ll write something up about my arduino\h-bridge version though :)

    check out my piece in action!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LupgdNXSuM0
    old power supply
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtGa2dVXopk
    newer power supply

      1. hell yea ;) i wasn’t about to pay $800 for that highly educated piece.. no no no. I made this with crap i had laying around with exception of nichrome and ceramic, total project cost <$30

  18. in some countries alcohol is ILLEGAL, and
    THIS IS THE WORLD-WIDE-WEB,
    meaning the ENTIRE (connected) world
    can read of any crime in any country.
    since when was this ever an issue on H.A.D.?

    also vaporisers are NOT illegal in ANY country. why? my cooking oven does 360F. arrest me for owning a cooking stove (they all do 360F i think)

    in fact i could use a hammer to hit someone over the head and they could die, yet we post stories involving hammers all the time.

    if you cant handle taking the cover off of your toaster, then maybe YOU should block this site. AND PISS OFF

    FYI up until recently, it was illegal in SOME countries to transfer a (copyrighted) ROM chip to desktop. it might also be illegal to decap IC’s and post. around hackaday we do this daily. and we have been since (a very long time) so leave or be silent

    besides, MAYBE 14 YEAR OLDS SHOULD NOT BE READING HACKADAY WHILE AT SCHOOL!!! MY FRIGGING TAX DOLLARS ARE PAYING FOR YOUR SCHOOL INTERNET. YOUR SCHOOL’s INTERNET POLICY SAYS NO NON ACADEMIC SURFING ALLOWED. PERIOUD!

  19. It’s not where the server is located, it is where the DNS register is. That is why the US justifies hounding Mega and others.

    Isreal researchers just published a paper last year that showed cannabinoids forestall ischemic strokes and heart arrythmias..Once it’s in pill form , everyone will take it.

    Valid hack.
    Learning how to work with this can give you the basics for vapor deposition too..
    That is going to be very valid tech to go with your 3D printing and CNC setup.

    Would be useful for mullein flowers and thyme for a serious flu epidemic too.

    Ars just had a study writeup about programmers and drugs too..

  20. ERRRRRRRRRRMAAAAAAAGGEEEEEEEERRRRDDDDDDDDD Smoking Marijuana is illegal, you are all pariahs waaa waa waaa…
    Grow up. For a start the article says ‘For Smoking Medicinal Marijuana’. Medicinal Marijuana isn’t illegal in many states/countries, and smoking Marijuana is perfectly legal in some countries (soon to be in the United States and Australia).

    Some of you people need to get out of your comfort zone and go down the rabbit hole.
    I thought a place like this would have had more independent people who think for themselves.

  21. I feel this is a very appropriate hack for HAD. The only thing missing from this article is the fact that there are people who also vaporize non-marijuana herbs using similar devices to this. While it does make up a majority of its usage, vaporizing isn’t limited to nicotine or THC.

    Pulling this from a marijuana forum of course shows that the hacker who rolled his own (haha) is using it for medical marijuana purposes. Any dried herb could be used in it; however, one should research which ones are for vaporizing to prevent issue. Sage is a very common one, as well as different mints.

    I think the title, while appropriate given the source of the hack, could have been worded a little better as to not offend everyone that obviously took offense to it. Then again, the world is filled with people who are more concerned about choice of words and not offending others instead of the main purpose of this; sharing knowledge with others. Thankfully, HAD isn’t in a country where these types of articles would be censored. Otherwise it would be a boring blog to read.

    This article has made me think of other uses for a vaporizer. Airfreshners using personally grown herbs. It would be nice to have one running in the bathroom that doesn’t come in a can filled with all those chemicals.

    1. one could experiment with infusing spirits using a vaporizer,
      while alcohol is basically a solvent and does take taste quite well it could be that the vaporization allows a different flavour to be released.

      no idea if it would work but could definately be fun, would probably need some form of pressure to reliably bubble it through a liquid, i doubt the vaporization is powerfull enough on its own

  22. Hackaday has been a real dissapointment recentally. Between the
    Gratuitous lack of sp checking on behalf of the editors
    And now this! I hope this isn’t a sample of what’s to come.

  23. As is so frequently true, this technology has many applications beyond the one it may have been first used for. I would like to see more of them explored and explained. As for the original purpose… Personally, I have recently rediscovered the therapeutic benefits of a certain plant that I had sampled in my youth (It is also one that Thomas Jefferson grew and utilized for a variety of reasons). Among the many benefits I have rediscovered are an improved mood, lower blood pressure and a direct reduction in my ability to be pompous, self-righteous butt-hole who feels they must go on rants about the morality of a perfectly legitimate post such as this one.
    Ursus.

  24. I got to the bottom of the comments. I feel like I just went on a great adventure. Like the first time you see bedrock in Minecraft. That feeling of accomplishment and epic adventure into unknown depths. Maybe its possible to make a greasemonkey script or somesuch to replace the background of big comment sections like this with a minecraft theme. If it is 64 long you start seeing iron, 99 is gold and so on. This article made it to diamond about 80 comments ago.

  25. I really hope that the comments from the flame-bait stuck up fucktards on here aren’t going to pressure u HAD guys into thinking twice before posting similar related stuff on here!! I love a hack as much as the next guy! I also like a smoke just as much and for what is clearly so many of us who approve of anything that goes on here (personally I believe it should ALL be ok, or nothing is!) it doesn’t deserve to be stifled by quite frankly what are the ramblings of an idiot!! (Yeah i’m lookin at you lwatcdr). If anything this should encourage more controversial projects, more legal grey area projects, MORE HACKS PLEASE!! Keep it up guys! Much Love

    1. Funny: ‘TMM’ posts exactly the next minute, a single-word comment agreeing with the previous post. Yeah, 50-cent army or something but American version? Or just someone with a grudge and way too much time to carry it out on the entire WWW? :P

  26. This project might be illegal in certain US states, but not every hackaday visitor is from the US. This would be perfectly legal here in the Netherlands.
    If you are offended by this post, just ignore it and remember that it might be relevant to other makers/hackers.

  27. I was wondering when someone would see the similarities to soldering iron stations and vaporizers. When vaporizers first became popular and were in the $300 range I did some research and realized an $80 soldering station provided the same if not better temp control and as such was a multi-tasker, for me at least.

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