Introduction: DIY Smoke Machine From Ecig Clearomiser
Been looking around trying to find a small smoke machine i could put inside a pumpkin or skull for Halloween. Saw a few people on youtube trying ecigs to produce a smoke affect. I decided that i would give it a go and started to experiment. I first tried using just refillable Smok Mega Dual Coil Cartomiser that i found online but found it all to easy to burn the coils out(and it got very hot) and could not get a decent amount of smoke as it was difficult to hook up a pump.
With a bit more research and hunting i decided to give the following a go as it used a wick and replaceable coil. The item in question was a clearomiser Kanger EVOD BCC. It worked out at just under £5 but so far it has exceeded my expectations. Because of the different design it does not get any way near as hot and was far easier to mod to allow a pump to be attached.
Items Required
Kanger EVOD BCC clearomiser http://www.ecigzoo.com/213-kanger-evod-bcc.html
eGo Unsealed Silver Battery Mod Connector http://www.stealthvape.co.uk/electronic-cigarette-mod-parts/ecig-mod-parts-battery-connectors/unsealed-ego-battery-connector
Air Pump - Aquarium or small electric air pump(eg from a blood pressure monitor)
Power supply or battery suitable for 5v
Tubing for air pump
Fog Juice
Most of the items could be changed and modded. Things like the air pump and ecig can be different but you will need to figure your own voltages and power etc.
The next goal is to add control through a couple of relays and Arduino platform. This way you don't need to run it all the time and can maximise the overall run time etc.
Step 1: Power Connector
Ok first step is to take the the battery connector and connect up two wires so that you can connect it to a power source. At the moment i use a bench power supply running at 5v. It draws just under 2 amps when running.
The battery connector i have used is a eGo Unsealed Silver Battery Mod Connector. Its important that it is unsealed as you will want to be able to connect the the pump up and blow through the connector. I used the following guide for similar connector to help me take it apart, solder and put it back together. You should note that you want to leave the hole as clear as possible as this is how your air flow will work from pump. http://www.modipedia.com/wiki/How_to_Solder_a_510_Connector. You can probably see i damaged the silicon grommet while reinserting. It still works fine mind.
The battery connector i have used is a eGo Unsealed Silver Battery Mod Connector. Its important that it is unsealed as you will want to be able to connect the the pump up and blow through the connector. I used the following guide for similar connector to help me take it apart, solder and put it back together. You should note that you want to leave the hole as clear as possible as this is how your air flow will work from pump. http://www.modipedia.com/wiki/How_to_Solder_a_510_Connector. You can probably see i damaged the silicon grommet while reinserting. It still works fine mind.
Step 2: Wire and Tubing
Once you have the connections made for power then you can work on the air pump side of things. I have a number of different pumps but all used a similar tubing. You need to run the center power wire through the tubing. You then make a small incision in it to allow the wire to be threaded through and out. What you should end up with its the tubing running outside one of the power wires straight up inside the battery connector.
Step 3: Assembly
At this point i would suggest filling up the clearomiser with fog juice. You can either make your own or use an off the self product but remeber you will only be using a tiny amount at a time. I have found that the clearomiser i chose can deal with at least a 50% mix.
The mouthpiece is fixed, to fill simply hold upside down, unscrew the bottom thread and top up with refill liquid. Best practice is to check the coil is tight in the base before filling for the first time.
Once filled you can then attach the power connector. Your then ready to seal it up with masking tape. You may notice that the bottom of the clearomiser has some small holes and these needed to be covered to. Basically cover all the shinny surface and carry on down to seal in the air tube.
Its also worth putting tape around the whole that you made to allow the power wire out of the tube.
The mouthpiece is fixed, to fill simply hold upside down, unscrew the bottom thread and top up with refill liquid. Best practice is to check the coil is tight in the base before filling for the first time.
Once filled you can then attach the power connector. Your then ready to seal it up with masking tape. You may notice that the bottom of the clearomiser has some small holes and these needed to be covered to. Basically cover all the shinny surface and carry on down to seal in the air tube.
Its also worth putting tape around the whole that you made to allow the power wire out of the tube.
Step 4: Air Pump
Not much needs to be done except hook the tubing up to an air pump. I have found that you don't need to much flow.
Power on the clearomiser and give it a 10 seconds to warm up before powering on the pump. You should get a good stream of fog produced. Remember that the coil and wick is in the bottom of the clearomiser and thus its best to keep it upright as much as possible.
Power on the clearomiser and give it a 10 seconds to warm up before powering on the pump. You should get a good stream of fog produced. Remember that the coil and wick is in the bottom of the clearomiser and thus its best to keep it upright as much as possible.
