How to build a simple lightbulb vaporizer

Hi, I acually did all those exact things to my frosted lightbulb. And I also just smoked out of it and I'm not dead but pretty high x) I'd recommend it. Although, i am still a bit skittish about it. Anyways.. Happy smoking :)
 

Systema

Active Member
Contributed by: gizzmo
Submitted:
Images archived 2004

[Editor's note: the lightbulb can break during construction - wear gloves! Glass straws are highly advised, as plastics can emit harmful vapors]

There are a lot of really expensive vaporizers available, but there are cheaper ways? This might not work as good as the $200 ones, but it does work well.

Parts list:

Normal light bulb (100 watts if possible; the glass is more heat resistant than 40/60 watters. The bulb should be clear and not frosted)

Knife
Scissors
Tape
2 straws or glass tubes (glass tubes are better since they can't melt)
Cap of a 0.5 liter bottle (US: 16 fl. Ounce bottle cap)

Construction:
First if all, we start off with preparing the buld by cutting off the lower part like this:



You might want to sand off those nasty metal edges since they are really sharp, like this:









Now, in step 2, we need to get the wire and all that out: (Remove them either with a small wrench or break them out with something else like a pair of pliers)



In step three, unscrew the cap of the bottle, and try to fit it on the metal part of the bulb, if it doesn't fit because it's too small, get another cap, it's ok if its too big. Now take a knife and make two holes into the cap, like this:








Now we have to make the straws the right size, take the scissors. If you are using glasstubes, take a wrench to break them at the right point, and take fine sand paper to make the edges smooth.


If the cap is a bit too big, just take the tape and fix it. Even though its easy to do this, every time you want to fill or empty it you have to tape it again. So try to get a cap that fits! There is another way you can tape it, like this, that's easier:








Before you use it for the first time take cold water and wrinse it out, glass and dust might be left inside, and you don't want that in your lungs....DONE!

To use it, unscrew the cap, put whatever you want to smoke inside (careful, you don't need as much as you need in a normal joint), take a lighter or candle and heat it, inhale, and when you taste something, its working.
Don't wait until it smokes, because that will leave stains. In the best case, you will take out the weed, for example, looking just like you put it in, but smelling like hay after you are done.

Here is a version with one glasstube instead of a straw, and how it actually looks when being used. Thanks DoobieScoo.

[Editor's note: to see other people's variations, see the original faq thread]








Vlad the Impaler's modifications
Submitted: 04-06-2004

There is, I believe, a way to make it better: While most of the vapor created is kept inside, I was still losing vapor. This was my fault as I did not tape the cap on as suggested. After a bit, I made some modifications, and found that not only was it easier to use, but it worked quite a bit better as well.

I took the bottle that the cap came from (a US 20 oz bottle), and cut it off at the neck, so that the cut end of the upper portion (the part with the thread for the cap) would fit well over the screw part of the lightbulb. I then hot-glued (though duct tape works) the top portion of bottle onto the light bulb do I could screw the cap on and off.

The first pic shows the unit assembled. The duct tape does not actually hold anything on, it is just insulation against the glass; it makes a good handle. You can make out the hot glue I used to put the bottle end onto the cap. It has just been used and is dirty.









The second pic shows the cap unscrewed. You can see the threaded part of the bottle attached to the bulb. You can also see that I used a pen as the intake tube and two straws as a mouth peice. When you end the moutpiece tube as far up as I have, you need a filter to keep particles out. I used a nylon mesh (the kind on a screen door/window). All of this is sealed with hot glue (although duct tape works well too, I just had a glue gun around the house so I used it)


The third pic is a close up of the cap assembly. You can clearly see where the bottle has been attached, on the cut portion of the bulb, on the right of the duct tape, with hot glue.





The fourth pic shows you where I cut the bottle. I cut it larger than needed, and cut it down to size after (much easier that way).

I don't really understand ... what do you do with that?? ( i just looked on youtube and saw people using that to smoke but seriously..? 10$ water bong? washable.. )
 

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Is it true that light bulbs contain harmful chemicals inside of the bulb, and these chemicals are released easier when heated to a certain temprature??
You mean leaked from inside the bulb? Please tell me that isn't what you mean from an intact light bulb. Open incandescents most likely have tungsten filaments. Are you thinking of fluorescents as they have a mercury compound in them?
 

aus2 canibasiva

Well-Known Member
Not really sure. Just one of those old rumors that go round. knowbody has any proper science that ive seen on the matter it seems all pretty subjective. But the stuff I was thinking of was that white powder you sometimes find in certain incanescent lightbulbs, but I found this qoute although subjective.
" The white powder in the lightbulb is not poisonous/a carcinogen. It's a substance called kaolin. It's only there to diffuse the light."
 

diyjunkie

New Member
The argon is completely safe as it is an inert gas - it will not react with ANYTHING. The only way it could hurt you would be if you were in a room full of it because there would be no oxygen so you'd effectively drown in it. As for the frosting; it's usually kaolin powder which is basically clay so it's relatively safe and it should all come off using salt. If the glass doesn't go clear after using the salt method then it's because the glass itself has been acid etched meaning the shape of the surface of the glass is whats causing it to be frosty.

TLDR: Argon is harmless and if the frosty-ness doesn't go away it's fine because it's just the shape of the glass.

NEVER do this with florescent light bulbs - they contain a phosphor based powder which is incredibly toxic.
 

diyjunkie

New Member
The argon is completely safe as it is an inert gas - it will not react with ANYTHING. The only way it could hurt you would be if you were in a room full of it because there would be no oxygen so you'd effectively drown in it. As for the frosting; it's usually kaolin powder which is basically clay so it's relatively safe and it should all come off using salt. If the glass doesn't go clear after using the salt method then it's because the glass itself has been acid etched meaning the shape of the surface of the glass is whats causing it to be frosty.

TLDR: Argon is harmless and if the frosty-ness doesn't go away it's fine because it's just the shape of the glass.

NEVER do this with florescent light bulbs - they contain a phosphor based powder which is incredibly toxic.
If anyone's interested I might post a tutorial for a lightbulb bong.
 

sno capz

Well-Known Member
Whether you are smoking out of it or not, whether you initially die or not, its a stupid ass idea. I know we are all potheads here but use some common sense. Don't smoke out of lightbulbs. Buy yourself a vaporizer, if not buy yourself a vape pen with a dry herbs chamber and stop being a moron. In the end it will not pay off to save a few bucks.
 

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
Quit using light bulbs. That is dangerous and stupid.

I wanted a vape. I wanted a pax2. $300 is pricey. I did some research and bought the flowermate 5.0s. It does dry herb, oil, and wax. I got it for 69.99 or 79.99 off of planetofthevapes.com.

It works great. Cleany vapes your weed and has a good battery.
 
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