[ Post a Response | The Sublime Desire of Cigarette Smoking ]
Posted by AusNick on March 30, 2008, 10:30 am, in reply to "An Interesting Smoking Experience"
Having done some research into this subject myself, I'd be a bit careful of the types of plastics you use in your experiments, some will release toxic chemicals on reaction with chemicals in the smoke, others will release chemicals on exposure to heat, and the smoke coming from a lit cigarette is hot.
I can't recommend specific types of plastics to use, but I can tell you that PVC is one to avoid.
If possible, you'd be best off constructing your devices from glass, natural rubber, and non-poisonous metals.
Avoid Copper and Chrome and Lead for obvious reasons. Avoid Aluminium as it can cause contact dermatitis and other allergies, and in some cases poisoning.
Stainless Steel and Brass are safe, and dissipate heat well, and as for glass, which is chemically neutral, food jars are fine if you want to pass the smoke through water, and if you need heat resistant glass, shop around companies that supply lab equipment. Or visit your local head shop.
Oh, and stay away from most sealants and adhesives. You can get away with a silicone sealant, as long as you allow it to sit for a few days, and try not to expose it to heat if you can manage it. Stay away from solder, the 60/40 resin cored stuff might be convenient to work with in making a metal to metal seal, but it does contain lead, and the resin vapour doesn't do you any good either.
Okay, so what I've written here is geared more towards building a device for smoking, but it's good info to take on board in any event.
Nick
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