USB Mod v2 is DONE!

[Bastage]

I measured a few different USB ports. My desktop puts out 4.85v, another machine I measured right at 5v so USB outputs can vary. I haven't had any issues with direct USB, but I did notice with 4 batteries putting out a total of 5.34v it seemed like too much voltage for the atomizer. It worked, but got hot quickly and I could tell it was being overpowered. I removed one of the batteries, now it's perfect. Keep it between 4 and 5v and you shouldn't have any problems.

[Soot]

Thanks Bastage - I'm an ignoramus in regard to electricity. I've a soldering iron but I just tote it to threaten my son with internet death to stop him hogging the bandwidth.

Big mistake! He's used it to wire up contraptions that I'm sure will set the house on fire! I only found out when I looked for my solder - it'd disappeared

[bilkido]

Ok this is what I have found. I have a 5v 500ma usb o2 cocoon mobile charger which I thought what the heck and tried it with my modded e-cig,and to my suprise it works fantastic.I have no need to go and buy another adapter now.But now the cogs are turning I want something more portable,so while rummaging I found 4x1.2v aa 2000ma nimh batts.Would 3 of these batts be capable of working correctly or would I need all 4.Sorry for all the questions but Bastage you started the ball rolling he he.

[Bastage]

Ok this is what I have found. I have a 5v 500ma usb o2 cocoon mobile charger which I thought what the heck and tried it with my modded e-cig,and to my suprise it works fantastic.I have no need to go and buy another adapter now.But now the cogs are turning I want something more portable,so while rummaging I found 4x1.2v aa 2000ma nimh batts.Would 3 of these batts be capable of working correctly or would I need all 4.Sorry for all the questions but Bastage you started the ball rolling he he.

No problem, I'm glad people are getting these ideas going actually. The best thing to do is prep 3 batteries in series then measure the voltage. If you are between 3.7-4.x at a full charge then leave it at 3 batteries and you should be fine. Mine are rated at 1.2 but actually put out 1.3 to 1.35v each. Mine measured 5.35 with all 4, and was too much power for the atomizer.

[bilkido]

No problem, I'm glad people are getting these ideas going actually. The best thing to do is prep 3 batteries in series then measure the voltage. If you are between 3.7-4.x at a full charge then leave it at 3 batteries and you should be fine. Mine are rated at 1.2 but actually put out 1.3 to 1.35v each. Mine measured 5.35 with all 4, and was too much power for the atomizer.

Thanks for that bastage I will try that

[Grumpysanta]

Well my first external battery mod is done, it's not pretty so I wont insult you with pictures. I'm using 3 AA rechargeable batteries, real cheap, 3 for a pound so they are only 800mAH 1.2V batteries. The doner battery got busted up real bad as it's the first one to be taken apart so its a manual switch jobby. I took the liberty of measuring the current drawn and for future reference it's 900mA or 0.9A . anyway I'm in vaping heaven.

So some points to watch out for, 900mA is clearly higher than what a USB port is capable if delivering, especially most laptops. If you are going to mod for USB I suggest using a Current Limiting Circuit. I'm considering knocking out a circuit to do just that and protect the USB port from overload by short circuit. As and when I complete the circuit I'll post up for you. Anyone modding their e-cig for external power should make sure the cable they use is capable of taking at least 1 Amp .

Bastage : I think that explains why the retractable USB didn't work very well.

Anyway I hope this information helps.

[Bastage]

The retractable cabe worked really well. The problem I had is that when you take it apart it's hard to solder because it's not a single wire like standard cables, it has a mesh around each one and it's really hard to make a good connection. Max raw output of a USB 2 port should be ~1.5 amps. I've been thinking about making a AAA pack, let me know how it works out for you.

[Grumpysanta]

The retractable cabe worked really well. The problem I had is that when you take it apart it's hard to solder because it's not a single wire like standard cables, it has a mesh around each one and it's really hard to make a good connection. Max raw output of a USB 2 port should be ~1.5 amps. I've been thinking about making a AAA pack, let me know how it works out for you.

I've seen some cheap 3 x AAA aluminium torches, could make a cigar with that. 'The Winston Churchill' sounds good.

[KentSP]

I am smoking quite fine using 3 X AAA 950Mah Eveready batteries. I made a series battery holder using thin cardboard I rolled up into a tube. I then soldered a spring on the one wire and a plate on the other both which I got off a toy remote control. Using insulation tape I taped the batteries below the e-cig the rest of which is the same for the USB option with a push switch at the end.
Also tried 4X AAA in the beginning worked great for 2 days then got an awful taste which is gone now that I am using 3 batteries. My battery holder seals with one piece of tape at each end so is easy to get the batteries out to charge. Also i taped the battery holder to the old battery not the atomizer so i can still get it off.
This solves the problem of smoking at home now I need something a little more decent looking for smoking in public.

[Lithium1330]

Hi, I've just find this Mod for an USB baterry pack, it looks nice to me, also at the last page of the tutorial there is a link talkin about some resistor needed for use this mod to charge an ipod, maybe those resistors are presents in some comercial usb battery packs for charging ipods/mp3/etc and that is way those comercial devices havent work pretty well with e-cigs.

url: instructables.com/id/Build-a-4-x-AA-USB-Altoids-Battery/

P.S. Sorry I'm not allowed to post links yet... thank god this is my 15th post.