Should this be happening?

[Candy Flava]

Should my VMax be able to fire a .4 ohm atomizer?

Here's the back-story...I started vaping a few months ago. Shortly after, a friend introduced me to building sub ohm coils on my Phoenix and IGO-W atomizers. I have been using a mechanical mod for these builds until recently when I had to shelve it temporarily until new batteries arrived. I pulled out my VV VMax which I bought when I first started vaping. One day out of reflex, instead of the tank I had been using, I put the .4 ohm Phoenix on it. After 3-4 puffs the mod got warm (not hot) which is when I realized what I had done. Before removing the batteries, I confirmed the resistance with the mod display and then with a multimeter to be sure the atomizer was truly .4 ohms. I can't find any specifications to tell me what the minimum ohm limit is for the VMax. Most VV mods will not fire sub ohm. If the mod is hazardous, I want to toss it before someone gets hurt.

 

[RubyRoo]

Whoa! I don't have a VMax, so hopefully someone else can chime in here, but it sounds to me like your battery is drawing too many amps for your sum ohm coil (it's heating up) and that is VERY unsafe. I'd use another atomizer, or rebuild your .4 ohm atomizer to something a little higher that won't fry your batteries. Please be careful!

 

[retired1]

The mod itself isn't hazardous. You are doing things that are hazardous to the mod and yourself.

Please educate yourself fully on ALL aspects of sub ohm vaping, including battery and mod safety. You should never try to fire a low ohm atty on something that was never designed for that type of use.

 

[suspectK]

Yeah, don't use it. The short circuit protection isn't functioning...

Smoktech VMAX Variable Voltage e-Cigarette Review

 

[computertech83]

Now that is just plain scary.

 

[Candy Flava]

Thanks for the response.

I'm now back to my mechanical mod with no problems. I ordered several batteries, and an iTaste SVD so from here on out I should be good. I was going to keep the VMax for guest use, however, if it is malfunctioning then I definitely want to throw it out so no one gets hurt. I just hate to throw out something that is working according to manufacturing specs.

 

[Candy Flava]

Thanks all! I just threw it out.

 

[suspectK]

I don't think you have to throw it away... as long as you know for a fact what coil you're using, and you aren't going around the 4.5 Amp rating, it would be fine. You're really fine as long as you're staying within your battery's limits. Going above the 4.5 Amp rating will probably just fry the chip..

 

[Candy Flava]

I don't think you have to throw it away... as long as you know for a fact what coil you're using, and you aren't going around the 4.5 Amp rating, it would be fine. You're really fine as long as you're staying within your battery's limits. Going above the 4.5 Amp rating will probably just fry the chip..

I thought about keeping it but I won't be using it anymore. I bought it for the protections it offered, if those don't work, then it's no safer than a mechanical mod. My friends that may have used it have no experience with vaping, so I want to have something for them to borrow that offers minimal protection. Besides I never really liked VMax because of the stacked batteries anyway. It is now in the recycling bin so maybe someday it will be reborn into a new cooler mod. The SVD or MVP will now be my borrow setup (depending on which one I like the least ). I was just curious if the VMax might have been the only VV mod on the market that was built to accommodate a sub ohm atomizer. According to the specs you posted and the other posts, it should not have fired and I should have received an error instead. So thanks for the link!

 

[suspectK]

Yeah...good ol' smoktek. I only use them for cartomizers. They're also the only provider of polypropylene tanks that I've been able to find.

 

[AttyPops]

What voltage were you using?

I'm betting it's the circuitry or the head/coil that heated and not the battery. Do you know for sure what part of the mod got hot?

Many mods actually have wattage limits, not amp limits. It's amps @ X.X volts. (and volts x amps = watts). So it's possible it would be at the top of the wattage limit and then overheated if you continued to use it and maybe thermal trip. IDK for sure though, it would have to be tested to find out. If you're concerned, I don't blame you for using a different PV. This is just some "other possibility" guessing on my part.

 

[Candy Flava]

What voltage were you using?

I'm betting it's the circuitry or the head/coil that heated and not the battery. Do you know for sure what part of the mod got hot?

Many mods actually have wattage limits, not amp limits. It's amps @ X.X volts. (and volts x amps = watts). So it's possible it would be at the top of the wattage limit and then overheated if you continued to use it and maybe thermal trip. IDK for sure though, it would have to be tested to find out. If you're concerned, I don't blame you for using a different PV. This is just some "other possibility" guessing on my part.

The display was reading 3.0 volts. The whole body of the mod was getting warm from the top of the battery to the bottom.

 

[suspectK]

7.5 Amps.. It says it's rated for 5, but I trust the review that says it's really 4.5 Amps. Is it getting hot with a "normal" resistance?

 

[Candy Flava]

No it did not get warm with my 1.8 ohm tank. I never tried a dripper on it until that day. I always used Kanger tanks or Vivi Novas.

 

[AttyPops]

22.5 watts. 5 amps (rated) at 5 volts is 25 watts. So IDK. I think it has a thermal trip error too...internal temp reading of some kind. Not sure. I'd have guessed 15 watt limit. Lemme go see if I can find some specs on this thing........

Did you use IMR 18350s?

Also, I guess it's supposed to throw an F1 or F2 error when shorted. It also uses stacked 18350's, yes?

So you'd need the proper batteries to make sure they put out the amps...or it would get hot with the wrong ones.

So tossing it is OK if you think it should have thrown the F1 or F2 error.

I couldn't find a watt limit or decent specs.

 

[Candy Flava]

22.5 watts. 5 amps (rated) at 5 volts is 25 watts. So IDK. I think it has a thermal trip error too...internal temp reading of some kind. Not sure. I'd have guessed 15 watt limit. Lemme go see if I can find some specs on this thing........

Did you use IMR 18350s?

Also, I guess it's supposed to throw an F1 or F2 error when shorted. It also uses stacked 18350's, yes?

So you'd need the proper batteries to make sure they put out the amps...or it would get hot with the wrong ones.

So tossing it is OK if you think it should have thrown the F1 or F2 error.

I couldn't find a watt limit or decent specs.

Yes, I only used 800mah efest IMR 18350 batteries. I tossed the no name batteries when I bought the mod. It must be a manufacturing defect.