DIY Box mod need advice..

[Justin Garner]

This might not be the right section to post under.. but when signed up it said I cannot post anywhere else.. Anyways I want to make a Box mod, here is my parts list and what I have. Soldering, heat shrinking, drilling , and almost any other tech work is no problem also.

What I have to put to use in this
-2 VTC4s
-4 LG HE2
-1 Subohm cell
-Troll 4 post rda 22 gauge kanthal 5 wraps (my normal build) On Colonial mod


parts list
-Hammond 1590B Aluminum
-SMAKN® DC 36V 2A Off-(On) NO 16mm Screw Metal Flat Momentary Push Button Switch
-BATT HLDR SMT 2 CELLS 18650 sled
-Mosfet, 40V 195A TO-220AB
-Fat Daddy Vapes FDV BLACK Low Profile V4 510 connector 22mm Box mod (US)


Now, What gauge of wire( copper or not?) should I buy for this build? I am also confused on battery outputs and what I should be cautious about, also amp output volts and wattage? All these terms are not new I have been vaping for 2 years I just learn better having it explained.

I have a picture attached of a cigreen box mod I use on occasion, kind of want to build it like that because it seems relatively straight forward except use a battery sled instead of a copper plate and a couple pins. Any help is appreciated! thanks
-Justin

 

[suprtrkr]

I can't find your battery sled using that description. Series or parallel?

 

[Justin Garner]

I can't find your battery sled using that description. Series or parallel?

Amazon.com: Battery Holders, Clips & Contacts PCB PLSTIC BATT HLDR SMT 2 CELLS: Industrial & Scientific
link on amazon

 

[suprtrkr]

Ok, that one looks like you can wire it either way. If you wire it parallel, I'd suggest a minimum of 16ga wire and if you want to go low on your atty coils, try 14. 20ga should be enough for the switch. Consider adding two individual fuses or self resetting circuit breakers in the 15-20A range, one at the head of each cell, on the sled before combining the positive poles in a parallel rig to guard against reverse battery insertion.

 

[Justin Garner]

Ok, that one looks like you can wire it either way. If you wire it parallel, I'd suggest a minimum of 16ga wire and if you want to go low on your atty coils, try 14. 20ga should be enough for the switch. Consider adding two individual fuses or self resetting circuit breakers in the 15-20A range, one at the head of each cell, on the sled before combining the positive poles in a parallel rig to guard against reverse battery insertion.

Series doubles output and parallel is same output but longer lasting basically right? If so I think I want to wire parallel, I have considered adding those self resetting breakers but I do not want so much clutter in my box. The Cigreen doesn't have it and I have had no problems except for contacts getting dirty.

 

[Justin Garner]

Ok, that one looks like you can wire it either way. If you wire it parallel, I'd suggest a minimum of 16ga wire and if you want to go low on your atty coils, try 14. 20ga should be enough for the switch. Consider adding two individual fuses or self resetting circuit breakers in the 15-20A range, one at the head of each cell, on the sled before combining the positive poles in a parallel rig to guard against reverse battery insertion.

Also are there any downsides to being extra careful and maybe going with 14 gauge instead of 16?

 

[suprtrkr]

Hhhmmm... not quite. Series doubles battery voltage-- you're using 18650s at 4.2 full charge volts, so that would be 8.4V-- at the amperage of a single battery. With your VTC4s, that's 20 amps. Parallel keeps 1 battery volts-- 4.2V-- and doubles the available amps; again with the VTC4s, 40 amps. (Please bear in mind those amp figures are maximum, and I personally recommend a safety margin on the 50% range, so think of 10 and 20 amps, not 20 and 40.) You do not need the fuses. Until you do. Don't reverse the batteries. That will become a very bad day. In a real big hurry

 

[suprtrkr]

Also are there any downsides to being extra careful and maybe going with 14 gauge instead of 16?

Aside from size, weight and expense-- all of which should be negligible, a box mod only needs a few inches of wire-- none at all.

EDIT: I forgot you asked about material, too. Copper. Please

 

[Justin Garner]

Hhhmmm... not quite. Series doubles battery voltage-- you're using 18650s at 4.2 full charge volts, so that would be 8.4V-- at the amperage of a single battery. With your VTC4s, that's 20 amps. Parallel keeps 1 battery volts-- 4.2V-- and doubles the available amps; again with the VTC4s, 40 amps. (Please bear in mind those amp figures are maximum, and I personally recommend a safety margin on the 50% range, so think of 10 and 20 amps, not 20 and 40.) You do not need the fuses. Until you do. Don't reverse the batteries. That will become a very bad day. In a real big hurry

Okay so, would you recommend wiring in series or wiring parallel ,my normal build is 5 wraps 22 gauge kanthal. And how would that be wired with the mossfet I have in the list?

 

[Justin Garner]

Aside from size, weight and expense-- all of which should be negligible, a box mod only needs a few inches of wire-- none at all.

EDIT: I forgot you asked about material, too. Copper. Please

I will make a final parts list, so you said copper wire, 14 gauge is good right?

 

[suprtrkr]

Okay so, would you recommend wiring in series or wiring parallel ,my normal build is 5 wraps 22 gauge kanthal. And how would that be wired with the mossfet I have in the list?

Most box mods are parallel, and this is what I suggest for you. What ohms does your normal build measure?

 

[suprtrkr]

I will make a final parts list, so you said copper wire, 14 gauge is good right?

Yeah, 14 should be fine.

 

[Justin Garner]

Most box mods are parallel, and this is what I suggest for you. What ohms does your normal build measure?

I am not so sure.. I normally do Dual parallel 5 wrap 22 gauge . I want to say around .4ohm I used a calculator.. does that sound correct? I can measure it on my buddys ipv 100w tomorrow to get a good reading
Coil wrapping | Steam Engine | free vaping calculators

 

[suprtrkr]

I am not so sure.. I normally do Dual parallel 5 wrap 22 gauge . I want to say around .4ohm I used a calculator.. does that sound correct? I can measure it on my buddys ipv 100w tomorrow to get a good reading
Coil wrapping | Steam Engine | free vaping calculators

No way to know from your description. You do not mention coil diameter or wire type. Somewhere around .4 doesn't sound unreasonable. But you should not be building coils without an independent ohm meter. Order one when you order your parts. You catch a short, you're going to wish you hadn't.

 

[Justin Garner]

No way to know from your description. You do not mention coil diameter or wire type. Somewhere around .4 doesn't sound unreasonable. But you should not be building coils without an independent ohm meter. Order one when you order your parts. You catch a short, you're going to wish you hadn't.

Ok I will also order a ohm meter as well.

 

[suprtrkr]

Ok I will also order a ohm meter as well.

Good plan, my friend. I use them all the time-- I have a Plume Veil dripper base sitting on mine right now, gonna try some twisted 32ga Kanthal with my DIY peppermint juice-- and they really are helpful. Once you have the meter, start paying attention to the "heat flux" section of Steam Engine. Keeping it in the green-- 100-200 mW/mm^2-- helps you set up for cloud and makes enough flavor to make your eyes water. With a mech, I assume you know, watts applied to the coil are controlled by battery voltage across whatever ohm coil you build, right? Using native battery voltage of 3.5-4.2V on my mechs, I usually find coils between .5 and .7 work the best. This goes out the window with a regulated mod, of course. Just set the watts you want and don't worry. I just built a twisted 28ga Kanthal coil set for my Dark Horse to use with my DIY clove juice, and I am running it on my Snow Wolf at 60 watts. But the sweet spot I am trying to hit with my build for the mech is .65 ohms; that keeps my watts between 18 and 27, which fluxes between 135 and 185 mW/mm^2. That should be about perfect. It's really tough to do without the meter, but once you have one, it's a whole new world, I promise

 

[Justin Garner]

Good plan, my friend. I use them all the time-- I have a Plume Veil dripper base sitting on mine right now, gonna try some twisted 32ga Kanthal with my DIY peppermint juice-- and they really are helpful. Once you have the meter, start paying attention to the "heat flux" section of Steam Engine. Keeping it in the green-- 100-200 mW/mm^2-- helps you set up for cloud and makes enough flavor to make your eyes water. With a mech, I assume you know, watts applied to the coil are controlled by battery voltage across whatever ohm coil you build, right? Using native battery voltage of 3.5-4.2V on my mechs, I usually find coils between .5 and .7 work the best. This goes out the window with a regulated mod, of course. Just set the watts you want and don't worry. I just built a twisted 28ga Kanthal coil set for my Dark Horse to use with my DIY clove juice, and I am running it on my Snow Wolf at 60 watts. But the sweet spot I am trying to hit with my build for the mech is .65 ohms; that keeps my watts between 18 and 27, which fluxes between 135 and 185 mW/mm^2. That should be about perfect. It's really tough to do without the meter, but once you have one, it's a whole new world, I promise

Going out to Frys Electronics today, think my dad might have a good amount of wire though so ill skip on that, I doubt they will have a 18650 sled but ill check, Going to buy
-40v Mossfet
-Hammond 1590b
-16mm 36v momentary switch


Thanks again for all the help!

 

[suprtrkr]

Going out to Frys Electronics today, think my dad might have a good amount of wire though so ill skip on that, I doubt they will have a 18650 sled but ill check, Going to buy
-40v Mossfet
-Hammond 1590b
-16mm 36v momentary switch


Thanks again for all the help!

Any time, dude. Now you are upgraded to Full Member, you will be able to post in the modder's forum. They will be very interested in pics of your work and they have a lot of experience and a number of EEs running around.