Looking for a mod upgrade ...maybe, has to work with Serpent Mini

[Bang4dabuck]

Probably get moved but not sure where to post this and I saw another fellow DC guy/gal post similar.

Currently istick Pico 75. It works fine and might buy another one. Only thing wrong is the finish is showing wear and next mod I buy I will try to find a sheath for. I want a mod that works with the Mini because I know how to build and call me lazy but not really interested in learning a new one plus I rather twist my own coils (as little as possible). If I had to I would learn but rather avoid.

1) I vape at about 20 - 35 WATTS
2) I go thru about 2 batts a day, maybe less (3,000mAh).
3) Not much of a clouder, more for taste and the hand to mouth thingy.
4) Mouth to lungs with a throat hit not painful mind you.
5) easy to pocket

Can I assume all atty's are made to fit universally ? I can get a spare Pico 75 and why not another Mini from GearBest for around $40 and I saw on that other thread smok Alien 225 for around $60 elsewhere. Of course my price point isn't much higher and I would compare any set up to my little $40 rig. I've only been at it for 5 months so take it easy, ok ?

 

[Eskie]

Nothing wrong with another Pico and Serpent mini. You can also put a wrap on the current Pico if the finish is looking to ratty. Jwraps has a nice selection. You are right that generally any atty will fit on any regulated mod with a 510 connector. There is always the rare too long, too short pin for a given 510, but it's pretty rare and that Serpent mini should fit just about everything on the market. The Alien is a nice 2 battery mod. The Baby Beast tank that comes with it is also a good tank, but does use factory coils. Those can get expensive over time.

 

[Bang4dabuck]

Nothing wrong with another Pico and Serpent mini. You can also put a wrap on the current Pico if the finish is looking to ratty. Jwraps has a nice selection. You are right that generally any atty will fit on any regulated mod with a 510 connector. There is always the rare too long, too short pin for a given 510, but it's pretty rare and that Serpent mini should fit just about everything on the market. The Alien is a nice 2 battery mod. The Baby Beast tank that comes with it is also a good tank, but does use factory coils. Those can get expensive over time.

Any benefit to an Alien and a Mini over Pico Mini, that is for my needs and purposes or is it overkill ?

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

Any benefit to an Alien and a Mini over Pico Mini, that is for my needs and purposes or is it overkill ?

If you're talking about the dual 18650 Alien, the benefit would be much longer battery life. If you're talking about the Alien 85, the only benefit might be perceived aesthetics...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[Riplea]

It appears the Smok Al85 would hold a larger mm atomizer if that would be a concern. Up to 25mm I saw posted on Fasttech review. 35.75 without the atomizer, but it is pre-order right now.

I may get one later just for the convenience of being able to use a larger atomizer than the Pico if I want to.

 

[Hawise]

You might want to consider the eVic Mini or Dual. The Mini's in the same class as the Pico - small, easy to pocket, single battery, similar price. I prefer the Mini to the Pico because it sits more comfortably in my hand and I like the buttons better, but it's more personal preference than a serious quality difference.

The Dual's also an interesting option. It gives you the choice of running with one or two batteries. With one battery it's almost identical to the Mini, but you also have the option of using two, which should last quite some time at 20 - 35 W.

The only absolute advantage of the eVics over the Pico is that they can take larger tanks if you ever wanted to try one, although it would overhang.

 

[dobroeutro]

Aspire NX75-A might be worth a look. Really diggin' mine...

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

Like already mentioned, going with a dual battery mod is going to make a huge difference. The biggest point is that battery life ends up being so much more, as the pull to the batteries is a lot less, they die slower.. so where a person using a single battery mod that would require switching the battery 3-4 times in a day, the dual will last them all day with just 2 batteries.

The Alien has been a huge favourite, been considering getting one to try it out... but....

I've gone with the Eleaf TC100W last year and ended up getting a bunch more for my wife and daughter (we're up to 5 of them now and another on it's way). I've looked a a lot of mods, and yet to find any that beats it still to this day.

The advantage of the TC100W over just about every other mod out there are:

1. Squeeze trigger, once used to a squeeze, you don't miss the button triggers
2. Actual physical lock, if you pocket your mod, it's just fantastic to click it and absolutely no worries about accidental trigger.
3. Parallel batteries, max 120W (with firmware upgrade, otherwise it's 100W), so the Amp. is double of the series mods, so less stress on the batteries, plus it charges them in the mod in an evenly fashion. I never really go over 60-70W anyways, so it's just fine at this "low" wattage capacity.
   
4. it's very comfortable in hand, it's sleak, and looks great. it fits on my pockets very well.
5. does all coil metal types, lots of modes, TC has been very reliable in all modes, and includes manual adjustments/parameters
   
6. magnet doors so no breakable pins and slants
7. three buttons for controls, uber easy to switch, increase/decrease
8. it's mind boggling cheap (check FastTech, it's like 40$)

I've had my two for a while now, one for at least a year, and it's still looking like new. Worse case, I've had the door magnet come out but a dab of glue and it's all good.

My wife and daughter are a LOT rougher on theirs and aside some damage to the paint (yup, they've been dropped way too many times), they still work great.

It's been a seriously overlooked mod for some reason... never understood why. Just looked too different from the usual button types I guess.

 

[frosc]

Currently using Serpent Mini+Evic Primo setup. I freakin love this mod, feels really great in hand, the design is superb as well. Dual 18650, TC modes (SS, Ni, Ti), and it has a clock too, if that matters
I believe it can handle 25mm tanks without overhang.
it's larger than the pico for sure, but for me personally, I have no problem pocketing it.

 

[Bang4dabuck]

Another newbie question, I need what batteries up to 20A which are my current ones or ??? if I go DUAL battery set up? These are much more efficient what I gather than single set up. I am thinking the EVIC dual but reserve the right to change my mind if I need to buy new batteries LOL.

 

[Eskie]

Another newbie question, I need what batteries up to 20A which are my current ones or ??? if I go DUAL battery set up? These are much more efficient what I gather than single set up. I am thinking the EVIC dual but reserve the right to change my mind if I need to buy new batteries LOL.

Here's a chart of recommended batteries from our resident battery expert Mooch. Just buy them from a reliable dealer like IMR, Illum, not eBay or Amazon.

 

[Bang4dabuck]

Here's a chart of recommended batteries from our resident battery expert Mooch. Just buy them from a reliable dealer like IMR, Illum, not eBay or Amazon.
View attachment 637383

My main question is how do you determine if you need a 20A or 30 - 50A battery ?

Will my Samsung 30Qs work for BACKUPs ?

How about Vape dealers ? One place VAPESOURCING had Sony VTC4 for $5.90 plus shipping. I would guess that should be the target battery but what do I know.

 

[Eskie]

My main question is how do you determine if you need a 20A or 30 - 50A battery ?

Will my Samsung 30Qs work for BACKUPs ?

How about Vape dealers ? One place VAPESOURCING had Sony VTC4 for $5.90 plus shipping. I would guess that should be the target battery but what do I know.

When figuring out current on a regulated mod, you use Watts law. A=W/V (-10% for mod efficiency). The way I figure it is I can run 20A battery safely up to 60W (yes, conservative and simplified, but essentially on target for most settings). 2 20A batteries are good up to ~120W and so on. What battery you should buy is dependent on how you plan to vape. If you are going to run at very high wattage you'll want a 30A battery (there are no 18650 batteries that go any higher than 30A CDR). The trade off is higher current, lower mAh, so a 30A battery will typically be rated at 1,500 mAh, while a 20A like a 30Q is good for 3,000 mAh, and therefore require more frequent charging/swapping (the 30A one for clarity). If you're not a high wattage type go for capacity for battery life. 20A is sufficient for most users.

So figure out what kind of user you will be and buy accordingly. I pretty much only use 25Rs, which are inexpensive and more than sufficient form my vape style. I know nothing about VAPESOURCING and only buy from IMR, Ilum, Li Ion, RTD. Trying to save $1 on a cell is in my mind an unnecessary risk for such a simple decision.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

My main question is how do you determine if you need a 20A or 30 - 50A battery ?

Will my Samsung 30Qs work for BACKUPs ?

How about Vape dealers ? One place VAPESOURCING had Sony VTC4 for $5.90 plus shipping. I would guess that should be the target battery but what do I know.

18650 comes in two flavours, high and low drain.

Samsung 30Q are 15Amp rated from what I could find. Useable, but I tend to stick to minimum 20Amp batteries.

The low drain ones are for flashlights and such, (aka low power, long life). Never, absolutely NEVER use those. They'll be the ones that usually sport the huge Amp. (over 3000-5000+mAh) numbers.

There's no such thing as a 50A 18650, lots of second rate batteries (anything with Fire in the name, for example) are actually second rate batteries from the real manufacturers (Sony, LG, Samsung), and these batteries didn't pass the quality tests, but still useable, so are resold under different brands. Trouble is, these other brands will put crazy numbers on their rewrapped junk.... and when you hear about batteries exploding on the news, it's usually someone that didn't listen or check on things and overloaded their batteries.

Battery safety is not just the Amp and voltage/wattage, it's also the resistance of the coil used... shorts and too low resistance can end up giving you a very bad day.

Stick to brand name, which are 20-30Amp capable and learn about OHM's law if you're building coils and using a mech. If you stick with a regulated mod, you still should use quality batteries, understand Ohm law, never build too low.

 

[Bang4dabuck]

So switching to a dual set up should increase my vape time per battery x 2. If I can get a good 6 hrs on my single eLeaf Pico 75 running say at 25W I have 2 questions.

1) can I assume using the same atty, Serpent Mini even though the Evic is up to 200W vs Pico at 75W that the Evic should be very close at the 25W ? IOW Evic 25W = Pico 25W?

2) If this is true which I would expect, percentage wise all things being equal, how much time wise will a battery last ?

200 watts I can't fathom the need. Clouding ?

 

[Bang4dabuck]

When figuring out current on a regulated mod, you use Watts law. A=W/V (-10% for mod efficiency). The way I figure it is I can run 20A battery safely up to 60W (yes, conservative and simplified, but essentially on target for most settings). 2 20A batteries are good up to ~120W and so on. What battery you should buy is dependent on how you plan to vape. If you are going to run at very high wattage you'll want a 30A battery (there are no 18650 batteries that go any higher than 30A CDR). The trade off is higher current, lower mAh, so a 30A battery will typically be rated at 1,500 mAh, while a 20A like a 30Q is good for 3,000 mAh, and therefore require more frequent charging/swapping (the 30A one for clarity). If you're not a high wattage type go for capacity for battery life. 20A is sufficient for most users.

So figure out what kind of user you will be and buy accordingly. I pretty much only use 25Rs, which are inexpensive and more than sufficient form my vape style. I know nothing about VAPESOURCING and only buy from IMR, Ilum, Li Ion, RTD. Trying to save $1 on a cell is in my mind an unnecessary risk for such a simple decision.

You would think vape suppliers wouldn't sell knockoffs and eBay would do something about sellers fraudulently crap. I hear you. Any other brands I should pay attention to besides Sony, Samsung and LG ?

 

[Eskie]

You would think vape suppliers wouldn't sell knockoffs and eBay would do something about sellers fraudulently crap. I hear you. Any other brands I should pay attention to besides Sony, Samsung and LG ?

Nope, those are the three reliable sources for 18650s. AWT for button tops for Provaris' but that's about the only regulated mod I'm aware of that uses them.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

So switching to a dual set up should increase my vape time per battery x 2. If I can get a good 6 hrs on my single eLeaf Pico 75 running say at 25W I have 2 questions.

1) can I assume using the same atty, Serpent Mini even though the Evic is up to 200W vs Pico at 75W that the Evic should be very close at the 25W ? IOW Evic 25W = Pico 25W?

2) If this is true which I would expect, percentage wise all things being equal, how much time wise will a battery last ?

200 watts I can't fathom the need. Clouding ?

You should easily more than double the time.

25W is 25W... unless the device is defective, one should be able to take a tank, switch it through a dozen mods all set the same and get the same experience.

With vaping, there's too many variants to assume a specific time frame, but if you make a single battery last you 6 hours, you should get twice for sure and a possible 10-30% more (with a dual in series). My experience with my parallel mod is that I've seen a large enough difference with my series mod as I am figuring that in parallel, the pull from the battery being shared, appears to drain the battery slower, and finding it to last me a good 30-40% longer.

 

[mongo74]

There's the new resin Picos...they look lovely.

Longer battery life, more oomph should the need ever arise and a great hand feel...that's the benefit of going from a Pico to an Alien. (and balanced USB charging, but you don't need balanced charging in a single 18650 mod anyway)

 

[KenD]

Nope, those are the three reliable sources for 18650s. AWT for button tops for Provaris' but that's about the only regulated mod I'm aware of that uses them.

AW, not awt.

Sent from my K6000 Pro using Tapatalk