A fork in the road

[EDGECRUSHER]

Good afternoon my fellow vaporers,

I'm in a quandry. I've been using the ViVi Nova now for over a month, and absolutely love it. I've been primarily attaching it to a 1000mAh eGo Twist, and using my 650mAh USB passthru as backup when it goes dead. The two 650mAh batteries I got with my eGo starter kit are mainly there for backup to the backup.

I just ordered two mini Novas that should arrive Monday. Yet, I'm finding that my 1kmAh Twist isn't lasting that long, and it's maybe going on 3 months old. I'll have to double check that.

So I start my weekend day late, and take the Twist off the charger and begin vaping around noon. By 5pm the battery is already back on the charger, and I think it's time to look for a better power source. I've really enjoyed the hell out of vaping so far, but even before noticing the short vape times I was looking at what comes "next", if you will. With my setup and ejuice, I've rarely had to go over 4.0V, but I want to keep the ability to do variable voltage.

So what is next? Should I be looking at Lavatubes, or something else I missed? I don't see my parting with 8 $20 bills for a Provari, but what did you do when the Twist wasn't enough? Or should I just get a companion 1000mAh Twist and make do with two?

 

[EDGECRUSHER]

Also, I wanted to note that I am extremely meticulous on cleaning and maintaining all of my equipment. I clean my batteries several times a day, and go through a ton of Q-tips and denatured alcohol in doing so. I've always cared for my equipment, even the cheap $5 Stardusts when I use 'em :]

 

[Iffy]

Grab a Gripper for a test drive. I now have three and my multiple VV tubes are gettin' dusty!

 

[s14sher]

I rarely leave my house, so my advice may not work for you. I have an eGO 18650 that I use around the house and sometimes take with me. If I want to be a little more discreet, I'll use a regular eGO battery. The 18650 lasts me 3 days.

 

[PhreakySTS9]

This video may be of great help to you. It's called Taking the Next Vaping Step by GrimmGreen and is perfect for you.

 

[PhreakySTS9]

Ahhh well I just noticed you're still looking for a VV option. I picked up a Kick for my Silver Bullet yesterday, which if you're unfamiliar with them turns a 3.7volt PV into a Variable Wattage device. The benefit over VV being that you set it to your preference and leave it no matter what kind of atomizer, cartomizer, Vivi head you put on it because it will detect the ohms and automatically regulate it to the same wattage. Super easy to use and amazing. It transformed my SB from an average PV into an extraordinary device that now easily rivals my Provari in performance. (Not saying I don't still love the Provari, I still LOVE LOVE LOVE IT, and I like to use it with my DID clone and the new 3ohm HH..357 I picked up yesterday).

It will still be pricey, $85 for the Silver Bullet and $45 for the kick, total = $130, but you don't HAVE to use a Silver Bullet. You can buy a $30 Bolt and a kick for $75 bucks and have an amazing device.

Edit: Another absolutely AMAZING benefit of the kick in a 3.7 device is your output voltage will stay the same until the very last drag you take before your battery dies just like the Provari. Otherwise if you have a 1.5ohm atty on a Silver Bullet for example, it will be very strong(almost too harsh for me) at the beginning of the charge, level out, and then be too weak once it starts going down, giving you the exact same hit every single time of the battery life. Where as the Lavatube/Lambo/V-Tube/Varitube/etc. claims to regulate the voltage, but at least on mine does not at all and gets noticeably weaker as the battery drains. Sorry if this is information overload, I tend to get carried away.

 

[Susaz]

If you enjoy the Twist, get a second and a PCC. Battery life for devices is about three months, so if it's greatly reduced I suggest you get a new one. The Twist is one great battery to no par, paired with a PCC I see no reason to go up higher. 3 650mAh Twist and the PCC should do the trick for you, they charge fast (not like the 1000) and the PCC is rated at 2000mAh.

 

[SissySpike]

All of the above and then some. You are way ahead when you use rechargeable battery mods. You are going to get a lot of suggestions most are just peoples personnel preference. Id suggest buying American First because your an American second because it has builder support.
But there are a lot of very usable Chinese mods available. Do your research on here and youtube find one you like and go for it. Dont skimp on the batteries. I throw away the unmarked no name batteries that come with a Mod I use AW they have better life and the maker cares enough about their product to put their brand on it. Hers a link to a trusted battery vendor. RTD Vapor

 

[Tonytiger1]

Good afternoon my fellow vaporers,

I'm in a quandry. I've been using the ViVi Nova now for over a month, and absolutely love it. I've been primarily attaching it to a 1000mAh eGo Twist, and using my 650mAh USB passthru as backup when it goes dead. The two 650mAh batteries I got with my eGo starter kit are mainly there for backup to the backup.

I just ordered two mini Novas that should arrive Monday. Yet, I'm finding that my 1kmAh Twist isn't lasting that long, and it's maybe going on 3 months old. I'll have to double check that.

So I start my weekend day late, and take the Twist off the charger and begin vaping around noon. By 5pm the battery is already back on the charger, and I think it's time to look for a better power source. I've really enjoyed the hell out of vaping so far, but even before noticing the short vape times I was looking at what comes "next", if you will. With my setup and ejuice, I've rarely had to go over 4.0V, but I want to keep the ability to do variable voltage.

So what is next? Should I be looking at Lavatubes, or something else I missed? I don't see my parting with 8 $20 bills for a Provari, but what did you do when the Twist wasn't enough? Or should I just get a companion 1000mAh Twist and make do with two?

If size isn't a issue. Get a big bat mod.
This is a smoktech telescope 18650 bat.
Not sure what addy you have. Rebuilds hit harder and you don't need to chain vape. Also look at mixing your own.
Many ways to save.

Tony

 

[PhreakySTS9]

All of the above and then some. You are way ahead when you use rechargeable battery mods. You are going to get a lot of suggestions most are just peoples personnel preference. Id suggest buying American First because your an American second because it has builder support.
But there are a lot of very usable Chinese mods available. Do your research on here and youtube find one you like and go for it. Dont skimp on the batteries. I throw away the unmarked no name batteries that come with a Mod I use AW they have better life and the maker cares enough about their product to put their brand on it. Hers a link to a trusted battery vendor. RTD Vapor

Seconded times a million. Any VV device should use AW IMR batteries. Not only is the performance far superior to the generic unmarked batteries that come with a lot of kits, but they are well known and very safe to use. Who really knows what kind of batteries you may be getting with a V-tube kit. They say IMR but for all you really know they could be highly unsafe unprotected batteries. I use to use Trustfires and the standard kit batteries but now (aside from my Madvapes box mod which I still use protected Trustfires in since it doesn't require IMR's) I only use AW IMR's, especially in my Silver Bullet now that I have a kick in it. Safety should always come first. AW batts may cost a little more than the generics, but you get what you pay for not only in performance but safety as well which is by far the most important part.

 

[EDGECRUSHER]

OK, thank you all for your input-this was exactly the information I was looking for!

What brought this on was my 1kmAh Twist dying on me after just a few hours. I recharged it (took 3.5 hours) and started vaping again, about an hour after I thought maybe my ViVi Nova wasn't responding and swapped out to a 1.8Ohm head, and kept tweaking the voltage around 3.6V. Haven't been getting good anything from it, but right as I was about to just say "fugg it", there it goes flashing at me that it's dead. That's not promising; a 1000mAh eGo Twist battery that lasted less than 3 hours, after almost exactly two months? Even with all the care I took to ensure I practiced good battery discharge and charge habits, cleaned vigorously, and didn't even get two months :/

As soon as I put my ViVi Nova on my USB pass-thru, it's bellowing out vape like a charm. Damn.

So I'm looking at the models mentioned a bit harder now. Hopefully by next weekend I'll have one :]

 

[flintlock62]

Good afternoon my fellow vaporers,

I'm in a quandry. I've been using the ViVi Nova now for over a month, and absolutely love it. I've been primarily attaching it to a 1000mAh eGo Twist, and using my 650mAh USB passthru as backup when it goes dead. The two 650mAh batteries I got with my eGo starter kit are mainly there for backup to the backup.

I just ordered two mini Novas that should arrive Monday. Yet, I'm finding that my 1kmAh Twist isn't lasting that long, and it's maybe going on 3 months old. I'll have to double check that.

So I start my weekend day late, and take the Twist off the charger and begin vaping around noon. By 5pm the battery is already back on the charger, and I think it's time to look for a better power source. I've really enjoyed the hell out of vaping so far, but even before noticing the short vape times I was looking at what comes "next", if you will. With my setup and ejuice, I've rarely had to go over 4.0V, but I want to keep the ability to do variable voltage.

So what is next? Should I be looking at Lavatubes, or something else I missed? I don't see my parting with 8 $20 bills for a Provari, but what did you do when the Twist wasn't enough? Or should I just get a companion 1000mAh Twist and make do with two?

Go for the Provari anyway. You only live once!

 

[Cookster]

Really sounds like a defective Twist..I would contact the vendor and see about a replacement.

 

[AttyPops]

1) The more you use a li-ion battery, the more charge cycles, the worse it gets. So they degrade with age.
2) Ohms. What ohm head did you say you were using? I'm after calculating watts, but IDK without info.
3) The 1000 mAh would help. So would other replaceable battery mods.
4) Look up "Evercool" for efficiency. It's a switching regulator. Two batteries (but they can be 14500's). You'll need 14500's and a charger. 10 second battery swap at $5.00 per battery ($10 per set) sometimes less. Get good ones.

I carry 1 mod, 1 spare, and a few sets of batteries with me. Long trips...with the charger too. Never have a problem with battery life since I can just swap em. The box mod fits in my pocket like a pack of cigs used to fit. Meh.

 

[Susaz]

OK, thank you all for your input-this was exactly the information I was looking for!

What brought this on was my 1kmAh Twist dying on me after just a few hours. I recharged it (took 3.5 hours) and started vaping again, about an hour after I thought maybe my ViVi Nova wasn't responding and swapped out to a 1.8Ohm head, and kept tweaking the voltage around 3.6V. Haven't been getting good anything from it, but right as I was about to just say "fugg it", there it goes flashing at me that it's dead. That's not promising; a 1000mAh eGo Twist battery that lasted less than 3 hours, after almost exactly two months? Even with all the care I took to ensure I practiced good battery discharge and charge habits, cleaned vigorously, and didn't even get two months :/

As soon as I put my ViVi Nova on my USB pass-thru, it's bellowing out vape like a charm. Damn.

So I'm looking at the models mentioned a bit harder now. Hopefully by next weekend I'll have one :]

I had exactly the same problem last week. My batt was barely a month old, got exchanged and I switched to a 2.4 ohm head on my Kanger T2. Result: now it lasts 10 hours on the twist 1000. Clean the batt contacts and the charger contacts with alcohol and if all else fails, get a new one. Or a PCC

 

[EDGECRUSHER]

OK, got some good news/updates:

I took apart and cleaned everything. Only this time, I did a proper "burn off" of all my Nova heads. Turns out that I was doing a good job of cleaning everything, but every single Vivi Nova head I had had a ton of carbon build-up on them. I spent a good hour methodically cleaning, then doing a four or five second dry burn, letting it cool, and repeat, repeat, repeat. I used a safety pin to carefully pick out the larger pieces of burned junk on the coil wires, and when I was done, they were all near-new.

Then, I started to time my usage on my Twist. I found an immediate improvement on my battery life, and haven't had to dial up above 3.8V since the "big clean". Not to let it simply stand at that, I ordered a few more Vivi Nova heads. I also, after much hesitation, bought a companion 1000mAh Twist-only this time, in Stainless Steel!

So, what did I learn? Well, for starters I wasn't being as methodical as I should have been (or maybe thought I was?) when it came to cleaning. I assume that the carbon build-up on the atty coil forced me to crank up the voltage to compensate, thus shortening my battery life. I've got consistently great performance out of my black 1000mAh Twist again,and incorperated what I learned into my routine cleaning. I've also ensured I have backup atty heads and, happily, a second Twist ensures I have the power I need all day and into the night.

I am very happy with the Vivi Nova and Vivi Nova Mini. I just bought a black metal tank for my Nova, and a silver metal tank for one of my Nova Minis. I'm very content and satisfied now, but I did get a call from my lawyer on Friday. If my court case settles in the next week, well, I think I deserve a small reward, no? A Provari would be a perfect gift! I guess I could start reading up on what type of atty that bad boy would need

Thank you to everyone for your advice and words :]

 

[noi_max]

I love my twists, but I'm going to put a Provari on the Christmas list.
I'm getting unusually good battery life out of the 650mah Vision Spinner, but the Provari is definitely my next step. Mainly because it's heralded as a safe mod, and the display is a super handy feature as well.
I'm using nova tanks (reg and mini) and will eventually go the rebuild route.. doing my own coils and wicks. For that I want the extra safety a kit like the Provari provides.. along with seeing how many ohms my coil is at a glance.

From there I will probably go on to a box mod. I want at least one kit for dripping, since I hear it's tastier, but I want good safety in case of short circuits and leaks and stuff.

Oh and the bit about dry burning your coils, yeah that is part of the learning curve for me as well. Got those things fired up and my vapor production was a hell of a lot better. Some juices will gunk it up faster than others. I'm trying to stretch out the life of each coil until I get into the rebuilding phase.