advice for my first mod please

[STLBluesNut]

i have been vaping for about 2 months now. i love to tinker with stuff, electrical and mechanical. i work in a shop with access to anything, laser cutters, presses, punches, lathes, etc etc. i really look forward to doing some really awesome laser cut design boxes and things of that nature but realize i need to take baby steps =)

i have and really like my elite 808 and the elite 808 tanks found at cigeasy.com. i am looking to step it up just a bit and have some fun making stuff. i want to use the elite 808 tanks on a box mod. i dont think they will stand up to 5v from what i have read but i would like to maintain i think 4.3v-4.5v.

i have planned to get a 3xaa or a c box from mad vapes. i like the clear blue or green ones hehe. from what i understand, i will either need to do a 3.7v, because thats what most of the batteries are or wire 2 in parallel for 7.4v and regulate it. i have enough confidence to do a vv kit from mad vapes, even on my first mod. wouldn't mind putting the lcd volt display in there too. i have the tools for the cuts and soldering. wouldnt mind just buying one of their kits and throwing the vv stuff on there too but i dont want to make a 510.

my question is, what kind of batteries and components should i be getting so i can vape around 4.5v on these 808 tanks??

 

[Stosh]

welcome to modding, a lot of people have started with a Madvapes vv kit as an easy build. as a first mod it should work fine with your 808 cartos, but you would need an 808 connector or adapter, I believe they come with a 510 connection.

if you tinker, you'll probably find after your first build that, "I could move the switch a little here" and "squeeze the led there" and "use a different switch" and "a little bigger / smaller box" and "recess the atty some" and........

it's a fun hobby!!

 

[Rocketman]

my question is, what kind of batteries and components should i be getting so i can vape around 4.5v on these 808 tanks??

Will they handle 4.5 volts? any idea what the resistance of the Elite Tanks are?

The Madvapes VV kit could easily be assembled with an 808 connector instead of the 510 connector.
(would cost you about an extra buck).

 

[STLBluesNut]

Will they handle 4.5 volts? any idea what the resistance of the Elite Tanks are?

The Madvapes VV kit could easily be assembled with an 808 connector instead of the 510 connector.
(would cost you about an extra buck).

yeah i was going to get the 808 connector as well. the regular elite cartos are 2.3ohm from a review i saw. maybe assuming that the tanks, designed for the elite by the same engineer, are the same or close. the elite battery runs 4.3v on full charge. with the vv i could just adjust down to 4.3v. that would be fine at least i would have a constaant voltage over the life of the batt instead of dropping off with use.

which batteries should i get?

the lcd display they sell at madvapes also say it may not work with some setups or configurations, not sure if it would work with their kit with the vv circuit added. i would like to have the display on there.

i am thinking about getting this set up working and then moving the internals to a laser cut ss or aluminum box that i can burn, bend and weld at work. ill just use scrap to make it so the custom box will cost me little or probably nothing. the laser can also cut lexan and acrylic if i wanted a clear front or window behind any laser cut design in the metal. can't wait =)

actually sitting at the laser computer typing this now =p

 

[Rocketman]

the regular elite cartos are 2.3ohm from a review i saw.
Good, that's pretty "middle of the road" for resistance and should handle 4.5 volts.

the elite battery runs 4.3v on full charge.
Actually the battery is probably 4.2 volt, open circuit at full charge. When loaded with a 2.3 ohm atty the voltage is probably closer to 3.9 volts.

with the vv i could just adjust down to 4.3v.
If You set the VV to 3.9 then you would get about the same vape as the elite fresh off the charger. 4.3 volts from the VV would be more, but not excessive. still should be fine.

instead of dropping off with use.
That is a plus for the VV. See below for the only negative.

which batteries should i get?
How big a mod do you want? How long between charges? See below for some comments on comparing battery sizes and vaping times

the lcd display they sell at madvapes also say it may not work with some setups
The LED display is a "1S-6S LED Voltmeter", search ebay for "1S-6S". It does not work on PWM e-cigs like the eGo because the power for the meter and the measured voltage is the same. It will read anything from 2.75 volts up to 12 volts. It will read the voltage from a VV mod just fine.

i am thinking about getting this set up working and then moving the internals
Great idea. experiment, get things right, then move to the custom case.

The efficiency of the linear regulator at low voltages may be a problem. The MV VV mod kt, whle an excellent inexpensive way to get into VV, has somewhat simplified electronics. It uses a "linear regulator". The pair of cells, 14500, 650mah for example, will input between 7.4 and 7.8 volts (LOADED VOLTAGE) into the regulator. With the VV linear regulator set to 4.3 volts output the difference in voltage (7.4 - 4.3 = 3.1) will be consumed by the regulator as heat. Over 40% of your battery power will be lost as heat in the regulator. Most folks get into VV to run the voltage up higher than unregulated cells can deliver.
Setting the MV VV mod to 5.5 volts (7.4 - 5.5 = 1.9), only 25% of the battery energy gets lost as heat. But 5.5 volts may be a little hot for your tanks.

Battery size? Use the mah rating of the elite as a guide and multiply by the increase in vape time you would like. Don't forget to figure in the "efficiency" of the linear regulator.

Look at 14500, 18500, 18650 size cells for your mod. The larger ones will of course give you longer vape times. Be careful to use realistic mah ratings and not some of the hyped up inflated mah ratings of cells.

Don't take anything in this post as negative. Get started modding

 

[ScroungerLee]

... or wire 2 in parallel for 7.4v ...

You meant to say wired in series, right?

 

[STLBluesNut]

thanks for the info so far.

the elite battery is a 380mah battery and usually lasts nearly all day anyhow. i am more interested in the mod for a constant voltage to the connector because from full to low charge the 'vape quality' varies quite a bit.

also, i just measured one of my tanks and it fluctuated between 2.7 and 3.0 ohms. so the tank may be a bit different than the carto.

seems like the mv regulator generates a lot of waste and heat. i am guessing that other regulators, besides a 'linear', regulate in a different fashion and generate less heat and waste?

 

[Rocketman]

Yes, different approaches are available. The linear regulator has simplicity on it's side.
You can "Boost" voltage from a single 3.7 volt cell, or "Buck" voltage from a stacked pair of 3.7 volt cells, or even use a linear regulator with "a stack of 3 volt cells". All have pros and cons.

For a linear regulator, operating close to the source voltage wastes less energy.
With a switching regulator efficiency is generally 90%, maybe 95% over a very narrow operating window.

The MV VV Mod is still a good way to get into modding. If you "Know" of a better technique, then you can probably bypass that step.


If the 380mah Elite lasts you most of the day, what would an 18650 mod with a 2600mah cell do?
Fall off in voltage would be a LOT less.
(at least the first day or two )

 

[STLBluesNut]

You meant to say wired in series, right?

well i meant to say parallel, but that doesn't mean that i wasn't completely wrong =p

wired in series the 2 battery voltages are basically added together and in parallel they aren't? i only sort of remember the formulas and electrical theory from nuke school. was only really sure on how ohms acted in parallel and series

 

[STLBluesNut]

The MV VV Mod is still a good way to get into modding. If you "Know" of a better technique, then you can probably bypass that step.

lol, i don't even really 'know' this technique

If the 380mah Elite lasts you most of the day, what would an 18650 mod with a 2600mah cell do?
Fall off in voltage would be a LOT less.
(at least the first day or two )

so what you are saying is that this single 3.7v battery may suit my current mod desires because it will just stay closer to that fresh charged voltage longer? i like to build more complex things but no need to rush into it just to do it.

an 18650 baterry is approx AA size yes?

 

[Rocketman]

a 14mm by 50 mm 14500 is AA size
a 18mm by 65 mm 18650 is bigger (actually 18 by 67 with a protection circuit on the bottom)

See the trend in numbering?

How big do you think a 26650 cell would be?

If the elite "Almost" does the job, a Bigger battery would do it longer but would still fall off if you forgot to charge it


Parallel (get the parallel/series thing right) 14500 cells makes a quite respectable box mod.
The realistic mah for a 14500 is about 600 to 700mah. Two of these in a very efficient mod would give you about 4 times the life over the elite. How's the vape on the elite at about 75% charge?

A single cell 18650 mod (with a good cell) could easily last 6 times as long as the elite.
Off the charger, full charge might be a little hotter than a small cell, but it just keeps going, and going , and

 

[WillyB]

... the elite battery runs 4.3v on full charge. with the vv i could just adjust down to 4.3v. that would be fine at least i would have a constaant voltage over the life of the batt instead of dropping off with use.

which batteries should i get?

No it doesn't run "4.3v on full charge". We are only only interested in what we vape at.

If you were to do a loaded volts test it would probably be the typical ~3.7V. A true regulated voltage of 4.3V is quite a step up. Your watts (power/heat) will be about 35% more than that battery can provide.

As Rocket noted a simple and cheap to build two parralled 14500s in a 3AA box works quite well.

Also quite easy to build (the small RS enclosure will need some internal grinding for the cell to fit) will provide a constant ~4V for a damn long time, for most the whole day.

An IMR4000mAh cell means higher loaded volts and extended vapetimes.

 

[STLBluesNut]

No it doesn't run "4.3v on full charge". We are only only interested in what we vape at.

If you were to do a loaded volts test it would probably be the typical ~3.7V. A true regulated voltage of 4.3V is quite a step up. Your watts (power/heat) will be about 35% more than that battery can provide.

yeah in the video he did an 'unloaded' test with the carto off the battery, it was 4.3v.

i need some more study on terms and such hehe. or at least be a little more clear in my descriptions.

measured a second tank i have on me, its right at 3ohms