and now... The Puck... Cheap Parts and Easy

[ThePuck]

I've been playing with mods for a while now and have hit upon the perfect combination. I have been using my prototype exlcusively for almost 7 months now. I vape nothing else and it is the same or better experience than smoking regualr cigs. Thanks to all of the modders here because I got some good ideas from them.

The Puck... So far I've not seen anything exactly like but, similar, but not exact. The Puck is a small battery box mod that has one box for the battery compartment and another for the electronics goodies. It's small, fits in the hand well and vapes solid for a good day and night.

I'm not sure why there is not more of this around the forum but I am exclusively using NiMH batteries. Why? Because you can buy them anywhere, they can be FULLY CHRAGED in 15 MINUTES and they last 24 hours. They provide so much more smoke than the standard 901 batteries and last longer. I have been using 2 sets of 4 AAA NiMH batteries for almost 7 months and they still crank as well as the day I bought them. I have a charger I bought that fully charges them in 15 minutes. Try that with Lion batteries.

Description and Specs... The Puck (cause it looks like a square hocky puck and also happens to be part of my last name), consists of 2 4AAA battery boxes back to back. One holds the batteries, the other holds the atomizer, large push button switch, on-off switch and a colored LED.

The LED is a slow changing color type that I use as a performance indicator. The LED is red when you first hit the vape button. If you find yourself holding the button down until the LED turns green, your batteries need to be charged or you need to top off your cart.

The balance of the ~4.8 volts with the 901 atomizer makes for a really great vape. I stumbled upon this combination and have never turned to anything else. You must try it to see what I mean.

The best thing about The Puck is... all parts can be bought at Radio Shack except the 901 atomizer itself and the slow color change LED. The boxes, atomizer connector and push button switch all come from Radio Shack. You can use a regular LED if you prefer but I like the slow color change LED to use as a performance indicator.

I use an Energizer NiMH charger that charges 4 AA or 4 AAA batteries in 15 minutes (at home or with the car adapter). I can show it also if there is interest.

If there is interest in this, I will post a tutorial on how to build yourself one. Attached is some pics...

 

[coralie]

This looks really neat. A huge advantage is the batteries that can be purchased anywhere. I hope someone comes along to explain why more mods aren't using these batteries if there's any reason they aren't.

 

[jj2]

Boy, you need to find space to make it a juice box.

 

[ThePuck]

The only reason most use Lion is either to have a smaller battery or because they don't know any better. NiMH has been used in power hungry applications for a long time and they are well suited to power an atomizer.

It just so happens that NiMH AAA batteries have plenty of power to fire up an atomizer for at least 24 hours and I use my box almost constantly through out the day and night. More people should consider them.

And before some say... memory effect,... I have been using the same 2 sets of batteries for almost 7 months and not one memory effect problem. Most likely becuase I vape them til they fall off and then pop in a freshly chraged set or charge the ones in my box on my 15 minute charger.

 

[ThePuck]

Actually, there is one small slot left that I've been looking at to put in a small container of liquid. Feeding will be my next move with this since the box concept itself has been proven to work very reliably.

 

[Lab]

i keep saying someone needs to take a 9v battery and just toss a resistor in it.. not even as a all day pv.. but when you go camping , loose power ext. it would be nice to just stop at the store and grab a 9v battery..

i have done that with just batteries.. took 3 aa's then just taped them together and touched wires to my atty when all my batteries where dead

 

[MXBNW]

Looks cool, I would take one if you could get it to work with a 510 carto.

 

[ThePuck]

One more cool feature of this is that you can almost completely conceal it in your hand and still press the button to vape. I have small hands so no one should have a problem concealing it if they wish to. Here is a photo... (please excuse,... I'm not a hand model )

 

[ThePuck]

Looks cool, I would take one if you could get it to work with a 510 carto.

I'm not sure how it would work with a 510 carto. I just know that the voltage and current work perfectly with the properties of a 901 atomizer (like the 901's resistance).

I'll check into the 510 properties if I can find some info on them.

 

[MXBNW]

I'm not sure how it would work with a 510 carto. I just know that the voltage and current work perfectly with the properties of a 901 atomizer (like the 901's resistance).

I'll check into the 510 properties if I can find some info on them.

Thank you wold love to have one for the car or camp set.

 

[Slighter]

Please post the tutorial, I have a bunch of these batteries.
Will any atty connector (say 510) work?

 

[ThePuck]

Please post the tutorial, I have a bunch of these batteries.
I'm going to assume any atty connector (say 510) would work, yes?

Yes, you could probably use any connector you have but I'm not sure about the properties of a 501 atomizer and how well they will work with the 4AAA batteries but I'm going to see if I can dig up some info on one.

The 901 has a bit higher resistance value so it works perfectly with this. I'll post the info once I can find info on the 510.

 

[Lab]

by putting 3 aa's end to end and just using a wire.. a 510 hit nice

 

[Rocketman]

Puck,
Positive comments first
Nimh AAA cells:
Local replacement batteries from just about anywhere (even wally world) is a plus for using Nimh cells. You are correct that memory effect for the stack is of no concern sense you charge them in their own charging slot.

The double box: This is a flexible concept. Room to add features, change the layout, customize just the way you want. Many mods don't offer that flexibility. Those that want a cigarette sized e-cig and are satisfied with the performance might not like the almost hand filling proportions, but a slim e-cig will not perform like a mod.

4.8 volts:
Not quite 5v, but greater than 3.7. I'm satisfied at 3.7v but many people want to go hotter, like 6v or even hotter. 4 Nimh cells seems like a natural solution.

Li-ion:
The primary reason for using Li-ion cells (like in cells phones, laptops, most NEW electronic devices) is charge density. Aside from some of the newer variations of Lithium battery technology, the Li-ion cell provides more charge for size or weight. Just like the Nimh has a size and weight advantage over Nicad. (I used to fly Nicads)
The 4 AAA cells give you 4.8 volts (average) with 850mah or a total charge of 4.08 watt hours.
A 18650 Li-ion cell give 3.7 volts (average) with 2600mah or a total charge of 9.62 watt hours. Over twice the charge.
4 AA 2600mah Nimh cells in series or two 18650 Li-ion cells in parallel would give even more watt hours to burn. But, 4 AAAA are a nice way to go (for some).

I normally suck down 2 18650 Li-ion cells per day. 4 AAAA Nimh wouldn't last me long

Keep up the good work. No model e-cig or mod is best for everyone. Yours has features that will appeal to some, and maybe not others. I hope you take this as a positive critique.

 

[Lab]

what would make this real nice if you had a switch that would make it so you could have the option to use 1, 3.7 v battery.. or to use the 4, 1.2v.. then it would work great as a all day vape with emergency option to run to the store and pick up batteries

 

[ThePuck]

Good points. You correct about the Lion batteries are used for a lightweight power ratio but the reason I use Nimh is availability. I was tired of ordering batteries.

The only thing you left out though was the resistance of the atomizer is a factor. If you are using a very low resistance atomizer, you will eat up batteries faster. The 901 has a higher resistance value and I smoke mine constantly all day long beginning at 7am in the morning and throughout the night until about 1am in the morning. It stays strong until the next day around the same time (24 hours).

I've done this for almost 7 months with multiple 901 atomizers. 4 AAA (850 MAH) batteries are powering this device for that long. If you need to freight train vape every day then this may not be for you.

If I'm having a bad day and freight train vape this thing constantly, I have had the batteries go dead in about 11 hours but that was extreme. I usually hit the thing about every 1 to 2 minutes or sooner on an average day and the batteries can handle that all day and night.

 

[Rocketman]

Freight Train? Yup, that's me.

Your mod should be of interest to some that have asked about a mod for camping trips, long drives, etc. Just try and get a Li-ion battery shipped to you when out in the woods.
I normally use a cartomizer now (either 808D-1 or 510) with a resistance about the same as a 901 atty. Try one on your mod, who knows, you might like it

 

[ThePuck]

Looks like the 510 cartomizer has different versions with different resistances so it may be pot luck when it comes to getting one close to the 901 resistance (3.2 ohms). I have seen where some have said they were 3.2 but others say theirs are 2.2, 2.6 and others for the 510 catomizers. Anything with about 3.2 ohms or close should work about the same as the 901 does and the batteries should last just as long with The Puck.

 

[MXBNW]

Looks like the 510 cartomizer has different versions with different resistances so it may be pot luck when it comes to getting one close to the 901 resistance (3.2 ohms). I have seen where some have said they were 3.2 but others say theirs are 2.2, 2.6 and others for the 510 catomizers. Anything with about 3.2 ohms or close should work about the same as the 901 does and the batteries should last just as long with The Puck.

Cool how much to set one up for me? the cartomizers are just a little bit bigger then the standard Atty's due to a wraping they put on them to cover them with.

 

[ThePuck]

Cool how much to set one up for me? the cartomizers are just a little bit bigger then the standard Atty's due to a wraping they put on them to cover them with.

I'll have to figure that out. Not expensive thought since the parts are pretty cheap but I would like to ordera 510 cartomizer to try it out on since, one... the hole for the atomizer needs to be sized correctly (it sits down in the box) and two... I want to check the resistance and longgevity of the batteries with one. I'll put one on order. Where do most people get their 510 cartomizers?