any diff in maintaining mech vs. APV?

[AndriaD]

I just ordered my very first mech! If not for the potential vapocalypse, I'm sure I'd have been perfectly happy with electronic APVs for many years, but I'm just afraid that the FDA is going to do something insane to make advanced PVs so expensive that no one short of Warren Buffet can afford one, which would really leave me high and dry when the ones I have now finally wear out.

I'm accustomed to regular maintenance of my sigelei Zmax v3, consisting of regularly cleaning off old Noalox in the battery tube threads, and reapplying fresh Noalox, in order to maintain good conductivity. Should I also do this with the mech I just ordered? It's a "Fallen Angel" which appears identical to the EA mod Clone, which of course is the clone of the Electric Angel.

Also, is there any kind of maintenance required for the Kick I ordered with it? I don't really know anything about this particular piece of hardware, as I've so far used nothing but electronic APVs.

Thx!
Andria

 

[valooper]

You cant submerge apv in water a mecg you can to clean

 

[valooper]

But no imo really the same maintenance issues I have both types and I clean similar ways but as fir the kick module just make sure when you are handling that you dont have static electricity on you

 

[valooper]

Curious why did you get a kick with your mech?

 

[Rickajho]

Hi yoo!

Basically you got it. All the threaded points on a mech are potential sources of increased resistance and voltage drops. Clean all threaded points when new and a light touch of the Noalox isn't a bad idea. Depending on the mod the switch contact points need to be cleaned and/or sanded when new as well.

That, and a healthy dose of paranoia regarding knowing your 510 connector and switch to make sure there are no potential short problems. You already know your APV protects you from that and shuts down. Your Kick will do the same but it's still up to you to avoid a problem that would cause that protection to kick in to begin with. No maintenance for the Kick - just make sure you insert it in the right direction. Some long-ish forceps help to remove it once in place.

 

[AndriaD]

Curious why did you get a kick with your mech?

Well so I can still have the variable feature, of course! Also for the slender amount of protection it may offer as a fuse, just in case of "SNAFU". And so the vape doesn't keep getting leaner and leaner as the battery dies... lots of good reasons for a kick. This is a really neat one too, it's a SmokTech variable-wattage kick, which I thought was great since I'm used to using the variable wattage feature on my other mods, rather than variable voltage.

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Hi yoo!

Basically you got it. All the threaded points on a mech are potential sources of increased resistance and voltage drops. Clean all threaded points when new and a light touch of the Noalox isn't a bad idea. Depending on the mod the switch contact points need to be cleaned and/or sanded when new as well.

That, and a healthy dose of paranoia regarding knowing your 510 connector and switch to make sure there are no potential short problems. You already know your APV protects you from that and shuts down. Your Kick will do the same but it's still up to you to avoid a problem that would cause that protection to kick in to begin with. No maintenance for the Kick - just make sure you insert it in the right direction. Some long-ish forceps help to remove it once in place.

Oh trust me, I'm paranoid! I feel fairly safe stacking '350s in my Sigelei, since learning the ways of staying safe with that (mainly, keeping any stacked pair *always* together, charging, use, etc -- those pairs are *married*!), but I would never do that with the mech. Since I'm going to be using a Kick, I figure I'll be mostly using my 18490s, so I'll probably get another pair of those at some point, since I also use the '490s in my Sigelei, and since I do keep my current '350s together as pairs, I guess I'll need to get a couple more of those. The ones I'm using with my Sigelei are eFest, so I think I'll go ahead and pop for the AWs for the mech; it will keep them differentiated from the eFests I currently have, and it's probably a good idea anyway, since the AWs are probably just a bit safer than the eFests. And probably for the mech I'll get 18500s, just so that, again, I can diffentiate them and keep the right batteries with the right mod.

Other than eFest and AW, which are safe(r) batteries? I know the ones with "fire" in the name are to be avoided, but what about these Sonys and Panasonics? I have no plans for sub-ohming so I'm not terribly concerned with massive amps, just sufficient for my needs with coils in the 1.5-2Ω range, running about 9.5w or less.

Thx!
Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Ok, I have a new question, and it's probably an extremely dumb question, but bear in mind I've used only one PV that uses removable batteries, and it's electronic, which my new Fallen Angel (also known as the EA Mod Clone) is not.

The question (oh it's so dumb, I feel like an idiot even asking it) is: in which direction does the battery go? does the positive end go down, where the side-mounted switch is, or up towards the 510 connector, the way it does in the Sigelei zmax v3? I've watched a couple of videos, and plan to watch some others RE: using the Kick with it, but I can't tell how they're loading the battery, and I sure don't want to do it wrong since the mech doesn't have any reverse-polarity protection as the APVs do.

TIA!!!
Andria

 

[UncleChuck]

The biggest difference is really the switch, tube threads will get dirty over time, but they have a huge contact area to spread the current out, where as all the contact points in the switch are relatively small, and smaller amounts of dirt or oxidation will have larger effects.

There are many different switch designs in mechs and different materials as well, some requiring more cleaning than others, but all should be taken apart 100% and at least wiped down with alcohol and a q-tip to get rid of any dirt inside. The actual contact points where the battery meets the switch require cleaning too, material playing a big part in how long you can go between cleanings. My mods with copper contacts seem to require constant cleaning where as those with silver plated ones seem to stay clean a long time. Brass seems to come in the middle somewhere depending on the specific alloy, and the finish (rougher oxidizes faster than a smoother finish on the contacts)

Also keep in mind there are two issues, plain dirt, but also oxidation. If you have a full brass or copper switch you're going to need to actually polish the inside contact surfaces, or otherwise clean them with something that removes oxidation (an eraser works) Where as with a stainless switch you mainly just have to worry about dirt, and oxidation worries are limited to the actual battery contact points.

I wont give you any timetables or anything because it really depends on so many variables, the moisture in the the air, the makeup of your hand oils, what type and quantity of dirt it's exposed to, frequency of use. If you are happy with the vape and the switch functions fine don't worry about cleaning, but if you notice the switch getting gritty or sticky or the vape is anemic than a full teardown and clean is in order to restore it to full performance. Just find a balance between how much time you want to spend cleaning it vs performance expectations.

 

[AndriaD]

Well I spent the time to apply Noalox to ALL the threads (a lot of them with a Fallen Angel/EA Mod Clone); figured if my Sigelei Zmax needs it, then a mech surely would need it too. And yeah I know the stuff dries out, must be cleaned off and reapplied every so often. With my Sigelei I do it about every 5 or 6 battery changes; the Fallen Angel has so many many more threads to worry about, I may not do it that often, but try to get it done at least monthly or so.

I did find out the orientation of the battery, thanks to David Ock in the vv3 thread; he has a Fallen Angel too, so he told me, and how to orient the Kick as well. It's working great! It does take some getting used to, though, having the switch on the side at the bottom; I'm accustomed to firing with my thumb on the sigelei and my vv3s, but with the Fallen Angel, it really does seem to work better to do it with my fingers, either pinky or ring finger.

Andria

 

[porkchopbun]

How ironic, I was just polishing copper mech and cleaning out contacts

It's better to be safe than sorry, and if you feel comfortable using a kick, more power to you. ..I'm not familiar with your mech, but you might want to see if there are any youtube tutorial reviews etc on taking apart, where you can clean the contact pins. I use 99% isopropyl rubbing alcohol to clean the contacts, you can dab some on the q-tip and clean your kick contact (where it hits the nipple of the batter)
Battery placement.
In most mechs, the "nipple" always go towards the top (making contacting with your atty), just like your Zmax.

On buying batteries, it depends on what you put on top...so you might want to read up on ohm's law, battery safety, etc....I think that Batitude guy has blog on it...there has been rash of counterfeit Sony batteries where even big vendors got duped, so make sure if you do buy batteries, buy it from a place with great customer service. I would suggest since you're sticking to 1.5 ohm and above, get the Panasonic F series , 3200 ohm ..long battery life and well safe within your amp limit. Buy it from reputable place like RTD vapor

Everybody starts somewhere, asking questions is the right step.

 

[VapingTurtle]

... It does take some getting used to, though, having the switch on the side at the bottom; I'm accustomed to firing with my thumb on the sigelei and my vv3s, but with the Fallen Angel, it really does seem to work better to do it with my fingers, either pinky or ring finger.

Or place the button in your palm and just squeeze the tube.

 

[AndriaD]

Yeah I don't have any need for those mega-amp batteries, I always build my coils 1.5-2Ω, and generally prefer about 8-9 watts, so I'm well within safety range for regular IMR batteries. No need or even desire to sub-ohm whatsoever. But, I'm using eFests, and I figured I would go ahead and get a couple of AW 18490s for the Fallen Angel, for just that bit of extra protection -- next payday (week from today). For now I'll just use the eFests that I have. I figured I'd get those AWs from AltSmoke, they seem to have the best price I've seen, $8.99 as opposed to >$10. I got my eFests on Amazon and eBay, and actually did ok with that, no issues with batteries or vendors, but I know there is the potential for serious issues, so I figured I'd stay safe(r) and just get them from AltSmoke.

Andria

 

[VaPreis]

I'm not as big of a fan of Noalox as I am of keeping a mod's 510 threading, tube threading, and switch clean. I do believe I read that Noalox is slightly abrasive so I stopped using it altogether.

A little effort with some rubbing alcohol and a few q-tips goes a long way.

 

[OthatGuy]

Never dull is the best for cleaning, I use it on my XXIX, which needs cleaning more often than anything. Noalax sucks,and is abrasive. Nono.