Batteries vs mechs

Status
Not open for further replies.

evgeny131

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Apr 5, 2013
3,120
6,198
Los Angeles
batteries in mechs are your most important tools....first in drawing a strong and stable current, then in keeping that current without a major drop, over a certain period of time, as well as overall safety. most mechs were designed inherently for aw or other higher end imr's. just don't use cheap batteries in mechs- their performance is the first apparent thing that suffers- along with your overall safety while using them....i find that with a 0.6ohm coil i'm drawing about 7amps continuously, so- for example- my aw's perform very good- excellent, whereas i notice a significant difference in voltage drop and overall consistency using efest imr's. (rated same as aw but true numbers r actually less.)
there are really good battery safety links on this forum...they are imho a must read if u r starting to use mech mods.
 

xpackaday

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Apr 23, 2013
256
73
Columbus, OH
Batteries have two different designs. First is fast amp draw and second is low amp draw but for a long time. So it is a trade off between the two. In general the first bat will be rated with a lower mha and the second bat will be rated with a higher mha. If you vape in the 7 watt and below range either bat will work, but if you vape in the 9+watt range you need the first.

So kinda think of bat's for a car or RV. One needs to be able to supply high amps for a short period to start the car, while the other needs to run a few light for days. Neither bat will work well in the other application.
 

jasl90

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 30, 2012
1,688
1,754
Jacksonville, FL
Okay, was just curious, thank you. I think my Panny CGRs are going to be fine since I think read those are 18amp but if not I have 2 of the AW IMR 1600mahs... Which I think I read were 30amps?

The CHR's are rated @ 10 amps and the AW 1600's are rated @ 26 amps.

Any good quality high drain battery is going to be safe in a mech, but that's only part of the picture... As a general rule, the higher the amp rating, the higher the voltage it can deliver under a given load. So... While both the AW 1600 and the Panasonic CGR18650CH are both good, safe batteries, the AW will be able be able to deliver higher voltages under load. You just need to swap batteries more often.

HTH
 

dr g

Moved On
ECF Veteran
Mar 12, 2012
3,554
2,406
Paradise
The CHR's are rated @ 10 amps and the AW 1600's are rated @ 26 amps.

Any good quality high drain battery is going to be safe in a mech, but that's only part of the picture... As a general rule, the higher the amp rating, the higher the voltage it can deliver under a given load. So... While both the AW 1600 and the Panasonic CGR18650CH are both good, safe batteries, the AW will be able be able to deliver higher voltages under load. You just need to swap batteries more often.

HTH

Actually the lifespans of the AW IMR 1600 and CGR18650CH are very close for mech vaping.
 

dr g

Moved On
ECF Veteran
Mar 12, 2012
3,554
2,406
Paradise
Actually it depends on the resistance of the coil... Higher res coils, the Panny will last longer... Low res coils the AW will last longer.

In practice they will still be very close. Most of the additional life comes at low voltage, and with a higher resistance coil you won't be getting much vapor at those low voltages, so the battery is likely to be changed before that extra capacity can be used.
 

jasl90

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 30, 2012
1,688
1,754
Jacksonville, FL
In practice they will still be very close. Most of the additional life comes at low voltage, and with a higher resistance coil you won't be getting much vapor at those low voltages, so the battery is likely to be changed before that extra capacity can be used.

You got the facts right but the conclusion only holds true within a fairly narrow range of resistances.

AW can sustain higher voltages under higher loads for longer periods of time than the Panny. So, for a low resistance coil the AW will be able to go a longer period of time before it dips below a given voltage output. It still has a lower energy density but is able to deliver a greater percentage... At higher resistances, where neither battery is being overly taxed, the greater energy density will allow the Panasonic to outlast the AW.

Yes, I know that there is a lot of distance between 1 and 7 amps, but the graph below does a good job of illustrating the concept...
AWVSPanny_zps51c5ea2c.png

Here you can see the Panny (the Callie Custom is a rebranded CGR18650CH) clearly out performing the AW at 1 amp and the AW clearly out performing the Panny at 7 amps. Yes, there will be an amp level somewhere in the middle where they both hit 3.6 volts at the same time...

edit: The graph was produced here... http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Common18650comparator.php
 
Last edited:

IrishUpstart

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Mar 14, 2013
605
415
River Falls, WI, USA
Okay. So after reading this, I'm confused. I'm looking to get into mechs and RDAs. Was planning on getting as much as possible in one order to fasttech for simplicity. The one thing that is holding me up are the batteries/charger. I was going to get the pannys listed in this thread, but now I'm not sure.
 

dr g

Moved On
ECF Veteran
Mar 12, 2012
3,554
2,406
Paradise
Again it's a question of what actually happens in practice. Problem with that is actually achieving 1 amp. At 3.6v, 1 amp is a 3.6 ohm coil putting out 3.6 watts. Not usable in practice. And that would be a 1.2A draw to start.

Looking at practical numbers, for a 3 ohm coil, it's going to start at 1.4 amps making 5.9 watts. At 3.6v that's down to 4.3 watts, it's unlikely a person would find a 3 ohm coil on a mech satisfying at that point, and that's still 1.2 amps.

For a 2.5 ohm coil, you start at 1.68 amps making 7 watts. At 3.6v you're making 5.2 watts but pulling 1.44 amps.

For a 2 ohm coil, you're already starting at 2.1 amps, 8.8 watts, and 3.6v, 1.8a, 6.5 watts. For that you have to step up to the 2A comparison and you can see that down to that point the difference in life is marginal.

And this is all before we take into account response times.

As I'm typing this I have a 3.1 ohm coil on my vamo vaping tiny wattage just to confirm ;) Talk about wisps!
 
Last edited:

dr g

Moved On
ECF Veteran
Mar 12, 2012
3,554
2,406
Paradise
Okay. So after reading this, I'm confused. I'm looking to get into mechs and RDAs. Was planning on getting as much as possible in one order to fasttech for simplicity. The one thing that is holding me up are the batteries/charger. I was going to get the pannys listed in this thread, but now I'm not sure.

Well what are your other options, really? The only thing that might be significantly better than AW 1600s in a mech that fasttech sells might be the sony 30a battery but I have not seen enough testing to say for sure. The CGR18650CHs compare very well.

A lot does depend on what you are doing with your mech but if you are looking at RDAs and subohm coils, that's the deal.
 

Jaiofspam

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Well what are your other options, really? The only thing that might be significantly better than AW 1600s in a mech that fasttech sells might be the sony 30a battery but I have not seen enough testing to say for sure. The CGR18650CHs compare very well.

A lot does depend on what you are doing with your mech but if you are looking at RDAs and subohm coils, that's the deal.

the sony's dont even come close
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...7026-60v-sag-underload-sigelei-19-normal.html
 

dr g

Moved On
ECF Veteran
Mar 12, 2012
3,554
2,406
Paradise
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread