Buying my first APV, not so sure

[Prospect]

So far I have been living off my eGo twist, but I tried a mini Lambo and a Zmax.

Right from the start I will say that I really loved the Zmax. It was running with 2 batteries and gave amazing hits. I have also heard really good things about the Provari V2, and also found the smoktek Smokbox beast.

Out of these three I am not sure what would really be best. My question is, what is the main difference between the Zmax and Provari, And is the Smokbox a better deal for the price? Is the smokbox a realiable APV? It is made of plastic and I am a pretty consistent PV dropper.

 

[Baditude]

Mind if I throw in some things to think about that you may not have already read.

Give some thought to do you feel reasonably safe to use a device that utilizes stacked batteries, since you will be bringing that device up to your face hundreds of times a day. I'm not saying that this totally risky, but the odds that something might go bad is somewhat higher with stacked batteries than singles statistically; I can't point to any link to prove that point, but that seems to be a general consensus among the community.

It's becoming common knowledge now that the Zmax runs a hotter vape than most mods, especially for lower set voltages. It's voltage/wattage output frequently provides more heat to the coils with a lower set voltage; meaning what you set, you don't get; you unintentially get more. Lower set voltages typically have been up to 2 volts higher than set. Most owners have adapted to this knowledge and are perfectly to content to adjust their controls accordingly. So there there are some electronic issues either with inaccurate voltage output or false display readouts

Probably the most endearing quality to me that the Provari provides but is often overlooked by many is it's Acuset feature. The chip ensures that the voltage that you dial in will be consistant and accurate from the first draw on a battery to your last draw. No wimping out of power as a battery drains to the end to weaken your vape. What you set, you get.

Have fun with your research and good luck on finding a great APV.

 

[Prospect]

Thanks for the reply. I was unaware of any safety issues associated with stacked batteries. I will have to do more research and take this into consideration before my purchase.

Also I was aware that the Zmax has been known to be less reliable but I didn't know it could be inaccurate up to 2 volts. Theres a big difference between 3v and 5v

I know provari has passed the test of time. Provari appears to be dead accurate with its readings, whereas Zmax is fairly inconsistent. How are these two devices with durability? Im a terrible chronic vape dropper. I always have them sitting in my lap or something and end up dropping them. Any other key differences would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[six]

I was unaware of any safety issues associated with stacked batteries. I will have to do more research and take this into consideration before my purchase.

There have been a couple of injury related incidents involving specifically mechanical tube mods that didn't have enough venting and 16340 batteries. For the incident in Colorado that the most is known about, the user purchased improper batteries at radio shack instead of getting the recommended batteries.

There have been zero incidents involving any variable voltage or regulated voltage mods with stacked/series batts. Zero. None. Not even one.

The stacked battery hysteria began because the two very serious incidents happened very close together (they were just a few weeks apart) and information was hard to come by. ECF took an official position at the time of stacked batts being a bad thing <period> no exceptions. That wasn't the wisest move on their part and the continued it for some time.... even going so far as to have a guy trying to blow up batteries - and not even the right batteries. There are several threads here on ECF discussing it and the search box will lead you to them. This is the current official thread on the topic.

While battery safety is incredibly important, just the act of using two batteries in series is not in and of itself more or less dangerous than any other vaping behavior. There have been far more reported incidents (though none involving such serious injuries) with single batts than there have series batts. The one and only thing that *could* indicate a higher risk is the simple fact that there is more than one battery so that would make one think that there is twice the chance of a problem (any statistician would take issue with that statement, but the fact is that logic dictates that if one is a risk, two should be even more risk).

When you choose a device, make sure it has some safety features - the most important of which is proper venting. Other things you should look for specific to regulated mods is reverse battery protection, overheat protection, overdischarge protection etc. Nearly all of them provide some circuit level protections.

 

[tnt56]

I've got a vmax and never had a problem with stacked batteries. We put em in flashlights and everything else in the world. Won't argue the saftey factors but I'm one of those that don't really care. If it gets hot in my hand or does something funky I'll stop and check it out. Ok as far as quality or price is concerned I just got a ITASTE the other day.(Ok make fun and talk about it). I really like it better than my vmax and it was half the price. Yea the magnet connector is wierd but it's proubably a rare earth magnet.( I used to work in a factory that made em) It's strong as Kong and never wears out. You will hear a lot of personal opinions on this subject but I will say I really do like all the features of the ITASTE. If I set something at 4 volts I want 4 volts. Not 5 or whatever smoktech is putting out. If you set the zmax to a certain wattage for example 6 it may be putting out 9. Makes no sense to me.

 

[Chronic Dripper]

tnt56............in flashlights they are not Lithium Ion rechargeable, big difference.

 

[tnt56]

tnt56............in flashlights they are not Lithium Ion rechargeable, big difference.

When you been hit with a full 480 3 phase charge from work I rally don't care anymore. I trust the stacked and have not had any problems so far. My face ain't pretty enough to worry about. But still looking at other options for myself. Just my 1 cent worth. And yes In the flashlights I carry sometimes they are the Lithium Ion Never had a problem with them yet I hope.
If they blow up then I won't be sitting down for a while. LOL. To each his/her own.
And yes I do have a lot of flashlights and stuff with the Lithium Ion batteries in them. Just watch the charge and I'm good with them.

 

[troncellot]

Excellent post, six. It really keeps things in perspective. I am a relatively new vapor, but have avoided stacked batteries because of the general warnings. It never really made sense to me.

 

[Prospect]

After looking through a lot of APV's I think tomorrow I'm going to order a provari v2 with the multicharger and 2 18490 batteries. It seemed like the best overall tube mod to start with.

 

[tnt56]

Nice choice from what i understand.

 

[six]

After looking through a lot of APV's I think tomorrow I'm going to order a provari v2 with the multicharger and 2 18490 batteries. It seemed like the best overall tube mod to start with.

The Provari is a fine device and you will be well satisfied with that choice.

tnt56............in flashlights they are not Lithium Ion rechargeable, big difference.

You should check out candlepower forum and lighthound. The vast majority of high-end flashlights and almost every single tactical light currently made use li-on or lifep04 batts.

 

[FriedLiverAtack]

Battery cells are configured in series all over the place. Most if not all laptop batteries have cells in series. Like the above poster high-end flashlights use batteries in series. If there was any real threat it would be big news outside of the ecig forum in the many electronics industries where most stacked batteries (and multi-cell battery packs) are used.

 

[kiwivap]

You can use the Zmax with a single 18650. You don't have to stack batts in it - there is an option for stacking also but it isn't necessary.

 

[trepalium]

I just recently moved to a provari and all I can say is quality, quality, quality. May me a little more expensive, not variable wattage, and kind of a cult favorite, but it's built with amazing quality. The Zmax variable wattage intrigues me as I had wanted a Darwin for awhile, but not yet enough to pick one up. Keep in mind I've never held a zmax and I was moving from a lavatube to the provari, so my opinion may be a little skewed.

 

[Barto]

I think provari are pretty good.

 

[Gridtec]

I've had dozens of PVs; Chinese specials to tube mods over the years. Almost 90% of the time you will find me with one of my Provari's in my hand. Spend the money and get something you will be using several years down the line if you take care of it.

 

[shadco]

I'm much more concerned about these lipo's wired in series 12 cells, 50 volts, about 150 amps potential if you screw up.

It pays to know what you are doing with batteries, what the potential risks are, and how to avoid them!

 

[FriedLiverAtack]

Looking at the pictures makes me think of Apple suing Samsung for making their phone rectangular with rounded corners. If that was a winnable case the Zmax sure owes Provari for ripping off their styling. Got to count the dimples to tell them apart, lol, from pictures anyway.

 

[DannyThunders]

I own a vmax and as of today the provari mini ...

Vmax hits really really hard , if you get the black chrome finish (like i did) it wears off really quickly , sometimes it doesn't turn on and you need to switch the batteries around , etc etc... definite amount of problems


Provari hits smooth as butter, feels great in my hand ( i feel like i could beat someone with this thing and it would work after ) and im liking it WAY more so far

 

[TheNorthDave]

i recently got a provari as well and this thing is great