Can't decide if I want to get into mech mods or not...

[thatguyferg]

Hello there ECF, first off I wanna say that I'm glad that I signed up for this awesome forum and looking forward to visiting it religiously!

Now I know it's really a matter of opinion here, but why exactly should I get into mech mods? I mean I can (kinda) see why people do it, and it looks awesome and all, but at the end of the day I'm a huge tech nerd and just see that you can either spend $200 on a mech mod that looks sweet or $200 on a box/APV mod that has some sweet features (sidenote if I ever find a solid APV with temperature control/display I will be ecstatic). Also more recently I've seen a lot more APV's that can handle some serious wattage, which seemed to be one of the only factors besides aesthetics that separated them from mech mods.

Regardless of whether or not it's any "better" than APV's I'm most definitely still going to buy one (or two...or three...or more) eventually, just not sure if I should be trying to do that soon or if I'd be better off dabbling in APV-land for a bit longer.

Can anyone out there offer any insight into the beautiful, unknown world of mech mods for a vape-geek such as myself?

 

[MsShona]

Welcome! What are you using now?

 

[chav]

Welcome! I had a very similar thought process when I started getting my mods, I've spent most my time regulated, but I do have a newer found attachment to my mech mod, I would suggest if you're not sure about spending a lot on a mech then to try and find a simple cheap mod and test the water, you can find pretty simple ones that aren't dangerous for around 30-40$, downside they usually aren't as adjustable, or don't have good locking mechanisms, or might conduct power a little less, but all in all not a bad way to test the water. I'm sure there are many ppl here more mech savvy than myself to help guide you one way or the other though

 

[sparkky1]

Hello there ECF, first off I wanna say that I'm glad that I signed up for this awesome forum and looking forward to visiting it religiously!

Now I know it's really a matter of opinion here, but why exactly should I get into mech mods? I mean I can (kinda) see why people do it, and it looks awesome and all, but at the end of the day I'm a huge tech nerd and just see that you can either spend $200 on a mech mod that looks sweet or $200 on a box/APV mod that has some sweet features (sidenote if I ever find a solid APV with temperature control/display I will be ecstatic). Also more recently I've seen a lot more APV's that can handle some serious wattage, which seemed to be one of the only factors besides aesthetics that separated them from mech mods.

Regardless of whether or not it's any "better" than APV's I'm most definitely still going to buy one (or two...or three...or more) eventually, just not sure if I should be trying to do that soon or if I'd be better off dabbling in APV-land for a bit longer.

Can anyone out there offer any insight into the beautiful, unknown world of mech mods for a vape-geek such as myself?

Your in luck !

SXmini Box Mod - M Class w/ Temp Control

 

[Niten13]

I personally would buy a 50-70watt APV first if you don't have a lot of experience with building coils, battery safety, and Ohms Law. If you do have the experience just make sure you pick up Quality batteries Like VTC4, Samsung 25r, or LG HE2. You will need an ohm meter, DMM and quality charger.
Make sure your mech has vent holes for batteries.
I use my IPV3 as my all day vape and my mechanical as backup, the VW box mods are more versatile, you can use almost any range of Ohms and pump the exact amount of power you want to your coils.
If you are not already building on a RDA/RTA buy a regulated to get started

 

[Ed Kindred]

I started with a little ego & worked my way up the ladder. I tried a couple of mechs along the way & finally settled in on 2 Istick 20 watts for travel & work then a Vapor Flask at home. Low "fiddle factor" was my biggest motivator. I use Kanger Megas on the Isticks and a Kanger Subtank on the Vapor Flask. Physical size & saftey were also motivators but not as much as the "fiddle factor' because I work 70 hrs a week.

 

[djsvapour]

My mechs are on standby for either the zombie apocalypse (hardware getting banned in the UK) and/or for lower ohm dual coil RDAs.
I don't own a VV/VW mod that can fire under 1.0ohm, so I plan to buy one.
I have two main mechanicals (and another spare back-up). One of them is a 1:1 Nemesis for $24 which has served me well for over a year. The other is a Sigelei. $40.

 

[tj99959]

A mechanical is an alternative, nothing more.

When I started vaping (2011) the FDA was involved in a law suite, customs was seizing shipments, and the end of vaping was looming over our heads. So I started looking into ways to become "self reliant" just in case 'hell froze over'.

This meant learning how to make my own mods, atomizers, and liquids. Seems like there were a lot of others with the same idea, and mechanical mods & RBAs started coming out of the woodwork.

What I found was that a good mechanical, RBA, and DIY liquids can become the least expensive way to vape that there is.
In fact this past year I have spent ZERO ... that's right, ZERO to vape.

 

[jxc0175]

How new are you to vaping?

 

[peraspera]

Start with a regulated APV with generous specs. That gives you a huge sandbox in which to safely play to perfect your building skills . For that purpose it would be hard to beat the SX Mini with the SX350J temperature controlled chip that should be shipping in March/April. You can also use the SX Mini in bypass mode which is like vaping on a mech with safety features.

After you have nailed building for regulated study battery and mech safety like a new found religion before venturing into mech territory where you have no electronics to help keep you safe.

 

[Fuzzy Bruce]

I started vaping with a regulated mod that would not fire below 1.2 ohms for safety sake. Got into RBA and RTA and need more oomph to fire coils down to where my sweet spot of 0.5-0.7 ohms with dual coils. Got a thirty watt regulated mod.

After learning as much as I could, there came a series of mech mods.Lots of bucks spent on trial of atty's and mods. Found dripping to be the most satisfying vape. Then, on a whim, I got ahold of a Reo and found it to be the perfect vape. Dripping without the hassle of having to carry juice and actually dripping. My end all vape device.

Vaping is a personal journey. Only you can decide if you want to try devices (and spend the bucks)

 

[readeuler]

I got into mechs because 15 watts just wasn't cutting it for me, and I just didn't want to spend $100+ to see what 50 watts was like, and I simply couldn't spend the money to see what 100+ watts was like.

Fortunately, I found that a simple metal tube and an RDA is a very easy place to find my happiness. One appealing aspect of an unregulated mod, to me, is that it lets me focus more on the physics of coil-building. It's very interesting to tie all sorts of properties I want (currently a good amount of cool, thick vapor with minimal ramp-up time and minimal 'after-burn') to a single multi-faceted variable, the coil(s).

So, metal tubes are lacking on the tech-side, but they're very rich on physics. Of course you could explore all of this with an APV, but you probably wouldn't have to 'eat your mistakes' as much; just play with the wattage to try and fix some of the behavior you don't like, as opposed to ripping out the build.

As you are the sole safety mechanism, mechs and batteries aren't to be taken lightly, however. You can find great mechs for minimal monetary investment, but it might take some time to find a safe, happy place.

 

[thatguyferg]

Welcome! What are you using now?

Thank you I'm currently using and iPV Mini 30w with an Efest IMR 18650 2500 mAh 35A battery and either a Kanger Subtank Mini or a Mutation X V3 (I keep the resistance for both at .5+). If I were to go APV I'm looking at probably getting the iPV v2 or 3 right now simply because of price, but should I go mechanical it's back to the drawing board!

To be honest I'm almost leaning towards upgrading to a bigger, badder APV at this point simply because I want to get another RDA that has some better flavor production (If I could find a plume veil in stock I'd be a happy vaper) and I plan on grabbing some thicker gauge wire soon to experiment with a bunch of different coil styles but the mini is holding me back unfortunately.

Your in luck !

SXmini Box Mod - M Class w/ Temp Control

Wow yeah I saw this somewhere recently I can't recall where...it was just the picture so I didn't really have any idea of the name of it and whatnot. This thing is a beauty!

How new are you to vaping?

I've been vaping for about a year, but honestly it's become a big time hobby of mine. I love building performance desktops but it's way way wayyyy too expensive to be doing constantly in college. So upon discovering the vast world that is vaping (it really doesn't appear to be on the surface) I've spent the past months researching, shopping, browsing forums, watching videos, and more recently rebuilding my own coils (subtank mini and mutation x v3).

So I guess I'm still quite new, but when I find a hobby I invest a lot of time into it, and honestly I feel that I'm decently well versed in the vape world, but I'm also very cautious and make safety a top priority.

 

[thatguyferg]

I started vaping with a regulated mod that would not fire below 1.2 ohms for safety sake. Got into RBA and RTA and need more oomph to fire coils down to where my sweet spot of 0.5-0.7 ohms with dual coils. Got a thirty watt regulated mod.

After learning as much as I could, there came a series of mech mods.Lots of bucks spent on trial of atty's and mods. Found dripping to be the most satisfying vape. Then, on a whim, I got ahold of a Reo and found it to be the perfect vape. Dripping without the hassle of having to carry juice and actually dripping. My end all vape device.

Vaping is a personal journey. Only you can decide if you want to try devices (and spend the bucks)

Very deep, but very well put. I suppose it is up to me to explore the world of vaping...looks like I need to start budgeting a little more for the love of vaping!

 

[ElevenEleven]

Everyone here seems to have hit the nail on the head.

I can add one thing. If you drop a DNA device or a Provari or anything with a chip there's a high chance of breakage. If you buy high end then that alone would make me want to keep that device at home. Drop a mech and more often than not it will work just as before. Plus, you can get mechs for cheap. I have a Stingray X clone that I paid less than $30 for on "fast"tech and an A-MOD SMPL for $30. Thats a nice price to pay for something that can sub ohm without a sweat.

Anything, tech wise, that hits the market is already outdated. Mechs don't have that same problem.

Edit: I forgot to say... Welcome to ECF!

 

[tj99959]

Thank you I'm currently using and iPV Mini 30w with an Efest IMR 18650 2500 mAh 35A battery and either a Kanger Subtank Mini or a Mutation X V3 (I keep the resistance for both at .5+). If I were to go APV I'm looking at probably getting the iPV v2 or 3 right now simply because of price, but should I go mechanical it's back to the drawing board!

To be honest I'm almost leaning towards upgrading to a bigger, badder APV at this point simply because I want to get another RDA that has some better flavor production (If I could find a plume veil in stock I'd be a happy vaper) and I plan on grabbing some thicker gauge wire soon to experiment with a bunch of different coil styles but the mini is holding me back unfortunately.




Wow yeah I saw this somewhere recently I can't recall where...it was just the picture so I didn't really have any idea of the name of it and whatnot. This thing is a beauty!




I've been vaping for about a year, but honestly it's become a big time hobby of mine. I love building performance desktops but it's way way wayyyy too expensive to be doing constantly in college. So upon discovering the vast world that is vaping (it really doesn't appear to be on the surface) I've spent the past months researching, shopping, browsing forums, watching videos, and more recently rebuilding my own coils (subtank mini and mutation x v3).

So I guess I'm still quite new, but when I find a hobby I invest a lot of time into it, and honestly I feel that I'm decently well versed in the vape world, but I'm also very cautious and make safety a top priority.

Well ya see .......... it's like this

The Purple efest 2500mAh battery is a LG HE2 20 amp battery (subject to change at a whim)
The Purple efest 2100mAh battery is a Sony VTC-4 30 amp battery (subject to change at a whim)

Lesson #1 in mechanical mods is learning what batteries are under the pretty wrappers!

Lesson #1 in RDAs is chamber size influences flavor.
By far the best flavor I have found is with a 2 ohm coil in an A7, (11mm chamber instead of a 22mm chamber) but it's a flavor chaser ... not a cloud chaser. The A7's cloud is on par with a Kayfun.

So if I can get the same flavor from 8 watts @ 2 amps, why would I go down the path of 20 amps @ 80 watts?

 

[Sljuka]

Welcome to ECF,i was just following few topics,but i guess after a sucsesfull year of vaping i should actualy participate in those topics I own few meh clones,had 3-4 regulated devices...Just swaping my gear arround You should do what i did...Just get yourself a nice meh clone,couple of high amp limit batteries,a good RDA and you'r good to go.I use them when i'm at home and RBA/RTA when going out...

 

[jxc0175]

Thank you I'm currently using and iPV Mini 30w with an Efest IMR 18650 2500 mAh 35A battery and either a Kanger Subtank Mini or a Mutation X V3 (I keep the resistance for both at .5+). If I were to go APV I'm looking at probably getting the iPV v2 or 3 right now simply because of price, but should I go mechanical it's back to the drawing board!

To be honest I'm almost leaning towards upgrading to a bigger, badder APV at this point simply because I want to get another RDA that has some better flavor production (If I could find a plume veil in stock I'd be a happy vaper) and I plan on grabbing some thicker gauge wire soon to experiment with a bunch of different coil styles but the mini is holding me back unfortunately.




Wow yeah I saw this somewhere recently I can't recall where...it was just the picture so I didn't really have any idea of the name of it and whatnot. This thing is a beauty!




I've been vaping for about a year, but honestly it's become a big time hobby of mine. I love building performance desktops but it's way way wayyyy too expensive to be doing constantly in college. So upon discovering the vast world that is vaping (it really doesn't appear to be on the surface) I've spent the past months researching, shopping, browsing forums, watching videos, and more recently rebuilding my own coils (subtank mini and mutation x v3).

So I guess I'm still quite new, but when I find a hobby I invest a lot of time into it, and honestly I feel that I'm decently well versed in the vape world, but I'm also very cautious and make safety a top priority.

It's really about personal preference. I don't like mechs. I like pushing the button and knowing exactly what I will get, every time. My favorite mod is the Provari P3.

 

[RamShot Rowdy]

If you want a quality mech mod, these bad boys are on sale for $59.99, Made in the USA, top quality:

https://www.supertmanufacturing.com/shop/precise-workhorse-telescopic/