Dipping my toes into the mech mod pool.

[danedaughtrey]

Hey everyone.
I've been looking a lot to go into mech mods. I've only made a couple of coils for a Vivi Nova and that probably doesn't count.
I'm waiting on an IGO-W to come in the mail. (Mail takes forever to get to Navy ships...)
I'm not trying to sub-ohm right away so I've been looking at the Kamry K101. I like that it can go up to an 18650 if it needs to.
Just wondering if this is a good place to start. I've read almost all the articles I could find on ECF about battery safety and I think I understand that safety side of it.
Thank you for all the advice!

P.S. I don't have a vape shop to go to... So I have to trust an online site to not screw me over. We onboard the USS Bonhomme Richard refer to it as a Tennessee Log Jammer.

 

[PhatRon]

That should be a good starting point IMO. I started with a K100 and an IGO-W myself. Learn to build good coils and get an ohmmeter or DMM and you will be good to go. If you haven't already get some wire of different gauges off of Ebay and start wrapping some coils..
You may find that the draw on your IGO-W is on the tight side so if you have means to do so, try and increase the airhole a little at a time until you find your desired draw size.

Here are a few documents that my prove helpful to you if you have Excel:

View attachment Coils.xlsx

View attachment Kanthal Coil Estimator.xlsx

 

[artt]

I don't own a k101 but if the reviews are decent it would be a excellent place to start. I use mechanical devices and love the simplicity and beauty of them. Just a reminder with mechs and rebuildables a multi-meter is a must have.

 

[*deleon517*]

^ yes make sure you have a way to test the resistance of your build, with either a multimeter or ohm meter. I have several mech's and the k100 style one is my favorite by far. Starting out with a igo-w the holes can be pretty small unless you purchased the w3 which has adjustable air flow. With the other w's you will probably want to stay around 1.5ohm as the lower the ohm's go the more air it will need to keep it vape able.

 

[Timbuck55]

I just received my K100 and ran into a lot of probs with it. The place I ordered from is shipping me another one. I have a IGO W3 waiting for it. Def learn to build nice tight coils before you even step in the realm of mech mods.

 

[SamNapolitanke]

one of these days i'll grow some and get a mech

good luck and thank you for your service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sawtoothscream]

Grab some good batteries like the sony 30A hybrids and a multimeter if you dont already have one. you will probably have to drill the holes out on the igo. Since its not adjustable to slow until you find what you like. for easy to build and awesome coils read up and watch youtube vids on how to build micro coils. stupid easy to make and wick with cotton and they last a long timebefore you will have to recoil it. the wicks will need to be replaced probably once a week and takes less then a minute. the k100 is a nice device, not my favorite in the looks department but works. also idk if its just eh way you worded it but the k 101 will do sub ohm as any mech will, just need the right batteries for the job and make sure they are IMR or hybrids. SONY VTC4 18650 2000mAh Battery - Button Top - 30A these work great and can safely handle really low ohms.

 

[^Top-Shelf^]

If price is a factor and you just want try something out to see if you like it, I like the Kamry K100, there are some less quality ones not made by Kamry so watch out for that. Here's mine with a Kayfun Lite Plus in 18350 mode. Used everyday for 2 months, good as day I received it.


These are pretty sweet also


Ar Mod - Best USA Made Mod By Tac Mods USA - All USA Made Mechanical

There are a ton of options out there, just depends on what you prefer

 

[danedaughtrey]

Thank you everyone for the advice!
I have watched as many Youtube videos as limited bandwidth will allow and have a pretty good understanding about building coils for the IGO-W. If the airflow holes become an issue we have equipment onboard that I can use.
I ordered an ohm meter and have already read up on proper use.
I've been looking a lot at batteries and the VTC4 always comes up. I will probably pick some up, but I like the idea of being able to make it smaller so I will probably buy 18350s and some 18500s with the VTC4.
I definitely did word the sub-ohming part incorrectly. I just meant that I didn't plan on sub-ohming right away. Once I get comfortable with building the coils I'm going to give it a shot.

 

[mr_jones]

I went down the mech path after a long time with the provari. Can totally recommend an evolv kick in a mod if you are just starting. It gives a lot of protection against draining the batteries and once you get more confident you can work without it.