Eleaf Istick question

[Maiar]

Firstly, this is the only part of the forum minute piece of .... phone will load so I'm putting this here and someone can move it for me.

Christmas came early this year, the girlfriend got me the istick, and it's not behaving the way I was expecting. Everything is super hot and tastes burnt at anything above 3.4V. This is odd because it's a 2.5ohm coil in there that I was using with no problems at like 4.5V on my vision spinner 2. So what the hell? It's also doing this with a dual coil my emow. That one is 1.8 and worked fine last night as well.
Why wouldn't the voltages be at least similar? Did I get a turd battery?

 

[Susan~S]

There are a few problems with regard to the istick's circuitry (it measures mean not RMS). It is not capable of down regulating power (it is widely inaccurate, especially at lower voltages). Most batteries use RMS.

A PBusardo Review - The Eleaf iStick

 

[G and C]

I've come to find that I really have to play with mine to find the sweet spot, and it varies from tank to tank, even when the coils are reading the same resistance. I can do up to 10W with my Nautilus at 1.8ohms, but my ProTank at 1.8ohms won't take more than about 7W before it tastes like a forest fire smoldering in my mouth.

 

[Wolfenstark]

Would seem for many on the istick that you don't compare its readings with most other mods. If you get to a number thats good then use that number regardless of the number you use in other mods.

 

[jefsview]

Yep. Whatever the reading is, just add a volt to it and then dial in your sweet spot per atomizer.

I have been running in wattage mode, but use the +1 volt scale in unison to the displayed voltage to wattage. Right at this moment, I am running a 1.5 ohm KFL+ at only 7 watts, which reads 3.2 volts but it puts our more like 4.2 volts but vapes exceptionally well Once you get use to it, it becomes second nature.

 

[Maiar]

Yep. Whatever the reading is, just add a volt to it and then dial in your sweet spot per atomizer.

I have been running in wattage mode, but use the +1 volt scale in unison to the displayed voltage to wattage. Right at this moment, I am running a 1.5 ohm KFL+ at only 7 watts, which reads 3.2 volts but it puts our more like 4.2 volts but vapes exceptionally well Once you get use to it, it becomes second nature.

I'm not sure what you mean. Sorry, having a stupid day lol

 

[Maiar]

I've got a 2.5ohm protank 2 coil in one tank, and I can't go above 3.3W (reads as 3.0V) without tasting like i just put my mouth around a car muffler. I've got a 2ohm coil in another, and can't go above 4.5W (reads as 3.0V too) without the same. That's as low as it goes with both lol

 

[Maiar]

Ok I'm refreshing myself with how VV and VW work. And it seems to me VW is clearly the way to go as you can set the wattage and no matter what resistance of coil your using you'll get the same amount of heat. So my question is, why is the minimum wattage on this thing different with each resistance? Doesn't seem too "set and forget" as every article and thread I've looked at had me believing. Shouldn't I be able to set a wattage and leave it? For instance, the 2.0ohm coil won't go below 4.5W and the 2.5 won't go below 3.3W and the 1.8 in my EMOW won't go below 5.
It doesn't seem to matter though. Anything above the absolute minimum tastes like absolute garbage anyways regardless of if I'm screwing around in VV or VW mode... And I was under the impression from the thread here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...e-voltage-vs-variable-wattage-better-why.html that getting something capable of VW would be the end of me keeping track of voltage and resistances and .... since you can set the wattage at where you like it and forget about it more or less. I'm aware you can adjust it too if you feel like it. But you know what I mean. I guess the question is, if I like 3.3W, why can't I use 3.3W in all of them? Is there some math I missed that calculates the minimum wattage a coil can use? The 2.5's minimum seems to be the 3.3W and so far thats the only one that actually doesn't taste like ashes. But I switch to the 2.0 and all of a sudden my wattage is at 4.5 and won't go lower and it tastes like .....

Sorry guys. In some things like history and stuff I'm brilliant, but in stuff like this, with math, I'm so ....ing dumb.

 

[Maiar]

Oh just for reference I threw all three tanks back on my spinner 2's and they all taste great at 3.8V so the coils being bad is out of the question. The VV mode on the istick has the juice tasting burnt at anything over 3.0V.
I'm not sure what was meant up there by the add a volt idea though....

 

[cocacola31173]

That is why I am glad I didn't grab one right away...That would have drove me nuts! I am a set it and forget it kinda gal.

 

[GinnyTx]

with a Protank 2..you can't really go much over 3.0...that's at 8.0 watts..I keep mine in vv mode.

but even with an adjustable air flow base (I highly recommend those) I'm not real fond of using what 3 protank 2's I have left with the iStick, I use one on my Innokin vv..they just can't handle the iStick w/o tasting burnt if you take a long draw even with it turned all the way down.

V2's & Mega's with a 1.0 ohm or better coil..like an ace though..yummy view obstructing clouds.

 

[readeuler]

Someone had a very informative post on converting Eleaf watts to regular watts. The formula is:

P = 5.5 * V / R ,

Where P is the actual (not displayed) wattage, V is the displayed voltage, and R is the resistance.

In wattage mode, it won't be "set and forget" as resistance changes because the difference between RMS volts and Eleaf volts isn't linear; Eleaf volts get closer to RMS volts as the displayed voltage gets closer to 5.5.

A bummer, but once you find your sweet spot, it's a nice little device!

 

[jefsview]

Prebuilt coils are not as forgiving on the iStick as are rebuildables. The old rule of variable wattage, "set it and forget it," isn't applicable. Just dial it low and work your way up until you find what works best for your atomizer. With each attached atomizer, I have to reset my iStick, but I did that on my MVP. I've never found that "set it and forget it" notion to be true, because not all flavors perform well at those levels. But "dial to taste" always works.

The iSticks saving grace, asided from small form factor, is that it is such a powerful battery. By keeping the settings low, you save battery life and the battery charge lasts for days

 

[Whynot61]

In my opinion the iStick sucks for using with standard tanks. It just runs to hot. With that said, it works great with my Kayfun Lite Plus and my Tugboat RDA. I use it more with my Tugboat though.

 

[Susan~S]

I can run my Aerotanks and Nautilus on the iStick without getting dry hits (due to their airflow control). I agree with others. Just start at the lowest (volts or watts) and slowly dial it up.

If you are interested in seeing more about what is really going on with the iStick see a great post by fellow ECF member Peraspera: Wattage Ranges for Specific Ohm Builds Using iStick Specs

 

[Maggiemw]

I admit that I am very, very frustrated with my istick. I am at the minimum settings, and my Kayfun mini tastes awful. Truly awful.

I agree that the istick seems like a neat little guy, and I like its form and size, but usage-wise? Too annoying. In comparison, my bunch of MVP2s are easy and happy.

 

[James Wilson]

This does sound like a frustrating issue. I am glad I haven't run into it on my Itaste VV. I usually leave mine set in VW mode at around 8 watts on a 2 ohm stock kanger duel coils. Though I find for some juices I do need to dial it in more. Some need it a big higher. Others seem perfect at 8. It does sound like the Istick does have it's problems though and I am kinda glad I haven't gotten one. If I'd have started on that I think I would have become frustrated and gone back to analogs. lol.

 

[SunshinePete]

I'm using a ProTank 2 with 2.3 ohm coil on my istick. Set to 9W the display shows 4.5V, which is reasonably in accordance with Ohm's law. But the numbers don't matter, because I'm getting a good vape. Maybe some iSticks are defective and the OP has got a rogue?

 

[Maiar]

Thanks for all the input everyone.

 

[Smokin' Iron]

My istick and nautilus mini play very nicely together. I just had to change out the coil on my mini after 3 weeks. It was still firing fine but the flavor was starting to drop off.