I'm currently at 5.5 watts (1.8 ohm coil) and getting intermittent burners. A full 6 watts lower than the MPV. Only goes down to 5 watts with those coils. Changed out the coils several times with the same results.
This thing could cook a roast.
reddog,
Looks like the iStick might be the wrong APV for you.
After getting my first iStick about two months ago (I now own two), it didn't take me very long to conclude that the iStick would be---for me, anyway---a very specialized power source. My collection of vaping hardware is quite large---I have more than 100 PVs and APVs, and I use them to power many different kinds of Juice Delivery Systems (JDS---i.e., atomizers, often called "toppers" on this thread): old-school 510 and 306 atties for dripping, clearomizers of numerous types and designs (although these days, most of my clearos are bottom-coil clones that use Kanger-style heads, which I rebuild), tanks of many kinds (including Kanger and Aspire tanks, plus RTAs such as Kayfuns and newer generation Orchids, Erlkonigins, etc.), and various RBAs for my bottom-feeder mods. I even sub-ohm moderately with my mechanicals at times, although most of my builds stay in the 1-2 ohm range.
What became apparent and obvious to me early on was that---in my case, at least---I would end up using my iSticks exclusively with either of two devices: the Aspire BVC Mini Nautilus tank or Aspire BVC clearos. And that's what I've done. Why? Because the relatively recent bottom vertical coils from Aspire and their proprietary tanks and clearos that use those coils seem to me perfectly matched with the iStick. The Mini Naut and CE5 clearos are ergonomically and aesthetically well-suited to the diminutive size of the iStick, and the bottom vertical coils are designed in such a way as to easily handle the iStick's rather aggressive implementation of power (Vavg as opposed to Vrms, which may not be the sole cause of your running-too-hot burnt juice symptoms, but is certainly a contributing factor in general).
Right now, I'm running a BVC Mini Naut on one iStick, set to 9 Eleaf watts, and a BVC clearo on the other, set to 8 Eleaf watts. Both could perform well at considerably higher settings---and many people do this---but I'm very satisfied with the vape quality I get right where they are now, which maximizes the run time of the iStick's 2200 mAh battery.
Many iStick owners seem able to make other devices work well on their iSticks, but my experience was similar enough to yours that I gave up trying quite awhile back. The difference is that you're unhappy with your iStick, while I'm quite pleased with both of mine, as long as I use Aspire BVC coils on them. For me, that was the easiest solution. YMMV, of course.
While I mostly enjoy rebuilding coils and heads, I'll admit there's certain charm in getting such a high-quality vaping experience from the Aspires. Use a BVC coil for two weeks or so, then toss it, slap on a brand-new factory coil head, and vape away. No, it's not as inexpensive as a quick rebuild, but it sure is convenient.
