Got my first box mod! now what...

[Hunterg]

Hey all, ive been vaping for awhile now after quitting smoking and now ive upgraded and need some help! for the past 2 years ive been vaping from this little re-fillable vape pen, just slightly bigger than a actual pen, i bought it off a chinese site and it actually lasted this long with regular maintenance and taking care of it however i have just received my first box mod from a friend of mine completely free!! lol.. only because he couldnt get the hang of it. He gave me his "knock-off" tugboat tuglyfe box mod, now the only part thats slightly concerning to me is that its unregulated... also he didnt give me any prebuilt coils or anything.. just the box. oh well still free! so now for the questions!

Im always on the go, so the RDA will not be working for me. ive heard i can still use SOME RTA's on it.. anyone have experience or knowledge of this? ive heard aslong as its a good quality rta and the pin on the bottom is sticking out past the threads that it will be fine, im looking at some made by smok, specifically the tfv8 and tfv12.. both are on sale at my local vape shop!! and both come prebuilt with coils.. anyone able to lend me your knowledge on this?

second, i will be buying 2 different RTA's because my girlfriend also wants to try mine and maybe get her own, what would be a good rta and build for her?? no i have never built coils however my local shop can do it, just gotta tell them what i want.

lastly.. batteries! which ones to get and look out for? want something thatll last a day, nothing to crazy!

Thanks guys!

 

[Kickingthesticks]

Get familiar with ohms law since you'll be using a mech. Make sure to only buy genuine batteries from trusted vendors, look up battery mooch. Not sure if your mod is serries or parallel but going from a low wattage vape pen to a two battery mech can be a big jump, might want to lower nicotine mg. Since I don't use rtas on my mechs I can't give any input on that.

 

[TrollDragon]

DO NOT use subohm tanks on mechanical mods, the blister pack coils from Smok and the like are sketchy at best and can short out easily. I've had 2 customers with bad coils in the shop today.

If you are ONLY going to use the RBA deck on the Smok tanks, than that is fine with the appropriate build.

Premade Chinese coils and mechanical mods do not mix.

 

[Zaryk]

I agree with kickingthesticks, it is very important to learn about, and understand, ohms law and battery safety when moving to an unregulated mod or mech mod.

When it comes to RTAs, I'm not really familiar with a lot of them, but when I did use them I liked my Reload clones. I'm sure there are better RTAs out there to start with though.

As for the builds, on a mech it is much more personal of a thing. Your builds determine how it vapes. My go-to build could be the worst vape you had, or you could love it, who knows. Your not going to know what works for you until you try it. It will also be effected by what tank you get. What one person loves may not even fit in the equipment another person has. Learning how to build, in my opinion, is fairly important when running a mech. It makes it much easier to find what works for you and fine tune it to your preferences. Nobody else can tell what's better for you than you.

 

[stols001]

Yes no drop in coils on a mech mod, and you are going to need to get familiar with a number of things, including batteries, where to get them, where to make sure they are authentic, what sort tof build you should/want to be shooting for and etc. There are lots of things and I'm sure you'll have questions so come back and ask as you go. Definitely, you are going to want to be sure that your coilbuilding skills are decent, you will need an ohm's reader to check your coils, MAKE sure you build in a decent margin of safety whatever you are going for, and whatever kind of vape you "think" you want, just start slow and work your way up with a mech mod.

Here is as good a place to start as any, I'd think.. Best of luck with it:

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blogs/mooch.256958/

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/baditudes-blogs.7609/

Anna

 

[Coyote628]

Personally, I wouldn't use a much mod til I got the hang of sub ohm vaping on a regulated box. Sub ohm is sooo much different than vaping on a pen that you might be overwhelmed right off the get go. I've been vaping a year and have yet to try a mech. And honestly, I don't think I'm missing a thing.

 

[Alter]

You just went from a AMC Pacer to a formula1 going from a ego pen too subohms. Learn that you don't have to inhale every vape, take more reasonable hits to inhale. Your mouth absorbs the nic also so overnic is easy to do making cloudz with too high nic juice.
Mech...nice to have one to use to dryburn rather than using your mod thats much more expensive to replace when she dies.

 

[Ryedan]

Hey all, ive been vaping for awhile now after quitting smoking and now ive upgraded and need some help! for the past 2 years ive been vaping from this little re-fillable vape pen, just slightly bigger than a actual pen, i bought it off a chinese site and it actually lasted this long with regular maintenance and taking care of it however i have just received my first box mod from a friend of mine completely free!! lol.. only because he couldnt get the hang of it. He gave me his "knock-off" tugboat tuglyfe box mod, now the only part thats slightly concerning to me is that its unregulated... also he didnt give me any prebuilt coils or anything.. just the box. oh well still free! so now for the questions!

Im always on the go, so the RDA will not be working for me. ive heard i can still use SOME RTA's on it.. anyone have experience or knowledge of this? ive heard aslong as its a good quality rta and the pin on the bottom is sticking out past the threads that it will be fine, im looking at some made by SMOK, specifically the tfv8 and tfv12.. both are on sale at my local vape shop!! and both come prebuilt with coils.. anyone able to lend me your knowledge on this?

second, i will be buying 2 different RTA's because my girlfriend also wants to try mine and maybe get her own, what would be a good rta and build for her?? no i have never built coils however my local shop can do it, just gotta tell them what i want.

lastly.. batteries! which ones to get and look out for? want something thatll last a day, nothing to crazy!

Thanks guys!

Wow, what a change in hardware capabilities and knowledge required to be safe! I suggest you take your time with this project, do your research and once you know how things work and what the risks are, and you still want to go ahead with it now, proceed safely one step at a time to gain experience with it all.

Before you buy any atty for this mod, please read and understand everything in Baditude's blogs (link is in @stols001's post above) related to batteries, mech mods and rebuildable atties. I also suggest you make your own coils as then you are in control of their quality and therefore their safety. This does however mean that if you make a mistake which causes your battery(s) to vent and possibly burn or explode, it's all on you.

Once you've done the research and understood it you will better be able to decide if this path is the right one for you and your girlfriend. Come back and ask questions as you need to as you work though the information.

Vape safe

 

[jmur]

Hunterg, you've gotten some great advice from the voices here. Take it all to heart. None of the folks giving the advice have anything to prove, they just love helping folks and watching out for each other. When I first got a couple of mechs, during our great "deeming crisis", I read every word @Mooch and @Baditude had to say. Until I felt I knew what I was doing. Time well spent. I still don't use the mechs, but I know they're there for a backup.

This just reminds me again of what a GREAT community this truly is.

 

[Letitia]

I would suggest you pick up cheaper regulated mod to learn on before playing with the mech. You can pick up a Smoant Battlestar pretty cheap or a Smoant Charon for $30 at 101 vape, they have some good mods in the clearance section.
Clearance

 

[suprtrkr]

I am a bit leery about switching to a mech like that, especially if you're not already a coil builder. I really don't recommend mechs to people, even though I have been using them for years and love them all to pieces. It is going to be critically important to determine if your machine is series or parallel wired. Once you have done so, don't build coils that will draw more than 40 watts or so until you get the hang of it. Actually, coming from a pen vape, 40 watts is likely to blow your head off anyway. My current favorite RTA (single coil) is the Serpent SMM from Wotofo. It's easy to build and wick, and it doesn't leak because of the unique air flow. Give that one a try. It really isn't well suited for super-high power, but it will do great under 70ish watts. You're probably going to want to be not more than 20 anyway, unless you decide to use a lot more power now you have it available. Your old pen probably didn't exceed 6 or 7 watts. Honestly, though, you'll be better off using a regulated mod of some sort while you gain experience as a coil builder. You're going to have some failures building coils at first-- everybody does-- and there is no safety margin on a mech. You might look into such a thing while you're getting started. You can find decent ones under $30-40 and then you'll have one to give your GF once you move into the tuglyfe. For batteries, I'd suggest LG HD2Cs or Sony VTC5As. Those are the ones I use in my mechs. RTDVapor is where I buy them. Remember, in multi battery mods (of all types, not just mechs) the batteries should be "married," ie kept in pairs (or triples or whatever) and always used together, charging and discharging them at the same time. You'll have more questions; ask away.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Buy a regulated Pico Kit to learn on. Save the gift for the future.

 

[Alter]

Hunterg, you've gotten some great advice from the voices here. Take it all to heart. None of the folks giving the advice have anything to prove, they just love helping folks and watching out for each other. When I first got a couple of mechs, during our great "deeming crisis", I read every word @Mooch and @Baditude had to say. Until I felt I knew what I was doing. Time well spent. I still don't use the mechs, but I know they're there for a backup.

This just reminds me again of what a GREAT community this truly is.

Exactly....
I learnt from reading cause I had no one around to ask. So just sharing to help someone else like we were helped. I went from ego stick/clearo to K100 mech and then provari/protank within the first couple months of vaping along with rebuilding so we have had a successful vape experience over the years.
Think of everything as opinions so filter through them for what works for you..

 

[Baditude]

I suggest you take your time with this project, do your research and once you know how things work and what the risks are, and you still want to go ahead with it now, proceed safely one step at a time to gain experience with it all.

Before you buy any atty for this mod, please read and understand everything in Baditude's blogs (link is in @stols001's post above) related to batteries, mech mods and rebuildable atties

Hunterg, you've gotten some great advice from the voices here. Take it all to heart. None of the folks giving the advice have anything to prove, they just love helping folks and watching out for each other. When I first got a couple of mechs, during our great "deeming crisis", I read every word @Mooch and [B]@Baditude[/B] had to say. Until I felt I knew what I was doing. Time well spent.

Please read the below blogs from start to finish. If there is anything that you don't understand or have questions about, please ask questions. I wrote these specifically for new and intermediate vapers and I continue to update them periodically.

I don't particularly recommend using a mech if the user is not totally familiar with battery specifications and safety, doesn't understand how to use an ohm's law calculator, or doesn't know about mechanical mod safety. You don't know yet what you don't know, and what you don't know can hurt you.

A regulated mod like Letitia suggested would be a better next step with vaping advancement - it would be safer and likely provide you with a better vape because you can adjust your vapor "on the fly" (which you can't do with a mech).

A Beginner's Guide to Your First Mechanical Mod
Explain it to the Dumb Noob: Ohm's Law Calculations for a Mechanical Mod
Information Resources for Your First RBA

Battery Basics for Mods: The Definative Battery Guide for Vaping
Are You Using a Rewrap (Rebranded or Aftermarket) Battery?

Good Starter Setups for a Beginner Vaper
Advancing Up the Vaping Ladder

 

[Snicks]

I own several mech mods and do not use them any longer. A good regulated mod is the way to go in your case. Free is cool but safety is more important.

 

[Cohan13]

lastly.. batteries! which ones to get and look out for? want something thatll last a day, nothing to crazy!

Thanks guys!

Make sure you watch some battery safety videos on youtube, there are a ton. No need for more bad news on TV about firehazards and explosions because of mech mods/ damaged batteries. Make sure you stay safe.