Help choosing the right DIY parts

[ghh3rd]

This is my first DIY. I'm hoping that some exerienced mod builders can chime in and share some experience and tips.

I have the box, the batteries (AW 18650 1600mah), the charger is on the way, now I need HELP choosing the rest of the parts for my unregulated box mod.

I still need to order: 510 connection - Mosfet - Fuse - Fire button - Battery tray - Wire

I'll be using one battery. My thought is that under maximum conditions I could run as high as 14 amps, assuming a fresh 4.2v battery and a .5 ohm coil that is actually .3 ohms.

Any suggestion on a mofset, and fuse?

I've heard that some battery trays are better than others - any suggestion? I don't know what guage wire I should purchase. There are sure a lot of 510 parts out there - how do you know which one to pick?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks - Randy

 

[manthe]

The FatDaddy 510s are great quality, solid, robust and very fairly priced (fatdaddyvapes.com). Also, just curious - why the AW 1600? There are several, high quality batteries out there with both higher amperage ratings and close to 1000 more mah (e.g. higher potential output and a lot more 'gas in the tank')...just my own curiosity.

 

[ghh3rd]

Manthe - thanks for the reply! I really appreciate the info about the FadDaddy 510's. Are any of them preferable? I've heard of 'sealed' ... is there a benefit to them?

After researching batteries I found that the AW (non-counterfeit) are reputed to be among the safest. I originally opted for the 2000mah, but learned that the 1600mah had a much higher amp rating (strange, but confirmed). I guess it boils down to trying to experiment with DIY Mods the safest way I can... especially since my son is also interested in experimenting.

I am still trying to figure out what Mosfet is recommended for a one battery configuration. I've heard that some of them cause more voltage drop than others. The reason I want to use a Mosfet is also safety related -- so I can use a less robust Fire button with less chance of button failure that could cause a negativec event. I've even decided that my button should be illuminated, so I can tell that releasing it has actually shut the circuit off.

And any suggestions about wire would be appreciated. Oh, since I'm being careful, a fuse. I've seen resettable fuses online that seem like a good idea, but don't know what rating they should have. I am getting anxious to put in an order

Maybe I am being overly cautious...

Randy

 

[manthe]

IMO there's no such thing as overly cautious- I very much applaud that!

The main difference between the 2 FatDaddy 510s is just form factor - one will sit low/flush without the need to deeply countersink- the other is taller/'meatier' - I guess you could make the argument that the thicker one might be more durable...but I don't have any data 1 way or the other to back that up.

Re: sealed vs unsealed - an unsealed 510 will basically allow air to the connector, where a sealed will not allow air/liquid to get past. IMO, unless you are building a bottom feeder, I'd personally go with sealed.

As for mosfet - I am in no way an expert at all, and I strongly encourage plenty of research - but IMO you can't go wrong with the IRLB3034PBF mosfet. If nothing else, it's a good place to start your research. There are plenty of data sheets floating around for it - just give it a Google.

One last comment on the battery - and BTW, you are correct re the 2000mah vs 1600mah AW - the 1600, IIRC can sustain 24 amps...they just run out of gas pretty quick - esp. at higher amp outputs. If I may - there are 2 other batteries that you may want to research that are of equal quality and safe chemistry: the Samsung 25R (20 amp continuous and 2500mah) and the NEW AW IMR (also 20 amp continuous and 2200mah) - both can pulse higher than 20amps as well - but that shouldn't really be a factor in your consideration. At any rate, both are EXCELLENT batteries and both would give you significantly more fuel to burn per charge...just a thought. Good luck!

 

[ghh3rd]

Got my FatDaddy 510's in the mail today, as well as a couple of the AW 1600mah batts to start, and just ordered four of the Samsung 25R batteries. The Samsung almost seem to good to be true .

Still trying to find a resettable fuse to use with one 18650 battery, and .05 ohm coil. I figure 15 amp fuse should be good, but I'm not familiar with hold current, trip current, etc. A model number for a suitable fuse would be greatly appreciated.

Randy

 

[socalsailor]

A .05 ohm coil is going to destroy a single 18650 battery. On a full battery, you're pulling 84 amps, which is even stretching the limits of safety on a dual parallel box. Now, deal with the size jump and parallel 3 18650's, NOW you're in a safe range for a .05 coil... Possibly lower, but I haven't done the math.

 

[ghh3rd]

socalsailer - thanks for the reply. Holy cow!!! I DID say .05, rather than .5 which I meant -- that's embarrassing. I think that .05 ohms would be nearly a short circuit on a battery rated 20 amps.

I'm not planning on ever going down that low.... I think that .5 ohm is low enough for my needs.

 

[socalsailor]

Ghh3rd, glad that was a typo. I've run into a number of mech vapers oh Facebook recently running setups like a .06 or .08 coil on a single battery, so I assumed that you were just misinformed. A half ohm is going to be safe pretty much no matter what, assuming a good quality battery. 15 amp fuse is MORE than enough for resistances like that, but I'd recommend overbuilding your specs just in case you get brave one day, or in the event of the unexpected. Most batteries these days WILL tolerate the odd 30 amp or 35 amp pulse, but I wouldn't make it a habit is all.