help with newbie mod suggestions...

[xyanide]

mods in fact do draw more than 3 amps from the battery because the circuitry isn't ideal, there are some power losses internally. Using an efest with 10A drain makes a notably improved vape compared to my 5,6A sanyo batteries. (that is in a vamo and zmax)
I wouldn't recommend stacked 2x 18350s because they're a lot more likely to cause issues if you don't charge them as a pair in an accurate manner.

See advice in this thread on this topic: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...463360-stacking-2-18350-battery-question.html

On several flashlight forums and here on ECF I've read warnings and advice to avoid all products with "-fire" in the brand name.

 

[proteckt3d]

Mods in fact do draw more than 3 amps from the battery because the circuitry isn't ideal, there are some power losses internally. Using an efest with 10A drain makes a notably improved vape compared to my 5,6A sanyo batteries. (that is in a vamo and zmax)
I wouldn't recommend stacked 2x 18350s because they're a lot more likely to cause issues if you don't charge them as a pair in an accurate manner.

See advice in this thread on this topic: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...463360-stacking-2-18350-battery-question.html

On several flashlight forums and here on ECF I've read warnings and advice to avoid all products with "-fire" in the brand name.

Because I never saw any graph/test showing or anyone document power loss in these circuits I think that is very small and it's not enough to be taken under consideration. Further, although efest and panasonic are very good batteries and efest being imr, I would still use any 3000+mah battery, provided the mah are actually real, i.e panasonic ncr18650b with any regulated chinese mod currently on the market because it has bigger capacity and based on battery tests it handles discharge better. I'm not advising on stacked batteries also, when I buy small ones I buy at least two so that I have a spare charged one with me to swap when I finish the other, I hope Tima got that in my original post.

Tests efest panasonic

 

[timastyle]

Thanks for the help guys! I'm kind of leaning towards going with mini Zmax. The price on them is lower and I like the smaller form factor. I kind of go back and forth because if I go with a telescoping model, then I can go with a larger battery if I ever decide to do so. I'm looking at both the V3 and V5 models, but there doesn't seem to be much of a price difference between the two. At least not from the US retailers anyway.

 

[olefolks]

You can't go wrong with the v3. Can't say about the v5 yet!! Vapor World has a great price on the v5. Just saying!!

 

[timastyle]

I went and ahead and placed an order from vapor world for the Zmax V5 and also ordered an Efset 18350 and 18650 batteries with the LUC Digital Charger from DV. I have heard good things about the Davide tank, so I thought I would give it a try as well so I ordered it from DV.

Thanks to you all for the helpful insight. It's much appreciated. Once it all comes in, I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[xyanide]

Because I never saw any graph/test showing or anyone document power loss in these circuits I think that is very small and it's not enough to be taken under consideration. Further, although efest and panasonic are very good batteries and efest being imr, I would still use any 3000+mah battery, provided the mah are actually real, i.e panasonic ncr18650b with any regulated chinese mod currently on the market because it has bigger capacity and based on battery tests it handles discharge better. I'm not advising on stacked batteries also, when I buy small ones I buy at least two so that I have a spare charged one with me to swap when I finish the other, I hope Tima got that in my original post.

Glad we're on the same page with stacking, my apologies for misreading your first post.
Actually testing power losses wouldn't be easy, but I'm just speaking from experience that there seems to be a notable difference.

 

[timastyle]

***Update - The Zmax V5 came in yesterday and so far, I'm really liking it. There are some things that I would like to point out though:

1. I have used the PT2, MT3S and Davide tanks on the Zmax. It's really interesting because when the PT2 is screwed in all the way, there really isn't any air playing. I have to loosen the tank a half turn for it to start hitting nicely. I didn't have an issue with this on the other two. I think I like the Davide the best of them all so far. Any other tank suggestions?
2. The vapor is great and consistent although, when I try and crank up the wattage (I have been using VW rather than VV), I frequently get a burnt hit. I turn down the wattage to what it was vaping good on and still have a burnt taste until I crank it down even more. When the burnt taste is gone, then I can start cranking it up again. Anyone know why this is?
3. I'm using the Flavorz by Joe blueberry waffles and XTC red flavors. Again, the amount of vapor is quite satisfying but after the first 3-4 draws, the flavor seems to go away. I'm using a 50/50 blend on both. Any thoughts on why this is or if this is also contributing to my second issue?
4. I noticed this with my ego as well, but I notice the bottom of the tank getting warm to hot after a few consecutive vapes. Is this normal? Do you know what's causing this and how I can get it to stop?

Thanks for your help!

 

[timastyle]

***New update - I've had the Zmax V5 for a little under a month now. I'm having some real issues with it. The fire button seems to not work all the time. I didn't realize this when doing my search, but it seems like it's a common issue. In any case, on full or near full charges, sometimes it misfires, sometimes it works, sometimes the screen lights up, but either a) it's not at the wattage or voltage I had it set to (even on full battery) or b) it doesn't provide any vapor even though it's showing as if it's functioning (this one started today). I'm very frustrated with it and have reached out to Vapor World to see what they can do to help, but no word yet.

Does anyone have any advice? Any help is appreciated as this is very frustrating considering I baby the mod.