high wattage regulated in series

[p7willm]

The new high wattage regulated mods, sigelei, IPV, and probably others, use dual batteries and they are in series. I am a fairly new vaper so I missed the days of stacked batteries in mechanicals but these regulated mods use stacked batteries.

The give away is on the spec sheet where that list an input voltage of 6.4 to 8.4 or twice the voltage of a single battery.

In a series circuit if one battery is weaker it will be called on to do more work which will make it weaker and cause it to do more work until it fails. I am not positive how it fails but lets hope the board catches it.

To be the safest vaper you can be you should buy a pair of new batteries and keep them together. Before you recharge them and after you recharge them check the voltage on each and if they are different stop using them in the mod. I plan to toss the batteries at this point but they might be OK to use as single batteries in other mods.

Don't just pick 2 batteries out of your stash. Get new ones. Never use batteries from different manufacturers. Best is to buy a new pair and keep them together.

 

[rondasherrill]

Are you sure they are in series? It was my understanding that the ability to increase the current output beyond single cell range was by running multiple cells in parallel.

(Granted, your safety concerns are still valid either way)

 

[p7willm]

Not positive. But, the input voltage from the spec and the way the sigelei looks inside say series.

 

[Nomoreash]

Are you sure they are in series? It was my understanding that the ability to increase the current output beyond single cell range was by running multiple cells in parallel.

(Granted, your safety concerns are still valid either way)

It depends on the regulator used. Some use boost circuits like the DNA 20/30. You can use a single cell or multiple cells wired in parallel which keeps the input voltage the same.

Others like the OKR-T/6 and T/10 which were very popular when I started modding and seem to be coming back into popularity require a higher input voltage than a single cell can provide so they are wired in series.

 

[rondasherrill]

Not positive. But, the input voltage from the spec and the way the sigelei looks inside say series.

I looked up the IPV3, and it does sound like the batteries are in series... I did notice one oddity about it though. It claims 40A output, but there are no 40A cells available. In series, voltage increases but current stays the same, so even 2 VTC5's would still only offer 30A.

That having been said, 150W(its max power) could be had with 7V(its max voltage) and a 0.3ohm coil, and only pull 21A, so there really isn't any need to go for the super low coil builds with it.

 

[AttyPops]

Good advice OP. Some people mark them with a felt tip sharpie or something so they know the "sets".

 

[rusirius]

I looked up the IPV3, and it does sound like the batteries are in series... I did notice one oddity about it though. It claims 40A output, but there are no 40A cells available. In series, voltage increases but current stays the same, so even 2 VTC5's would still only offer 30A.

That having been said, 150W(its max power) could be had with 7V(its max voltage) and a 0.3ohm coil, and only pull 21A, so there really isn't any need to go for the super low coil builds with it.

You have to remember something... Voltage can be exchanged for current... In other words, if I take a 4.2 volt battery I can ramp the voltage up to say 200 volts... The problem is, I have very little current available at 200 volts because I've "Exchanged" it for voltage... and vice versa.... Wait... that's still not very clear... Let me put it another way....

If I have a 5v battery that supplies 10 amps... If I ramp that voltage up to 10v, I can only supply 5 amps... I've doubled the voltage, but can only supply half the current... Because a 10v drain at 5 amps will actually draw 10 amps off the battery.... But that works in reverse too...

So if we stack two 4.2 volt batteries that are 30amps each, we get 8.4 volts out at 30 amps... But now if we cut that voltage down, to say 4.2 volts, we can now supply 60 amps... Does that make more sense? Even though the batteries themselves unregulated can only supply 30 amps, since we are using a regulator to "exchange" voltage for current (in this case increasing current while reducing voltage) it actually works... So 40A output from stacked batteries is more than possible...

The important part to remember is that you have to look at the constant voltage source (i.e. the batteries) independent of the output of the regulator. It's a common mistake to make.

To be more clear, think of it from the voltage side... What if I reworded your statement into something like this....

I looked up the Sigelei 15W that uses a single 16850... I noticed one oddity about it though... It says it can output up to 6 volts, but it takes a single 16850 that only outputs a maximum of 4.2 volts...

See what I'm saying? Yes, the battery only supplies 4.2 volts, but they can ramp that voltage up at the expense of drawing more current.... On the other hand, ramping the voltage down actually draws less current...

 

[rondasherrill]

You have to remember something... Voltage can be exchanged for current... In other words, if I take a 4.2 volt battery I can ramp the voltage up to say 200 volts... The problem is, I have very little current available at 200 volts because I've "Exchanged" it for voltage... and vice versa.... Wait... that's still not very clear... Let me put it another way....

If I have a 5v battery that supplies 10 amps... If I ramp that voltage up to 10v, I can only supply 5 amps... I've doubled the voltage, but can only supply half the current... Because a 10v drain at 5 amps will actually draw 10 amps off the battery.... But that works in reverse too...

So if we stack two 4.2 volt batteries that are 30amps each, we get 8.4 volts out at 30 amps... But now if we cut that voltage down, to say 4.2 volts, we can now supply 60 amps... Does that make more sense? Even though the batteries themselves unregulated can only supply 30 amps, since we are using a regulator to "exchange" voltage for current (in this case increasing current while reducing voltage) it actually works... So 40A output from stacked batteries is more than possible...

The important part to remember is that you have to look at the constant voltage source (i.e. the batteries) independent of the output of the regulator. It's a common mistake to make.

To be more clear, think of it from the voltage side... What if I reworded your statement into something like this....

I looked up the Sigelei 15W that uses a single 16850... I noticed one oddity about it though... It says it can output up to 6 volts, but it takes a single 16850 that only outputs a maximum of 4.2 volts...

See what I'm saying? Yes, the battery only supplies 4.2 volts, but they can ramp that voltage up at the expense of drawing more current.... On the other hand, ramping the voltage down actually draws less current...

Oh yea! I knew that. Just a stupid moment on my part. Yea it makes sense that way.