Is my thinking sound?

[Bored2Tears]

Hello all. Thanks for your experiences in advance. I think I should move up to rebuildable tank atomizer from my current setup and a better, regulated battery. I have an X6 ego-style battery and Protanks as well as ego clearomizers. Been vaping 6 weeks and having a lot of hardware trouble. I'll try to keep this as brief and concise as possible.

My vaping style. I find myself flooding the Protanks regularly, and my battery timing out at the 10 second mark. Guess I want more. I have to consciously take a much slower, less-forceful draw on the protanks than I would like. My clearomizers seem to have a hard time keeping up with wickink, or they flood out because of insufficient airflow.

My X6 battery is comfortable and long lasting, but is very limiting on a couple key factors: Only variable at 3.6, 3.8 or 4.2 volts. With pre-built coils I always seem to be too hot or to low in power. No resistance checker or any other readings.


I seem to be convincing myself to buy an Eleaf Lemo RBTA and I stick battery for the following reasons
1. Lemo reviews have been outstanding a the price point. I don't want to spend over $50 on the RBTA and I like the fact that it's an original so it should have some customer support? Eleaf has been in the biz a while.
2. Lemo has great airflow according to all accounts I have read.
3. An adjustable 510 connection is a MUST for me, hence the Lemo.
4. The Istick appeals to me for a number of reasons, but again at a $40 price point it has a lot of great features. A box mod might be better for standing upright. I am tipping over the tube battery all the time.

This is just a start. Should I be "content" with what I have now? I have tried to diagnose the protank problems, and have to some degree, but I still think that it's just not gonna keep up with what I want. I need free flowing, lung hitting, and lots of nicotine in the system on demand.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[ISGRidge]

You might want to try one of these for your Protank first. Could be all you need...

Kanger Airflow Control Valve - V3

 

[rhean]

Yes, switch! Rebuilding is easy, simple, cheap. I don't own a Lemo, but they're supposed to be great. imo buy an mvp, a Lemo, and enjoy your vape. mvp will double as an ohms meter, too.

 

[Bored2Tears]

Yes, switch! Rebuilding is easy, simple, cheap. I don't own a Lemo, but they're supposed to be great. imo buy an mvp, a Lemo, and enjoy your vape. mvp will double as an ohms meter, too.

Thanks. I compared the MVP as a top choice next to the ELeaf Istick. I think the Istick has the MVP beat for function, ergonomics and it has a resistance tester as well. MVP and IStick were neck and neck for quite a while on my list.

 

[Bored2Tears]

You might want to try one of these for your Protank first. Could be all you need...

Kanger Airflow Control Valve - V3

Might have to do this to keep the wife happy , and you''re correct that this may be all I need. I still feel I am having problems with the 510 threading to my battery on the X6 though. Not sure if the Kanger airflow adapter would help resolve that ..but you might be right to try this before spending another $100. I am pretty frugal, or try tobe.

Another consideration for rebuilding on a good platform is to save $ on coils. Vaping cinnamon is pretty tough on the coils I am finding. When I vape menthol in my Evod tanks, that seems to last forever. The cinnamon in the Kangers it seems like they clog up , get gunky and have a tough time.

 

[Coupon78]

Protanks flood, its a major issue with them. Aero megatank or an Aspire Nautilus will give you less issues. I would suggest switching to a MVP or a VV before running over to the rebuildables. There are safety issues that you need to educate yourself on first. You need to know ohm's law and battery safety

 

[gandymarsh]

Thanks. I compared the MVP as a top choice next to the ELeaf Istick. I think the Istick has the MVP beat for function, ergonomics and it has a resistance tester as well. MVP and IStick were neck and neck for quite a while on my list.

I'm very interested in the Istick also but they are very new and as yet unproven. I'm waiting to see how they stand up in the real world. My MVP just works.

 

[joesquid]

I agree with Gandy, the istick looks promising but it is too new to establish much of a track record.If you want a proven mod the MVP is a better choice. It also has an ohm meter.

 

[Bored2Tears]

Protanks flood, its a major issue with them. Aero megatank or an Aspire Nautilus will give you less issues. I would suggest switching to a MVP or a VV before running over to the rebuildables. There are safety issues that you need to educate yourself on first. You need to know ohm's law and battery safety

I've given some consideration to this. What I always wonder is what is gained from waiting 3 mos, 6 mos, or a year to try rebuildables. I'm already struggling through the Protank flooding issues. There's a lot of suggestions on things to "try" to fix that , and many of them have helped...but ultimately it seems that you are nailing it. They flood, that seems to be a general consensus.

I would definitely spend a lot more time researching ohms law and battery safety before making a leap. If I stick with regulated batteries like and MVP, what do you suggest I need to research regarding battery safety? I kinda thought regulated batteries of this type were foolproof? Well.....let me re-state that. I realize nothing is "foolproof" ...but I am a reasonably intelligent person using per manufacturer recommendations.

 

[rhean]

Thanks. I compared the MVP as a top choice next to the ELeaf Istick. I think the Istick has the MVP beat for function, ergonomics and it has a resistance tester as well. MVP and IStick were neck and neck for quite a while on my list.

Either will be great. Sorry, I'm functioning on two hours of sleep and didn't read carefully

 

[Bored2Tears]

What "experience" does a new vaper need to gain before making the transition to rebuildables? I kinda wonder what experience is gained by staying with egos and clearomizers for a period of time . At some point-- whether you have vaped for a year or 5 years, don't you still need to do that reading and have someone show you a coil build once or twice?

I was planning to go to my local B&M to take a class on coil building or at the very least have them watch over my first build, just to be sure that I am not overlooking any fundamentals.

I truly want to be safe. I have no interest in sub ohming, or cloud chasing. I'm 41 years old and I value my face. i have two young daughters and I will be around to see them with my eyes. I don't want anything going boom in my face.

 

[joesquid]

You don't need more experience. Building coils is pretty straight forward. Watch some youtubes and download Steam Engine coil calculator. Once installed, check the resistance on either the MVP or istick and you're good to go after wicking which is really the hardest part of the process.

 

[gandymarsh]

I truly want to be safe. I have no interest in sub ohming, or cloud chasing. I'm 41 years old and I value my face. i have two young daughters and I will be around to see them with my eyes. I don't want anything going boom in my face.

If you use something like an MVP with a built in ohms checker, you should be safe. Just stay above 1 ohm for your builds. The MVP won't even fire a coil much below that.

There are lots of videos on YouTube that show coil builds for all types of devices. A trip to your local B&M is a good idea also.

 

[Bored2Tears]

You don't need more experience. Building coils is pretty straight forward. Watch some youtubes and download Steam Engine coil calculator. Once installed, check the resistance on either the MVP or istick and you're good to go after wicking which is really the hardest part of the process.

Yes...I've probably watched a dozen or more videos on coil building. I definitely will stick with typical setups of Kanthal wire, cotton wick and coils in the 1.5 or higher resistance for now.

Pbusardo makes videos of really good quality so I can see what is going on . He makes it look super easy. I know of course that someone who's been doing it forever will make it seem easy or simple.

I watched vids on rebuilding Kanger coils ....and thought about trying there first because I already have the Kangers. But it looks like a tremendous PITA with very little space or room to see what's going on when you place the head back in and try to button it all up. A tank atty that's made for rebuilding looks so much less difficult and complicated.

 

[joesquid]

I guess everyone is different but I think the Kanger heads are easier. I will tell you this, in either style atty, the coils and miscelaneous parts are MUCH smaller than they look on youtube.

 

[gandymarsh]

I guess everyone is different but I think the Kanger heads are easier. I will tell you this, in either style atty, the coils and miscelaneous parts are MUCH smaller than they look on youtube.

I know, right The wire looks huge but, for me anyway, it's tiny.

 

[Bored2Tears]

OK. Recap. Regulated battery device like MVP for safety + coils of 1.5 and above + nice platform for building = relatively safe and not that big of a learning curve?

Will this dramatically improve my experience from a very limited VV battery + clearomizers that give me all sorts of grief?

Is this the right direction then, because I can't afford another $100 unless it is truly an improvement. If this is going to be equally problematic with flooding issues or lacking in flavor and the like, then I will stick with my current problems rather than throwing $ toward new problems.

On the plus side, I have enough hardware now that I can usually get one device or tank working properly. The first two weeks if something went haywire ...I was in a panic.

 

[Bored2Tears]

I guess everyone is different but I think the Kanger heads are easier. I will tell you this, in either style atty, the coils and miscelaneous parts are MUCH smaller than they look on youtube.

What specifically is easier? Sell me on it....maybe I will try there first....but I believe ultimately I have flooding issues for a variety of reasons. I want to have nice LONG draws, and I suspect the Kanger Protanks will never allow me to do that. Maybe I'm wrong.

Haven't tried it but I was inferring it looked more difficult by Youtube watching. It just looked like everyone was really fiddling around getting the coils back into the Kanger head, with one lead on the outside and one inside ...put in the plug, etc.

At least on the Kayfun style RBTA's it looke like it's all right there in the open, with two screws to deal with. The Erkonigin appealed to me because it had a bridge that would basically hold your coil wrapping drill till it's all buttoned up.....but I don't have $160 nor will I start on something like that...ha ha.

 

[93gc40]

I think based on what you have said. Your main issue is the WAY you vape. And the affect of your method on your equiptment. I myself would address the tank/atomizer issues before doing anything serious about the power source. Why induce more variables in a diagnostic circumstance than needed. MORE POWER is not always the answer.

1. the battery is not the issue here.. But the Istick or MVP still make sence to do. You still need a stand alone meter for building coils. (Kangers can be rebuilt and most issues addressed)
2.Maybe, maybe not.. Thats the trouble with trial and error.. You seen the size of some peoples vape cabinet. seems we are all asking the same question you are continuously. There is always something better.

 

[InTheShade]

I'm very interested in the Istick also but they are very new and as yet unproven. I'm waiting to see how they stand up in the real world. My MVP just works.

I totally agree with this. The MVP has been around almost as long as I've been vaping. It's proven to be a solid device with pretty good durability and few issues.

The Istick is very new and completely unproven. I find it hard to recommend a device that I've not used or owned and is so new that we don't know much about it.
Just for clarity, I'm not saying it's bad in any way - it looks very promising.

EDIT - There's a good write-up in the APV forum for the IStick http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/variable-voltage-apv-discussion/610396-istick-porn-plus-personal-impressions.html