Is using "a Kick" really necessary for mechanical mods

[aPandaz]

I have 3 mechanical mods that I alternate using. I purchased a kick to use w/ my first mechanical mod prior to purchasing the other 2 mods, and it really performed badly. I had a lot of misfires, and my battery life was extremely short. I automatically blamed the kick, since I've read many posts from people having similar problems. However, using the same kick unit and the same set of batteries I have on my second and third mechanical mods, the kick works flawlessly. I never get misfires, and my battery life improved tremendously. I am not a high wattage vaper, as my "sweet spot" is around 7 watts. For me, the kick is great because I will get the exact same vape every time until the battery dies. Also, the kick will let me know when it is time to swap out my battery. When I vape without the kick, the vape will gradually get weaker, and I always have to kind of guess when to swap out the battery, as I intend to run my battery down to around 3.4-3.5v before I recharge it again.

From my experience, the mod itself has a lot to do with how the kick will perform. Also from this experience I found out that my first mechanical mod has a ton of voltage drop, as I've done a bunch of comparisons and tests with different atomizers, with and without the kick. Another test I did was to check the voltage of my battery once the kick stops working. On my first mechanical mod, the battery still has around 3.8v left, which is still plenty. On my other 2 mods, the battery will have around 3.45 to 3.6v left. I won't name the mods I have, but they are all highly regarded Euro mods. The only thing I can say is if you read somewhere that certain mods seem to have more voltage drop than others, its probably true.

I don't see the problem in naming mods...this site is about sharing information right? I've seen testing done that shows the Chi_You had a voltage drop of 0.55v, and it goes with what I've been told that it doesn't hit very hard. The results I saw on testing showed that the Atmizoo 69 and Roller both had drops of 0.96v. The EA mod had a drop of 0.9v. While I wanted a Chi_You...I'm about performance as well as aesthetic, so it has dropped off my unicorn list.

 

[ukeman]

This thread has a lot of good technical info about the Kick and how it functions in a mechanical device... but it doesn't take much research on ECF today to see that the wave of popularity in high end mechanicals are driven by SLR super low resistance RBA vaping.

Veterans of vaping who haven't caught on seem to be stuck in the old paradigm of LR and SR - anything under 1.5 was out of the question.
Enter Genesis RBA's and even silica wick RBA's where using 1.3 and all the way down to .6 Ohms and the vape is not harsh and burnt...!
In fact the flavor is more pronounced along with the expected voluminous clouds of vapor.
I guess it has to do with the wicking factors in these RBA's....

only one caveat... one proviso for SLR vaping ... you need a mechanical device (without a Kick)... the better ones have more conductivity for one thing.

 

[USinchains]

When my first RBA was in the mail, I was dead set to load up on 32 gauge for my trusty 2-2.5 ohms, the spot where my favorite liquid seemed to shine. I am not that far into this part of the game and I'm already making 1-1.3 on 28 and 30. There is definitely no comparison between the way these materials perform and operate versus our old atomizers and cartos. Some folks like to point out that they just can't understand it, that's their own problem.

This thread has a lot of good technical info about the Kick and how it functions in a mechanical device... but it doesn't take much research on ECF today to see that the wave of popularity in high end mechanicals are driven by SLR super low resistance RBA vaping.

Veterans of vaping who haven't caught on seem to be stuck in the old paradigm of LR and SR - anything under 1.5 was out of the question.
Enter Genesis RBA's and even silica wick RBA's where using 1.3 and all the way down to .6 Ohms and the vape is not harsh and burnt...!
In fact the flavor is more pronounced along with the expected voluminous clouds of vapor.
I guess it has to do with the wicking factors in these RBA's....

only one caveat... one proviso for SLR vaping ... you need a mechanical device (without a Kick)... the better ones have more conductivity for one thing.

 

[SissySpike]

Personally I like it all! Genys RBAs carto tanks LR SR HV some Midas Glacial Inferno in a 4.5 OHM cart In my Phiniac cranked up to 6 volts is mighty tasty and The warm vape is very nice with the strong menthol. I can get some great clouds and flavor with a SR Joytech atty in my GG

 

[nahoku]

So what I'm taking away from all of this is that those of you doing super low resistance coils (like .6 ohms) don't kick and don't fuse. Both the kick and fuse limit wattage at different levels and you don't believe SLR it's dangerous because of the performance of IMR tech. Correct?

So basically, the kick is not really needed in today's mech vaping... unless, you want to turn it into a limited VW device. And a fuse, for all practical reasons, is not needed at all, in any circumstance, due to IMR tech.

This is what it sounds like to me reading all the replies.

Thanks by the way for all this discussion.

 

[Nitrobex]

So what I'm taking away from all of this is that those of you doing super low resistance coils (like .6 ohms) don't kick and don't fuse.

Correct cause down that low neither works.

Both the kick and fuse limit wattage at different levels

Kick - wattage and amp limit.
Fuse - amp limit.

That is the hard part to understand people who don't do SLR RBA's normally don't bring amps into the equation, it is simply not needed unless a device has a really low amp limit.

Supper mathy here for a second with ohm's law:

I=Current (Amps)
W=Power (Watts)
R= Resistance (Ohms)

I=V/R
W=VI

Those are the base form of ohms law you can extrapolate through substitution W=V^2/R

and you don't believe SLR it's dangerous because of the performance of IMR tech. Correct?

It is saferer... but not without risk, many SLR vapers have to monitor their batteries closer, ect. There is risk involved... but there is risk involved in driving to work...

So basically, the kick is not really needed in today's mech vaping... unless, you want to turn it into a limited VW device. And a fuse, for all practical reasons, is not needed at all, in any circumstance, due to IMR tech.

Kick, turns a mech into a VW regulated device, some people really like regulated devices.
Fuse, good peace of mind, if you are not going above an amp limit....

Here is the best analogy I can give you:
Mechanical no fuse or kick: Race car, can be dangerous if the right precautions are not taken, high level of performance.
Kicked Mechanical: A Mustang with a 100mph limiter built in, You are going to have a lot of fun but some of the top end is cut off.
Fused Mechanical: A Corvette with a 120mph limiter built in, You can go a little faster than the Mustang but it still isn't quite the full race car.
VW device: A Honda Civic with a 100mph cut off, you can have some fun, not as "sporty" as the Mustang, but you can pick up groceries with it

Each car has its on purpose and no one car would be right for everyone...

Thanks by the way for all this discussion.

Your welcome, hope the discussion is helping.

--- To throw a monkey wrench in the works... There is a way to achieve low resistance and have it regulated... A DNA 20 mod... I was vaping a .7 or .8 ohm coil on a DNA 20 device pretty good performance... You will find it handy to have a mechanical most likely to get the coil set up... But I digress.

 

[muzichead]

This thread has a lot of good technical info about the Kick and how it functions in a mechanical device... but it doesn't take much research on ECF today to see that the wave of popularity in high end mechanicals are driven by SLR super low resistance RBA vaping.

Veterans of vaping who haven't caught on seem to be stuck in the old paradigm of LR and SR - anything under 1.5 was out of the question.
Enter Genesis RBA's and even silica wick RBA's where using 1.3 and all the way down to .6 Ohms and the vape is not harsh and burnt...!
In fact the flavor is more pronounced along with the expected voluminous clouds of vapor.
I guess it has to do with the wicking factors in these RBA's....

only one caveat... one proviso for SLR vaping ... you need a mechanical device (without a Kick)... the better ones have more conductivity for one thing.

I would tend to agree with you on that statement...but... My go to vape is a Vmod XL w/ Cisco spec LR306 1.5Ω and a kick installed set @ 10watts. Been vaping it daily for 8 months now.

I have recently stepped into the mechanical/RBA realm and I'm not completely sold as yet. I put an Igo-L on the Natural with a 1.0Ω coil. I noticed a couple of things. It reminds me of everything prior to using the kick and I can feel the fall off in voltage almost immediately. I have found that @ 1.0Ω the vape is not too awfully warm, not a big difference in vapor, although a noticeable difference in the taste. In fact it was too much. I vape menthol, (50/50 blend), exclusively, but with the mechanical I have changed that to more of a 20/80 blend as it just had too much bite to it. It is better, but again the falloff in voltage is very noticeable. I still find myself going to the XL more. I like the set 10w I use as it is consistent from first vape to last vape of the battery life. Maybe if I drop it back to say a 1.2-1.3Ω coil instead, I would get better results. I would tend to think not, as the consistency would still be an issue.

With that being said, back to your point... I don't think or wouldn't say the vets are stuck at LR/SR, it would be more of being set on a particular vaping wattage. I think and believe that the average person vapes at in or around 8-10 watts and I think that is because of the juice being manufactured today. I think a lot of the SLR guys today are just IMO, vapor chasers!!! I hear all the hype about who can get their device to blow the densest clouds, (but also in following some of them), are not satisfied with the TH and or the taste. Its all just too new. We have all seen the newest, latest, & greatest vaping tips gone in many different directions through time and this might be one of them! Do you remember cartridges and tea bags???

I will say this, I am not ready to give up on mechanical/RBA's just yet and will explore it further...

 

[eHuman]

My wife and I both use full mechanical pvs.
Her preferred wattage range is 8-9w. A kick is a no brainer for her, she gets her preferred setting over the full life of her battery. I wrap her coils at 1.5 - 1.9 Ω (depending on which RBA I'm setting up for her) and she gets awesome battery time.

My preferred wattage is 17-20w on my IGO-L. A kick is useless to me on it. I have yet to set up my AGA-T on my mech as my wife has been bogarting my original for the last month, and on both of my new ones the center post threads came mangled. I have a replacement posts lost in the mail system "out for delivery" for 4 days now. I have a feeling though that 10w or less on it will not satisfy after discovering the joys of SLR vaping.

 

[tj99959]

While some folks seem to like SLR vaping, it's not for everyone. Taste is subjective, and always will be. I get the vape that "I" want with a 2.7-2.9ohm coil in my gennie.

What I'm trying to point out is to NEVER feel intimidated into using what someone else thinks is cool or macho. If you like the vape you get with a kick in your mechanical .... do it! But don't do it only because someone else thinks it's the "only way". Same goes for super low resistance coils. Vape what you like, and to hell with what everyone else thinks you have to like.

 

[donnah]

My mech and shortstop fuse came in the same time. I wrapped a very low ohm coil, popped it on the mech, pushed the button and the fuse activated! Smoke came out the end of the mech and I had to throw away the batt. I could smell that awful smell for hours. I don't know if the fuse still works or not (they advertised that it would reset itself) but I haven't put it back in to try it. I had been using it with a rba that was already setup and working well and it worked fine (or at least it didn't activate) But setting up a coil for the first time is a different matter!

The Kick came out back before people were using mechs for using rbas (or most people that is). It was a way to get a regulated voltage out of a mech if you already had one. There was a lot of excitement about this new development. I already had VV devices so I wasn't interested. Nothing wrong with using a kick in a mech if you want to vape 10w or less and you want consistant voltage. Since I build my coils at 1.2 or less, a kick won't do me any good.

At one time I was all about consistant voltage. I couldn't believe anyone would buy a mech and experience the voltage drop as the batt discharges. I'm enjoying my mech and kinda like that on this one device, I'm not concerned with numbers..only the vape. With the lower ohm coils, the voltage drop isn't that noticable to me and I'm finding that when I need to change out the batt for a fresh one is about the same time (or longer) that the light on my Provari starts blinking. I won't be getting rid of my Provari's though LOL

I bought the mech to try out the sub 1 ohm coils. I'm still on the fence about how I like it. 1.2ohms with 30g on the Provari or the EA seems to be my sweet spot.

 

[ukeman]

I have been a "flavor chaser" for at least a couple years now...

I remember being disillusioned after my first year of being a "vapor chaser"... I had finally got just about every aspect of vaping down and could get the best vapor production out of any atomizer/device.

A Provari and a couple Zmax's for VW was standard equippment.

I'm a complete narcissistic hedonist when it come to vaping; I had over a hundred 901 atomizers (dse bulk-paks from Vapor Kings) and about half that many in various types and brands of atomizers.
By the time I had stocked up big, I could get plenty of vapor, but the flavor was like null and void... being a chain vaper didn't help because it numbs your senses to an extent.

Then I found HH357's and hybrid atomizers (not Hybrid devices... not yet)... sold all my atomizers and stocked up on a doz HH357's. This was during the Genesis first year and I ignored that after a fumble with the first ones out.... GLV and Lines... not a DIY'er, and SR Genesis for me, seems to require more finesse and patience; something i'm not good at.

Finally I got a Hybrid device specifically for SLR.
Suffice it to say I have had 3-4 SLR devices going at the same time all the time, for a few months now, and I can say that I can taste what each juice is supposed to taste like every time (granted my coil is right).

I don't say anything to "dis" anyone and I'm the first to dis myself... but fact is fact (according to me ) vapor is vapor; flavor is flavor... vapor is NOT flavor...what good is one without the other?

I got turned on to it by others who paved the way... I only use high end gear because 1. you got to pay to play -remember how much it cost to smoke? 2. results 3. safety (not necessarily in that order).

SInce this thread is geared towards some who are dabbling in SLR, I will say that you need the right gear: that work for me:
- 28g wire (30g will do in a pinch)
- a mechanical that is proven to be good with SLR (i.e. Precise+ etc)
- IMR batts

Silica RBA's work good at SLR too... i think its the wicking value of Genesis and slica RBAs that make SLR work good whereas a conventional atomizer is a disaster in that realm.

That said, I also run a Penelope at 1.3 to 1.4 Ohms on a VW at 9-10 watts... its divine too. sorry for going on and on.

 

[USinchains]

I see where you're coming from but want to correct your assumption about vaper chasers. I'm a flavor chaser, no doubt about it. I've been chasing it in one juice type for years, since my days of various replaceables. RBA's finally give me the flavor I want, every note in the juice. It's thick but I like that, actually had to cut my nic to make it bearable though.

I'm rather dissapointed in my vapor, however, I see these guys drilling out holes for big clouds, but I know it will cut flavor.

Bottom line is, you can get whatever you want out if an RBA, all the options and freedom are there to exploit for whatever purpose. That's the main reason I gravitated to them, in all my years of chasing that flavor by making mods to deliver different currents, I always knew the atomizer was the weak spot, I needed full control there. I miss the regulation of my old mods, but that world came with another set of issue I don't miss at all.

I think the liquid people use is also a huge factor in whether it works for some people or not, which always seems to be left out of these conversations. If I could let someone try mine in two different devices, I think they would say hands down, it tastes better in an RBA around 14-17w, but in a standard ecig is better around 8-10w, both tasting like completely different flavors but both good, everywhere else it tastes like crap. But I don't deny some of them will be put off by the amount if vapor packed into their lungs... not vapor persay but the overall density of the vape.

I would tend to agree with you on that statement...but... My go to vape is a Vmod XL w/ Cisco spec LR306 1.5Ω and a kick installed set @ 10watts. Been vaping it daily for 8 months now.

I have recently stepped into the mechanical/RBA realm and I'm not completely sold as yet. I put an Igo-L on the Natural with a 1.0Ω coil. I noticed a couple of things. It reminds me of everything prior to using the kick and I can feel the fall off in voltage almost immediately. I have found that @ 1.0Ω the vape is not too awfully warm, not a big difference in vapor, although a noticeable difference in the taste. In fact it was too much. I vape menthol, (50/50 blend), exclusively, but with the mechanical I have changed that to more of a 20/80 blend as it just had too much bite to it. It is better, but again the falloff in voltage is very noticeable. I still find myself going to the XL more. I like the set 10w I use as it is consistent from first vape to last vape of the battery life. Maybe if I drop it back to say a 1.2-1.3Ω coil instead, I would get better results. I would tend to think not, as the consistency would still be an issue.

With that being said, back to your point... I don't think or wouldn't say the vets are stuck at LR/SR, it would be more of being set on a particular vaping wattage. I think and believe that the average person vapes at in or around 8-10 watts and I think that is because of the juice being manufactured today. I think a lot of the SLR guys today are just IMO, vapor chasers!!! I hear all the hype about who can get their device to blow the densest clouds, (but also in following some of them), are not satisfied with the TH and or the taste. Its all just too new. We have all seen the newest, latest, & greatest vaping tips gone in many different directions through time and this might be one of them! Do you remember cartridges and tea bags???

I will say this, I am not ready to give up on mechanical/RBA's just yet and will explore it further...

 

[USinchains]

Seems like people are giving their personal opinions and their own preference. I haven't seen anyone tell you what you should be doing.

While some folks seem to like SLR vaping, it's not for everyone. Taste is subjective, and always will be. I get the vape that "I" want with a 2.7-2.9ohm coil in my gennie.

What I'm trying to point out is to NEVER feel intimidated into using what someone else thinks is cool or macho. If you like the vape you get with a kick in your mechanical .... do it! But don't do it only because someone else thinks it's the "only way". Same goes for super low resistance coils. Vape what you like, and to hell with what everyone else thinks you have to like.

 

[ukeman]

While some folks seem to like SLR vaping, it's not for everyone. Taste is subjective, and always will be. I get the vape that "I" want with a 2.7-2.9ohm coil in my gennie.

What I'm trying to point out is to NEVER feel intimidated into using what someone else thinks is cool or macho. If you like the vape you get with a kick in your mechanical .... do it! But don't do it only because someone else thinks it's the "only way". Same goes for super low resistance coils. Vape what you like, and to hell with what everyone else thinks you have to like.

yeah! right on! ...oops who we reacting to?...

fwiw LR Genesis 1.4 to 1.6 Ohm vaping takes more skill and finnesse... on a VV/VW

and ooops sorry to hijack the thread

 

[ericlin0122]

No need. Kick drains battery fast. Get a vv/vw mod if you really need that "kick".

 

[nahoku]

No need to worry guys, I'm enjoying reading all aspects of your replies. And ukeman, I didn't feel you hijacked the thread. While it didn't answer my concerns directly it's still interesting to me that all of that is in your mind about your vaping.

I don't feel pressured or intimidated to use anything anyone else is using. I consider myself a hard sell so that kind of stuff doesn't happen. I'm just trying to find info on these two devices and so far you have all been very helpful.

I probably won't run SLR coils. Of course than can change in time. But, as it is, with all the information I'm getting, along with what I've researched previously, I'm feeling that IMR tech is relatively safe un-fused for the LR coils I now use (1.5 ohms). Nothing on my mech is getting hot at all, and when I pull the battery to check, it's barely warm after a chain vape. This tells me it's probably safely handling the current requirements.

All the info in this thread has satisfied my concerns about these devices and it can be considered closed. Of course if you all want to keep discussing stuff, you're welcome to do it. It's a fun read for me!

Thanks again!
nahoku

 

[Koman]

Personally I like it all! Genys RBAs carto tanks LR SR HV some Midas Glacial Inferno in a 4.5 OHM cart In my Phiniac cranked up to 6 volts is mighty tasty and The warm vape is very nice with the strong menthol. I can get some great clouds and flavor with a SR Joytech atty in my GG View attachment 196079

Those are real good. Cool pic btw!

 

[TheSneakerHoarder]

A kick in a mechanical is like a set of football cleats with the metal studs replaced with silicone rubber.

The whole point of a mechanical mod besides being pretty indestructible is the ability to push amp/watt limits.

 

[eHuman]

A kick in a mechanical is like a set of football cleats with the metal studs replaced with silicone rubber.

The whole point of a mechanical mod besides ¹being pretty indestructible is the ₂ability to push amp/watt limits.

You just described two very different reasons that people may like mechanical PVs. Some people like rubber cleats.

 

[Heavyrocker]

Ive read the kick shuts down the mod at 3,2 V,but when you test the batt power its still 3.4 out of the mod,you lose 10 to 15% of power that could be going too vaping instead of running a kick,i have a smok telescope with no kick and im content,also have a vamo to check for ohms.

You can buy a Vamo for the price of a kick.