iStick 50W Question(s)

[CaptainMoose]

Hey, couple hopefully simple questions for you guys. I've had an iStick for like two weeks now and it seems to be working great but I notice some strange things about the resistance readings. Fresh coils usually read what they're supposed to but I've noticed after awhile 1.8 Nautilus coils start reading as 2.0 or and Atlantis coils end up at .6 and occasionally .7. It never seems to change once the Nautilus/Atlantis is put on the iStick but will change if I take it off and put it back on. Is that normal?

Also does anyone know what the low power warning means? Because when I first got it I kept getting the warning even though it was fully charged. It seemed like it only happened when I cranked the Atlantis above 35W and chain vaped it.

Any insight would be much appreciated.

 

[Baditude]

Coils will often increase in the resistance (ohm rating) as they age and are used. This is normal and to be expected.

The low power warning is likely the processor telling you that the resistance of the atomizer is too low for the power you are requesting. Mods have amp limits for protection purposes, and a lower resistance atomizer requires much more power output than a higher one. See the chart below to see how lower resistance increases the power demand (amps) from the mod and battery.

1.0 ohm = 4.2 amp draw
0.9 ohm = 4.6 amp draw
0.8 ohm = 5.2 amp draw
0.7 ohms = 6 amp draw
0.6 ohms = 7 amp draw
0.5 ohms = 8.4 amp draw
0.4 ohms = 10.5 amp draw
0.3 ohms = 14.0 amp draw
0.2 ohms = 21.0 amp draw
0.1 ohms = 42.0 amp draw
0.0 ohms = dead short = battery goes into thermal runaway

 

[CaptainMoose]

Hey thanks for the quick response! I think I understand your second point ... But just so I'm clear would it be normal for a .5 coil at 37 or so watts to exceed the iSticks amp limit if I was chain vaping it?

 

[Baditude]

Possible...yes. Normal...probably not.

I don't know the amp limit on the iStick 50 watt, so I can't answer completely. PBusardo does very intensive and complete technical reviews of many vape gear items. These often include testing true power outputs against a variety of atomizer resistances. I didn't watch all the way through this review, so I don't know if your answer is there.

 

[CaptainMoose]

Yeah I watched that but some of it is above my head!

But I don't know because I decided to test out my theory just now and I was chain vaping my Atlantis at 38.4 watts (which was honestly a bit too hot of a vape for my personal preference) but didn't get the warning. So I'm guessing it's all good but I'm trying to make sure it is before the next two weeks are up so if there is an issue I can return it to the vender. Thanks for your help though!

 

[roxynoodle]

37W should be fine for a 0.5 ohm build. When the istick itself gets too hot it shuts itself down. You may need to exchange it. I have 3 of them and have never gotten that message.

 

[CaptainMoose]

Yeah I was thinking about that but I haven't had the problem since the day I got it and you may have missed my last post but I a few minutes ago I was chain vaping it at 38.4 watts. I chain vaped it so much that I'm feeling a little light headed now lol.

The vender (Smoktek) said they would replace it once they verified the issues so if I can't reproduce the warning I'm assuming they wouldn't be able to either. Like I said, I think it's all good, but IDK.

 

[CaptainMoose]

Just wanted to bump this to see if anyone else has run into this issue or has any further insight?

 

[DaddyO]

My Atlantis coils also read on the istick 50 as .6 or 7, never stays at .5 very long if at all. I chain vape mine at 30w and never had any issue, though I never go over 30w as that seems to be what the coils are rated for max.

 

[stormjib]

I was messing around trying to rebuild a kanger subtank head and got the 'low power' warning a couple of times, and must even have had a short at one point because the device turned off as Busardo demonstrated, but once I plugged it back in, it came right back to life. I don't think your Istick has a problem, I think it's just normal behavior for an atty's resistance to change with use. I thought my Istick was defective because it seemed to cut out when i had the button pressed, but it turns out you just have to push the button a little harder than you think, once i found that out, i've had no problems.

 

[CaptainMoose]

My Atlantis coils also read on the istick 50 as .6 or 7, never stays at .5 very long if at all. I chain vape mine at 30w and never had any issue, though I never go over 30w as that seems to be what the coils are rated for max.

Yeah I always run the Atlantis right around 30 (a little above or below) but I see a lot of people saying it really shines around 35W, though thats more then I really like.

A slight variance in resistance is normal when using a coil for an extended period of time, to say nothing about a system's inherent +/- tolerance on reading a coil.

Dude did you get your screen name from Tim and Eric Awesome Show?!?

I was messing around trying to rebuild a kanger subtank head and got the 'low power' warning a couple of times, and must even have had a short at one point because the device turned off as Busardo demonstrated, but once I plugged it back in, it came right back to life. I don't think your Istick has a problem, I think it's just normal behavior for an atty's resistance to change with use. I thought my Istick was defective because it seemed to cut out when i had the button pressed, but it turns out you just have to push the button a little harder than you think, once i found that out, i've had no problems.

Cool, cool. Thanks for all the responses guys!

 

[VColossus]

I am looking at getting the 50w iStick for my next one. From what I can tell from videos and everything it looks like a solid product.

Has anyone else had any kind of issues with it?

 

[CaptainMoose]

I only had that issue the first hour or so of having it and it has worked great ever since. I've been using it for the past two weeks and haven't had any issues since that first initial problem.

It is awesome and it has been in my hand literally all waking hours over spring break. Don't let my thread keep you from getting this awesome battery!

 

[CaptainMoose]

Ugh.... for apparently no reason last night I got another low power warning and that hasn't happened again... but now every other time I vape it I get a temp warning after a couple seconds. It seems weird as hell that it would work fine again for two weeks just for it to start up again. I don't have any other battery that can fire the Atlantis and there are literally no vape shops where I live. This is the kind of stressful situation that makes me want a cigarette... I mean I still have the Nautilus but it just doesn't seem to do the trick after vaping on the Atlantis. Another thing is that the vendor told me they would send me a replacement once they verified the issue but I'm worried that since it worked for two weeks after the initial problems that it will work when they receive it!!! Man this sucks!

I'm not trying to deter anyone from getting this battery though since it seems great and I haven't seen anyone else have these issues but I just wanted to complain about it! lol

 

[erikbal]

One thing I've noticed with my 50w is if I screw on my Atlantis while the screen is on it will read .7, .1 high. If I screw it on with the screen off it reads at the usual .6 that all my Atlantis coils do. So I just make sure to screw it on when the screen is off.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[CaptainMoose]

Yeah I've had that too but it didn't seem to matter if the screen was on or not.

 

[MagicJosh]

I think they made some screwed up devices. Mine says .7ohms when i put a .5 on my iStick 50. the ohms are off by .2 i think. Still works great. I think in a few months they will be selling a better version. I'm gonna sell mine soon and buy directly from and see if its changed.

 

[erikbal]

Just tried screwing a tank on mine again with the screen on and it read like normal so maybe it was just a fluke. I'm still really happy with mine.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Foggyroomz]

If you say you chain vape your device the atomizer will start to generate heat that transfers from the atty thru the 510 connection to the electronics that will trigger the temperature warning so that you don't start heating the chip up and cause damage to the board. I was at my friends shop and we chain vaped all kinds of builds in different atties on his 50 watt I-Stick and triggered the temp warning so that may be what happened with yours we let it set for a few minutes and it went back to vaping like a champ so it's like your mod saying hey bud I need a quick breather to cool off a second so I don't get heat stroke lol. I guess it's better than burning up your box right.


PS the fluctuation of resistance is normal the more the coil heats and cools the more the molecular structure of the wire changes and the resistance of the coil will change especially if you are firing it for close to the 10 second cut off timer. My Sigelei 150 does it my 100 plus does it my I-Stick 30 does it too, so it isn't your device it is the coil changing with use.

 

[CaptainMoose]

I let it sit all night and took a good vape ... Then the next hit triggered the temp warning. At least I think it's he temp warning but it shows like a flame symbol and the word warning. Seems weird since it's supposed to actually say temp warning but I checked the code and it is authentic. But I don't know what else the warning would mean...

Anyway the company is being really supportive and will be replacing it.