Just made the switch from tobacco cigarettes. Need some guidance on e-cig voltage settings...

[mostdope]

Hi all, I've made the switch to vaping after six years of smoking Marlboro Red 100s (2007-2013). So far I've been loving this healthier alternative to smoking, and the convenience of being allowed to vape pretty much anywhere. I do have a quick question, but before I ask it I will list out the parts my e-cig consists of.

APV: Vamo v5
Tank: Kanger ProTank II
Coil (current): 2.6 ohms

My question is, what voltage would you guys recommend I set my APV to for a good balance of flavor and vapor with a resistance of 2.6 ohms? What is the safe range (i.e. lowest value and highest value) of voltage I can use with a resistance of 2.6 ohms?

I've looked at various voltage/resistance charts online, but I do not understand them... I apologize for such a silly question.

I'm currently vaping at 3.4 volts.

EDIT: I forgot to include the information on my e-liquid. It is a 50PG/50VG mixture. That is probably important.

 

[ImThatGuy]

General rule is ohms + 2 = voltage used, but preference is subjective. 4.6v should be a good starting point. Play around + or - to find a good setting for you.

I think the Vamo v5 has wattage also. So, start with 6.5 watts and keep going up until you find your sweet spot.

On a 2.6ohm you shouldn't go higher than 5v or 9.5 watts, but whatever makes you happy, vape on.

 

[mostdope]

Thanks for the quick reply! I was wondering if new guys would get shunned or ignored like they are on some other forums, but it appears not.

I've just set my APV to the wattage setting, and set it to 6.5 watts. I can already tell a difference in flavor. It seems like I can actually taste the e-liquid now. My combination of French Vanilla, Candy Caramel, and Vanilla Tobacco has a very pleasant taste that was previously very subtle, but now I can actually taste it!

If you don't mind my asking, what would be the purpose of increasing the voltage from here? Would it just produce more vapor, or does it enhance the flavor and/or provide more of a kick?

 

[eyeofthejoow]

Unfortunately this is a very personal choice for you to make. I can tell you that when I was using a PT2 (I now use Surric tanks) on my Vamo v5 I vaped my 60/40 pg/vg juice on 4.2v. I would also recommend that you hold the left button for about 10 seconds and make sure it says "rms" and not "mean". When I first got my v5 it was in "mean" mode and everything tasted horrible. I also switched it to watts instead of volts at first because I personally understood watts better than volts. Anyway, it all depends on your e-juice and your personally preferences. Like I said when I started I started at 7.5 watts and worked my way up to 10 to find a good vape for myself. Just keep trying different settings until you find something that you like. For reference though I am at 4.4v with a 60/40 pg/vg juice.

 

[mostdope]

Thank you for your feedback as well. I just checked that setting you mentioned and in fact it WAS on the 'mean' setting. I switched it to the 'rms' setting, and it does seem to enhance the flavor of the vapor. I appreciate you mentioning that!

I'm currently vaping at 6.5 watts, in the 'rms' mode. Already a pretty drastic improvement in vape flavor over my previous vape settings (3.4 volts, 'mean' mode). Curious to see what other recommendations arise from this thread!

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Agree setting the Vamo in RMS gives a more consistent voltage. In mean the firing voltage fluctuates up and down giving burnt vapes.

If you don't mind my asking, what would be the purpose of increasing the voltage from here? Would it just produce more vapor, or does it enhance the flavor and/or provide more of a kick?

Diff juices taste much better at diff voltage. Also if stressed and needing a stronger hit the voltage can be increased.
I own the Vamo V2 and V3 and will caution you- BABY the 510 connection as they are very fragile and tend to strip easily. Dropping on the floor and landing "just right" (on the clearo at an angle) will also damage the threads.

 

[Dana A]

Shunned for being a noob? I know what you mean but around here we all started at the beginning so don't worry about asking questions. We are here to help

 

[InTheShade]

Hi Mostdope, welcome to the forum. You've already had some good answers, so I'll just add there really is no right or wrong setting to use. Just start low and adjust higher until you get a vape you enjoy. If it tastes a little burnt, turn it down again - vaping doesn't have to be complicated and what works for others may not work for your device / resistance / juice combination.

You'll not do any damage to either the vamo or the wicks in the protank by turning it too low or too high, they can't burn as they are made from silica.

Finally, don't forget to maintain your tank a little. After each tank fill you might want to clean the threads in your Vamo with a Q-tip to keep them clean. After every 2-4 tank fills, unscrew your base from the pro-tank and give it a good rinse under hot running water, shake it all off and refill. First vape or two will be a little light, but it will soon go back to normal.
By doing these two things, you'll greatly increase the life of your equipment. You can find some more thorough cleaning ideas on youtube.

Sorry if you already knew this, but it's one of the things I was told when I just started vaping and it made my life so much easier from the get-go.

Welcome again, you'll find many friendly members here, ECF is a gem of a resource for vapers.

 

[eyeofthejoow]

Hi Mostdope, welcome to the forum. You've already had some good answers, so I'll just add there really is no right or wrong setting to use. Just start low and adjust higher until you get a vape you enjoy. If it tastes a little burnt, turn it down again - vaping doesn't have to be complicated and what works for others may not work for your device / resistance / juice combination.

You'll not do any damage to either the vamo or the wicks in the protank by turning it too low or too high, they can't burn as they are made from silica.

Finally, don't forget to maintain your tank a little. After each tank fill you might want to clean the threads in your Vamo with a Q-tip to keep them clean. After every 2-4 tank fills, unscrew your base from the pro-tank and give it a good rinse under hot running water, shake it all off and refill. First vape or two will be a little light, but it will soon go back to normal.
By doing these two things, you'll greatly increase the life of your equipment. You can find some more thorough cleaning ideas on youtube.

Sorry if you already knew this, but it's one of the things I was told when I just started vaping and it made my life so much easier from the get-go.

Welcome again, you'll find many friendly members here, ECF is a gem of a resource for vapers.

Definitely agree with this. I cleaned my Pro Tanks out every other fill just to make sure.

 

[ZeroOhms]

do the "ramp up" on new atomizer head. when you put a new atomizer head, let it sit for few minutes to get the wicks wet. after that, start from 3.0 - 3.2v and pulse it few times while vaping. make sure you start getting small amount of vapor initially and slowly fire it longer. this avoids possible coil popping and dry hit. once you get a good vapor going, increase the voltage by 2 - 3 and vape. make sure you vape enough on each voltage step to see if you need to increase it. by stepping through the voltage, you will be able to tell the differences more.

 

[eyeofthejoow]

Mostdope I can tell you that my sweet spot in watts mode for most of my juices was between 8-9.5 watts. Now that may differ for you because of personal taste, but that is what I use on my all day vapes.

 

[eyeofthejoow]

do the "ramp up" on new atomizer head. when you put a new atomizer head, let it sit for few minutes to get the wicks wet. after that, start from 3.0 - 3.2v and pulse it few times while vaping. make sure you start getting small amount of vapor initially and slowly fire it longer. this avoids possible coil popping and dry hit. once you get a good vapor going, increase the voltage by 2 - 3 and vape. make sure you vape enough on each voltage step to see if you need to increase it. by stepping through the voltage, you will be able to tell the differences more.

Didn't even know about this method. Definitely good advice.

 

[oldbikeguy]

First off check into setting up your vamo for RMS or V/W most find they like it better that way, and welcome to ECF and good luck on your journey

 

[HecticEnergy]

I don't know about not burning out the head... Maybe the wick being made of Sillica makes it less likely to burn under the coil, but you can still turn it up to high and get a lasting burnt taste. Follow what they say though, start low and work your way up, you'll eventually start tasting burnt flavor, but as long as you don't cook it for too long or crank it all the way up and try a few vapes, you should be able to back the voltage back down without any lasting burnt flavor... That's just my experience though.

You said you've looked at charts like this one:
http://www.vaporsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/power-vaping-chart-lg.jpg
But you didn't understand it. It seems pretty strait forward though. Find your resistance in ohms on the left, and try to stay in the lime green section. It seems the number in the actual cell is the wattage, where the column header is voltage.

Hth

 

[oldbikeguy]

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/689/unled66.jpg/

 

[HecticEnergy]

Also, as others on ECF have pointed out on other threads, quality control on kanger heads has been pretty ....ty, so just because it says 2.4 ohms, doesn't mean it is. But you used your vamo to check the ohms on the head, right?

 

[ZeroOhms]

Didn't even know about this method. Definitely good advice.

Think of voltage control as car's accelerator. learning how to control it against different environment will give you best vapor. voltage to resistance ratio isn't fixed. that's like telling people to drive at fixed speed. as the coils heat the juice, it will gunk up and same amount of voltage wouldn't heat the same over time. wicks gets dirty and juice flow can change. shape of coil can change with heat and create hot spot. all these will impact the vapor/flavor and will need adjustment to voltage.
To me, this is more important for new people than getting new mods or tanks. also, get $6 AeroTank base for your protank. experiencing how the airflow changes the vapor production is important too.

 

[PLANofMAN]

You've already gotten great advice from this thread. The only thing I can add is to save your old Protank heads. At some point, if you keep vaping, you will start looking into rebuilding and rebuildable atomizers. Those old ProTank heads can be rebuilt to just like new condition, for a fraction of the cost of a new head.

Welcome to ECF.

 

[mostdope]

Thanks for the explanation on how the RMS feature works. Makes sense now! All I understood is that the vapor consistently tasted better than it did previously.

 

[Robmidi]

Welcome mostdope!
You have come to the right place for all kinds of great info. My son got me into vaping and told me to be sure and check out the ECF. He was right and I come here regularly. I started vaping last October, after decades of analogs. I started with "pen" style batts with prefilled cartos, then moved up to ego twists (still use them) with mini bcc's and CE4 clearomizers. Then he got a Sigelei Vmax V5 mod with different tanks, so I followed suit. Am now using the Sigelei with Protanks (came in the kit), 18650 batts, mini Protank 2 with the removable drip tip and have since acquired a couple of Protank 2's and a Protank Aero base. The base was a great $6 spent, as it replaces the base on the protank 2 or original Protank and allows airflow adjustment. To me, the mini PT2's are too airy, so I put a piece of tape over one of the three air intake holes and that gives me a better (tighter) draw.

The resistance of your coil is important, as lower ohm coils need lesser voltage, as pointed out in a previous post. If you stay in the green range on the chart that was mentioned, you'll be fine. Be advised, however, that different juices "sing" at different voltage and/or watt settings, and also the PG/VG ratio has some bearing also. I have one brand of juice that's 40%PG/60%VG and it vapes differently than another brand that I have that is 80/20 and another that is 50/50. The previous poster was correct in advising start low and work your way up.

I haven't had an analog since last October, and haven't cared one iota. I'm having too much fun discovering all my favorite flavors of juice (mostly fruit, as tobacco-type juice with a few exceptions don't taste good to me anymore...go figure)

Again, welcome and happy vaping!