Lavatube Noob Thread - ??? about LAVATUBES and Accessories for them...Post your questions here....

[orachel]

Now you guys have me thinking about all the 'battery safety' tips I've been picking up along the way. Here's a few 'stand by' rules that you should always follow. If you're using a good batt, like the 18650 Panasonic IMR hybrid or AW IMR 18650, or the 18350 AW IMR, and an 'intelligent' charger and a vented/protected device like the lava tube... you really are doing the best 'battery safety' things you possibly can.

But as a rule of thumb...

With that WP2 II charger, or the WP6 II charger... make very sure your charger is set to the '500 mA' setting, NOT the '1000 mA' setting. Neither should be a problem with the 18350 or the 18650, but thats just a nice slow stead charge... and still charges 2 batts WAAAY quicker than the cheapo charger with the kit.

And for everyone, regardless of charger.. Always let you batteries 'rest' after pulling them off the charger, and before putting them in the device. Only needs to be 10-15min, but it is a great idea.

Also... on ANY device. When you first change batteries, fire the device for the first time as 'away' from your face as possible. When rare 'catacylsmic failure' does occur with a battery, from what I've been told, it usually happens on a fresh battery. So that just cuts down on risk a tiny bit more. That tip came from LordDavon, on ecf. Made so much sense to me that I've been passing it on ever since.

And if a battery, or the device itself ever 'heats up'.... first thing you want to do is set it down, immediately, ideally on a non flammable surface. Again, this is the rare occurrence, NOT the norm, but its good to know, just in case. IMR batteries (which are the only ones you should be using in this device, per manufacturer) do not explode... so those rare stories we hear of with people using regular old unprotected batteries, stacked on top of each other, in an unprotected and unvented device and having really bad things happen... That's just not a possible scenario with this device and these IMR batteries. IMR batteries don't explode, just based on the chemistry. BUT they can vent, and of course they're very hot if that happens. You just don't want that to happen anywhere near you. lol And that scenario is the one in which a battery charging bag would really come in handy. Perfect place to leave a hot bat while you wait for it to be totally cool, and then can dispose of it.

 

[chrisz]

correction: silver lavatube.
And btw, just reassembled my old lt... And its working fine!! Oh well, needed a push for that new one anyway.

 

[orachel]

odd... just wrote a response, hit post quick... and it just disappeared. lol

Honestly, I think those silvers look amazing. My biggest impetus for getting the stainless to begin with is I wanted to use it for as long as possible (i'm a budget vaper. lol) and didn't want to run the risk of having the caps crack. That's not an issue with yours, of course, cause they are all metal caps. That light silver finish is so pretty, though. And what is this 5v passthrough thing? Sounds seriously intriguing (says the girl who has usually 4-5 pvs loaded with different flavors surrounding her at any one time. rofl). I've only ever heard of the 3.7v passthrough, or the new ones w low voltage vv function... something like 3.2 v, 3.7 v, and 4.0v. I've seen a few that go up to about 4.8, but never 5! You're ending up with all this cool vaping loot as a result of this mishap! lol You might end up being happy this happened, in the end.

BTW, are they gonna replace the one that died? Don't know if that was stainless/chrome/copper or the original model.

 

[orachel]

Anyone with a stainless steel mini wishing they'd have gotten the full size? A girl here in Pay it forward swaps wants to trade. Last post... BTW, this is only for trades... make sure you read the PIF rules before making an offer, cause they're very touchy about that. lol

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...nless-you-have-read-rules-11.html#post6081912

 

[orachel]

correction: silver lavatube.
And btw, just reassembled my old lt... And its working fine!! Oh well, needed a push for that new one anyway.

Omg, that is so cool! Did you diagnose the issue? I'm amazed when you guys say something like that. lol 'I just took apart an electronic device, and got it working again'. That might as well be brain surgery to someone like me. rofl Good for you! And yeah, now you have the new one, too! I'm very much a fan of multi pvs going at home, so you might find you really love it.

 

[chrisz]

I can't believe it happened, and I didn't really do anything to it. Took the top off and batt out of course, and it just sat for about 24 hours. Not sure what made me even put it back together, but I did and its working. I have no clue?? As for the passthru, I was told its 5v, nothing other than a pretty powerful hit to back that up with. Flea market guy about 45 minutes north of me that has a decent setup sold it to me. He has joye products mostly, if that helps, and it is pretty nice. Also only like $16. Budget is everything and I have blown mine!!!

 

[orachel]

Very snazzy! Yeah, this month I've pretty dang well demolished my budget, as well. lol Someone finally.... FINALLY... got the metal completely functional fabulous heads for the Vision Tox kits. So I've been waiting for 3 mos for that to happen, so had to get a new one. So everyone.... If you're looking for a lavatube esque device, but aren't sure whether you want a regular or mini, that is one HECK of a cool option.

Its called the Vision Tox, manufactured as GS-Sub, by GreenSound. They're a device that works almost exactly like the lavatube... 3-6v, with same sort of + and - buttons that take you up or down .1 increments. Also has the same safety features/restrictions as the original lavatubes (so it does have the 2.5 amp restriction... that means its not great for using low resistance gear at high voltages. But I vape my 1.7ohm resurrectors on it at 4.3v, and its perfect.) Few cool things about the Tox... First, the Gotvapes kit comes with a metal HEAD, which is a controller head, all the vv programming is in there. Then there are 2 tubes, 1 for an 18350 battery and 1 for an 18500 battery (and there are separate ones avail for extra $10 or so for an 18650 battery... Gotvapes doesn't have many of them yet, but they're on the way). So you can literally choose if you want your Tox in Reg, Mini, or Maxi size, depending on your mood. You just twist the correct tube (with the right battery in it) onto the head, and then screw on the bottom cap (similar to the lava tubes). AND the cool thing about it is if any of you have kinda crummy vision, or have a hard time reading the slightly fuzzy red screen on the lava tube, the tox has an OLED screen, not an led screen. So you see a nice black display that has perfect crisp white numbers, just like your cell phone. It also has this weirdo feature that I love... Im sure it was a kwirk of chinese translation. lol When you turn it on or off, across the screen it flashes 'hello, my Master!' or 'Goodbye, my Master!'. Cracks me up every single time. rofl I dont get much bowing and scraping in my life, so it tickles me that my pv is a groveler. rofl

Now there was a whole brouhaha, cause when they were first released there was a programming flaw, so they didn't maintain voltage over about 4v. And unfortunately, they sent some 'revisions' to other vendors that didn't work very well. lol Also, the original tubes were metal, but the heads were plastic. I'm happy to report that Gotvapes is the first vendor I know of to have the COMPLETELY corrected, works like a champ, killer new tox kits, AND the heads are metal this time. I've been enjoying mine, even with the funny voltage for a few mos now, but I'll have the corrected one in my paws in a few days, and I'll let you guys know how they vape. But if it works the way Chris says it does... this is seriously gonna give lavatubes a run for its money. lol The kits are $69, i believe, but keep in mind that comes with 2 tubes, 1 for 18500 and 1 for 18350, as well as a battery for each size. Also comes with a lanyard, charger (not a fabulous charger, mind you.. pretty much same quality as the ones with the lava tubes), and two very cool little vision tanks (in the little adapter tutorial I made, they're the first and second one in the vision photo). Anyway, for someone who really likes the flexibility in size, its just flat out awesome. And I love the idea that the 'head' and the 'tube' are separate. They're supposed to come out with more colors, and of course eventually there will be an upgraded version.... so you can just buy a new head (figure they'll be about $40) and then have essentially a whole nother pv unit, since it does come with 2 tubes. lol Anyway, Vision tox has gotten a bad rap because of the one MAJOR error that greensound made in the programming. But the build quality is high with Greensound. They make the little kind of boxy VV ultimo (you can also see those at gotvapes) and I watched a video steeljan did where she tore one of those apart. Amazing build quality.

BUT I do strongly STRONGLY suggest that if you're looking at a tox, you only look at gotvapes. The reason is other people are still selling the ones with the funky controller heads. GV is the only one i know of with the new metal heads that maintain their voltage perfectly. I'll let you guys know in a few days how it works!

 

[Carolina Vapoor]

Carolina... as for batts.. yes, quality definitely does matter, and you can find the answer you need about the very best batts for 18350/mini lava tube size in post #180, on page 18 of this thread. Just make sure you're looking at the info for the 18350 batts, not the info for 18650 batts. And you want to aim for the AW IMR highdrain 18350 batteries that have either a flat top, or a sort of flat looking button top (they're called flat top, but its rather confusing, cause they look like they have a button, just a short one). Yell out if you have any difficulty finding the exact right battery at those links I gave. I don't remember off hand if AW looks flat on top or not. I'll find it for ya if you get confused, though. And I believe the AW IMR 18350s only come in one mah. Just yell out if you get stuck with the links I gave.

Okay so I ordered the following from DV:
2 x AW 700mAh 3.7v 18350 Battery
1 x XB-866 Auto Range Digital Multimeter
1 x Xtar WP2 II Charger

I hope all of it is correct. Was not sure about the charger because on DV site it does not have 18350 listed in the list of battery sizes that it charges. Thanks for the help and sorry I made you repeat yourself. Somehow I missed that entire page of posts.

 

[orachel]

No, you're right... I'm so sorry... I should have specified.... That charger will charge ANY rechargeable battery under 70mm in length. I'm gonna ask Eric at DV to add that to the description, cause it confused the hell out of me too. lol I did find out that 70mm thing by reading 'candlepower' reviews by serious hobbyists. Took some serious extra research so he's probably losing clients with people not knowing that. lol With the 18350s, you'll need to use the included 'spacers'... hold on, lemme check something. Ok, I was right. So on that charger, with the 18350 batteries, you'll need to use 2 spacers to charge a battery. It does come with 2, but I know you can pick up extras for almost nothing. I'll go hunt those in a minute, as I need some myself. Spacers are just these little plastic 'wheels' that screw into the top of the charger channel, and it shortens the channel for short batts, like your 18350. So if you have a slightly short battery, then you use one spacer. A seriously short one, you just stack two in the channel. I use it to charge mine.. works perfect. And you never know if you'll move on to a different or additional device, so this way you know you have a charger that will charge ANY mod battery... or at least any I've ever heard of. I know a guy who has a mod powered by a ... wait for it... a 12v car battery! lol It wouldn't charge that one.
One more thing that you need to know. On that charger, there's a little switch next to the usb output port (so you can charge something like a passthrough battery on it, as long as you have a battery in the charger to 'feed' current to your usb device, and have the switch set to '0' mode)... the options are 1A .5A 0

0 is for charging something via usb (but you have to have a battery on it)

.5 is the one you want... thats 500mA, so its a nice slow safe charge (but still way faster than chargers included in kits, for the most part)

1A is for when you have something serious on the charger, like 2 18650 batteries at 2000mah each. Its very important not to exceed the mah of the battery with the charge that you're feeding it. So for safety sake, I just leave mine on .5A

And it even comes with a plug to use it in the car, thru your lighter or electronic charger.

Here is the link if you ever need to charge 2 18350's at once. Not likely if you're only using the one mod that you'll need these, since you'll only be charging one bat at a time. You'll need 2 extra spacers to do that. So sorry... i didn't anticipate that, since it had been a while since I charged 18350s, and forgot they take 2 spacers, and it only comes with 2 total. lol They're a whopping .45 cents each right here... shipping is $2.10, though
http://www.rtdvapor.com/XTAR-Charger-Spacers-XTAR-spcrs.htm

I'm going to see if I can find them at a free shipping place, though. I'll let you know if I do.

And thank you so much! I didn't realize Eric even had the AW imr 18350s. I like referring clients to him because he throws in hysterical little gifts, and if something doesn't work, he just replaces it for the most part. Most vendors, get a new clearo carto and it cracks on day three.. you're out of luck. Eric treats people really well. Plus, gotta love the prices. lol I don't know what flavors you vape, but I recently tried the 'peanut butter cup' juice from DV. Delicious! And $10/oz.

And don't worry at all about the repetition. This page is for people who DON'T wanna hunt thru 10000 pages of posts to find their answer when they're already a little bit lost getting started. I sure don't expect you guys to remember every post, or read thru all previous pages. Boy, that would be a pain in the tail. lol

 

[Cowboy Cru]

What's a Lavatube?

-CC-my avatar is Uranus

 

[orachel]

friginblastiddadnabit

you know I'd have to write half a book to explain that, don'tcha. evil. all i'm saying on the matter. rofl

 

[orachel]

Ok guys... I've been telling you about my love affair with the resurrectors (1.7ohm smoktech single coils, called resurrector, rejuvinator, all manner of things) best price usually at ccv, smoktek.com, madvapes for a while now. You know we have the regular size, which is XL dual coil sized. And then there's the Resurrector junior (at ccv) which is the size of a boge regular size... standard carto size. And then it came out in the Jumbo aka xxl size (in black at ccv for less money, in stainless at smoktek for a little more). A friend of mine hooked me up with these teeeeensy tiny ones. I mean.. lets measure here. Oh wow, smaller than I thought. The body (no connector) looks to be almost exactly HALF the size of the regular/standard boge size! Tiny! Take 15-20 drops on first fill up. Anyway, I've been using these guys for a week or so now, and I LOVE them. I just love resurrectors in general, but there is something about the tiny size that just makes them a little easier to deal with, and seem like the performance stays better, longer with a thicker juice than in the original 'dual coil tank' size. And I'm not constantly filling, which i find odd. Fill once with taryn spin, then top off every 1.5-2 hours with about 4-5 drops on top of the filler. Anyway, figured I'd let you guys know about these tiny things. I know the ones i have come from litecigusa, and are about $7.50/5pack of the black, and just found them in stainless at madvapes for $1.59 each. They have a GREAT selection of cartos by the single, and in reasonable prices for singles, so that's a good place to try out cartos.

here they are, but you can't get any idea of how teensy they are. lol Really cute, esp if you're into stealth vaping, or are looking for a good way to 'taste' new flavors other than 'direct dripping' on an atty with a drip tip.
Super Shorty 2.5 Ohm 808/901 Stainless Cartomizer

 

[orachel]

Hey Lava_Man, how's your GF doing with the batt life on the mini? I know she thought it was a little short before. If that keeps bothering her, and the AW IMR batteries don't get it up to where she's always satisfied with it, I just thought of an option for her. Cheap, long life, tiny, SUPER cute. Good for a backup, or just for taking when she's gonna need longer life.

I have one of these... its awesome, takes the same 18350 batts as the lava mini (but 2 of them, so twice as long life), and its just tiny and adorable. Mine is an earlier model, and just does 3 voltages... 3.7, 5, and 6v. But its a remarkably strong hot vape, and really super cute and fits a ladies hand just perfectly (though its more than butch enough for the average guy, too. lol). I just noticed that Eric at Discount Vapers is getting the NEW version, which is exactly the same, only is incremental, which means you can set it to any voltage you like, from 3-6v, and it has a display. Also the old ones were this rubberized finish which is nice, but kind of a pain to keep clean. The new ones are this really cool super shiny finish. The kits are $50, but come with 2 18350s and a charger, which she already has.... so she could get just a mod itself for $29.99. Might not be necessary, but she might find she needs an option for longer life and this is by far the cheapest way to do it. Plus Eric wrote that its getting killer reviews in Europe.

That's actually a killer device for anyone looking to try vv, as well. I certainly LOVE my Ovale WAAAY more than the vv boxmod I have, and in all honesty, the vape is actually way stronger/hotter than the lavatube at the same 3.7 volt setting, and using the same carto. Oh, AND this is kinda cool, for those of us with the original/metal lavatubes that have the 2.5amp restriction (that prevents you from using low resistance attys and cartos at a very high voltage)... Eric didn't mention that this one has that... so guessing it isn't restrictive in that way. I'll ask him that in his forum, tomorrow. Its reasonably priced for the whole kit, certainly, but for the pv alone, at $30, total steal.

just the Ovale pv
Ovale V8 Incremental VV Body - Black
And the whole kit
Ovale V8 Incremental VV Kit

btw, they're available in white, also..here's that one
Ovale V8 Incremental VV Body - White

if anyone needs to see the size in hand, like if you're looking for a stealth vape, lemme know and I'll take a photo of it in my hand. The last version (and guessing this one is about the same... certainly looks like same size and shape) was almost exactly the size of a credit card, and about an inch wide, maybe a little more than an inch.

 

[Carolina Vapoor]

And thank you so much! I didn't realize Eric even had the AW imr 18350s

Yip-eeee I informed the orachel of something

I don't know what flavors you vape, but I recently tried the 'peanut butter cup' juice from DV. Delicious!

Right now I am on Dragons Blood and Dragons Tear kick. Vapeing it in a Phoneix 3ml on a eGo Twist and loveing both the Phoenix and the eGo Twist. That is my at work set up though. Got the LT for when I am at home or out with friends.

Thanks for the info on the spacers. I am going to order a few right now before I forget. Hope everone has a great day.

 

[orachel]

Holy shamoley... you are seriously a fount of info! lol So you're loving the Phoenix? I haven't tried it yet. Tried, but they were sold out on my last gv order. I saw that Steeljan review vid.. she just loves those things... One thing she didn't mention, though... How is the flavor retention with them? My biggest 'issue' with clearos is how they tend to 'smoosh' flavor. Drives me bananas. I love these dual coil clearomizers (not the clear ones with filler, but actual clearomizers) that I get at vaping zone. And for $4, they're a steal. They're pretty good at flavor retention, but they're literally the only 'clear' thing I've ever been able to stand...and I've tried a ton of em. That's my only concern with the phoenix. Well, that and the cost, since I'm a low budg girl.

And you're the second person to mention Dragon's Blood today! lol I've been vaping almost three years, and never heard of it before today! Really active the last year in the forums, so that's saying something. ;p What ARE those? Where from? Sound intriguing as all heck.

And thanks so much for coming to hang out with us. You've helped me more than I've helped you, I think!

 

[orachel]

K guys... last announcement, then I swear my psa bit will be over. I almost fell over an hour ago when I found this post. Been hanging out with ya'll so much, i haven't been checking the advanced forums! lol I almost died when I saw this. Now before you ask... they ARE available now. They're only available in the whole kit, but that black or silver kit (all metal bodies, including caps, but they are the powdercoated ones, not stainless or chrome) includes 2 18650 batts at 2200 mah ( so those will last AGES longer than the 1600 mah ones that came with our kits) as well as 2 3ohm attys... is $75, I believe. These are the VERSION 3 Lavatubes, with built in ohm meter/resistance meter, and a FOUR amp switch! That makes for a vastly improved vape over the 2.5tubes all but a few of us are vaping. I wouldn't' recommend this for a very new vaper unless you keep it under 4.5v until you really learn all the ins and outs of it. BUT this is a killer device. Provari v2 has a 3.5amp switch and a resistance meter, and is, i believe, around $212 for full sized kit. Granted, provaris are amazing, but the lts are certainly moving up in the world. And quickly, too! So here's the long thread with everyone talking about them, including some reviews, etc...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...s-new-lavatube-3-0-about-hit-4-amp-limit.html

And here's the silver tube kit for sale at ivape. They also come in black in a different listing.
NEW Varitube X - Silver - Full Kit | MODS | iVAPE

oh, and also... food for thought. Only has a 15 day warranty, so if anyone wants to take the plunge, you may well want to invest in the $11 or whatever to get the 3 year warranty from squaretrade. You have to purchase that within 15 days of your initial purchase, or before your manufac warranty expires, i believe. I explained that back a few pages, but probably within the last 2 days.

oh, and in case anyone was following my harrowing exploits in figuring out blog posting the other day... I figured it out! Actually, I lied. A moderator helped me. lol But its official. I blogged. rofl

 

[Carolina Vapoor]

At present the only thing I have vaped through the Phoneis is Dragons Blood, Dragons Tear and Kick-Azz Caramel. The caramel has an off taste to it in the Phoneix compare to the cartos I was using. Not sure if it is better or worse yet though. I might just be picking up some diffeent notes in the juice that I was not geting from the cartos. The DB & DT - IMHO I think I am getting a stronger flavor from them when useing the Phoneix. And just for reference I got both with Extra Flavor because both are very subtle flavors IMO.

Warning - If you try the Phoneix 3ml make sure you was it out really good before first use. The first batch of them came in with that nasty Chinese tobacco juice used as a primer. They have a new batch on order that should not have the primer in them. I ordered 2 boxes of them when they first came out and I am still on my first 1 with 9 left

 

[Carolina Vapoor]

Should have been 2 boxes of the smaller phoneix

 

[orachel]

We're talking the Gotvapes phoenix, right? Sure hope so! I thought that price (think it was $11 or $12) was for a single carto! lol You're telling me its a pack of them? Now THAT i can work with. I also had no idea they came in more than one size. lol Now I'm REALLY bummed they were out of stock. Or did you find em somewhere other than GV? I didn't realize anyone else was carrying it, assuming that's the case. Man... you just made my day. lol

Well, you did, and this did. Friend showed me this site... EVERYTHING, amazing electronic gadgets, to really cool cases that would be awesome for ecigs (way larger than those ego things). Ships from China, so it takes 2 weeks to a month... but Free shipping! No minimum! I've found more 'oh, GOTTA have that' things that I never knew I wanted. lol
Cool Gadgets at the Right Price - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

 

[Carolina Vapoor]

The Phoneix XL is a pack of 5

The Phoneix 3ml is a single unit.

GotVapes has a thread going on both of them here on ECF. If you can't find it I will post link after I get home from church tonight. Some have had to tinker with the XL a bit to get it woorking to their standards. Some are haveing great luck with them right out of the box. Fortunately I fall in to the 2nd group.