Let's talk hardware

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Blix

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Woa, the $6 Nimbus clone from fasttech is rather great!

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XfooYen

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Good to know I'm not the only one who reads all of the Greek, RJ. I'm not entirely sure why, but I read every single post in this thread, gaping and blinking a lot of the time. Despite feeling my ignorance pretty acutely, I still enjoy following it all
shrug2.gif
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That's how we all started out. All it takes is the willingness to try. All the info is here and on YouTube.

I'm right there with you RJ and Becky. I just read as much of this as I can to get familiar with it all because I am sure some day I will give it a try and as G.I. Joe taught me 30 years ago, Knowing is Half the battle! GO JOE!

Couldn't agree more.

Woa, the $6 Nimbus clone from Fasttech is rather great!

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Just bought the Brass Nemesis last night with 2 Nimbus on the way. Love my SS Nemesis. My Chi isn't getting used. I only wish I got the Vapor Wall edition instead of the polished. When the brass gets here, I'm going two-tone, baby!
 

Bronze

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That's how we all started out. All it takes is the willingness to try. All the info is here and on YouTube.



Couldn't agree more.



Just bought the Brass Nemesis last night with 2 Nimbus on the way. Love my SS Nemesis. My Chi isn't getting used. I only wish I got the Vapor Wall edition instead of the polished. When the brass gets here, I'm going two-tone, baby!

And if it came two-toned, you'd one tone it...just for something to do. :D
 

Chakris

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I honestly wish I had the time to figure this kinda stuff out. I have always enjoyed having customized items (who doesn't right?)

To tell you the truth, I don't know how Xfoo finds time to do it. Unless you're working in this type of environment all the time, or independently wealthy and don't have to work. I find just having the right tools is my biggest drawback. :laugh:
 

Frantic9k

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To tell you the truth, I don't know how Xfoo finds time to do it. Unless you're working in this type of environment all the time, or independently wealthy and don't have to work. I find just having the right tools is my biggest drawback. :laugh:

Yeah I think the right tools or access to them would be another draw back for me.
 

Schnarph

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I'm sure I could find this eventually, but so far my forum searches seem to be too vague. My copper mod hits like a beast. How do I test for voltage drop?

I got a sigelei #20 V2 in today, and it's power seems weak compared to copper the mod I made. I pulled it all apart, it really does have a copper center pin and a brass spring, as well as the obvious brass button. I sanded the center pin and used no-ox-id wherever possible, but it's not lighting up coils like my copper mod. I'm not as concerned about modding it just yet, I need to have a baseline voltage drop measurement and I don't know how to do that yet.:facepalm:
 

XfooYen

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I'm sure I could find this eventually, but so far my forum searches seem to be too vague. My copper mod hits like a beast. How do I test for voltage drop?

I got a sigelei #20 V2 in today, and it's power seems weak compared to copper the mod I made. I pulled it all apart, it really does have a copper center pin and a brass spring, as well as the obvious brass button. I sanded the center pin and used no-ox-id wherever possible, but it's not lighting up coils like my copper mod. I'm not as concerned about modding it just yet, I need to have a baseline voltage drop measurement and I don't know how to do that yet.:facepalm:

The easiest way to determine voltage drop is to buy a voltage meter pass-through. There are other vendors who sell them, you just have to search. It connects to your mod's 510 connector. When you fire your mod it will give you a voltage reading. This initial reading is what your battery is putting out unregulated (battery charge state). Then, you attach an atty to the top of the meter and fire it. The subsequent reading is your voltage "under load" which will be less than your initial charge state reading. The difference between the two is your voltage drop. There are a few things to know about voltage drop.

1) Every mod, no matter the material used, will have some voltage drop. By today's standards, if you read a drop of 0.4 volts under load or less, you have a very efficient mod. Above 0.4 volt drop might indicate a cleaning is due. Some mech mods just aren't that efficient to begin with and will consistently show a Vdrop of 0.7-1.0. Even expensive mech mods can suffer from this. There is no such thing as "no voltage drop". Your mod, all contacts, and the atty would have to be forged from a solid piece of pure copper or silver to have zero resistance.

2) Your battery has its own amount of internal resistance. You will experience around 0.02-0.06 volt drop from the battery alone.

3) The resistance of the atomizer dictates the amount of drop you will get. For example, you will experience less voltage drop with a standard res atty than with a sub-ohm atty. When you test your load, use an atty with a resistance close to what you use daily. If I test my Chi You with a 2ohm carto, I may get 0.15 Vdrop. On the same battery, if I put on a 0.7ohm atty, it may test at 0.35 Vdrop. It is all relative.

4) Be consistent with your tests. 18350 batteries have more internal resistance than a good 18650. Use the same battery to test Vdrop, preferably a fully charged 18650.

5) The best way to combat Vdrop is to keep all your threads, connectors, and contacts as clean as possible. This includes your battery contacts.

6) The voltage meter pass-through, also called a "Tank-o-Meter, will not be able to read regulated voltage using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). So, testing on a Vamo, Zmax, or similarly regulated circuits is moot. These are really only good for direct current (mech) mods.

There are other ways to test Vdrop, but it requires the use of a digital multimeter. Kind of a pain if you ask me. Get a tank meter. It is also a good way to see how much battery charge you have without having to remove the battery. Every mech user should have one.
 

Schnarph

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Thanks Xfoo! I knew you would have the answer, and such a detailed one at that! I've seen those before, and considering I made my own mod I really should have one. It seems everybody's out of stock on those, much like ohm test boxes. Both are very hot items. I might be able to make my own, I have found the voltmeter board by itself and with an old carto and a 510 connector it should be possible. I wouldn't save but a couple of bucks making my own, and it seems like hassle. I seriously doubt I could make one that looked as professional as the real thing.

This Sigelei #20 V2 is rather disappointing, I'll try some experiments on it in time. Except for the 2mm gap between the top and the atty, most of the important upgrades seem to be done already. I've read through all the relevant material in the "Sigelei Mechanical Mods" thread and nothing pertains to necessary upgrades to the #20 V2 other than cosmetic and repairs. The V2 is kind of new, something's bound to turn up pretty soon.
 

XfooYen

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Thanks Xfoo! I knew you would have the answer, and such a detailed one at that! I've seen those before, and considering I made my own mod I really should have one. It seems everybody's out of stock on those, much like ohm test boxes. Both are very hot items. I might be able to make my own, I have found the voltmeter board by itself and with an old carto and a 510 connector it should be possible. I wouldn't save but a couple of bucks making my own, and it seems like hassle. I seriously doubt I could make one that looked as professional as the real thing.

This Sigelei #20 V2 is rather disappointing, I'll try some experiments on it in time. Except for the 2mm gap between the top and the atty, most of the important upgrades seem to be done already. I've read through all the relevant material in the "Sigelei Mechanical Mods" thread and nothing pertains to necessary upgrades to the #20 V2 other than cosmetic and repairs. The V2 is kind of new, something's bound to turn up pretty soon.

I bought a #20 and sold it the same day it hit my doorstep. The switch in it is crap. If you're concerned with voltage drop, get rid of it and move on. I wouldn't recommend buying a Roller either (the mod that the #20 is modeled after). The Roller isn't the most efficient mod. It's a good mod, but not worth the money it costs.
 

XfooYen

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The top button mechanical is not an easy thing to do evidently. The only way I know of proven to work so far is the way the silver bullet is done.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

I just received a Poldiac today. This is how a mechanical control head is done! All silver contacts and magnetic switch. Hits as hard as the Nemesis. But as far as top button mechs go, the 69 is a good one too.
 

Schnarph

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I'm not giving up on it yet! I suspect the weak link is the spring that gets mashed against the top post when the button is pressed, I gotta find an alternative. It works pretty well with a Protank @1.3ohms, but that's not exactly what I bought it for. My copper mod blows this thing out of the water, and it uses an electric switch with wire and solder, the enemies of mech world. It must be a pretty nice electric switch.

Geez, I need a voltage meter passthrough! I need a... need a... need to stop buying stuff! I would LOL but I'm completely serious, I can make a better mod myself for far less money. I already have the parts for 2 more, sans mech switches.
 
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