Looking for advice to replace 5 year old setup

[Chris97b]

Hello All,

Been a while since I posted on here, but I was hoping to perhaps get some advice to help navigate the quagmire of options these days.

I am currently running a duct tape and superglue homebuilt special. Basically just a radio shack battery box with 2 14500s and a 510 connection. I would call it a true mechanical mod, except that it doesn't actually have a switch anymore

I've been using it for almost 5 years now, paired with a Smok tank (1.5ohm dual coil cartos). I positively love the way this thing vapes, but it's definitely seen better days and isn't exactly the most professional thing ever in an office setting (something about wires hanging out the side and kicking it off by shorting the negative wire lead to the battery terminal...)

I'm interested in finding a few mods; one as near as possible to my current setup in terms of the vaping experience, and a modern VW/TC mod to experiment with and possibly try out sub-ohm setups.

For a straight replacement, am I best off with a mechanical mod? Seems to me like that would be the best way to re-create what I have now. I'm concerned about the tank though. My current tank leaks like a sieve, and I have concerns about future availability of the cartos that fit it. I rather like the idea of a rebuildable setup, as that removes the limitation of having to source specific made-to-fit cartos, but aren't most RBAs generally used for sub-ohm and cloud chasing? Is it possible to find (build?) an RBA that operates in the 1.5ohm range and vapes similar to what I have now?

For a modern VW/TC mod, are there any recommendations on a well built mod that can handle a variety of setups? I'm thinking something along the lines of a dual 18650, ideally with replaceable batteries. I like the specs of the Smok Alien, but I've heard some negative things about the reliability. I'd like to find something I can realistically expect to last for 2-3 years, and money isn't really an issue. Any recommendations for a high quality box mod with all the bells and whistles? Recommendations for tank setups to try?

Thanks very much for any advice or light you can shed on this conundrum!

 

[petrotech]

as far as your current setup...i use mechs mainly and have at least one setup with 1.2 or 1.8 ohm coil with no issues. so you shouldn't have any problems there.

what kind of battery do you wanna use? Stick with 14500s?

 

[Snidely_Whiplash]

Ah carto's, wonderful old starters, (that have a similar draw to that of a cigarette).

Keep an eye on ecf's classifieds.
Which I can't get into as yet, because I don't qualify as yet ,,,
(mumble, grumble, etc).

You may be able to pick up one of the older, better Carto tanks.
I'm not wholly convince carto's will completely die out.

Tank, your next option is the Aspire Nautilus Bottom Vertical Coil, (Nauti BVC).
These will fit;

1. The Aspire Nautilus, (5ml)
2. The Aspire Nautilus mini, (2ml)
3. The Aspire Nautilus 2, (2ml)
4. The Aspire Triton mini, (?ml)
5. The Beyond Vape Silo, (5ml)
6. The HoH Kabuki, (2.7ml)
7. The Vika Fantasy, (2.7ml)
8. And I'm not sure what else

PV, (mod)
You might want to consider a YiHI SX ML class
With this you get;

1. A bypass mode = your mech with protection
2. A variable wattage mode
3. And a temp control mode

This is of coarse if some one is letting one go!

Smok of coarse have lifted the game over the last year or more,
but I'm not convinced yet, if their stuff will last.

Top three TC chipsets for now;

1. Evolv, (US)
   
2. Yihi, (China)
   
3. Dicodes, (Germany).

Not necessarily in that order.

 

[Snidely_Whiplash]

Eck that was my thirteenth post.
hope I didn't kill some thing ?!?

 

[Chris97b]

All,

Thanks for the tips! I think I've settled on a Wismec Noisy Cricket 2 to replace my existing setup, as that gives me a VV and purely unregulated option, plus I rather like the extended battery life of 18650's as opposed to 14500's. I figure worst case scenario that guy in pure unregulated mode should very closely emulate what I have now. Plus I found a couple of sources for similar tank setups to what I have, so worst case I don't need to be without my vape.

For experimentation, I think I'm going to go with the Alien 220W kit with the baby beast tank, and I'll probably add on a TFV12 and perhaps something else to play around with sub-ohm setups. Maybe a nice RDA for playing around with dripping, haven't really done that since the days when the original Ego kits were king.

I'm definitely going to pick up one of the Nautilus tanks too, hopefully I can find a way to build that to get similar results to what I'm using now. I'll sleep a bit better at night knowing that if they stop making the tank cartos I've been using tomorrow I won't be completely up crap creek.

Oh, apparently my GF wants to get in the vaping game as well (she's up to a pack a day now), so I think we're going to go with a Eleaf iStick Pico for her. What can I say, she loves the pink Still not sure what tank/atomizer setups to get for her to play with. She's fairly adamant about wanting something less harsh than what I use, so I'm guessing some kind of RDA/RTA that we can build to a higher resistance. Of course, with her having a regulated mod, I guess we can always turn the wattage down a bit too. Still trying to come to grips with the idea that VW is a thing now lol (yes yes, I know, been around for years. It's just been that long since I seriously looked at changing my setup).

Thanks again for all of the tips. It never ceases to amaze me how awesome the vape community has been and continues to be.

 

[Snidely_Whiplash]

Are the batteries in a Noisy Cricket in series or parallel?
If parallel you get 3 to 4.2 volts
If series you get 6 to 8.4 volts = burnt carto ?!?

quote "something less harsh"
A juice with more VG might be a good idea.
Try & find a brick & mortar shop with a taste bar.

 

[sonicbomb]

The NC2 has a switchable battery base plate that allows series and parallel, or VV series if selected.
@Chris97b based on your previous setup I would go for the TFV8 big baby beast rather than the TFV12

 

[Izan]

Welcome back!
Please select quality batteries from a trusted vendor.

Cheers
I

 

[listopencil]

Are the batteries in a Noisy Cricket in series or parallel?
If parallel you get 3 to 4.2 volts
If series you get 6 to 8.4 volts = burnt carto ?!?

quote "something less harsh"
A juice with more VG might be a good idea.
Try & find a brick & mortar shop with a taste bar.

You can 'hook up' the batteries in a Noisy Cricket either series or parallel depending on what you want. At least with the latest one you can. The battery cover flips over and allows you to do both. Here's a review of the Noisy Cricket II - 25 from Grimm Green:



Looks cool for someone who was using a mech mod. Not I, however. I've still got my Sigelei Fuchai 200W+TC. Probably the last great mod that they made. The thing is a tank and I love the simple utilitarian style.

 

[listopencil]

Tank, your next option is the Aspire Nautilus Bottom Vertical Coil, (Nauti BVC).
These will fit;

1. The Aspire Nautilus, (5ml)
2. The Aspire Nautilus mini, (2ml)
3. The Aspire Nautilus 2, (2ml)
4. The Aspire Triton mini, (?ml)
5. The Beyond Vape Silo, (5ml)
6. The HoH Kabuki, (2.7ml)
7. The Vika Fantasy, (2.7ml)
8. And I'm not sure what else

Man. I am seeing a lot of people skip over the newer Nautilus X when talking about MTL. If you get the 1.8 Ohm coils it's great.

 

[Snidely_Whiplash]

Man. I am seeing a lot of people skip over the newer Nautilus X when talking about MTL. If you get the 1.8 Ohm coils it's great.

A lot of people skip over the Triton mini to.
I blame Busardo.
(I think I just like the alteration)

 

[listopencil]

A lot of people skip over the Triton mini to.
I blame Busardo.
(I think I just like the alteration)

Heh. I do like Busardo. He's had a lot of in depth stuff over the years that helped me out. As far as I know only the 1.5 Ohm coils were available when they released the Nautilus X. So that's what everybody used for their reviews. The problem is that the 1.5 Ohm coils aren't that great. They're OK. But not great. The 1.8 Ohm coils are great though. Made me love the thing. I'm sorely tempted to grab one of those Quad Flex kits just to play around some more with the tank.

 

[Chris97b]

Yep, just to touch on what others have mentioned, one of the things I like the most about the noisy cricket is the ability to swap between series and parallel. Right now I actually am running dual batteries in series, but as I said I'm using 1.5 ohm coils, so it works out to something like 35-40W depending on battery charge (yes, with full batteries it's technically 8.4 volts, but even then I think that's only about 45W). Looking forward to playing around with a lower resistance build and parallel mode to see how that compares.

And yep, been around long enough (and been using a fully mechanical mod long enough) to know battery safety. Right now I'm *well* within the safe area of the AW IMR's I use (pulling a max of around 5 amps on batteries with a 15C rating - good to almost 10 amps). Been using this setup for years and have had precisely zero issues other than having to periodically replace the batteries as they get old and no longer hold a full charge. On my 4th set in that time, so getting just over a year out of 4 batts.

I plan on probably using LG HG2's in the new mods, as I rather like the 3000mah and they're a bit cheaper than the Sony VTC6s or the Samsung 30Qs. I've been extremely happy with AW's over the years, but it's hard to justify them when they cost almost twice what the LG's do, and have 400mah less.

That's an excellent idea to find a place with a juice bar. There are a ton of brick and mortar vape shops where I am, so it shouldn't be too hard. I'll definitely pick up some VG blends for the GF too. Personally I despise VG, it has a really horrible taste IMO so I've been using straight PG; but for her it's worth checking out.

 

[Skold]

I was checking out the noisy cricket, would be a good choice

 

[Skold]

Ooh I see you have it now