Yes, I do like to tinker...which is also why I think I'd enjoy a mech/RDA. I've seen several different ways to wrap coils and wick setups, and it looks like a lot of fun as long as I keep safety first. I think the most important part at this point is having a high quality battery capable of discharging at a high rate without heating up and venting on me. since it appears that most require a 18650 battery, What battery manufacturer/model would you guys recommend?
@Mooch is the guy to talk to about batteries, or
@Baditude. In a mech, high amp draw is paramount for safety. I like, and use Sony VTC4s. These are supposed to be 20amp native batteries, but they can be used to 30 amps, according to general consensus. Last I looked,
RTD had 'em on sale, 4 plus two free safety storage boxes for $29. Another one is the
Orbtronic SX30, an honest 30 amp battery. The
Sony VTC5s are also well thought of, another 30 amp battery. You are definitely going to need a good charger. An Xtar or Intellicore, and these are not cheap. I use the Xtar VC4, and can recommend it. It comes with an LCD screen that will give you a lot of info about the batteries and you can track their capacity as it diminishes over the useful life. Safety storage boxes are also a good idea for batteries as this keeps them from coming into contact with a conductor that can short them and have them explosively discharge. There are other very good batteries out there in the 20 amp range, LGs and Panasonics are also recommended. Not my suggestion for a mech, unless you intend to not go below .5 ohms or so, but they kick .... in a regulated mod that doesn't need 30 amp batts. Another thing to remember about them is, the higher the amp draw, the lower the capacity of the battery. Thus if the use you are planning to put them never requires more than 10 amps or so, even in the case of a failure, then you can go longer between recharges because each batt stores more juice. Batteries wear out with recharging, so this is a good idea. A caution: the Sonys, being popular, are often counterfeited. Don't buy them on eBay, no matter how attractive the price. (Not true for chargers, those are harder to fake.) The two shops I linked, RTDVapor and Orbtronic, are trusted suppliers; they can be relied on to ship what you actually paid for. There are others, check the "Forum Suppliers" board. And be sure to leave at least a 20% safety margin on your batteries. If it's a 20 amp, don't ask it for more than 16.
You say you're a tinkerer. Fine, and welcome to the club. Me too, and that's why I love mech mods. If you want a suggestion, start out with a Smok Magneto and/or a Nemesis clone. (The Smok is cheap enough you should buy the authentic.) For a tank, get a Lemo2 (also authentic and cheap enough to buy) for single coils, or a Fogger V6 for duals (definitely Yi Loong authentic on the Fogger, some of the clones are nasty.) You will also want an RDA sooner rather than later. It's handy to test juice and blow clouds, although you can get pretty fair clouds out of the tanks, too. If you've gotten the safety message-- you appear to, or I wouldn't have written this-- then enjoy. A tinkerer is going to have a lot of fun.
Finally, here's a handy link I confidently predict you'll use very often:
Ohm's Law Calculator.
