Mechanical Mod -vs- Regulated (VV/VW) Mod -- Pros & Cons of each...

Status
Not open for further replies.

DoctorBuzz

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
I asked this once before, but I think the thread started off wrong because I thought that all mods were mechanical.

So let me try this once more. Am I correct in that the only benefit a mechanical mod has is that you can use it with sub-ohm coils???

There are some regulated mods that will allow you to use like 0.7 or 0.8 ohm coils, but I'm not sure how many of those mods there are.

Anyway.... I can understand the sub-ohm bit, but do those using mechanical mods really not care about a consistent vape?? The voltage will constantly be dropping. Do mechanical mod folks enjoy an always changing vape??

I still don't get it....

If you could get 0.3 ohm coils on a regulated VV/VW mod, wouldn't you honestly prefer the consistent output over an ever-changing mechanical mod?? Honestly?
 

alkaiser

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Nov 22, 2013
496
585
Orange County, CA
www.sjchon.com
i like my mechanical mod

it's well built so i don't have to worry about it breaking, i can vape at my preferred settings (30+ watts)

as soon as i feel my vape is weak, i can switch out my battery

it's so sexy too :)

a regulated mod that can go down to 0.3 ohms would be cool, but i already have something that does that for $40 that'll last me a really really really long time
 

hazarada

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 18, 2013
557
442
buttville
for any application thats within a regulated mods power capability, regulated mod is better. For other things you're forced to use a mech. Question is, do you need more than 15w?

Also there is no point going sub-ohm just for the sake of the name. With the same amount of power directed at it, any resistance coil can perform the same if built correctly. Sub-ohm coils are for people trying to drag out more from their unregulated battery.
 

DoctorBuzz

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
With an 18650 battery in a mech, the vape will be pretty consistent for a good part of the day. The battery stays in that 3.9 - 3.8 sweet spot for a while. Also, the main reason I use mechs is for multiple coils. The more coils you add the lower the resistance gets.

3.9 - 3.8 volts might be the sweet spot for one flavor, but I've personally found that fruity flavors benefit from something like 3.4 - 3.2 volts. Haven't been able to get lower than 3.2 V, really...

That's why I just don't get what's the benefit of NO CONTROL?? I guess I'm just a VV/VW type of guy. :unsure:
 

DoctorBuzz

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
And those of you talking about mechanical mods being so strong and durable that you work on concrete floors and all this. I mean... the VTR is a pretty durable [looking] device. It's only $70. It also uses an 18650 battery that can provide an all day vape, and if you turn the voltage down... two days or more.

I'm sure there are other VV/VW devices that are durable and cheaper. I'm sure the iTaste VV V3 is plenty durable and can handle drops on concrete floors... for much less than $70. There are options out there if durability and price are your concern.... which is hopefully not what your stance boils down to.
 

DoctorBuzz

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
My favorite advantage of a mechanical?
Size....
I have two provari minis. love them
I have a nemesis with a hybrid adapter and nano kit for kayfun.
It is so short yet vapes excellent!
I can put a kick in it and it is still smaller than the provari mini.
I really like that one on the left. I think that's the Nemesis. Looks gorgeous with the KFL. Might have to get that just for the aesthetic flow....

What drip tip is that, BTW?
 

Zealous

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jan 20, 2012
1,198
1,678
Texas
I asked this once before, but I think the thread started off wrong because I thought that all mods were mechanical.

So let me try this once more. Am I correct in that the only benefit a mechanical mod has is that you can use it with sub-ohm coils???

There are some regulated mods that will allow you to use like 0.7 or 0.8 ohm coils, but I'm not sure how many of those mods there are.

Anyway.... I can understand the sub-ohm bit, but do those using mechanical mods really not care about a consistent vape?? The voltage will constantly be dropping. Do mechanical mod folks enjoy an always changing vape??

I still don't get it....

If you could get 0.3 ohm coils on a regulated VV/VW mod, wouldn't you honestly prefer the consistent output over an ever-changing mechanical mod?? Honestly?

Well, I would like a regulated mod with my tank but what I have found is there aren't as many VV devices in the size I want (14500). I have a JM 16 mech I use with my kayfun mini & it works great. I thought I would be bothered by the battery drop but I've found that I only really notice it when the voltage gets around 3.5 & that's when I'd want to throw it on the charger anyway. The battery lasts as long as my egos lasted me (and 1 lasted me about 12-14 hours).
 

Thunderball

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
May 5, 2013
3,026
4,036
66
Grayson, Georgia
If you have an extra 280.00 bucks, you can get you a nice Zen DNA 30 that will power sub ohm vaping as low as a .5 ohm coil.......and go up to 30 watts (crazy). Its dead sexy....nice looking......but comes with a 18490 battery tube thats kinda silly in itself because at .5 ohms and its "self regulated" as in "always adjusting" so it kills batteries............. you would need a pocket full of batteries with you.

Anyway, just reporting what you can do if you want to with one mod.


Then Semovar is a nice (expensive starting at 215.00) APV....and in the near future (hopefully) the parts/pieces will be sold to change it from an APV to a mech mod with your choice of a bottom button or a side button. So thats a pretty "one stop shop" for having the best of both worlds in one system.

Just reporting the news.... :toast:
 

ConradM

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 22, 2013
771
368
Boise ID
3.9 - 3.8 volts might be the sweet spot for one flavor, but I've personally found that fruity flavors benefit from something like 3.4 - 3.2 volts. Haven't been able to get lower than 3.2 V, really...

That's why I just don't get what's the benefit of NO CONTROL?? I guess I'm just a VV/VW type of guy. :unsure:

The control is in the coil build. It's not like I slap a coil and settle with what I have. I know what to build for a certain flavor or type of vape. Once I found that awesomeness there was no need to fiddle with vv/vw anymore.
 

WattWick

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Feb 16, 2013
3,593
5,429
Cold Norway
My batteries are usually at 3.5-3.6v when I swap. Higher if the mod has higher voltage drop, or if I use lower quality batteries (AW vs Efest). I dare say I get a great-to-very-good vape all the way to that point. People who use lower resistance than me (0.8 ohms) may have a more noticeable drop in vapor production than me. I get a couple of anemic puffs, and I know it's time to swap.

For me, size plays a big part of it. The electronics and displays of a regulated mod easily makes a 18350 regulated mod the size of a 18650 mechanical mod. In some cases even bigger. The Provari Mini (18350) is slightly taller than the Pisces T with an 18650 battery. No matter how one spins it, a 700mah 18350 in a regulated mod cannot produce a satisfying vape longer than a 2.900 mah 18650 in a mechanical can. Not to mention that an actual 18350 mechanical is a whole lot smaller than a 18350 regulated one.

The lower your actual battery voltage gets, the more amps has to be pulled to raise the output voltage. So, the closer the battery is to depletion, the harder it has to work. When I swap my batteries at, say 3.6v (not under load), there really isn't a whole lot left to power a boost circuit to boost output to 4.2v (under load).

Hope that sort of makes some sort of sense.
 

Bosco

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 20, 2012
702
684
San Antonio
I have mechs and vv/vw and I mostly use mechs. I just happen to really like the vape of a 1ohm micro coil on a mech. My next favorite is a 2ohm micro coil on my kick set @ 15watts. The kick gives a really nice vape but, for me, the mech is just better. The wattage between the 2 is almost the same but the vape from the 1ohm coil on the mech seems stronger, more dense somehow. Plus the Kick is wonky as hell . .constant misfires . .very annoying.

The only other vv devices I have are egos and spinners but they are really under-powered. I am in the market for a dna 30 and I'm sure I'll enjoy it but I get what I need from my mechanicals and they were really cheap (although I am sort of in the market for a nice mech, too).
 

Kang

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Mar 19, 2011
114
77
Suffolk County, NY
www.sos-k.com
I can't compare the mechs I've used to VV because I've never used a true VV device. I can say that what I like about a mech is if there are any issues, I can take it apart to clean it or correct the problem with troubleshooting etc… granted you can probably do that with a VV but I dunno… The wireless application of mechs is what I like. Sub ohms are cool I guess but I think I tend to get a better tasting vape of my 1.3 ohm kfl+ than my .7 ohm patriot. My drilled out igo-w is my beater and at .3 ohms, I can drop clouds off a 2 second pull but I rarely use it. Extreme sub ohm builds are a novelty to me lol
 

DoctorBuzz

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
The control is in the coil build. It's not like I slap a coil and settle with what I have. I know what to build for a certain flavor or type of vape. Once I found that awesomeness there was no need to fiddle with vv/vw anymore.
Excuse my ignorance, but the the coil is a "control". But the voltage from a mechanical [unregulated] mod is as far away from being controlled as we can get. That's what we're talking about. Not coils. But unregulated voltage. The output is dependent upon the battery's actual voltage. The voltage drops pretty damn fast -- logarithmic drop, if you will?? This is the disconnect that I'm having with the whole mechanical thing when VV/VW devices are nearly as cheap and most are certainly as reliable/durable. Yes, I will give you guys that a mechanical mod will be smaller [and therefore, better looking].... but this doesn't always have to be the case. The ego c-twist is barely any larger than an unregulated 650mah ego. Smaller than what most mech mod users would use, but still...

You're telling me that you build your coils around the wide range of your battery's actual voltage output on a logarithmic scale? I. Just. Don't. Get it.

If you have an extra 280.00 bucks, you can get you a nice Zen DNA 30 that will power sub ohm vaping as low as a .5 ohm coil.......and go up to 30 watts (crazy). Its dead sexy....nice looking......but comes with a 18490 battery tube thats kinda silly in itself because at .5 ohms and its "self regulated" as in "always adjusting" so it kills batteries............. you would need a pocket full of batteries with you.
However, if you used a VV/VW set to the lowest voltage available (3.2V, for example), then the regulated device's battery would stay above 3.5V far longer than the unregulated device, no?

Most of you are always stretching for the MAX voltage, MAX power. But an unregulated device will hardly remain in its MAX output range as the output is dependent upon the battery, and the battery's voltage begins depleting instantly.

The lower your actual battery voltage gets, the more amps has to be pulled to raise the output voltage. So, the closer the battery is to depletion, the harder it has to work. When I swap my batteries at, say 3.6v (not under load), there really isn't a whole lot left to power a boost circuit to boost output to 4.2v (under load).

Hope that sort of makes some sort of sense.
Of course it makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is why you'd be pushing a battery @ 3.6V to output 4.2V, much less expecting it do so when... when, of course, a mechanical mod cannot do the same thing.

After thinking about it a bit more, tho... I had the revelation that the point of mechanical mods is that the most optimum output will come from the battery's actual voltage. Without forcing the battery beyond its natural voltage, mechs like to keep it pure.

HOWEVER, a battery could be regulated to a lower voltage, and it could have a more optimum output in terms of time. But I'm guessing that the unregulated device will ALWAYS be putting the "juice" towards output, instead of regulation.

Anyway, I think I'll just have to get both. Problem solved. ;)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread