Mod types

[BuzzKill]

Seeing as there is confusion and talk about different types of devices out there I wrote a small article to help define the various types ( disclaimer : some of the information may not be 100 % complete or accurate , for the arguers out there LOL ! )

Modified Electronic Cigarettes and their types


There are 4 main types of devices

1. 1. battery powered , no regulation ( no voltage control , power to the atomizer follows the battery voltage )
   2. Fixed Regulated ( they are a preset voltage output )
2. 3. Switched regulated ( they have several preset voltages that are selectable )
3. 4. Variable regulated ( they are continuously variable within a range of voltages )

Advantages / disadvantages


A . Battery powered

1. 1. 1. Advantages: No circuitry to fail ,
      2. Disadvantages : No load regulation , the voltage will droop with the battery life and you will loose power and vapor , No protection circuitry

B. Fixed regulation :

1. 1. 1. Advantages : Regulated output voltage , consistent vaping voltage over the life of the battery
      2. Disadvantages : No control over the voltage

C. Switched regulation

1. 1. 1. Advantages : Regulated output voltage , switchable voltage values
      2. disadvantages : values are fixed and can not be adjusted

D. Variable regulation:
i. advantages : Complete control over the output voltage to the atomizer
ii. disadvantages : you will fiddle with the voltage until you find the spot you like .


PS: not all regulators are created equal , most have built in protection circuitry but not all so ask the manufacturer.


Types of regulators : there are 2 main types of regulators

1. 1. 1. Linear / analog types , these types of regulators drop voltage across them to control the output voltage to the load (i.e. Atomizer or cartomizer ) they require a certain amount of minimum voltage across them to operate ( LDO types requires less voltage drop across them ).
      2. PWM or ( pulse width modulated ) this type of regulator uses pulses of voltage switching on and off to charge a capacitor and regulate the voltage output , there are 2 types of basic PWM regulators A. Buck and B. Boost , a buck regulator drops the voltage down and Boost reg. Boosts the voltage ( there is another type that does both )

There are advantages and disadvantages to each type BUT any regulated device will control the voltage and keep it stable throughout the battery charge time .
Many people have found that uncontrolled voltage to an atomizer can cause them to open up and go bad , or cause the flavor and temperature of the juice to taste burnt or too hot for the vapor .

 

[oldsoldier]

Good writeup BuzzKill. I haven't really gotten past the non regulated battery stage but am open to new ideas especially if they enhance my vaping experience My only thoughts (so far) on regulation is that it absolutely will reduce battery life (charge not life cycles) so im not sure if it is for me because battery life is my biggest concern at the moment.

Maybe i should get a regulated USB PS and play around with a passthru to see how it can enhance my experiences...

 

[BuzzKill]

the life of the batteries is really NOT reduced you just drop part of the load across the regulator , without a reg. you drop the hole load across the atty !! so the battery sees the same load !

in the case of switching regulators they will actually increase battery life because of the efficiency of them in converting voltage .

 

[son et lumiere]

Good write up.

 

[salemgold]

Great info! Thanks Mike. I was just trying to explain to another member why he needs a Buzz. This will help him understand.

 

[BuzzKill]

Great info! Thanks Mike. I was just trying to explain to another member why he needs a Buzz. This will help him understand.

Cool: these are good basics for understanding all the lingo behind different mods and what they offer because of the type of mod they are . I hope it helps people to better understand Mods and what they will do .

 

[mdocod]

As I understand: A boost regulator will reduce available operating time and increase the load on the cell compared with direct driving the same atty. Boost regulation works by creating a lower resistance load on the battery than the final load thus exchanging an increase in current flow from the power source for an increase in voltage output.

I'm not sure if any such thing has been implemented in the world of ecigs, but current regulation (buck or boost) could also likely be used.

the life of the batteries is really NOT reduced you just drop part of the load across the regulator , without a reg. you drop the hole load across the atty !! so the battery sees the same load !

in the case of switching regulators they will actually increase battery life because of the efficiency of them in converting voltage .

 

[BuzzKill]

As I understand: A boost regulator will reduce available operating time and increase the load on the cell compared with direct driving the same atty. Boost regulation works by creating a lower resistance load on the battery than the final load thus exchanging an increase in current flow from the power source for an increase in voltage output.

I'm not sure if any such thing has been implemented in the world of ecigs, but current regulation (buck or boost) could also likely be used.

The Provary uses a BOOST regulator design ( they have to it is a single battery device ) you are basically correct it turns current into voltage so to speak ,

I think that a buck reg. is a better design it uses LESS current by dropping the voltage you effectively lower the current draw from the battery . this requires stacked batteries ,

I firmly believe with a current protected reg. and a protected batt. there is very little that can go wrong , In fact all of the info I have found regarding batteries out gassing has been because a serious user error and no protection , IMO with a regulator that has current limiting there is no need for protected batteries .

Old school Devices that have NO protection was the reason that all of this protected battery thing happened on ECF
They had not taken into account the fact that a regulator with current limiting is protection for the battery ! it limits current to an area ( if the design is right ) with in the design specs of the battery .

 

[oldsoldier]

the life of the batteries is really NOT reduced you just drop part of the load across the regulator , without a reg. you drop the hole load across the atty !! so the battery sees the same load !

in the case of switching regulators they will actually increase battery life because of the efficiency of them in converting voltage .

I'll defer to your greater knowledge on the subject. If you manufacture VV mods you obviously know a thing or two about the regulators and how they work

I based my assertion that A VV mod would have shorter battery life on some things I have read on various forums that seemed to make sense to me. Maybe you can help me get my head around it, I'm not exactly well versed on the math and have trouble with anything more complicated than a basic circuit. Not trying to be a troll here, I'm really trying to get an understanding of both the theory and practical application...

I had read before that when the battery is newly charged and puts out more than what the regulator "wants" the excess power or at least a portion of it ends up being converted into heat. It would also follow that the regulator itself would have to some kind of power consumption.

Is this information way off? Or is it that the regulators you can get now are efficient enough that this is miniscule and doean't effect battery life in any significant amount?

 

[mdocod]

I had read before that when the battery is newly charged and puts out more than what the regulator "wants" the excess power or at least a portion of it ends up being converted into heat. It would also follow that the regulator itself would have to some kind of power consumption.

Is this information way off? Or is it that the regulators you can get now are efficient enough that this is miniscule and doean't effect battery life in any significant amount?

The amount of wasted energy depends on the type of regulation going on. Many regulators simply shunt off excess voltage via a variable resistive behavior that does just waste the excess voltage (converting it into heat). On the other hand, buck style PWM, which is producing an RMS voltage at the target via pulsing on and off very quickly, can be upwards of 99% efficient. PWM regulation depends on the loads ability to average out the pulses of power. In the case of an atty, this is no problem because the thermal mass acts as a buffer for the pulsing.

Eric

 

[BuzzKill]

Eric has that right !! , on a linear regulator it is much simpler

think of it like this the atty is one part of a 2 part resistor the reg. is the other part so the current flows through the regulator then the atty , part of the voltage is dropped across the regulator and the other part is dropped across the atty the total power is about the same as running directly to the atty BUT you now have control over the split of power . so you can adjust how much power goes to the atty and how much is dropped across the resistor.

so part of the power is across the reg. the other part is across the atty being SPLIT , BTW the power is lost as heat in both parts , the efficiency of a linear reg. is determined by the amount of split , more power across the atty = less loss and a higher efficiency.

Make sense ?

We have been using linear regulators up until now , we will be phasing in PWM type regulators to improve battery life .

 

[oldsoldier]

Thanks guys I actually understood what you said LOL! Thanks for taking the time to help me understand.

 

[BuzzKill]

Thanks guys I actually understood what you said LOL! Thanks for taking the time to help me understand.

No problem oldsoldier ! part of our job or giving back to the vapers here !

Too many times info that is well , wrong gets circulated as truth , as far as this type of technical stuff that is where I can be of help.

 

[des09]

What about PWM? Why is that not used in ecig design? I think a pot + a 555 + a generic MOSFET would take about as much space as a switching regulator circuit, and be about as efficient, if not more, and cost 50% less than the buck/boost circuits I've seen here.

IANAEE, I just play one on TV sometimes.

edit:

We have been using linear regulators up until now , we will be phasing in PWM type regulators to improve battery life .

just saw that... Are there any good informative threads around that go into PWM controlled PV design in depth?