Moving to SubOhm / Regulated Mod builds

[rodionzissou]

Hello everyone, I look forward to getting to know you all and eventually contributing, but to start I was hoping for some information.

I ditched analogs after 15 years and began vaping about 2 months ago. I started with an Itazte VV V3 and some crappy convenient store bought bottom coil clearomizers. I noticed the vaping quality would greatly diminish after only a day or less. I'm not sure whether I bought a poorly built clone, Itazte hardware is sketchy, or my crappy clearos caused the thing to stop working but it did after a few weeks. The construction was shoddy, loosing little rivits and gettling wobbly with rattling buttons etc. The device was great in theorry with VV and VW, but it had very bad build quality.

I then got a Kangertech EVOD Twist (VV 3.2-4.8) along with a couple of EVOD tanks and 5 replacement 2.5ohm coils. The vaping experience was greatly improved. I noticed these coil heads (or as I would learn the silica wicks) would last around 2 days before giving me a greatly diminished vaping experience. I learned how to rebuild and rewick coils and got all of my gear for self sustaining vaping for quite awhile it seems. I got some organic cotton, multiple gauges of kanthal (a1 and d 32, 30, 28, 26), a torch, etc, and used my already handy tools to get myself pretty comfortable and sufficient. After a few weeks I decided I wanted something nicer with more airflow and more battery capacity.

I then got a Kangertech Aerotank MOW, and an EMOW Twist (vv). I really enjoy the Aerotank, as it provides better taste and airflow. The EMOW is good and the extra capacity is great, but the thing only has 3 settings (3.7v, 4.2v, 4.8v) which prevents one from really dialing in the volts for resistenace and desired vape. Thus, my favorite setup was the Aerotank atop the EVOD twist.

Well a week ago I decided I wanted to get deeper into the vape game and got a Kangertech Subtank Mini, 4 Samsung 18650 batteries, Intelicharger i2 and an IPV Mini 2. I mainly wanted the rebuildable coil head that comes with Subtank Mini and needed a mod that could power it. The chance to get into subohm vaping was alluring too. After watching YouTube channels like RiP Trippers and vapingwithtwisted420 and seeing their enthusiasm and huge clouds and claims for SUPER FLAVORFUL vaping I wanted a peice of the action. The fact that the mod would probably last me around two days per battery and that I could quickly swap with freshies was a huge plus too.

So when I got my Subtank Mini and IPV Mini 2 I slapped a freshly charged battery in. I loaded the prebuilt .5ohm OCC and got it all together, tried vaping at 20watts...and BURNT my lips, coughed my .... off and saw the tinniest amount of vapor emit from my mouth. So I dialed the wattage down and tried again. Still super hot and unpleasant, coughing and little vapor. I dialed it down as low as possible (5watts) and still bad experience. All the while I had been adjusting the airflow to try different thing. I am much more accustomed to mouth to lungs hits (regarding nicotine consumption anyway ) so that's what I was trying to achieve. No go under any circumstances with the .5 ohm coil. I then tried with the prebuilt 1.5ohm OCC. Still a no go. Then I thought I'd try the rebuildable deck. I built a 2.4ohm coil with 30gauge Kanthal at around 10 wraps. This yeilded better results. It cooled the vapor and drip tip down a lot, but I'm still getting poor vapor production compared to my Aerotank / EVOD Twist setup.

I'm definitely doing something wrong and am hoping to get some tips from you all.

I'd like to list a few specific questions below.

1. I've been using 100% VG 24mg Nicotine juice from the beginning. The plan was to gradually step down over time to kick my nicotine addiction for good. My second purchase was 100% VG 18mg liquid and though it took some time to get used to in the Aerotank / EVOD Twist setup it did become satisfying after a day or two. I'm beginning to think I'll need to step it down quite a bit for the Subtank Mini / IPV Mini 2 setup. I'm wondering about this though. Will something like 6mg strength on the IPV Mini 2 yield similar results to 24mg strength in an EVOD Twist? Is the nicotine level the reason I can't get a big hit before coughing? Mind you I smoked for 15 years mostly smoking American Spirit regulars.

2. Should I go for a different coil build? Different wire? Different wick? Different liquid?

3. I recently signed up with a e-liquid subscription service at Craft Vapery. I sepcified 50/50 VG/PG and 18mg Nicotine because everyone says PG carries flavor better and I was hoping for a bit more flavorful vape.

4. Am I doing it all wrong? Are there glaring issues with what I wrote above?

In addition to these specific questions any constructive feedback is welcome and appreciated.

Additional Specifics

Current Juice: Velvet Cloud's Mewlew's Revenge 100%VG18mg Nicotine
Current settings on IPV Mini 2 with Subtank Mini: 6.8v, 2.4ohms, 19.2watts, Airflow at lowest possible setting
Current preferred setup for flavor and biggest clouds: Aerotank on EVOD Twist

Thanks in advance guys. I look forward to contributing. I'm very geeky and when I get into something I usually hack the crap out of it. FYI I started a subscription with CraftVapery and have some images of the unboxing if you're interested. Though I need to reach 5 posts before sharing links and images.

 

[juggler86]

Maybe the nic, but I dont see why that would make everything super hot. Did you prime your coil first?

Another thing could be your Mini2. My 1st 1 had a bad 510 and ohms would jump all over the place and get super hot. Hold the button down and look at the screen and see if you have a constant ohm level.

 

[rodionzissou]

Maybe the nic, but I dont see why that would make everything super hot. Did you prime your coil first?

Another thing could be your Mini2. My 1st 1 had a bad 510 and ohms would jump all over the place and get super hot. Hold the button down and look at the screen and see if you have a constant ohm level.

I don't think it's the mod, It seems to behave correctly. The ohms stay steady. After the first few puffs from the fresh built coil the ohm jumped from 2.2 to 2.4 but that seems normal. It's been steady at 2.4 all day.

Yes I saturated the wick and coil before puffing. When you say "prime the coil", do you meant saturation or torching it? I don't think I torched this coil prior to install, but what does that do exactly. Sometimes I torch, other times I don't. I'm not sure what it does.

BTW, it cooled down a lot with the higher ohm coil and lower wattage. Maybe I'll just be hanging around lower watts? How can people do 20+wattas?

 

[juggler86]

Priming is putting a little juice on pre built coils and taking some pulls with out firing the mod. Torching really should have an effect on it.

Guess i havr no Idea what to tell you.

 

[rodionzissou]

Priming is putting a little juice on pre built coils and taking some pulls with out firing the mod. Torching really should have an effect on it.

Guess i havr no Idea what to tell you.

Oh ya, I did all that. I saturated, painted the intake holes, and pulled the bubbles out.

BTW, I'm thinking the nic level is my problem.

 

[wheelie]

100% VG does not wick very well. Few more posts and you can join the Cloud Chasers subheading on this forum. Welcome to the forum. CHEERS!

 

[NOVA jon]

I'm betting once you give the 50/50 juice a go, you will be more satisfied with your choices!!

 

[rodionzissou]

100% VG does not wick very well. Few more posts and you can join the Cloud Chasers subheading on this forum. Welcome to the forum. CHEERS!

I'm aware of VG not wicking well. I've been using it from the beginning and know pretty much how to work with it in my first 2 setups. I don't get ANY dry hits from my IPV Mini / Subtank Mini setup. Just a really strong thoat hit and very little vapor. But to be honest, I'm not sure how fine tuned Wattage needs to be dialed in, because when I start to dial in I can only get a few puffs in before I hate the taste and feel kind of sick.

 

[rodionzissou]

I'm betting once you give the 50/50 juice a go, you will be more satisfied with your choices!!

Cool! I'll do that now.

It does seem to be working better. Getting around 15watts for a decent hit. But I'm realizing (as I seem to reitterate all over this thread, that the nic level is much to hi on this mod)

 

[GodzillaAteMyBaby]

I use a Subtank at 28w on a istick 50w. I find the best vape at 70/30 VG/PG. But, now that you are sub Ohming I would drop that nic level down to 6mg. At 24mg your going to get the biggest throat hit of your life. I vaped 24mg up til the day I got my Subtank. I had to drop down to 6mg. I'm now only using 3mg. I smoked 1.5 packs of analogs a day for 20 years. Just to give you a gauge.

 

[rodionzissou]

I use a Subtank at 28w on a istick 50w. I find the best vape at 70/30 VG/PG. But, now that you are sub Ohming I would drop that nic level down to 6mg. At 24mg your going to get the biggest throat hit of your life. I vaped 24mg up til the day I got my Subtank. I had to drop down to 6mg. I'm now only using 3mg. I smoked 1.5 packs of analogs a day for 20 years. Just to give you a gauge.

Nice. Ya I think you're right. Cool. I did just ask Craft Vapery if they'll change my VG/PG ratio to 70VG/30PG and asked if they'd send me half my bottles at 18mg nic and half of them at 6mg nic so I can use all of my setups.

 

[Asbestos4004]

I use max VG (87%) in my subtank. It wicks fine. Prebuilt or rba, it wicks fine. That's a ton of nic for a sub ohm set up. Plus, your description of your experience with the pre built coil screams improper priming. Max VG and whispy vapor...hot, burn, nasty....that says it all. Drip juice into the side holes and into the top before installing the coil. Its cotton in there, so once its burnt, its burnt. No saving it unless you rewick it. 20w is ideal for those tanks.

 

[GodzillaAteMyBaby]

Nice. Ya I think you're right. Cool. I did just ask Craft Vapery if they'll change my VG/PG ratio to 70VG/30PG and asked if they'd send me half my bottles at 18mg nic and half of them at 6mg nic so I can use all of my setups.

Sounds like you got a good plan! Let us know how it goes!

 

[NOVA jon]

I should have mentioned too, you should start low wattage wise and work your way up to find your sweet spot. How are you wicking the rba section? Make sure you don't under wick it. For me, and few others, the key work has been "chunky", wick it chunky!!

 

[rodionzissou]

I should have mentioned too, you should start low wattage wise and work your way up to find your sweet spot. How are you wicking the rba section? Make sure you don't under wick it. For me, and few others, the key work has been "chunky", wick it chunky!!

Mind expounding on the "wick it chunky " bit? I definitely saturated the wick. Are you talking about wicking the coil? I put in enough cotton to have tension in the coil but not deform the coil when being pulled through, left about .5inch tails and lightly pushed them into reservoir, then lightly pulled them away from liquid feeding holes.

 

[rodionzissou]

I should have mentioned too, you should start low wattage wise and work your way up to find your sweet spot. How are you wicking the rba section? Make sure you don't under wick it. For me, and few others, the key work has been "chunky", wick it chunky!!

Good tip. Thank you. I think I'll have to wait until I get different juice to start dialing it in.

 

[rodionzissou]

I use max VG (87%) in my subtank. It wicks fine. Prebuilt or rba, it wicks fine. That's a ton of nic for a sub ohm set up. Plus, your description of your experience with the pre built coil screams improper priming. Max VG and whispy vapor...hot, burn, nasty....that says it all. Drip juice into the side holes and into the top before installing the coil. Its cotton in there, so once its burnt, its burnt. No saving it unless you rewick it. 20w is ideal for those tanks.

Ok, I'll pay more attention when saturating next time. I really feel I saturated it, and don't taste burnt cotton. Just a huge hot throat hit, alcohol taste, whispy vapor (with .5ohm and 1.5ohm) and not so hot, less throat hit, but still subpar vapor (with 2.4ohm coil)

 

[NOVA jon]

Mind expounding on the "wick it chunky " bit? I definitely saturated the wick. Are you talking about wicking the coil? I put in enough cotton to have tension in the coil but not deform the coil when being pulled through, left about .5inch tails and lightly pushed them into reservoir, then lightly pulled them away from liquid feeding holes.

Yup, I think you have the idea. I've had my best luck with more cotton than less cotton with all of my attys with the exception of the erlkonigin, that thing is wicked picky when it comes to coils and wicking!!

 

[Rat2chat2]

Sure hope you find some of these suggestions here helpful and get your little problem worked out. But I just wanted to

you to ecf. You probably already can see why it is a wonderful place to be. I know I have gotten so much help from here. And met some really fantastic people along the way also. Have fun and just make yourself at home.

 

[RandyF]

I skimmed through your post (that was a lot of text...lol) but I am willing to bet the following statement you made is you problem.....

Current settings on IPV Mini 2 with Subtank Mini: 6.8v, 2.4ohms, 19.2watts, Airflow at lowest possible setting

19.2 watts is far too high on the single hole setting. That isn't enough airflow to cool the coil. If you want that tight of a draw, then you need to use it like you would a Kayfun, at around 12 to 14 watts. That is also going to give you clouds like a Kayfun would. If you want to big clouds you see from rip and twisted, you are going to need to set it wide open and bump the wattage up to 26 to 28. That isn't going to work for mouth to lung though, you will need to convert to straight lung inhales. I was a M2L back in the day (in vape time that is like 6 months ago), but since the Lemo I have changed to lung inhales, don't think I could go back at this point.

There is a middle ground with the 2 hole setting, but even there M2L is difficult.

Also, I don't know if the IPV has step down, if it doesn't then using the .5Ω below 20watts is pointless.