My first mech mod

[blubeard]

I have been interested in mech mods for awhile now, mostly because I have not been able to get a regulated device to last more than 6 months. I either have terrible luck or am hard on my equipment. I use RBAs in all my tanks and have a Velocity dripper clone I bought just to play around with.
I haven't been able to figure out if it was something I really wanted to invest in. I understand all the basic principals of their operation and what not and have read a bunch of of articles about their safe operation. So I was asking one of the guys at a local B&M about them. I explained to him I really didn't know if I wanted to mess with one or not. He kind of explained how they work and how the coils are really the key to making the device work the way you want. Then he told me that they have some on sale for $5.00. He pulled out an Eh Pro Dynast and a Kamry K100. I ended up picking the Dynast, new Samsung 25r and a spool of 24 gauge kanthal. I figured, $5 was a reasonable cost to at least try one out.

Got it home put the battery on the charger, wrapped up a couple of coils wicked it up. It was Too hot and spitty, resistance was around 2.8ish. I pulled it apart and Wrapped another coil, too cool and too long to heat up resistance was around 4.5. So I pulled it apart again and wrapped up 2, 24g, 6 wrap contact coils on a 3mm Screw driver came out to .35ish. (I preface the ish part with the fact that my eleaf ohm meter read the atty at .35 and my IPV D3 read it at .3). Wow, just about perfect. Nice vapor production and great flavor. A little cool but I tend to like a little cooler vape. I will definitely play around with it some more but I have it running pretty well right now and am enjoying it immensely. There is something satisfying about getting a nice vape off a totally mechanical device.

I just wanted to share my experience, Hope I didn't bore you all.

 

[Vaslovik]

With a mech you are committing yourself to becoming a good atty builder. How you build is your control and you have left behind all the menus and buttons and whiz-bang bells and whistles of the gizmo-mods. It's in your hands now, and a matter of your own skill at building. Be mindful of battery safety, and I would refer you to the writings of Baditude on this. He knows his stuff and you should listen to him.

You are right, it's pretty satisfying to get a good vape off your own build on a mech, without all that superfluous technology to fail on you. You may be in danger of becoming an old-school vaper

 

[Clank]

I have an old K100, and let me emphasize on the word old. It was my first mod, and it was back when the best RDA of all my friends was the omega. I still use it for old time's sake from time to time.

Mech mods are just.. Fun. It's great to build your own wire creations and control it all yourself. I prefer mech over VV/VW. It gives you much more control and a much more, uh, DIY experience. It makes me glad to see you're enjoying the mech life, it's truly enlightening on fellow vapers that I personally know.

 

[edyle]

I have been interested in mech mods for awhile now, mostly because I have not been able to get a regulated device to last more than 6 months. I either have terrible luck or am hard on my equipment. I use RBAs in all my tanks and have a Velocity dripper clone I bought just to play around with.
I haven't been able to figure out if it was something I really wanted to invest in. I understand all the basic principals of their operation and what not and have read a bunch of of articles about their safe operation. So I was asking one of the guys at a local B&M about them. I explained to him I really didn't know if I wanted to mess with one or not. He kind of explained how they work and how the coils are really the key to making the device work the way you want. Then he told me that they have some on sale for $5.00. He pulled out an Eh Pro Dynast and a Kamry K100. I ended up picking the Dynast, new Samsung 25r and a spool of 24 gauge kanthal. I figured, $5 was a reasonable cost to at least try one out.

Got it home put the battery on the charger, wrapped up a couple of coils wicked it up. It was Too hot and spitty, resistance was around 2.8ish. I pulled it apart and Wrapped another coil, too cool and too long to heat up resistance was around 4.5. So I pulled it apart again and wrapped up 2, 24g, 6 wrap contact coils on a 3mm Screw driver came out to .35ish. (I preface the ish part with the fact that my eleaf ohm meter read the atty at .35 and my IPV D3 read it at .3). Wow, just about perfect. Nice vapor production and great flavor. A little cool but I tend to like a little cooler vape. I will definitely play around with it some more but I have it running pretty well right now and am enjoying it immensely. There is something satisfying about getting a nice vape off a totally mechanical device.

I just wanted to share my experience, Hope I didn't bore you all.

you can use
steam-engine coil calculator to work out your coils.
Steam Engine main page

 

[Smellybelly]

Nothing like getting a great vape that was determined by you. Well of course there's building crap coils and getting a crap vape and you have to redo it. But hey its a learning process and super fun. My personal favorite builds are parallels. More surface area and takes about the same amount of ramp up time

 

[blubeard]

Yea, learning about heat flux now.
I never had to worry much about until now. Choosing the right wire makes a huge difference.

 

[mhertz]

Definitely! Max surface area for wanted HF... However, also not to much mass(surface-area) for proper ramp-up for non dual series mechs(and to a much lesser degree dual parallel mechs)...

 

[rangerrobin]

I'm new to mechs myself. It was a bit of a let down at 1st, coming from regulated where I can blow huge clouds without much thought. I see now that mechs involve learning about batteries and builds.

 

[Bad Ninja]

I'm new to mechs myself. It was a bit of a let down at 1st, coming from regulated where I can blow huge clouds without much thought. I see now that mechs involve learning about batteries and builds.

Someone should have explained exactly how they work.
You wouldn't have been disappointed.

 

[rangerrobin]

Someone should have explained exactly how they work.
You wouldn't have been disappointed.

Nah, I take full responsibility for not researching. I just saw folks blowing huge clouds, and since I could with a regulated device, I didn't expect it to be different.

I still don't understand how a regulated device gets more "power" from the same battery and build as a mech.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Nah, I take full responsibility for not researching. I just saw folks blowing huge clouds, and since I could with a regulated device, I didn't expect it to be different.

I still don't understand how a regulated device gets more "power" from the same battery and build as a mech.

It doesn't get more power, you can get the same "power" from a mech with the same battery.

 

[rangerrobin]

It doesn't get more power, you can get the same "power" from a mech with the same battery.

I realize that is true since mechs are used in Cloud Comps vs regulated. I'm just unable to explain what I was trying to say.

 

[Bad Ninja]

I realize that is true since mechs are used in Cloud Comps vs regulated. I'm just unable to explain what I was trying to say.

That's not why they use single cell mechs. It keeps the competition fair.

 

[Falconeer]

Know here you are coming from - I've just recently started squonking with a T Mods Custom mech mod and while for me there's been quite a learning curve I have really enjoyed the whole experience. At this stage I've found my own sweet spot with a simple single coil 0.8ohm...but who knows where I'll end up - after all I never thought I'd need or want to go sub ohm. Running a mech mod and building coils for it can be a really satisfying aspect of vaping!

 

[Baditude]

I still don't understand how a regulated device gets more "power" from the same battery and build as a mech.

Regulated mods use tiny unicorns to magically increase the power.

Regulated mods use micro computers to regulate the electrical current from the battery to the atomizer so the vapor stays consistant to what is dialed in by the user. They allow for "fine tuning" the vapor to the user's personal preferences with variable voltage/variable wattage, as some vapers prefer a warmer vape while others prefer a cooler vape. In addition, some flavors are better at a lower power setting while others are better at a higher power setting. This gives you additional options to improve your vaping experience.

The voltage output from a regulated mod is not simply the battery voltage (like in a mechanical mod). The output is converted using a combination of buck/boost and/or PWM (pulse width modulation), or pulsed DC circuitry to achieve the desired wattage to fire the atomize on top.

At wattages requiring less than the battery voltage, the mod will either buck the voltage down or more often pulse the DC voltage on and off to get the desired wattage.

At wattages requiring a higher voltage than the battery voltage, the boost circuitry will boost the battery voltage up to get the desired wattage. This boost circuitry has some energy loss so it will use more volts from the battery than at a lower voltage output from the mod.

 

[rangerrobin]

Haha, thank you for that clear and concise explanation @Baditude!

 

[blubeard]

Update:
I am loving my mech mod so much that I am only using my regulated device when it is inconvenient to drip. Sometimes I just rock a Subtank mini on the mech and it vapes pretty effectively but not as good as the RDA. I am also running a Tobeco velocity with a simple .55 ohm 28ga coil setup and it is delivering thick clouds and some of the best flavor I have ever tasted.
I am not hard to please when it comes to vaping, I rarely run my regulated mods over 25 watts.
I wish I had delved into the mech mods sooner. They appear to be the solution to all my problems.
I am supposed to get some new vape mail today or tomorrow. I broke down and ordered an infinite Stingray X and a Wotofo Sapor. So I will be having some more fun figuring this setup out, haha.

 

[Smellybelly]

Update:
I am loving my mech mod so much that I am only using my regulated device when it is inconvenient to drip. Sometimes I just rock a Subtank mini on the mech and it vapes pretty effectively but not as good as the RDA. I am also running a Tobeco velocity with a simple .55 ohm 28ga coil setup and it is delivering thick clouds and some of the best flavor I have ever tasted.
I am not hard to please when it comes to vaping, I rarely run my regulated mods over 25 watts.
I wish I had delved into the mech mods sooner. They appear to be the solution to all my problems.
I am supposed to get some new vape mail today or tomorrow. I broke down and ordered an infinite Stingray X and a Wotofo Sapor. So I will be having some more fun figuring this setup out, haha.

Glad to hear it man. Yeah once I found a good setup I liked in mechs there was no really going back.

 

[rangerrobin]

Update:
I am loving my mech mod so much that I am only using my regulated device when it is inconvenient to drip. Sometimes I just rock a Subtank mini on the mech and it vapes pretty effectively but not as good as the RDA. I am also running a Tobeco velocity with a simple .55 ohm 28ga coil setup and it is delivering thick clouds and some of the best flavor I have ever tasted.
I am not hard to please when it comes to vaping, I rarely run my regulated mods over 25 watts.
I wish I had delved into the mech mods sooner. They appear to be the solution to all my problems.
I am supposed to get some new vape mail today or tomorrow. I broke down and ordered an infinite Stingray X and a Wotofo Sapor. So I will be having some more fun figuring this setup out, haha.

I'm excited for you!

I'm still strugglin' to find a build that will give me a satisfyin' vape on my mechs, but I will keep tryin'....

 

[Falconeer]

I'm excited for you!

I'm still strugglin' to find a build that will give me a satisfyin' vape on my mechs, but I will keep tryin'....

Can be worth revisiting simple solutions - running 0.8 ohms, single micro coil at 10 watts and loving it! Hope you find one that suits you soon!