Need Help w/ Switch Ratings

[grndzero]

I need some (more experienced than me) circuit help, I'm kind of lost on switch ratings. Searching on Google hasn't cleared it up for me.

I am looking at building a custom 3.7V mod with a LR 510 (1.7 ohm) atty and trying to understand switch ratings.

3.7 V / 1.7 ohm = ~2.18 Amps
3.7 V * ~2.18 Amps = 8.05 Watts

The short question is will this Tactile Switch with Round actuator, 300g. switch work for the circuit?

If someone can explain it in more depth it would be appreciated.

I have built 2 6V mods with 3.4 Ohm attys and used the Soft Touch Micro Switch Soft touch micro switch. without any problems for the past few months.

 

[bigblue30]

The short question is will this Tactile Switch with Round actuator, 300g. switch work for the circuit?

If someone can explain it in more depth it would be appreciated.

I have built 2 6V mods with 3.4 Ohm attys and used the Soft Touch Micro Switch Soft touch micro switch. without any problems for the past few months.

It you look at the switch rating you will see 2 numbers “Tactile Switch with Round actuator, 12v, 50 ma, Soft touch micro switch Rated at 12vdc, 50ma”. For continued use these numbers (ratings) should be exceeded. This means that if you are going to turn it on and leave it on (we do not do this with a mod.) the voltage should never be higher then 12 volts and the current should never be over .05 of an amp.

So why doesn’t the switch “fry” when it is being hit with 1.6 amps (6v /3.4)? The reason is because you are only holding the switch on for a few seconds. It will fail eventually, maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will fail.

Almost all of the time the switch contacts will burn out and your mod will quit working…no big deal..replace the switch and you are good to go again. The other thing that could happen, although very unlikely, is that the contacts in the switch will weld together. Your mod will turn on until the battery goes dead or your atty burns out. I hope it is not in your pocket if this happens.

Now you are looking at using the same rated switch and hitting it with 2.18 amps. This will make the switch fail even faster.

To be "safe" you should look for a switch with a higher rating.

But....we are mod'ers..."we do not need no safe"....lol

 

[grndzero]

Thanks for the reply. That confirms what I was thinking. More than one article I saw said that as long as you didn't exceed the total watt rating of the switch it would be ok, for instance this one Mini Black Plastic Push Button Switch has a 9 watt rating, but it only handles 30mA. That didn't sound right to me.

I'm a total aesthetic freak when it comes to my mods. So basically the only switches on the whole site that can handle most mods properly long term are the Horn Styles and the 2A and 3A standard looking switches.

 

[bigblue30]

Thanks for the reply. That confirms what I was thinking. More than one article I saw said that as long as you didn't exceed the total watt rating of the switch it would be ok, for instance this one Mini Black Plastic Push Button Switch has a 9 watt rating, but it only handles 30mA. That didn't sound right to me.

I'm a total aesthetic freak when it comes to my mods. So basically the only switches on the whole site that can handle most mods properly long term are the Horn Styles and the 2A and 3A standard looking switches.

You are so correct. I use a 125v 3 amp rated switch...NO way would it handle 375 watts at 5 volts or 75 amps.

 

[jjandbjvapr]

So I was wondering, say that i make a small 3.7 box mod with 1 led that activates when the switch is pressed,,,,can i not use my small tacticle switch on the GROUND side,,???

 

[bigblue30]

So I was wondering, say that i make a small 3.7 box mod with 1 led that activates when the switch is pressed,,,,can i not use my small tacticle switch on the GROUND side,,???

JJandDBvapor,

It does not mater if it is on the (+) plus side or the (-) ground side of the battery. If the switch controls all the current then all the amps go through it.

If you have a 3.0 ohm load (atty or carto) that is still 1.2 amps (1200 mil amps).

The 50 mil amp switch will work (maybe) for a some time, but it will fail.

 

[jjandbjvapr]

JJandDBvapor,

It does not mater if it is on the (+) plus side or the (-) ground side of the battery. If the switch controls all the current then all the amps go through it.

If you have a 3.0 ohm load (atty or carto) that is still 1.2 amps (1200 mil amps).

The 50 mil amp switch will work (maybe) for a some time, but it will fail.

Well, that does make sense....As cheap as regs. or a mosfet is, why not invest the extra buck or two into your project?, it sure beats ripping it apart and trying to repair it later, and cheaper too!
Thanx for the insight!

 

[grndzero]

I've been working on Magnum Mods for the past few weeks and put a 50ma (300g Silver Button) switch into the flashlight. After about 2 weeks something went wrong with the mod. In the process of troubleshooting I moved the 3.2-3.4 ohm 510 atty and 3.7V 14500 battery to a box mod with a 5A horn switch. Luckily my atty wasn't fried but I noticed that the atty was producing a LOT (like 2-3 time) more vapor.

Now I'm wondering how much power I'm losing using 50ma switches in just 3.7V setups and especially my 6V mods.

 

[elise]

I really do not understand of this.

 

[grndzero]

I am asking whether a 50ma switch will affect performance, and if so how much, since it does not have the ability to pass the whole 2 Amps of the circuit.

 

[bigblue30]

I am asking whether a 50ma switch will affect performance, and if so how much, since it does not have the ability to pass the whole 2 Amps of the circuit.

I am asking whether a 50ma switch will affect performance, and if so how much, since it does not have the ability to pass the whole 2 Amps of the circuit.

When I first wired up the Ti booster chip I noticed that I could not get the output voltage that everyone else said they were getting. I went over that circuit many times and I could not see anything wrong. I even changed that chip thinking maybe I have a bad one.

Then I notice the rating on the switch that I was using….. (.5 amp). I changed out the switch for a 3 amp switch and everything started working perfect.

I know some people use the .5 amps switches in their circuits and have no problems until the switch fails. I am just telling you what happen to me.

Even in a 3.7 mod…If the switch can not handle the current to the atty and its internal resistance starts to go up…even an ohm or two. That would have a huge impact on the output of the atty.

If we use your numbers from your earlier post: (3.7 V * ~2.18 Amps = 8.05 Watts)

3.7 volts with a zero ohm switch to a 1.7 ohm atty = 8.05 watts.

But:
3.7 volts with a 1 ohm switch and a 1.7 ohm atty = 5.07 watts

 

[grndzero]

It's wierd. I have a 50 ma soft touch on a home made 5V usb passthru that seems to work fine. But I use one of the round silver 50 ma switches on a 3.7V mod and it doesn't seem to work well at all.

I like the switches that madvapes has because they have a good selection and I'm huge on aesthetics. It looks like they only have a few 3A rate switches and they are rather large and won't fit in the space I'm trying to work in. ggrrr

 

[bsoplinger]

You can spend a bit to be able to use a low amperage switch. Just get the 5V regulator that Madvapes sells with the control line. Then you can safely use a low amperage switch. The regulators at MadVapes will work with just a 3.7V source as pretty much behave as if was an unregulated source.

 

[fizil]

You can spend a bit to be able to use a low amperage switch. Just get the 5V regulator that Madvapes sells with the control line. Then you can safely use a low amperage switch. The regulators at MadVapes will work with just a 3.7V source as pretty much behave as if was an unregulated source.

So if i have a 5vmod and lose a battery, I could put a jumper/spacer in the empty spot and still be able to vape at 3.7v with the 5v regulator?

 

[bsoplinger]

If you made that 5V mod with the regulators MadVapes sells then yes. There are many regulators out there so I wouldn't know about an arbitrary mod.

I didn't believe when I saw that but I've tested 3.7V vaping with a dummy battery in 10440 and 14500 mods I made and it does work.

 

[grndzero]

You can spend a bit to be able to use a low amperage switch. Just get the 5V regulator that Madvapes sells with the control line. Then you can safely use a low amperage switch. The regulators at MadVapes will work with just a 3.7V source as pretty much behave as if was an unregulated source.

I've used a straight up 5V regulator, but never looked too closely into the controlled one.

That is definitely a good, though slightly more complicated, solution.

 

[WillyB]

Well, that does make sense....As cheap as regs. or a mosfet is, why not invest the extra buck or two into your project?, it sure beats ripping it apart and trying to repair it later, and cheaper too!

Thanx for the insight!

Worrying about current is one thing, but a cheap switch is also not meant to take the physical abuse we subject them to. That's why they never have any mechanical life ratings like the more expensive, and better made switches do.

 

[Matt79jd]

then how does the switch in manual batteries work. There must be some sort of device like the 5v regulator madvapes sells but on a much smaller scale. I really love that type of button and would love to use it on a 3.7 mod without that huge regulator.

 

[jctennis]

They have circuitry to limit the current. There is more than likely a mosfet to preserve the switch, and the current itself is limited to 3.2v as opposed to 3.7v. Remember they rate 510 batteries to last for about 2-3 months before the fail. More than likely the failure point of a stock batter is indeed mechanical wear on the switch. my 2cents

 

[Matt79jd]

True but lithium ion batteries go out. That's exactly what happened to my dremel stylus. After 2 years the 7.4V lithium ion just can't charge anymore. With micro technology they could make circuits very small. Just open up one of those 510 pass throughs with the battery inline. Those components are tiny. I was thinking about modding one.