Need opinions on the copper Akuma clone from VapeTech

[AnthonyTofu]

Hi, I'm not sure exactly where this should go, so sorry mods and everyone else if this is the wrong board. I'm obviously new here and thought this would be a good first post. Also, hello!

Anyways, A really neat shop opened up in my town a couple years back. They offer a pretty wide variety of mech mods and the like. A few months ago I purchased a Cronus clone from them as my very first mechanical mod and it's been pretty good. I went back today to get a copper akuma clone and when I looked at the box it directed me to a company called "VapeTech" with a URL leading to a site at this other site called "Alibaba" I did a little bit of research and asked some people, they all think it's fine. I feel I've made a pretty bad mistake. I understand that clones aren't always going to be the most amazing quality and that that purchasing one is a bit of a risk, it's just it was only $60 and I've had my eye on it for ages.

I popped a standard LG 18650 battery and no matter what adjustments I make it rattles in the tube, it works, still hits pretty hard too. It's just kinda annoying. Does anyone have any experience with either this manufacturer, and/or ideally this clone? Any suggestions on how to fix it? Have I made a dire $60 mistake? Thanks guys.

 

[AnthonyTofu]

I just now realized this kinda looks like a "troll" post and I'm sorry for that. Im still super new to this and would really appreciate some feedback, thanks again in advance.

 

[AnthonyTofu]

Shameless bump out of desperation.

 

[Kaezziel]

Not a troll post at all, Anthony... and you're in the right part of the forum (you can't post anywhere else till you hit 5 posts anyway)
Unfortunately I do not have any experience with the particular mod in question. Some mods have points that can be adjusted for battery rattle, but you said you've adjusted everything...
As for VapeTech or Alibaba... I don't think it's much different than FastTech... bottom line is, it's a clone... hit or miss, some are better than others, insert favorite cliche here....

You also didn't state which battery you are using... some batteries are "slightly" shorter than others even though they are the same series.... aside from that, you really have to pay attention to amp ratings of your batteries and resistance of your coils when it comes to battery safety...

Hopefully someone with more experience with your particular mod will pop in and get you all sorted out...

 

[AnthonyTofu]

Thank you! We ordered a clone off fasttech once and it was absolute trash. Was only $15 but it's basically unusable now. This one seems a lot better both feeling and use wise. I did have to make some minor adjustments to it but the battery still has a small rattle, it's usable like I said just annoying as hell. Also dunno which model exactly but my batteries are LG 18650's, 30amp.
Thanks again!

 

[Kaezziel]

How much rattle is there? I mean, could you wrap a small rubber band around the battery to settle it down?

 

[AnthonyTofu]

How much rattle is there? I mean, could you wrap a small rubber band around the battery to settle it down?

Not a lot, like I said just enough for it to be annoying. that's a really good idea, thank you so much! I'm going to try adjusting the contacts once more if that doesnt work, I have some spare O-rings from a PC buld I could use.

 

[Kaezziel]

Let me know how it works out, Anthony... I'm sure we can come up with something else if that doesn't help

 

[CptJYossarian]

Hooooooooooold up before you modify anything. The Akuma is a fickle beast, and I mean FICKLE. It was my first ever Mech Mod (god how I wish I started with my nemesis...) and it took me quite a while to figure her out. Once I did tho, it still has one of my favourite switches to date and I think hits harder than any of my other mechs (though maybe the Stingray X beats it out...gonna have to run a voltage drop later...).

How to set up the Akuma:

1) Unscrew the top cap and the button, take out the battery.
2) Unscrew the wider pin on the top cap (not completely out)
3) screw in your atty to the top cap, then screw that wide pin down nice and firm.
4) Unscrew the smaller pin on the topcap of the Akuma. ***This is the trickiest part and requires some experience based on the length of the 510 pin from your atty, but I usually leave it a bit longer than necessary***
5) Screw the topcap onto your tube and pop your battery in
6) Screw your switch on. It may get a bit difficult to screw in near the end, but this is sort of good. This means it's fitting tight. Work her down a bit (if it's too tight, you need to go back to step 4 and put that little pin in a bit more)
7) Give her a test. Should be nice and snug

As I said, it takes some experience. For instance when I use my Tobh I let the little pin hang out quite a bit. With the stillare it's completely in.



Alibaba/Vapetech: Alibaba is merchant contact aggregate...sort of. They're there for resalers to get in touch with the big companies over the world that produce product. Alibaba only sells in large batches and more often than not they just put you in contact with the cloning companies. A lot of group buys go through them. So don't worry about it being related to Alibaba at all. I first discovered alibaba years ago looking for some guitar stuff

As for Fasttech, it's always a gamble. I have had, I'd say, 98 % positive experience with Fasttech. The only issue I've ever gotten from them was my 510 connector in the Stingray X not being glued on enough and popping out. I just put 2 drops of gorrila glue on there and it works great. The catch is I only spent 25 $ on essentially a 1:1 clone of an amazing mod I wouldn't normally be able to get. When you order Fasttech, you may need to tinker. That's one of the reasons I love it. I love tinkering, and I love saving money, so it works for me.

*phew*, long post over.

Let me know if you still need help with the Akuma! I'll make a video explaining it...though it may be rough, I only have my cellphone to film with.

 

[Kaezziel]

Thanks, Cpt! I've never seen the Akuma, so your explanation on how to set it up nice and tight was great! I hope that it helps the OP out of his troubles!

 

[AnthonyTofu]

Wow, thanks for taking the time to explain it so in depth! Unfortunately I left the mod at my mother's house to avoid the temptation to mess with it more. I'll be seeing her today, I'll pick it up and follow your steps.

I've only ordered one thing from fasttech: An atom clone for $15 and it is the biggest piece of crap I've ever seen, first time I tried to unscrew the locking ring the whole thing feel apart which is what led to my first purchase at the shop I got the Akuma from. I'm seriously thinking about getting a new atty from them though.

 

[CptJYossarian]

As I said, Fasttech can be a blessing and a curse. You gotta read the discussion section of the mods, and you gotta read the reviews. Some of the gear there just isn't up to snuff. Some of it is amazing though, and really cheap. Their quality control for the most part is pretty decent (again, for the prices) but they crank out so much product and so many different ones that sometimes you get a lemon.

What I will say though, their customer service is superb. Not the fastest responses but submit a ticket about the atom. They will replace it for free and I'm pretty sure they even cover the shipping for you to send it back to them. They might even give the option of taking store credit (get a stingray x from them! Mine is amazing ). Go through their official channels, I highly reccomend it.

I personally love FT. I get tonnes of stuff from them...very few complaints as I've said. I think my favourite purchase from them was the SRX and a wireless USB keyboard (with a laser pointer! Cat loves it hehehehehe).

Let me know how the Akuma tinkering goes! We'll get this thing going just right for you, guaranteed. If the instructions don't work, as I said, let me know (PM or through this thread) and I'll do a quick vid for ya.

 

[AnthonyTofu]

Okay, quick update. I got the mod and did everything you said and the battery still rattles. Here are some photos of the mod if that helps:

View attachment 373509

View attachment 373510





It works great, fires and hits like no other, just this battery thing is really bumming me out. I'm going through my old liquid cooling stuff to get an O-ring like Kaezziel suggested.

I submitted a ticket to them last month when I received the product and still have heard nothing back. I'll give it another go though!

 

[AnthonyTofu]

Okay, got the O ring and secured it around the battery, now the battery won't even fit.

 

[CptJYossarian]

Can you post a side pic of the top cap of the mod? It looks from that pic like there's only 1 pin...which is odd. Also pics of your atty on the thing.

 

[AnthonyTofu]

Sure thing.

Here's the bottom where it makes connection to the battery:



And the top where the atty screws in:



There should be a photo with the atty screwed in on my post above(?)

 

[CptJYossarian]

Hrm. Everything seems to check out. Do you have a webcam? Skyping this would be much easier. PM with details. let's not inflate this thread, we can take it there.

EDIT: which battery are you using? EDIT2: nvm said it in the first post.

 

[AnthonyTofu]

And the side shot.

 

[duc916]

I've actually been digging into this for a week now (well I figured it out in an hour, and spent the week searching for a replacement part to fix it), and have found out that the main problem that it seems ALL the Akuma clones suffer that the authentic does not, is that the positive top post that extends to the battery is NOT reverse-threaded. The authentic IS reverse-threaded.

Every time you go to seal it up and start tightening the switch onto the battery, the battery is twisting along with the switch, in turn twisting the top post and backing the top post AWAY from the battery. The thread pitch of the switch and the top post look identical to my eye, which makes it even more likely back away upon installation. A coarser thread pitch on the top post might have even worked, but as it is now, this setup is designed to just... fail. This is such a bummer for an otherwise awesome clone (mine's the Acerig).

If you can prevent the battery from spinning internally (a few wraps of e-tape, maybe a thin sheet of rubber to fill that void) you should be golden. Hope that helps.

My batteries all intermingle with my other mods, so wrapping it in tape isn't something I want to do. Ideally I'd want to find a top cap with reverse threading, but that never turned up any results. For the past week I've been using the sticky part of Post-It notes to keep the battery snug. It sucks, but it works better than a loose battery. Now the bottom switch tightens up the way it should, the switch fires effortlessly with just a slight touch, the way it was intended.

Will try to get over to the hardware store (maybe Tap Plastics?) and see if I can find a thin sheet of rubber to prevent the battery from twisting. Any suggestions on this point? Thanks!

 

[CptJYossarian]

I actually like that it's not reverse threaded on mine. It let's the battery adjust perfectly every time without having to trial and error the height of the positive pin. Ends up snug as a bug every time without issue.

Anthony and i troubleshot the issue and discovered it was the lack of insulator on the firing switch for him.