New to Mechs..

[EhCharles]

Hey Everyone,

So i've been vaping for quite some time, on and off but have grown an interest in building mech mods. I visited a local vape shop and probably talked with the guy for 2.5hours and he was sincere in his advice. Have read some other posts but want to make my own for thoughts on my current build and/or possible steps to take in future or immediately ahaha. So i purchased the Tsunami Mech Kit by geek vape and am really happy with it so far, i am using pre-built coils at the moment also by geek vape that 24ga KA1 N80 Claptons at .25ohms 6 wraps. The flavour is allllllriiight. (Also, any recommended juices) Battery is IMR 18650 3.7v 3000mah 20amp. Learned ohms law and did the calculations 12038018923 times, and checked it again with a calculator from steam engines. SO, All advice and suggestions are much appreciated and as well as your time.

p.s The guy at the vape store, restores batteries. To me, red flag. Any thoughts on this would help.

Thanks.

 

[bombastinator]

Yeah. Don’t buy any of those second hand batteries. Also count his fingers. He’s like to eventually lose one or two. As to which batteries are good @Mooch is the local battery deity an has a really useful chart. I really need to store a link to it. I seem to keep on recommending it to people when i should just be showing them. If @BrotherBob is around he may have it and other wonderous goodies you may want to look at.

 

[EhCharles]

@bombastinator

Ok sounds good, appreciate the reply. I have heard the name before too aha. Seems to be the battery god. Ill look into that. Thank you!

 

[EhCharles]

 

[Wraith504]

 

[Wraith504]

Yeah. Don’t buy any of those second hand batteries. Also count his fingers. He’s like to eventually lose one or two. As to which batteries are good @Mooch is the local battery deity an has a really useful chart. I really need to store a link to it. I seem to keep on recommending it to people when i should just be showing them. If @BrotherBob is around he may have it and other wonderous goodies you may want to look at.

Mooch's Recommended Batteries | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[EhCharles]

Wow, that is a very helpful guide to choosing your batteries and knowing which ones to look out for. Thanks for that, now judging by the 2 stickers on the battery, i can only assume that it is either a counterfeit or a restores battery. Playing it safe and not using it anymore. Thanks for the help, i saved the photos. I am looking to purchase a 30A battery anyway, just to have that cushion.

 

[Wraith504]

Wow, that is a very helpful guide to choosing your batteries and knowing which ones to look out for. Thanks for that, now judging by the 2 stickers on the battery, i can only assume that it is either a counterfeit or a restores battery. Playing it safe and not using it anymore. Thanks for the help, i saved the photos. I am looking to purchase a 30A battery anyway, just to have that cushion.

peel it off and see whats under there! Thats what I would do anyway. Then i would bring it right back to the store and ask for my refund.

 

[EhCharles]

@Wraith504 So I took the sticker off, and it said the exact same thing just without the IMR. I read that stickers don't make the difference, stickers are put on from the manufacturer that ships them out but still seems odd especially it being a known counterfeit. I also have Samsung 30q 18650's but my builds at 16.8 amps. Mfr is 15A and Mooch says 20A.
Also, my nitecore D2 charger reads V and mA, but the mA reads 529mA and 4.17v (thats the 30q) and the "Brown Turd" The on in the pictures, ive taken the second sticker off and it reads LGDBHG2 so i think were okay, plus did a checklist on it that i found. I think im okay on this one, been using it for a couple days and hasnt melted yet aha

 

[sonicbomb]

The LG HG2 is a great 20 amp CDR battery. You really need to be making your own coils as this is essentially your power control. Also with a single battery mech you only have 4.2 volts max to work with so keeping the mass of the coils low is vital. I would go with simple round wire 24G stainless steel builds.
Don't listen to guys in vape stores.

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/understanding-the-relationship-between-power-and-coil-resistance.7753/

Understanding Battery Capability/Capacity | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[Eskie]

One question, did you measure that resistance of 0.25 ohm yourself or just went off whatever the box said? With a mech, you really, really need to verify that yourself and not rely on the package or even Steam Engine calculation of resistance when wrapping coils. There is variability and you want to know for sure.

As already mentioned, brand name batteries, and there's no such thing as "restoring" a battery. You might resurrect one you drained too low for a typical charger to handle, but no way you're going to turn a year old battery back into a new one.

 

[EhCharles]

The LG HG2 is a great 20 amp CDR battery. You really need to be making your own coils as this is essentially your power control. Also with a single battery mech you only have 4.2 volts max to work with so keeping the mass of the coils low is vital. I would go with simple round wire 24G stainless steel builds.
Don't listen to guys in vape stores.

https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/blog-entry/understanding-the-relationship-between-power-and-coil-resistance.7753/

Understanding Battery Capability/Capacity | E-Cigarette Forum

Thanks for the tip! I am looking into wrapping my own my own coils very soon. Heard lots of good things about KA1 N80 simple round wire at 24-26 ga (especially for beginners) Less variable heat and its easier to calculate.

 

[bwh79]

Oh lovely, the boards are at it again. (Double-post)

 

[bwh79]

did the calculations 12038018923 times,

12038018923 seconds = 381.7 years. Either you're doing those calculations really fast, or else man, you must be the oldest member on the boards!
(Or, that's a "made-up" number that you just pulled out of thin air. But we're talking about mech mods, so we all know you're not just "making up" numbers, right? Because that would be unsafe, for sure.)

 

[Baditude]

Explain it to the Dumb Noob: Ohm's Law Calculations

• As simple as it is to use, some people have a tough time grasping the concept. Warning: Includes graphic photos of mod explosions.

A Beginner's Guide to Your First Mechanical Mod

• Covers the differences between a mechanical vs. regulated mod, essential safety accessories, optional safety accessories to add layers of safety to your mech, routine maintanance, use of proper batteries, proper ventilation, low resistance vaping, and faux hybrid mods.

Information Resources for Your First RBA

• An essential read and referrance guide for someone new to rebuilding coils. Includes a multitude of useful links on battery safety, mod safety, coil meters, coil building, and the differences in the three types of RBA's.

Are You Using a Rewrap (Rebranded) Battery?

• Learn what a rewrap cell is. If you are using rebranded cells, does that mean it is inferior, poor quality, or even dangerous? Which batteries are suspected to be rebranded batteries?

 

[EhCharles]

One question, did you measure that resistance of 0.25 ohm yourself or just went off whatever the box said? With a mech, you really, really need to verify that yourself and not rely on the package or even Steam Engine calculation of resistance when wrapping coils. There is variability and you want to know for sure.

@Eskie

The resistance on the box says .25ohms but i had put it on a mod that reads ohms and it gave me a .17, I am trying to find a tester for it at the moment as i will need it if i am to get into building my own coils.

 

[EhCharles]

Explain it to the Dumb Noob: Ohm's Law Calculations

• As simple as it is to use, some people have a tough time grasping the concept. Warning: Includes graphic photos of mod explosions.

A Beginner's Guide to Your First Mechanical Mod

• Covers the differences between a mechanical vs. regulated mod, essential safety accessories, optional safety accessories to add layers of safety to your mech, routine maintanance, use of proper batteries, proper ventilation, low resistance vaping, and faux hybrid mods.

Information Resources for Your First RBA

• An essential read and referrance guide for someone new to rebuilding coils. Includes a multitude of useful links on battery safety, mod safety, coil meters, coil building, and the differences in the three types of RBA's.

Are You Using a Rewrap (Rebranded) Battery?

• 
  
  
  • Learn what a rewrap cell is. If you are using rebranded cells, does that mean it is inferior, poor quality, or even dangerous? Which batteries are suspected to be rebranded batteries?

Thanks! I believe everything i need to know are in those threads. Ill have a good read.

 

[Baditude]

The guy at the vape store, restores batteries. To me, red flag. Any thoughts on this would help.

What do you mean by "restores" batteries? If he is replacing a torn insulator wrap, that's cool and necessary if you don't want to recycle the battery. If he is using a charger to restore/revive a dead over-discharged battery, that is a no no. Are revived batteries "safe"?

 

[EhCharles]

What do you mean by "restores" batteries? If he is replacing a torn insulator wrap, that's cool and necessary if you don't want to recycle the battery. If he is using a charger to restore/revive a dead over-discharged battery, that is a no no. Are revived batteries "safe"?

I know that he definitely re-wraps them(which is fine) but as far as him restoring them, i have no idea what he ment. All i can assume is that, he is reviving dead batteries(hopefully not selling them). I've verified the charge on mine with a meter.

 

[Baditude]

The resistance on the box says .25ohms but i had put it on a mod that reads ohms and it gave me a .17, I am trying to find a tester for it at the moment as i will need it if i am to get into building my own coils.

Exactly why you can not automatically trust pre-built coils or blindly trust a friend's suggestion for accuracy. The difference between 0.17 ohm and 0.25 ohm is huge at sub-ohm range. Some people argue that using a cheap $10 ohm reader is risky down to a tenth/hundreth of an ohm when a $200 Fluke digital meter has to be recalibrated every year to be precisely accurate.

Even if you use a $10 ohm reader, don't use a coil resistance that your battery's continuous discharge rating (amp rating) can not fire safely. The battery's CDR isn't a suggestion. It's the safe operating limit of the cell.

Everyone is free to set their own safety parameters, and I can only say what mine are.

I try to never exceed 50% of the CDR (continuous discharge rating) of a fully charged battery (4.2v). So with a 20A batteries, that would be 10A. An Ohm's Law Calculator tells me that a .4 ohm build is as low as I would want to use.

The reason that I place a 50% limit is because as a battery ages the mAh of the battery degrades, as the mAh degrades so does the batteries c rating (amp limit). So down the road, your 20A battery may only be a 10A battery.

 

[EhCharles]

12038018923 seconds = 381.7 years. Either you're doing those calculations really fast, or else man, you must be the oldest member on the boards!
(Or, that's a "made-up" number that you just pulled out of thin air. But we're talking about mech mods, so we all know you're not just "making up" numbers, right? Because that would be unsafe, for sure.)

It was an exaggerated number for how many times I calculated the build. Regardless of the amount of times i calculated it, that would not justify the "safety" of MY use. Knowledge and understanding of your build, and not only being able to do ohms law but understanding what its doing. I'm confident in my numbers and don't appreciate you picking out a negative thing to talk to about. Thanks for your time and 2 cents.