Official ProVari Radius Thread - Part 2

[h00ligan]

I don't know if I can call them significant but here's some of the differences.

• max 40 watts
• 9.5 amp limit
• option to manually scroll the menu
• separate up/down buttons to change power
• usb charging (.8 amp charger, I think)
• firmware upgradable via usb (well this one's significant, used it 2x already)
• only adjustable using watts (not voltage adjustable)

Thanks for that. I really appreciate it. Nun fortunately there are two things here that are a real bummer. The slow charging paired with difficult to remove Battery (from what I can tell it's not exactly a battery you remove every time to change - typically you'd want to charge the one in there and leave to in there right?) and the no setting with voltage. Does it show the voltage when setting wattage?

I looked at he firmware changes. Looks like it was a nice upgrade.

Thanks again.

 

[MikeE3]

Thanks for that. I really appreciate it. Nun fortunately there are two things here that are a real bummer. The slow charging paired with difficult to remove Battery (from what I can tell it's not exactly a battery you remove every time to change - typically you'd want to charge the one in there and leave to in there right?) and the no setting with voltage. Does it show the voltage when setting wattage?

I looked at he firmware changes. Looks like it was a nice upgrade.

Thanks again.

No there's no prevision to display voltage at all. I've gotten used to that ... doesn't bother me at all.

As to 'slow' charging ... IMHO .8 amps is a reasonable charger rate. Unfortunately Provape can't control what batt is put into the Radius and not all batts like being charged at 1 amp or higher. Me and a lot of folks just charge it overnight like our mobile phones. Then good to go again for the next day.

 

[USMCotaku]

finally got the radius update to download
don't know what the problem was, but once it downloaded, updating was a snap.

 

[h00ligan]

No there's no prevision to display voltage at all. I've gotten used to that ... doesn't bother me at all.

As to 'slow' charging ... IMHO .8 amps is a reasonable charger rate. Unfortunately Provape can't control what batt is put into the Radius and not all batts like being charged at 1 amp or higher. Me and a lot of folks just charge it overnight like our mobile phones. Then good to go again for the next day.

Alright. Appreciate the help thanks!

 

[JohnD0406]

The slow charging paired with difficult to remove Battery

People believe the Radius has a slow charger, but that's not the case. Most USB mods charge at 500mA - the standard power output of a computer USB port. The Radius charges at 800mA - significantly faster, provided you use an external charger, as a computer will still only provide 500mA. Some external chargers can charge at 1000mA (1A), which is only 200mA more than the Radius - 1/5th more - nothing significant.

Chargers such as the Nitecore can charge at 750mA - a little slower than the Radius - except that if you put two batteries on the same channel, it divides the current to each so you only get 350mA per battery. Very, very few chargers can provide more than 1A.

So, when you look at the facts, the Radius is a fast charger - much faster than most people realize they're charging with their external chargers when they fill both slots, or two of the same channel on a 4-slot charger.

PS - The illusion of slow chargers is mostly due to the fact that the mAH rating on these batteries is going up rather fast. 3000mAH on an 18650 is more than 4x more than a 700mA 18350 in your v2.5/P3, which many people are coming from. Keep in mind that no matter how fast your charger is, higher capacity batteries will take longer to charge.

 

[h00ligan]

I get that but here's a big difference in charging one battery at 350 when ii have four more you can pop in it ceases to be an issue. I don't really use mods where I can't change the battery so this would have been an exception. While the battery can be changed its not exactly an easy process. I'm probably better off enjoying the p3 I have for now.

Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate the time you took.

 

[JohnD0406]

While the battery can be changed its not exactly an easy process. I'm probably better off enjoying the p3 I have for now.

Yeah, the Radius wasn't designed to have the battery changed every time it goes empty - it was designed to charge the internal battery. The design was that the battery was user-replaceable, not built-in and non-serviceable. Some of the new mods coming out that have LiPo packs are not user-friendly as far as replacing the battery. Those LiPo mods, like the Radius, are not meant to have the battery pulled for every charge.

The P3 is still great - I just wish I could convince ProVape to give me a custom firmware that allows 40W, knowing I'll only use it in 18650 mode, and only with a good battery. C'mon, ProVape!

 

[ScandaLeX]

People believe the Radius has a slow charger, but that's not the case. Most USB mods charge at 500mA - the standard power output of a computer USB port. The Radius charges at 800mA - significantly faster, provided you use an external charger, as a computer will still only provide 500mA. Some external chargers can charge at 1000mA (1A), which is only 200mA more than the Radius - 1/5th more - nothing significant.

Chargers such as the Nitecore can charge at 750mA - a little slower than the Radius - except that if you put two batteries on the same channel, it divides the current to each so you only get 350mA per battery. Very, very few chargers can provide more than 1A.

So, when you look at the facts, the Radius is a fast charger - much faster than most people realize they're charging with their external chargers when they fill both slots, or two of the same channel on a 4-slot charger.

PS - The illusion of slow chargers is mostly due to the fact that the mAH rating on these batteries is going up rather fast. 3000mAH on an 18650 is more than 4x more than a 700mA 18350 in your v2.5/P3, which many people are coming from. Keep in mind that no matter how fast your charger is, higher capacity batteries will take longer to charge.

I hear what you're saying & I still believe my Radius charges incredibly slooooowww!!!!!
Since that is the case for me I'd rather struggle to change the battery than charge it.

Note 5!!!

 

[HBcorpse]

I'd like to see someone take two identical batteries, and drain them, using their Radius...
Then, put one of them in an external charger, and leave one in the Radius.
Charge both.

See which one charges faster.
Mind you, no cheating with selecting 1A on the external charger...
It would be better to set it to 750mA which is only 50mA "slower" than the Radius' 800mA...but that's a better difference than 200mA "faster"!

 

[Ca Ike]

I just got a new nitecore d4 charger. I'll check the two identical 25r's I have to see if they charge up to the same capacity. If they do I'll try that comparison. It will take a while to do since I get about 2.5 days on a charge they way I vape. I'll post up when I can run the test.

The trickle charge mode on the radius will make a difference but how much I won't know unless I can get specifics from provape as to when that kicks in. That way I can do a more accurate comparison.

I don't think my nitecore has a trickle charge option to set but I haven't checked it yet.

 

[AstroTurf]

You're never going to believe this... Just as soon as hit the Post Reply button, the phone rang and it was my Mom down in Franklin. Yes, she said it's windy down there to...

They've got a radar thingy going on...

Moms, The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread!!!

 

[AstroTurf]

Hello everyone how's it going

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Purdy Gud Capian!!!

 

[AstroTurf]

Just made a 7 wrap 28 gage wire on a tug boat .3 ohm results hitting pretty good mmm flavor

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Mod?!?

 

[h00ligan]

Yeah, the Radius wasn't designed to have the battery changed every time it goes empty - it was designed to charge the internal battery. The design was that the battery was user-replaceable, not built-in and non-serviceable. Some of the new mods coming out that have LiPo packs are not user-friendly as far as replacing the battery. Those LiPo mods, like the Radius, are not meant to have the battery pulled for every charge.

The P3 is still great - I just wish I could convince ProVape to give me a custom firmware that allows 40W, knowing I'll only use it in 18650 mode, and only with a good battery. C'mon, ProVape!

I wish they'd allow that as an update service. I'd happily take responsibility not to surpass 20 watts below 18500 battery.

I'm surprised they can't / won't write an algorithm which senses battery capacity and can then infer correctly the size and unlock higher power settings accordingly.

I'm aware of the lipo mods owning an opus 2"@ for a while and I won't do it again. If I got another DNA 200 mod it would be the 133 18650 versions or the wismac. It's unlikely I'll buy a dna200 mod until Evolv revisit their sampling rate with the inferior 510 connection technology. When you release a mod / chip that doesn't work properly regarding your cutting edge features with 85% of existing atomizers I can't really call that great technology.

Anyway my point is I wouldn't do a lipo mod anyway unless it was the type that uses the sleds and charges off an external RC charger like the hotcig (which really seems unreliable and ships with seemingly quite a poor battery so that ones out)

I may have a look at some new mods coming out of an eu vendor.

I wonder why Provape decided to stick with a user serviceable battery rather than properly changeable.

Maybe a p4 will arrive with similar specs and a reconsidered bottom cap which removes the spring a la the Mark bugs wae ii - saving some space and making 18650 mode the same size as the current 18500 mode. That would work for me! I really like this company. Their support is excellent. I'd just like a smaller mod with 18650 - more than anything else - but at the price the new box isn't for me unfortunately. Too many compromises.

Hopefully they're working hard on even more products which will allow me to support them further.

 

[jwbnyc]

I use a dime

big spender.

 

[coolerat]

Back to math... Most people getting DNA200 mods don't realize that the 11.1V 3S LiPo's included in most of them have far less power than a single 18650! You have to convert mAH (milliamp hours) to WH (watt hours). When you do that, you see just how under powered those LiPo's really are.

The Wismec Reuleaux DNA200 uses 3x 18650's, and has FAR more watt hours than those LiPo packs. Is your son still in school? This is a perfect application to remind him that some of what you learn in school really is relevant in real life.

Book learnin's alright. I ain't one to belittle someone for that stuff.

But you can learn alot in the real World to so don't discount it so flippantly.

Guy with a middle school edumacations like me walks out the door with a charged mod and at the end of his shift its dead. Next day he grabs a different mod/same tank and its lasts all day. How many years would he have to go to college to figger out the second one lasted longer??

My 18650's are 2500. My DNA 200 is 900. BUT its 3 cells. So 2700. On the surface about equal. But they are different batteries. So in the real world I get about 1½-2 times the battery life with lipo's.

Other things come into play but raw battery life lipo's blow 18650's away. The 3 battery mod would have at best 1½ times the life and its a BRICK. But if all you wanted was pure battery life thats that.

Start pushing towards that 200w mark and it will be time for the next generation of batteries. I'm excited to see that.

 

[JohnD0406]

I'd like to see someone take two identical batteries, and drain them, using their Radius... Then, put one of them in an external charger, and leave one in the Radius.
Charge both. See which one charges faster.

Totally unnecessary - we know the answer. But, if there needs to be more proof, I've already measured the current of many USB devices, and the Radius while charging. ~815mA, just like ProVape said.

There are no chargers that can charge at 800mA - the closest is the Nitecore at 750mA. The difference would be how long it takes to get to 100% in the final few %, where slower is better. All GOOD lithium chargers start rolling off the current as the battery starts getting full, until at the very end there's hardly any current at all. I've watched this happen on the Radius, and it's performing as you would expect from a good charger.

Don't wait for the blue light to go out - aka, a full charge. You might be waiting a half hour for the last 5%, when you don't need to be waiting.

 

[JohnD0406]

The trickle charge mode on the radius will make a difference but how much I won't know unless I can get specifics from provape as to when that kicks in. That way I can do a more accurate comparison.

It's not a mode, and it doesn't just "kick in". Current starts rolling off slowly as the battery starts getting full. It'll literally go from 800,799,798...003,002,001,000mA.

I don't think my nitecore has a trickle charge option to set but I haven't checked it yet.

ALL lithium chargers behave this way, so in that sense, it has trickle charge.

 

[JohnD0406]

I'm surprised they can't / won't write an algorithm which senses battery capacity and can then infer correctly the size and unlock higher power settings accordingly.

Technically, they already have. The IQ feature detects total circuit resistance, but most of that is internal to the battery. If you notice, you'll always have a lower IQ on a larger battery. 18350's will always have the best, and 18650's always have the worst. With the existing IQ, they could easily tell if an 18350 was installed.

 

[JohnD0406]

My 18650's are 2500. My DNA 200 is 900. BUT its 3 cells. So 2700. On the surface about equal. But they are different batteries. So in the real world I get about 1½-2 times the battery life with lipo's.

Nope, that's not how it works. The 900mAH rating on the LiPo is TOTAL. What's important is converting to watt hours.

11.1v x 900mAH / 1000 = 9.99WH (LiPo as in most DNA200's)
3.7v x 2500mAH / 1000 = 9.25WH (18650)
3.7v x 2500mAH x 3 cells / 1000 = 27.75WH (3x18650's in Reuleaux DNA200)

And DNA200 LiPo mod owners wonder why battery life sucks.

Other things come into play but raw battery life lipo's blow 18650's away.

Nope - see above, and now you know what's really going on...

The 3 battery mod would have at best 1½ times the life and its a BRICK.

1½ ? As you can now see in the example above, it's almost triple.

Start pushing towards that 200w mark and it will be time for the next generation of batteries. I'm excited to see that.

Battery technology has always been lagging behind consumer electronics. The scary thing now is that the more energy they contain in a smaller package, the more dangerous they become. Today's exploding mods is just the beginning for tomorrow's battery technology.