*Note: I am by no means an expert on any subject I am about to rant about. These are just observations i've personally experienced and all I am doing is trying to share my experiences with new members and hopefully saving you a lot of time, headaches and money!
So having been vaping for a while and diving into the deep end trying out tons and tons of different types of attys, mods, batteries, juices and etc.. I really have to put a strong emphasize on the battery and charger that you decide to use. While purchasing a single battery for $8 and a charger for $15 may seem like a lot, take the following into consideration:
1. You get what you pay for. A cheap battery typically means "MADE IN CHINA". This means several things including crappy quality control, poor cells, poor pcb and just an overall low quality product. A cheap charger means possible overcharging killing the life of your battery and not having the ability to maintain a good voltage that'll give your battery a better charge.
2. Cheap batteries are dangerous! Even with a PCB having a battery explode on you is NOT a fun experience to go through.
3. It gets expensive! While you may get lucky and receive batteries that aren't POS overtime the charge the battery is going to hold will diminish and you'll feel a weaker draw as the voltage the battery outputs lessens gradually over time.
4. Crappy vape after about 3-4 hrs. The voltage drop is without a doubt noticeable. If you're only using your batteries for an hour or so and have a ton to swap in, or you simply just don't enjoy a good vape ( this is personal preference of course but who doesn't enjoy consistent vape! ) then this definitely won't be a concern for you. With my AW batteries the voltage is consistent throughout it's two day lifespan. From the moment I pop it off the charger and into my reo for a toot till it's last drip of power the vape is just amazingly consistent.
There are tons of more downsides to using cheap batteries but I think you get the general idea. Now I just want to list some of the benefits.
Using a good battery with a good PCB and good cells along with a good charger will give you the most life out of your batteries. This combination will also make the vape a lot more enjoyable. Here are some of my reasons for spending a little bit more:
1. A good battery with a good PCB and good cells will be able to output a more consistent voltage for a lot longer. My AW 18650 2900mah will give me a good consistent 3.9-4.1V for a good two days on fairly heavy vaping (i'm vaping about 3-4ML with a 1.5ohm cisco atty on my Reo Grand per day).
2. A good battery will last a lot longer. I don't know the specifics and if somebody could fill in the blanks here with the more scientific jibber jabber i'm actually fairly interested. All I know is brands like AW or Redilast for examples are more true to their mah than brands like Ultrafire. I read on CandlePowerForums.com that Ultrafires in reality only hold about 60% of their actual capacity whereas AW will hold 92-95%.
3. It's a hell of a lot safer. The AW's and Redilasts have a lot higher quality cell (made by Panasonic) and PCB (protected circuit board) which does a damn good job regulating voltage. Safer means no exploding batteries or batteries that'll self drain or trip it's "safety" where you'll eventually end up with a dead battery.
I have (2) ultrafire 18650 3000mah purchased 2 weeks ago as well as having tried trustfire, redilast and own (2) aw 18650 2900mah. I have a Pila charger on the way from lighthound as well as an ultrafire wf-188 and ultrafire wf-139.
The reason I decided to go on this rant is that my ultrafire batteries have crapped out on me at the same time and i've come to realize that it's my crappy ultrafire wf-139 charger's fault. It puts out way too much voltage to charge 3.7v batteries. Having tested the output of the charger my meter read at nearly 4.3v which drastically killed the batteries lifespan. After 2 weeks of use my ultrafires are completely dead reading at 0.1v.
I spent $15 on two ultrafire batteries and $15 on a trustfire wf-139 charger. I spent $45 on my Pila charger, $23 on my ultrafire wf-139 and $19/ea on my AW 18650 2900mah batteries. The difference is without a doubt night and day between the dead ultrafires and my still rockin awesome AW's. If you get a chance i'd highly recommend trying the following:
Take a 2 day old AW/Redilast battery (they share the same cells but different PCB's.. both are awesome brands) and compare the vape against a fresh off the charger ultrafire.. I can almost guarantee that they will vape the same.
Take the fresh ultrafire and give it 3-4 hours of use. Compare the two day old AW/Redilast battery and compare it again to the ultrafire.. I can almost guarantee that the AW/Redilast will be a much better vape.
Lastly.. GET A GOOD CHARGER. This will give you the longest lifespan out of your batteries by not overfeeding them voltage. These are 3.7v output batteries and while they will for the most part put out anywhere between 3.2v to 4.2v, a good charger and a good battery will guarantee that you maintain a 3.7v to 4v output after charge. Off load my AW will put out a consistent 4.02v throughout the 2 days OFF LOAD (close to 4.2v off load right off the charger).
I hope this helped clear up some questions or concerns new members have about batteries/chargers and I really hope some more members will chime in and fill in any blanks or make any corrections from anything i've said. I am by no means an expert and am simply a hobbyist in love with vaping. My friend is way worse than I am and has been completely overwhelmed by the vape bug haha.
All in all.. spend the money and do it right the first time and you'll be enjoying vaping without having to spend any excess money!
So having been vaping for a while and diving into the deep end trying out tons and tons of different types of attys, mods, batteries, juices and etc.. I really have to put a strong emphasize on the battery and charger that you decide to use. While purchasing a single battery for $8 and a charger for $15 may seem like a lot, take the following into consideration:
1. You get what you pay for. A cheap battery typically means "MADE IN CHINA". This means several things including crappy quality control, poor cells, poor pcb and just an overall low quality product. A cheap charger means possible overcharging killing the life of your battery and not having the ability to maintain a good voltage that'll give your battery a better charge.
2. Cheap batteries are dangerous! Even with a PCB having a battery explode on you is NOT a fun experience to go through.
3. It gets expensive! While you may get lucky and receive batteries that aren't POS overtime the charge the battery is going to hold will diminish and you'll feel a weaker draw as the voltage the battery outputs lessens gradually over time.
4. Crappy vape after about 3-4 hrs. The voltage drop is without a doubt noticeable. If you're only using your batteries for an hour or so and have a ton to swap in, or you simply just don't enjoy a good vape ( this is personal preference of course but who doesn't enjoy consistent vape! ) then this definitely won't be a concern for you. With my AW batteries the voltage is consistent throughout it's two day lifespan. From the moment I pop it off the charger and into my reo for a toot till it's last drip of power the vape is just amazingly consistent.
There are tons of more downsides to using cheap batteries but I think you get the general idea. Now I just want to list some of the benefits.
Using a good battery with a good PCB and good cells along with a good charger will give you the most life out of your batteries. This combination will also make the vape a lot more enjoyable. Here are some of my reasons for spending a little bit more:
1. A good battery with a good PCB and good cells will be able to output a more consistent voltage for a lot longer. My AW 18650 2900mah will give me a good consistent 3.9-4.1V for a good two days on fairly heavy vaping (i'm vaping about 3-4ML with a 1.5ohm cisco atty on my Reo Grand per day).
2. A good battery will last a lot longer. I don't know the specifics and if somebody could fill in the blanks here with the more scientific jibber jabber i'm actually fairly interested. All I know is brands like AW or Redilast for examples are more true to their mah than brands like Ultrafire. I read on CandlePowerForums.com that Ultrafires in reality only hold about 60% of their actual capacity whereas AW will hold 92-95%.
3. It's a hell of a lot safer. The AW's and Redilasts have a lot higher quality cell (made by Panasonic) and PCB (protected circuit board) which does a damn good job regulating voltage. Safer means no exploding batteries or batteries that'll self drain or trip it's "safety" where you'll eventually end up with a dead battery.
I have (2) ultrafire 18650 3000mah purchased 2 weeks ago as well as having tried trustfire, redilast and own (2) aw 18650 2900mah. I have a Pila charger on the way from lighthound as well as an ultrafire wf-188 and ultrafire wf-139.
The reason I decided to go on this rant is that my ultrafire batteries have crapped out on me at the same time and i've come to realize that it's my crappy ultrafire wf-139 charger's fault. It puts out way too much voltage to charge 3.7v batteries. Having tested the output of the charger my meter read at nearly 4.3v which drastically killed the batteries lifespan. After 2 weeks of use my ultrafires are completely dead reading at 0.1v.
I spent $15 on two ultrafire batteries and $15 on a trustfire wf-139 charger. I spent $45 on my Pila charger, $23 on my ultrafire wf-139 and $19/ea on my AW 18650 2900mah batteries. The difference is without a doubt night and day between the dead ultrafires and my still rockin awesome AW's. If you get a chance i'd highly recommend trying the following:
Take a 2 day old AW/Redilast battery (they share the same cells but different PCB's.. both are awesome brands) and compare the vape against a fresh off the charger ultrafire.. I can almost guarantee that they will vape the same.
Take the fresh ultrafire and give it 3-4 hours of use. Compare the two day old AW/Redilast battery and compare it again to the ultrafire.. I can almost guarantee that the AW/Redilast will be a much better vape.
Lastly.. GET A GOOD CHARGER. This will give you the longest lifespan out of your batteries by not overfeeding them voltage. These are 3.7v output batteries and while they will for the most part put out anywhere between 3.2v to 4.2v, a good charger and a good battery will guarantee that you maintain a 3.7v to 4v output after charge. Off load my AW will put out a consistent 4.02v throughout the 2 days OFF LOAD (close to 4.2v off load right off the charger).
I hope this helped clear up some questions or concerns new members have about batteries/chargers and I really hope some more members will chime in and fill in any blanks or make any corrections from anything i've said. I am by no means an expert and am simply a hobbyist in love with vaping. My friend is way worse than I am and has been completely overwhelmed by the vape bug haha.
All in all.. spend the money and do it right the first time and you'll be enjoying vaping without having to spend any excess money!
