RAW DUCK TIP: Provari tests/observations and tips

[Lightgeoduck]

As some may know all of my "RAW DUCK"s are videos, but i thought this was 'typed word' material. I don't usually do this,, so this is special to me

I have only had this device in my hands for a few hours, but already had in mind what I was going to do. This isn't a praise , a pros/cons thread, or even an opinionated one (even though I love it already)

I just wanted to share some random observations that some might find useful. Sorry if this has be discussed already I don't always have time to search for redundancies (feel free to post a link to any previous dated threads on this )


OBSERVATIONS:

• Installing a fresh (dry) atty: either prime with liquid first or set the provari to a lower voltage PRIOR to installing atty. prevents accidental burn outs
• when making drastic changes in voltages once in the Pu/Pd menu you can hold the button down to scroll through the voltages. This will limit button presses and prolong the button life
• When CB (checking battery voltage) keep in mind the atty activates (at a low voltage NOT at set voltage) Edit: actual voltage 3.25v
• Ao Checking Ohms will not activate the atty Edit: correction it does activate it but at 2.25v

Tests:

load used 3.3ohm 30w resistor for constant resistance
L=Loaded voltage U = unloaded
Multimeter : Fluke 27 calibrated
I only tested a few settings covering lowest/highest and 2 mid


Fully charged battery;

• 3.3set L = 3.28 U = 3.29
• 4v set L= 3.87 U= 3.99
• 5v set L = 4.82 U=4.99
• 6v set L= 5.83 U=6

Almost depleted Battery; * explanation after data

• 3.3v set U= 3.25
• 4v set U= 3.83
• 5v set U= 4.89
• 6v set U= 5.83

For the most part the device stays constant.. Loaded voltage being lower than unloaded seems to be unavoidable. It appears that when low battery warning occurs that even though when "Cb" voltage states that you are not at the assumed "low battery" voltage that the indicator is activated because the load drops the voltage to the "low" point. It is more likely to occur with the atty resistances lower than my 'controlled' resistance;reason being my control was at a higher ohms than my 2.5 atty that caused the alarm....

Keep in mind this is my first test.. and one would need more time for further tests. It's just takes time since more tests would require recharging and or going through the depletion process again (which I got vape dizzy trying to put together this first test )

Hope this helps current owners, soon to be owners, and owner contemplaters

Feel free to add any of your findings/results even if it contradicts mine


LGD

 

[wolflrv]

awesome info!! Thx for sharing!! This definitely explains some things, I've been confused about. I should have my Provari by the weekend and will be that much better "educated" on it's variances and nuances...

 

[Tasteles]

My Provari in Ao, checking ohms, it does activate the atty on low power.

 

[Lightgeoduck]

My Provari in Ao, checking ohms, it does activate the atty on low power.

well I didn't hear my atty activate like I did when checking battery where CB hooked to the meter I got 3.25 volts on the meter. I didn't think there was a need to check Ao since it was checking resistance and like I said I didn't hear the atty.... BUT I metered the provari during Ao and you are right meter read 2.24v

so yes you are right it does activate it, but the good part is it isn't enough to hurt an atty if the atty was dry during check. but the 3.25v during the Cb could, even though most likely wont. hurt a dry atty.

Thanks for your input I will update my data in the original

LGD

 

[Lightgeoduck]

I will do another set of tests to verify my initial findings in the near future.. I will use a better RMS meter when I have the time, I just wanted to get this out for people to ponder on.. any data will be useful for the hardcore at heart


LGD

 

[Daz 7401]

Possibly related, if you are interested in knowing the wattage your atty is putting out and have an iPhone I recommend Ohmulator Lite. You enter the voltage and atty resistance and it will work out the Amps and Watts you can also work backwards, enter the desired wattage and atty resistance and it will tell you what voltage to set.
I am in no way connected with this App and there are others, I just thought it was cool and it's free. Daz

 

[Laszlo]

Loaded voltage being lower than unloaded seems to be unavoidable. It appears that when low battery warning occurs that even though when "Cb" voltage states that you are not at the assumed "low battery" voltage that the indicator is activated because the load drops the voltage to the "low" point.

Feel free to add any of your findings/results even if it contradicts mine


LGD

You are correct in assuming that loaded voltage will be lower. If there is no load, only your voltmeter connected across battery provides the load - however the input impedance of any voltmeter is so high that it could be considered an open circuit (infinite resistance) - hence there is no current flowing thru the circuit.

Once you connect load (atty) the resistance of atty is parallel to meter and is ~ equal to the resistance of the atty - current flowing thru circuit is now proportional to the voltage and resistance (ohm law). This current "depletes" battery and the amount of voltage drop will depend on battery type, capacity, internal capacitance and few other other factors. The ideal battery shall not exhibit any voltage drop regardless of current drawn, but there is no ideal battery developed as yet .

 

[Vape360]

Some customers want to make output voltage measurements on their ProVari. It is okay to do this, however, there is a right way to do this and get meaningful results. These measurements are not too meaningful if taken with NO load, so you should take the readings with a load resistor that is representative of an atty load. A load resistor of 2.5 to 5 ohms is a reasonable load to use. It is important to realize that the ProVari can put out high currents. These high currents need to be accounted for when making these voltage measurements. If not accounted for the voltage readings will be inaccurate. According to ohms law, each milliohm will drop 1 millivolt for each amp of current that flows. It is not unreasonable to have 10's of milliohms in wires and simple connections when connecting an external load resistor to the ProVari output. This external resistance due to the length of the wire that connects the load to the ProVari and where exactly the voltmeter is connected to make the voltage reading can easily cause 50 to 150 millivolts or more error in the output voltage reading. This type of error in the measurement can be eliminated by using a Kelvin connection. To NOT use a Kelvin connection will usually result in incorrect voltage readings.

The ProVari is designed to sense the voltage at the atty connector which is as close to the atty load as is physically possible. There are multiple feedback loops within the design. The combination of these feedback loops and an internal voltage reference that is accurate to within a few millivolts allows the ProVari to accurately set and maintain its output voltage to within its published performance specification of +/-1%. Each ProVari is tested at the factory to have this performance, using a Kelvin connection on various loads within a specially designed test fixture. It is not unusual to see a ProVari have an output voltage reading that is within 10 millivolts of the set value. Even if the initial calibrated value is off by 20 millivolts (that is a .4% error if the output is set to 5 volts) the Accuset feedback loop (run by the microprocessor) will compensate by further adjusting it to be within 10 millivolts of the set value. The microprocessor will then store this new value so each time the user calls up that set voltage it knows to use the Accuset value to get the proper output voltage. This Accuset feedback loop is designed to maintain the published accuracy over the life of the ProVari.

So, when you see a voltage measurement made on the ProVari output and it is NOT within the published specification, be sure to ask if it was made properly.

 

[Lightgeoduck]

@Vape360 Thank you for your articulate explination of the testing process. I am unfortunately not as articulate. I did have the meter leads as close as possible,well at least close enough to not make a difference. Correct me if I am wrong.. the length of the wire to my external resistor shouldn't be a factor right? since even if it did add resistance of the wire plus the resistor is with in an acceptible ohm range (2.5-5ohms).
I mainly provided the unloaded voltage as a reference and there was some differences between a fully charged battery and an almost depleted battery. I am not saying it is an issue.. but it was nice (for me to know the workings of the device).
The leads of my meter shouldn't be an issue since it is quality enough to make up for it. The one thing that I will have to do is to make the tests with my Fluke 85iii since it is a true RMS meter and I believe (readings from member Scottbee) that would provide a more accurate voltage reading dealing with PWM.

I have more batteries charged so I can catch some of my readings that I missed during my batteries first use. I posted the data for record and always have room for growth as further tests are performed Meaningless? well all depends on the meaning at what you are looking for ..
I did find and at least I think the data shows (even if it is unloaded) that voltage is boosted through out the life of the batteries charge and the differences are minimal.
Again I appreciate your input, and others as well, because I really had in mind for this to be a Provari owner effort ..
LGD

 

[Vape360]

Hi Duck,

Yeah, no problem. We just wanted to help explain where some of the differences in measurement can come from and provide a little more detail about the setup and what's going on under the hood.

 

[Wasur]

Duck Do u know what VAF is? Just curious...