Recommendations for a mech mod? under $50

[Altaire Versailles]

Noted. I just cant get next to the box mods. Ive vaped with a couple of them, love the vape, but Id rather a poorer vape than to use a box, I just dont like the way it feels or looks, its not comfortable to me. Anybody know a good regulated tube mod that will fire a 0.5 ohm coil? I really dont care to use a mech mod but it seems there arent any tube mods that will fire those coils.

I hope you didn't take my warning about hybrid mods as a recommendation against mechs in general. Quite the opposite, I found that using a mech with my Atlantis was quite an enjoyable vape - I just had to learn the hard way that I needed to use something with a top cap and wanted to save you that particular experience. While hybrid adapters are the flavor of the month in the mech world, it seems, there are a ton of amazing mechs out there that aren't built around direct atty-to-battery connection that could be a great fit for you. There are even a few, like the Stingray X, that offer the best of both worlds - the SXK/Infinite clone, at least, comes with both a top cap and a hybrid cap.

On the regulated side, the problem you are going to run into is that, in an attempt to provide users more battery life, manufacturers have been moving away from tube regulated mods toward boxes pretty much universally. There are still a few tube mods on the market, but I'm not aware of any of them that will fire in the lower sub-ohm range. Hence, if you're set on a tube mod, and want to use a sub-ohm clearo tank, your best bet may indeed be a mech.

I'm not entirely clear on the hybrid vs whatever or what a top cap is?

 

[Altaire Versailles]

I like simple stuff, not too much crap and designs on it, preferably steel. just goes with anything you put on it. I used an SVD as my everyday mod now, I like the way it looks but even in 18350 mode its probably twice as long as the battery. But something along those lines

I think you'll like the m16 sentinel.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/3027/10005307/1800107

floating center pin
[I have the aluminium $10 one, and it's got a spring loaded center pin]
super short in 18350 mode.
Telescopic, so easy to adjust to different sizes and not get battery rattle.


I have a stingray and a nemesis; the way the threading is at the bottom there's the risk of scraping off the battery wrapper when inserting or removing the battery.


I like the chiyou and king mods (pretty much the same, different names); they use m21x1 threading which is the same as on my vamos and zmax.
this version below seems to be the latest tweak; the bottom cap has a spring button contact on top where it contacts the battery; I haven't been able to open the bottom cap so I haven't figured out how the switch contact actually operates on the inside, but it feels like an improvent over the earlier versions in that you can accidentally unscrew the pressbutton and end up loosing the spring when it pops out.

https://www.fasttech.com/p/1451812

What's the difference between the 17 and the 10 dollar one

 

[retic1959]

I'm not entirely clear on the hybrid vs whatever or what a top cap is?

A hybrid connection is a direct connection between the 510 pin on the atty and the battery , it's best to use an atty with an adjustable 510 to make sure only the pin contacts the battery , if both the threaded part of the 510 and the pin contacts the battery you'll short the battery and things will get very unpleasant . Some mechs like the Stingray X have a regular top cap with a centerpost and a hybrid adapter allowing a regular connection or a direct to battery connection .

 

[wskinner]

Sorry about my terrible MS Paint skills, but here's a basic diagram of the difference:


Basically, a standard top cap has a pin that provides connection between your battery and the 510 connection on the atty. This pin can be adjustable, floating, or non-adjustable, but the basic concept is the same - a piece of metal that conducts between the battery and the atty. A hybrid cap doesn't have this piece - your atty goes into a doughnut-shaped adapter, where the 510 sticks out past the other side, and it then connects directly to the battery. This reduces voltage drop theoretically, but if your 510 positive pin doesn't stick out from the edges of the threaded negative part, you have a recipe for disaster - a hard short on the battery. As a result, hybrid connections are great if you have the knowledge and equipment to use them safely, but if you are using non-adjustable pins on your atty, you run the risk of that short.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

Sorry about my terrible MS Paint skills, but here's a basic diagram of the difference:
View attachment 416628

Basically, a standard top cap has a pin that provides connection between your battery and the 510 connection on the atty. This pin can be adjustable, floating, or non-adjustable, but the basic concept is the same - a piece of metal that conducts between the battery and the atty. A hybrid cap doesn't have this piece - your atty goes into a doughnut-shaped adapter, where the 510 sticks out past the other side, and it then connects directly to the battery. This reduces voltage drop theoretically, but if your 510 positive pin doesn't stick out from the edges of the threaded negative part, you have a recipe for disaster - a hard short on the battery. As a result, hybrid connections are great if you have the knowledge and equipment to use them safely, but if you are using non-adjustable pins on your atty, you run the risk of that short.

ok so the subtank has a sping loaded pin that juts out from the 510 threads so it should work with either of these, right?

 

[Bad Ninja]

ok so the subtank has a sping loaded pin that juts out from the 510 threads so it should work with either of these, right?

Please re read this post completely and carefully.

One thing I wanted to mention since it seems like a lot of people are recommending mods with hybrid connectors like the SMPL/4Nine. These are amazing mods (My authentic copper SMPL comes with me everywhere I go these days), and I join them in highly recommending them, but almost without exception you should not use them with most of the current sub-ohm clearo tanks like the Atlantis or Subtank. Trust me when I say this - I vented a battery in my Praxis trying to use the Atlantis. The pins on these are not typically adjustable, and while it might look like the pins stick out enough, under any pressure (say, from screwing down the atomizer or the cap to push up the battery), the pins can get pushed in enough where they can be shorted by the battery top. There are some "fixes" people have put out there, like removing the pin and filing down the outer thread part of the connection, but in general if you want to use one of the clearo-type subohm devices in a mech, you need to use it on one with a traditional (i.e. non-hybrid) top-cap. I bring this up because the OP specifically mentioned using a Subtank, and I don't want them buying a SMPL, as good as they are, to fire something that is going to vent a battery on them.

You can lead a horse to water....

 

[retic1959]

ok so the subtank has a sping loaded pin that juts out from the 510 threads so it should work with either of these, right?

I wouldn't use it on a hybrid connection , if the spring loaded pin gets pushed in far enough for the threaded part of the 510 connection to make contact with the battery it will short . Stick with a regular top cap with a centerpost to use that atty safely .

 

[Altaire Versailles]

ok so the subtank has a sping loaded pin that juts out from the 510 threads so it should work with either of these, right?

I wouldn't use it on a hybrid connection , if the spring loaded pin gets pushed in far enough for the threaded part of the 510 connection to make contact with the battery it will short . Stick with a regular top cap with a centerpost to use that atty safely .

is that what the sentinel uses? I'm still having a hard time visualizing the difference between these caps that you're talking about.

 

[Bad Ninja]

is that what the sentinel uses? I'm still having a hard time visualizing the difference between these caps that you're talking about.

They are talking about the pin in the atomizer getting pushed in flush with the threads.
This would cause a short in a hybrid-type top cap.

In other words:
If you are gonna use a sub tank or similar atty, avoid mods with a hybrid top cap.

 

[Altaire Versailles]

OK I'm gonna really read all this when I get home because right now I don't have the attention to dedicate to processing this lol

 

[wskinner]

Fair enough. And to answer your earlier question - no, the Sentinel uses a standard top-cap design by the looks of it, not a hybrid.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm going to recommend this. Very easy to set up and use. No hybrid connector. Stainless.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10008162/1638600-stingray-style-mechanical-mod

 

[Altaire Versailles]

Fair enough. And to answer your earlier question - no, the Sentinel uses a standard top-cap design by the looks of it, not a hybrid.

Ok so I reread all this stuff, so if I got this right the standard top cap has the piece at the bottom of the female threads that bridges the connection between the atty threads or pin, and the battery, which is what I believe my vamo and SVD have...the hybrid is just a hole and the atty threads just screw past the threads to the inside of the tube where it connects to the battery when you push up on the fire button? As in it just pushes the battery up to contact the bottom of the threading? If thats what youre describing Ive just never seen anything like that. It looks like this sentinel mod has the bridging piece that my other mods do from the pic below, which means theres no risk of the threads touching the battery, correct?

Do you own that mod? It looks like it doesnt have venting holes except on the side theres a hole it looks like

 

[Bad Ninja]

I have the M16/ sentinel mod.
2 big vent holes in brass sleeve.
Without them it would vent through the switch. Nothing airtight in there.

 

[pistolpete]

You're gonna end up with this box mod eventually so you might as well just get it now Sigelei Mini 30 watt Box Mod - 101 Vape And batteries 2 Pcs Samsung INR 18650 25R Rechargeable Battery 35A Discharge 3 7V High Drain | eBay

 

[retic1959]

is that what the sentinel uses? I'm still having a hard time visualizing the difference between these caps that you're talking about.

The Sentinel uses a standard 510 connection , same as your SVD , you would be good to go with the sentinel .

 

[retic1959]

Right now Vape Royalty has a very nice Hcigar stainless and brass Nemesis on sale for $26 , they're also selling the pure stainless version for the same price . Either one would serve you well as a first mech . Standard 510 connection , not a hybrid from a company with a reputation for making solid clones .
HCigar Brass and Stainless Steel Two Tone Nemesis Mod Clone

 

[edyle]

Ok so I reread all this stuff, so if I got this right the standard top cap has the piece at the bottom of the female threads that bridges the connection between the atty threads or pin, and the battery, which is what I believe my vamo and SVD have...the hybrid is just a hole and the atty threads just screw past the threads to the inside of the tube where it connects to the battery when you push up on the fire button? As in it just pushes the battery up to contact the bottom of the threading? If thats what youre describing Ive just never seen anything like that. It looks like this sentinel mod has the bridging piece that my other mods do from the pic below, which means theres no risk of the threads touching the battery, correct?

Do you own that mod? It looks like it doesnt have venting holes except on the side theres a hole it looks like

View attachment 416762

Yes, a standard top cap has a 510 connector that screws onto the 510 connector of the tank.
The 'hybrid look' mod just have a hole and if you screw the tank in, the tank goes down and contacts the battery directly.


The difference with the sentinel is the center pin in the topcap is spring loaded! Which means you can screw your tank down till it is flush!
With my other mods I have to take the topcap off, and screw the topcap onto the tank, and adjust the center pin to match, but on the sentinel the pin is spring loaded so it's self adjusting. It's convenient.


on fasttech the $17 one is the steel one; and the $10 is the aluminium one;
I've liked the aluminium one enough that I've ordered the steel one; the only thing i don't like about it is it is not m21x1 threaded; might be m22x1 or m23x1, i'm not sure; otherwise i'd get a few

 

[Altaire Versailles]

The Sentinel uses a standard 510 connection , same as your SVD , you would be good to go with the sentinel .

awesome just bought a sentinel...now just gotta wait a month and a half for it to get here...but for 17 bux Ill wait

 

[NC Dripper]

Noted. I just cant get next to the box mods. Ive vaped with a couple of them, love the vape, but Id rather a poorer vape than to use a box, I just dont like the way it feels or looks, its not comfortable to me. Anybody know a good regulated tube mod that will fire a 0.5 ohm coil? I really dont care to use a mech mod but it seems there arent any tube mods that will fire those coils.

The aspire CF mod is the same size as a mech and its made to work with the sub ohm tanks pretty much. But if you can you should go to a B&M and try an Istick 50. It's super small and has a battery life better than any 18650 can provide.