Sigelei Mechnical Mods

[astrocity]

Yeah, From what I know Aluminum is a better conductor than Brass, but NOT copper.....They were trying to get us to use Aluminum wiring in a remodel of my mancave and I didn't do it - I know it can carry less total power before it becomes unsafe from what I remember, .

It does look pretty interesting doesn't it? I better wait on this one too.

 

[forg1vn]

Yeah, From what I know Aluminum is a better conductor than Brass, but NOT copper.....They were trying to get us to use Aluminum wiring in a remodel of my mancave and I didn't do it - I know it can carry less total power before it becomes unsafe from what I remember, .

It does look pretty interesting doesn't it? I better wait on this one too.

Isn't copper just under silver for conductivity and way above brass?

 

[Oktyabr]

Isn't copper just under silver for conductivity and way above brass?

First column, higher is better:

Conductive Materials or Metal Conductivity - TIBTECH innovations -

 

[forg1vn]

Ok so today i got my inline meter, so i put my modded sigelei 13 against all my other mechs, here goes:

Poldiac: 0.10v drop (probably needs some cleaning too)

Nemesis: 0.11v drop (i havent cleaned it yet)

Sig13a: 0.12v drop (modified, sanded down to the brass contacts and got rid of the spring)

KTS: 0.27v drop (not worth modding)

so if you ask me, after the modifications it performs damn well and almost on par with the high end mechs.
i'm gonna give them all a good cleaning and see if i can't get some better numbers.

so if you're willing to do about 10minutes worth of modding, you can make your $40 mod perform as well as the high end stuff and if you're gangsta like these guys who made their sigelei's look gorgeous, you can make it LOOK AND PERFORM like a $200 mod.

 

[Oktyabr]

Ok so today i got my inline meter, so i put my modded Sigelei 13 against all my other mechs, here goes:

Poldiac: 0.10v drop (probably needs some cleaning too)

Nemesis: 0.11v drop (i havent cleaned it yet)

Sig13a: 0.12v drop (modified, sanded down to the brass contacts and got rid of the spring)

KTS: 0.27v drop (not worth modding)

so if you ask me, after the modifications it performs damn well and almost on par with the high end mechs.
i'm gonna give them all a good cleaning and see if i can't get some better numbers.

so if you're willing to do about 10minutes worth of modding, you can make your $40 mod perform as well as the high end stuff and if you're gangsta like these guys who made their sigelei's look gorgeous, you can make it LOOK AND PERFORM like a $200 mod.

Nice! Thanks for sharing! You DID use the same tank on each device? What tank? What coil? And where does a guy find one of those inline meters cheap that's in stock?

 

[forg1vn]

Yah I just grabbed the nearest one which happened to be a 2.2ohm carto tank and I used it on all of them.

I got mine from avid vaper $15.99

 

[Oktyabr]

OK masters of the sigelei pinky switch... let me try this one on you!

So yes, a bit of heat and the button unscrewed. I put two very small brass washers (flat washers) on the end and screwed it all back together. Very short throw, which I think I like. I tried it out, no fire! Tried turning the button, making sure the lock was screwed all the way down, still nothing. Tried loosening the bottom cap, just breaking it loose, and it fires fine then! Thought maybe the washers were still too big and getting caught on something... or something! Took it all back apart, examined everything very closely, couldn't find the problem. Put it all back together again and you might as well start reading again about three sentences back... you get the idea.

Finally, after a cat made me drop it and the spring and everything went flying I had a better chance to examine the inner workings. I actually squirted some conductive grease into the spring well of the switch and put it all back together. NOW it hits like a freight train, even better than it did before I tried to shorten the throw. But I'm still perplexed where the weak link might have been in my first attempt... is it the switch assembly? The spring inside the switch? How the switch assembly screws into the tube?

As a footnote: I really hope someone convinces Sigelei to let them stock spare parts (including flat top caps, etc.) for these...

 

[Lhartman89]

I would check to see how tight the switch housing is screwed into the body. I had a similar problem and it was because the washers were to wide so I had to use smaller ones.

 

[Oktyabr]

Since I had it apart I decided to take some photos so if anyone has been interested in seeing the guts of (yet another) slightly modified #8, here you go:

 

[zippersnapper]

Isn't copper just under silver for conductivity and way above brass?

Yes...........

 

[Lhartman89]

Since I had it apart I decided to take some photos so if anyone has been interested in seeing the guts of (yet another) slightly modified #8, here you go:

I can't really tell, but if the washers are bigger than the threaded switch housing then that was the reason you had to unscrew the bottom cap as they were hitting it.

 

[forg1vn]

Yes...........

That's what I thought too so why did someone want brass instead of copper haha

 

[Oktyabr]

I can't really tell, but if the washers are bigger than the threaded switch housing then that was the reason you had to unscrew the bottom cap as they were hitting it.

Yeah, that makes sense. Yes, they are a little wider than the threaded part. I suppose I could sleight-of-hand my way through this by making sure they are pointed towards the battery end of things when I screw that bottom cap back on... that's probably the reason it's firing now. Those were the smallest washers they had at my local Ace and I haven't found a small enough screw to chuck them in a drill yet to sand them down a bit.

 

[Lhartman89]

That's what I thought too so why did someone want brass instead of copper haha

The good thing about brass is it doesn't tarnish as easily as copper.

 

[Rader2146]

Lower conductivity of certain materials can be overcome with increased size. Copper would be nice for current flow, but also more maintenance intensive as it will oxidize much faster than brass.

So is the brass sufficient for our use? Than depends on what your specific use is. For my specific use, I know I will probably never need to exceed 10 amps. The IEEE and NEC state that 20AWG copper wire is rated to carry 11 amps (<--electrical code based on how much current a wire can safely carry so that your house doesn't burn to the ground ). So if I take the cross sectional area of 20AWG copper wire and then factor in the lower conductivity of brass (28% of copper) then I will know what size brass conductor I would need to carry 11 amps according to the IEEE and NEC.

20g Copper wire = .81mm dia = 2.5mm² cross sectional area

2.5mm² / 28% = ~9mm² = 2.85mm dia

So a brass conductor with a diameter of 2.85mm will carry 11 amps. My Sig #8 has a ~4mm positive post and the tiny little spring went missing...Meaning that the brass is more than sufficient for my use and any gains from copper would be negligible.

Edit: Here's a good link on conductivity. Electrical Conductivity of Materials - Blue Sea Systems

Specifically the last paragraph...

One should not conclude from this, however, that brass should never be used in electrical applications. There are instances where the superior tensile and machining characteristics of brass make it a better choice than copper as long as the sectional areas are increased proportionately to achieve the conductivity that a copper part would have in the application. Size for size, however, copper is exceeded only by silver among the materials commonly used for electrical applications.

 

[Strangebrew]

Sigelei #13: Tired of switch in the lower part of the mod. I picked up a 3/4" x 3/8" x 1/2" bore from Lowe's. A 5/8 copper washer was soldered to a 1/2" copper washer. After the spring and tab were soldered the piece was epoxied within the bushing. The cap uses a 8 -32 copper screw in the plastic bushing which aids in adjustment of the atomizer height. A slip of credit card was epoxied on the switch contact.
Very crud, yet effective. No missed fires. This was a quick rushed fix... I don't like the spring used.
The original switch wasn't used due to excessive play in the plastic bushing.
View attachment 204626View attachment 204627View attachment 204628View attachment 204629

 

[Strangebrew]

BUSHING: 3/4" x 3/8" x 1/2" bore

 

[Strangebrew]

To take up the excessive switch throw I used a some ole' spring metal. If ya do mare the flange of the bushing it can be sanded out leave a wonderful brass finish. lol
View attachment 204632

 

[anon0]

although with the way this thing's performing, i almost feel it's a waste of time, but just in case curiosity gets the best of me at some point..

can someone provide info on sanding the 8's contacts?

thanks

 

[forg1vn]

although with the way this thing's performing, i almost feel it's a waste of time, but just in case curiosity gets the best of me at some point..

can someone provide info on sanding the 8's contacts?

thanks

i dont think its a waste of time at all, i got my 13a to perform just slightly under the poldiac and nemesis...to me thats incredible for a $30-$40 mod.