Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

[spydre]

Thanks for the link. Sweet Vapes has some good pricing..don't know how I've missed having them bookmarked...never visited them.
I have about 50 sites bookmarked....hahahaha..its insane.
And I have sub-folders for DIY juice, RTAs/rda, batteries, How to/safety/do's, don'ts....crazy!!

Just wish there was a super site to get everything you need in one stop....but its not so!!

I'm on another forum - Vapor Talk - with a guy who, at the time, got almost all his stuff from Sweet Vapes, and about half his liquid from there. I tend to shop around, especially for APV's. Discount Vapers had the best price at the time on the Sigelei V3, so I got that from them, but all of our batteries come from, um, RTD Vapor Batteries AW, unless we need more, um, I think it's amps than what they carry. For a while, I was getting my Kanger coils from Vapor Beast, because they were, like, $6 or 7 for a five pack and no shipping, but they lowered the cost, and now charge shipping for everything under $50, so now I get my coils, usually from 101vapes - $5 per 5 pack and $2 shipping. I'd pay $10 for a 5 pack in B&M around here, unless I went with smoke coils, that's, I think, $8 per five pack. At one point in time I was vaping a juice that went through coils in nothing flat - like, they would last a week, tops. I thought the problem was the coils, not the juice, until I switched off that flavor and my use of coils has dropped dramatically. And while ordering 30 ml, the cost of the juice was about on par with what I'm paying for Smurf's Blood here in town, you add in the $5 shipping, plus the cost of the extra coils, and it didn't make sense to stick with that flavor.

I just wish I could find a site that had juice that I WANT to vape that's affordable, affordable shipping, and a good selection of quality gear. My "e-cigarettes" bookmark list runs past the bottom of the page.

 

[Redbellie]

I'm on another forum - Vapor Talk - with a guy who, at the time, got almost all his stuff from Sweet Vapes, and about half his liquid from there. I tend to shop around, especially for APV's. Discount Vapers had the best price at the time on the Sigelei V3, so I got that from them, but all of our batteries come from, um, RTD Vapor Batteries AW, unless we need more, um, I think it's amps than what they carry. For a while, I was getting my Kanger coils from Vapor Beast, because they were, like, $6 or 7 for a five pack and no shipping, but they lowered the cost, and now charge shipping for everything under $50, so now I get my coils, usually from 101vapes - $5 per 5 pack and $2 shipping. I'd pay $10 for a 5 pack in B&M around here, unless I went with smoke coils, that's, I think, $8 per five pack. At one point in time I was vaping a juice that went through coils in nothing flat - like, they would last a week, tops. I thought the problem was the coils, not the juice, until I switched off that flavor and my use of coils has dropped dramatically. And while ordering 30 ml, the cost of the juice was about on par with what I'm paying for Smurf's Blood here in town, you add in the $5 shipping, plus the cost of the extra coils, and it didn't make sense to stick with that flavor.

I just wish I could find a site that had juice that I WANT to vape that's affordable, affordable shipping, and a good selection of quality gear. My "e-cigarettes" bookmark list runs past the bottom of the page.

Well, I hate shopping around for hours getting together an order of stuff....its just insane to me. I find one site has great MODS and pricing pretty good, but not much in the way of coils, or one has a great line of juice and not much else...and on and on.....but I like to look around but when it comes to getting down to the nitty gritty....I like ordering from one place....or two at the most.

I hate buying juice...I'm going to be DIY juice after the first of the year as well as starting to do RBAs....we have to pay about 3 bucks a coil here and the best I've found online is about 2 bucks....though we don't go through that many with the rather thin juices we use....but at 2/3 bucks a hit..and the price of juice..it starts to add up!!

Right now MyVapeStore and Misthub are my go to's right now....but they do not carry what I need for RTA/RDA/ and DIY juice so its going to be more looking closely at others....but it is what it is!!

 

[spydre]

Well, I started out ordering from Discount Vapers, except for the batteries (and I've only had to buy batteries once) when I got my first APV (the Sigelei). But when I returned the Sigelei, Discount Vapers stopped carrying them, and I really had to do research on what to get after that. I settled on the MVP, but I had to find a site that had them for the money I was getting back for the Sigelei. That's how I came across 101vapes - that's where I got my MVP. Found another site for my VTR at someone else's recommendation, and it was cheaper than anyplace else - and that was when they were new. Vapor Beast I found only because a local store here carries their juice (at a REALLY hefty mark up, because their overhead is so high), and for a while I was vaping that like a mad woman, and I jumped on the free shipping. Juice sites started piling up in my bookmarks because, well, I was looking for juices, and took suggestions on sites from my friends on Vapor Talk. But for now, juice wise, I've settled on Cactus Juice by Juice Mafia (another one at that same local store that's marked up even higher - they are in too big of a shop on mall property and their rent is $4,000 a month, so everything is more expensive there, plus, they don't sell anything bigger than 15 ml on most flavors, and that's $12!), Honey Wood, the first mail order sample flavor that I picked out from Chi-Town Vapers that my husband found right after we started vaping, and Smurf's Blood, from a local shop. I'm picky flavor wise, that's why I've tried so many different sites, but I also don't have the patience let a sample steep for six weeks like some sites say you need to before trying it (that's why I stopped sampling from EC blends, even though their samples were cheap).

Found out something with my Sigelei, or something it's doing, but I'll make a separate post on that.

 

[spydre]

Sooooo, the other night, I was wearing this zip up fleece shirt with pockets in the front, and I was, I think getting ready to go up for the night and stuck the Zmax in there, and I don't know if I triggered the button somehow to change the display (I must have, because the wattage ended up changed, too), but the display wouldn't get off resistance, no matter what setting I put it on, except for time (which times how long you have the button pressed, so times your "puffs"). So I pulled the battery out in hopes of resetting it, and it worked.

Fast forward to yesterday. It stopped working because I had run the battery out, and I put the replacement battery in, and it was doing the same thing. I had to pull the fresh battery out, and leave it out for just a couple minutes - at least this is what I found after some futzing around with it - before the display would work properly again. So I thought back to the other night. Almost right after that (I hadn't even gone upstairs yet, I think in between the display incident I had maybe used the restroom, grabbed some clean clothes from the laundry room, and locked the back door), the battery died. So I'm thinking MAYBE when the battery is about to die, it defaults to showing the resistance only, instead of, say, like I have it set to show wattage, and it shows a little display of where the charge is on the battery - sort of like on a digital camera - and when you replace the battery, I have to wait a couple minutes before putting the new one in so that it will be on the display setting I already set it to.

Anyone else have this issue?

 

[fairmana]

The long-term cost for pre-mixed juice just isn't worth it IMO when compared to what you can save if you DIY. The company I initially started buying my base and flavor from ...... me off because the quality started to go down hill. Then I heard of a popular outfit called Wizard Labs that uses laboratory-level handling practices to ensure quality, so I decided to try them out. I've had no complaints after almost a year now, and I'm quite happy with WL.

At any rate, what I personally do is buy both PG and VG and mix it to about a 2-to-1 consistency so the base isn't too thick or too thin (2 bottles of PG and 1 bottle of VG mixed together in a larger bottle). For me, the 66/33 blend lets the juice wick through my coil at a rate I like, but it's just my personal preference. The VG and PG I buy from WL has to be ordered separately (they don't mix them together like other outfit's do) so I order both at the same level of nicotine. That way no matter how I mix them together, the nicotine level stays the same. Once the PG/VG base is mixed together in a larger bottle, I fill a smaller 50mg "fill bottle" with 40 mg of the base mixture and then add the concentrated flavor. I use about 3 drops of flavor for every mg of base (40mg of base x 3 = 120 drops of flavor). To keep from counting out 120 drops of flavor each time I make a batch, I marked two lines on the outside of my 50mg bottle so I can see what level to fill the base and flavor to.

Anyway, I just thought I'd pass that along for anyone thinking of moving in that direction (apologies if I strayed too far off topic). Mixing your own juice is very economical and it's extremely easy to do. The only thing I can see as being a challenge is if you have your heart set on some proprietary flavor (like "Smurf's Blood" for example). I doubt they sell the concentrated form of those flavors, however there are a lot of great concentrated flavors out there for sale. If you're mixing your own liquid you can always experiment with smaller quantities of flavor concentrates to come up with something to your liking. I've always been partial to Grape which makes it easy for me I guess.

 

[fairmana]

"the display wouldn't get off resistance"

Spydre, the only thing obvious that comes to mind is that you might be holding down the button when you replace the battery. This is how you can get the Zmax to come up and show you the firmware revision as well as keep it on resistance. My advice would simply be to make sure you aren't holding down the fire button when you change the battery. If it happens again, resetting the battery should get it to go back to the normal display. If you're positive you aren't doing that when it happens, then there must be some sort of glitch with the micro-controller in your Zmax.

 

[yzer]

Sooooo, the other night, I was wearing this zip up fleece shirt with pockets in the front, and I was, I think getting ready to go up for the night and stuck the Zmax in there, and I don't know if I triggered the button somehow to change the display (I must have, because the wattage ended up changed, too), but the display wouldn't get off resistance, no matter what setting I put it on, except for time (which times how long you have the button pressed, so times your "puffs"). So I pulled the battery out in hopes of resetting it, and it worked.

Fast forward to yesterday. It stopped working because I had run the battery out, and I put the replacement battery in, and it was doing the same thing. I had to pull the fresh battery out, and leave it out for just a couple minutes - at least this is what I found after some futzing around with it - before the display would work properly again. So I thought back to the other night. Almost right after that (I hadn't even gone upstairs yet, I think in between the display incident I had maybe used the restroom, grabbed some clean clothes from the laundry room, and locked the back door), the battery died. So I'm thinking MAYBE when the battery is about to die, it defaults to showing the resistance only, instead of, say, like I have it set to show wattage, and it shows a little display of where the charge is on the battery - sort of like on a digital camera - and when you replace the battery, I have to wait a couple minutes before putting the new one in so that it will be on the display setting I already set it to.

Anyone else have this issue?

In addition to seeing this when the V5 has been powered up with the button held down I have seen it happen when there is poor electrical contact in B- continuity path. The quick cure is to remove the battery cap for about 5 seconds, replace it and do a normal boot up. To keep it from happening again make sure the battery is getting enough spring pressure to make good electrical contact. Also clean the battery spring, the battery cap threads, the battery tube threads, inside of the battery cap, positive contact battery contact inside the tube and battery + and - terminals. Also, application of Noalox on tube threads can help to prevent some of these gremlins but I find that cleaning thread and battery contacts with a cloth dampened in rubbing alcohol works just as well.

 

[Redbellie]

Well, I started out ordering from Discount Vapers, except for the batteries (and I've only had to buy batteries once) when I got my first APV (the Sigelei). But when I returned the Sigelei, Discount Vapers stopped carrying them, and I really had to do research on what to get after that. I settled on the MVP, but I had to find a site that had them for the money I was getting back for the Sigelei. That's how I came across 101vapes - that's where I got my MVP. Found another site for my VTR at someone else's recommendation, and it was cheaper than anyplace else - and that was when they were new. Vapor Beast I found only because a local store here carries their juice (at a REALLY hefty mark up, because their overhead is so high), and for a while I was vaping that like a mad woman, and I jumped on the free shipping. Juice sites started piling up in my bookmarks because, well, I was looking for juices, and took suggestions on sites from my friends on Vapor Talk. But for now, juice wise, I've settled on Cactus Juice by Juice Mafia (another one at that same local store that's marked up even higher - they are in too big of a shop on mall property and their rent is $4,000 a month, so everything is more expensive there, plus, they don't sell anything bigger than 15 ml on most flavors, and that's $12!), Honey Wood, the first mail order sample flavor that I picked out from Chi-Town Vapers that my husband found right after we started vaping, and Smurf's Blood, from a local shop. I'm picky flavor wise, that's why I've tried so many different sites, but I also don't have the patience let a sample steep for six weeks like some sites say you need to before trying it (that's why I stopped sampling from EC blends, even though their samples were cheap).

Found out something with my Sigelei, or something it's doing, but I'll make a separate post on that.

I'm not into the juice thing so much as I am for the hardware....looking at mods, RTAs, DIY juice makings.....I have one site I order juice from for now so its not a biggie....
I have to save at least 20% in most cases to make it worth ordering from multiple sites to fill an order....free shipping makes a difference....keep it simple stupid..that's my motto for me!!

 

[1buda]

Just got a new telescopic zmax today. There is two different battery caps. What's the difference?

 

[yzer]

The short battery cap is 10mm tall and the tall cap is 15mm tall. Both use identical battery springs. The short cap works best for 18350 if the battery spring has compressed a little with age. The short cap will give the V3 or V5 it shortest length (100mm) with 18350. The short cap is too short for 2x18350, leaving some tube threads exposed. Due to its larger size the tall cap is easier to get threaded onto the tube. In comparison with the short cap, the tall cap can be used with 18490, 18500, 18650 and 2x18350 without adding additional length to the Sigelei.

Basically, use the short cap only for a single 18350. Use the tall cap for all other battery sizes and combinations.

1buda, if you don't mind saying, which vendor sold you the Sigelei or was it a private deal? A lot of vendors don't include both caps so this is good info for people shopping for one. Is it a V3 or V5?

 

[Redbellie]

The short battery cap is 10mm tall and the tall cap is 15mm tall. Both use identical battery springs. The short cap works best for 18350 if the battery spring has compressed a little with age. The short cap will give the V3 or V5 it shortest length (100mm) with 18350. The short cap is too short for 2x18350, leaving some tube threads exposed. Due to its larger size the tall cap is easier to get threaded onto the tube. In comparison with the short cap, the tall cap can be used with 18490, 18500, 18650 and 2x18350 without adding additional length to the Sigelei.

Basically, use the short cap only for a single 18350. Use the tall cap for all other battery sizes and combinations.

1buda, if you don't mind saying, which vendor sold you the Sigelei or was it a private deal? A lot of vendors don't include both caps so this is good info for people shopping for one. Is it a V3 or V5?

Glad you asked that question about the two caps because I did not get the long cap with mine....so that would be a good thing to know about what site is sending both caps with the mod.
I wish these folks would get it right....if they are not going to include the base items that are offered by the manufacture...they should be up front with that info!!

 

[DingerCPA]

I'd ordered a V3 a few months ago (can't remember if it was RockBottomVapes or VaporBeast - I'm thinking the latter) and it came with both endcaps....

 

[Redbellie]

I'd ordered a V3 a few months ago (can't remember if it was RockBottomVapes or VaporBeast - I'm thinking the latter) and it came with both endcaps....

Thanks...most sites do not even mention two caps. I think that the only mention I've seen of the two caps was in a review when the contents of the mod package was looked at.

 

[spydre]

I'd ordered a V3 a few months ago (can't remember if it was RockBottomVapes or VaporBeast - I'm thinking the latter) and it came with both endcaps....

Deleted this because it was already addressed, and I was remembering wrongly, lol.

 

[1buda]

The short battery cap is 10mm tall and the tall cap is 15mm tall. Both use identical battery springs. The short cap works best for 18350 if the battery spring has compressed a little with age. The short cap will give the V3 or V5 it shortest length (100mm) with 18350. The short cap is too short for 2x18350, leaving some tube threads exposed. Due to its larger size the tall cap is easier to get threaded onto the tube. In comparison with the short cap, the tall cap can be used with 18490, 18500, 18650 and 2x18350 without adding additional length to the Sigelei.

Basically, use the short cap only for a single 18350. Use the tall cap for all other battery sizes and combinations.

1buda, if you don't mind saying, which vendor sold you the Sigelei or was it a private deal? A lot of vendors don't include both caps so this is good info for people shopping for one. Is it a V3 or V5?

Varitubedotcom is where I bought my from. That's what I thought about the battery cap, just wanted to be sure. Thanks!!
The only thing I don't like is the gap between the tubes in the 18650 mode. I've been trying to think up a way to temporally take up the gap.

 

[yzer]

Varitubedotcom is where I bought my from. That's what I thought about the battery cap, just wanted to be sure. Thanks!!
The only thing I don't like is the gap between the tubes in the 18650 mode. I've been trying to think up a way to temporally take up the gap.

Excellent. I heard from other Varitube customers that got both battery caps. The important thing about tube length is to avoid overtightening the tube to make it shorter. Getting the tube too tight can dislodge the circuit boards and screen.

Sigelei Zmax V3 & V5 telescopic battery tube adjustment

Flat top or button top battery: doesn't matter with these instructions.

-For 18350 battery. Using the tall or short battery caps screw down the telescopic tube to the shortest length. Screw down the battery cap all the way. If the spring in a long battery cap has compressed it may not fit 18350 well. The short battery cap is a better fit with 18350.

-For 2x18350: Use the tall battery cap. The short cap will leave tube threads exposed with 2x18350

-For 18490, 18500 and 18650 batteries using the tall (15mm) battery cap. Place the battery into position in the tube and adjust the tube length until only 1/16" to 1/8" of the battery extends past the end of the tube. Tighten the tall cap all of the way down.

-For 18490, 18500 and 18650 batteries with the short (10mm) battery cap. Place the battery into position in the tube and adjust the tube length so that the base of the battery is 1/8" to 3/16" below the end of the tube. Tighten the cap all of the way down.

Keep in mind that the battery springs found in both the tall battery cap and the short battery cap are the same size. They are identical springs. For all batteries longer than 18350 the goal is compress the spring about 1/2 of its relaxed length regardless of the cap size. The short cap will give you the shortest overall length for the Sigelei with a 18350 battery inside. For 18490, 18500 and 18650 batteries the overall length of the Sigelei for each battery size will be the exactly the same when using either the tall or short battery caps so long as the spring is 1/2 compressed. The only advantage to using one cap or another at sizes above 18350 is the tall cap will be much easier to screw on than the short cap.

Typical lengths I get on Sigelei V3 and V5 Telescopic with different batteries. Just an estimate depending on how tight I compress the spring.

18350: 100mm with short battery cap, 105mm with long cap.
18490: 111-114mm with either battery cap, spring 1/2 compressed.
18500: 112-115mm with either battery cap, spring 1/2 compressed.
18650: 127-130mm with either battery cap, spring 1/2 compressed.
2x18350: 132-135mm with the long battery cap, spring 1/2 compressed.

 

[1buda]

What do you do with a wobbly bottom tube using a 18650?

 

[yzer]

I've never had a wobbly bottom tube with the battery correctly adjusted for 18650. Sure, I can feel some thread slop if I try to wiggle the lower tube but I don't feel any tube movement during normal use.

Using a thin film of Noalox on the tube threads will reduce this slop quite a bit but I don't bother with it anymore.

By another definition of "wobble" it is true that the Sigelei V3 or V5 standing on end can feel top heavy with an 18650 and a big atomizer and even more so with 2x18350. Tube mod users have come up with a lot of mod holders for this reason. I use 18500 batteries most of the time. With a 5ml carto tank the rig with 18500 is sized about the way I like for pocket carry and isn't that top-heavy to stand up solidly on its own.

 

[spydre]

What yzer said about overtightening the tube. That's ONE thing that I've heard (heard this from Grimm Green, who heard it from several people with direct experience, since he never had the problem with his Sigelei Zmax) that can lead to button issues.

 

[spydre]

Oh, Fairmana, I did get the holster on the cord to go around my neck, and well, it's a long thing. I haven't worn it outside of the house, and when I'm in the house and using it, if I'm sitting down, it's generally still resting with the bottom in my lap, with slack in the cord, it's that long. Plus, it's really light. So I haven't had any issues with the cord bothering my neck.

Um, as far as DIY with the flavors, I considered it for about a minute. But I am REALLY difficult to find the right taste, and my taste buds are screwed up as it is. But, okay, take pineapple flavoring. I found only one vendor so far that didn't have an ingredient in the pineapple flavored vapes that didn't make me gag. It's like just that ONE vendor was using flavoring from a different source. And I've only found ONE vendor who's honey flavoring doesn't taste like flowers, frankly. It took me too many months (close to a year, if not more) to find a main flavor that I'm going to stick with. The Honey Wood tobacco flavor from Chi-Town that I've vaped since the beginning, well, I had stopped vaping it for something close to two months last year, until some taste issues starting rearing their head and all of the sudden it tasted good again and I haven't stopped vaping it since then, but it's my third choice now. I even went through flavors that I was gangbusters for, going through them rapidly for a couple months, and then all of the sudden couldn't stand them.