Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

[JeremyR]

My first tear down starts at post # 816

So I was still annoyed by how far off the button was and how I had to push it just right to get it fire consistently. Usually my thumb on the screen to put pressure on the top side of the button since the switch was positioned high in the tube.

So with my limited available equipment in the house tonight. I pulled it apart again. I recommend Once you get it loose enough to get a small screwdriver in to start prying it out you do so then a bigger one to finish it off so you don't yank it out stressing the soldered wires. However they are attached well. The mod worked and it fires much better like it should. Now if sigelei is following this thread please make these improvements.

I shaved off some of the circuit board and the cradle so it would push In farther. You can see I shave the board down to metal just starting to show. Also last time I had it open I did glue the circuit board into the cradle.

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The retainer I made, I previously flipped it, to hold the board down tight as well. Only reason it's cut is because it was slightly too big for the tube. If I had a plastic washer that fit I would just slot it for the board.

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Now the switch lines up with the button hole. I should have took a before pick but it was 1/16 to 3/32 offset. When you have the board in before you put the top cap on make sure the board is level with the button. You don't want it angles on the button or you'll have to push at an angle for a solid fire.

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Since I now had extra room ontop the retainer I made was short, so I had to improvise.. I had a small old power cord for something cut it to fit and put it in to fill the remaining gap.

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You can see how far the screen came down to get the button lined up. I'd rather trade an offset screen for good button performance. It looks really crooked but it's the angle of the shot. Using this photo because the quality turned out better off my iphone.

--
Ideally I would get a plastic washer that fit or 2 or 3 thin ones to stack so I could get the thickness down right. Its around 1/32 to start with and after trimming to line up the button it's between 1/16 & 3/32. It could vary with different production runs or boards. You will have to cut a little out of the washer to get the wires through it. You really just have to put it in tight and use something to measure the distance to end of tube , subtract the top cap insert and that how much you need. Actually a rubber washer if thin enough could be mixed in so it has some give

 

[Deckacards]

Verrry interesting, Deckacards. Welcome to the group!

In a nutshell... Doing this operation does much the same for V3. It also set both of my Sigeleis into default settings for VV. I had to reset both to display power upon firing, VW operation and RMS. After checking the version info I released the button, let the display go out, removed battery cap and did a normal boot-up. Then I reset for power display on firing, VW and RMS.

Thank you for the welcome!

A negative of the procedure that I outlined is the reset. I don't mind it as I just got into protank coil rebuilding. I could easily make 4-5 cotton wicked coils in one sitting. Resistance and wattage/current outputs are important to know when testing each coil, and can now be seen with one button press. After putting a fully charged battery into my zmax and following the procedure I outlined, I am usually set until the next day thanks to the capacity of the 18650s I use.

For others, the benefit may just be in viewing the version of their unit. There was some talk in this thread about Zmax V5s being released recently with the sigellei logo under the fire button. I wonder what their version number is. My Zmax has the logo of the vendor I purchased the unit from along the side. It is the only marking. The markings of the various Zmaxs could be purely aesthetic, chosen by the vendor before making bulk purchases.

To touch on the topic of this thread, I am extremely happy with my device. I will go into more detail later when I am not thumb mashing my phone.

I do have one question: is it normal for the Zmax to output a voltage or wattage below the Zmax's limitations ( 6.0 and 15.0 respectfully ) even when set for those values, when NOT using stacked 18350s? Pbusardo's review of the zmax v2 answers "yes" to that question. I'm curious what owners of the v3 and V5s have to say. I've only managed to reach a peak of 2.8 amps on my device using an 18650 battery. I've verified that value using a multimeter in series with the coil of a protank head.

 

[ch1naski]

So I was still annoyed by how far off the button was and how I had to push it just right to get it fire consistently. Usually my thumb on the screen to put pressure on the top side of the button since the switch was positioned high in the tube.

So with my limited available equipment in the house tonight. I pulled it apart again. I recommend Once you get it loose enough to get a small screwdriver in to start prying it out you do so then a bigger one to finish it off so you don't yank it out stressing the soldered wires. However they are attached well. The mod worked and it fires much better like it should. Now if sigelei is following this thread please make these improvements.

I shaved off some of the circuit board and the cradle so it would push In farther. You can see I shave the board down to metal just starting to show.

---
The retainer I made, I previously flipped it, to hold the board down tight as well. Only reason it's cut is because it was slightly too big for the tube. If I had a plastic washer that fit I would just slot it for the board.

----
Now the switch lines up with the button hole. I should have took a before pick but it was 1/16 to 3/32 offset.

---
Since I now had extra room ontop the retainer I made was short, so I had to improvise.. I has an old power cord for something cut it to fit and put it in.

----
You can see how far the screen came down to get the button lined up. It looks really crooked but it's the angle of the shot. Using this photo because the quality turned out better off my iphone.

--
Ideally I would get a plastic washer that fit or 2 or 3 thin ones to stack so I could get the thickness down right. Its around 1/32 to start with and after trimming to line up the button it's between 1/16 & 3/32. It could vary with different production runs or boards. You will have to cut a little out of the washer to get the wires through it. You really just have to put it in tight and use something to measure the distance to end of tube , subtract the top cap insert and that how much you need. Actually a rubber washer if thin enough could be mixed in so it has some give

I'm getting the same button issue, mine is offset almost halfway up from the external button. Very annoying if you don't pay attention to how you are pressing it.
I've yet to try and pull mine apart, but will reference your posts when I do.

@deck
Great info, man.

Curt.

 

[JeremyR]

I've only managed to reach a peak of 2.8 amps on my device using an 18650 battery. I've verified that value using a multimeter in series with the coil of a protank head.

Yes I believe you are right. I don't think any mod can put out full power with out stacked 350s to have 6 volts available for the regulator. So if you put a 1.5 ohm coil in and bump it to 6 volts I do not think your really getting 6v with 1 650. You will get the max it can put out which sounds like will be 2.8 amps which is only 4.2v? Sounds a little low though... My next purchase may be 2 350's. Not sure I really need that power but you never know.

Awesome spreadsheet showing ohms, volts, amps,watts. I'm sure you have one but others may benefit from the link .
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...xZLVd5aDkwUEJEZXc&f=true&noheader=false&gid=1

 

[yzer]

Stacked 18350s are needed for the highest output in either variable voltage or variable wattage operation. Vapers using stacked batteries should be expert on selecting high drain batteries for this power level, battery rotation and battery charging and monitoring. I haven't learned much about this as I'm very happy vaping a carto tank at under 8 watts.

 

[Dac311]

Stacked batteries are way less dangerous in a vw mod. It means that it doesn't have to push the batteries as hard and a lot of times is bucking the voltage down instead of up. The main thing is, if you stack batteries make sure you have 4 and are only putting in 2 at a time that have even charge. If the batteries are miss matched in charge it could cause one battery to pushed to hard and cause problems. Never mix batteries of different charge levels when stacking.

 

[vapnstuff]

i dont know if it was mentioned but a very good place to get the zmax v5 is vaporworld.biz

$44.96 and $5 2-day priority shipping

ordered christmas day, got it in this morning.

found it on pennyvaper.com which also might come in handy

Both of mine, flat and round top, from desert vapes ... 39.95 + 2.95 shipping and both had the logo under the power switch.

@Deckacards - Have to do the version trick when my batts get charged. Pretty neat. Thanks for the tip.

 

[jblindy]

Howdy all,

I just registered to this forum today. After throwing a few comments in the new members section, I can finally post in a thread that I've followed closely. "The mother of all Zmax threads" is an appropriate title.

I'm an owner of a Sigelei Zmax V5, and have owned it for almost 2 months now. I've managed to unlock a few features on my unit, and I'm wondering if other V5 and V3 owners can replicate it. I've found a way to view the version of my unit through the oled. I've also enabled a mode where by pressing and holding the fire button, my Zmax display the resistance of my atomizer full screen for less than a second, just before showing the battery-firing screen (output, battery life, and puff counter if menu 5 is chosen accordingly).

If I don't follow the specific steps outlined below, when I press and hold the fire button of the Zmax, I'm directly shown the battery-firing screen. This is the standard mode of operation I'm sure we are all used to.

To make things clear, here are the steps I take to view the version number and unlock what I described above.

1. Remove the end cap of the Zmax.
2. Place a battery into the unit.
3. Press and hold the fire button.
4. Screw the end cap into the unit.

On my Zmax, after holding the fire button and screwing in the end cap, the screen displays "SI V2.0a" for a second, followed by "4.0 V" for a second (the voltage of my battery) and cycles these outputs until I release the fire button.

5. Release the fire button.
6. Press the fire button 5 times to turn the Zmax on.
7. Press and hold the fire button.

At this point, "2.2 Ω" (my atomizer resistance) is displayed full screen for less than a second, followed by the battery-firing screen that we are all used to. This mode of operation continues until I remove the end cap of the Zmax. A benefit of this new mode is that I never need to select "Resistance" under menu 5 "LCD Display". The resistance of my atomizer is always shown immediately after pressing and holding the fire button. The resistance displays for less than a second, and isn't a nuisance whatsoever.

I'm curious what happens with other users when they follow the steps above. Is this feature V5 specific? How many other users are shown SI V2.0a? What other versions are there?

Looking forward to some responses.

I tried this on my V3 and I get SI V1.5a. Purchased on the 20th of December with Sigelei logo under button. However, mine doesn't cycle the ohms on the lcd with whatever option I have set, it just stays at ohms regardless of what option I choose in the menu.

 

[Gato del Jugo]

Flat Top purchased late December 2013 (removable top cap, logo under button): SI V1.5a




Remember to set it back to RMS afterwards!

 

[lulu836]

My V3 shows SI v1.5a as well and does not cycle through resistance when the fire button is hit. Have to repeat the "hard set" steps for the screen to show battery again. Otherwise it shows resistance all the time. Purchased mid-December.

 

[lulu836]

nevermind.............

 

[lulu836]

Mistake.............

 

[BecknCO]

I have a V5 flat top I bought a few weeks ago from GoodeJuice. It only has ZMAX V5 on the side of the top part, no Sigelei logo or anything else under the fire button. It shows V.20. Neat trick - thanks.

 

[Gato del Jugo]

I remember reading or watching this info somewhere, but can't find it right now..


Anybody know how far down the battery goes before the V3 automatically shuts off?

Thanks!

 

[yzer]

3.2 volts on the battery and it quits.

 

[Mcp15]

I just got my V3! (thanks to Santa Hubby) i got the Round top--love the teardrop design-- from 101vape for $43 . It's sooo pretty. I have been using a zmax Mini since July, and it's great except for having to change the 18350 batteries so frequently. I just gave my V3 a test drive with a 18500 battery, and look forward to NOT changing batteries!

I've read this entire thread once, and gone back and read sections of it multiple times...it's what made me salivate for this model. Thanks guys!

My biggest question is this: how do I know how tight is "tight enough" ? I have 2 battery caps and I'm using the taller of the two--it's a lot easier to get on. I'm pretty nervous about overtightening. I followed Yzer's advice about having the battery peak out 1/16 to 1/8 inch and then tightening, but I'm not sure if that's with the tall or short cap???

Thanks for a great thread!

 

[JeremyR]

Really if it were me starting over again, I would only tighten it till the battery didn't rattle anymore. Or only make the battery flush with the tube and then put the battery cap on.... The short cap is for 18350's ; especially flat top 18350's.

 

[Mcp15]

Thanks, JeremyR...I presume that if it was not tight enough, I would get a bad ohm reading, or a fault error of some sort?
Btw, has your little pitcher bent up any more mods??:

 

[JeremyR]

Not this week yet... it's not bent up at all I just push the top cap tight again and it's good as new.

If the tube/battery is not tight enough shaking it /setting it down would make the battery lose contact and you would have to start it back up. The tightness is only to hold the positive tight * against the the board contact.* The negative is good as long as spring is touching. The ground is competed at the threaded tube. You will need noalox or something on the threads because tightening it more doesn't seem to improve the contact.

 

[yzer]

Possibly the most obsessive post I've ever written. More than you would ever need to know about adjusting the tube length for batteries.

Sigelei Zmax Telescopic V3 and V5 Battery Tube Adjustment