Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

[yzer]

The stacked 18350s will provide 8.4V to the rig but output from the sigelei is limited, so the max is 6V to the atomizer. The sigelei Zmax won't run atomizers of less than 1.2 ohm.

I run Efest 18500's most of the time and haven't tried stacking my Efest 18350s, although I have four. I really have no need for 10 watts, let alone 15 but that's just me.

I checked the pBusardo video links on two machines and they worked. Anyone else have problems seeing them?

 

[yzer]

I just slammed two Efest V1 18350s (flat tops) into the sigelei. They work just fine. You don't need button tops for stacking.

 

[yzer]

I'm not going to crank it to 15W. That will just burn my 2.0 ohm carto.

 

[BecknCO]

Thanks yzer - I could see the videos after I refreshed, so I'm sure it was just me.

I'm not trying to do anything crazy by going to 15 watts, it's just that my natural tobacco juices seem to taste much better at the higher wattages based on experimenting with RDAs and a mech mod.

Now it makes perfect sense why Jeremy said no higher than 1.5ohms with stacked 18350's - 6volts with a 1.5ohm atty draws 4amps at 24 watts which I assume will be brought down to 15 by the zmax chip. Thanks also for the tip that the flat tops will stack - i thought it was only button tops that would. How have you been liking the efest 18350's? They sure are a little more affordable than the aw's and I could save all the money I can right now.

 

[yzer]

The Efests are very decent. I've had 4 18500's in rotation since April 2013 and they aren't showing any signs of loosing capacity. I've got Efest 18350s too but I don't use them that often. 18350 doesn't last me more than a couple of hours where 18500 will last me six hours and is a lot smaller than 18650.

 

[JeremyR]

Now it makes perfect sense why Jeremy said no higher than 1.5ohms with stacked 18350's - 6volts with a 1.5ohm atty draws 4amps at 24 watts which I assume will be brought down to 15 by the zmax chip. Thanks also for the tip that the flat tops will stack - i thought it was only button tops that would. How have you been liking the efest 18350's? They sure are a little more affordable than the aw's and I could save all the money I can right now.

Hey sorry for any confusion that was a copied post from another forum. You can go to 1.3 but won't gain any power and if it fluctuates to 1.2 it won't fire in my experience. If you feel you need more power the stacked will deliver. I guess the efest 18350 have a claimed 12 amp limit; But real world is said to be 6.25 amps = safe for zmax down to 1.2.

As far as how the mod regulates the voltage to wattage , I don't know. I have tried to find out the answer with no luck. I'm not sure if its regulated to 15 or if its true 6v in voltage mode.

 

[DaveP]

I went back to my Provari for a while after using the Sigelei during the get acquainted period. A couple of days ago I gave the Provari a rest and fired up the Sigelei again. The two are so close in construction and performance that either makes me perfectly happy.

I've been using a single 18650 since about 5:00 pm yesterday and it's 9:00 am this morning. I'm just beginning to hit the 3.5v level on the battery. I've been vaping at 6 watts the whole time on a 2 ohm Protank coil.

My Provari needs to go back. I've been putting it off, but it's time for a refurb and a couple of repairs. The battery spring has compressed and I've stretched it a couple of times. The circuit board is loose in the side slots and I can feel the board and battery flip back and forth when I vape. I just need to call Provape and get an RMA for my 2nd year warranty repair. I think I'll do that this week and get it in the mail. My 2 year warranty runs out in a little over 2 months. No point in taking it down to the wire before doing that.

I discovered that the Sigelei battery spring works really well in the Provari. There was an extra included with the spare V3 cap. It just slip fits full width into the Provari battery cap and puts a lot more pressure on the battery. If you compress it to reduce the height a little, it's a perfect battery spring for the Provari and still provides a little more pressure. You don't have to deal with twisting the spring to get it into the little hole on the cap since it fits full width in the cap. I think Provape should consider a full width spring instead of the tiny one they use. I've deformed my Provari spring over time using needle nose to get it rotated into the hole as I periodically clean the battery cap. That wouldn't happen with a full width spring.

 

[JeremyR]

Here is a visual comparison of 18650 & stacked 16340 with a 1.6 ohm coil I had rigged for testing. (I would use 350's, just have the 340 laying around)

18650 , 15w , 1.6 ohm @ max temp in about 5 sec

Stacked 16340, 15w , 1.6 ohm @ max temp, also less time to get there about 3 sec

I was really surprised that bettery life in the stacked configuration lasted me almost twice as long as single.

 

[DaveP]

Stacked, the device has more voltage to deal with in regulating to create a VV. The two 16340's may also have more current capability than a single 18650. I'm not surprised.

 

[JeremyR]

Yeah Its nice you still have ~ 6.4v available at cut off instead of 3.2. Much easier for the mod to produce 6v from 6.5 instead of 3.3.

The really surprising thing was I expected 1500mah from 2 , 750mah batteries. But instead they lasted ~ 60% longer than the 2000mah 650 , which would be ~ 3000+ mah. So it seems when stacking in this you can take the rating and times it by 4. Essentially stacking 800mah 350s should give you comparable to a 3200mah run time instead of 1600mah.

The reason I think is based on the c rating load being put on them is half of what it would be in single mode.

 

[DaveP]

Yeah Its nice you still have ~ 6.4v available at cut off instead of 3.2. Much easier for the mod to produce 6v from 6.5 instead of 3.3.

The really surprising thing was I expected 1500mah from 2 , 750mah batteries. But instead they lasted ~ 60% longer than the 2000mah 650 , which would be ~ 3000+ mah. So it seems when stacking in this you can take the rating and times it by 4. Essentially stacking 800mah 350s should give you comparable to a 3200mah run time instead of 1600mah.

The reason I think is based on the c rating load being put on them is half of what it would be in single mode.

Since the voltage is what's being used for cutoff it makes sense that two batts would provide longer vaping time before they reach that point. The voltage drop from two must be slower than one in spite of the MAH ratings. Mass makes a difference, I guess.

 

[MotherNatural]

I'm still very much a noob here (day 13) so please forgive my ignorance. One of my first purchases was my Zmax v3 and at this point I barely even know how to turn it on. My only complaint is it's size/heft while using a 18650 battery so I'm about to order 18350s for it. Question is: is there any advantage/disadvantage between button or flat top battery? I believe either would work so does it matter?

 

[fairmana]

I'm still very much a noob here (day 13) so please forgive my ignorance. One of my first purchases was my Zmax v3 and at this point I barely even know how to turn it on. My only complaint is it's size/heft while using a 18650 battery so I'm about to order 18350s for it. Question is: is there any advantage/disadvantage between button or flat top battery? I believe either would work so does it matter?

IMHO, with a button top you are more likely to have a better electrical connection. The added length on the battery is negligible, and since the device is telescopic it's a non-issue (at least for me). So if I had the option to choose between both types during battery purchase, I personally would go with the button top. Others may feel differently. I wouldn't shy away from a flat-top just because I couldn't get the battery I wanted in a button top. I have a couple of flat-top batteries for my Sigelei and they work just fine as single batteries (non-stacked). That being said, I haven't tried to stack flat-tops in my device yet so I can't speak from experience with that. I've read that others have stacked flat-tops and haven't had any trouble which is great. However, if I was going to stack and looking to buy batteries, I'd probably buy the button tops just to take Murphy's Law out of the equation and ensure a good electrical connection between batteries.

 

[MotherNatural]

Thank you for the advice, fairmana. I don't anticipate stacking them but who knows what's down the road. So is the only difference between the two that button tops are better for stacking? Again, sorry for my ignorance of the basics.

 

[yzer]

Button top or flat top doesn't make any difference. I use flat tops all of the time because they cost a buck or so less per battery. They fit fine in all sizes for the Sigelei. 18490 or 18500 is my favorite size. A single 18350 just doesn't have enough capacity for me most of the time although I'm using them today because I'm on the go and want the Sigelei V3 at it's smallest size. The next most often used size for me is 18650, which I use only while at home. I have stacked Efest 18350 flat tops and they worked perfectly.

 

[MotherNatural]

Yes, that was my thought with a 18350 for on the go. One more noobie question…is there a trick to carry it in your pocket safely or must it be turned off? Maybe I should be posting in the noob threads. Thanks for your patience.

 

[yzer]

No problem at all. I carry my Sigelei in jeans pocket. Use Menu Item #1 to turn OFF before doing so. That why Menu Item #1 is there.

 

[DaveP]

I use button top lMR batteries just because my Provari requires them. There's a recessed area around the contact that's bordered by small extensions of the circuit board by design. Flat top batteries won't make contact with the center contact because of the wings on the board.

I like having batteries that I can swap from one mod to the other. My Segelei Zmax can use either, so I choose to stay with button top 18650 lMR batts in both. The only difference in the batteries is that the button top battery has an end cap with a button and flat top doesn't.

Past that, if they both work use either.

 

[Provari Pirate]

I pulled the trigger and bought a Sigelei Zmax V3 Telescopic at a vape meet yesterday and love it so far. Just hope i don't get the button problems cause i'm thinking of buying a second one.

 

[rockmissjess]

Hey everyone i know i havent been on in many many moons but im here now

So i Just got the Sigeleli Zmax V3 Telescope from Authentic Sigelei Zmax V3 Flat Top Telescope- Body, Batteries, Case, & Charger! for 74.99 (kit) on sale and i also got the iclear30 and two replacement wicks...using code varitube10 got me a total of $81 for all of it... and i ordered friday (they ship from FL,And im in AZ) and it got here monday... (today) it came with two battery caps, case, ce4, and a 18350 and a 18650 battery ... im using the 18650 it came with and it seems to do very well with my evod... im letting the iclear30 set overnight so the wicks get nice and saturated... i have some efest 18650's on the way i imagine those will be better than the sigelei battery's it came with....

do you think it will make a difference at all?