Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

[EBates]

Hope things go better with your second unit. The battery does not require a lot of pressure to make good electrical contact. Don't compress the battery spring more than 1/2 way regardless if you are using a short or long battery cap. Noalox on the battery tube and battery cap threads will eliminate problems like this too. Clean the threads with a soft cloth dampened in alcohol before applying Noalox. The other thing to look for is a wet or loose 510/eGo connector. These should be cleaned and dried daily with Kleenex.

Thank you very much for the input. I have not as yet made it to Home Depot or Lowes and remembered to get some noalox even though I do plan to. Did however try cleaning the threads with qtip and iso earlier in the week. Didn't note any significant difference in performance though. I'm using Panny NCR18650PF batteries that are less than a week old. They are fine batteries BTW.
The return of my first Zmax was due primarily to paranoia. Things that act up during my "shake down" period are not well thought of and not often forgiven. My thinking is things that don't perform well initially don't get better with age.
On over tightening the battery tube, This is my first telescoping mod. So, I really am kind of guessing what is too tight. What I do is tighten the extension tube until I no longer feel the tube move while in use (thread slop). So to swear that I am not overtightening would potentially be BS (too early in the day to start lying). If you have a technique you could share I'm open to giving it a try. I'd definitely perfer not to trash my Zmax due to rookie mistakes.

 

[vapnstuff]

Ebates, I've found that, when using the bigger cap, the telescope part just about covers the threads on the tube. Much tighter than that and you risk some pressure on the internal parts. I put the cap on the telescope part first and then screw the the telescope on and give it about 1 1/2 to 2 full turns. Puts it about the same place.

 

[JeremyR]

A just telescope till battery is flush with end of tube or 1/8" of battery sticking out max. Then put endcap on this is properly adjusted. Do not tighten till there is no more tube wobble it will end up breaking the circuit board loose.

 

[yzer]

Thank you very much for the input. I have not as yet made it to Home Depot or Lowes and remembered to get some noalox even though I do plan to. Did however try cleaning the threads with qtip and iso earlier in the week. Didn't note any significant difference in performance though. I'm using Panny NCR18650PF batteries that are less than a week old. They are fine batteries BTW.
The return of my first Zmax was due primarily to paranoia. Things that act up during my "shake down" period are not well thought of and not often forgiven. My thinking is things that don't perform well initially don't get better with age.
On over tightening the battery tube, This is my first telescoping mod. So, I really am kind of guessing what is too tight. What I do is tighten the extension tube until I no longer feel the tube move while in use (thread slop). So to swear that I am not overtightening would potentially be BS (too early in the day to start lying). If you have a technique you could share I'm open to giving it a try. I'd definitely perfer not to trash my Zmax due to rookie mistakes.

For the Telescopic V3 and V5 the idea is to compress the battery spring no more than 1/2 of it's relaxed length:

-Using the tall (15mm) battery cap with batteries longer than 18350: adjust tube until end of battery extends 1/8" past the end of the tube. Then screw on the battery cap while holding the battery tube in place. Using the tall cap on batteries longer than 18350 costs nothing in overall Sigelei length as the tube makes up this adjustment.

-Using the short (10mm) battery cap with batteries longer than 18350: adjust battery tube until end of battery is 1/8" below the end of the tube. Then screw on the battery cap while holding the battery tube in place.

-For 18350 battery: Screw the battery tube down all the way to it's shortest position. Use the short battery cap. It fits 18350 perfectly and gives V3 and V5 the shortest length (100 mm) with 18350. The tall battery cap may fit for 18350 or it may not without stretching the spring.

-For 2x18350: Use the tall battery cap. Adjust tube until the second 18350 extends 1/8" past the end of the tube. Then screw on the battery cap while holding the battery tube in place. The short cap is too short for 2x18350 and will leave some of the telescopic tube threads exposed, greatly increasing tube wobble.

Another way to look at it is to measure the Sigelei V3 or V5 lengthwise from the battery cap base to the end of the 510 connector. With the spring properly compressed about 1/2 way you will get these measurements...

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

 

[EBates]

Thank You folks so much. I made a special trip to Home Depot for Noalox. Cleaned and applied Noalox to all of my mods.
OBTW apparently I was overtightening but not by very much.

 

[JeremyR]

In the last day or so, the display would do nothing while it still vaped normally. Again remove and reinstall the battery corrects the problem. When it did this again this morning I finally pulled the plug.

When mine did that it worried me for a second then I realized I had inadvertently turned the display off. 3 click and to option 6 display on/off.

 

[TinyTimberGal]

Thanks for the info on the 101vapes V3. I'll check out the one on Desert Vapes.

 

[yzer]

Thanks for the info on the 101vapes V3. I'll check out the one on Desert Vapes.

Great! That's probably a better choice for you. Plus, the brushed stainless steel finish on the Sigeleis is extremely tough. Paint (coatings), no matter what the type just will not hold up like stainless steel.

 

[VapieDan]

Great! That's probably a better choice for you. Plus, the brushed stainless steel finish on the Sigeleis is extremely tough. Paint (coatings), no matter what the type just will not hold up like stainless steel.

I agree to disagree! Yes there is no surface coating on a stainless device. It resisted rust and corrosion. It is my favorite material. Paint, even baked enamel, will wear off and or chip. I have a Vamo which was red is now chrome. I removed the finish as it chipped off. Any material can scratch. Again stainless is very hard. A satin or brush finish stays looking good for a very long time and (BONUS!) no finger prints! That being said there are many material out today which provide color and protection to metal materials. Usually they involve an intricate and expensive process to apply. I believe many of these finishes originated with firearms which see a lot of wear and abuse. Zenesis has developed there own version of such a coating. Provari is using it on some models. Finishes open up a world of color and designs. These finishes are expensive and I highly doubt you will see them on moderate to low device items. So until then I will be more than happy with stainless steel!

 

[dsconnell]

@JeremyR
I've been reading, with interest, your posts about using higher resistance coils. Well, I cut a 3.5 inch piece of 32 gauge A-1 Kanthal and wrapped it around a 20 gauge needle, which measured about 1mm in diameter. I think I ended up with 18 wraps and 3.4 ohms. I attached and fired it on a KF clone, set the coil and proceeded to thread some cotton wick through it. Let me tell you, trying to thread cotton through such a small diameter and fairly long coil wasn't the easiest, but I got it done. Since the wick was so thin, I filled in the reservoirs with cotton puffs, put it all together, filled and vaped it. I'm impressed! At 3.4 ohms I can go all the way down to 4 watts and get a great vape. I like how the coil lights up instantly and it vapes really, really well. At 3.5 watts on the V3, the coil is just a hare cool and I haven't tried it above 4.5 watts. I really like how there is instant heat, kind of like a mech mod. I've always wondered and now I know. On my next coil I think I'll shoot for ~3.0 ohms and maybe a slightly larger (1.5mm) diameter. Thank you for the ideas!

 

[EBates]

When mine did that it worried me for a second then I realized I had inadvertently turned the display off. 3 click and to option 6 display on/off.

I had already tried clicking the button to get the display to come on multiple times and when I had the sales person at the vape shop check it out he did it as well. Neither of us had any luck getting the display to work. Removal and reinstallation of the battery was the only way to get the display to return. When the display was restored all ot the pervious settings were unchanged.

 

[fairmana]

I got my first V3 in April of last year. My guess is that a momentary or intermittent loss of a good ground through the threads makes the MCU chip and/or the display circuitry burp which blanks the screen. It requires a hard reset to fix it as most people have discovered on their own (must remove the battery). Using Noalox on the threads religiously eliminated those problems for me.

If you ever see those problems return, chances are very good you need to remove the old Noalox that is contaminated with dust and grime and reapply fresh Noalox. I use alcohol and a rag to remove the majority of the old Noalox and then go over it again with alcohol and an old toothbrush which lets you get to the threads down inside the tube. I wipe off the toothbrush bristles with a rag between swipes to get any gunk off. I also found it very helpful to keep alcohol in a small spray bottle. It's easy to spray on when you're doing any kind of cleaning on just about every sort of e-cig part. They sell small spray bottles that work great at most hobby stores (Hobby Lobby, etc.).

One thing that has helped me keep my Noalox working longer is an o-ring that I put around the V3 right above my adjustable threaded tube (goes around the smaller diameter center part of the mod). I keep it flush with the top of the threaded tube at all times and it keeps most contamination from getting into the threads. My o-ring is a little fat and I've been meaning to go out to the hardware store to find an o-ring that is slightly skinnier. I'd rather have the o-ring slide snugly under the lip of the threaded tube since the fatter o-ring I'm using is prone to rolling away from the threaded tube on occasion. I think that would work better since that end of the tube has a rounded lip under it that gives the impression that the right size o-ring would fit in there nicely. That rounded edge might have been intended for an o-ring during the original design as an afterthought, but never fully got implemented. Otherwise, I can't imagine why they'd have one end of the threaded tube different from the other end. If you have a V3, check it out and you'll see what I mean.

 

[EBates]

I got my first V3 in April of last year. My guess is that a momentary or intermittent loss of a good ground through the threads makes the MCU chip and/or the display circuitry burp which blanks the screen. It requires a hard reset to fix it as most people have discovered on their own (must remove the battery). Using Noalox on the threads religiously eliminated those problems for me.

If you ever see those problems return, chances are very good you need to remove the old Noalox that is contaminated with dust and grime and reapply fresh Noalox. I use alcohol and a rag to remove the majority of the old Noalox and then go over it again with alcohol and an old toothbrush which lets you get to the threads down inside the tube. I wipe off the toothbrush bristles with a rag between swipes to get any gunk off. I also found it very helpful to keep alcohol in a small spray bottle. It's easy to spray on when you're doing any kind of cleaning on just about every sort of e-cig part. They sell small spray bottles that work great at most hobby stores (Hobby Lobby, etc.).

One thing that has helped me keep my Noalox working longer is an o-ring that I put around the V3 right above my adjustable threaded tube (goes around the smaller diameter center part of the mod). I keep it flush with the top of the threaded tube at all times and it keeps most contamination from getting into the threads. My o-ring is a little fat and I've been meaning to go out to the hardware store to find an o-ring that is slightly skinnier. I'd rather have the o-ring slide snugly under the lip of the threaded tube since the fatter o-ring I'm using is prone to rolling away from the threaded tube on occasion. I think that would work better since that end of the tube has a rounded lip under it that gives the impression that the right size o-ring would fit in there nicely. That rounded edge might have been intended for an o-ring during the original design as an afterthought, but never fully got implemented. Otherwise, I can't imagine why they'd have one end of the threaded tube different from the other end. If you have a V3, check it out and you'll see what I mean.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. That makes perfect sense to me due to the fact that the hard reset was the fix each time I had seen the problem. The clerk at the vape shop had replaced the battery in the one that I returned and then reinstalled my battery and wala working normally. He replaced it anyway (I suspect due to the fact that I was a regular customer at the shop). I have since noalox'd the threads on the new one.

On using noalox how much is enough? Since the stuff is rather greasy and gray in color, I placed three daps on the threads and worked it into the threads. Is that sufficient or is a bead all around the recommended amount? Don't think I've ever seen/heard what is enough/too much.

 

[Flush1]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. That makes perfect sense to me due to the fact that the hard reset was the fix each time I had seen the problem. The clerk at the vape shop had replaced the battery in the one that I returned and then reinstalled my battery and wala working normally. He replaced it anyway (I suspect due to the fact that I was a regular customer at the shop). I have since noalox'd the threads on the new one.

On using noalox how much is enough? Since the stuff is rather greasy and gray in color, I placed three daps on the threads and worked it into the threads. Is that sufficient or is a bead all around the recommended amount? Don't think I've ever seen/heard what is enough/too much.

Apply a generous amount, then wipe down with a paper towel. The excess will wipe away and what you need will remain in tbe threading grooves, that way when you screw it all together it makes good contact in the grooves. Keep in mind you will have to reclean and re apply about once a week if you swap batteries often as dust and such will adhere to the noalox. I usually swap twice a day so i like to re clean and re apply about every 25-30 times that i unscrew the tube.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[rebelgrower3]

Recieved my Sigelei flat top zmax yesterday from varitube and love it so far. I've seen some saying theirs has a plastic firing button mine is metal. Also mine came with both end caps.

 

[yzer]

The 101Vape clearance V3s are sold out.

 

[yzer]

The $39.95 SS V3 Flat Tops at Desert Vapes are sold out again. They still have the SS V3 Round Top. SS V5s still in stock for $46.95. Varitube almost always has good stock available.

 

[VapieDan]

The $39.95 SS V3 Flat Tops at Desert Vapes are sold out again. They still have the SS V3 Round Top. SS V5s still in stock for $46.95. Varitube almost always has good stock available.

They go so fast. One of the best sources out there.

 

[frank.gotch]

my v5 has gotten pretty beat up, some HARD drops, still works great though but I'm thinking of using this as an excuse to get one of the black chrome ones, they look sooo much nicer I think.

 

[munsterrr]

Anyone have a kayfun that sits flush(minus the small gap)? My Kayfun Lite Plus sits a good 4-5mm above the post with the center pin screwed all the way down.