Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

[yzer]

I haven't had mine for a week. But I've got the flat top v3- it will trigger protection if using some protected batteries. I solved this by simply removing the protection circuits from my batteries. This may have been noted before, but I haven't had time to read through this entire thread.


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Sorry, I didn't notice this post until today. Ye gods!

Don't use protected or non-protected ICR batteries in any VV or VV/VW mod. By removing the protection chip you have turned the protected ICRs into non-protected ICRs. Non-protected ICRs should never be used in any PV.

Yes, a protected ICR may screw with protection circuits on a sophisticated mod like a Sigelei Zmax. Far worse is that ICR batteries are not capable of providing enough current to run your Sigelei safely. They may overheat, short, or otherwise fail especially if it is a non-protected ICR. You don't want an ICR battery venting hot gas and flames onto your face, pocket or anywhere.

Use only IMR batteries with the Sigelei Zmax, not ICR. IMRs are non-protected because the chemistry is different and safer than ICR chemistry. IMRs are capable of much higher current drain than ICR. Buy a good brand like AW or Efest from a US vendor.

 

[withoutanyname]

The V5 telescopic flat top should have removable top cap. The menu is a bit different and there is always a battery indicator on the screen and a puff counter.
If you find it at a good price go for it, I think is s bit nicer than V3.

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[JeremyR]

Anyone know what It means when you go to fire the v3 and the screen just goes to saying sigelei for like 10-15 seconds/ locks up and you have to wait and do 5 click restart or pull the battery?

 

[Starlyte2]

Anyone know what It means when you go to fire the v3 and the screen just goes to saying sigelei for like 10-15 seconds/ locks up and you have to wait and do 5 click restart or pull the battery?

That you have a faulty battery connection, maybe? Is the "telescope" screwed up tight enough? Are you using good, unprotected batteries? Do you press too many times in a short interval to make it fire (but then it just changes the settings, I think) ?
If none of the above it's probably faulty...change it at the place you bought it, or at least contact them.

I bought mine from Heaven gifts, OK it's in China, but they seem to be real Sigelei's, solid SS, same in all regards. The first one had a problem, in that it changed the Wattage when it wanted. Most disagreeable, as you're vaping away at 4.5W, and you take a puff, it's at 12W! You can imagine the effect!
Any how, I'd ordered some other stuff, paying the postage express, so they put in a new one, which works really well.
They do have the V5, but I don't really want to charge my telephone with my PV which is in what they've changed. It's at under 50$, and the V3 under 40, so YES it is a great affair, great mod, although I'm waiting on a V5 Vamo too. I've had Vamos since they came out and find them pretty reliable, tough, and thoroughly great Mods.
But I must admit with a telescopic Mod you don't have extra 'bits' of it lying around, as you do with 18350 batteries in the Vamo.
Also the 1 button Menu has certain advantages over the 3 buttons, such as not pressing on the wrong button and changing the settings, and ... that's about it, except for the telescopic form of the Sigelei.
All my Mecha Mods are telescopic, and I find it's a form of PV that should have been around for much longer, it's so practical
If you get one from where I got mine, the free post is LONG, and by long I mean a few weeks long, but for 16$ you can get it sent in a few days. It's not excessive, and saves a few weeks waiting.

Now people will say I've gone for a Chinese clone, BUT where do you think your local vendor buys his stock, honestly? I don't have any reason to think it's a clone, as it's sold as genuine Sigelei, and when they sell clones they say "Clone of ...", and I've been buying there for a while. So don't bother posting to say that, unless you can't control yourself

Happy Vaping, a all my good wishes for the approaching fetes, Xmas, 2014 (OMG, I don't believe it, it's the age of Sci-FI ) and all that, the Winter Solstice, most of all, as the days will get longer, and summer will arrive

 

[dsconnell]

Anyone know if the new V3s are available anywhere else? Seems like 101 ran out or are making some inventory changes

Maybe try Vaportekusa.com

 

[yzer]

Anyone know what It means when you go to fire the v3 and the screen just goes to saying sigelei for like 10-15 seconds/ locks up and you have to wait and do 5 click restart or pull the battery?

I think you nailed the problem in another thread several days ago. The circuit board and switch have drifted out of position. The unit is shot.

I have read several accounts of this same problem with the Sigelei Telescopes, some of which appear on this thread. The problem is something of a frustration for me because I've owned two Sigelei Zmax Telescopes and have never experienced this issue. Both of mine still work great.

On the other hand I do have ideas about how I could create this problem in my Sigelei if I wanted to. First, I'd over-tighten the telescopic tube. I never tighten past the point that the battery spring is more than half compressed but I'll forget that. The springs are identical with both the tall and the long battery cap so it's easier to overtighten with the short battery cap on batteries over 18350 in size. I'd tighten that sucker down until the spring goes flat and then tighten the cap and telescopic tube together a good couple of turns more to make the Sigelei even shorter in length. This ought to move the circuit board pretty good. Maybe I'll see the button color change appearance.

The next thing I'd try is pushing the button harder than I need to push it to make the switch click. I'd give it a good mashing to help move the internals underneath because for some reason the electronics in the Sigelei are not mounted in a completely solid foundation.

So, I could probably cause my Sigelei to fail if I wanted to. And anyone could probably do the same by accident if they didn't have some mechanical aptitude.

I have a good amount of mechanical aptitude. I'm good at fixing things and treating them well to make them last. I do what maintenance I can on my WRX which I have owned for 13 years now. It still runs like a top. I do all of the work and restoration on my wooden Chris-Craft cruiser including plank repair, paint, varnish and mechanical work. The engine is a 1947 Chrysler Marine M-7 that starts on the first turn. My wife is pretty good with things mechanical. But, for some reason she insists on using the steering wheel to grind the tires on the pavement when when the car isn't moving. As a result we have to replace the steering on her cars at regular intervals when I've rarely had steering problems on my cars.

You will get a very decent APV with the Sigelei Zmax Telescopic V3. The unit is not perfect. It has it's weak points as all APVs do. A small percentage of you may get a lemon when you order one. Sorry, there is nothing I can do about that especially with Chinese-made goods. I have advised everyone to purchase units from US vendors that offer a warranty so that you can return the unit for exchange if problems develop. US vendors can also reduce the chances of you buying a trouble-prone Sigelei clone. The longer the warranty the better. I've seen warranties from 14 days to 90 days from US Sigelei vendors. Like anything else warranties are not free and you have to pay for them. That said, I've purchased both of my Sigeleis from US vendors offering 14-day warranties.

Last bit as long as I'm on the soapbox. For those new to APVs: Use the right batteries. If this is your first APV: IMR battery brands AW and Efest are available from US vendors.

 

[JeremyR]

Appreciate both your feed backs, using new efest imrs, tight but not over tight. The board appears about the same as when I got it. It's something to do with electronics or software warning I think. I caught a glimpse of what displays for a second before long sigelei screen. .. It said Si v6 .. Something else across screen after the v but missed it. Will watch for it next time . I think its a trouble code of some sort. I thing that sucks is it defaults it and I have to reset to watts and turn back up and change the display.

Oh I've been a mechanic for 13 yrs, electric/plumbing, control systems, currently it tech, wireless internet installation tech, dsl internet too, fix anything

 

[yzer]

Well, JeremyR, you certainly have the mechanical cred. Hope things go well for you. Is this your second unit?

 

[JeremyR]

First unit. Trying to figure out what this means or if should contact 101 for replacement after 3weeks. Only problem is they usually want you to send it back and it's my only good mod. Thanks.

 

[yzer]

You may want to send it back. You have been having trouble with it for a while. I purchased my back-up Sigelei from 101 Vape. In fact, your post earlier in this thread lead me to 101 Vape and the great prices there. I looked at the site yesterday and they were sold out on the V3 except for the smokey black finish. You never know, they may have kept a few in stainless steel for returns. It's a 14-day warranty. Tell them you are posting about it on ECF. Might help. Calling any business on the phone usually has more impact than email on returns.

 

[JeremyR]

Yeah will have to touch base with them. Aside from this issue, this thing would be right up there with ~ provari, except for the pwm. Well dang close for 1/5th the money.. Another thing that has happened a couple times is I can hear the pulses from the board. They really need to redesign the board support. The smoke zmax is fully supported by half a PVC tube if you look on youtube there's some vids of them apart.
Yeah 101 is the spot.

 

[yzer]

Funny thing about the "Rattlesnake" sound and PWM. I usually vape 6.7 to 7.0 watts with a 2.0 ohm carto and hear the rattlesnake pretty well if nothing is covering the drip tip. Having a stainless steel carto in a glass tank with a stainless steel drip tip undoubtedly helps with the sound. I was vaping 7.0 watts with a 3.2 ohm carto over the weekend and never heard the rattlesnake.

I don't mind the rattlesnake, though. It's just a sound I don't think it effects vapor quality.

I generated this meme a couple of weeks ago using something r77r7r said in a post. I ripped off the photo from the internets. r77r7r is using it as his avatar now.

 

[yzer]

If you rather not hear the Rattlesnake on the Sigelei Zmax use a high resistance coil in your atomizing device. In fact, the otherwise poor instruction book I got with the Sigelei in April suggests using 3.0 ohms but didn't explain why.

Use this for an example for using a 2.0 ohm device.

-Coil resistance of atomizer: 2.0 ohms
-Power (watts) 7.0 watts
-Voltage from battery 3.7 volts
-Current drawn from battery 1.9 amps

Here's what happens when you run a 3.0 ohm device at the same power as above.

-Coil resistance 3.0 ohms
-Power (watts) 7.0 watts
-Voltage from battery 4.6 Volts
-Current drawn from battery 1.5 amps

Three reasons to use 3.0 ohm coils in the Sigelei Zmax instead of lower resistance coils...

1. Less or no rattlesnake sound running at 4.6V or 7.0W or higher
2. The battery will draw less current and last longer between charges
3. You can use a wider range of power or voltage settings without burning the atomizer device

 

[JeremyR]

Actually running a 3 ohm on it now. I never hear it from the atty. this was a buzzing from inside the mod itself. And actually it was a 1.3 ohm coil, that I ran for a day.. which did fire most the time, if it fluctuated To 1.2 it wouldn't fire. It didn't buzz all the time though. The other time I heard the mod buzzing was at higher voltage with a low battery ~ 3.3v. I think it's the chip working too hard to boost.

I use an odessyus clone.

 

[yzer]

Hmm. I've never hear sound coming from inside the Sigelei other than the button click. The rattlesnake sound I get always comes from the carto.

 

[ch1naski]

By rattlesnake sound, you mean the popping and crackling of the juice inside the carto? That's a welcome sounds to my ears.

I've never heard my zmax make any noise, either. Just the tanks.


Curt.

 

[Dac311]

I've heard the rattlesnake. I don't hear it every time, but every now and then I hear it. It's quite clearly a an electrical pulse.


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[RatInDaHat]

The only thing i wish they would do is come up with a better board mounting solution. A hard drop or an over tight battery will dislodge the board. I'll typically take off the top and glue the board into place once that happens.

 

[yzer]

I found the Sigelei Zmax to be pretty drop-resistant. I've dropped it it several times including a drop to a travertine floor. No damage to internals. The Sigelei didn't have a ding but the stone was chipped.

 

[RatInDaHat]

Might just be luck or how it lands. Two of my three have been dropped and dislodged. these are v3 with the unscrewable top cap.