Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

[Danny55]

In addition to having Menu Item #5 set to voltage all of the time you must must select "Power" at Menu Item #7 for watts to display on firing or "Voltage" to display voltage on firing.

On the V5 display you will see the output in watts or volts on the top line of the display when you fire. This should be the same value you selected at Menu Items #2 or 3. The battery charge is indicated by battery icon on the lower line along with the puff counter. Battery voltage is provided in digits at Menu Item #4 if you selected "Voltage" at Menu Item #5.

Yep, I've been doing all that correctly.

How you getting on with unflavoured vaping btw? I'm currently vaping 100% unflavoured VG to which I added 6mg nic. It's sooooooo boring, lol, I'm itching to get back to a flavoured juice. But I've had nothing but problems and I'm just trying to find out what keeps giving me a super dry mouth, loss of flavour every week, sore tongue and an extreme bitter/soapy/metallic after taste which lingers for days and clouds the flavour. I can't tell if it's just from dryness or something in PG or flavouring coating the back of my mouth, but it's really horrible. VG certainly seems kinder to my mouth at the moment. Then I'll try unflavoured PG base with some nic. Anyway, that's for another thread really.

 

[yzer]

"Display Current" along with the draw stopwatch are goodies found on the V5 Menu Item #5 that aren't there on V3.

 

[yzer]

I really enjoy unflavored and developed a taste for the particular nicotine I purchase. It never clashes with anything I eat or drink.

 

[Danny55]

If you have two freshly charged 18350's try them and see what happens. I don't know what battery you are using but it could be that the single battery you are using is not capable of high amp drain due to design or by being worn out. It looks as if you are doing everything right.

I'll give it a go. Cheers! My batteries are good ones sold by a reputable seller on UKV, but you might be correct about them not being capable of high amp drain. They're unprotected, is it safe to stack them?

 

[JeremyR]

Hi guys. On my Sigelei Zmax V5, if I have option #5 to 'Display Voltage', any voltage or wattage setting I have above a certain amount, displays a much lower readout when I press to vape. Example, the display will match wattage I've set up to 8w, but setting my wattage from 8.5w to maximum displays about 7.2/7.6w. With voltage, it'll match up to 4.1v, but between 4.2 and 5v, it'll still display 4.1w. I dropped the Zmax a few weeks ago, could it have messed something up on the PCB? But does it matter much, ie, will I still be getting the voltage or wattage I've set in option #2 'Power UP' or option #3 'Power Down' ?

It's not the pcb, in contrast it's reading correctly. It's telling you what it's really achieving in output. Sounds like you do not have imr batteries that's why you can only reach 2 amps. A single 10a imr will provide ~2.5 amps drain capability. Stacking 18350, imr only, will provide a 4 amp drain capability. Check out some of my blogs on power and stacking. There has been much discussion here about stacking and amp limit if you do a thread search for stacked you'll find posts.

Please tell us your battery brand and model. You have to use imrs to achieve good performace and be able to reach the 2.5 amp limit. Only a matched set of new imr 18350 should be used for stacking. You can test it out with what you have though.

Also as a single battery drains the Sigelie's output is reduced because the input voltage is reduced. Batteries amp limit reduces also as it goes down, more so with non imrs. Stacking eliminates This as input voltage is always between 6.4 & 8.4 instead of 3.2& 4.2.

 

[Danny55]

It's not the pcb, in contrast it's reading correctly. It's telling you what it's really achieving in output. Sounds like you do not have imr batteries that's why you can only reach 2 amps. A single 10a imr will provide ~2.5 amps drain capability. Stacking 18350, imr only, will provide a 4 amp drain capability. Check out some of my blogs on power and stacking. There has been much discussion here about stacking and amp limit if you do a thread search for stacked you'll find posts.

Please tell us your battery brand and model. You have to use imrs to achieve good performace and be able to reach the 2.5 amp limit. Only a matched set of new imr 18350 should be used for stacking. You can test it out with what you have though.

Also as a single battery drains the Sigelie's output is reduced because the input voltage is reduced. Batteries amp limit reduces also as it goes down, more so with non imrs. Stacking eliminates This as input voltage is always between 6.4 & 8.4 instead of 3.2& 4.2.

Strange though that I notice an increase in sweetness and flavour, plus the coil heating up faster when increasing wattage at option #2, say from 9w to 11.5w, while the readout when vaping remains lower.

These are my batteries:
2x Torchy IMR 18350 Button Top 850mAh Li-Ion 3.7v Li-Ion batteries + case | eBay

 

[JeremyR]

The batteries are not good for pushing power.

Look at the chart at 5 amps in the description. That battery hits 3.2 zmax cut off in 100mah ! The imr lasts 5 times longer at 5 amps!!! You have to use high drain imrs because the zmax regularly pulls 6 amps from the battery for the boost circuitry, I've heard it can hit up to 8amps draw. That is why you need high drain imrs.

With what you have if you put a 3 ohm coil on it you will get equal readings. Because a 3ohm coil at 6v is 2 amps. 12 watts of power. That is the highest you can go if your batter only alows the sig to do 2 amps.... 3 ohms will perform better with more vapor than the 2 ohms your using now. Your actually losing power by over coiling for you amp limit available.

I regularly use 3 ohms. Put a 3 on it and you will get 12w @ 3ohms instead of 7.6w at 1.9ohms. More power with higher ohms due to amp limitations. You can only fully power coils 2.4 ohms or higher with a single battery. Below 2.4 you get loss due to amp load/limit

Look at shadows chart https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...xZLVd5aDkwUEJEZXc&f=true&noheader=false&gid=1

You'll see it in black and white. Watts is heat/power. Don't short yourself. That's the power of ohms to amp limit.

Oh and welcome to the group! You'll find everything you need to know to make your sigelie work for you.

 

[yzer]

The Torchy IMR 18350 is probably not as good as the red Efest 18350. Better than both are the red AW 18350.

Torchy 18350 850mAh ?C
Efest 18350 800mAh 8C
AW 18350 700mAh 10C

C rating tells you the continuous discharge rate. 10C is 7 amps.

 

[yzer]

Single 18350s are somewhat impaired by their small size. 10 amp and up IMR batteries with more capacity are available in 18490/18500 and 18650 sizes. AW and Efest IMR are good for starters and not that expensive.

 

[JeremyR]

Torchy is a 3-4c I bet. They claim imr but it's not very high drain. Probably 3 amps. The 2.5 Amp chart shows it still performing as intended.

 

[yzer]

Those Torchy batts are probably good for flashlights (hence the name) but not for APVs. The Sigelei deserves a better power source.

 

[Danny55]

Thanks guys! Wow, interesting information, although a lot of it is over my head but I get the gist of it. I'll have to get some better batteries. I stacked the Torchy batteries and the battery charge showed 8.2V. The display readout matched all the way up to the highest voltage/wattage settings. The highest current display showed 3.0 A.

If I want to get matching readouts with a single battery should I buy this
AW IMR18350 3.7V Battery - Cloud 9 Vaping

or this
AW IMR18650 3.7V 2000mAh Battery - Cloud 9 Vaping

or this
AW IMR18650 3.7V 1600mAh Battery - Cloud 9 Vaping

 

[JeremyR]

Yes those are good batteries.

Depending on the ohms that you will run and how high you want to be able to power it. With a single battery; 2.4 ohms and up it will deliver full 15w. If you want to be able to go to 15w with a 1.9 ohm coil you will have to use stacked 18350 to be able to get power over a 2.5 amp draw. If you look at the chart the red shaded is how much you can get on a single battery at the given ohms. I recommend you stack 18350s it will give you a 4 amp limit. The stacked configuration will always give you the longest battery run time.

 

[Danny55]

Yes and no depending on the ohms that you will run and how high you want to be able to power it. 2.4 ohms and up it will deliver full 15w. If you want to be able to go to 15w with a 1.9 ohm coil you will have to use stacked 18350 to be able to get power over a 2.5 amp draw. If you look at the chart the red shaded is how much you can get on a single battery at the given voltage & watts. I recommend you stack 18350s.

Couple of points then.

I'm not totally clear on what the benefit of 15w @ 1.9 ohms v 15w @ higher ohms is. I suppose 15w at lower resistance (1.9) would put out more heat/flavour than 15w at higher resistance, right? My microcoils generally come out at about 1.8 to 2 ohms, but I don't specifically aim for any particular ohms. Maybe I should coil at around 1.5 to 1.6 ohms so I wouldn't need higher wattage and wouldn't necessarily need to stack batteries?

Secondly, if you recommend stacking, does that mean I can continue with the two Torchy batteries since they were giving me full 15w?

 

[JeremyR]

The difference is at 1.5 you can't get more than 10w less heat on a single battery. It runs battery down fast. Side by side on the zmax comparing a 1.5 of 28 & a 3 ohm of 32. The 3 ohm with be hotter and better. Your battery will last almost twice as long. It's all about what your trying to achieve. If you run 1.5 you will need stacked or you get less heat/wattage. It all coincides to the amp drain. Examine the chart with amp limit in mind. You can see at 2.5 amps you get much less wattage than a 2.4 ohm. With stacked it doesn't matter you can coil to what ever you want and get real power.

If you will do stacked the 1.5 of 28 will be richer because of more wire coverage. 15w of heat is 15w of heat. I take it you have only 28g. You would need to coil at 2.4 to reach full power and longer battery life with one battery

No Do Not continue to use those stacked for an extended time. You need a new matched set that will be paired for their life of stacking... .

 

[olefolks]

Boy, I'm dizzy!! LOL.

 

[JeremyR]

Sorry guys!

It's kinda hard to explain in a short and sweet manner, but now at least the v5 tells you how much it puts out you don't have to do the figuring. In the future I will just say it without explanation, or try To keep it shorter.

 

[olefolks]

Jeremy, keep up your dissertations. You are educating some of us that don't know sickum from come here and then there's me who can't spell sickum. Thats why I'm dizzy. Thats why I'll never own a Mechanical Mod too.

 

[Danny55]

The difference is at 1.5 you can't get more than 10w less heat on a single battery. It runs battery down fast. Side by side on the zmax comparing a 1.5 of 28 & a 3 ohm of 32. The 3 ohm with be hotter and better. Your battery will last almost twice as long. It's all about what your trying to achieve. If you run 1.5 you will need stacked or you get less heat/wattage. It all coincides to the amp drain. Examine the chart with amp limit in mind. You can see at 2.5 amps you get much less wattage than a 2.4 ohm. With stacked it doesn't matter you can coil to what ever you want and get real power.

If you will do stacked the 1.5 of 28 will be richer because of more wire coverage. 15w of heat is 15w of heat. I take it you have only 28g. You would need to coil at 2.4 to reach full power and longer battery life with one battery

No Do Not continue to use those stacked for an extended time. You need a new matched set that will be paired for their life of stacking... .

Cheers Jeremy, though this is way over my head and far more techy than I even wanna know

I've got 28 and 32 and have been micro coiling with 28. I'll take the bit from you where I've bolded and coil at 2.4 ohms (with 32?) as that sounds like a good way to progress with just what I have here.

 

[JeremyR]

This new feature of the v5 is a major improvement in the user interface!
I won't have to tell people, your not getting 15w ect. The sigelie will now tell them straight up.

Poor provari, just another thing it doesn't do.

Cheers Jeremy, though this is way over my head and far more techy than I even wanna know

I've got 28 and 32 and have been micro coiling with 28. I'll take the bit from you where I've bolded and coil at 2.4 ohms (with 32?) as that sounds like a good way to progress with just what I have here.

Danny, on that point - a 2.4 of 32 will heat faster than 2.4 of 28. The 28 can produce a different vape maybe slightly better flavor and vapor once you get it going since you have more mass to vaporize. But vapor production with a 3 second draw on 32 equals a 6+ second draw on 28. I don't like to have to take 7 second draws. 2-3 seconds is awesome.

Definitely try one with 32 to see how you like it. I usually coil 2.7 with 32 giving fast heat up with more wick coverage.

A 2.7 can achieve more watts than a 1.9 with single bat. Just over one watt more actually. And you will get better vapor production with a short draw, like a real cigarette.

At any rate, either gauge you have to be at 2.4 to have full output with one battery.