Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group
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Isn't that an awesome deal? !!! I'm getting another and my Nephew really liked mine on Christmas so he's going to Movapes also. You can't beat 25 bucks and you even have a year warranty!
FYI=the photo shows a round top, but they actually send you a flat top. They sold all of their Round Tops (slant tops).
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After 2 months my zmax mini's button is going wonky. I think my receipt said one year warranty on it.
+1 for what PaulBHC said. Plus, wipe the battery contacts with a soft dry cloth. Stretch the battery spring a little if it has become compressed.
The worst case scenario requires replacement under warranty. Or just the replace the tactile switch on the upper circuit board with a better part.
Original sigelei tactile switch with black dome cover.
Longer lasting Omron switch with yellow dome cover. (rated for 1,000,000 clicks)
The worst case scenario requires replacement under warranty. Or just the replace the tactile switch on the upper circuit board with a better part.
Original sigelei tactile switch with black dome cover.
Longer lasting Omron switch with yellow dome cover. (rated for 1,000,000 clicks)
Thanks, did all the above. Call me crazy but the screen said power mode but I was vaping in voltage mode. It's not as responsive as before, there is a slight delay when you push the button. I have tried different atties with the same result.
The Sigelei tactile switch can be baffling if it shows intermittent operation. Instead of firing it might skip to menu functions and mess that up for you. Sometimes the "clickiness" of the switch will disappear as it wears out. Sometime exercising the switch will clear up problems. I used to recommend giving the switch 100 rapid clicks to clear off the switch contacts. I've had switches give me trouble for days and them start working perfectly again for months. I've got a V3 that is nearly two years old and the switch on that one works pretty good. Another V3 is over a year old and the switch works perfectly. The switch on the V5 I bought last April failed after four months. It wouldn't even make a clicking sound. I replaced the switch on that V5 and it has been my main rig for the last several months. It fires perfectly now.
has anyone tried the new Kanger Subtank on the Sigelei V3 telescope? - one of the organic cotton coil sizes is 1.2 ohm, which is right at the limit of the V3 - has anyone tried it?
My mini zmax has a dull click compared to my other Sigelei's. How hard is it to replace the switch?
I ordered ten of these switches from Digi-Key in May of 2014. They are rated for 1,000,000 (one million) clicks.
B3W-4005 by Omron
SW976-ND .73500 7.35 T
SWITCH TACTILE SPST-NO 0.05A 24V
HTSUS: 8536.50.9031 ECCN: EAR99
LEAD: LEAD FREE ROHS: ROHS COMP REACH: REACH UNAFFECTED OCT-2008
COUNTRY/ORIGIN: CHINA
Current link for this switch at Digi-Key:
B3W-4005 Omron Electronics Inc-EMC Div | SW976-ND | DigiKey
B3W-4005 by Omron
SW976-ND .73500 7.35 T
SWITCH TACTILE SPST-NO 0.05A 24V
HTSUS: 8536.50.9031 ECCN: EAR99
LEAD: LEAD FREE ROHS: ROHS COMP REACH: REACH UNAFFECTED OCT-2008
COUNTRY/ORIGIN: CHINA
Current link for this switch at Digi-Key:
B3W-4005 Omron Electronics Inc-EMC Div | SW976-ND | DigiKey
Replacing the switch requires soldering. Other than that it's a pretty easy job. I posted with photos over a couple of days last August while I did the replacement. The post starts here...
Sigelei V5 switch replacement
Sigelei V5 switch replacement
Fairmana has links to his YouTube videos on switch replacement right after my last post linked above. It's here...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-telescopic-users-group-162.html#post14009644
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-telescopic-users-group-162.html#post14009644
1.2 will not fire.
1.3 is lowest it will fire. I run at 1.3-1.4. - 1.29 will not fire. I usually need to be a little over 1.3 to ensure it fires all the time. A fluctuation of resistance to 1.29 will stop it. You can force fire it to try to clear a low res flux on a new coil though. Unscrew the Atty press the button screw the Atty tight it will fire it.
Your at the point you have to push the button harder that's where the delay comes from.
Try the button turn trick. With unit off or no atty attached. Push on the button hard with your thumb and turn the button a couple times . this will in turn turn the switch dome. Giving you a fresh contact... If it doesn't improve try again.. Eventually you will reach a better spot.
My original switch ts still working after more than a year of all day vaping. Noalox is also your friend every 2-3 months.
If your board has shifted it would also cause it.. For that, a quick fix is push the button at a slight angle to align better on the tilted switch.
The real fix is take it apart and fix with a retainer. It can be done with nothing more than what you have available. Even no tools at all.
someone should make a tiny disc resistor that is very thin and could be dropped into the 510 socket between the mod and the clearo/atty and it would add like 0.1 ohm or 0.15 ohm etc. for situations like this!
Hi Yzer . I see you're a carto tank guy , just revisited them recently and having a great experience, got tired of the hit and miss of kanger coils, what's your advice on maintaining the cartos ? Or should I just change them when they get funky , thanks
Wanted to let others know, they still have stock of the V3's at MoVapes. I just ordered two and in an e-mail conversation with the owner he said they have plenty in stock. They also have a great deal on the Kanger PT II, version 2 with the removable drip tip. They're $7.00 and they have the Kanger variable flow air bases to convert them for $3.00. So, for ten bucks you can get a set up with variable air flow and use the single Kanger coils if you don't want to go the RBA or RDA route. I'm assuming the PT II will work with the V3 and V5. I've gotten myself into trouble assuming before though.
I've had pretty good luck with rebuilding Kanger coils with 28 gauge Kanthal, 7 wraps on a 5/64th drill bit, and using the Ken Doh cotton in my Mini PT II's. They consistently come out at about 1.8 ohms. The only problem I've ever had with the Kanger single coils is when rebuilt they will flood or leak into the air tube after about a week or ten days of vaping. That seems to be a pretty consistent time factor. The Ken Doh cotton is a little more difficult to get the quantity right. I think the silicone washers that are on the chimney eventually wear after some rebuilds and don't seat as well. The same is probably true for the seals on the heads themselves The coil is probably wearing by that point anyway. To counter the wear out factor, I just buy a five pack occasionally to add to the rebuild stock.
As far as the V3 goes, I just got tired of the eGo c-twists type battery failure rate. I've tried the eGo brand ones, the Itaste VV, and the Kanger brand twist. All of them have had failures within the first year of using them, everything from buttons coming loose and shifting (Kanger), to the 510 top of the battery separating (eGo) to the batteries losing their ability to maintain full charge (Kanger & Itaste VV). I have an MVP that has held up well but I don't like the box shape. I just couldn't pass on the $25 price on the V3 at MoVapes. Of course, I had to get the necessary extras to switch to the V3 and bought the E-Fest LUC charger and some AW batteries (#2 18490 and #1 18650). All that's left to do is to get some Noalox and watch my mail box.
Big shout out and thanks to Yzer and other regular contributors to this thread. I've wanted to take the plunge and get a Sigelei for a while now so I subscribed a while back and have kept up. (That's how I found out about the $25 V3s!)
I've had pretty good luck with rebuilding Kanger coils with 28 gauge Kanthal, 7 wraps on a 5/64th drill bit, and using the Ken Doh cotton in my Mini PT II's. They consistently come out at about 1.8 ohms. The only problem I've ever had with the Kanger single coils is when rebuilt they will flood or leak into the air tube after about a week or ten days of vaping. That seems to be a pretty consistent time factor. The Ken Doh cotton is a little more difficult to get the quantity right. I think the silicone washers that are on the chimney eventually wear after some rebuilds and don't seat as well. The same is probably true for the seals on the heads themselves The coil is probably wearing by that point anyway. To counter the wear out factor, I just buy a five pack occasionally to add to the rebuild stock.
As far as the V3 goes, I just got tired of the eGo c-twists type battery failure rate. I've tried the eGo brand ones, the Itaste VV, and the Kanger brand twist. All of them have had failures within the first year of using them, everything from buttons coming loose and shifting (Kanger), to the 510 top of the battery separating (eGo) to the batteries losing their ability to maintain full charge (Kanger & Itaste VV). I have an MVP that has held up well but I don't like the box shape. I just couldn't pass on the $25 price on the V3 at MoVapes. Of course, I had to get the necessary extras to switch to the V3 and bought the E-Fest LUC charger and some AW batteries (#2 18490 and #1 18650). All that's left to do is to get some Noalox and watch my mail box.
Big shout out and thanks to Yzer and other regular contributors to this thread. I've wanted to take the plunge and get a Sigelei for a while now so I subscribed a while back and have kept up. (That's how I found out about the $25 V3s!)
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I use cartos in an IBTanked carto tank. There is nothing special about IBTanked, they are just good glass tanks with first rate parts. They never leak and don't break that easily.
I punch my own cartos. I also use a high percentage VG juice, unflavored. Just like an RBA, cartomizers have a wick. With cartos, the cotton wick is a piece of cotton wrapped around the coil instead of a long wick that passes through the coil. The wick makes contact with a polyfill filler material. Just like a wick in an RBA, the cotton wicking material in a carto will slowly scorch over time. Given enough time this will contribute off flavors to the juice. Unless the carto is burned from too much power or starved from too little juice, the polyfill material does not get hot enough to scorch.
I use my cartos for seven to ten days before changing them out. During this time I usually run at least 20ml of juice through them. If the juice starts to darken, then I know the wick is getting some carbon on it and needs to be changed.
Because I use unflavored juice the coils never gunk up or burn out before I change cartos.
My XL sized IBTanked carto tank holds 5ml of juice. I usually vape 2.5-3.0ml per day so I top off the tank once a day. A 22mm XL IBTanked is exactly the same size as a Kayfun Nano but holds a lot more juice. Daily top-off takes 4 minutes. During this time I also clean and dry the Sigelei 510 threading, the 510 center pin, drip tips and IBTanked. Filling is done by syringe (the fastest way with thick juice) and the carto is positioned for filling with a long IBTanked refilling drip tip.
Once weekly carto replacement needs all of above plus I wash out the tank. The new carto is tested on the DMM, punched with four holes with a Siam Mods V2 carto punch and primed by syringe. This all takes about 15 minutes.
I was thinking about moving to a Kayfun a few days ago while pondering the purchase of new cartos... but, nah. I'm happy with the carto tank. I ordered a quad copter this evening, instead.
Cartos have a lot going for them.
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