Smok Alien 220w **edited**

[yo vapo]

Bought the above to replace my eleaf 100w dual 18650 which I suspect has juice in the switch or other inner workings, and so it's erratic. Great apv when it worked.

I have never liked this Alien 220. Most of the time it won't fire first press. It'll either say "New coil" in which case I have to press the trigger again, or worse, it'll say "No coil" wherein I have to wait for the screen to come up, then press again to get "new coil" and then press again to get a hit. Sometimes this doesn't work, so I have to do the whole rigamarole again. Hella dangerous while driving, and just a plain pita otherwise.

And I cannot just replace the batteries and go; oh no--I have to press the fire button 5 or 6 times to start the damn thing. Sometimes that actually works first time around. I'd consider charging via USB, but all the internals (screen, USB port) are misaligned so I can't do that.

So, what 18650 box competes with this, but actually works (and is simpler to use--the directions for this monstrosity are gobbleygoop)? I don't need 220 watts either, lol, as I only run this thing at 7 or 8 watts (~3.7V) with the coils I use in my Nautilus.

Thanks

 

[CagedSpam]

Sounds like you dealing with a real lemon. Lotta good sales for the holiday running-

ECF Suppliers' *Happy Holidays* Specials !

Ive been seeing the JAC getting a lot of positive talk recently with only minor complaints.

JAC Vapour Series B DNA 75

GL - my vote is whatever is on sale from last years stock

 

[yo vapo]

Sounds like you dealing with a real lemon. Lotta good sales for the holiday running-

ECF Suppliers' *Happy Holidays* Specials !

GL - my vote is whatever is on sale from last years stock

Hey thanks, Caged. First place I looked I'm kinda looking at that SnowWolf 230
But you never buy the first thing you see, be it a car or a mod box. Unless you got lucky and it's the best, of course.

 

[Baditude]

Another vote for the JAC Vapour series B DNA75W.

JAC Vapour Series-B DNA 75w

JAC Vapour Series B DNA 75W sandstone variety

 

[stols001]

For your vaping style I am betting a JAC would be really nice. I don't own one, but I imagine that will change someday, and from all accounts, this is a fantastic and very reliable, well built mod. There are lots of options out there but I have yet to hear a JAC user complain about theirs....and I've been paying attention

Anna

 

[yo vapo]

Thank you. That looks like a very nice mod, but with a couple of strikes against it. 1) Single battery, and 2) Price
I really appreciate your replies I'll bet that's a fine mod, and with directions in good English (as long as it's not Scots phonetic )

 

[sonicbomb]

If you are vaping around 7 watts then a single 1860 mod should do you fine. If you use a good quality 3000 mAh battery like the 30Q or the HG2 you should get a couple of days of run-time. Is there a particular reason why you need a two battery mod?

In terms of reliability I can recommend the eVic VTC Mini. I've had mine for two years of constant issue free use.
eVic-VTC Mini - Joyetech

I also had an iStick 100 which disintegrated after a year, but for $20 I felt like I got my moneys worth. There's nothing wrong with sticking with what you know.

The Alien was aggressively marketed and priced, and for what it sold for the build quality was going to have to suffer. I have seen lots of people complaining of poor quality on here.

 

[DaveP]

I've used my Smok Alien 220W for more than a year without issues. Sound like you have a varying resistance issue with your atomizer or the center contact in the Alien. Dissimilar metals can cause that. The Alien's center contact appears to be gold plated or brass. If the center contact in your atomizer is silver, it's probably stainless steel. My Kayfuns are all steel center pins and don't cause a problem. Maybe your atty's center pin would benefit from a quarter turn out and back in to restore contact with the positive block in the atomizer.

 

[yo vapo]

If you are vaping around 7 watts then a single 1860 mod should do you fine. If you use a good quality 3000 mAh battery like the 30Q or the HG2 you should get a couple of days of run-time. Is there a particular reason why you need a two battery mod?

Two 18650s because that's what I like. I like the substantial (hefty) feel of a dual big batt box, and the batteries last me 2-4 days. I just today rotated in my newest pair of 18650s and I won't be changing them out until sometime this weekend. Plus, I have 6 flattops and 4 buttontops; might as well use them.

In terms of reliability I can recommend the eVic VTC Mini. I've had mine for two years of constant issue free use.
eVic-VTC Mini - Joyetech

Thanks! I'll take a look.

I also had an iStick 100 which disintegrated after a year, but for $20 I felt like I got my moneys worth. There's nothing wrong with sticking with what you know.

Heh heh. Well, I paid more, but I got ~2.5 years out of it. Who knows? Maybe they are better now, or at least cheaper.

The Alien was aggressively marketed and priced, and for what it sold for the build quality was going to have to suffer. I have seen lots of people complaining of poor quality on here.

I guess misery loves company anyway...

 

[vincom]

agreed, smok alien is a pos

 

[yo vapo]

Thanks for the suggestion, Dave, but it doesn't matter whether I screw the atty in as tight as I can or if I back it out a bit so I can lie the whole thing on its side and use the air hole as a weep hole for the condensate. The center contact in the mod is gold colored. I suspect brass, and that should be OK as brass is mostly copper. It could be gold plated, though. The contact on my tank appears to be chrome plated, and is spring loaded, which allows me not to have to crank it all the way down, as alluded to above.

Glad your Alien is working for you.

 

[sonicbomb]

I saw another thread where some one was fixed this same issue. The 510 sits on top of a spring, and if it's slightly wonky the resistance drifts. I tried to find the article but I cannot. Take off the top of the mod and make sure the 510 is sitting flush and level atop the spring.

 

[madstabber]

When I was considering the alien someone suggested the Smoant Battlestar. I ended up buying the Battlestar and have been extremely happy with it since. I have a few Smoant mods and they all seem to be put together right and the chip performs excellently. So I would suggest you try either the Battlestar or the Charon both are excellent mods. I don’t have any experience with Voopoo’s offerings but people seem to enjoy them also. Good luck finding a mod that works for you. I know how you feel because before I found Smoant I bought a kanger kbox 160w and although the performance was satisfactory the damn thing turned into a paperweight after a couple of weeks. It wasn’t dropped or even had any significant amount of juice leaked on it. It’s crappy when you feel like you just got took and are back mod shopping weeks after buying a new piece of junk. Good luck in your search and if you try Smoant out I think you will be another of their legions of fans that sing their praises.

 

[yo vapo]

Take off the top of the mod and make sure the 510 is sitting flush and level atop the spring.

Welp, the torx driver I thought should fit didn't so I have stripped screw heads now. Geez those are tiny!
Good idea though.
Thanks

 

[vincom]

I saw another thread where some one was fixed this same issue. The 510 sits on top of a spring, and if it's slightly wonky the resistance drifts. I tried to find the article but I cannot. Take off the top of the mod and make sure the 510 is sitting flush and level atop the spring.

i tried that, didnt help, made sure all leads were soldered good, cleaned it up, but its still a..... P.O.S.!!!!

 

[yo vapo]

I've decided to try for now, and pulled the trigger on, the Smoant Battlestar 200W. If that doesn't work out I'll take another look at some of the Joyetech boxes like Sonicbomb suggested.
Thanks, y'all for all your help.

And BTW, once I have a working batt mod in hand I'll drill out the screws on the Alien if necessary to get it apart & take a look inside.

-yo

 

[madstabber]

I've decided to try for now, and pulled the trigger on, the Smoant Battlestar 200W. If that doesn't work out I'll take another look at some of the Joyetech boxes like Sonicbomb suggested.
Thanks, y'all for all your help.

And BTW, once I have a working batt mod in hand I'll drill out the screws on the Alien if necessary to get it apart & take a look inside.

-yo

Your gonna love the Battlestar. I got mine after dealing with my garbage kbox that bricked after a few weeks of gentle use. It’s probably my favorite mod. It does TC mode nice and smooth and the wattage mode is good too. The thing is tough and looks good. You could probably whip it at a brick wall and it wouldn’t miss a beat. I don’t work for Smoant I just love their mods. Someone turned me on to the Battlestar so I’m just paying it forward. Good luck, I hope you got a good deal on one.

 

[erhodes2]

I'd look at the revenger from vapresso. I replaced my alien with one and couldn't be happier.

 

[BackDoc]

Yo Vapo, i think you need one of these HΩ Wrecker (Hohm Wrecker) 151W Temperature Control Box Mod