Smok Treebox Mini 75WTC

[DanJiblets]

Does anyone have this mod? It looks nice. I don't need another mod whatsoever but would still like to add one of these to my collection. Just curious on impressions. Also wonder if they have another in the works, I'd hold off for that.
SMOKtech Treebox Mini 75W TC Brazilian Zebrawood Box Mod

 

[FishingBuffalo]

Same chipset as Koopor's. They rock!

 

[Jim_ MDP]

It's a subset of the xCube's features. Very precise and stable, from what I hear (I have a Cube).

For $35, I damn near grabbed one about two hours ago. Don't need one either, but the day is still young.

 

[hazozita]

I picked one up from Eciggity as one of my BF presents to myself. Very pleased with it. The wood casing is surprisingly nice – way better than I expected for the price point. It even comes in a nice wooden box.

It is very comfortable to hold since all the edges are rounded. The battery door is easy to take off but stays on well – decently strong magnets.

I also have the Koopor Mini and Plus, and the chipset in this is more similar to the Plus in that it offers adjustable TCR values for all wire types (Ni, Ti and SS) and allows you to specify single or dual coil setups. Menu navigation is the same as the Plus. I’ve been running it mostly with 316SS and have zero complaints about performance.

The complaints I do have are mostly minor. There is some button rattle which can be annoying. The screen is small (as it is with the Koopors) and no where near as nice as the screen on the Evic Mini or Wismec Presa. The 510 is press fit in and I’ve read in other posts that it can come loose if you are using a dripper that has a tight cap and you give it a good yank. So far I’ve not had any problem with it, but I'll avoid using drippers with tight caps on it.

I got it mainly for the look since I like wooden mods, but it will stay in regular rotation due to performance.

 

[DanJiblets]

I've had it sitting in the cart for 2 days, just a matter of time lol. Just wish it had USB charging, only complaint.

 

[TrueNorthist]

I got one and it feels as good as it looks. So light and doesn't feel like a lump of ice in yer mitt at 20 below. I'm having some probs getting the TC working consistently, but that's most likely operator error. As a vaping vet but total TC noob I find the settings can be a bit confusing, however this TC thread is a massive help. For the price I just might buy another Treebox but may hold out and see if Smok builds a Treebox max. The single battery gets drained rather fast in TC, although again that might just be more noob-itus. In watts mode it is flawless but I am forcing myself to figger out TC.

 

[TrueNorthist]

I should update this a bit, even at the risk of straying into review territory a little: I found that most of the issues I thought I was having with building Ti coils was actually this device causing problems. The second menu option for "hard" "normal" or "soft" directly affects ramp-up and if it is set higher than "soft" you will have all sorts of problems getting a consistent vape. "Soft" seems to work fairly well but I have no idea why they included the higher settings. Maybe it works better with 2 coils? And indeed this thing is a battery vacuum. I have drained 2, 18650s since 2pm yesterday, even while also vaping a DNA-40 device at the same time.

I am also running into the "Temperature Controlled" error a lot, but that is quite possibly my lack of skills as a Ti builder. I am building non-spaced or "pinched" micro-coils, much the same as with Kanthal, simply because I have so much experience doing that. I have discovered that building on my resistance tester deck allows me to brush the coil with my ceramic tweezers -- again just like tuning with Kanthal -- and I can determine if the coil is "set" by watching for slight but detectable increases in resistance. Once it stabilises at the highest number the coil is ready for launch. No need to dry-burn it with all the purported risks associated. I have come to think that heating a Ti coil until it glows just might damage the wire and render it unstable, but much more testing will be needed to confirm that. It's just my impression at this point.

I might try a spaced coil build but I figger that's just over-filling the bucket. The old brain cell is already starting to develop a bit of a shimmy on the high banking. Best ease her back a bit...

 

[Wingsfan0310]

I get much better results building slightly spaced (almost touching, but not if that makes any sense) coils in TC. I started with Ni200 which you shouldn't dry burn, so that's the way I've continued with Ti1 and SS. I'm not comfortable dry burning Ti1 either.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[TrueNorthist]

Yes Wingsfan, I believe I am doing very much the same thing as you. I am careful to avoid contact between the wires and aim for as small a gap as possible. Thanks very much for pointing that out. It kinda leaves the wrong impression when I say I am building "non-spaced" coils when in fact there is about a 1 thou gap or less (hopefully) between the coil wraps. But I will deny all such madness before a judge and jury.

Today I am experimenting with using a heat-gun to assist tuning the coil. The gun throws a fair bit of heat but will not glow the wire without a lot of effort. I am finding completely un-preheated coils to still be somewhat inconsistent. ie: I noticed after a few hours use the coil actually shows signs of shrinkage and darkening on half or less of the coil, which means it has basically failed. It is beginning to look like some preheating is indeed required to "set" it. At least that appears to be the case with the wire I am using, which has no labelling at all aside from the word titanium scribbled on the spool in crayon.

Man, this is a gas. Who knew there was still more fun to be had with vaping?

 

[greasegizzard]

The temp controlled error you're getting, is that the box's way of letting you know you've reached your desired temp and it's now regulating the wattage to maintain it? That's how my iStick works. I set a max watt, and it ramps up to the temp, then flashes a message until it needs power again and just repeats that process.

 

[TrueNorthist]

Greasegizzard, to be perfectly honest I dunno... Maybe that is indeed what it is doing, but the change is like night and day when the temp controlled messages appear. It goes from a rich, flavourful vape for about 4 or 5 seconds at first, then that good vape steadily reduces in time to almost instantly into temp control as the RTA warms up -- seemingly not much at all as far as actual heat goes. Unfortunately I am not experienced enough with TC devices to know any better at this point. I kinda figured a TC vape should start a bit weak and settle into whatever temp it is set, but this mod starts out quite strong -- even in "soft" mode -- then as soon as the temp control message appears it throttles way back to a weak and frankly very poor vape. Then I have to chase it up to 500+ degrees but it still fades away. Plus, if I set it up high like that it scorches if left alone for a few minutes and it cools down some.

Again, these issues might very well all be down to my lack of experience with TC and/or Ti coil building, but the device is indeed choking off the vape when it flashes temp control messages for whatever reason. I find I need to avoid vaping it more than 1 or 2 seconds, all spaced apart by a couple minutes or the temp control kicks in and destroys the vaping. I am very much working on rapidly improving my skills, as well as quickly laying hands on a good temp-control RTA or 5. At this point there could be any number of reasons things are not so great in my TC world.

 

[BigEgo]

Yes when the mod shows the message temperature-controlled that means that it is regulating the temperature. It is not an error it is simply letting you know what it's doing. If you're finding that your Vape is diminishing overtime that means that your wicking is not keeping up.

 

[greasegizzard]

I don't have much experience with it, or vaping in general. I used it for three or four weeks in a Melo 2 with their nickel coil heads (tried their titanium, didn't seem to work as well) until a day or two ago, I bought the TFV4. I found setting my max to around 40 watts and temp to anywhere from 480-510 F depending on flavor worked best for me. I think the difference might be that the Smok box goes straight to your max watt starting off, where mine would slowly ramp up. My experience was opposite of yours. My vape started weak and got better.

 

[TrueNorthist]

Yes when the mod shows the message temperature-controlled that means that it is regulating the temperature. It is not an error it is simply letting you know what it's doing. If you're finding that your Vape is diminishing overtime that means that your wicking is not keeping up.

That is an excellent point. I am still using Rayon and perhaps I now need to switch to cotton. I found cotton wicked too well for my kanthal builds in wattage mode, and in TC I am using much, much more juice, even with the slower rayon. It is entirely likely that rayon wicks are too slow for TC. Damn, that's a great suggestion buddy. I even have a big ol bag of Ko Gen Do in the desk!

And Greasegizzard, the Treebox does not have variable wattage in TC mode. All there is is the soft, normal and hard setting, which is very aggressive. It does indeed ramp up very fast, too fast in my opinion in anything other than the soft setting. But the changes mentioned above just might make a huge difference.

 

[greasegizzard]

I'm interested to know what you find out. I'm probably going to be picking up an X Cube II or Koopor Plus soon. I think their settings are similar to the Treebox. I've momentarily given up the temp control a I'm using this TFV4 with either the rba it came with or the triple coil. I'll go back to temp when I get a more powerful mood.

 

[TrueNorthist]

The Koopor is virtually identical from what I see. I will be sure to update any solutions I might find.

Here's my first official FYI for this mod: Smok suggests waxing the Treebox because Zebrawood absorbs moisture easily and is prone to cracking if it gets damp then dries quickly. It just so happens that my very first paying job in this world was at a furniture factory that also restored antiques. I spend days polishing all sorts of wooden objects using pure carnauba wax. Fast forward several million years and today I have a hobby restoring cars and keep a big selection of polishes and waxes around and it so happens one of them is liquid polish called Mother's California Gold Pure Brazilian Carnauba Wax. I just applied 2 coats and it works a treat! No guarantees about long term affects, but I am quite sure this is not just safe but perfect to use on your own Treebox.

edit: One more thing... The device continually asks if the coil is the same or new if it is left idle for more than 5 minutes. This is very irritating. It also asks about new/used coils in wattage mode, which is weird. And the ramp up is still too aggressive imo, at least with a single coil build. When I get my mitts on a dopple-coiler I will mention here in this thread if it is any better.

 

[TrueNorthist]

Holy mackerel! What a difference! (Deservedly) BigEgo, you win today's contest for most helpful tip to a TC noob. Just send me a cheque for 1.6 million dollars to cover shipping and I'll send you your prize: an all expenses paid trip to the outhouse -- for two. I used my hermetically cleaned Kayfun v4 and wicked it with just enough Ko Gen Do to touch the bottom of the wells and badaboing, away she goes. Vaping like a champ at only 430°F. Bloody marvellous! Plenty of popping and crackling but that's just like on TV. And even better, it's consistent!

Maybe, just maybe, I think I have managed to hit the mark...

 

[TrueNorthist]

All but one of my early issues with the Treebox appear to be operator error, so I am glad I didn't beak-off too at Smok. But they still need to tame the boost/buck feature while in single-coil mode. Aside from that I am very much digging this spectacular looking mod. Now that I have all but shellacked it with 6 coats of carnauba wax, it looks freeking marvellous. Not too glossy but more a silky-satiny look and feel.

It's -16C here this mornin and I set it on the roof of the car while scraping the glaciers away and little beggar did get awfully cold. (Watch it!) But a few seconds in my hand and it felt warm and cuddly and never missed a beat. (Gad zooks you guys have dirty minds!) The resulting syrupy liquid threw it into temp control much quicker than at room temp, but it recovered smartly. Not the fault of the mod in any way and probably something I should be very grateful for, otherwise it would/should have burned the hell out of things.

All in all this Treebox with Ti wire (and this forum) has made the leap to TC a relatively painless and edifying experience. Sorry if this strayed a bit into review territory... Next up: Stainless wire. Although I am entirely happy with Ti to be honest. Bloody glad I just closed my eyes and clicked on "confirm" and bought what turns out to be a good TC mod.

 

[TrueNorthist]

OK, last comment from me in this budding monologue...

I just had to say how impressed I am with Ti wire and cotton. I just blew through 100 hours on this build and I have never gone beyond 36 hours with kanthal. I like sweet, bold flavours and they would invariably go flat and dirty after even just 4 to 6 hours and I had grown a habit of replacing the entire build every day or much less most times. This morning I was finding the flavour of this Ti build getting a little bit carbonish, so I decided to replace it, at the very least to see how it looks. However, I discovered that the coil is in excellent condition with the minor exception of a little gooey carbon that was easily cooked off with a few light pulses -- just enough to smoke the build-up away, but not glow the coil -- then I carefully brushed it with a toothbrush under hot water and rewicked with fresh cotton. Darned thing is just like new again. Bloody marvellous.

And this wee Treebox mini is coming into it's stride very nicely indeed, now that it's rider has learned a few new things. The variable TCR is invaluable and extremely effective. Cheers to all those who continue to post tips on TC vaping.

 

[cobalt327]

*SNIP*
I also have the Koopor Mini and Plus, and the chipset in this is more similar to the Plus in that it offers adjustable TCR values for all wire types (Ni, Ti and SS) and allows you to specify single or dual coil setups. Menu navigation is the same as the Plus. I’ve been running it mostly with 316SS and have zero complaints about performance.
*SNIP*

I just wanted to confirm the adjustable TCR. Reason being, the ad copy didn't mention this. "TCR" was mentioned but it was for "Temperature Control Rate" and there was Adjustable Initial Resistance mentioned.

Thanks.

ETA Just realized there seems to be no USB- does this mean this mod cannot do firmware updating? Hard to imagine they'd omit something that has been recognized as almost a necessity (and as a selling point if for no other reason).