SmokTek SmokBox VariCool - Custom Box Mod (Made in the U.S.A)-Review

[niczgreat]

Just received my Smokbox Varicool VV Box Mod from smoktek.com not to be confused with the other Chinese Smoktech.

By the way I paid full price for this unit. It wasn’t a freebie and I have no business or personal relationship with the Owner other than to ask a few pre-sales questions.

My Provari is in the shop but when it gets back, I'll relegate it to a backup unit and testing unit as I like this Mod so much. I almost bought the Smoketech (not to be confused with smoktek) VV Gripper but so far I'm happy I bought this U.S crafted Mod. It's smaller than the Smoktech and has character.

This is an American Crafted Box Mod, not a mass produced Chinese junk tube. I verified with Rob the owner of smoktek that he makes these in the U.S.A. This made me feel good about my purchase. If I can get American Craftsmanship at around or below the Chinese stuff, to me that’s a deal!! And I like supporting American Business and manufacturing.

I'm using it with a Vivi Nova vs 2.5 with a 2.4ohm atomizer. My first impression is that it rocks. Super Small, strong big button in the front. Very comfortable
.
The Voltage output is rock solid. I have a Smoktek Voltage tester and the output is around .10V lower under load when running the 2.40hm and .14 when I ran a 1.8om Cartomizer at 4.18V. This is in the lower voltage range of 3.6v to 4.2v.

I just dialed the voltage up to 5.0 and under load with the 2.4 Cartomizer it vaped at 4.90. and with the 1.8ohm it stuck to a solid 4.8 and started to taste a little burnt.

let’s go to 6Volts. At 6v the 2.4 did 5.9 and the 1.8 did 5.9 ow the 1.8ohm it burned my mouth. Tastes Putrid Yuck. Rob if you are reading this than you owe me a few new atomizers.!!!
No way I’m taking the 1.8 any higher, but let’s have a little fun with the 2.4. The highest I could dial the voltage was 6.6v

I took my vape and at 6.6 the voltage went to 6.3 and stayed there, solid as a rock. This is amazing because I’m using the Trustfire Protected batteries. I have AW High Drains on order, but so far they look unnecessary. But when they come in I’ll redo the voltage tests and we’ll see if they improve from great to excellent!!!
I’ve gone the highest that I can go which is above what I find enjoyable.

A major advantage of this unit is that when vaping the voltage never changes. It stays rock solid 1 second or 27. Yes to experiment I took the longest vape possible, I stopped at 27 seconds because I didn’t want to pass out. Scuse me a second, I’m a little light headed right now. Yeahhhh

In some ways this unit is rough around the edges but that’s the charm. I get to do what I want with no one stopping me. I can take as long a drag as I'd like without worrying about it cutting me off. When I stressed the unit at 27 seconds doing 4.2v the unit remained cool.

Even more amazing is that my Vivi Nova didn’t get hot after the 27 second drag. They claim that it uses Varicool Techonlogy and less heat is transferred to the atomizer

The drawback is that if this were to accidentally fire in your pocket than... On the other hand this unit has a MANUAL on off switch at the bottom. No guestimating whether your unit is on. Flip the switch and it’s a dead unit. None of that 5 presses or in the case of the provari 5 presses than wait and then click to off. Just flip a switch and your in the safe zone.

I don't have a ruler but size wise it's around 45% shorter than my Provari with extended cap. Even with my large Vivi Nova Cartomizer it fits hidden into my shirt pocket for real stealth vaping. Also no lights. So I can vape in a movie theatre to my hearts content.

The box shape has a lower center of gravity and a more stable base than the tube mods, so less chance of falling, and it sure isn’t rolling anywhere!! My Vivi Nova overhangs the edge of the box on one side by a millimeter(more or less), and screws pretty flush so if it does fall I don’t see it putting a strain on the 510 connector. By the way the air flow with the Vivi Nova is perfect.

I mentioned before that the button is solid. Has a great feel to it, You need to press it with medium strength to fire and there is a click. This is not a wimp button. Whether it’s a part of the design or an added part, the button comes out of an extended well. This avoids the possibility that you will get juice into this button if by some chance you were to miss when filling your cartomizer.

I think I need to throw in a disclaimer. I used the $15.00 Smoktek Voltage Tester. I did due diligence and pretested it on my Provari, which is now in the shop, and the voltage readings matched the Provari. But still there is a possibility of instrument error.

Summation the Pros
1. Crafted in America. Support American Companies
2. Well designed-Small-No lights-Great for Stealth Vape
3. Strong Button-Not easy to accidentally press
4. Rock Solid Voltage Stability
5. Runs Cool
6. No vaping cutoff, Press and Vape for as long as you’d like
7. Box Shape-Stable, doesn't roll
8. Cartomizer runs cooler
9. It has the ability to take you into the danger zone of fried atomizers and burnt juice
10. The control for the voltage is recessed inside, so no possibility of accidentally adjusting it
11. It feels very comfortable in my hand. Now that’s a variable because everyone is different but I personally felt that it was very ergonomic
12 Rock solid construction shake it and nothing moves, everything inside is secured tightly and the button is not rattly. I hate rattly units.
13. Simple- This unit is simple to use. No menu systems, experiment and find the volts that are right for you and leave it alone
14. Manual On off switch-You know when the unit is off.
15. I’m going to have fun dressing up this battery box. I haven’t decided yet whether to paint it. Coat it in fabric or vinyl, or even find someone handy and craft a wood shell.
16. Mega Positive Reviews-When I was researching this box, just about everyone who bought one was happy. The satisfaction rate was far beyond anything I’ve seen on any of the units in this price range.
17. Works with standard inexpensive Trustfire Flame 14500 Batteries
18. 3 amp switching regulator

Summation the Negatives:
1. This is a plain Battery box. It doesn’t look fancy or sexy
2. Doesn’t have all those fancy features like checking the Atomizer and Batteries voltage. Since I plan to switch batteries every day and it’s supposed to last all day that really doesn’t matter to me. In addition I have a multimeter that cost me a whole $7.00 at Harbor Freight and a Smoktek Voltage tester $15.00 so all the checking is open to me
3. The shell is a battery case plastic, I’m not sure what the durability will be if it drops or over time.
4. It doesn’t have undervoltage protection. This doesn’t matter if you are using protected batteries, which are sold by Smoktek and work flawlessly for the average user, as they should shut off themselves but if you are using AW IMR 14500 you could overdrain your battery and destroy them.
5. Doesn’t have a cutoff so if it goes off by accident in your purse or wallet there is no safety mechanism to stop the unit...

I'll drop back in when I have a review on Battery life, Measurements, How it works with the AW IMR 14500, and the dreaded 1.5ohm dual cartomizer. I'll include some Photos too.

 

[Flikka]

Great review and excellent read. This is only the second detailed review out there on this box mod! I'm curious to see how it performs with the 1.5ohm DCC but I would imagine it would work just fine. Some size comparisons would be nice

What about covering it in Di-noc carbon fiber vinyl, I get it at mnpctech and use it primarily for case mods and the like as the site is geared towards. Link

 

[niczgreat]

Dimensions are:

2.75" Long // 1 15/16" wide // 3/4" Thick

I"m going to wait for the Aw IMR Batteries to arrive before I test the
1.5ohm Dual Cart, figure I might need heavy artillery for those.

 

[niczgreat]

Just finished a workout.

Figured I'd demonstrate how this unit works under load and
how rock solid it is with the voltage. After the video I timed it at 40 seconds
Attached is a link to a video.

 

[niczgreat]

It's official Using the Trustfire Flame Batteries. Vaping at 4.27Volts or 4.17 under load. With a few very big testing sessions behind me too. This unit has lasted for 24 hours. The my harbor freight Multimeter shows 3.67v left in the battery. In addition I've been vaping at the exact same setting for the last 5 hours and absolutely no voltage drop at all. This is a unit that you can set and than forget. The voltage regulator works flawlessly.

 

[seanmc]

I use one of these as a back up to my Provari...great device. The only negatives to me are that the pot is sometimes hard to turn with your fingers and I would have preferred that the atty connector would be off to the side instead of dead center. Other than those 2 things...they're awesome.

 

[niczgreat]

Solid vape from beginning to end.
I found a way to test the voltage output through the atomizer the second the button is pressed. This clears the doubt that you receive a surge at the beginning and a weaker vape afterwards.
See the Video

 

[niczgreat]

I use one of these as a back up to my Provari...great device. The only negatives to me are that the pot is sometimes hard to turn with your fingers and I would have preferred that the atty connector would be off to the side instead of dead center. Other than those 2 things...they're awesome.

It makes me feel good I'm not alone, a Provari user who doesn't feel disadvantaged using one of these. Everything else I've tried I compared to the Provari and it fell short. This unit while not as full featured as the Provari has advantages such as form factor that make it a good replacement or backup.

I felt the pot was fairly easy to turn. The problem with putting the Atty Connecter on the side is that it might make the unit unstable. Also to not have a tank hanging over the edge it couldn't be all the way to the side so it would make it difficult to fit all the innards and the batteries and have a 1/2 inch vacant place on the right.

Also the current layout is perfect for both left handed and right handed persons, if you put it on the side, and than it might be unwieldy to a lefty.

 

[niczgreat]

To the left is a Provari with a 18650 Extender, in the middle the Smokbox Varicool, Next to it a Business Card and finally a 30ml dropper bottle. With the cartomizer mounted this unit is 1/2 inch higher than the Provari Extended Cap without an Cartomizer. Comparing without the Cartomizer
it's about 45% shorter than the Provari. The picture makes it look bigger than it is
It's smaller than a business card.

By the way, I've had it for Two Days and haven't dropped it once. This is a new experience. Because it's lower to the ground, less possibility of hitting it, also the unit has some heft and doesn't tip easily. Finally when I lay it on it's side. Surprise it doesn't roll.

 

[niczgreat]

Guess what's in my Pocket

 

[carlton]

Are you sure that you're not just happy to see me?

 

[niczgreat]

Are you sure that you're not just happy to see me?

I was talking about my shirt pocket, the other pocket carries larger equipment.!!!

 

[niczgreat]

It just happened, the first drop.

The unit was in my vest pocket and I was fixing a desk drawer and it dropped 3 feet to the ground.

The battery door popped off, the Vivi Nova Cartomizer was all crooked.

And

Hurray it survived no damage to the 510 threading, rescrewed the Vivi Nova in and it fires like a champ.

 

[niczgreat]

It's confirmed the Varicool works flawlessly with the AW IMR 14500 LIMN Battery.

I inserted the battery and because it's shorter, it fits perfectly in the unit. Better than the Trustfire Flame Protected 14500.

I don't have time to run it through it's paces but at 5.0 and under it's performing on par with the Trustfire.

Where it will get interesting is when I take the unit to it's maximum tolerances will the AW IMR increase the Voltage.
Also how will the battery life compare to the Trustfire. The Trustfire claims to be 900Mah the Aw is 600mah. But we all know that the Chinese Companies Love to put higher numbers on there products that real world results just don't support.

By the end of the weekend I'll have stress tested these batteries to the max.

 

[niczgreat]

The Trustfire Flame 14500 and the AW imr 14500 performed identically On a 2.8ohm and a 1.8ohm Vivi Nova Cartomizer. The results mirrored the top of this thread so there is no need to post them again.

I was dissapointed I was hoping with all the hype about the AW that it would perform better. There was absolutely no difference in vaping voltages. At this point in time the Trustfire Flame is looking like the better deal for normal vaping because it lasts longer than 24 hours and is 25% less expensive than the AW.

My reasoning is that because varicool doesn't have undervoltage protection, the best way to protect your batteries and keep things simple is to change them once a day. So assuming that the IMR also lasts 24 hours, why not buy the battery that is 25% less expensive?

The only thing that's left to test is the battery life of the AW IMR. Also the performance on the dreaded Dual 1.5Ohm Dual Cart.

 

[niczgreat]

The dreaded 1.5 Ohm Dual Cart bought from Discount Vapers 510 Dual Coil 3.5ml Clear Cartomizer

I did not vape this just let it run. I'm so used to clearomizers that cartomizers taste putrid to me.

Results

Aw IMR 14500 Batteries Charged to 4.22 on multimeter
Trustfire Flame 14500 Batteries Charged to 4.23 on Multimeter
Charger used Xtar

4.0 Volts
AW 3.83 15 seconds
TF identical

5 Volts
AW 5.0 to 4.80 15 seconds
TF identical

6 Volts
AW 5.7 15 seconds
TF 5.8 15 Seconds

6.6Volts
AW First 5 Seconds 6.3, Second 5 seconds 6.2 Third 5 Seconds 6.1
TF (1st Test) 1st 5 seconds 6.1 Second 5 seconds 6.0 Third 5 seconds 5.9
TF (2nd Test) 1st 5 Seconds 6.0 Next 10 second 5.9

I was surprised by the data, the trust fire held it's own and even performed slightly better on the
6v test.

Where it was inferior to the Aw was at the top end of the spectrum. Where the voltage is so high that most Vapers will never go. I redid the test and came up with a little lower result.

Yes the AW does outperform the Trustfire when you take it to the edge. But the reality is that most people wouldn't vape a dual Ohm Cartridge at the 6.6V Test Voltage. And certainly not for more than 5 seconds anyway.

So for anyone that is vaping a Dual 1.5OHM Cartridge at a loaded Voltage of 5.8 and under the Varicool Combined with the Trustfire Battery will be a stable Vaping solutioin.

To those who like Mad Vaping Temperatures the Varicool will give you a stable 5 seconds of 6.3Ohm Vaping with gradual decrease in Voltage with a AW IMR Battery.

Final Conclusion: the Varicool is a winner combined with the Dual coil 1.5 Ohm Atomizers, with either a Trustfire Flame or a AW IMR Battery.

 

[niczgreat]

Trustfire Flame 14500 Vs AW IMR 14500 on the Smoktek Varicool VV Mod

The Equipment:
E-Cig - Smoktek Smokbox Varicool VV- Vendor Smoktek (Don't confuse with Smoketech)
Voltage Tester- Digital Voltage Tester sold by Smoktek
Cartomizers: One 510 Mega XL Dual Coil Clear Cartomizer Sold by Discount Vapers and One Generic 3 0hm Single Cartomizer (Old Laying around, can't remember the vendor)
Multimeter- Centech Digital Multimeter sold by Harbor Freight
Battery Charger- XTAR WP2 II LI-ION CHARGER Sold by SbFlashlights

The Batteries
14500 Trustfire Flame - Protected Li-Ion Battery -900mAh 50mm (2-pack) Sold by Smoktek $5.50 per battery or $11.00 a pair
AW IMR 14500 LiMN Rechargeable Lithium Battery 600mah - $7.50 per Battery or $15.00 per pair Sold by Lighthound (Known as a reliable source for AW Batteries)

The Test Method:
Batteries were Charged to capacity on the Xtar Charger. Voltage was set to 4.30 on the Smokbox Varicool Mod. This was verified by the Digital Led Testing adaptor from Smoktek. The Digital Led tester was attached to the varicool and the Cartomizers were attached to the Digital LED Tester. This was done to monitor voltage during testing and to protect unit from the sizzling hot cartomizers.
The Cartomizers were run for 1 minute and than alternated. The filler was kept constantly wet with DIY Organic 100% VG Juice. Toilet Paper was used to constantly blot the excess liquid sizzling out through the bottom of the Cartomizers. The Cartomizers were not inhaled during the process.
The test
Trustfire Flame 14500 both came off charger at 4.21Volts +- .01 Volt
AW IMR 14500 came off charger at 4.21Volts =- .01 Volt
Voltage was set to 4.30 on the Varicool.
Under Load on the 1.5 Dual Coil Cartomizer approximately 4.14V +-.01V
Under Load on the 3.0 Ohm Cartomizer 4.19+- .01Ohm

Note 4.3 Volts was chosen because the Varicool with the standard single coil tank or cartomizer runs it at .10 volt less which provides the 4.20 Sweet Spot that many Vapors prefer. It is a median sweet spot between the 3.7 and the 5.0 sweet spots. I would have liked to do the 5.0 but it's too hot to do a quick test and might have melted or fried the Cartomizers.
Vapeage
Trustfire 35 Minutes of Vape before Cutoff
AW IMR 25 Minutes of Vape before Cutoff

Note: I was monitoring the Voltage of the Cartomizers under load and their was no drop off of voltage. Both Trustfire and AW ran normally and than at the end cut out suddenly.

Voltage Testing at cutoff.
Trustfire Flame 14500
Battery 1- 3.18 Volts
Battery 2- 3.38 Volts

AW IMR 14500
Battery 1 - 3.06Volts
Battery 2 - 2.60 Volts

Conclusion About Performance of Batteries:
I paid much more for the AW IMR and was hoping that they were worth the price. I went into the test biased expecting that Trustfire was exaggerating their mah. They weren't, In the end the higher mah of the Trustfire Flame outperformed the AW IMR

Trust Fire was the clear winner. They cost around 25% less and provided 40% more battery life. In previous testing the Trustfire matched the AW IMR in all on a single coil clearomizer and up to extreme Vaping Levels on a Dual Coil 1.5OHm Cartridge.
According to the Lighthound sight the undervoltage level for the AW IMR is 2.5 Volts, the batteries were unable to function or the unit cut them off at 2.6. It's not clear why they cut off at a safe level because they don't have Protection. It is possible that once they didn't have enough left to provide correct Voltage that the Unit shut them down.

Conclusion about performance of Varicool:

AW IMR lasted 25 minutes which is = to 1500 seconds
Trustfire lasted 35 minutes which is = to 2100 seconds

If a person vaping is taking 10 second drags which is considered to be a long drag than they will have 150 drags with the AW and 210 Drags with the Trustfire. In my opinion it's best for batteries to be charged once a day (24 Hours) and the average person is awake 16 hours.
So with the Aw a person would have 9 drags per hour and with the Trustfire 13 Drags per hour. It appears that the Smoktek Varicool using Trustfire should last a heavy vaper for around 24 hours. It's very tough because everyone is different and follows a different pattern. I've found myself that I'm a very heavy vaper and at the end of 24 hours my Trustfires are testing in at 3.68 well above the cutoff point that I saw today. You can do the math and interpolate your vaping habits and Voltages.
For example if you are vaping at 5.0V than theoretically you would have 20% less vapes that is where the Trustfire would be the superior solution. and it goes the other way too if you are a 3.7v vapor, you'd get around 12% more vapes.

Disclaimer:
This test was done on a very specific E-Cigarette. It is quite possible that on a different e-cigarrete the results and performance would be different.

The test sampling is small. There is always the possibility that I received above average Trustfire and or below average AW. So this test is an indication only. I'm doing this testing as a Hobby/Project and can't devote the Resources to duplicating this test with a larger sampling.

The testing was done unbiased and impartially, you make your own conclusions.

 

[niczgreat]

The Trustfire Flame 14500 and the AW imr 14500 performed identically On a 2.8ohm and a 1.8ohm Vivi Nova Cartomizer. The results mirrored the top of this thread so there is no need to post them again.

I was dissapointed I was hoping with all the hype about the AW that it would perform better. There was absolutely no difference in vaping voltages. At this point in time the Trustfire Flame is looking like the better deal for normal vaping because it lasts longer than 24 hours and is 25% less expensive than the AW.

My reasoning is that because varicool doesn't have undervoltage protection, the best way to protect your batteries and keep things simple is to change them once a day. So assuming that the IMR also lasts 24 hours, why not buy the battery that is 25% less expensive?

The only thing that's left to test is the battery life of the AW IMR. Also the performance on the dreaded Dual 1.5Ohm Dual Cart.

I may be incorrect about the undervoltage protection. When I did my test with AW at the end the unit turned off. It went strong until the end than cutoff. I tested the batteries and one was over 3.0V the other was in the danger zone of 2.6V.

It may not be designed as protection but when not enough Juice is in the battery to mantain voltage the Chip shuts the unit down. This happened while the battery was close to being undervolted. I still believe it's better not to take a battery below 3.5V so you should change it once a day. But not sure about my statement about undervolt protection.

If there was no voltage regulation in the system than it would continue to vape but at lower and lower voltages as the IMR Battery continues to be drained. The shutoff shows that this technology won't run unless enough volts are going in to mantain the Voltage.

I will mantain my statement, change the battery when it gets to 3.5v or once a day. To ensure long battery life.

By the way my XTAR Charger Revived both of the batteries and they don't seem to have been damaged by the torture test.

 

[niczgreat]

Rob the owner of Smoktek was nice enough to send me the Spec Sheet on the Adjustable Output 3-Amp Converter contained in the unit. He also explained that the two batteries in the Varicool VV are operating as stacked batteries.

The Spec Sheet explained a lot. Turns out that the Converter takes a input of 1.34 to a maximum of 2.26 Amps and converts it to an output of 3 Amps. Because the maximum Amperage the converter will pull from the battery is 2.26 it never trips the battery protection which normally will go off around 2.5 Amps.

That's why two cheap Trustfire Protected Battery Performs as well as two AW IMR in this unit.

The stacking techology of the batteries means that instead of a boosting system like the Provari , you have a regulator lowering or pulling the correct voltage, with plenty to spare. This may be the reason why the system runs so cool and is so efficient.

So the test results that I obtained in the comparison are because the Smokbox Varicool is running stacked batteries and using superior technology.

I should end by saying that now that I know the maximum the chip will pull is 2.26V I feel very safe using this E-Cig. I know that my battery is not beeing overtaxed and I'm not dependent on the Protection. The unit simply pulls an amount that is within the tolerance of the battery.

 

[fieldh0]

How does the varicool compare to the 6 amp Beast.