Svoë Mesto Semovar III Discussion/Questions

[cruxfm]

Hey All. My Semovar III just came in this afternoon. Once I start vaping on it, I can give a my review in a days. If anyone familiar with Semovar please post thoughts and/or issue.

My Semovar uses a Nivel Chip 1.80 Firmware so any threads regarding Nivel Chip 1.80 Firmware would be a good resource to indicate chip preformace.


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[player one]

Where did you buy yours?

 

[cruxfm]

Where did you buy yours?

svoemesto.ru

 

[Thrasher]

nice piece of kit, i thoroughly enjoy mine, trying to get the collector cap to give the kayfun a hybrid look.

menu takes some getting used to but no biggie.
the fit and finish is superb, and many well thought out features like the adjustable battery spring and positive post sit well with me.
the button has very little throw but a positive feel to it when pressed, you know you pressed it, the screen is adjustable brightness and very easy to read in the higher settings. some dont like red but i find it to be the best color for full sunlight.

smooth PWM also, not sure of the rate but definitely higher then most.
the vaping is smooth and has a nice sizzle like the Provari. so far not much difference in the vape on same settings with the same attys

sleek yet elegant, all in all in a no abuse situation i would highly recommend them. SM gets my vote and if i ever see a deal on another one i would snatch it no problem. i am impressed with the overall quality and am waiting to see how it holds up to the long haul.

a couple weeks in i really cant seem to find much to complain about other then nitpicking on little things like after several hours it goes into standby, but 3 quick clicks bring it back out, just so used to the provari always ready, so more like things i have to get used too . no issues or problems thus far so to me worth every penny.

 

[ian74]

I sent mine back for a refund. I fried 2 nivel chips in the space of about 5 days of actual vaping. I was running a Kayfun on it, 1.5 ohm coils. I got my unit, put on my atty, gave an E5 error right away. The electronics section got hot and I smelled burning circuits. After that it just gave E3 errors. Couldn't even read an atty resistance. Always just got E3 errors. Same kayfun works fine on Provari with no errors and on a GG without anything unusual happening. I broke everything down, rebuilt my kayfun just in case and still nothing. E3, E3, E3. Even with a non-kayfun, just a dripping atty, a 510 carto, just E3.

I contacted the vendor and they sent me a new nivel chip to put in it, put it in (which was super easy) and it worked great. This was just last wednesday. I used it all weekend and the following week pretty much as my only device. Again, with a kayfun 3.1 at 1.5 ohm. On Wednesday the next week, I refilled my kayfun when it was still on the unit. Fire it up. Boom, got an E5 error. Device gets hot, smell burning and I'm back to nothing but E3 errors. Just like last time. Tested same Kayfun on the provari and GG, no problems. It works fine.

Don't know what the problem was and I don't know what I may have done to kill it. Refilling a kayfun and the unit fries? Don't feel like waiting for another week for a 2nd replacement chip to ship from Germany, so I contacted the seller and returned it.

I may be an outlier, but I don't have the patience for nonsense like this. The same Kayfun always works on everything I put it on. Semovar just burns out. Why is there no type of protection on the unit to keep it from going into a meltdown?

At least now I can get my money back and find something new to buy, but my experience has been nothing but a headache.

 

[synthros]

I just received mine today also. Hate to hear that Ian, I hope that's not the case often. Like you thrasher I really want to get ahold of the collector tank adapter to have that hybrid look. I've only had a few hours to play with it, its going to take a bit longer to completely get the hang of the nivel menu, but shouldn't be a biggie.
Fit and finish is superior in my opinion, really really nice. Button/display design feels very familiar coming from using a provari as my daily driver. I love the blue light in the button contrasting with the red display. It's hitting absolutely beautifully, and the bonus of VW is a very nice touch. Not to mention a very nice presentation box and gasp!! A really nice, well laid out color instruction manual! It is of course in Russian, but the same manual, translated into English, is available online. This device just oozes class to me.
I haven't had it long enough to make any serious conclusions, but on the face of it I would put it easily on par with the provari with the addition of VW a big plus. I also am a big fan of the modular design of it. Possible to have the collector tank adapter, 3 different top cap sizes, plus all three battery tube sizes, plus they a supposed to be putting out a strictly manual button and I believe as is it can be used as a mechanical. That's a seriously flexible apv.
All in all I'm thrilled with it and looking forward to putting it through its paces, I've been looking forward to this device for a very long time! Awesome to actually have it in hand. Ill definitely pop back in and give more detail after I have an opportunity to use it for more than a few hours

edit: I'm thinking I might be wrong about the mechanical part, it doesn't have a button without the semovar, right? Ill have to look that up although I'm sure someone knows the answer off the top of their head lol. Even so, still a really , really nice piece of kit!

Ian - so the issue is with the nivel chip itself, right? I don't have much experience with the nivel chip itself, I don't suppose many do. It does seem odd as the chip itself has short circuit,overheating and other protections built in, not too cool that the chip in your case didnt even protect itself. Time will tell, I suppose as to wether that's an isolated problem, I haven't heard of problems with the nivel before. But again you don't hear a lot about the nivel period. Unless of course you're in a nivel chip coop gone bad;( but that a whole nother drama

 

[ian74]

Hey synth, you know I really thought it was a nice bit of kit. True, fit and finish are beautiful and I liked the device a lot. Yeah, the issue was with the nivel chip. I have no idea what I did to make it so mad at me.

I would me more inclined to maybe get one in the future, IF I could find a US reseller. The hassle of dealing with an overseas vendor is one thing that makes it difficult when support becomes an issue. I'm really disappointed, I love the device and when it was working I couldn't have been happier with it.

 

[Thrasher]

dit: I'm thinking I might be wrong about the mechanical part, it doesn't have a button without the semovar, right? Ill have to look that up although I'm sure someone knows the answer off the top of their head lol. Even so, still a really , really nice piece of kit!

it has 3 button configurations.

semovar VW
electronic mechanical (replaces semovar modual with just a button) sort of a bolt style mech with wired button
and a true bottom firing pin style.
im thinking its the same ones they had for the sem2 they just need to get busy making more.

replace the cap with a mechanical one add the bottom fire and true mech. mode

 

[synthros]

Ian I would be really dissapointed too if I had the experience you have had. I know you said they replaced the chip, (twice?). Maybe its just a bad unit off the cnc causing the chip to short out somehow? I'm talking out of my head, but just wondering. Will they just replace the entire unit for you? I know the time delay is a hassle , but for that kind f money seems like they should make it right.

Thrasher, I know the different configs, including parts that they are planning to put out in the future, I just bought the basic device though and it seems that if I put the top cap directly on the battery tube, (no semovar ) , I would just need a different bottom cap to have a true mechanical, no? Thank you for the information, I should go back to the video again too probably...

I was kind of surprised that there weren't many responses to this thread. It reminds me of when I was first posting in the Kayfun thread, lol. It was a pretty quiet place, just a few people. It took almost a year and it seems like overnight the Kayfun blew up! I bought the first Kayfun in the classifieds almost a year ago, and literally didnt see another forever, now it seems everyone is familiar with it, they are regularly in the classifieds, the thread exploded and the Chinese and other Russian modders are scrambling to deliver knock offs/variations!
It might take awhile but if Ian's problems are rare, and I hope they are, this device certainly seems like a serious contender in the higher end VV/VW apv space dominated by Provape to a large degree. Also assuming they plan to make enough of them so that people can actually get their hands on one.

I want to keep it looking nice so I'm sticking with my well used and abused provari for daily carry as its already well battle scarred. But I'm using this full time at home to put it through its paces. Really liking it so far.
I suspect the future is more dna-20 than nivel but I can't find any fault with this baby so far ....

 

[Thrasher]

i know there was a delay when the switched from v2 to v3 and i was sure they cancelled it - right after i decided to get it. i was so bummed. SM needs a little better USA PR dept IMO to keep people in the loop, as it is these kinda just mysteriously popped up one day at some online vendors. and unfortunately many things dont sell well in America when they show up unannounced. but SM seems to sell out in no time, last time i didnt even get a chance between the email at work and when i finally got home.

at least get them out to the reviewers. i think SM is one of the only manufacturers i never seen sent to Pbusardo (could be wrong)i mean cmon hes reviewing the russian but not the kayfun?

it seems to have no problem selling on many of the EU sites and is talked up a great deal in German and Russian forums.
and may be one of those devices that just doesnt get much saturation here.
in a community either obsessed with the ProV or the next china shiny, trying to convincing people there is another high end mod may not be in SM's interests if they sell well elsewhere.
I do know the videos i watched showing the tests on the chip were impressive enough for me to believe its worth it. not the best but nowhere near sloppy or bad. so far vape wise its the only mod i have used that matches the provape experience when vaping, battery life is almost identical.

as for the kayfun the reputation is already there and this is just the next revision in a top selling device.

and yea i misread the statement i guess, from the video i watched it seems as the cap would work fine in mech mode just need the bottom pin.

if a company produces a top end dna mod built like this i will probably grab that too. but not some slapped together home brew.

 

[lowierunner]

didn't you have a leaking 510 or hybrid connector? When this happens juice will leak into the chip.
They are making a fix for it at the moment, you can fix it yourself to by placing a small o-ring between the connector to the chip.
This will make sure no juice will leak into the chip housing.
Todd did a video on fixing this issue.

best regards

wesley

 

[synthros]

Must be a hybrid collector tank issue, I've only used the Kayfun w/510 connection on APV's. There is no way for that to leak. Ill have to watch the video and see what you mean..... Maybe the direct to mod collector tank isn't sealed?

 

[Thrasher]

thinking about it there is a good chance the kayfun is/was flooded and the collector was never emptied. i check mine every other tank when i rinse it out. once the atty is overfilled or flooded the collector fills up fast and sooner or later its gonna seep out.

 

[mrcrunch08]

I pray I dont have that problem with mine. So far so good although battery life sems to be much shorter than the provari. I have plenty of batts so no biggie but I am bummed I have a red button and not blue.

 

[Zak Rabbit]

I pray I dont have that problem with mine. So far so good although battery life sems to be much shorter than the provari. I have plenty of batts so no biggie but I am bummed I have a red button and not blue.

I forget how he did it, but in the video, Todd changed his from red to blue with some combination of button pushes while in the "off line" mode. I tried a couple times on mine but was too excited to get vaping. Had mine a couple weeks now, no problems at all. At one Point I actually had two, but sold one to the owner of The Vapor Loft.

 

[synthros]

What???? I can change the button color? That so rocks, off to watch a video!

Edit - sadly no, this is not possible. The botton from what I can determine, is what it is. You have 5 settings for the brightness of the display. You can also set it to have the button and display light up , just the display , just the button, or neither light up. All in all a fair amount of flexibility there, but the options don't extend to color of the light.... Not that I've been able to determine.

I do really like this apv, every single part is completely adjustable, its built beautifully and the gold plated contacts let it hit as hard as you want it too. It's a dead sexy mod, just wish my Kayfun matched, but, thats a small thing to me.

 

[Zak Rabbit]

just wish my Kayfun matched, but, thats a small thing to me.

I bought my second one off the classy's here and it matched!
Was his button blue the whole time then? I'm going to have too watch that video again ...


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[synthros]

I don't know exactly what the issue is but the SM3 goes through batteries very very quickly compared to my provari. Same batteries very very different run times. I haven't tried although I will if putting the sm3 into the off mode extends battery life. I never think about "turning it off" anymore than I do my other mods. Anyone else having this issue, or better yet have this issue and a solution?

 

[Thrasher]

i noticed turning the screen brightness down or even off helps the battery last longer.

 

[2coils]

I have been really intrigued by this Nivel chip. I actually e-mailed Pbusardo last night and asked him if he had any experience with it. He replied back stating nobody has sent him anything with it yet. I broke down, out of curiosity sake, ordered the Snus tin from Fazed Box Mods, with the Nivel Chip. I am anxious to get it! If it holds up, I will invest in a more attractive APV using the chip.