Taking the next step, purchasing a mech mod

[eFFeRR]

Hello ECF Canada,

I've been vaping for almost one full year now. This whole time I've been using 2 x iTaste VV 3.0's with a mixture of ProTanks, EVODs, EVODs Glass and some CE4s. While they have all done a good job getting me off cigarettes, I think it's time I take the next step. I guess it's good to know the reason why I want to upgrade. I am not doing it so that I can push the limits on resistances and see how large clouds I can make. I am mainly doing it because I hear that the taste and vape quality I can get out of a RBA is unmatched with a simple ProTank and EVOD. I am finding the juices I used to love are all starting to lose their flavors a little bit. This is not due to me vaping too much, and I do drink a lot of water. I can still tell the difference between the juices I use, I just don't think I am getting the full flavor that I could be getting.

I've been reading up a lot about battery safety. I understand that safety starts with maintaining your batteries in good condition and not pushing the Amps to far on a battery. Most of the eFest batteries I've been looking at are rated at 10A. I see their are also some 30A batteries. Am I right to assume that a 30A battery may be more safe?. What if the resistances drop on the atomizer without me noticing?

For someone buying their first mech mod, where should I begin in terms of cartomizer/atomizers?. Should I jump right into a RBA or should I start dripping with a cartomizer?. If you recommend a RBA, which one?. Is their a place where I can begin by purchasing pre-made coils that I can just wrap into the RBA?

I was consideing purchasing a Nemesis Clone from fast tech, they look real nice and seem to work well. Thoughts?. Any recommendations on good performing batteries that can be purchased in Canada?

 

[SoftSell]

I started with a nemesis clone and trident rda. I jumped right into it.
I spent about 2 hrs on YouTube watching coil building videos, battery safety, mech mod reviews, etc. It's a lot easier to build coils than most ppl make it out to be. Biggest thing is knowing your battery limits, make sure there are no shorts after you build your coil. The internet is really the E-cig Bible, including this forum. Don't let ppl scare you away from rebuildables or mech mods, just make sure you use an Ohm's Law calculator, appropriate batteries, and don't cheap out on a charger.
I quickly went from spinners to mech mods and have had zero "incidents" and 100% more enjoyment.
The nemesis is a great first mod, and as far as RDAs go, I enjoy the trident, quasar, elm, stillaire, atomic.... There is A LOT out there and most of them are excellent.
May I suggest checking out Reo Mods as well, I wish I would have found out about Reo when I first got into mech mods. Super easy to use, build, maintain, and even has a replaceable spring "fuse" built into it for safety against shorts. Check it out www.reosmods.com

EDIT: going for a 30A battery is a good idea, you will subohm one day, even if it's just to try it, and those extra 20amps allow for a big margin of safety.

 

[eFFeRR]

Hey guys. I made a short list of items I want to order off Fast Tech. This being my first mech mod, I will appreciate all the help I can get. Remember, I am looking for something easy to use as my first mod. I prefer a RDA that is easy to coil and not too advanced. If you can add to my check out list, I'd really appreciate it.

RDA

$13.47 Trident 24K Gold Plated Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer(RDA) at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
$4.97 V5 RDA Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer - 4-airhole at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

- The V5 looks like a simple RDA I can practice on.

Mech Mods

$27.20 Gus Style Mechanical Mod (Mixed Version) - 1*18350 / 1*18650 at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
$26.08 Stingray Style Mechanical Mod - 18350 / 18500 / 18650 at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

- Like the look of these. They also use 18650 batteries which is what I think I'm supposed to be looking to purchase

- I still need suggestions on batteries and chargers. As well as what type of wick/kanthal/cotton.. etc that people find good to use.

Thanks

 

[Battlelance]

I have a couple nemesis clones (buy the switch magnets) sitting here and haven't really touched them in a while. I have DNA 30 box mod, so I just rebuilt my coils to around 2ohm and run with it. I honestly haven't had a reason to fart around with my mechs.

Anyway, there is really no reason not to stick with 30A batteries lately. Also, you really need to invest in a decent multimeter and understand max/min battery voltages, coil resistance and amperage so you don't damage your battery (or yourself).

Personally, I use a IGO-L just because I have one, and I exclusively use Efest 20A and 30A batteries. That will change if my VTC4's ever show up from China (been two months now), but the efests have been good to me. Don't buy premade coils, just get some 28 gauge kanthal a baggie of organic cotton balls and watch youtube videos on coil wrapping. It's easy as pie.

 

[SoftSell]

Make sure read the fasttech reviews. That stingray seems to have button issues.
I use two efest 35amp flat tops, and two AW 1600mah 24amp button tops. AW batteries are the bees knees. I'm also sporting an efest LUC battery charger, it has a led display that shows what volts your batteries are at, charging status, and does a "diagnosis" on batteries before it charges.
Go to walmart and get a $2 bag of organic cotton balls, boil them for 15 min, you're good to go. YouTube YouTube YouTube!

 

[eFFeRR]

Great advice on the Cotton Balls.. I will try that out.

So I looked at tons of YouTube videos of people building single coils, dual coils, quad coils and all other kinds of Crazy 8 coils and whatever. It doesn't look hard at all which is great. After looking over FastTech once more, I made another change to what I want to purchase. I am going to start off with one mod and two RDAs for now. Maybe I'll even add in a drip tip. The Nemesis clones get bad reviews on there, they seem to be cheaply made. The one below seems to get pretty good reviews, some people have issues with the threading but it can be fixed by sanding it down a little bit.

$18.93 GP PAPS Style 18650 / 18500 / 18350 Mechanical Mod - brass tube at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

The GP PAPS Style clone looks real nice and sharp and performs pretty well. I found a nice RDA to match it as well.

$12.85 Nucleus Style Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer - 1:1 clone / stainless steel + brass (24K gold plated) at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Now I don't believe I'm diving in too deep here, I watched two YouTube videos on this exact RDA. One guy built a dual coil, the other a quad. The dual coil setup was nice and easy and used cotton, not wick. This might not be the best beginner one to start on, and maybe doesnt perform as well as some others out there but it should look nice on a GP Paps. Yeah, looks is important to me lol.

I will take recommendations on another Fast Tech RDA if you guys have any. I'd like to get a different one so I can practice coils on a different type of setup. Looks won't matter with this one. Any suggestions?.

With that out of the way, I need to know where you guys prefer to purchase your batteries, chargers and kanthal from. I believe I will start with 28 gauge kanthal. I see CanVape has an eFest battery with a 35A current rating, as well as one with a 30A. Only a dollar more for the 35A.

Efest IMR18650 35AMP Chemically Safe Li-ion 3.7V 2500mAh

Is this a decent choice? I don't see any chargers on their website that look all the great. Anyone have a recommendation for a charger?

 

[DoubleEwe]

I would suggest the Magma RDA, you can use either single or dual coils with it, it is easy to set up (posts with holes rather than wrap around a screw), and the big plus is that it has a super big (in terms of drippers) juice well.
Flavour is really good too, has adjustable airflow etc etc.

The paps is a solid choice, I like of look of that one too.

As for batteries, I would suggest Sony VCT 4 or 5. They have a high amp discharge limit and safe chemistry.

I would not get the batteries from Fasttech though.

 

[DoubleEwe]

Have you tried rebuilding your Protank heads?

That is a good way to get to grips with the rebuilding.

Another suggestion for you to get is a Kayfun (on fasttech the Kayfun Lite + V2). It is a great step up from your previous setup, easy to build (single coil) and as everyone will tell you the flavour is amazing.

 

[eFFeRR]

awesome, maybe I'll throw a Kayfun in as well and try it out with my iTaste VV.

I have re-built one ProTank single coil a when I first got into vaping. Haven't done it since though. Not because I'm not interested, but because the coil head replacements are so cheap lol

Can you recommend a good Canadian website for my battery/charger purchase? I've only really purchased hardware from Happy Vaper and CanVape. Somewhere with cheap shipping or a retail location would be great.

P.S. I will look into the Magma, I recall looking at that and the Trident 24K gold clone as well.

 

[DoubleEwe]

You will not be disappointed with a Kayfun ($25.02 Kayfun Lite Plus V2 Style Rebuildable Atomizer (4.5ml) - 1:1 clone / stainless steel at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping)
I use mine on my Mech, mainly on 18500 (or 18490) mode, looks great with the nano kit (which is included in the Kayfun I linked above) and coloured tank section. 1.1Ohm 28AWG build.

I have two so far, thinking of getting another...

As for the Canadian battery supplier, sadly I cant help on that one, but you should be able to find the Sony VCT 5 or 4 in most E-Cig stores or maybe even on Amazon. They are less than $10 each. (£7 here or something)

 

[eFFeRR]

So what exactly makes it nano? Is it because it comes with a second base that has the window and it's shorter? I assume it comes with a shorter drip tip too.

I ask because I wanted to get the Black version of it, but it doesnt seem to come with the same accessories.

Actually, it looks like it's already nano ?

$14.77 Kayfun Lite Styled Rebuildable Atomizer (4.5ml) - clear tank section / stainless steel / PVD coating at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Actually I noticed this is not the V2

 

[DoubleEwe]

$26.84 Kayfun Lite Plus V2 Style Rebuildable Atomizer (4.5ml) - 1:1 clone / stainless steel / PVD coating at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

This is the black V2 kit

The kit is both the standard Kayfun Lite + V2 and the nano Kit.

The nano kit is just shorter metal ring sections and a shorter chimney part, it reduces the capacity (to 2.5ml I think) and is obviously more compact looking, it is basically a nice option to have for when using smaller batteries (18490 or 18350) as it stops it looking too top heavy. Yes, there is no real need for it other than aesthetics.

I have no complaints with my Kayfun kit (the silver version of the above), plus I use the nano parts more often than the normal sized parts, which I did not plan on doing when I bought it.

 

[eFFeRR]

Sounds good.. I'm getting a cart ready with the Nucleus RDA, Kayfun Lite V2 Black, a GP Paps and an Ohm Reader

Battery, Charger, Cotton and Kanthal is all that is left I believe

I think I might go for a 18650 and a 18350 for when I want a smaller size. Hopefully both 30A or 35A. Might just get the efest ones from CanVape.

 

[DoubleEwe]

Sounds like a plan.

The small battery will be awesome with the kayfun, should look pretty good too.

You might run into trouble if you try using the RDA on the small battery, the battery probably wont be powerful enough (amp discharge limit) to run a decent dual coil setup, even if it does run it it will drain the battery in about 2 minutes flat.

 

[Battlelance]

I think I might go for a 18650 and a 18350 for when I want a smaller size. Hopefully both 30A or 35A. Might just get the efest ones from CanVape.

I might be wrong, but I've never seen a 18350 with a amp limit higher than 10. Which is fine, as long as you don't go any lower than say 0.5ohm @ 4v, but then your battery will probably die after half a dozen puffs.

Stick with the 18650's, or grab a 18350 if you end up getting a telescoping tube mod thats regulated - like a SVD or Vamo.

 

[eFFeRR]

I might be wrong, but I've never seen a 18350 with a amp limit higher than 10. Which is fine, as long as you don't go any lower than say 0.5ohm @ 4v, but then your battery will probably die after half a dozen puffs.

Stick with the 18650's, or grab a 18350 if you end up getting a telescoping tube mod thats regulated - like a SVD or Vamo.

I see good to know. I would have spent a lot of time looking for something that doesn't exist lol

In that case, maybe I'll purchase a 10A 18350. I really do like the size. I don't believe I'll be pushing coil limits at all.

Thanks!

 

[KenD]

Note that the purple Efest 35a has an amp limit of 20, not 35. It's a rewrapped LG he2, a very good battery (I use them almost exclusively) but not 35 amps. The purple 30a Efests are rewrapped Sony vtc4s, and have a 30 amp limit.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[SoftSell]

I thought 18350 was a good idea... Once... I just love my subohms and long life of an 18650. I can go through about 3ml of juice on a .6 single coil on my reo, roughly half a day, before I switch batteries.
I've tried 18350 and 18500, neither of them do it for me.
http://www.vapemate.com/Mod-APV-Variable-Voltage_c_224.html this may be what you're looking for. I've dealt with them once before and they seemed excellent. I've heard the nitecore chargers are pretty deece too.

 

[eFFeRR]

Awesome website. Is the Sony VCT5 considered a 10A or 30A?

Sony High Drain Battery (VTC5)

I don't see any 30A batteries there

 

[Battlelance]

Awesome website. Is the Sony VCT5 considered a 10A or 30A?

Sony High Drain Battery (VTC5)

I don't see any 30A batteries there

It's been a while since I looked at data sheets on the batteries, but the Sony VTC5 is a 30A continuous. The Efest 35A (LG HE2) is 35A pulse. You're not going to run 30A continuous. That's like 6v at 0.2ohms. A continuous discharge at 30A would heat up any 18650 pretty damn fast.

Regardless, even if you don't pull huge amperage, I like the idea of drawing 2-6 amps on a battery rated for 20 or 30 amps. That's a nice bit of leeway.