The case for VV... or Atty Rant

[AttyPops]

OK. They are shipping my favorite atomizers from a well trusted (and loved) vendor... um.. differently. I'm not slamming the vendor at all, particularly since it's probably "my bad" to begin with. They are just a USA based reseller anyway. They don't make my beloved atomizers... someone else, somewhere else does.

I'm not naming names. I'm not naming make/model. I will name a number tho... ohms. They used to be around 2.8 is ohms. Put a meter on them several times in the past. Of course, I don't have any unused "old version" ones left to put a meter on.

The vendors swears that they were 2.4 ohms. And have been. I thought that the site said 2.8 and that they were in fact measured around 2.8. "Not so" says the vendor. The description is different. So is the picture.

Of course they are not not including the plastic cart (like a blank 510 cart - no filler) with them.... now they have little rubber caps instead.

OK. So now....I need to occasionally order plastic carts for a few extra bucks. I'll live. I'll deal with it. I probably have 10 or 20 of them around anyway... chewed but usable. (Never throw anything out. IDC what they say. )

And I think this reaffirms what everyone has been saying about VV. This is the 1st time in the last 19 months of vaping that I felt I really wanted VV. The hits on this atty are harsher. I don't care what the vendor says. I don't care who is right or who is wrong, me, the vendor, or the manufacturer. It wouldn't matter much if I could just dial in the voltage.

What I'm NOT going to do (at least today).... is pay a premium for 2.8/3.0 ohm ... so called HV... stuff when it just used to be one of many options at the same price.

I'm ordering a VV kit. Its modding time again. Modumust fevor has hit again... not for the sake of modding mind you, but for the sake of having options. So when a manufacturer changes something, or a vendor changes their lineup, I'm not stuck.

Always thought "I don't need one more component to fiddle with... dials.. bah!". Now I'm warming up to the idea fast since there are no standards in this industry... they can't even mark ohms on the atty (well, most of them don't).... and they can change them at the drop of a hat.

My DIY 5v PT actually has some resistance to it since it has a long cord so maybe I can limit the amp draw a bit that way. For now. It's still pretty close to the 5 volts... only a little voltage drop due to amp starvation. However, it will help.

Whoo Hooo AttyPops's future VV boxmod.

/rant

 

[Scottinboca]

Good luck on your quest to the world of VV. I live there and won't be going back to the world of fixed voltage.

 

[six]

I can always count on you, AttyPops. I appreciate your observations and opinions.

I've been disappointed with my VV purchase/experiment. The device works just fine and looks just like it's supposed to - It isn't the device itself that disappointed me. It was VV. I didn't need it and I ended up setting the VV to the same voltages i could produce before - I'm sure this is due to all the time, money, and effort I put in to matching attys and cartos to my batteries and juices.

Since that discovery, I've been unable to imagine a scenario where I would need VV. I was unable to imagine a situation that would ever justify the purchase of a more expensive VV device than the one I have or even find a reason to use the one I have more than the rarely to occasionally.

I have a good stock of supplies right now, so I guess it might be a few months before I'll have a chance to get sent devices that don't meter as expected. But now I know there's hope I do enjoy buying new stuff.

 

[AttyPops]

Well, you know six, I was in that camp too! Why mess with it? You can always vary the ohms. Then they "F-ed" with the atties (or so I think). I had my DIY juice and my good ole trusted atties. Didn't need to change voltage.

Could find another source I guess. But I just spent about $30.00 for three atties (that's bad enough) including shipping and dang.... different. The only time I ever wanted vv is now. So we'll see. It adds $8.00 to my standard 5v box mod. So meh. I need to build a backup box mod anyway. I'll try it so I have options... Who knows? I could be on my last atty and they send me the wrong stuff by mistake. VV again.

Maybe I'm rationalizing and I should just find my trusted atties somewhere else. But since these came packaged differently in the plastic wrap... maybe a manufacturing change too.

 

[John Phoenix]

I'm feeling you on the VV issue giving you options. I just got some 2.8-3.0 coils needing 3.0. These are at the lower end - 2.8, burning my normally yummy juice at 5v. I need a VV to lower the voltage slightly so these won't be wasted. Luckily, one is on order and will be here in two days. Sucks to have to do this because I really don't enjoy vaping at voltage under 5v - but, I never tried 2.8 ohms either.. hopefully that will cause my experience to balance out.

 

[AttyPops]

Well, if we had consistency in the manufacturing standards.... we wouldn't need a fiddle factor (and I'm on record somewhere on ECF claiming that I haven't needed VV. Till now, that is.). Grrrr. Oh well. I'll try VV I guess. We'll see. Will try other atomizers and vendors too.

I'm just disappointed, or maybe getting old and inflexible. But when you find a combo that works for you... you stick with it. I do know that my current under-ohms atties will have their resistance raised with use, and cake up a bit... and "break in" (which I never had to do before. Before... "breaking in" was "wearing out".) Oh well.

 

[classwife]

(Thanks Atty...got you moved to the VV sub forum)

 

[Nomoreash]

Atty I'm sure you're going to enjoy vv. There really is no more filddle factor with it than fixed. You set it to your atty and juice preference and that's it. Not much different than changing atty ohms or battery configurations to get what you want, just don't need change parts to do it. VV also allows you to do some fine tweaking, you probably would have liked those previous attys even more if you had the ability to slightly bump the volltage up or down to hit the sweet spot.

 

[Credo]

I bit the bullet and got a Darwin on my 3rd PV purchase. The other stuff worked (egos/kr-808/boge rev 2.1) OK but I was only getting a few days out of a carto/atty before needing to mess with trying to clean/burn or just give up and replace them.

Darwin has saved me so much money and PITA fiddling with stuff.
I screw it on, remember a ball park power setting, and Darwin does the rest. Of course I can easily tweak it to taste on demand. As the atty ages and needs more or less voltage, the Darwin just does it for me...even mid draw (as I have some atties that do start out at one resistance and change over the length of the draw).

These days I screw something on and vape it till it dies.

VV will save you money I'm pretty sure. You can gradually dial them up as that atty ages. Gunk on the coils? Who cares if it still tastes good and the draw is not cut off...you can just gradually crank up the heat and get days if not weeks more out of an atty.

I'm also loving how well the thing fits in my hand. The swinging arm thing that lets me position the carto/atty various ways (even at 90 degrees for one heck of a steady tank platform). I don't need external chargers, or have to do battery swaps daily...and it easily lasts me all day of heavy vaping with dualies, or a couple of days if I'm using something like a CE2 at lower wattages. For me this combo rocks, as I'm almost always near a power source anyway if I need to top it off.

Even if you don't want to lay out the $200 or more for a Darwin or ProVari range of device...the midrange stuff, or even the cheaper plastic box mods will most likely end up saving you $$$ in the long run. I dare say having VV gives me on average at least a 50% increase in the usable lifespan of my atties/cartos.

 

[AttyPops]

Yeah. I build em. I should say.. I CAN build them. I haven't needed to build anything other than a 5 v regulated mod and a few 3.7 mods. Easy. Simple. Works.

The current one I'm on is well over 6 months old, probably cost me less than $15.00 to build and is a regulated 5 volts (no vv). I've just ordered a simple VV kit to play with... to see if I even care enough... to build an evercool or some buck/boost mod or whatever. I've even discussed building-in a microprocessor and such.. (I have several from other electronics projects lying around with the programming hardware) but I just don't see the need for me to either A) shell out mega $$ or B) get too fancy right off the bat. Some have the cash/interest. For me, I like the K.I.S.S. method with most things... e-cigs too. That's why I didn't even bother with VV until now.

But if vendors and/or manufacturers are going to mess with stuff without notice... Might as well give it a shot. Phase I - simple VV for proof of concept. If I like it enough to say with it, I'll consider a bunch of other VV options.

 

[tiburonfirst]

bump for this so i have a marker in this subforum .........

i just recently ended up with a plain vv box and i'm not all that happy. if i forget to turn the darn thing off the battery life is dismal -

 

[AttyPops]

It shouldn't "leak" current, tibs. I know, it's an obvious statement. However, probably the only way to diagnose it is to have an "electronics guy" look at it. You could try putting a multimeter on it while the button is not depressed and seeing if the atty connector is putting out any volts. That's only a 50/50 shot at the leak tho. Even if it shows 0, the "short/leak" could be somewhere else internally.

You'll still need an "electronics guy" to fix it... unless it's a type of box that is still under a warranty... then send it back.

 

[Animeguy]

I went from the regular easy 3.7box to the okr-t vv mod. The most I spent on pv is on my infernos. Other vv mods looks good and it be nice to get but I am not shelling out that kinda money when I can build something that works the same. I can adjust voltage and my batteries last all day but I always bring 4 extra bats with me for just in case. Under 40 bucks for parts maybe cheaper with 20 mins of my time, I can't go wrong. I don't really look at voltage too much anymore. I just adjust to taste and vapor so a screen showing voltage is not needed although I would not mind a lavatube if I find 70 bucks to blow. I now only use mm to check ohms and sometimes battery volts out of charger.

 

[KeysBum]

Be careful, once you go VV, there is no turning back.

 

[cracker75]

Don't forget the Kick's going to be released soon, so if you have any 18650 mods, you could upgrade performance for $45 and the price of batteries.

Should have decent resale value (as a package) if you don't like it.

 

[tiburonfirst]

thanks, atty! - i do agree with the posters above - vv is a very nice feature! but i'm still trying to figure out why or where there is a problem with longevity.
so, this is directed toward all who have experience with vv - hope you don't mind, atty, since this is your thread!

i'm using a ce2 ~ 2.6ohms, the dial is a hair below the halfway position. without a meter and from previous experience i'm assuming the voltage is about 3.6. about how long should those 2 batteries last?

i'm quoting some email exchange i had with the vendor - identifying details omitted - does that answer make sense?



----- Original Message -----

Sent: Monday, December 26, 2011 10:33 AM
Subject: Re: Order Shipped # AB- 1052


I have tested a few that have have a slight draw and I think the switch has a slight draw to it. I would try turning to off when not in use to see if that helps. Please let me know what you find out.

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!


----- Reply message -----
Date: Mon, Dec 26, 2011 9:16 am
Subject: Order Shipped # AB- 1052
hi,
i'm a little puzzled - the 900mah batteries have a very short life. i'm not a heavy vaper but it seems to me they last less time than my small 510 batteries.
does this mod draw juice if left in the on position???
thanks

 

[AttyPops]

I don''t mind at all tibby... since it's still a vv topic, but ... in this case, I think you'll have to name the make/model or you won't get very far. It depends on the specific electronics more than vv in general.

Also note that not all 900 mAh batteries are created equal.

 

[tiburonfirst]

thanks, atty!

here is the link for the model
https://maximumvapors.3dcartstores.com/VV-Box-Mod-Ever-Cool_p_9.html

i purchased these to go with it
https://maximumvapors.3dcartstores....otected-Rechargeable-Li-ion-Battery_p_11.html

i'm off to a lazy sunday afternoon - hoping for some insights by the time i return - thanks to all who might be able to help!

forgot - the only markings i can make out on the switch are

a ''m'' in an almost complete circle, ''c'' then a backward ''r'' with a ''u'' attached - us

r01103
17tc - d

 

[AttyPops]

OK Tibs. 1st off... that says it's an "evercool" mod. Now, if that's the same stuff as in the modder's section (and I would think it is at least very similar going by the description) it should be very efficient. You may wish to look in the modder's area for the evercool thread. So.. contact the vendor if it is leaking current. It's supposed to be close to 90%-95% efficient. A switching regulator. Less drain due to heat loss (because it is so efficient).

EDIT: Found it. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/battery-mods/114901-evercool-variable-voltage-mod.html - IDK without more investigation if it's the same specs/person. GTG right now.

Also, you should have told me about an evercool mod on sale for $40.00. Tisk tisk.

Those batteries should work OK. So... IDK. Let's see what everyone else says.

Later!!!!!!

 

[tiburonfirst]

eeek - but until yesterday i had no idea you were considering vv!!!!!

btw - very cleanly done inside in case you are leaning that way for sure - i'm happy except for that battery life!
will check on ''evercool'' thread when i emerge from my sunday nap