The Vmod XL 18650 Bottom Feeding Mod from Vapage - Part 2

[Rickajho]

Okay. Testing.

I just held down the firing button. At the same time I placed my finger at the top of the battery and pressed it down toward the bottom of the mod, i.e., pressed the battery down from the top toward the spring WITH the firing button on and the atty firing.

The atty kept firing, with that battery pressed as hard and as far down as I could press it. i.e., to my mind that means not enough room for the battery to drop down and out of positive contact with the firing pin. The battery was hitting the bottom of the mod and had no more room to go.


Which I suspected. When I simply SAW the size of this new battery.

So, I will not be using them at all. I hope the engineering team can revisit these batts beccause they have defintiely changed the size of it. I don't know if the factory is making them out of spec or what, but i| have never had a vmod with a spring this compressed in the past.

That is so not good.

The vagaries of 14500 battery dimensions - and trying to get batteries that would actually fit into a box mod - is what drove me to purchasing digital calipers and only buying batteries from sites that stated battery dimensions. With these freaking Li-On batteries "standardized dimensions" are only a loose suggestion, at best.

 

[Racehorse]

Rick, Randy at RTD willl measure batts for you any time, as well as take comparison photos for you. He has done that for me so you should try him. He sells good batts too.

That is so not good.

With these freaking Li-On batteries "standardized dimensions" are only a loose suggestion, at best.

The Vapage batteries are made specifically for their own Vmod products.

The vmod is a wonderful BF that vapes like a champ. I would not be recommending it to new vapers who are personal friends if I did not feel that way.

However, something changed since the last few vmods I owned, and I do not know if I received an errant set of batteries, or if their specs changed. There has to be better clearances.

 

[Katdarling]

I'm sorry, dear Vapage, but this is totally unacceptable! Those batts are not just "not a good fit"... they are plain and flat out dangerous (to me). A newbie getting a VMOD would not know anything about this. WRONG.

FAIL.

Please Vapage, if you are reading this, please do what needs to be done about these batts. This upsets me greatly.

Thanks Racehorse, for letting people know and to beware.

EVERYONE who uses an electronic vaporizer needs to study and re-study battery safety. Good start is here: Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University

 

[tearose50]

Race, it sounds like this is a good time to find that Customer Service Phone number and give one of the gals/guys a call.

I'm hoping their stock batteries are a shorter version and they can be replaced for you.

 

[Racehorse]

I called, and then sent a pictorial. Hope it will be of some help to them. There is a possibility that their battery supplier is not on the same page as their design engineer, and at least I feel I have brought this to their attention. I was able to do better in daylight today, there really aren't any clearances for the spring

 

[2423kids]

Okay. Testing.

I just held down the firing button. At the same time I placed my finger at the top of the battery and pressed it down toward the bottom of the mod, i.e., pressed the battery down from the top toward the spring WITH the firing button on and the atty firing.

The atty kept firing, with that battery pressed as hard and as far down as I could press it. i.e., to my mind that means not enough room for the battery to drop down and out of positive contact with the firing pin. The battery was hitting the bottom of the mod and had no more room to go.


Which I suspected. When I simply SAW the size of this new battery.

So, I will not be using them at all. I hope the engineering team can revisit these batts beccause they have defintiely changed the size of it. I don't know if the factory is making them out of spec or what, but i| have never had a vmod with a spring this compressed in the past.

Race I posted about my unhappiness with the Vapage 14500 batts months ago! For the life of me I can't find my post. BUT I found the pics I took of the batts I got. While they work (sometimes ... But ummmm not very good IMHO!!) ... I gave up on them ... VERY frustrating ... Especially considering these batts are going out with their kits! New users may give up on a nice little mod because these Vapage 14500's just don't work well or fit correctly! You can see in my pics where the size of the Vapage 14500's I got when I ordered several packs back in the summer were different from the older 14500's (that I'd gotten off the Classifieds with a used VMod 2.0). THAT older one was still larger than the red AW IMR 14500's (which work the best for me in the smaller VMod). NOW your Vapage 14500's look even BIGGER from your pics!! The ones I got compressed the spring quite a bit also (too much for me to be happy with them) ... But your spring looks totally squashed down! Ugh!!

I'd had a time with getting the correct atty's I'd ordered! Calling Customer Service was rather time consuming before I finally got it right. Soooooooo ... When I discovered the 14500 battery problem I didn't fight that fight! Here's my pics I used when I posted about my 14500 Vapage batts ......

And

I'm gonna stick one in my VMod 2.0 and take a pic! Let me know what you find out. I think I have 3 unopened packs of them ... And 2 packs I opened trying to get them to work for me.

 

[2423kids]

Here ya go Race ... Mine ... From left to right ... AW IMR 14500 ... The older Vapage 14500 I got w/VMod 2.0 from Classies ... And the newest Vapage 14500 that I got back in the summer. Your's looks even bigger as I have "maybe" a tad bit of room. These new Vapage 14500's are simply too big and don't work well in the Baby VMod! I almost sold the 2.0 ... Until I put the smaller AW batt in! Pics ...

And ... Newest 14500 from Vapage in the middle.

 

[Racehorse]

Good photos in your post #3068. I believe it shows the succession of the battery getting "longer/taller".....and it appears that with the most recent batch (mine) they have gotten even moreso.

Your photos in #3068, first 2 from left look fine. That was how my original vmod2.0 looked with the batteries in. There is plenty of clearance for the spring to drop down.

In your vmod on the far right, the compression of the spring due to the battery getting taller is more pronounced.

The ones I got compressed the spring quite a bit also (too much for me to be happy with them) ... But your spring looks totally squashed down

Unfortunately, it is. Photo in post #3066 taken with better light (it was daytime) shows that.

I am a long time Vapage customer. I was able to quit smoking entirely by using a Vmod2.0.

Presently, I am a repeat customer, by way of introducing a new vaper to the product, and it was during the process of showing them how to assemble it that I noticed the battery issue.

Hopefully I will be able to speak to one of their technical staff so that we can get this sorted out.

That would be a win/win for both Vapage and the cusotmer, and should take the load off CS who has better things to do than field battery complaints....just like you and I have better things to do than mess around with this stuff.

I have seen this 'process' before where the vaping community gives feedback which ultimately leads to a better product. I think this is a positive thing.

 

[Katdarling]

I truly am saddened and more than a bit miffed over this. Not for you #### or for you Race, but for the newbs ordering their gear with these batteries.

I'm not happy with you Vapage... no candy for you tonite.

 

[EddieAdams]

That's funny because av8roc ordered a 2.0 for a friend and it still made contact in the"off"position quite easily. I didn't have any experience with the 2.0 so couldn't say what's what but, after reading all the posts I did notice how tight the battery fit. First time seeing a 14500 and a 2.0...I'll tell her to call and complain...it is unsafe

 

[milkman5306]

This seems to be the current vmod thread so here goes.
I bought an ego 9-9-13 and threw away two full packs of camels that day and have not looked back. I tried several different clearomizers but fought with leaks and such probably due to my own ignorance. I have loved the look and feel of box mods so when Vapage had the buy one get one free deal last week I dove in head first and now own two vmod xls.
With my ego the most comfortable I came was with an evod but I had to cover one of the air holes to get the nice throat hit nd clouds of vaper I wanted to best mimic a smoke.
I am having the same issue with the vmod, just to airy. Is there a way to tighten the draw up? The evods were 2.2 ohms so I started with the 2.2 silo that came in the kit.
I love the way this box feels in the hand and I like removable batteries so I wanna make this work. Any advice where to go from here?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[FnMag]

Make sure the "chimney" is tight. That's the silver thing around the atomizer. Keep the cone tight also. The little holes in cone do nothing as far as draw - for me anyway. It will tighten up some, the draw, as you vape. Keeping the bottle full will help too.

get used to a more airy draw than an analog. We aren't trying to suck juice through the atty also, tilting past horizontal will change it a bit.

I puff mine like a pipe 3 or 4 times exhaling through my nose and cloud a room quickly. I'm using the 1.5ohm slant coil vapage sells.

 

[EddieAdams]

Odd because most complain of the draw being too tight. There really isn't anything I can suggest. The other Vmod thread is in liquid feed apv section...

 

[milkman5306]

I did order a package of the 1.8 ohm silos so I put one of them on. The hit and vapor production seems much better.
Also I think I am using the supplied carto not Atty if that makes a difference I am not sure, this is my first venture away from clearos.
I will try a full bottle as I didn't fill it past half.
I'm not giving up, I love the way this feels in hand and pocket so much better than the twice as long ego.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[EddieAdams]

The attys, any atty, need to break in. Varies but, like a half a bottle. You can drip a different flavor with the atty once you exhaust the liquid and IMHO they give better flavor. With the cartomizers you can't drip but, isn't a big deal if you stick to flavors. I'm all over the place like that...whichever works. Try sticking to the sales and you'll be happy. Vapage has great sales...

 

[Katdarling]

I did order a package of the 1.8 ohm silos so I put one of them on. The hit and vapor production seems much better.
Also I think I am using the supplied carto not Atty if that makes a difference I am not sure, this is my first venture away from clearos.
I will try a full bottle as I didn't fill it past half.
I'm not giving up, I love the way this feels in hand and pocket so much better than the twice as long ego.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

Hi milkman and welcome to VMODia.

I think your decision to try the 1.8 ohm Silos was a good one. 2.2 ohms on the VMOD can be a little cool and less vaporific.

You can tell a cartomizer (carto) from an atomizer (atty) fairly easily. Look down the barrel. If you see what appears to be a cotton filler up to the top (or nearly up to the top), that's a cartomizer. An atomizer will only have the mesh around a coil.

 

[milkman5306]

Thanks for the advice!
I started with the cartos cause they were cheaper, figured I would ruin one of those in the learning process if necessary. Switching to the 1.8 ohm made a world of difference. I know its only day one buy I love this vmod xl.
I will be watching the sales. I am saving the lone Atty the sent me til more of my favorite juice arrives Tuesday (thrilla in vanilla by virgin vapors).
Of course the Atty that came with the kit is 2.2 ohms so we see how I like it. Attys on their site are almost double what cartos are, are they worth it?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Katdarling]

Thanks for the advice!
I started with the cartos cause they were cheaper, figured I would ruin one of those in the learning process if necessary. Switching to the 1.8 ohm made a world of difference. I know its only day one buy I love this vmod xl.
I will be watching the sales. I am saving the lone Atty the sent me til more of my favorite juice arrives Tuesday (thrilla in vanilla by virgin vapors).
Of course the Atty that came with the kit is 2.2 ohms so we see how I like it. Attys on their site are almost double what cartos are, are they worth it?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2

You are most welcome!

Yes, cartos are generally cheaper than attIEs, but not always. Once in awhile you will find bulk deals on attIES that are just too good to pass up.

I'm sure I can speak for all the VMODians in saying that I'm thrilled you love the mod! It's wonderful, easy, holds plenty of fluid, and pocket friendly.

The atomizers on Vapage that most of us just ADORE are these: AMG Hybrid Bottom Feeder (2-pack)

Yes, they are on the pricey side, but comparable to even higher priced atomizers. Best to stock up on them when Vapage has a sale (which is fairly frequent).

I would also suggest getting other atomizers and cartomizers when you find some deals. It's always good for comparison and the learning curves.

Keep in mind that Virgin Vapors vliquid is most likely very high VG (isn't it?), and that doesn't always play well with attIES or cartos. VG is thick and makes saturating the carto filler more difficult. VG tends to clog up attIEs more quickly as well.

Keep vapin', keep asking', keep reading, and join CASAA!

 

[tearose50]

I sure think so. Attys are made to last much longer than a carto (and clearomizers are somewhere inbetween, it seems.). And, IMHO, the Vapage Hybrid BF Attys are amongst the best made.

Usually a carto is judged by the amount of days it lasts. Attys by the number of weeks. I usually get a minimum of 4 with the Hybrids with considerable use and often a week max with a carto. As always, YMMV.

Have fun with your vaping adventures.

P.S. I also often puff puff a few times similar to a pipe. In fact, that's what helped me switch to vaping as it worked well for me. Now, I use various techniques, depending on my mood, the flavor and even the device I'm using.

 

[milkman5306]

Well this makes me feel skit better, I had it backwards thinking the atties only lasted a matter of days. I will get more on their next sale, along with that nice looking faux wood cover they sell. All this fun and I s have a second vmod xl unopened.
As far as juice I order the 50/50 blend from virgin vapors and most other vendors.
Ole vapor joes sale blog is gonna drive me to the poor house, just ordered these batteries last night he pointed out:
http://.........blogspot.com/2013/11/usa-2x-panasonic-cgr18650ch-18650s-1750.html?m=1
Of course vapor Joe informed me of the two for one vmod sale.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4 using Tapatalk 2