V4L mods

[airpowers]

I like the whistle tip idea! my one problem with my VK is those stinking white caps I just went from anologs to V4L, So I don't have other parts to canibalize, now I need me some 901 carts

 

[~Gazoo~]

I had not seen the extra long batteries before.

Well I had, but I thought "Whay would I want a longer battery?"
Was not thinking capacity, was thinking style.

Might have to check those out.

I had 3 battery that basically died, but those were in the days when everything was a USB charger with a wall adapter. Straight push in friction fit.

The screw in wall chargers appear to do a much better job.

Almost all of the carts that died have had multiple refills, so it's probably just a life span thing.

Eventually any type of heating coil burns out.

The smaller battery is 280ma's while the larger battery is 380ma's. I am working on a box mod and it will regulate current to the cartomizer. I want to see if by regulating current I can make a cartomizer last longer. I have these very small plastic boxes that are very easy to work with. And I know I can find batteries that will fit inside...I eventually plan to use LifePo4's but for my first mod the batteries will be external. Once I am happy...I will be doing a flashlight mod. Now don't get me wrong...I have the small auto VK battery and it's great. It's just that I am a geek and like to do things like this.

 

[Scottbee]

The smaller battery is 280ma's while the larger battery is 380ma's. I am working on a box mod and it will regulate current to the cartomizer. I want to see if by regulating current I can make a cartomizer last longer. I have these very small plastic boxes that are very easy to work with. And I know I can find batteries that will fit inside...I eventually plan to use LifePo4's but for my first mod the batteries will be external. Once I am happy...I will be doing a flashlight mod. Now don't get me wrong...I have the small auto VK battery and it's great. It's just that I am a geek and like to do things like this.

Current regulation isn't a bad idea... but it's really no better than voltage regulation in this specific case. The unknown is the coil resistance, and as long as this varies from carto to carto.. neither voltage or current regulation is going to get you where you want to go.

What you really want is POWER regulation.

 

[~Gazoo~]

That's true but coil resistance hasn't varied that much. I have found most of Steve's carts to be in the 2.9 to 3.1 ohm range. The blanks I have are 3.3 to 3.4 ohms. So given a voltage of 3.6 volts..the 2.9 ohm carto would draw about 1.25 amps while the 3.4 carto would draw about 1 amp. But if current is regulated to 1 amp....each one will draw 1 amp. The regulator will compensate the voltage so that each carto is drawing the same amount of current. How much better one will vape over the other is not known.

 

[bornagainst]

The batteries should come with a "CLAPPER" type function, for us who are always losing our batteries. I own four batteries, and am usually having to coast on one, since I constantly misplace things.

Still trying to find my green manual...it's in my apartment somewhere!!

 

[Scottbee]

With a fixed voltage of 3.7V, the cartomizers that you listed will deliver between 4.72 and 4.02 Watts of power. And of course, in this case power == heat. This is also making the (incorrect) assumption that the coil resistance doesn't increase as it gets hot.

With a fixed current of 1A, the cartomizers that you listed will deliver between 2.9 and 3.4 Watts of power. But of course, you can jack that whole range up by increasing the fixed current. But you'd better have more than 3.7V available (after the voltage drops associated with your regulation circuit).

What is missing here is the compensation for cartomizer aging. As they age, the coil resistance typically goes up. And that means for a fixed voltage, the power goes down. For a fixed current, the power goes up (assuming you aren't limited by your source voltage... which you may be). I would think that what you really want is for your power (heat) to be a constant.

 

[azvagabond]

Has anyone tried these for refilling?

 

[~Gazoo~]

With a fixed voltage of 3.7V, the cartomizers that you listed will deliver between 4.72 and 4.02 Watts of power. And of course, in this case power == heat. This is also making the (incorrect) assumption that the coil resistance doesn't increase as it gets hot.

With a fixed current of 1A, the cartomizers that you listed will deliver between 2.9 and 3.4 Watts of power. But of course, you can jack that whole range up by increasing the fixed current. But you'd better have more than 3.7V available (after the voltage drops associated with your regulation circuit).

What is missing here is the compensation for cartomizer aging. As they age, the coil resistance typically goes up. And that means for a fixed voltage, the power goes down. For a fixed current, the power goes up (assuming you aren't limited by your source voltage... which you may be). I would think that what you really want is for your power (heat) to be a constant.

The max current I can draw with what I have is 1.080 AMPs. I am using the trusted LM317's. I just tried it and it worked out excellent with the max current I can draw. But even at 1 amp...the vapor production starts to drop and anything below that is not satisfying. So, for my experiment, I know that 1.1 amps is just about perfect. The current is steady but of course the voltage going to the cartomizer changes by a few tenths between Steve's carto and the blank. Current remains the same as the carto heats up and voltage increases by only 1 hundredths of a volt.

I tried this with three carts that have been refilled at least three times and a carto I just opened last night. I do not believe an aging carto will have much effect.

But here is the kicker....the three carts I tried this with all started having that burnt taste. It was so bad I was getting ready to pitch them but knew I would need them for this experiment. I am glad I saved them because they do not have that burnt taste...even on the battery. I don't know what's up with that. I did not leave the end caps on them...and they just sat out overnight. I don't get it..lol.

 

[Scottbee]

That's great information Gazoo. I didn't have any idea as to how much the resistance changes when the element heats up. I know that when it goes incandescent, it changes a lot.... but as long as we can keep them below "going red", it looks like the resistance is close to being fixed/constant.

 

[~Gazoo~]

That's great information Gazoo. I didn't have any idea as to how much the resistance changes when the element heats up. I know that when it goes incandescent, it changes a lot.... but as long as we can keep them below "going red", it looks like the resistance is close to being fixed/constant.

I am surprised too...it must have to do with the wire they are using.

 

[~Gazoo~]

That's great information Gazoo. I didn't have any idea as to how much the resistance changes when the element heats up. I know that when it goes incandescent, it changes a lot.... but as long as we can keep them below "going red", it looks like the resistance is close to being fixed/constant.

Just a quick update...I have completed my box mod but the batteries I am using are 4 AAA Sanyo Eneloops. They would barely fit in the case but I have to do some final rewiring and need to get a couple of AA LifePo4's. So for now I have a 4 AAA battery holder I have taped to the box. And yes I have a pretty blue LED that shines out of the front. This works with or without the carto attached so I could use a white LED and my box mod could double as a flashlight. Anyway, there are a couple of reasons why I want to use LifePo4's. For one they have a very high C, and they have a greater than 2000 cycle life. I will be getting a protection circuit mainly to protect against over discharge.

I had a bunch of 350 ma regulators I bought from DX a while back. These can be wired in parallel for more current. So I ended up wiring 3 in parallel and have ended up with 1.1 amps going to the carto. I know it should be closer to 1050ma's and probably is...take into account I am using a cheap meter..lol

Vapor production is very good and consistent. I will update later when I can say for sure one way or the other whether or not the carto's are not burning out as often. But so far so good...

 

[Scottbee]

I'm bumping this back to the top because I wanted to re-emphasize and revisit the minor discussion that Cowgirl and I were having regarding putting the 901 whistle tip on the VK cartomizers.

Honestly folks... if you have the opportunity you really might want to give it a try. Once you pop that white plastic end piece off, just throw it away. Cut down a 901 whislte tip, pop a hole down the middle and press it onto the cart. I really think you'll like it for a bunch of reasons. And once you make one.. just move it from cart to cart. No big deal.

The tip will reduce the possibility of you getting any liquid in your mouth (for those of you who tend to overfill), it will cool the vape a little bit, and it just feels a heckuva lot better in the mouth/lips. It also quiets-down the "sizzle" (although I'm sure many of you will actually miss that!).

Of course.. if you couple this with the XL battery you will end up with a PV that is about 2 feet long.. but... ;-)