Variable Voltage Ego Battery

[MISTERDIEABETIC]

OK gang. Make/model fights aside, you have to measure voltage properly or you won't know what you're seeing anyway.

Couple of notes:
1) You have to measure it under load.
2) Cheap voltage meters won't compute the voltage measurement properly for devices regulated with certain PWM frequencies. There's actually a lot of variables here, including the type of measurement (True RMS vs V_avg)

And, not surprisingly, those $10.00 in-line voltage things may or may not work depending on the model of meter and the model of e-cig.

VV circuits...and most all e-cigs other than all-mech....use some form of Pulse Width Modulation inside. Provari too. However, they can be buffered with a capacitor to "smooth" it out. Etc.

I'm not an EE, so take this with a grain of salt, but you may not be having the problem you think you're having in the 1st place. The coil doesn't care as much about the pulses as the meter.

So if you used a multi-meter, you need a special adapter to measure voltage under load. If you used a special in-line meter...check the specs and find out how it does for various PWM circuits. reviews may help too.

Also, the "3.7" voltage setting is probably more like "follows battery voltage" (100% duty cycle) setting. Hence the 3.9v (4.2 with some voltage drop due to inline circuits probably = 3.9. Or maybe 3.9 is max allowed by software..IDK..but it follows battery voltage and allows over 3.7 obviously).

Thanks for the detailed response! I didn't think to check voltage under a load. I only have a basic $100 Matco multimeter which I have for work doing automotive repair (really only use it for measuring resistance, power probe for everything else!)I can do a good bit of moderate electrical work, half of what you said confused the hell out of me. Just wondering though, if it measures say 3.7v without a load, wouldn't it more than likely decrease than increase with a load on it?

 

[90quattrocoupe]

I agree with the Ego Twist. That is what I use on the advice of a good friend. He said keep it simple. Ego twist, a tank, some prepunched boge XL LR cartos, and some juice. It works great. Simple.

Greg W.

 

[90quattrocoupe]

Sorry, dbl post.

 

[Griff.J]

Yup I have three genuine eGo-C Twists 1000mAh in regular rotation. I've ordered and am waiting for a Vamo V3 because I wanted to A) Experience 'Vaping by Wattage', B) Check Ohms. C) Something new.. But I really enjoy using my eGo batteries they power everything I've tried perfectly 1.5ohm attachments up to 3ohms, no problems what so ever. I only ever notice a loss of performance a dozen or so hits before the battery flashes that it needs to be recharged.

 

[fabricator4]

Just wondering though, if it measures say 3.7v without a load, wouldn't it more than likely decrease than increase with a load on it?

Not necessarily, no. Remember this is a cheap regulated power supply, not a battery or a power supply in the sense that you normally think of it. Its behavior with no load might be completely unpredictable.

It is possible that the devices you were talking about are very poorly regulated, but it's impossible to draw any firm conclusions from readings taken by a multimeter and how it runs the coil is probably a better indication of how well it is working. I can recommend the twists as being very useful low cost VV devices.

 

[SASmith]

Yup I have three genuine eGo-C Twists 1000mAh in regular rotation. I've ordered and am waiting for a Vamo V3 because I wanted to A) Experience 'Vaping by Wattage', B) Check Ohms. C) Something new.. But I really enjoy using my eGo batteries they power everything I've tried perfectly 1.5ohm attachments up to 3ohms, no problems what so ever. I only ever notice a loss of performance a dozen or so hits before the battery flashes that it needs to be recharged.

Agreed, I am very happy with my ego twists, also 1000mah, but I have also just ordered a Vamo V3 ...... mostly curiosity and what Griff said. I will still be using my egos for out and about and the Vamo at home. The point is....any gear that keeps you from smoking is good gear and by the way Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your Vape!!!!

 

[Digital Man]

So when I got 2 starter kits for my girlfriend and I, I decided to buy the vv ego batteries at the local vape shop. Once we both realized that we'd both need a second battery I just got us both regular ego batteries. Now the vv is supposed to have three settings, 3.2v , 3.7v and 4.2v. We both noticed that on the highest voltage setting there wasn't much difference from our non vv batteries. So while at work today I decided to pull out the multi meter and measure the voltage at the batteries. I was surprised to say the least.

With the vv battery fully charged I measured 2.7v, 3.4v, and 3.9v while the regular battery measured 3.77 fully charged. When the battery level of the vv got down to 2 out of 5 bars I decided to measure it again and this time it was 2.6, 3.2 and 3.7. Has anyone else used this type of battery? And if you have what are you thoughts on this and do you think yours isn't putting out the voltage that it should.
View attachment 231753

I think I purchased that same battery at a local B&M. I experienced the same thing as you. I bought one that was an ego twist knockoff & the one your showing with only the 3 adjustments & battery display. It was total garbage, I gave it to a newb friend of mine she liked it just fine. I could not get a satisfying vape out of it to save my life. I think it was labeled "Revolution" Try the Evod batteries they're not VV but with a 1.8ohm coil they are impressively powerful.

 

[xtwosm0kesx]

I'm quite happy with my twist. Haven't measured its accuracy but its a nice device to.

Actually just tested my FT "eGo-CTwist" (actually branded as that) and it runs a bit over on the upper voltages marked on the dial.

At the 3.2v mark its right around 3.16v, at the 4.0v mark its 4.29v, and at the 4.8v mark its at 5.12v on a relatively fresh battery.

 

[AttyPops]

Thanks for the detailed response! I didn't think to check voltage under a load. I only have a basic $100 Matco multimeter which I have for work doing automotive repair (really only use it for measuring resistance, power probe for everything else!)I can do a good bit of moderate electrical work, half of what you said confused the hell out of me. Just wondering though, if it measures say 3.7v without a load, wouldn't it more than likely decrease than increase with a load on it?

I shouldn't have said "cheap" multi-meters either, except that true-rms meters are expensive! lol. Mine isn't true RMS that I can tell.

Anyway, the PWM (pulsing the battery voltage on-and-off in a calculated manner....Pulse-Width-Modulation) often confuses the voltage-reading circuits, depending on frequency.

So like fab said, it could go either way. It's reading "max volts" at the "on" part of the pulse...and max-volts are boosted by the mod. So it may get confused, even higher. Which way it gets confused, IDK.

Under load differences not may be due to amp limits and voltage drop due to amp starvation. But...IDK. Starts getting nasty. I'm not an EE and don't want to be. I know that vapers measure voltage under load. And it often differs from the no-load measurement.

There's a lot of misinformation floating around too. I saw one youtube reviewer with a nice expensive scope plotting PWM output from an e-cig and getting all ticked off. He had called the maufacturer and vendor and asked if the mod was "DC current". They both said "Yes". lol. So he got all ticked that it has PWM. lol. PWM is still DC current. (As compared to AC current, or multi-phase stuff, etc). Apparently he didn't want PWM. But he wanted VV. lol.

Anyway, some meters deal with e-cig PWM better than others. And pretty much all e-cigs use PWM to regulate voltage except all-mech mods (that aren't VV and don't regulate voltage). Some output smoother signals than others. Some meters deal with it better than others.

ETA: P.S.
-or-
It's a knock-off mod that doesn't perform, or model that isn't a knock-off but doesn't work well for a particular voltage.

Sometimes, it just dirty contacts. lol.

The trick...is measuring it to tell. Harder to do than you think.