Volcano E-Cigs Lavatube 3 (DNA-40)

Status
Not open for further replies.

jwat82

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 6, 2013
740
2,786
The Land of Lincoln
They're expensive, but I'd say there's no better tubes around at the moment than the Dicodes Dani Extreme v2 or Pipeline Pro 2(same chip, same size, different companies) @ €199, or the Dicodes 2380 @ €289. You probably saw mention of them at the beginning of the Beyond Ni200 thread.

If you love tubes I would think they're the supreme example. More sophisticated and configurable than any other mods in existence, latest TC tech with TCR adjustment, ohms readings certified to 1mOhm, beautifully engineered.

I hate the idea of a tube mod and these are incredibly expensive but I'm still finding it very hard to resist buying one to use as my reference TC device.

Perfect for the tinkerer hobbyist, but that menu system, holy smokes. It'd be complicated with several buttons but with a single button it's a hot mess. I'm sure it vapes fantastic after you take an hour to get your settings right.
 

dam718

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 30, 2012
1,797
2,268
Hawaii
Having used ProVari's in both the V1/2/2.5 format and the new V3 format menu systems, I can honestly say I prefer a single button menu system. I say that because I DO like to tinker with settings. That said, when I find something that works (and it's much faster to adjust than you think) I find I am not motivated to change it. I leave it alone and end up getting an enjoyable experience rather than wasting a whole tank worth of juice adjusting things.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

dam718

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 30, 2012
1,797
2,268
Hawaii
So the Lavatube 3 was officially released today by Volcano.

So I made a trip to my local Volcano Vape Lounge and picked one up to give it a try... I haven't tried a DNA40 Temp Control device, only the SXmini M Class

First impressions

The packaging is well done. Looks like something you'd see from Apple.

It's very light. I got the gunmetal grey unit, and it is anodized aluminum. It appears to be 25mm in diameter, which is in line with previous Lavatube units. Some people may not like the 25mm width, but I actually don't think this is a bad thing. It may be the only device that looks good with a Subtank Plus... LoL! The unit is basically two halves, with the top part of the unit housing the DNA40 board, screen, micro USB charge port, and buttons. The bottom half is the battery housing. The lower half is milled to 22mm and has a nice silicon sleeve that is available in a variety of colors to allow for some customization. With the silicon sleeve in place, it matches the 25mm diameter of the rest of the unit, and has a 25mm flange at the bottom of the battery tube to prevent the sleeve from falling off the device. Overall the appearance is excellent. The overall length is roughly 129mm, so it is a bit long, which again matches the style queues of previous Lavatube devices from Volcano.

The construction is so-so... The buttons wiggle ever so slightly so they can rattle a bit when you shake it. Not a deal breaker for me, but some people may be put off by that. The micro USB port is recessed and slightly off center from the cutout in the aluminum body, which could cause some issues with some micro USB cables, but seems to work well with the included micro usb cable. The acrylic cover over the screen fits very well and offers a smooth appearance, however the screen underneath the acrylic appears to be tilted slightly. The screen appears to be closer to the acrylic cover at the top of the screen and further away at the bottom of the screen. You can't really tell looking at the unit from the front, but as you rotate the unit and look at it from the side you can tell the screen is tilted downwards just a bit. The 510 connection is slightly raised from the top of the aluminum body, and it appears to be stainless steel or chrome plated. It is adjustable with a reverse threaded screw for the positive post. I would have liked to see a spring loaded connection here. All my toppers have fit fine, just keep in mind that you'll need a flathead handy to adjust the center pin if you need to. Because it is slightly raised from the aluminum body, there will be a very small gap between the bottom of the atomizer and the top of the unit. It's a very small gap though, less than 1mm. It's odd they chose to have the 510 raised, as the top of the aluminum body has air channels milled in, so they could have allowed flush atomizers with no issues.

The three control buttons are situated in a small circular design that is about the size of a dime. I don't have the fattest thumb in the world, so I haven't had any issues turning the power up and down on accident when pressing the fire button, but I could definitely see that being a problem for people with bigger thumbs than mine. The buttons have good tactile feedback. The instruction manual states that pressing both adjustment buttons at the same time will put it in a power lock mode that prevents the power from being adjusted. I have found this to not be the case. Even in "Power Locked" mode, you can still adjust the power with the buttons. It does put a little lock icon next the atomizer resistance, so maybe it's putting it into the resistance lock mode?

I haven't noticed any issues with refinement, although I've only had it a few hours at this point.

It would seem all of the other functionality of the DNA40 is working like every other DNA40 device out there. 5 clicks of the fire button to lock, hold the adjustment buttons while locked to adjust temp. Adjust down past the lowest setting to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius, adjust past the highest setting to turn temp control off. While locked pressing the fire button and the - button at the same time for 5 seconds will put it into stealth mode which keeps the screen dark when firing. It will still show error messages but nothing else. Not sure if all DNA40 devices have that feature but it's nice if you don't want the screen to light up every time. I haven't had it ask me if the atomizer I'm using is new or same yet, but I assume that works the same as other DNA40's as well.

Performance wise, it works very well. I'm using the tank I had on my SXmini with a .08 Ohm Ni200 coil and it's working very well. It claims to only fire down to .1 Ohm with a nickel coil, but I've had no issues at all with this .08 coil. In fact, it's reading at .07 now and still works well. Temp control is working like a champ.

Now that I've used both a DNA40 and the SX350J temp control offerings, I can't say I prefer one over the other. Using kanthal coils, I'd say the performance from both units is pretty much the same. You can tell from the vape experience that the way the DNA40 does temp control is different than the SX350J, but I wouldn't say one is better than the other. Both give great flavor and great vapor production and the vapor temps seem similar at the same settings, running a Subtank Mini with a .08 Ohm Ni200 coil running 30W @ 450F.

Overall I'd give this device a 7/10. Genuine DNA40 in a Chinese made mod. If you like the tube form factor and have not tried temp control yet, this is for you. If you prefer a box style mod, the Hana or Vaporshark is going to be a better option. At $149, I personally think the money would be better spent on a Hana.

Sorry for the long read, hope it helps someone! For what it's worth, the Volcano store had a lot of people there, and they were all buying one of these.
 

lintz69

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 13, 2008
574
47
45
Poconos, PA
Yeah, check my edit, i think they're just being reeeaal tricky with their wording especially the "EvolvTM DNA 40 chip" part.

On the subject of the actual device, looks ok, but it definitely has to have a power lock because otherwise you would constantly be hitting the up/down buttons as you don't always land your finger directly on the button first time every time, imo.

Yeah, just got mine. It has 2 locks. First is standard 5x click which locks it, and the second is a power lock. So once you get the right wattage, pushing up or down (+/-) doesn't affect it. And Volcano is working directly with Evolv for the DNA40. I checked with them. Haven't torn it apart yet to look, but according to volcano it is legit DNA40.
 

lintz69

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Dec 13, 2008
574
47
45
Poconos, PA
I only have a few complaints so far. First, it doesn't tell you the voltage until you're firing then it goes back to 0.0 I spoke with them, and they said the DNA chips all only show actual voltage. I said most ecigs (though this is first dna) but most ecigs you have the watts, the ohms, using ohms law you can tell about what the voltage would be. Shouldn't have to fire it up. Any of you DNA people able to tell me if you can read voltage before firing, and after?

Second, is it's hard to see in the sunlight. I have photos I can post if anyone cares, showing difference between LT3, istick, and Provari (Provari winning).

Third is it seems to go through batteries quick. 2500mah X2 estimatedfor the day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hitcat44

kalison

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 29, 2012
474
380
SLC, UT
The screen appears to be closer to the acrylic cover at the top of the screen and further away at the bottom of the screen. You can't really tell looking at the unit from the front, but as you rotate the unit and look at it from the side you can tell the screen is tilted downwards just a bit.

Is it possible that its tilted downward on purpose? I feel like the majority of the time you're adjusting the settings you're not holding it perpendicular to your head/eyes.. rather you're tilting it up and you're looking downward at it?

Seems to make sense to me.

I think it looks good, I would like to see one in person... however there are no authorized vendors here in UT (that I know of).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hitcat44
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread