Voltage Drop/Etc

[tehmidcap]

I'm looking into purchasing another mechanical mod and this time I'm doing a bit of research.

The first mech that I purchased, I absolutely loved and still do -- It was a (version 1) King clone, solid brass body and contacts with a telescoping center pin. I just bought it because it was cheap and I really didn't know anything about mechanical mods at the time.

Since then I've acquired two other cheap mech clones as well as an istick and Kbox. The other two mods were not so great -- a stainless steel King with a spring-loaded center pin that suffers from a noticeable voltage drop and a Nemesis clone that was almost unusable (the center pin was barely adjustable where it would still make contact with atty and required messing with throw of fire button making it hard to push and needing constant tightening to not unscrew itself). Even with my VW devices there's something about that first King that hits as hard as an istick at ~4.2 volts but in a different, smoother way.

I've sold the Nemesis and will probably sell the SS King as well, and now I want another toy to play with. Will there be a NOTICEABLE decrease of voltage drop if I were to go to something with copper tubes/contacts? If so is it enough to outweigh the rugged sturdiness of the solid brass (longevity is fairly important to me)?

I was looking at things like the Stingray X clone set but I'm weary to buy anything that DOESN'T have that telescopic center pin (that has two separate pins you can adjust, one inside of the other -- one you can adjust flush to atty and the other flush to the battery so there's no wiggle room on either side). Also, I'm curious about mods like the SMPL/4Nine that have the hybrid connection but I'm a bit weary to try it because I'm unsure it's ideal for the Subtank Mini and as of now I only have flat top batteries.

So, I guess I'm just making sure I'm not missing out on anything before I go ahead and find myself another well-constructed King or something similar with solid brass construction and contacts, a telescopic center pin, and a derlin insulated negative post (a lot of the hybrid styles I was looking at don't have those and it's concerning to me).

PS: I won't be SUPER sub-ohming but .4-.5 range somewhat regularly.

 

[retic1959]

I'm looking into purchasing another mechanical mod and this time I'm doing a bit of research.

The first mech that I purchased, I absolutely loved and still do -- It was a (version 1) King clone, solid brass body and contacts with a telescoping center pin. I just bought it because it was cheap and I really didn't know anything about mechanical mods at the time.

Since then I've acquired two other cheap mech clones as well as an IStick and Kbox. The other two mods were not so great -- a stainless steel King with a spring-loaded center pin that suffers from a noticeable voltage drop and a Nemesis clone that was almost unusable (the center pin was barely adjustable where it would still make contact with atty and required messing with throw of fire button making it hard to push and needing constant tightening to not unscrew itself). Even with my VW devices there's something about that first King that hits as hard as an IStick at ~4.2 volts but in a different, smoother way.

I've sold the Nemesis and will probably sell the SS King as well, and now I want another toy to play with. Will there be a NOTICEABLE decrease of voltage drop if I were to go to something with copper tubes/contacts? If so is it enough to outweigh the rugged sturdiness of the solid brass (longevity is fairly important to me)?

I was looking at things like the Stingray X clone set but I'm weary to buy anything that DOESN'T have that telescopic center pin (that has two separate pins you can adjust, one inside of the other -- one you can adjust flush to atty and the other flush to the battery so there's no wiggle room on either side). Also, I'm curious about mods like the SMPL/4Nine that have the hybrid connection but I'm a bit weary to try it because I'm unsure it's ideal for the Subtank Mini and as of now I only have flat top batteries.

So, I guess I'm just making sure I'm not missing out on anything before I go ahead and find myself another well-constructed King or something similar with solid brass construction and contacts, a telescopic center pin, and a derlin insulated negative post (a lot of the hybrid styles I was looking at don't have those and it's concerning to me).

PS: I won't be SUPER sub-ohming but .4-.5 range somewhat regularly.

I can't say that the difference in voltage drop between brass and copper will be noticeable but it will be measurable . Under no circumstance should you use a subtank with a hybrid mod or adapter , the spring loaded 510 on it can be compressed to the point that the threads on the tank can make contact with the battery when the switch is pressed causing a hard short and a dangerous situation . Stick with mechs that have a standard 510 connection for the subtank . I wouldn't recommend the Stingray X for use with the subtank , it might be possible to snug the switch up to the point that it causes the 510 on the subtank to compress again causing a hard short .

 

[sacullen]

The SRX has both a hybrid adapter AND top cap. It uses a floating pin, which I think is superior to the telescopic ones if only because you don't have to screw on and off the top cap multiple times to adjust for battery rattle. Just screw on your atty and snug up the switch.

That said, the SRX top cap is also notorious for not playing well with atties that have short 510 connections. An atty with a long connection or adjustable pin would be best.

 

[retic1959]

The SRX has both a hybrid adapter AND top cap. It uses a floating pin, which I think is superior to the telescopic ones if only because you don't have to screw on and off the top cap multiple times to adjust for battery rattle. Just screw on your atty and snug up the switch.

That said, the SRX top cap is also notorious for not playing well with atties that have short 510 connections. An atty with a long connection or adjustable pin would be best.

I have the Stingray X , I still wouldn't recommend it's use with an atty with a spring loaded 510 in either configuration . I believe it would be possible to tighten the switch to the point of creating a hard short with that type of 510 connection . I don't think it's a good idea to run those on a mech at all , but a mech with a telescopic positive is less likely to cause a problem than a mech like the Stingray X where the battery slack is taken up by the firing switch .

 

[93gc40]

Copper and brass are MUCH more conductive than Stainless and aluminum. So the more copper or brass used to build you mod the better. Voltage drop wise.. as for durability, well copper will be down there, as easy to damage, like aluminum, brass a bit more durable with stainless being almost indestructible, by comparison.

 

[twgbonehead]

Copper and brass are MUCH more conductive than Stainless and aluminum. So the more copper or brass used to build you mod the better. Voltage drop wise.. as for durability, well copper will be down there, as easy to damage, like aluminum, brass a bit more durable with stainless being almost indestructible, by comparison.

Actually, Aluminum is a very good conductor (better than brass), although the oxide that can form on it is not so good (but NoAlOx can help that quite a bit). Only problem with aluminum is that it is too soft for things that need repeated screwing/unscrewing.

But the material the Mod is made of is not really that important; the material (and area) of the connection to the center-pin of the head is what matters. The outside of a mod has significant bulk that even with stainless, the resistance is very low.
(And the Battery terminals are all stainless!) It's really all about the center-pin connection.

 

[93gc40]

That ^^ and the number of threaded connections overall.. More connections = more drop.

 

[tehmidcap]

Thanks everyone, this along with various reading has made things fairly clear for me. I think my next purchase is going to be a Vanilla -- it has separate single piece tubes for 18650 and 18350, the telescopic pin I prefer, and solid copper construction everywhere including both contacts. Even if the copper tube itself will only make a nominal difference I still kind of want one just because I like the way it looks.

Also, I have a Subtank MINI. The Mini does not have a spring-loaded 510 it is just a fixed connection, the regular Subtank had the spring-loaded 510 (I'm not sure that the plus even does now, either). And I do/will have a couple other attys I'll be using but the STM is my daily vaper.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Copper and brass are MUCH more conductive than Stainless and aluminum. So the more copper or brass used to build you mod the better. Voltage drop wise.. as for durability, well copper will be down there, as easy to damage, like aluminum, brass a bit more durable with stainless being almost indestructible, by comparison.

That's not correct.
Only pure silver, pure copper, and pure gold are more conductive than aluminum.
Aluminum is much more conductive than brass.

 

[tehmidcap]

Copper and brass are MUCH more conductive than Stainless and aluminum. So the more copper or brass used to build you mod the better. Voltage drop wise.. as for durability, well copper will be down there, as easy to damage, like aluminum, brass a bit more durable with stainless being almost indestructible, by comparison.

The Nemesis mod that I had was Stainless Steel and I put a chip it in quite easily (threads locked and I tapped it with a hammer while it was laying on my bed), granted thickness plays a part but I doubt I'll ever manage to chip my brass King.

I'm surprised there aren't any solid silver mods. Sure it would be super expensive to produce and to buy as a consumer, but that would be high-end in every sense of the word.

 

[Bad Ninja]

There ARE solid silver mods.
Caravela has a couple of models that were made in solid silver, and ECF member Oolong posted a thread recently with pics of his very nice solid silver mod here:
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Definitely "high end".