VV Battery Question

[M&R B]

So after much research me and my wife finally decided on our first APV. We wanted the VW feature, LED readout, Ohm reader because we want make our own coil/wicks, use 18650 batteries, ego connection built in, keep under $150 with mod/batteries/charger combined and have a nice look. We decided on a Zmax! I'm not worried about having super accurate power readings, we can adjust for that. Also people say it hasn't been out to long to be tried and true bit the Vmax has and the Zmax is just an improved version of that. The Vmax has gotten lots of great reviews and generally considered a quality APV.

So here's my battery questions. First, flat top or button top? Second, which brand? If AW, black or red? I want as high mAh as possible due to the fact I vape fairly heavely (6-10ml per day). I'll be using primarily 1.5-2.0 ohm tanks at power levels between 8-10 watts. Also was wondering about chargers. Any suggestions? I don't need a super fast charge as I'll be rotating 2-3 batteries.

 

[bruiser]

For a charger, Pila is usually regarded as the best, but it's pricey. Xtar has some very good chargers and they are less expensive than the Pila. I'm using the Xtar WP2 II and it works much, much better than the generic charger that came with my LT. It's a two channel, comes with a couple of spacers, and a cig adapter. Got it at Sweet-Vapes. Be sure to use the hyphen when you search for it, as there is another vendor without the hyphen that is higher in price.

 

[PEneoark]

AW IMR button top. Mine are all red. I haven't seen black ones.

 

[wolfstone5]

Of course, the AW IMR's are the best. No question about it but...MadVapes has recently added EH IMR's and I have been using them in various devices with very good results including my ProVari. The mAh rating of the 18350 is 800 and the 18650 is 2000 at $5.39 & $6.99 respectively. They are available in both button and flat top. If you already have your mind made up to buy the AW's, I totally understand. I just wanted to bring these to your attention. Also, MadVapes also sells an inexpensive charger (AG-126 Lithium Ion Battery Charger). It sells for $7.99 and actually works very well. I've been using mine for about 2 years and have only had to replace it once! Congrats on purchasing your first APV!

 

[betaalex]

I second wolfstone5. EH IMR batteries from MadVapes seem to be as good as AWs in my Provari.

 

[billherbst]

According to one poster who has done extensive testing (not me), the difference between AWs and Efests is not in performance, but longevity (number of recharge cycles). He claimed that Efests begin to show significant loss of capacity (effective mAh) after only 70-100 recharges, while AWs were still at 95% capacity after more than 200 recharges with no diminishment in sight. I doubt that I've recharged any of the more than 200 batteries I've bought over two years of vaping anywhere close to that many times, so I don't know what methodology he used to come up with that data.

If those statements are correct (which I cannot confirm or deny), then it's probably a good bet that the Madvapes EH batts will show the same shortened recharge-cycle life-span of the Efests.

For whatever it's worth, my own personal experience in powering numerous Kicked mods is that my three 18500 EHs perform almost as well as my AWs and Efests, but my pair of 18350 EHs give noticeably shorter vape times. The 800mAh rating is probably exaggerated. I'd guess that it's closer to 600. Given that the EHs are only half the price of the others, however, I'm not unhappy with them so far.

 

[xplumberx]

If you use any other battery than a AW in your ProVari it voids your warranty from my understanding? If this is not so please correct me.

 

[betaalex]

If you use any other battery than a AW in your ProVari it voids your warranty from my understanding? If this is not so please correct me.

well, it is so. But it's also true that there is no way to tell which batteries have been actually used in the unit

Personally, I find this ProVape requirement that use of any batteries other than AWs voids warranty somewhat ridiculous. There are 2 distinct issues here: proper equipment functionality and end user safety. ProVape's jurisdiction is over equipment only. But in general, I do not really see how low quality batteries can damage Provari's circuitry. They can be a safety threat - but this is my personal choice: in my opinion Provape can only (strongly) recommend acceptable batteries, any attempts to enforce or police it are beyond their jurisdiction.

 

[Cmohnso]

"This isn't 'nam Donnie; there are rules"

All I could think while reading this haha.