VV or not
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Goeie dag (my Afrikaans sucks, but.....).
Now you've opened up a can of worms
For me it's a personal thing. I used to VV a lot, but now I prefer mechs, just change the coil to choose the ohms you want. I like 1-1.2 ohms, and that gives me what I need during the day. When I set the battery to recharge, I've typically fallen from 4.2 to 3.8 (sometimes 3.7) remaining on the battery.
Many here prefer the VV, so.....
Western Cape, eh? Beautiful place. My da' used to work for Caterpillar and was based for some years just outside Joburg. We used to see quite a bit of the WC back in the eighties. Can't remember if we ever passed through Koringberg. I really wanted to go to Stellenbosch, but ended up in Europe instead
Now you've opened up a can of worms
For me it's a personal thing. I used to VV a lot, but now I prefer mechs, just change the coil to choose the ohms you want. I like 1-1.2 ohms, and that gives me what I need during the day. When I set the battery to recharge, I've typically fallen from 4.2 to 3.8 (sometimes 3.7) remaining on the battery.
Many here prefer the VV, so.....
Western Cape, eh? Beautiful place. My da' used to work for Caterpillar and was based for some years just outside Joburg. We used to see quite a bit of the WC back in the eighties. Can't remember if we ever passed through Koringberg. I really wanted to go to Stellenbosch, but ended up in Europe instead
The VV's are nice because the last vape is the same as the first vape, no diminishing as the batteries lose their charge. And you can fine tune the dial for each juice.
That being said, I have gone back to all mech. Not being able to feel that battery drop off resulted in me over discharging too many sets of batts. And with a RM2 rebuildable or even a super shorty carto, I'm getting the perfect heat and plenty of throat hit.
Hard decision you have! Either way Welcome to REOvil....you can't go wrong either way.
That being said, I have gone back to all mech. Not being able to feel that battery drop off resulted in me over discharging too many sets of batts. And with a RM2 rebuildable or even a super shorty carto, I'm getting the perfect heat and plenty of throat hit.
Hard decision you have! Either way Welcome to REOvil....you can't go wrong either way.
i dont know if this is all true its just my understanding of things. so the vv is good cuz you can get whatever coil atomizer cartomizer whatever and test the resistance and set the voltage accordingly to how strong or weak a vape you want. with a mech mod you have a set voltage and you change how much vape you get and such but buying or making coils set at the appropriate resistance. lower resistance per volts seems like beter vape you get, but go to low and you risk damaging equipment or batteries or in the reoes case just compressing a safty spring that heats up and compresses and stops a positive connection from occurring. the plus side of the mechanical version is that it is more durable and you can run it in water to clean it or drop it in water and it will be oaky. (minus having to replace the battery and maybe the juice) The VV on the other hand has circuitry in it that shouldnt get wet and also a wired push switch that could ware. that my understanding. im sure ill be corrected if i got anything wrong.
Both will give you a great vape. VV will give you a great vape whether your a pro at wrapping coils or a failure. A mech mod will give you a great vape as long as you can wrap a coil under 2 ohms. So both are great. VV is nice for when youve just started making coils because it doesnt matter where your coil lands, you can adjust the voltage to fit it. Mechanicals are great because the vape is so smooth and you have the satisfaction of knowing you made that coil. VV is great because it is regulated from the 1st hit to the last. Mechanicals are great because the battery will last as long as you keep it in there till the vape gets less powerful.
Mechanical mods are simpler and within the reach of most to repair themselves, even with hardware store components. To do that with a regulated mod you'd need SMD soldering experience and equipment, possibly PCB making capability (if one burns up), and a stash of the required chips and components, if you can even get to the circuitry. If the stuff hasn't hit the fan, you can probably get the entire assembly from REO. Mech's are EMP and static immune. If you shuffle across the carpet in the low humidity of winter, and zap your mech mod while grabbing it, it'll never be the worse for that. Mechs are shorter.
The battery starts out at 4.2V unloaded when fully charged and drops from that point on. As voltage decreases, on a mech, so does current, power, and vapor. Mech users consciously at first, then soon subconsciously, use a bit longer draw as battery voltage falls, to get the same vapor in each hit. This is not a big deal. For best battery life, you want to use it in the upper half of the charge, so you pull it for recharge at about 3.6-3.7 volts. Starting out, you'll use a multimeter to find that out, but you'll soon develop a sense from when you get there by the rate of vapor production.
Many new mech owners start out with disposable cartos or attys on their mech. In that case, you want to stay in the ohm range most manufacturers consider LOW, i.e. LR. That can be as much resistance as 2.0Ω for about 8W down to 6W of power. You increase the power by going lower on the resistance, for example, 1.5Ω yields about 11W down to 8W of power. You can custom tailor your resistance and/or go lower on resistance, even down into the sub-ohm range (where VVs can't go), by using a rebuildable dripping atomizer (RDA), such as the Reomizer 2 (RM2) where you easily wind your own coils and use cotton balls for wicks.
You can use something called a kick in a mechanical mod, an electronic circuit that keeps the coil voltage level like the regulated VV mod. The advantages of this over the VV mod is you can remove it wash the mod or use the mod without it in the event of electronics failure. It has several disadvantages; you have to use a smaller battery to make room for the kick and you have to maintain two different size sets of batteries for with and without the kick.
The unique disadvantage of a mech kick or REO VV is you have neither the decreasing rate of vape of a pure mechanical, nor the display of most VV/VW mods, to keep you appraised of the battery state of charge--you have to maintain a sense of how long and much you've used it. Current draw of a kick increases as battery voltage falls, working the battery harder as it gets weaker, which shortens the life. The REO VV uses two smaller stacked batteries (in series) to provide the higher voltage to regulate, rather than the current-increasing boost circuit of a kick or most VV/VW mods. The amp-hours of the REO VV are less than the mech, but the watt-hours are about the same.
I recommend starting out with the mech, i.e. the non-VV Grand, and definitely a Reomizer 2 (RM2). With widely spaced posts (not one in the middle and one next to it) it's dead simple to install a coil. With the ceramic base, probability of a short is much lower. That doesn't mean you can't have one, but if you do, the "hot spring" under the battery will collapse, disconnecting it, thus protecting you and your battery. Make sure you order an extra battery spring, and optionally a rebuild kit, which also includes a spring. It's good to get a couple of spare RM2 post screws and a couple of extra o-rings.
Hope this helps.
The battery starts out at 4.2V unloaded when fully charged and drops from that point on. As voltage decreases, on a mech, so does current, power, and vapor. Mech users consciously at first, then soon subconsciously, use a bit longer draw as battery voltage falls, to get the same vapor in each hit. This is not a big deal. For best battery life, you want to use it in the upper half of the charge, so you pull it for recharge at about 3.6-3.7 volts. Starting out, you'll use a multimeter to find that out, but you'll soon develop a sense from when you get there by the rate of vapor production.
Many new mech owners start out with disposable cartos or attys on their mech. In that case, you want to stay in the ohm range most manufacturers consider LOW, i.e. LR. That can be as much resistance as 2.0Ω for about 8W down to 6W of power. You increase the power by going lower on the resistance, for example, 1.5Ω yields about 11W down to 8W of power. You can custom tailor your resistance and/or go lower on resistance, even down into the sub-ohm range (where VVs can't go), by using a rebuildable dripping atomizer (RDA), such as the Reomizer 2 (RM2) where you easily wind your own coils and use cotton balls for wicks.
You can use something called a kick in a mechanical mod, an electronic circuit that keeps the coil voltage level like the regulated VV mod. The advantages of this over the VV mod is you can remove it wash the mod or use the mod without it in the event of electronics failure. It has several disadvantages; you have to use a smaller battery to make room for the kick and you have to maintain two different size sets of batteries for with and without the kick.
The unique disadvantage of a mech kick or REO VV is you have neither the decreasing rate of vape of a pure mechanical, nor the display of most VV/VW mods, to keep you appraised of the battery state of charge--you have to maintain a sense of how long and much you've used it. Current draw of a kick increases as battery voltage falls, working the battery harder as it gets weaker, which shortens the life. The REO VV uses two smaller stacked batteries (in series) to provide the higher voltage to regulate, rather than the current-increasing boost circuit of a kick or most VV/VW mods. The amp-hours of the REO VV are less than the mech, but the watt-hours are about the same.
I recommend starting out with the mech, i.e. the non-VV Grand, and definitely a Reomizer 2 (RM2). With widely spaced posts (not one in the middle and one next to it) it's dead simple to install a coil. With the ceramic base, probability of a short is much lower. That doesn't mean you can't have one, but if you do, the "hot spring" under the battery will collapse, disconnecting it, thus protecting you and your battery. Make sure you order an extra battery spring, and optionally a rebuild kit, which also includes a spring. It's good to get a couple of spare RM2 post screws and a couple of extra o-rings.
Hope this helps.
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I think the previous replies covered the info you requested. I just wanted to say hi as my daughters family lives in Hout Bay in the Western Cape. I love your country. I remember one other South African using Reos.
Here's a view while traveling down to Cape Point from Cape Town. Welcome to Reoville. You will not regret it.
Wow, thanks everyone for the detailed advice and the hi's, much appreciated. Koringberg (translates to "wheat mountain") lies in the heart of the Swartland ("black country"), which is a mainly wheat growing area (you guessed it). Also some table grapes and, thankfully, wine grapes. We are, going North, some 120 kms from Stellenbosch and about the same from Hout Bay and Cape Town. And, as the crow flies, about 60 kms from the West Coast. Small little village - less than 1000 inhabitants.
Think I shall follow NicoHog's advice and go for a non-VV Grand and a RM2. No doubt, the itch for more will follow soon after!
Procuring batteries are a problem down here. Do flat tops fit the Grand? Have some Panasonic NCR18650PD's, which I understand is more or less unprotected, but has flat tops.
Think I shall follow NicoHog's advice and go for a non-VV Grand and a RM2. No doubt, the itch for more will follow soon after!
Procuring batteries are a problem down here. Do flat tops fit the Grand? Have some Panasonic NCR18650PD's, which I understand is more or less unprotected, but has flat tops.
The consensus seems to be (and I personally strongly agree), that the AW IMR's that are recommended, are worth the extra investment. I'm still intermittently using a set I purchased about 3 years ago. Many will tell you they vape better than other brands/types of batteries, but I have no experience with that, AW's are all I've ever used in my REOs. My only advice would be to get the 1600 mAH ones, rather than the 2000 mAH's, that just being my personal preference.
Flat top batteries do FIT in the Grand. However, they are NOT recommended. The recommended battery is the AW IMR battery. The firing mechanism for the Grand was designed around this button top battery. From what I have seen in this forum, the flat top battery will require you to do a lot more maintenance on both the mod and the battery, as they will arc/spark more than the button top. In addition, the use of flat top batteries will require more pressure on the firing pin, thereby exposing you to bending the firing pin and requiring its replacement.
Bottom line, use the AW IMR batteries.
The battery top is part of the switch. It's geometry is designed to make good contact with an AW IMR button top. It seems there's no standard in button tops, or if there is, no one follows it. Rob selected the high current, safer technology AW IMR for his design. I recommend you stick to new AW IMRs (where the button top hasn't been scratched or chewed up by a previous mod's 510 connection, resulting in arcing).
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