Want to stockpile re FDA, but what to get for DIY?

[bwh79]

Thank you, bwh79 -- very clear explanations! I have one further question at the moment ... was just looking on fast tech at the mech mods and I see the tube type ones as you illustrated. There are also "box mods" -- those seem to hold 2 batteries, and I'm wondering if 2-battery-boxes are better in some way than a 1-battery-tube ... for example, if 1 batt dies, the user switches to the other or something?

Two batteries can either be wired in series or in parallel. On a regulated device it doesn't matter all that much because the battery drain works out the same either way. But in a mech mod it makes a world of difference. They both allow you to get more wattage than a single-battery device, but the way they go about doing that is very different.

Batteries wired in parallel output the same voltage as a single cell, but the power drain is split between the two cells, increasing battery life and allowing you to use lower ohms to draw more amps than from a single battery cell, and ultimately achieve higher wattages.

Batteries wired in series, on the other hand, will add their voltages together, but each one of them will see the full amp load individually. This doubles the voltage of a single cell and allows you to get twice the wattage from the same amp draw, but it forces you to use higher ohms to maintain that same amp draw.

In short: parallel allows a wider range of builds to achieve more watts or longer battery life, while series forces a narrower range of builds, and puts out more watts regardless. Unless you understand very well the implications of and reasons for using a series configuration, you'll really want to stick with parallel.

Additionally, a series configuration will not work without both batteries installed. The circuit path goes through each one individually, and if either one is not there it breaks the circuit. A parallel mod will work just fine with only one battery in, it will be just like any other single-cell mech mod. What you must never do, on a parallel or regulated device, is to use a more-charged battery together with a less-charged one at the same time. This will cause all sorts of bad things to happen. Just don't do it. Batteries don't "hook up" or have one-night stands. They're either married from the start (married pairs are purchased together, charged together, used together, and rotated each use so that they always wear evenly) or single for life (never use two unmarried batteries in a two-cell device, and if either one of a pair is ever used without the other, then they're no longer married.)

 

[gofishtx]

Gonna show my dumb side here: what is a mechanical mod and can you name a few so I can check them out? AND, where would I find a "rugged, simple, mechanically-operated device with no form circuitry to go bad"? I assume either or both would last a lifetime with care and maintenance ...



Yes, that I have thought about. A couple of years ago, I bought 500ml of liquid nicotine (24mg strength, 100%PG) and have kept it stored, unopened, in the refrigerator. I would expect to be vaping for another 20-30 yrs, any idea how much more I should get? My hope is to drop my nic level down and I was just starting that when the FDA rules hit ... I've never vaped at 24mg nic, so maybe need to order nic at the level I now vape, or a level or two down? Mixing my own e-juice with the flavorings and nic added is something I feel I could do without too much difficulty.

You should purchase a liter of 100 mg and dilute it down for your recipes. Read safety handling instructions. Even your 24 mg can be diluted to the mg you use now. Check out some recipes and you will see what I mean, but the 100 mg will last you longer.

 

[gofishtx]

I definitely want something that will be as safe as possible ... when I'm 80, don't want to be worrying that a sudden mental glitch will cause me to blow up the house!

Check out Beyond Vapes Beacon mod. It's a nice small telescopic with a topcap 510 connection and can be used with most tanks and RDAs. Authentic mod for $25.

 

[SpiritBear]

Thanks for all additional information, and I'll keep watching the thread .
As of today, I've ordered 2 Kayfun Lite Plus tanks/atomizers -- they were $79.99 each which I thought was not bad. Of course, shipping and state tax pushed the total up, but that's life. It's a start!

 

[Two_Bears]

Thanks for all additional information, and I'll keep watching the thread .
As of today, I've ordered 2 Kayfun Lite Plus tanks/atomizers -- they were $79.99 each which I thought was not bad. Of course, shipping and state tax pushed the total up, but that's life. It's a start!

You could have gotten good Quality clones on eBay for $18-20 each.

 

[SpiritBear]

You could have gotten good Quality clones on eBay for $18-20 each.

I'll be doing that, too

 

[Jdurand]

You could have gotten good Quality clones on eBay for $18-20 each.

Not every one is cost conscious two bears. Some people have no issue spending 80 bucks on a product they can trust. Also very few people like to be told (between the lines) that they are an idiot for spending it.

Just an observation of a lot of your posts lately, please don't get offended, I'm just not sure you see how this is reading to some people.

 

[SpiritBear]

Not every one is cost conscious two bears. Some people have no issue spending 80 bucks on a product they can trust. Also very few people like to be told (between the lines) that they are an idiot for spending it.

Just an observation of a lot of your posts lately, please don't get offended, I'm just not sure you see how this is reading to some people.

I for one am not offended by Two Bears' thoughts on the purchase -- I am typically very cost conscious, but in this case I definitely wanted a couple of the authentic Kayfuns and was willing to pay the price I had for these. Good clones are also on my list, but I figured the authentic Kayfuns would be harder to find (often out of stock in many stores) and probably priced higher than what I paid, so I went for it!

 

[Two_Bears]

Not every one is cost conscious two bears. Some people have no issue spending 80 bucks on a product they can trust. Also very few people like to be told (between the lines) that they are an idiot for spending it.

Just an observation of a lot of your posts lately, please don't get offended, I'm just not sure you see how this is reading to some people.

I NEVER called Spiritbear an idiot. Your words not mine.

I simply told her that she could have gotten good attys for less.

I have bought authentics and clones. Almost every single authentic i have bought has been a real Downer.

Lemo2, Bellus, Aqua V2, Kayfun Mini V3, Bachelor Nano, etc.

My daily vape is a Kayfun Monster Mini V3 i paid $5.43 at Fasttech, and maybe leaked 10 drops of ejuice i'm the 3-4 months i have had it in and out of my pocket.

I stopped buying authentic attys until i test for leaks and how they vape

 

[gofishtx]

Thank you, bwh79 -- very clear explanations! I have one further question at the moment ... was just looking on Fast Tech at the mech mods and I see the tube type ones as you illustrated. There are also "box mods" -- those seem to hold 2 batteries, and I'm wondering if 2-battery-boxes are better in some way than a 1-battery-tube ... for example, if 1 batt dies, the user switches to the other or something?

Just an FYI regarding DIY Juice. Don't go crazy buying flavors at 1st, find a couple of recipes that are in the flavor profile you like and start out with only those flavors. I use E-Liquid Recipes it is a great calculator and has a lot of recipes

 

[SpiritBear]

Just an FYI regarding DIY Juice. Don't go crazy buying flavors at 1st, find a couple of recipes that are in the flavor profile you like and start out with only those flavors. I use E-Liquid Recipes it is a great calculator and has a lot of recipes

Thanks for the reference -- I prefer menthol for my ADV, but there are a few others I also like (coffee, peach ....), so I'll want to find recipes for those and see what I can do.

 

[gofishtx]

Thanks for the reference -- I prefer menthol for my ADV, but there are a few others I also like (coffee, peach ....), so I'll want to find recipes for those and see what I can do.

A little Menthol and a little Koolada will go a long way. Koolada is what gives menthol the cool taste. limit your mixes to just a couple of drops each to start. Irish Cream, white chocolate, whipped cream, and peppermint for nice DIY version of Shamrock. Look for non menthol recipes and then add menthol and koolada to them just a few drops at a time, if it's not enough add a little more, its easier to add more then to have it over flavored with menthol.

 

[SpiritBear]

A little Menthol and a little Koolada will go a long way. Koolada is what gives menthol the cool taste. limit your mixes to just a couple of drops each to start. Irish Cream, white chocolate, whipped cream, and peppermint for nice DIY version of Shamrock. Look for non menthol recipes and then add menthol and koolada to them just a few drops at a time, if it's not enough add a little more, its easier to add more then to have it over flavored with menthol.

Good point. I should order some koolada now and add a bit to my current mix of 2 different menthol juices -- I've been buying the same 2 juices from the same vendor for nearly 3 years, and have noticed that I no longer get that "whip" of coolness when I vape it. Not sure if it's my taste buds or if they have changed something in one of the 2 menthol juices, but I miss that lash of coolness in the mouth.

 

[Maestro]

If you're looking for a PV that will last a long time and takes batteries, and you like to vape in the 1.8 ohm range, you really can't go wrong with a provari 2.5. They have blemished ones on sale for $29 - $39 (bet you can't find the blemish) and you can even get a unblemished one for $49. They have a long reputation for high quality. They're not designed for sub-ohming if you're going that route.

 

[SpiritBear]

Question about ordering Nicotine. The Nicotine I already have has PG in it. Is that what I will want to get? I ask because I figure I'll also need to order PG for making my own juice ... why would I need to do that if there is PG in the Nicotine?

 

[Jdurand]

Question about ordering Nicotine. The Nicotine I already have has PG in it. Is that what I will want to get? I ask because I figure I'll also need to order PG for making my own juice ... why would I need to do that if there is PG in the Nicotine?

Because, depending on nic strength ordered and what nic strength you vape, you may not have to add enough nic to get to the PG level you want. Remember as well, most flavors are PG based as well. I order my nic in 50/50 and very rarely do I need to add significant amounts of PG.

 

[englishmick]

Question about ordering Nicotine. The Nicotine I already have has PG in it. Is that what I will want to get? I ask because I figure I'll also need to order PG for making my own juice ... why would I need to do that if there is PG in the Nicotine?

It depends on what concentration of nic you have. If you get high concentration nic, like 100mg, then you have to dilute it down to the level you need. So if you vape 10mg juice you will need to add a lot of plain PG to get the level down from 100mg to 10mg. On the other hand you could buy less concentrated nic at a concentration of 10mg, then you wouldn't have to dilute it down and you wouldn't need any PG.

 

[bwh79]

Question about ordering Nicotine. The Nicotine I already have has PG in it. Is that what I will want to get? I ask because I figure I'll also need to order PG for making my own juice ... why would I need to do that if there is PG in the Nicotine?

So you can tailor the PG/VG ratio to exactly how you want it.

Example -- You have some 48mg/mL nicotine base in PG, and you want to make a recipe at 6mg/ml and 40PG/60VG that calls for 15% flavor (let's call it 10% of flavor 1 and 5% of flavor 2). To make a 100ml batch, you will need 40ml of PG in total, including the nic and flavors. So first you will need to determine how much of those you are going to use, and subtract that amount from 40ml. Whatever you have left (12.5ml in this case) is the amount of plain PG you will need to add:

60ml VG
12.5ml plain PG
12.5ml nic base (PG)
10ml Flavor 1 (PG)
5ml Flavor 2 (PG)

Note: 12.5 + 12.5 + 10 + 5 = 40. If you got your nic base in VG instead, you would count it towards the VG total. Flavors are usually (but not always) PG-based, and so they usually count towards the PG total.

 

[WillyZee]

Thanks for all additional information, and I'll keep watching the thread .
As of today, I've ordered 2 Kayfun Lite Plus tanks/atomizers -- they were $79.99 each which I thought was not bad. Of course, shipping and state tax pushed the total up, but that's life. It's a start!

nice choice on the Kayfuns

just bought 4 of them myself.

 

[gofishtx]

You want to buy 100 mg Nicotine (read safe handling instructions Please) It will last you a lot longer and stretch a lot farther diluted to the strength you need. I get PG based and my mixes are 70/30 and 80/20 VG/PG. I have to add very little PG to my mixes. Some prefer VG based for high VG or 0 Pg mixes.
I prefer the PG based nicotine so that I don't have to add that much PG to my recipes. For me, it is easier to find VG locally in the Health Nutrition Section of my local grocery store (500ml for $7) or at Walmart on the First Aid aisle for about $6 than it is for me to pay $23 for a gallon of PG at the Feed Store or Tractor Supply.