What's the (continuing) attraction of mechanical mods?

[tj99959]

with this...

So in reality you have no idea if you are using a .2 ohm coil or a .01 ohm coil!

This is what you need to accurately measure sub ohm. This one costs $4,200.

What folks don't understand is that the lower the resistance ... the less room there is for error.
Those little ohm readers are fine when a .5 ohm error would be no big deal.

 

[VapieDan]

Hey guys,

I'm quite new to vaping, 6 weeks in. I started vaping shortly after the big explosion of new products that I understand happened around Christmas/New Year 2014/2015 - launch of all the sub ohm tanks, plus loads of mods: the DNA 40s, new iSticks and iTastes, Kanger 40W, etc. And I gather the rest of 2014 saw a lot of mod releases as well.

So it's clear that vapers are now incredibly well catered for with products, and it's getting better all the time; it's also clear, even to a newbie like me, that that wasn't the case even just a year ago.

My point is that I can totally understand why mechanical mods used to be a big thing - basically any time before 2014, I would assume that mech mods were the majority of what was available. And even the name 'mod' comes from those early periods, doesn't it? The idea of people "modding" their own kit together, and maybe selling it in small quantities.

What I can't really understand is why anyone would still want to use mech mods in 2015? Well, I can see one reason - they usually look really cool! Much more stylish than most VV/VW mods.

But apart from that, it seems like it's all downsides? They're much less safe. A short could ruin your battery and maybe the whole mod. You can only vape at whatever voltage your battery currently delivers, and that varies throughout your vaping time unless you have endless supplies of freshly charged ones. You have to buy and maintain batteries separately (OK that's true of many VW mods too, but also many not, especially the newer ones.) And so on.

Please note I'm really not intending to start any kind of argument here between mech and VWs! I'm just genuinely interested to understand what reasons someone might have for still using mech mods, when probably everyone who owns a mech also has one or several VW mods?

Am I missing some big upside? Or is it mostly the style aspect? Or is it mostly the fact that you guys have many of them from your earlier years of vaping and they work fine, so why not use them sometimes?

Or, to put it a slightly different way - would any of you recommend that I consider adding a mech mod or two to my collection of VW/VV mods? I will shortly have three VW mods - iStick 50W (my first), Smok XPro M80 (coming tomorrow), and eventually a Vapor Flask DNA40 clone (coming from 3FVape in China so will be a couple of weeks.)

I was ordering some new RBA/RTAs yesterday, and saw a bunch of mech mods and was quite tempted for a few minutes! Especially for a hybrid mod that could screw in directly and neatly to the new Aqua v2 RBA/RTA I was ordering. But I really couldn't answer for myself the question of "why bother?" ! Sure they look really nice, but apart from that it seems like it's all hassle and downside compared to any VW.

Thanks!

This is question I have asked myself. I have a couple Tobeco Chi You Megan clones. The fit and finish are very nice. I use one almost every day. I am a low wattage vapor so the volume vaping is of no concern. I like the simplicity of function, durability, feel in the hand. All that being said they are far more dangerous than a regulated unit. I also like adjusting the power to fit the topper and resistance with a regulated unit. Keep in mind if the FDA comes down with approval requirements the mechanicals can side step the registration process since with a 510 flashlight head they can be classified as a flashlight not a vaping device.. In the future they may be all that is left. By the way I have noticed some mods from China have the words "Battery Box" on them. Could they be getting ready?

 

[CynikalMindset]

So in reality you have no idea if you are using a .2 ohm coil or a .01 ohm coil!

This is what you need to accurately measure sub ohm. This one costs $4,200.

What folks don't understand is that the lower the resistance ... the less room there is for error.
Those little ohm readers are fine when a .5 ohm error would be no big deal.

Hmmm okay...fair enough so what you are saying is that even if lets say I build my coil to .2 ohm and build an identical seconday coil that reads .2ohm I'm not gonna get a .1ohm +/-?

I get the theory behind a super accurate reading and what not...that .08 build reads as .1ohm on my sig150 which rounds up to the nearest 10th as it only to a 10th decimal reading. I dunno...close enough for me...I don't condone other to try I guess

 

[Waddle]

Started out with mech mods then bought a couple vw devices. I really like the regulated devices.However I feel myself being drawn back towards mechanical mods for some reason...probably mostly aesthetics and durability. Easy to carry in my pocket. The difference now is I'm looking for really good quality mech mods. So that will probably mean my next mech mod will be an authentic.

 

[edyle]

Wow, 0.09! That certainly gives me a good example of why people like mech mods.

I can't think of a single regulated that can do below .1 - certainly none of the three I have (or am waiting for) can. My iStick 50W is 0.3, my Smok M80 is 0.2, and the Vapor Flask DNA 40 clone I think is 0.16, maybe 0.1 in temp control mode (I think it matches the genuine in that regard.)

Re the drip tips, POM is Delrin isn't it? Hope so, because I happened to order my first three Delrin tips at the same time as the Derringer (though from a different place, and they weren't delivered today.)

Is this the sort of thing you mean?

Short Stubby True Wide Bore 510 Delrin Drip Tip
Stepped White Delrin 510 Drip Tip

The first of those, the "short stubby" might be too short to help much with reducing temperature, even though it's delrin, so I probably won't use that on the Derringer and/or at very low ohms. But the second one should be good for Derringer at low ohms, I hope?

I think you misunderstand.

Any mech mod will fire a 0.00000000 ohm load.

 

[tj99959]

Hmmm okay...fair enough so what you are saying is that even if lets say I build my coil to .2 ohm and build an identical seconday coil that reads .2ohm I'm not gonna get a .1ohm +/-?

I get the theory behind a super accurate reading and what not...that .08 build reads as .1ohm on my sig150 which rounds up to the nearest 10th as it only to a 10th decimal reading. I dunno...close enough for me...I don't condone other to try I guess

My point is simply that the lower you go with resistance, the more imperative it becomes that you get it right because there is less margin for error.

This is actually a mech mod thread, and the difference between .2 ohms & .1 ohm is 21 amps (21a compared to 42a) With your stated .09 ohm coil that reads .08 on your meter, that .01 ohm difference means that 46a jumps to 52a. Well beyond what any battery can safely do.

 

[hurricanegirl100]

I'm a little worried about what the new FDA regs will do to the price of all things e-cigarette. That said, what I like about mechs is their simplicity - if the price of VV/VW devices goes through the roof, along with BCC heads for my BCC tanks, I'm protected from all of that with my mechanicals.

Cotton, wire, batteries. Done. KMA to the FDA.

Don't get me wrong, I love my IPV mini - but mechs give just as good a vape as a regulated mod if you build your atomizer properly, and 2nd plus, I never have to worry about a computer chip conking out and leaving me vapeless!

And they're so purrrrrrty! Nothing like a freshly polished copper Nemesis or my white Nemi with a blue, carbon fiber Freakshow sitting on top! ;0) I love the look of them.

 

[CynikalMindset]

My point is simply that the lower you go with resistance, the more imperative it becomes that you get it right because there is less margin for error.

This is actually a mech mod thread, and the difference between .2 ohms & .1 ohm is 21 amps (21a compared to 42a)

noted...cheers

 

[EJAB]

with this...

You first must understand what the "standard deviation" is for the gauge/measuring device that you're using and then you'd realize that a $10 ohm reader is equivalent to using a yardstick to measure exactly 36" (impossible)!

I'm not a PBusardo fan boy, but he addresses this issue at 6:25 of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf5m5KzNRaI

 

[tj99959]

You first must understand what the "standard deviation" is for the gauge/measuring device that you're using and then you'd realize that a $10 ohm reader is equivalent to using a yardstick to measure exactly 36" (impossible)!

Kinda like trying to get a finished surface with a wood rasp.

 

[Paramaniac413]

I have a feeling you guys used to cary zippos and trasferred all of your smokes to a usa made cigarette case. everything was engraved. Rewicked the zippos. dissed chinese lighter fluid because it tasted inferior and lingered in your mouth for too long.

...I still carry my Zippo. More for sentimental reasons, now, but I still carry it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Newportlocal]

On the original question. I started out with a Provari mini. I liked it, but when I got into rebuildables it started throwing lots of error messages even though the tanks and RDAs would work fine on my other devices. It was also less than ideal trying to dry burn my coils with error messages all the time. The newer ones seem a little underpowered, but have fixed some of the error messages. My Vaporshark RDNA had to go back for repairs to replace the chip almost immediately after I got it. They also have the adjustable 510 that will leak ejuice into your electronics as it wasn't sealed well. Now it needs to go back again for the USB port not charging properly. I baby my stuff, and it wasn't a well done port, but it will be out of pocket expense. A mech mod has as a rule much more reliability. I like VV/VW devices and they definitely have their pluses. That being said mechs are much more reliable in the long term.

 

[gph61]

Portability.

My ADV is a Kato Square with a kick. 18650 and 18500. I also have some nice little 18350s and the Ignition base. All of which are more portable than current boxes with the exception of the Egrip.

Of course none of them can compete in watts with most boxes but if you don't need the power you may as well have something that disappears in a shirt pocket.

I feel I should add to this post because puting kicks in Kato Squares is not that well known and this is the new members forum.

Kato Squares have room for a kick under the 510. You end up with some, but not all, protections and regulation in a compact package. I take no credit for this idea. Here's how it's done:

Kato 18650 Kick - Album on Imgur

Here's the Chi You top cap:

https://www.fasttech.com/products/1589801

 

[itskohler]

I use mechs almost exclusively. The reliabiliy of a mech mod is astounding compared to most VV/VW devices out there. I use a vaporflask at home, and really like the TC that it offers, but my choice mod is my Slojo mech.

The form factor is another huge plus. IMHO, all of the VV/VW mods look more like toys than anything else. Most mech mods, on the other hand, look much more refined and simple.

 

[Dave V aper]

Hi Everybody,
I'm still rather new to vaping and haven't had anyone to help me along, like a mentor, so finding this forum is a real bonus for me. I started off with a Kanger ProTank 2 and have only recently learned how to rewick the coils with cotton to finally get a decent vape from it. I have been researching a lot, which has mostly confused me more than anything, but today I ordered a GT-T RTA 4.0ml and a Vision Spinner ll 1600mAh vv battery from FT. I studied a fair number of tutorial videos on Youtube to learn about rebuildables and I'm really excited about my newest order...the one thing that I'm not sure about is what to call my new rig? Is it a mod? a mechanical mod? or a hybrid? And any thoughts you may like to add will be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave.

 

[vapero]

Hi Everybody,
I'm still rather new to vaping and haven't had anyone to help me along, like a mentor, so finding this forum is a real bonus for me. I started off with a Kanger ProTank 2 and have only recently learned how to rewick the coils with cotton to finally get a decent vape from it. I have been researching a lot, which has mostly confused me more than anything, but today I ordered a GT-T RTA 4.0ml and a Vision Spinner ll 1600mAh vv battery from FT. I studied a fair number of tutorial videos on Youtube to learn about rebuildables and I'm really excited about my newest order...the one thing that I'm not sure about is what to call my new rig? Is it a mod? a mechanical mod? or a hybrid? And any thoughts you may like to add will be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave.

I'm sorry to break it to you but I don't think the gt-t and a vision spinner play well together, maybe the taifun gs that is much smaller, if not it will look like this

 

[vapero]

a few years ago people went to mechs because they where the alternative to cigalikes,
after that people choose mechs because they offer better performance and power compared to the first regulated devices
but now that regulated devices have catch up is now a matter of preference/convenience and not really power

 

[WattWick]

All very good points, of course.

But as more and more of the regulated mods have built-in batteries (and frankly, I prefer the ones that do - less cost, less hassle), picking the wrong battery is just not an issue.

As for regulated being safer in general - I was really talking about things like reverse battery protection, and more importantly, short protection.

Example: I've had a couple of shorted coils on my iStick 50W. My own fault. I have been rebuilding coil heads for tanks, in particular the heads that come with the Smok VCT and GCT tanks, which are nice for rebuilding because it's fairly easy and they have 2 x 3mm juice intakes (great for wicking and re-wicking.)

But I got too fancy - I was trying to put in twisted wire builds, and although I was very careful, the coils were just a little too large to reliably sit inside the head, and twice I had the coil move as I was re-wicking it, ending up touching coil head metal without me realising.

Or to be precise, it's happened far more than that, but most of the time I noticed the dramatic drop in ohms and didn't fire it. Twice, I did not notice and fired it.

On my regulated mod, the result was that it said "Protection" and stopped firing. And one of the times it also shut down on me, appearing to be dead, which would have worried me greatly if I hadn't already seen pbusardo's review where he had the same thing, and reported that it reboots as soon as you plug in a USB cable (so it's kind of a safety shutdown.)

But in neither case was any damage done (well, not to the mod - the rubber gromit on the coil got slightly burnt during the <0.1 second it was firing.)

With a mech mod, I'd at the very least have killed the battery I think? Actually I don't know for sure what would happen on a mech mod? But I'm pretty sure it'd be bad!

Of course, one should work to the specs of the tools one has - if I had a mech mod, I would not have dreamed of attempting potentially risky, tight-fitting coil head rebuilds. I'd build in a much larger margin of safety in all building.

But still, that regulated protection seems to me to count for quite a bit. And shorts can happen for many reasons. In this case it was my own doing, but there's any number of conceivable scenarios where a short could occur without the user knowing or causing it.

So I do maintain that regulated provides a significant level of protection that's very worthwhile - though of course I realise even regulated mods can be pushed too far and can fail. I no longer attempt those larger coil head rebuilds at all.

Short circuit protection is all good. Built-in batteries may or may not be - depending on the chemistry and quality of the battery, and the quality and workmanship of the circuitry.

In a perfect world, every mech user would check their setups with a multimeter - and stick to IMR batteries. Unfortunately that may not be the case.

I have to clarify. I don't have a beef with regulated mods. Nor with you
I'm only concerned by how regulated mods are (some times) presented to new users. As something they can pick up and use safely if they don't care about learning battery safety. Which is why I try to stress the importance of using IMR batteries and knowing their limits.

As for what ideally should happen if you short an IMR battery in a vented mech, this video may be of interest:

 

[Shigura]

From time to time I still enjoy my mech more due to the size and durability of the device. Although I primarily use my sigelei 150 it is quite bulky for carrying around. For home use it's great but for work were I'm constantly on the move it's like a boulder in my cargo pocket lol. All things considered I enjoy my 4nine w/ derringer rda profusely for work and think it's nifty to shrink it to 18350 mode with that tiny derringer for stealth.

 

[blowitoutyournose]

Couldn't agree with you more 'blowitoutyournose'..lol That's some username you got there
Did you pull the trigger on the iPV mini 2 ?? I got one myself and it's been great so far apart from the paint issue but got a wrap to cover up the peeling paint.
Thanks for sharing your journey, sounds very familiar to me, especially, " A wand that maxed out at 15 watts"...hahaha

Sorry for my delayed response, I keep strange hours. The username came from a test I used to give smokers. When talking about harm reduction or if my e-cig was more dangerous than their cigarette smoke, we would have a blow it out your nose test. They would use my setup and blow it out their nose, then try it with their cigarette (if they were ballsy). It's also a great way to enjoy your vape. Good stuff.

I did pull the trigger on the IPV mini v2. It had everything I could want: not a box, small-ish, single battery, max wattage well above 50 as a safety ceiling, and looks. I went ahead and bought a gunmetal carbon fiber wrap for it, don't want it to slip and fall. Should be a nice little setup when it's all said and done, and all for about $80. And now I have an excuse to make a new Frankenstein from my Kayfun chop shop!

I forgot the feeling of checking email compulsively for shipping updates. Bittersweet anticipation. The journey continues