Rixter

If you're looking for stamina, the Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mAh Battery is probably your best bet. It boasts more longevity than any other 18650 mod battery that I know of, and is considered by many to be the best 18650 available. If you're wanting to break through the amp limitation of a single 18650 battery in your Zmax, then I'd suggest you pick up a couple of AW IMR 18650s. This will allow you to use low resistance dual-coil atties/cartos/tanks at the Zmax's full 15 watt setting (7½Ω per coil). With a single 18650 (mine, anyway) and LR DC juicer, metering shows that the battery's amp-limit will only allow you to get to around 13 watts (6½Ω watts per coil), no matter how high you crank it. Just be aware that you'll have to use the larger battery cap for your Zmax to accommodate the extra length of the two 18350s. If you don't need/want 15 watts, I'd stick with the single 18650. *ONE FINAL NOTE* Please research battery safety carefully before making any purchases. Lithium-ion batteries can be very dangerous if charged improperly or misused.

I started getting interested in RBAs right around the same time that this thread materialized, and the things that I learned here made things pretty painless. If you follow the instructions found in this thread, you should have no problem. Thank you, Uma and mse12, for the work you put into this...you've saved us all from a lot of trial and error. My mech mod and RBA.

Last weekend, I ordered my first mech mod...a Telescope from VariTube.com. I've been looking for a good price on a fully mechanical mod for a little while now, and <$40 seemed good enough for me. I'm really looking forward to this one.

This one is the (surprisingly affordable) 1200 mAh version...notice the regular eGo-style fire button. This is a 650 mAh version that I recently sold to a friend. He loves it, but I didn't like the rubber band fire button too much. It's flush and hard to find without looking.

Just bought it...$43.44 shipped from VariTube.com.

Looks like this could be what I've been looking for.

Almond Joy flavored? Where do you get it?

I didn't intend to suggest any sort of limit on things, but I mainly wanted to hear about the ones that get vaped every day. I figured if it's good enough for you to vape daily, it might be worth trying out. I still throw the new or oddball flavor in the rotation when I'm chillaxin' & have time to enjoy my vape , but for me, until something better comes along, the every day juices are VT Dulcis, Dekang DK-TAB, and Janty Elixir RY4.

Tons. Yeah...it's a little on the pricey side.

From TVR: 15 ml. Weekender (Sweet Tarts) Free First Time Customer - 15 ml. of Ginger's RY4 Free - 3 ml. TVR RY4 All 75/25 PG/VG, 18 mg. Total cost shipped - $8.50

As some of you may already know, Vapor4Life recently hosted a give-away right here on this forum where they randomly selected three posts from their thread, , and…you guessed it…I was one of the lucky winners. In #entry149997 of that thread, I stated that if I won, I’d test and review the PV, and then give it to someone deserving. That’s going to be pretty hard to do (the giving away part) because it’s truly a very good device. V4L Automatic Dial-A-Volt 1100mAh I have used automatic e cigs in the past, but was turned off by the fact that you usually have to give them a little “primer” puff first to get things heated up enough to enjoy your vape. I suppose that’s because the standard 3.7 volts that the typical auto battery provides wasn’t able to instantly heat things up properly, but with the 1100mAh V4L Dial-A-Volt being a variable voltage PV (3.2-4.8v), a primer puff really isn’t necessary. I set mine to 4.2 volts, screwed on a 2Ω carto filled with EC Blend’s DK-555, and enjoyed a great vape that was just south of 9 watts…no preheating needed. The auto switch activates the circuit instantly when you start taking a draw, and keeps the circuit firing until you stop pulling air through it. It is without a doubt the best quality auto switch I’ve ever encountered. The Dial-A-Volt performed just as well as my eGo-style manual batteries, and I eventually got used to the fact that this thing has no button (didn’t stop me from continuously looking for one, though). It’s kind of nice to be able to have a vape in the middle of the night without having to feel for a button in the dark. This feature will almost certainly come in handy where stealth vaping is required. I keep a PV in my shirt pocket while at work (where vaping is prohibited because my boss thinks it’s…wait for it…“a fire hazard”!?!). I always have to feel for a button when I want to sneak a toke without removing it from my pocket. That, my friends, is over with if you use an auto Dial-A-Volt. The next thing I’d like to mention is the quality of the voltage adjustment dial. Like it’s predecessors, the eGo-C Twist and Vision Spinner, changing the voltage on the Dial-A-Volt is accomplished by turning a dial situated on the bottom of the device. Unlike the aforementioned PVs, the action on the Dial-A-Volt’s dial is as smooth as silk. It’s easy to turn, but not so easy that it’ll move around while pocketed. It’s instantly apparent that V4L incorporated a very high quality potentiometer into this PVs design. With the Twists/Spinners, the dials sometimes have “tight” spots in their rotation that makes them feel cheaper by comparison. The only think negative that I can say about the V4L Automatic Dial-A-Volt is that it has a KR808D-1 thread pattern. I don’t know why they don’t offer one with a 510 or an eGo threading, which are much more prevalent on today’s vaping scene, but this one’s strictly an 808 affair…for now, anyway. In Vapor4Life’s defense, they do offer a decent selection of 808 juicers. All in all, I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised with the Dial-A-Volt. Good job, V4L, and thanks for the contest.

At the risk of sounding frugal (which I am ), I'm looking for the least expensive 18650 (or telescopic) mechanical mod available, for use with an AGA-T+ RBA. Thanks in advance.

@Uma - I decided to give the braided (twisted) Kanthal method you described a try. Wow! The flavor boost is unbelievable, and no hot spots, either! The resistance on my 5/4 twisted coil is a good bit lower than with untwisted 32g Kanthal (a steady 1.3Ω vs. a fluctuating 1.7 - 2.4Ω), but surprisingly, the Sigelei ZMAX doesn't seem to have a problem with it. I've been vaping with it at 9 watts for a couple of hours now, so I think we have a winner! Thank you. I suggest every RBA user try this out. I know...the coils look a tad loose around the wick, but it's vaping so perfectly that I ain't messin' with it!

I'm having some problems with a hot spot from the center post to the top coil now. Where is the best online place to buy the right washers to correct this? Also, they're gonna have to be really thin because there isn't much thread left to accommodate all three nuts and two additional washers.

Three more bottles of VT Dulcis 16 mg.

I can tell you firsthand that the eGo-C Twist is no more forgiving than the Vision Spinner. I dropped a 1100mAh Twist approximately 18" to the padded carpeted floor once...RIP Twist. As far as the button goes, all is not lost. A quick search on Google will lead you to some good videos on how to fix that very problem.

I decided to start from scratch and make a new wick and coil. I followed Rick's advice from the video in making the wick, and made a 2Ω 5/4 coil with 32g Kanthal. I actually made 3 coils, but the resistance kept jumping around on them, so I kept making them until I got it right. Is this right? The flavor is better, but I'm sure that I'll have to give the wick some time to break in properly. That being said, it does seem to be a little more flavorful, if not a noticeably warmer vape.

Well, I'm using it on a ZMAX set at 9 watts, and the resistance hasn't changed from its original 2.4 ohms. Won't fewer wraps mean less surface area on the coil, leading to less vapor production?

I've vaped two tanks of juice through my AGA-T+, and although the vapor production and throat hit are excellent, flavor is definitely muted. The vapor is much cooler at 8-9 watts than other juicers I've used (cartos, DCTs, drip atties, etc.). The lack of heat seems to be the contributing factor in the lack of flavor I'm experiencing, and I'm wondering if others have noticed this with their AGA-T+.

What is the screw on the far right for? ...and what the hell is this all about?

I got my AGA-T+ for my birthday back on February 15th, and promptly popped the coil I made with the Kanthal that came in the package within 5 minutes. It was crimped pretty badly in a couple of places to begin with, so I ordered some more wire, and it arrived in today's mail. Success!!! 32g Kanthal...2.4Ω. My coil glows a nice even red across the wraps. After vaping for a few minutes with it, I can actually feel the nicotine coursing through my system...and it's only 16 mg. I'm currently running it at 8 watts, and my wick (also my first attempt) is doing its job quite well. Thanks to everyone who posted info on how to get up and running with SS mesh wicked RBAs. It really was painless. Sigelei ZMAX & AGA-T+ RBA (filled with VT Dulcis, of course).

They are little beasts, aren't they?

*UPDATE* Just out of curiosity, I checked to see if the atty head was screwed down tight. It was a full turn or so loose, so I snugged it down, and now I'll see if that takes care of the connection leak.

Mine leaks like a sieve into the connection area when it gets below ½ full. But from full to ½, it's hands down the best clearo I've ever used. Go figure.

It's been my experience that the warmer the vapor, the more flavor that's released. This could be because a hotter coil is vaporizing more juice at any given moment than a cooler coil is (so you're getting a bigger "dose"), but I think that the flavor is easier perceived by your taste-buds when it's warmer (not hot). I also think that a hotter coil heats the e liquid up to a point where you can smell the aroma as well as taste the flavor. To me, the best reason to get a variable voltage device is so that you can dial things up a notch and get that juice a little warmer...it'll probably taste better.