jasonculp

I like it! I am like you, I like to change tanks, but it would make a great carry rig for me. I may have to look into this one!

I am about a week late, but I got a Cthulhu v2, and an eVic-VTC mini, and a couple more 30Q batteries.

Here is part 2 of the test. This is simulating a pulsed load at 70W on a Single 18650 variable wattage mod (or 2 at 140W total): Best 18650 Battery at pulsed loads of 70W per battery

What type of atomizer are you running? What gauge of wire did you get? I am currently running a Cthulhu v2 (I don't recommend this tank, unless you absolutely love tinkering with a tank). I am using the single coil deck. I have a 28ga, 3mm ID, 10 wrap coil, wicked tightly with Japanese cotton. I am running it at 40J at 475F. It is vaping great. This setup takes quite a bit of airflow. If I slow down my drag, my ipv D2 will start rattle-snaking to try to limit the temp. The other tips I have is always use spaced coils, keep your legs as even, and as short as you can. Don't dry burn, there are different stories that make it seem less than safe. It is a very soft wire, but I really like using it. It is easy to manipulate. It does take a bit to break in. Try a few, and come back and ask questions, if you have any.

It is a good package, just be careful not to run it too high. I was trying to run in the 40 watt range at 475 and it was getting "hot leg". I could see it glowing red through the air flow control. I really don't like to let my coils, much less the legs glowing. It didn't seem to be a problem at lower wattage/temp. Just a heads up! I got mine today, and I agree 100% with all of it. My Juice Flow Control has knurling, but I think it will be more trouble than it is worth! I mainly bought it for the single coil deck. It is great to build on, just like a bigger subtank mini. I will hold my opinion on how it vapes until I get this coil broke in.

It looks pretty cool down here. I was hoping that it would be larger, but the color is cool.

You have inspired me to mark my batteries better. I got all of them done but 4. I know they came from one of two places and are within a month of each other in age. I wish I had done this sooner. I can now tell who I bought it from, and when I bought it. It makes it so much easier to rotate them around. I have 20 that I use in my single battery mods, but I was probably using 2 sets of 4 the most. I am now rotating them. I do tend to use the HG2's and the 30Q's the most because they do seem to last the longest.

Good. It is a good practice.

Personally I would get a set or two of the 25Rs and if you want to really blow clouds, or turn it up past 120 or 140 watts or so throw in a set of HB6's. I if you are running that high, you will get a longer cell life out of the HB6's and they will run much cooler. I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but when you have a dual battery mod you must marry the batteries. In other words they 2 batteries stay to gather for life. I label them 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B etc. When you use them always do the the same to one as you do the other. Charge them at the same time, fully. When you put them back in the mod, swap the A and B location. This ensures that they wear evenly. If one battery will not take a charge, or seems to be going bad, divorce them. Some people say recycle them both, but I will just start using the remaining good one in a single battery mod, and buy a new set to run in the dual battery mod. I actually have 3 sets I run in my ipv 3 and they have lasted a long time. I really don't use it much. I keep it by my chair with a "special juice" in it that I only use sparingly. I have a velocity or TFV4 on it and I normally run it in the 100+ watt range. I could run 25R's in it, but I have 2 sets of VTC 4's and a set of HB6's that I need to use and I might want to really crank it up.

They are just different batteries with vastly different specifications. The VTC batteries were never intended to be single cells. They were designed to be used in packs. There is quite a few different specification sheets on the internet, and they contain contradictory information. Independent testing (and using the best versions of the manufacturers spec. sheets) most have settled on the the following specifications: VTC3 - Sony's specs say 30A continuous discharge and 1500 mah. Most tests prove that the VTC3 can handle 30A continuous, but at a cost, shorter cell life. It reaches 89 degrees C. It works great for vaping though because it is not a continuous discharge, and it handles it better than most. VTC4 - Sony's specs say 30A* continuous discharge and 2100 mah. There are quite a few spec sheet that show this as a 30A cell, but there are also Sony spec sheets that say it is a 20A battery, and to get 30A you must use active cooling and protection above 30A. We do know from testing that the VTC4 is probably one of the most versatile cells out there. It will work in our application up to 30A with no problem. In continuous discharge it got close to 100C which will seriously degrade the battery. We don't use in this manner, so it works fine up to 30A. VTC5 - Sony's specs say 20A continuous discharge and 2600 mah. This is a true 20A battery, no more. In fact at 20A it gets hotter than a 25R. I personally will not be buying any more Sony batteries (never say never..lol). Too many questions. I have the HB6's if I want to go over 30A. They are cheap. I can get them for less than $5.00 each and feel confident I am safe. At 30A continuous it only reached 76 degrees C. You will need quite a few, because at only 1500 mah, they don't last long. I am waiting on some HD2's to replace my aging VTC4's when they go. They will fill the 25A range. I really don't vape in this range. For my daily use, I will run the 25R's, HG2's, and 30Q's, I also have some HE2's and HE4's.

I normally am not too worried about the color, most of my mods are black. If I want to change the look of it I just add a wrap, and they cost around $13 - $15. I also keep a roll of fake black carbon fiber, and wrap them myself. So me personally, I wouldn't spend over 10% or so premium to get the color I want. On the other hand, you will carry this thing with you everywhere, it will hopefully last a long time. If the color means enough to you to shop around, I would get the color I want. A mod isn't the biggest investment in the world, but it is an investment. When I bought my wife's car it was an emergency. Here car had a transmission issue. The dealer was willing to give me the full value on trade in, plus, a fair deal on the new one. The only problem was it wasn't the color I wanted and it wasn't all wheel drive. I did it anyway out of fear. I have been paying on that thing for a couple of years and I get mad every time I write a check for the payment. I wish now I would have bit the bullet and driven 100 miles to Amarillo or Midland/Odessa so I could have gotten the one I wanted.

Thank you for the information! I really am not sure my money wouldn't have been better spent elsewhere, but, I will find out when it gets here. My has been "shipping" for days. It is probably still sitting on their counter with a label on it...

The BeKuali kit looks pretty good, but I actually know nothing about it. I hope someone will come along and give some more information. The batteries are a little on the small size at 550 mah. It looks like a Kanger EMUS. I have never used one of these, but from what I am reading the tanks have a male 510 thread. Your current battery has both ego (the large male threads on the outside of your battery) and 510 threads which is the smaller female threads in the center of your battery. If you purchase this kit you would be able to use your battery (it will look a bit strange) with the new tank, and the included battery also. You will not be able to use your current CE5 with the new battery. The new battery only has the smaller internal threads. (510) I wish I was more help, and hope someone who uses devices in this range can add some more information to help you make your decision. The tank/atomizer is the thing that makes the vapor and determines the flavor and is really one of the most important parts of the setup. The battery just supplies the power. I do prefer an adjustable voltage battery so you can turn the volts up and down to better suit your needs. The problem with the Kanger Protank mini with the Bekuali kit is that you are going to have a mess of different threads. The Protank minis use ego threads and the BeKuali uses 510. Here is a picture I stole off the web that shows the 2 different styles of threads: Look at the pictures and try to keep most of your equipment so they will work together. This can keep you from getting in a jam later if you need to swap batteries and tanks around.

You are welcome. As you go higher and higher with wattages, the batteries will not be the only thing that becomes expensive. I have a TFV4 and at higher wattage it goes through massive amounts of juice. Dripping on the Velocity at 100+ watts I can go through 20 ml in a short while. The cost of juice can be much higher than mods and batteries once you get to that point.

Thank you Rixter. I have struggled with how to post this without being too nerdy. There is so much more to it, and people think you are nuts when you tell them that the ohms of the atomizer have nothing to do with the amount of draw on the battery with a Variable Wattage device. The device does not care if it is a .1 ohm or a 1.8 ohm coil. It only cares how many Watts you are asking it to put out. Just to show the math: Attomizer Side: 50 watts at .1 ohms is 2.24 volts and 22.4 amps 50 watts at 1.8 ohms is 9.5 volts and 5.3 amps Since the battery (alone) can not supply 2.24 volts or 9.5 volts it is having to either boost or buck the voltage. The only thing we have that is constant is the amount of power the board is asking for. So we have to use Ohm's law to see how much current it takes to get that much power from the battery. Battery Side: 50 watts / 3.2 Volts X 1.1 to add 10% for the efficiency of the board = 17.2 amps This calculation works on Variable Voltage mods too. You just have to figure out how many Watts you are asking for on the given atomizer. It even works on the Ego Style batteries. They just have a 3.7 volt (nominal) battery in them. So we have a board doing all of the boost/buck for us. 1.8 ohms and 4.8 volts = 12.8 watts on the atomizer side (volts2 / ohms) 12.8 watts / 3.2 (I really don't know how low the board will let it go) X 1.1 = 4.4 amps drawn from the battery. Sorry for going all nerdy on this, but think we need to understand this so we choose the correct battery for our mods. There is so much bad information out there and we need to keep this hobby as safe as possible. Here is a good rule of thumb for a single 18650 variable wattage mod: Use a 20A continuous battery for under 58 watts Use a 25A continuous battery for under 70 watts Use a 30A continuous battery for under 85 watts Here is examples for a dual 18650: Use a 20A continuous battery for under 115 watts Use a 25A continuous battery for under 145 watts Use a 30A continuous battery for under 175 watts Over 200 watts, use at your own risk. There are LiPo packs, and triple battery mods that can do this safely. This is why I stick with OEM cells, LG, Samsung, Sony, ect. Using them beyond the mfg's CDR rating is possible in short bursts. The Samsung 18650 25R is actually rated to 45A for 5 seconds, and even higher for shorter periods, but this causes temps to raise, and high temps cause degradation of the battery. I personally choose not to go beyond the CDR.

Welcome to Vapor Talk! I agree that with Aufin, and Earthling789, a little more information would be helpful. I also take that type medication, Cardizem. I can only tell you how it worked for me. I wanted to quit pretty bad, so I got a cheap setup with some cheap juice 12mg to be exact. It seemed to help a bit, but not great. I was getting into the car one day and dropped it, and broke it. (This is the reason we preach about backups, and backups for backups around here) I went to town and found a vape shop and bought a new setup. This was before I found Vapor Talk. The girl in there gave me some super advice, that worked for me. She told me to boost my nicotine to 24 or 36 mg/ml and change my flavor to something that tasted "good" not like tobacco. It was harsh to me and made me cough, but I stuck with it. She also told me to drink massive amounts of water to help to remove the toxins from my system. She said to vape it until I felt the effects of the nicotine. I was till smoking at the time, but I was down from 50 a day to around 10. I kept at it. It would make me a bit woozy, but I noticed every time I smoked a cigarette, I felt bad and it tasted terrible. I would vape in between and it slowly got longer and longer between cigarettes. I messed around like this for a couple weeks. I finally got so that I only needed 3 cigarettes a day, one in the morning, at lunch and before bed. It was at this time I ran out of cigarettes and was determined not to buy them again. It worked! The CE5 and the battery is a pretty good start. I personally would check out the Vapor Talk Store, and possibly pick up a Vision Spinner and a couple of Kanger Protank Mini 3's. They will work with the eTron and the Vision will give you a little longer run time between charges. This will also give you a backup up, and you can charge one while using the other. The possibilities are endless when it comes to Tank/Battery combinations, and you can step up as you go. The more stealthy batteries like the iStick 30 (one of many great small "box" mods) will last all day and fit in the palm of your hand (and will work with your tank). Tanks are the same way as you progress your vaping you may require less nicotine and more vapor, this is where the setups like the SubTank Mini Kits come in. Dig around the the internet for deals and come back and ask questions. Most of us are kinda nuts for finding the best deals, and the best equipment, from reputible sources. One of the more important things, is to come back and ask questions. There is a lot of different people with different styles of vaping and a lot of good experience that will be more than happy to help!

It is a shame you had trouble with it. I really wanted that to be a good one. I may still pick one up and put a different 510 connection on it. I am also discouraged about the auto mode. I really like auto. My iStick 40 TC is automatic and it works great. I just raise and lower the temp and it controls the watts. I assume it is maxed out at 40 watts and then the TC is regulating it. It looks like a great size for a dual 18650 mod. I bet at 40J and 475 degrees, with a couple HG2's or 30Q's in it, it would run nearly 2 days for me! It looks much smaller than the ipv3 Li. I have the old ipv3 and it is too big for me.

I just wanted to post this so everyone could visually see what is going on with your Variable Wattage Mod in relation to battery drain. With a Mechanical Mod as our battery drains, the Amps go down. With a Variable Wattage Mod as our battery drains the the Amps go up. We can't calculate battery draw based on the ohms of the coil in our atomizer like we do in a mechanical mod, because of the way the board works inside of the device. In a mechanical mod we use ohm's law to calculate the draw on the battery. For example 4.2Volts / .353Ohms = 11.9Amps or 4.2Volts2 /.353Ohms = 50Watts. In a single battery Variable Wattage Mod we have to calculate both sides of the board separately. The only thing that is constant is the power (watts). The board also uses power during the voltage conversion, so we normally assume it is 90% efficient. The way to calculate this (still using Ohm's law) is: 50Watts / 3.2Volts (the lowest voltage you want to run your battery) X 1.1 (adding 10% for a 90% efficient board) = 17.2Amps *For a dual battery mod in series you would use 6.2Volts Here is a chart to help visualize it: Here is a link that will do the math for you. Steam Engine - Battery Drain

I am actually getting ready to get back on the road. (my wife is ready too...) I have been stuck in this computer heck for months. I reinforced my position with my boss today. We go live on November 2. I am going back on the road in February, whether they are ready or not. He is compensating me for my loss of sales, but not nearly at the rate it would be if I was out there. I have lost a few medium size accounts because I am having to take care of them via email/telephone. Oilfield slump is actually working out good for me as things have slowed down considerably during the time I have been in the store. I am excited as tomorrow I have a 450+ mile circuit with 3 meetings. It is going to feel good to be back out there. My poor impala feels neglected. I am putting less than 600 miles a week on her. When I was on the road it was closer to 1400...

My day kit is very simular. I carry my ipvD2, with the SauceCode and a 5 pack of coils, the iStick 40TC, with the SubTank mini and a 5 pack of coils, 4 18650, and charger cables for each mod, and of course 30 ml of juice. This is my day trip pack. I have not assembled my over night one yet. I am thinking of getting a small aluminum case (like Comp showed us in another thread) and cutting foam to fit 8 - 10 batteries, and mods, tanks ect. My boss says after the first of the year he wants me taking less overnight trips (just 2 nights a week) instead of 3 - 4 so probably like Tuesday/Thursday or something like that. That will make it much better on the amount of stuff I have to carry, but will make my miles per week much higher.

I am only basing that on the fact that some people say that battery life seems to decrease if charged at a rate higher than 1A. I honestly have not seen any data to support the claims. You are exactly right! I started charging 2 new HG2's and 30Q's last night. My modem died so I was working. I put them on the charger after supper, and when I wanted to go to bed, they were still flashing on the second bar. It seemed like 30 minutes later...they were done... I am waiting for a Amazon rewards card to come in, and I am thinking about getting an Opus BT-C3400. It is an analyzing charger, but won't hook to a computer . I am really interested in seeing how cell life affects mAh capacity. I am also thinking about picking up another i4 (with rewards too). This would charge nearly half of my batteries at one time, and would keep me going over a week I guess I am weird, but I would rather carry 6 batteries than I had one charger. Of course I could use usb charging in necessary.

The Nitecore is a great charger. I only have the one. I am just mad at it. It charges great, and it has worked perfectly. I am just too impatient. The 4 slot charge rate is only .375 A, but this probably is much better on your batteries.

I third the ipv3Li or the ipvD2. I am not sold on the new Sigelei/Snowwolf chip. I have the 50 watt version, and it is not as refined as the YiHi chips (as in the ipv's) If you are using it at 110 watts or lower, Samsung 25R or LG HE2/HE4 are the most economical, but the LG HG2 will last longer. If yo are at 150 - 170 watts the Sony VTC 4 or LG HD2 would be the safest choices, but will not last nearly as long. Over 170 LG HB6 or Sony VTC 3. Here is a couple good sources for batteries, I have always got good batteries, and service: Illumn or Liion Wholesale I agree with squid on the charger, the LUCV4 is a great charger, the Xtar VC4 is also good, or the VPC4. The nitecore is also a solid charger, but it is a bit slow.

I will check this out. Great review! I have noticed that they are coming out with a TC version, and I am spoiled to TC. I do wish it had a removable battery, but I like the simplicity of the self contained unit. I know how particular you are, so if it passes your test, it will defiantly pass mine!

I have not even seen them anywhere. Looking them up it says they are made by LG and have 20A continuous discharge, and 2500 mah. I assume since the specs are the same, they are a LG 18650HE2 so if you are paying over $5.00 you are paying a premium for Kanger to add their name to it. The new Aspire 18650 tests pretty good but it is a ICR. (less safe than IMR) I don't run rewraps unless I rewrap them myself. I am not going to pay extra to get a cheap battery with a fancy wrapper that has overinflated numbers on it. Good batteries are way too cheap to buy the unknown. This is totally an assumption on my part. I just know I put a fresh battery in, in the evening and it is nearly dead first thing in the morning. I could be vaping more than I think at night, or it is pulling a little power at rest. I guess it could be the cat...but I doubt it. If I have time I will build a rig to check voltage drop. I have been wanting to make one anyway to test the efficient of the board, but I was going to wait for my shunts to come in so I can measure it up to full amp draw.