Interesting observation of one of my mechs.

[Dasfriek]

I've owned my SS Nemisis clone for a few months and many times I swore I felt a surge of electricity on the skin of my Palm and fingers, both tingling and burning.

It made me think the mod may suck at delivering the amperage my lower ohm builds need.

So I did a test with my Nemisis and my new copper Manhattan with a single freshly charged VTC5 and a Tobh rda at .3ohms.

I placed an inline voltage on the mod and did a few tests.

Mod and no rda voltage:

SS Nemisis- 4.16v

Copper Manhattan- 4.16v

This tells me I'm getting full battery potential in each mod.

Next I added the atty on top of the voltage meter to get a battery sag reading.

SS Nemisis- 3.55v

Copper Manhattan- 3.75v

Even tho .2v don't sound like a lot, but it really is.

I never had no luck at figuring amperage differances, but on a .3ohm coil that's a big amperage/wattage loss.

I have yet to test my copper Stingray, but I bet it fairs better than my Nemisis.

Also I'm rather meticulous about keeping my mechs in top shape and clean so I don't expect bad thread conductivity be due too dirt and oxidation.

I'm also NOT implying all SS mechs suffer from this as so many clones are out there and I'm sure some are worse than others.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Dasfriek

[jasonculp]

That is interesting. It really does make a big difference! I would have never thought that it would until I did the calculations.

SS Nemesis - 3.55v .3ohms = 11.83 amps/42 watts
Copper Manhattan - 3.75v .3ohms = 12.5 amps/46.875 watts

I am not sure how much difference that this would have in the amount of vapor, since I don't have much experience with mechanical mods.

I am not sure how the switches and the top caps make connection to the battery or the atomizer, but this could make a difference.

My example is the cheap mod I just bought. It has a spring loaded switch that is adjustable. Looking at its design the only path of electricity is a very small spring that i am positive would cause quite a bit of voltage drop. I got my tools out and modified it so that the button itself (not the spring) will carry the current. It also had a rather poor designed top cap adjustment screw that was too short to safely use with the Sony flat top batteries so I replaced it.

Now if my battery charger would show up I would try it out!

[Dasfriek]

Thanks for the math work! Even tho I have training in Electronics Engineering I hate math.

I replaced the spring in the Nemisis with magnets a long time ago, mine should conduct a bit better.

The weird part is the burning and shocks I feel when firing the mod, I'm guessing it's just a really cheap SS they used to make this mod.

I think I'm just gonna upgrade this Nemisis and my copper Stingray as it's button is poorly made junk that's as smooth as sandpaper.

I haven't tested the Stingray, but I'll look at it today if possible.

There are so many nicer mods that work better under $30 that I don't see me keeping it much longer.

[jasonculp]

I cheat on the math, I use online calculators. I love math but hate doing it by hand. If I have to use formulas more than a few times I build a spreadsheet.

My mod isn't the highest quality. What can you expect for $15? I mainly bought it to see if this is something I enjoy (mechanical mods). In their defense, they are so simple there is very little to go wrong.

I think if I enjoy this I will get one of the less expensive "authintics" such as the MM Nano or GP Paps.

As for the shocks, I am stumped. In order to get shocked I would assume that you would have to be completing a circuit with your hand. We are not nearly as good of conductors as the materials our mods are made of. It is really strange!

Sorry I can't help more!

[iQuit]

I have both SS Nemi and Copper Manhattan, and have not experienced any tingling sensation when using nemi.

Now, I experienced tingling sensation when I chain vape though, haha

Joking aside, I think the difference in voltage drop is with silver plated and copper contacts?

I am seeing early signs of wear on the nemi contacts and thought of lapping it ( up to 2000 grit), but that would leave me with brass contacts. I though about copper plating it myself but I do not have the time to do it, but I think it would be cool to try.

Vid tut on copper plating

But I may end up buying after market pure copper nemi contacts. I think they go for $10.

[jasonculp]

Learning to plate looks like a cool hobby! I probably don't need another one.

I guess I need to get an inline volt meter. The voltage drop that is experienced is fascinating to me. Due to my very limited mechanical mod experience I can't make too educated of a guess. It seems to me the large diameter of the center pins and large path through the body of the mod that these would be less likely to cause the problem unless extremely dirty or corroded at the connections. That would lead me to the switch. I can see where that they could easily cause a problem. It all depends on how it is made. On the one I have, if I would have just dropped the battery in a gone to town it wouldn't have worked great. The small machine screw that contacts the battery would have only touched in a near microscopic spot. All of the current would then had to traveled through a small spring (28 gauge or so) to complete the circuit. Now the nut and machine screw are trimmed and flush so that they contact the bottom of the locking ring and the battery at the same time. It took quite a bit of adjusting, measuring and filing. I doubt many people want to sit and tinker with it for a few hours.

Like I said it is a $15 clone. It is the only mechanical switch I have messed with. So this information may not be helpful to anyone but me, but then agin it might!

[iQuit]

Yeah, I am no expert either when it comes to mech mods or electric either. Anything I have learned about ohms law, I learned only because of vaping, which is very recently.

I am just hazarding a guess that if materials used affect electrical conductivity, then maybe it has something to do with voltage drops considering OP said the threads are all clean, so it is not a factor.

My Nemesis clone was under $20 too, and getting after markets parts for half of what it cost me did not make sense to me since I could get another one.

I do have an old Colt 1911 that I wanted to have nickel plated for so long but did not want to pay for what hey were charging me. Maybe I'll get around to it since I just found out how easy it is to do, and may just do some of my mod parts as well just for fun.

Edited August 27, 2014 by iQuit

[sparc]

Another reason for voltage drop is sectional tube mods(nemesis, stingrays,etc) vs single solid tube mods(manhattan, gp paps v3,etc).

And your mod shouldn't be shocking you. Something is not right.

[jasonculp]

I got into ohms law and electronics during the first round of the "thump" car audio competitions. I also worked as an electrician's helper during high school. I am a major tinkerer.

I am really interested in finding out what (if any) effect the mod material has on the output. Most materials we use have good electrical properties and are pretty large pathways for the current. I would tend to believe that most resistance would be in the connection to the mod and the switches.

Of course I have not tested this in any way. I am just going by the amount of metal in the mod body compared to the amount in the top pin or switch.

Very unscientific!

[Dasfriek]

The shocks and burning does happen on the seam where the tubes meet in the middle.

The exact reason eludes me but I'm rather sure something isn't passing current like it should.

I actually got robbed when I paid $50 locally for this Nemisis, it's actually my second one as the first one had the bottom switch strip it's thread before I could even use it for the first time.

Everything I've bought at this store has been pretty crappy quality wise.

I'll stick with buying online as I get much better built items there.

I don't feel a decently made Nemisis would suffer from this bunch of problems.

Hopefully I can find a copper Cartel clone under $40 or I'll buy another Manhattan to replace the Nemesis.

[jasonculp]

That is another thing that I didn't take into account. Sparc said it in his reply. The tube connections (in a multi-tube setup) would definitely be a place it could have a problem. I assume that if you got it tight enough, with no lubrication, to keep it from causing a voltage drop, you may never get it back apart.

I am talking about all of this voltage drop, and material conductivity and i am sure someone has already done the research If I would just go find it!

[Dasfriek]

Yup, that's about how I see it also.

I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it since its so cheap to replace.

It's just more incentive to put all my unused vaping gear up for sale and go on an old fashioned spending spree.

[sparc]

@Dasfriek this fix might help with your shocking issue.

Edited August 28, 2014 by sparc