Oi hoi captain vapers.. advice about a decent vaper / mods?

[purkle]

WOW!! seriously, everyone who has posted here thanks so so much, tons of really really useful advice, especially Adam78 & @the Mod Destroyer!! Jane I haven't checked my pm's yet (will do so just now) but you sending me your sentinel clone is so massively appreciated, really, thanks millions I had no idea there were so many different choices & variables.. god the world of vaping has totally exploded eh!! your advice & link to the davide looks fantastic, (BCC are a priority in this for me cos I've had much better experience with them).. think I'll try one of them instead of a protank as the davide can use both heads so maybe that will give me a bit more choice initially & also if one type is then easier to re-coil myself then that might be helpful too.. Also advice about wicking & silica vs. cotton is very useful, I'll def google for a tutorial. Thank F for the internet.. where on earth would we all be if vaping had come about before we could all share info like this!!

charon, thanks for great link for coiling/wicking materials, aye we were just buying like pre-made coils to fit into old heads, but thanks to Adam78 I've now ordered a multimeter so I'll be able to work from scratch, nice one

Adam78.. haha, wish I had asked this aaages ago!! it was the whole thing about the multimeters being stated as measuring 200ohms - 200Mohms that was doing my head in cos I didn't think it would work for this.. thanks, had now ordered one & looking forward for my first proper coiling experiences lol (if they're anything like my first fag-rolling experiences all those years ago then that'll be a pure laugh!!!) The link to the mods at fasttech is v helpful, obv I'll stick with Jane's sentinel for now but previously I've always had at least a couple of batteries on the go so that'll be good for future; I'm guessing I want to order with the knowledge it'll take a good few weeks to arrive.. but people on here seem to recommend fasttech so you do actually get what you ordered eventually aye? cracking prices compared to buying in the UK.

so.. a charger.. couple of weeks ago I found a clone ego where you could pop the bottom off & replace the battery (aa size) so I went & forked out on a really good ansmann intelligent charger & some maha powerex 2700 batteries.. gutted!! obviously they didn't work cos of the higher voltage needed to power a vapourizer, ooft!! so I don't wanna make that mistake again!!
The battery boy has a charger here www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xtar-XP4-charger-for-14500-16340-18350-18490-18500-18650-26650-Li-Ion-NiMh-/291064704763 ;
does that sound good i.e. intelligent & tries not to overcharge batteries etc.?
or would I be better with something like this: www.amazon.co.uk/JETBeam-Intellicharge-i4-V2-Nitecore/dp/B007WSFWPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391514396&sr=8-1&keywords=nitecore+i4 ? or any other suggestions muchos appreciados? (apologies, for some reason I fall into the habit of made-up spanish & french sometimes, just fer a laugh innit!)

Lastly.. before this becomes my usual essay.. Greg & charon, thanks it's good to hear some advice about the scare stories.. I'm happy to go for the mod transition & I think I'm aware enough that it may take a bit of messing about before I get a good result, that's ok, but I really appreciate the MVP2 / aerotank option as a back-up, I'll def look into that just in case. The aerotanks look/sound crackin, I like the variable air thing.. might just have to try one of them too in a while. To be honest I'm not really the sort for pushing things as far as they can go, & it seems that's the main danger with mech mods - when folk start playing with really high voltages & really low resistances (I think..?!) which I'm not likely to do, I think I'll be satisfied with a more middle of the road setup judging by the GINORMOUS clouds of vape I've been seeing on youtube reviews haha!! I'm very excited!!!

Oh, one last thing.. giles, your dingo looks great! (no connotation intended, ha!) just watched a review by a nice welsh boy puffing huge clouds.. how do you find it for battery stamina, i.e. how long does it last u between charges (&do you use it a lot? - I'm really quite a heavy vaper it seems, eek!)

So in conclusion, for my first 'real' (aahhh, so excited!!) set-up I'm gonna go for an Aerotank and a Davide, I've got my multimeter on order & I'll get some stuff from the wire&things people.. I'll order a couple of batteries from the infamous Battery Boy (&he's local to me, even better!) for the extremely generous Jane's Sentinel, & I just need to get a charger then. Wicked! Thanks extra specially much people!

[charon]

purkle

Enjoy..BCC is deffo the way to start, Iclear dual top coil are a totally different beast and have a thirst like a navvy.

I see you have a link given for fasttech, all well and good, but try this place out as well, OK so still over there but dissy code is available to forum members
and they are members on here too. (so any problems, Foclecig will sort them out )

focalecig.com/category/Mechanical-Mod-570

Enjoy

[Deleted]

Regards chargers the choice you have seems much of a muchness - kind of 6 & half a dozen. I personally am a fan of the battery boy so would pay the extra £5-10 but they'll last you. I've had my charger for years. No probs

Jane

[giles]

Feb 4, 2014 12:05:31 GMT purkle said:

Oh, one last thing.. giles, your dingo looks great! 

Nicest thing anyone has said to me this year

But, alas, I don't have a dingo 

Must be someone else

[DiscoDes]

Stuff from "Torchy the Battery Boy" on Ebay is top quality, he really knows his batteries.

[Adam78]

Both the XTAR XP4 & Nitecore I4 V2 you linked to are good chargers purkle, I went for the Nitecore simply because the XP4 didn't exist at the time & I could get the Nitecore from China (FastTech) for about £15

Never tried the XTAR's so can't vouch for them but I always recommend the Nitecore I4 , they're pretty highly regarded in the vaping & torch/flash light communities.

It's charged every battery I've thrown at it, auto-detects the type of battery you have put in so you don't have to select the charge current via buttons or a menu, doesn't overcharge, has 3 LED's per slot so you get a good idea of charge status, can reset a tripped protection circuit in a protected battery, has sliders in slot's so you don't need to buy spacers etc.

Sure, some chargers that have 4 independent charge circuits like the XP4 (Nitecore has 2 circuits split across the 4 slots) might charge 4 batteries a bit faster, but I don't often need to charge more than 2 at once and from what I've read the 4 circuit chargers can get quite toasty when charging 4 batteries simultaneously.

Just so you know...the Nitecore I4 has 2 charging circuits split across the 4 slots. 1 circuit handles the charging of slot's 1 & 3 and other handles slot's 2 & 4

What that means is that if you take 2 batteries & place them in slot's 1 & 2 at the same time or 3 & 4, they will both be charged quickly at the full current of 750mA.

If you place them in slot's 1 & 3 or 2 & 4 it will take longer as each battery will be getting just 375mA of current, but charging slower might increase the life of the battery.

Whatever charger you get, read the manual and take note of any precautions in there. For example, the Nitecore manual says you shouldn't charge a single AAA battery on it's own, always charge 2 at a time In slot's 1 & 3 or 2 & 4 so they only get 375mA (750mA current is too much for AAA's & 10440 Li-ion's)

P.S

It was me with the dingo, I'm not a particularly heavy vaper really, I get through about 1 full AeroTank of 22mg strength juice & I swap the 18350 battery out for a fresh one about twice a day.

I just prefer a smaller 18350 mod and carrying a couple of spare batteries. Here it is with an AeroTank

[Deleted]

xtar were around before nitecore and I have an xtar charger I've had for years. Not a prob

[Greg]

Just a comment on the aerotank, there a bdc rather than a bcc like the protank two. The davides are similar but not sure on the davide model numbers. I don't see much difference between the bdc and bcc personally so never bought an aerotank. I already have protank 2's and just bought the aerotank base which is compatible with the protank 2s, the aerotank base is only 3.99. The reasoning mention this is if you decide to recoiling your own heads the bccs are a doodle, the bdc, are not.

I recently bought a couple of bcc davides and mini davides, there ok but more fiddly to fill with juice and I found the drip tips pretty hopeless, protank 2 far superior for me.

[Adam78]

Feb 4, 2014 20:41:09 GMT Greg said:

Just a comment on the aerotank, there a bdc rather than a bcc like the protank two.

You don't have to use the "BDC" (bottom dual coil) units in the AeroTank though.

I just re-build the single coil Evod/Protank heads and use those in the Aerotank mostly (I can't tell much difference between the dual coil & single coil either tbh maybe a slightly thicker vapour)

There's a difference in size between the Aerotank Dual-coil unit (left) & the old Evods (right), the silicone cup sits higher on the aerotank heads, to make room for that extra coil.



When you put a single coil Evod or Protank head in the Aerotank there's a gap between the top of the silicone cup and the bottom of the air tube (hard to photo but you get the idea) so it's not making a seal and you'll get leaks.



Easy fix though, take a spare evod silicone cup and place it back to back with the other one, this'll fit snuggly over the Aerotank air tube and make a seal.



Makes life easier if you're happy with a single coil

(Haven't tried it yet but I can't imagine re-building the dual coil is much different to the single coil..just have to do everything twice lol.)

[purkle]

Feb 4, 2014 15:32:37 GMT giles said:

Feb 4, 2014 12:05:31 GMT purkle said:

Oh, one last thing.. giles, your dingo looks great! 

Nicest thing anyone has said to me this year

But, alas, I don't have a dingo 

Must be someone else

HAHAHA!! oh F, yep it wasn't even..! glad Adam78 liked this too! anyway cheers to all for all your kindnesses

[purkle]

...and the extremely helpful advice keeps getting even more helpful!! what a lovely bunch you lot are So I've done the deed anyway & got an Aerotank & an Anyvape Davide King.. simply because that's what I'd decided on a few hours ago & having spent at least 3 full-time days reading & pondering I thought, f it, go for it! done. however the thing about BDCs being hard to learn to recoil is very useful, quite likely with a decent set-up I'll be fine with BCCs, so really great of ya Adam78 showing me how to wangle it so I can just fit a single coil in my aerotank, that's crackin!

Just one more wee question about the two chargers.. they both seem able to charge single batteries (i.e. treat each battery independently) which would be kinda nice cos I am used to putting a battery on to charge as soon as it has run out, so then if another runs out while no.1 is charging, I can stick it in & not have to wait for the 1st to finish.. so that's ok as long as I'm right..? Just wanted to check does the Nitecore i4 fit 18350 batteries? I'm sure it must do cos that's exactly what you were showing me Adam, it's just that 18350 wasn't listed on the Nitecore website, only 18650 as well as some others I hadn't heard of! Waa, shock horror! ha!

[giles]

The nitecore will happily charge just one battery, or a bunch of different batteries at the same time, and will charge the 18350s fine.
Enjoy.

[Adam78]

Yep it does 18350's no problem & it will charge single batterys quickly at the full 750mA current (don't do that with small AAA or 10440 though, need to do 2 at once with those in slots 1 & 3).

It treats all 4 slots independently so you can pop batteries in and take em out willy nilly and it will charge them fine.

Feb 4, 2014 23:38:36 GMT purkle said:

I am used to putting a battery on to charge as soon as it has run out, so then if another runs out while no.1 is charging, I can stick it in & not have to wait for the 1st to finish..

exactly

If you have an 18350 already charging in slot 1, and then you have another battery you want to charge, pop it in slot 2 next to it.

If you put it in slot 3 instead it will just take a bit longer to charge as the 750mA current will then be split between the 2 batteries.

Quick review of the Nitecore I4 V2 here

[Deleted]

Feb 4, 2014 23:38:36 GMT purkle said:

...and the extremely helpful advice keeps getting even more helpful!! what a lovely bunch you lot are So I've done the deed anyway & got an Aerotank & an Anyvape Davide King.. simply because that's what I'd decided on a few hours ago & having spent at least 3 full-time days reading & pondering I thought, f it, go for it! done. however the thing about BDCs being hard to learn to recoil is very useful, quite likely with a decent set-up I'll be fine with BCCs, so really great of ya Adam78 showing me how to wangle it so I can just fit a single coil in my aerotank, that's crackin!

Just one more wee question about the two chargers.. they both seem able to charge single batteries (i.e. treat each battery independently) which would be kinda nice cos I am used to putting a battery on to charge as soon as it has run out, so then if another runs out while no.1 is charging, I can stick it in & not have to wait for the 1st to finish.. so that's ok as long as I'm right..? Just wanted to check does the Nitecore i4 fit 18350 batteries? I'm sure it must do cos that's exactly what you were showing me Adam, it's just that 18350 wasn't listed on the Nitecore website, only 18650 as well as some others I hadn't heard of! Waa, shock horror! ha!

You've ordered the davide king ...newbie envy

Looks good. Is on my shopping list

[purkle]

Feb 5, 2014 11:02:58 GMT @johanino said:

Feb 4, 2014 23:38:36 GMT purkle said:

davide king ...newbie envy

Looks good. Is on my shopping list

Aww!! feel really bad now esp. as you're giving me the thing which will actually make them useful!! To be honest I was Very Naughty & I think my bank manager is about to deliver a strangulation notice to me personally... eek...!  But I've spent so much money already on zillions of replacement crap bits, loads of clearomisers most of which have been 'dead on arrival' and clone ego batteries 'DOA' as well, that when you recommended the davide to me & I saw a couple of reviews, I thought, well, 'ha! I'm gonna be naughty!'  I get kinda run-away with myself in that way sometimes, probably absolutely no need at all for me to get the aerotank AS WELL (oh no, bank manager's at the buzzer lol!) but I got all a bit overwhelmed in the excitement..!  Hope your shopping list comes into fruition soon me dear.