A Tale Of Two Old Setups...

It all started as I was bored one day and decided to drop by the local vape shop and see what they had for sell. Silly me I bought a "pod mod" to see what all the fuss with the devices was about.

Enter the mod on the far left. A "pod mod". I don't recall what it cost me but it was small and light and not very expensive and the sales person claimed "it won't leak" so I figured - what the heck, I'll get it and make up some 'salts' juice and try it out.

While it was fairly easy to fill and the sales person was right, it did not leak. It did suffer from a number of 'issues'. Namely dismal output, battery life and juice capacity. Did I mention that the "flap" to get at the microUSB connection for charging was challenging? While I tried to make use of it while I enjoyed my morning coffee after a few weeks of ether running out of juice or battery at just the wrong time I started looking else where. However now that I had 30ml of 50mg juice mixed up I though I'd 'upgrade' my "salts dispenser".

Move to the setup in the middle, a Nautilus mini clone (with aftermarket RBA) and a iStick40. While the RBA is downright painful to build on I left the 1.4 ohm Kanthal build on it and filled the 2ml tank with the 50mg juice. The iStick40 is said to have a 2700mah battery (and optional TC with NI coils). The iSticks have their USB ports on the bottom. So with the tank filled up and the iStick charged up I again went about my business. This setup was a vast improvement over the 'pod mod'. Better (but not great, after all it is a Nautilus mini) output, longer battery life and more juice. It felt good to be able to grab some gear out of my stash and put it to use. The setup did have its downsides, namely the filling of the tank. Tanks of this era are filled by unscrewing the bottom+coil/atomizer out of it and squeezing juice directly into the upside down tank and then screwing it back together. While I had a dozen or more of this style of tank in use in my early vaping days, I've grown accustomed to easy top fill tanks so started thinking that I could do better so back to the stash I looked.

Enter the setup on the right. While the mod itself is fairly new (Dicodes 21700) the tank is a eLeaf "Lemo2" (only slightly newer vintage then the Nautilus). This setup gives me 3.2ml of tank, even higher output, top fill ease, longer battery life and TC of the coil. The three drawbacks of this setup are that its MUCH larger and heavier than the pod mod that I started out with and the only way to get new energy into the mod is swap batteries. Last and importantly (for those that like to use coil wrecking flavors) is that the only way to service the coil is complete disassembly of the entire tank to gain access to the coil. (not much of a worry when vaping pure unflavored juice).

This is the setup I've been using while enjoying my morning cup of coffee though. Just all part of a evolution.  

Greetings, while looking through my photo archive I found images that help show my beginning steps in vaping. I need to point out that during the work day I use losenges that I get from Costco so only smoked in the mornings before work and the afternoons after work.

Here's the first one taken July 6th 2015:


In March/April of 2015 the other half started complaining about my cigarette smoke. She had a eye issue that she found was sensitive to the smoke when returning from visiting her daughter. (she would get used to it but would complain when he first got back)

Looking to solve the problem possibly with Vaping, I picked up a Blue kit and some extra cartridges from (of all places Costco). It was not all that expensive and the batteries (or cartridges) did not last very long or put out much vapor. They did have a "coffee" flavor I did like. I continued smoking.

Next time she left for a few days with her daughter I dropped by a local vape shop and for ~$75-100 (I forget) they set me up with a iTaste CLK!, Aspire K1 (and Maxi) and 15ml of 18mg Strawberry juice. While it took 3 days to get used to the charging/refilling/exc of the setup I quit smoking with this setup. The 1.5ml tank and mere 800mah battery were the main limitations as well as "glassomizers" really did not put out much vapor.

With in a few days I'd upgrade the tank to a Nautilus mini and shortly afterwards I'd get Full sized Nautilus tanks and the Blue tube mod shown in the center. While this mod was a good match to the Nautilus tank, I grew tired of swapping 18350's so bought the other two tube mods to the right. One could take ether 2x18350's stacked or a 18650 and the Vamo v10 on the right could take a stacked set of 18350's.

By July of that year I had given up on "drop in coil" tanks (the store bought juice I was using was killing them in as little as a few days) and had decided to take the plunge into RTA's and into temperature controlled vaping.


At the time the two leaders in TC vaping was DNA and Yihi. I bought a SXMini ($200) and three different popular (at the time) tanks: Atlantis, SubtankMini and Lemo2. Two of the three could be used with factory coils or a RBA head, the Lemo2 had the unique feature of top fill. (I still use a Lemo2 today!)

Back in those days if you wanted to TC, you were going to do it with Ni200 wire. I decided I liked the 28AWG. A few weeks later I had added two more mods:


By this point in my vaping journey I was developing a few habits: I was 'marrying' a flavor with a tank, a tank with a mod and all battery charging was being done via USB port. I just cycled complete setups on two USB charge cords I had. Others liked complaining about the SXMini's battery door but I had no issue with it as I'd only used it once.

Sometime that summer (or was it fall?) I got tired of paying the outlandish juice prices and decided to make my own. Granted for YEARS I simply made 7mg or 18mg unflavored 100% VG juice but the cost savings allowed me to get dozens of different tanks and mods to play with and try out.

By April 2016 I took this image:


TC vaping had evolved from from Ni200 wire to Ti to NiFe48 and SS. Early TC mods only supported Ni200 (and some Ti) and newer ones supported SS. Mods I've bought had to have a user programmable TCR value. I've been exclusively using NiFe48 for years.

Finally by about 2019 I decided to get into vaping flavors. Knowing that RDA's or Squankers give the best flavor, I outfitted myself (Bullcity flavors) with a bunch of squankers and now have the option of vaping flavors. (many of my squankers are in my profile image)

NOTE: only one mod in the images I've shown is dead and no longer able to be in service.

These days I have mods scattered all over the house but in/for 5 main areas: morning coffee, home office, watching tv, night stand and to take with me in the car/truck.

Thats my story and journey - happy vaping!


g.  

Temperature control testing results are available for the DiCoDes Dani 25 using the stock SS profile, he imgur.com/a/89GNaPJ

or

Temperature Control Testing Results: DiCoDes Dani25 tube mod (~$300 USD) : electronic_cigarette

TLDR: This is a $400 AUD mod that doesnt produce a premium temperature control experience in many states. The method of temperature control this mod uses produces a wavy temperature experience you can both hear and feel in most cases. Like PWM, it creates a band of temperature outcomes from pulsing more power than it needs to keep the coil temperature maintained. It mostly succeeds at providing dry hit protection, but unless you are using high resistance high or high mass builds, there are smoother and more accurate outcomes on a range of cheaper mod. The TCR value can only be set in 5C steps so that makes it impossible to dial in but fortunately the built in SS mode (TCR92) is reasonably accurate and consistent on average. Overall the default SS setting is slightly under the set temperature. Between the premium priced boards, both DNA and YiHi methods produce a better temperature control outcome than this DiCoDes board in terms of smoothness, accuracy and range around the set temperature (I think objectively?). If someone wants to lend me a different DiCoDes to test, I will pay for shipping and be very careful with it.  

So I decided to get another clearomizer and the Donner by Amigo Itsuwa is what I got to replace my Aspire Atlantis.....
So here are my thoughts on it and it's just My Opinion:

Holds 4mls of juice - holds more juice so I'm not refilling my tank 2-3 times a day
.50hm Coil head is cotton & Kanthal wire & a wire mesh around the opening for better wicking ( You can use Atlantis coil in this thing and it's better in this tank then it is in the Atlantis) It comes with 2.
There's no notches or trying to center the coil head. It sits in the Clearo and just sucks juice lol
Great Flavor sub-ohm - The flavor you get from this is amazing, I was a little taken back bc I chose a sour raspberry and it really was more sour tasting then in any of the other tanks I had the same juice in
I personally like the drip tip but it's not for everybody
Adjustable air flow control is a wide slot - It's a slide around, but the draw from almost closed to full open is nice any way you wanna vape.
Vape production is great I use 10/90vg - 20/80vg


There are some things I don't like about this tank...
Priming the coil is a process - on a fresh coil the directions state to drop a few drops onto the coil, then once tank is filled let sit for 1-2 minutes prior to use. On your second fill of the clearo you have to let the coil sit for 2 minutes b4 use....I kinda wanna fill and vape, not fill and wait
Holding 4mls of juice is great, but if you can't vape 1ml of juice at the bottom of your tank it sucks. You can't vape the last ml of juice because the coil head sits to high so it can't wick the remaining juice.
I did find that when I put the Atlantis coil head in that the wicking was alot better then the coils that it came with, now this could be bc I am using a high vg juice.

So let's talk price....I bought this at a B&M so I paid A LOT more then what I've found online.
My price was $45.00
I have found these online for as little as $23.00
and for this price I would probably buy it again, not for $45.00
Iv'e been vaping on this for about a week now, I've gone through 2 coil heads in 4 days & now put the Atlantis coil head in it and am having better luck with it.
So there's my thoughts on my new clearomizer.  

Hi everybody, I have lost track of new vaping gear and need an advice.
Finally one of my mods died. The newest one, Joyetech eVic Primo. Bad from the beginning (because of its faulty protection) it just stopped working. Another mod should die soon. It is a clone of iStick 30, 4+ years old. It's my best mode, but its battery already is at about of half capacity (after about 1500 charges).
So, now I use iStick 30, iStick Pico 25 and iStick Pico. Tanks (from best to worst) Kayfun 5, Siren 2, Ammit, OBS Engine NANO.
I need a new mod and, possibly, a new tank.
Thanks for reading.  

I only have this problem with one juice flavor. It has to be the juice. Same tank and setup as all my others. I have a fresh coil and tank, load it up, and in less than a day my coil is gunked up and turns my clear juice dark brown. Is this safe to vape? It's annoying having to finish it and rinse my coil. Usually I can just fill my tank/top it off without worrying about cleaning it all. Anyone else have this issue?  

Haven't vaped in like 8 years? So most of everything is new to me now..
But I did a little reading and I figured out a few things I need in a vape, but really there is so much, it's kinda hard to know what is good and what is not for brands and styles, so I'm hoping I can get some help by experienced vapers here.

I'm looking to quit smoking and here's what I'm looking for in a vape setup.

MTL Mouth to Lung setup so I can draw in and then inhale like a cigarette, but I would like a decent cloud. Not looking for huge, just good and maybe be able to slightly adjust what gets produced with using only 50/50 juice blends.

RTA setup? I need a rebuildable coil tank system.
I need to keep my maintenance cost low, so I need to be able to rebuild new coils.

No leak tank is a must. Needs to lay down on side on table and keep in pocket.

1 battery or 2. Doesn't matter much.

Would like a smaller mouthpiece compared to the larger style so I can get a good MTL draw.

Not sure what my options are for tanks and box mods or pen style? I think I need some kind of box mod? So i can slightly fine tune watts, volts to my coils if it just doesn't feel right and needs minor adjustments? Also like the option showing how many seconds used or draws.

There's so many tanks out there, but it's hard to tell what is really good.
The battery side, I really have no idea what I would need... watts, ohms, voltage.. with all the combinations, I can figure out what I really need..

Not looking to just be easy simple. I want good quality and I can only buy once.. I can't really afford it as it is, but I need to stop smoking..
But I want to buy once and be good for long time and not wish I bought something else. I just don't have the money to play around like that..

So I hope I can get some help here or suggestions to get me looking in the right direction for tank and battery side system.

Quality brands?
Brands to pass on because there is better options?  

Hi all
Couldn't find the topic on VW mods
so I thought I'd post my question here..
I have two IPV4's that have been great running kanthel builds in the power mode,
but I really don't see a difference running the NI200 Atlantis coils in joules mode using the Temperature Control feature of the IPV4..In fact I get a burnt taste in the Atlantis after vaping a tank of juice running the .12 ohm NI200 coil from Vapor Shark..
Now the mod hits great with the kanthel coils in the Starre and Herkakes sub tanks and is great with the .2 ohm kanthel build in the Dark horse at 65w (power mode) but so far TC has been a real disappointment for me

sent from my XT1080 via Tapatalk  

okay so don't laugh but this is really an amazing vaping experience/setup for me! I have two batteries and a dual 18650 charger, so I never have to charge onboard nor do I find myself with no power since I always have at least one charging. I love the simplicity of the cloupor mini 30w. Between the magnetic battery door, simplistic screen/button setup, and the overall minuscule appearance of it, I think she's beautiful! The arctic tank however, I've had a could problems, but not too bad (Yes, I did allow my atomizer head to soak for a full 24 hours in juice.) Before I get into that tanks problems though, I'd like to also include that I've been getting into dripping aswell. I bought a plume veil clone a while ago for around 30$, and i was dumb enough to think that there was no need for a VV mod over $15... therefore I bought an X6 battery (cringe, I know..) and long story short I had a terrible experience. the wire that came with the rda was iffy, and it also came with silica wick; which I hate. I ended up building some kinda ****ed up maelstrom of a build. I used the cotton ends of ear cleaners, the questionable wire that came with the atty, and I ran it all at a mind melting 4.4v. Best part of it is that I had no way to check how many ohms I was pushin out. Anyways, I digress. First problem with the Arctic sub ohm tank was the "Check atomizer" deal on my cloupor. The problem was that the connector pin for the mini 30w isn't spring loaded, so I had to whip out the mini screw driver and adjust it. Once that was fixed, the atty was working perfectly!! Except, I was getting a little burnt taste. That's when I've learned that with this tank you have to start at a low wattage and work up to 30 when you're starting vaping for that session. The airflow is good, but I hate airflow; so it's even more splendid that the lowest airflow setting is barely any air at all. Really. It feels like sucking through a brick, and I like it. A ton of flavor, I vape eucalyptus mint flavored juice right now, and I'm loving it. I can't even express to you guys how much I'm loving this thing! Thanks for the advice in telling me to get it!  

Evic VT 60W by Joyetech PREORDER | Vape Street


eVic VT 60W PREORDER

ONLY $65 DURING PREORDER!!

Presenting the eVic-VT 60W, its new cutting edge technology of temperature control, embodying the concept of a healthy alternative lifestyle. eVic-VT features a super large OLED screen, supporting VT-Ti (Titanium)/ VT-Ni (Nickel)/ VW mode, and battery capacity of 5000mah.
The Variable Temperature (VT) brings out a different flavor experience with the change of temperature settings, not only improving the taste,but also saving battery and liquid consumption. eVic-VT is not your typical vape, it’s an evolutionary start.
Features:
Size: 47*25.5*85.6mm
Capacity: 5000mAh
Output mode: VT-Ti/VT-Ni/VW Mode
Temperature Range: 100-315℃/200-600˚F
Output Wattage: VT Mode:1W-60W
VW Mode:1W-50W
Output Voltage: 0.5V-8.0V
Resistance Range: 0.05-1.0ohm for VT mode
0.15-3.5ohm for VW mode
Color: Racing Yellow, Cool Black, Dazzling White
eVic-VT Visual Display:
VT-Ti mode/VT-Ni mode/VW
Wattages/ Voltages
Atomizer Resistance
Battery power/Puff/Time
ETA: Approximately mid June 2015