My first mod: Penny Mod (Clone)

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

So I decided I would step it up and buy a mod. I wanted to enjoy my vaping experience as much as possible. It's been kind of bland thus far, even with my Vision Spinner II and Aspire Nautilus Mini. I see exhibitionists blowing clouds that captivate and awe people, but my clouds are intermediate, to say the most. I want big clouds. I want to fill my room with vapor. The three things I love about vaping are the flavors, the customization, and the clouds. I want big clouds.

I stopped into a shop yesterday and dropped $85 on a Penny Mod clone, a Sony 18650 VTC4 battery, a charger, and a 10ml of 3mg fluid. I already had a Nimbus drip atomizer laying around from earlier experimentation that didn't go well.

I'm very new to dripping and mods, as this thread entirely suggests thus far. I'm hoping to really tune up my experience with this new set up. Once the charger light turns from red to green I'll report back with my thoughts.

OB61887 · Nov 2, 2014

Good Luck. If you want advice I can go on and on, but experimentation is the best way to learn imo.

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

I guess a little bit of beginners advice wouldn't hurt. Although the battery is mostly dead, the small hits I did get out of my rig so far have been rather strong and caused me to almost cough. As I said though, I got 3mg nicotine in my juice. Is there something I'm missing thus far?

OB61887 · Nov 2, 2014

For the throat hit, I recommend getting more VG and less PG. I drip 70/30 or more VG. Also, you will get more consistent clouds with a regulated mod. The benefits of a mech are you can sub ohm as low as you feel safe going, but regulated will get low enough to make huge clouds. Also, you get style. But yea, if you currently use a 50/50 blend, the easiest way for you to get the most improvement is getting a high VG juice.

Also, what coil build are you using? I like 20/22 for mechs, but they take a second or 2 to heat up. Also, make sure you know your battery before going that low. VTC4 is a pretty safe battery though.

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

I think the mix I got for the drip is 80/20. (20% flavor, made with PG base.) So I got that part down. I don't really know what the ohms are for my Nimbus RDA. And the coil is just how it came standard. (Double.) I don't know what your 20/22 means, either, haha. Ultimately, I don't know much at all.

I was told the Penny Mod, being made out of copper, would make a pretty quick connection and head up quicker than most others. The guy seemed like he knew what he was talking about.

A question I do have though, on the charger for my mod batteries, it has a switch on the side that can be set to either 4.2 or 3.0. I don't know which to put it on. I think it says on my battery 3.7, but that doesn't help me.

And one other thing, on the battery it says 3.7v, but does that mean that's the maximum I will get out of it? My Spinner II goes up to 4.8 and produces an okay hit, but below 4.3, not so much. I don't really know what it is about a mod or a drip that is supposed to give such a better hit.

OB61887 · Nov 2, 2014

I'm not sure, but it sounds like the switch on the charger is the voltage it charges at. For a VTC4, I believe most cut off at about 4.2 volts anyways so I would go with 4.2. The 3.7V is the nominal voltage, but fully charged you will usually get 4.2 or 4.3.

The 20/22 was the gauge wire. Lower gauge is thicker, has lower resistance, takes longer to heat up, and gets hotter. Ohms is the resistance of your coil. Hard to explain and imo hard to understand. It is electrical engineering stuff. The short of it, with the VTC4, I would say if you get below .2 ohms you should be paying attention to your battery. If you go below .1, you should really know what you are doing. Otherwise you are ok. You also use the ohms and voltage to calculate your wattage which is the power going to your coil. Regulated mods will do this for you but on mechs, if you care, you calculate this yourself with an ohms law calculator.

As for how to get more vapor, it depends on what you want. I like warmer vape and try to build between 20 and 24 for by RDAs. I am vaping a 22 gauge single coil on a DNA30 in a plume veil clone right now, and it is nice. The most clouds I got are either from dual 20 gauge on a mech, which took a couple seconds to heat up and had muted flavor, or dual 24 gauge on a sigelei 100W at 75 watts.

The last thing to pay attention to is the diameter of your build. Coils are generally macro (large diameter), micro (small diameter), nano or super nano. There isn't a strict standard, but I base mine off a precision set of screwdrivers. I prefer macros, but I am told that micros and nanos get more flavor. In my experience I don't taste it and I get more vapor from macros.

Coils are probably where you will spend most of your time experimenting to find what you like and what works for you. One you are comfortable with the basics, there are some crazy coils you can build. But I found the simple ones work better for me. Maybe I am just messing up the crazy ones.

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

Hmm. So, I've got the battery fully charged and it adjusted so that the battery doesn't rattle in the Penny Mod. I've also got it adjusted so that the Nimbus makes a good connection, as well, but I don't get any better hits than that of a standard eGo single voltage battery. Kind of disapointed, but I'm sure I'm just doing something wrong.

baltoace · Nov 2, 2014

Do you have a Ohm reader to see what your current set-up is?

OB61887 · Nov 2, 2014

Depending on the quality of the mod, it sounds like a voltage drop. My first mod was a panzer clone that was horrible because of voltage drop. You can check with a voltage meter. Personally, I would recommend going with a regulated mod over a mech if you are starting out. It will be more pricy than the clones though.

AmandaD · Nov 2, 2014

You need to know the ohm reading of your build to get a better answer.

bryyyanjsb · Nov 2, 2014

it sounds like you didn't build the coil yourself? from my understanding you are using what the rda came with. (pre built coil). those pre-built coils are usually pretty high ohms and are built poorly.

there are a lot of videos on YouTube that will teach you how to build a nice coil

should help you get started

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

Very nice videos. Given the time of night, are there any household goods I could use to attempt to rebuild this Nimbus? I found a video saying he was using "ribbon wire" (and also referred to it as kanthol* wire), and I've seen people use cotton, too.

AmandaD · Nov 2, 2014

No you need kanthal wire!

AmandaD · Nov 2, 2014

Sorry cant edit on Tapatalk. You also need an ohm reader!

Celtic Fog · Nov 2, 2014

ribbon wire is kanthal, just flat. Set your charger on the 4.2 , ohm meter is a definite must, use coiltoy to help get the coil math done for you in the meanwhile, but you will need to know what size wire you have. keep it above .5 on the coil calculator if you don't have the meter. I just got my first mech the other day, and I'm loving it! your battery will take anywhere from 4 to 6 or more hours to fully charge the first time, and you might need to adjust the 510 pin on the top of the mod to make full contact with the atty, and you might need to adjust the fire pin on the bottom to make contact as well, you dont want any battery rattle when it is together. That will be a sign that things need to be adjusted on the inside. I chain vape, so I ended up getting 3 efest purple 2500 mah 35a batteries to last through the whole day lol....got two more coming in vape mail this week too.
http://coiltoy.ermeso.com/
I have found that 26g and 28g, dual coils have been giving me the best vape, setting them at around .4 ohms, also using some of the cool wires that vaporgrundge.com sent me, but my atty's holes are to small to use most of them...new atty in the mail now too lol. Have fun with it!!

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

Anywhere local I can buy this kanthal wire and wick?

AmandaD · Nov 2, 2014

Any vape shop should have it - in fact, they'll do a build for you and (should) show you how to do it. Make sure you know what resistance you want and want you actually get if they do the build for you!

Celtic Fog · Nov 2, 2014

buy a box of cellucotton Regular 100% Rayon from Sallys beauty supply, a 3# box will cost you 15 bux and last years, wire can be bought in stores, but they charge an arm and a leg, lightningvapes.com has a great price and fast deliver! Got three rolls from him already. Start with 26g and 28g, the 30g is too puny and the 24g takes to long to heat up,(i do have a dual 24g set up at .2ohms that makes clouds like a mofo though lol, just takes to long to get it going, killed my battery in 20 minutes too hahahaha)

Zombiewoof · Nov 2, 2014

Just too add, I use Coil Toy as well, some folks will suggest Steam Engine as an alternative ( http://www.steam-engine.org/coil.asp ). If you happen to have a multi-meter handy and you already know how to use it, that would be a great benefit, otherwise as suggested get an Ohm reader with a 510 connection like these ( ) maybe not that one exactly, but something similar. You can buy Kanthal from Amazon or from Temco directly ( http://www.temcoindustrialpower.com/search.html?search_bar=1&t1=Kanthal&submit.x=0&submit.y=0) Geez I hope all these links work....please be careful and use good judgment, as suggested if you can, go back to your local vape shop and have them build you some coils and show you how it's done. It's not really that hard. Always keep battery safety in mind and vape on!!

WZV · Nov 2, 2014

I don't necessarily have time to order anything online. I'm leaving Friday to live abroad for 6 months in a country that vaping is strictly prohibited. Thus, I was hoping to find the supplies locally.

bryyyanjsb · Nov 2, 2014

AmandaD said:
Sorry cant edit on Tapatalk. You also need an ohm reader!

you can edit on tapatalk. just tap on your post that you want to edit then tap on the pencil at the top.

AmandaD · Nov 2, 2014

WZV said:
I don't necessarily have time to order anything online. I'm leaving Friday to live abroad for 6 months in a country that vaping is strictly prohibited. Thus, I was hoping to find the supplies locally.

Your best bet is to try and find a local vape shop that can sell you kanthal and something to measure ohms (or you can get a multimeter at a hardware store) - I use rayon, but you can use cotton or silica if you prefer. Or you can order 100 feet of 26 or 28 gauge Tempco kanthal online from Ebay tonight and probaby get it by Wednesday! (Vape shops often charge $1/foot - you can buy 100 feet for around $6).

Celtic Fog · Nov 3, 2014

yeah lightning vapes has free 3 day shipping, or its around 6 bux to get it by wednesday if you order tonight, they have wire and wick. local shops are always good when you can. Just google up Vape shop and your city.

OBDave · Nov 3, 2014

Congratulations on your new pipe bomb!

Seriously, there's lots of good advice here, though it's just scratching the surface...first off, you NEED an ohm checker and some means of measuring your battery's power, be it a multimeter or a good charger with digital output. I personally wouldn't recommend going below 1 ohm on your first few builds until you've got a firm hand on what you're doing and the coils you think you're making measure out to the same resistance on your checker with some consistency.

For batteries, your VTC4 is a good one, though you should have several (at least a pair, 4 if you're going to sub-ohm) to cycle through. Batteries don't like to go straight from the charger into service, and then straight back into the charger. In an ideal world, your batteries charge to 4.2v, then you vape them down to 3.7v and recharge - you can go a little lower, but if you're noticing a significant output drop as compared to a fresh charge it's past time to swap out. I personally pulled my batteries and checked them on a multimeter every 10 pulls or so for about a week until I learned to gauge my battery charge by feel.

Get the tools you need, learn to use them, and watch a few videos on coil building and it'll go a long way toward turning that bomb into a safe and functional mod. Until then please don't vape that sucker in a public place.

Sorry to come across so harsh, but while I really want you to find the best vape possible, I'm even more worried about you doing it safely. Good luck!

Kenneth98 · Nov 3, 2014

I like the vapor in my room with my mech mod . But my box mod is huge vapor than it . I want improve it .

Chainvapor · Nov 3, 2014

OHM METER is a MUST for anyone to build safely. I have 2 Ohm Checkers. DO NOT BUILD WITHOUT THIS TOOL!!!

CV

AdamSenior · Nov 3, 2014

http://101vape.com/meters/170-ohms-meter.html

this here is a great meter to use. but honestly I would suggest not using a mech if you don't know about ohms and maybe just buy a kanger mega tank with their subohm coil heads, it will be a lot safer, also get a regulated mod that has safety features built in might be a good idea to. be safe and have fun!

Slodog79 · Nov 3, 2014

You must educate yourself with ohms law at the least. There are even apps you can put on your phone that can assist you with your build. I would not feel comfortable holding a mod to my face that I did not know the resistance of the coil. So in short, stick with the spinner until you educate yourself.

WZV · Nov 5, 2014

Well, I decided to go into a shop and have them rebuild it for me. After paying $12.99 for the rebuild, $5.99 for juice, and mistakenly thinking I was only going to be paying for the 1ft or so of wire I needed for the build, I ended up paying $28. -_- Anyways, even after the rebuild, it hits like crap. The flavor is strong, and I love that. But as far as the clouds go... not so much. My Smok Micro RDC on my Vision Spinner II makes much better clouds than my new rig.

What could be the problem here? I think she did it with 6 wraps on both sides (dual-coil), which should work fine, no?

OB61887 · Nov 5, 2014

First thing that comes to mind is a bad mod. Sounds like voltage drop.

AmandaD · Nov 5, 2014

If the flavor is strong and it hits hard, and all you're missing is clouds I would think it's the RDA. Airflow perhaps?

WZV · Nov 5, 2014

With the top off, exposing the coils and cotton, when I pulse it it burns really well and looks like it will create a big cloud. But after piecing it back together and hitting it, it's a very flimsy cloud. May be the airflow. I guess I'll attempt to bore it out a little bit tomorrow. About how big should I go?

AmandaD · Nov 5, 2014

I get huge clouds on my regular old Igo-W with the airholes drilled out to 1/16. They need to be bigger to cool it down for me, but I do get big clouds. Do you do lung hits or mouth to lung?

Wanted to add, you're sure the airholes are directly by the coils?

WZV · Nov 5, 2014

Directly to lungs. And yeah, I have the holes lined up. The girl that rebuilt it for me suggested I drill the holes. I guess I'll try that tonight or tomorrow and see if it works!

AmandaD · Nov 5, 2014

WZV said:
Directly to lungs. And yeah, I have the holes lined up. The girl that rebuilt it for me suggested I drill the holes. I guess I'll try that tonight or tomorrow and see if it works!

Do you know what resistance she built it at? Did she check the ohms? (I'm guessing not).

WZV · Nov 5, 2014

She said she was going to check but then she forgot, I guess. 24g, 6 wraps on each side, that's all I know!

AmandaD · Nov 5, 2014

WZV said:
She said she was going to check but then she forgot, I guess. 24g, 6 wraps on each side, that's all I know!

That's pretty low - maybe 0.2ohms? You need big airholes for that in my experience - mine aren't quite big enough at 1/16 for 0.3 ohm.

WZV · Nov 5, 2014

Alright, so I found a dremel tool and made one of the holes larger. There was no measurement on it, but it's substantially larger than the preexisting hole, while also much smaller than the only drill bit I found, which was 9/64. Now it hits a lot better, almost as good as I hoped it would. I didn't bore the other hole out because I was afraid it would be too much. What do you guys think?

WZV · Nov 5, 2014

Here's the new hole.

And here's the size that it was. (This is the hole that is untouched on the other side.

Andddd, here's one of the two coils.

AmandaD · Nov 5, 2014

That looks better - how does it vape when both are this size?

Also, that coil looks really burned, as is your cotton! Are both coils lighting up evenly at the same time?

WZV · Nov 6, 2014

Neither coil lights up, but they smoke evenly when I light it. I don't really know how often I should replace my cotton, nor my coils!

WZV · Nov 6, 2014

And I haven't bored out the other side yet, because I'm afraid it will be too much. If it's too much, I can't go back, it'd be ruined.

AmandaD · Nov 6, 2014

WZV said:
And I haven't bored out the other side yet, because I'm afraid it will be too much. If it's too much, I can't go back, it'd be ruined.

Actually I was just reading another thread somewhere around here, and it looks as if most people run a Numbus with a single coil. I think if you run two coils with one big airhole and one small it will affect the burning unevenly - but I could be wrong.

WZV · Nov 6, 2014

They were burnt before I drilled one hole out. But yes, that makes sense. I suppose I'll drill the other one tomorrow. Should I be concerned about burnt coils?

AmandaD · Nov 6, 2014

WZV said:
They were burnt before I drilled one hole out. But yes, that makes sense. I suppose I'll drill the other one tomorrow. Should I be concerned about burnt coils?

You need to remove the old wick, dry burn the coils, and put in a new wick! I usually do this every few days, depending on the juice. Some juices will gunk up coils more often.

WZV · Nov 6, 2014

Are charred coils something to be weary of? Or just burnt cotton?

AmandaD · Nov 6, 2014

When they look like that you lose a lot of flavor and vapor. Burned cotton (or rayon) makes the juice taste nasty. So when they get like that you need ot clean them up - it's not hard to do. Remove the wicking material and pulse a few times until the gunk comes off. You may need to rinse under cold water. I fire them again before I rewick. In all of this, make sure you're not running your battery too low. Then just rewick with fresh cotton.

WZV · Nov 6, 2014

This morning upon waking, it no longer hits as well. -_- I replaced the cotton to no avail. It also tastes burnt after 3-5 hits. So I decided to toy around with it. I took one of the coils out to try out single coil, then I made a coil of my own. (All with a fully charged battery.) I don't think I'm really enjoying the mod/drip as much as I should, haha. It's all such a great hassle.

I think when I return from my travels I'll just invest in the best battery I can get as well as the best non-drip tank to try to get the best clouds and flavor without all the hassle.

ButtKickers · Nov 6, 2014

You're not gong to get more than 3-5 hits without re dripping. It ain't a tank bro.

Hit YouTube, and watch rip trippers do a bunch of build, and LEARN about what you are doing bro

WZV · Nov 6, 2014

I'm a constant vaper, so maybe dripping isn't for me if I have to reload every few hits. Come to find out, my Nautilus mini works quite well on my Penny Mod. Chances are I'll get some variable voltage Innokin battery and stick it with my Nautilus mini or get the mega Nautilus.

My first mod: Penny Mod (Clone)

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