Very First Mod Setup, A Little Confused

dww970 · Oct 3, 2015

Hello!
I decided to go ahead and get into the vaping game. I did a little research, and I enjoy tinkering, so I started with a Lemo2 atomizer (glass tank less likely to absorb flavors & replaceable coil + adjustable airflow) and was recommended an Eleaf Istick 100w box mod.
I've used it for about 24 hrs now at 3v, 20w. So far I've been pretty impressed.
So what's the significance of the voltage and wattage settings? I guess the wattage ups the intensity of the vapor? Is there a best-case setting for my particular atomizer? Will cranking it up to 100 set it on fire?
Sorry for the noob questions.

OBDave · Oct 3, 2015

100 is probably higher than you want to go - what's your coil resistance? What batteries are you using?

You're probably going to want to stick with wattage, as it's a more precise measure of power. Your ideal wattage, however, will depend on your build and vaping habits...if you're liking 20 watts great! Dial it up slowly until things stop getting better and start going downhill, then you've found your sweet spot.

fat fingered flubs courtesy dumb mobile phone

dww970 · Oct 3, 2015

Thank you, that makes sense. I tried it in the 75 range and it was like a fog machine. Entirely too much at once! I'm a tobacco pipe and occasional cigar smoker, so I've never inhaled very often, I prefer it the same way for now for vaping as well. I barely have the air vents open to create a tighter draw.

These are manufacturer specs. It still has the factory coil. What is this telling me exactly?
"Rated Resistance Range: ≥0.3Ω
(Default configurations: )
Resistance of the Pre-made Coil: 0.5Ω
Diameter of the coil: 0.5mm"

Also, are acrylic drip tubes only used for drip style vaping, or can they be used with a tank as a more comfortable mouth piece instead of the default stainless one?

ChrisL · Oct 4, 2015

You can use any drip tip you want as long as it fits, and it doesn't get too hot...

dww970 · Oct 4, 2015

So I've learned today I'm doing "sub ohm" vaping. I've never been an electrical wiz, what does all this mean?

Saddletramp1200 · Oct 4, 2015

Welcome, there can be great enjoyment from vaping. If you don't inhale Bravo. I don't recommend learning. Your lungs are pristine, leave them that way. Were EX smokers. This may not be a hobby for you. Vaping won't hurt you as far as I know. Just think you might enjoy another hobby.

dww970 · Oct 4, 2015

Saddletramp1200 said:
Welcome, there can be great enjoyment from vaping. If you don't inhale Bravo. I don't recommend learning. Your lungs are pristine, leave them that way. Were EX smokers. This may not be a hobby for you. Vaping won't hurt you as far as I know. Just think you might enjoy another hobby.

Thanks for the welcome Saddletramp! I've been smoking tobacco pipes and cigars for close to a decade, most of us pipe smokers and especially cigar smokers don't inhale, it's just not necessary for those forms of smoking. I'm picking up vaping mainly for the technical side of it, learning how to do mod box builds, building coils, and maybe even creating my own e-juice blends. I'm not trying to quit smoking. I'm in my mid thirties and enjoy pipe tobacco and cigars quite a bit.
I'm getting into vaping as a hobby. There are flavor profiles you can get with an atomizer that you just can't with tobacco.

PuffPuffPass · Oct 15, 2015

dww970 said:
So I've learned today I'm doing "sub ohm" vaping. I've never been an electrical wiz, what does all this mean?

Not answering your question directly. But sub ohming allows you to run higher wattage.

Although I think you could do just as well, without sub ohming. It will definitely allow you to taste some flavors more vividly. A watt or two, here or there. Can change the taste tremendously with any juice.

Good luck in your endeavors.

pulsevape · Oct 15, 2015

Saddletramp1200 said:
Welcome, there can be great enjoyment from vaping. If you don't inhale Bravo. I don't recommend learning. Your lungs are pristine, leave them that way. Were EX smokers. This may not be a hobby for you. Vaping won't hurt you as far as I know. Just think you might enjoy another hobby.

of course vaping will hurt you...our lungs are designed to breathe air not bobba's bounty......or swedishfishbrekfastcerealvanillacustard.....I agree if you're not an ex smoker find another hobby.if you've been smoking for less than 5 years get off vaping as soon as you can.

PuffPuffPass · Oct 15, 2015

I'm not seeing a lot of knowledge in this thread. Inhaling is not required, it just speeds the delivery up.

Pipe and Cigar smoking are habit forming. The method of Nic delivery is similar but different, and it still gets delivered. While many of us have a goal of quitting entirely. We have to remember, vaping can help others, whether they inhale or not.

Many people recommend that "smokers" who have trouble inhaling the vapor. Simply pull it into their mouths, much like a cigar or pipe smoker does.

Jimi · Oct 15, 2015

To answer your question [what is sub-ohming] using a coil that has a resistance of under 1 ohm [example .8ohm or .2ohm both are sub cause they are less than 1ohm]

VaperJay · Oct 15, 2015

Personally, I have an IPV4 which can crank up to 120w with the new update. If I'm ever using it in power mode though 60w is the highest I put it depending on the ohms of the coils and 30-40w is more typical. To answer your "Will it burst into flames?" question the answer is unless you've perfected wicking, are using the higher watt settings with a coil that can push those watts, and your wick is saturated; yes it probably will burst into flame at 100w, I know mine does!

I see you are already subohming and to probably echo the others here I will say that if you are not an electrical whiz make sure you have 30a batteries and use both a calculator and an ohm reader when building! Better safe than BOOM.

BoomStick · Oct 15, 2015

VaperJay said:
Personally, I have an IPV4 which can crank up to 120w with the new update. If I'm ever using it in power mode though 60w is the highest I put it depending on the ohms of the coils and 30-40w is more typical. To answer your "Will it burst into flames?" question the answer is unless you've perfected wicking, are using the higher watt settings with a coil that can push those watts, and your wick is saturated; yes it probably will burst into flame at 100w, I know mine does!

I see you are already subohming and to probably echo the others here I will say that if you are not an electrical whiz make sure you have 30a batteries and use both a calculator and an ohm reader when building! Better safe than BOOM.

A 100 watt istick will never pull even 20 amps per cell as long as two batteries are installed. 20 amp batteries are sufficient. Variable wattage devices don't work like mechs.

VaperJay · Oct 17, 2015

Hmm, you are correct that it shouldn't ever pull more than that but when I was purchasing my IPV4 and asked around about batteries everyone on here still told me to go thirty amp vct4 even though it wasn't a mech. Perhaps I was misinformed on the matter. Something about variable devices still being able to fail and short from what I recall (however rare that might be on a variable device), even with the chip between the atty and batteries.

pulsevape · Oct 17, 2015

VaperJay said:
Hmm, you are correct that it shouldn't ever pull more than that but when I was purchasing my IPV4 and asked around about batteries everyone on here still told me to go thirty amp vct4 even though it wasn't a mech. Perhaps I was misinformed on the matter. Something about variable devices still being able to fail and short from what I recall (however rare that might be on a variable device), even with the chip between the atty and batteries.

regulated mod should have built in fail safes.

BoomStick · Oct 18, 2015

If something shorts it won't matter what kind of batteries you're using. 20 amp cells would be fine if you don't go over around 120-130 watts. Regularly running in that range or higher would make 30 amp cells the ones you'd want to use.

OBDave · Oct 20, 2015

dww970 said:
Thank you, that makes sense. I tried it in the 75 range and it was like a fog machine. Entirely too much at once! I'm a tobacco pipe and occasional cigar smoker, so I've never inhaled very often, I prefer it the same way for now for vaping as well. I barely have the air vents open to create a tighter draw.

These are manufacturer specs. It still has the factory coil. What is this telling me exactly?
"Rated Resistance Range: ≥0.3Ω
(Default configurations: )
Resistance of the Pre-made Coil: 0.5Ω
Diameter of the coil: 0.5mm"

Also, are acrylic drip tubes only used for drip style vaping, or can they be used with a tank as a more comfortable mouth piece instead of the default stainless one?

1. Your device can fire any coil with a resistance of 0.3 ohm or higher - don't buy anything advertised with a lower resistance coil, though most (not all) really low-resistance coils are designed for temperature-limiting (TC or temperature control is the popular term) devices.

2. You're using a 0.5 ohm coil, which is fine because 0.5 is greater than 0.3.

3. The coil has a 0.5 mm hole in the middle - that's pretty small, most of the ones I build are closer to 3 mm, though others will go as small as 1.5 mm.

4. A "drip tip" is just another word for "mouthpiece." Even if you're not dripping, you still need a drip tip unless you want to be sucking directly on the tank.

I know it's a delayed response, but hope this helps...

CoffeeFuel · Oct 20, 2015

Sub ohm simply means that you are using a lower resistance to create bigger clouds. Going with a higher ohm (1.0-1.5) creates a similar nicotine feel with less vapor production. What a lot of people might forget is that a lot of us did mouth to lung hits before really learning how to do straight lung hits. Vaping is definitely fun from the technical side of things. What you will learn from sub ohm building is that it puts more stress on the battery but produces a much bigger effect. Look into non-regulated mods to see how those differ from variable wattage-variable voltage machines.

Regardless of your reasoning for joining the group, welcome to the world of vaping!

Very First Mod Setup, A Little Confused

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