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IPV V3-MINI (ESS DRIVER) Innovation

timwis

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Hi Vaping Underground members, In this review i take a look at the IPV V3-MINI from Pioneer4You. The IPV V3-MINI was supplied for the purpose of this review by Sherilyn from Pioneer4You.

http://www.pioneer4you.com/product.html?id=39



Introduction

The IPV V3-Mini from Pioneer4You brings us innovation in the form of the ESS Driver technology (Electronic Spray System) integrated with the latest third generation temperature control technology from YiHi. We have full versions (as in dual battery mod with all the usual settings) being released by both YiHi SXMini and Pioneer4You but here we have an AIO device incorporating the same technology in a user friendly scaled back version to suit the ADA's (Automatic disposable atomizers) designed for this device to bring us an innovative portable device. The technology is very interesting and brings real innovation that could be a game changer but does it work flawlessly and is it as good as it sounds? I give my verdict!

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In The Box



Contents:

1 V3-Mini Device
1 ELF 14mm ADA (0.3ohm Ni-Mn alloy)
1 E-Liquid Container
1 Micro USB Cable
1 Instructional Manual

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Aesthetics and Ergonomics

The IPV V3-Mini comes in cardboard box packaging and on opening i was met by a device with the same cut corners design as the original IPV V3. The device has some weight to it (i believe it's Zinc Alloy) for it's size and while being bigger than the pod systems that are all the rage it is still very much a portable device. Both front and back are split to have a panel of choice on one half and the main chassis colour on the other. The colour/design choices are Carbon Fiber panels with Black frame, Carbon Fiber panels with Gunmetal frame, their are also 3 different design panels named Magical all with Black frames and 2 different panel choices that are called Textured also with Black frames, although i can find no information or pictures i am led to believe their will also be versions with Silver frames. On the front of the device on the opposite side to the panel we have a square fire button top with a cut corner to match the device, this is followed by an elongated narrow screen which in turn is followed by 2 square operation buttons. The reverse has "iPV" and "YiHi ESS Driver" carved into the metal. On one side of the device where we have the bottom cut corner we have the e-liquid tank fitted then moving to the base we have printed safety marks and the micro USB port. I am tempted to say up top we have a 510 plate but it is actually a proprietary fitting making the V3-Mini a closed system only allowing it to be used with the Elf ADA's, the bottom feed pin is fixed.




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IPV V3-Mini Auto-Squonk Pod System Features:

YiHi SX635J Chipset
Integrated 1400mAh In-built Rechargeable Battery
Two Adjustable Wattage Modes: P1 & P2
Wattage Output Range - 0.3ohm ADA P1: 12-15W P2: 22-25W
Wattage Output Range - 1.0ohm ADA P1: 6-8W P2: 10.5-12.5W
Voltage Output Range: 3.2-4.2V
TC Mode
Zinc-Alloy Chassis Construction
3.5ml E-Liquid Capacity
E-Liquid Container Separated from Heating Core
YiHi Original ADA Atomizer Core
Intelligent Anti-Burn Protection System
Automatic Intelligent E-Liquid Channel Control System
YiHi ESS Driver Tech
Micro USB Port
Colour/Designs: Carbon Fiber: Gunmetal-C1, Black-C2 Magical: Black-M1, Black-M2, Black-M3 Texture: Black-T1, Black-T2



IPV Elf ADA Replacement Pods Features:

iPV ELF ADA Coil Series
0.3ohm DTL Squonk Pod
1.0ohm MTL Squonk Pod
Proprietary Connection
Automatic Squonking Capability



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How The System Works

The V3-Mini is a temperature control and bottom feeder device. The YiHi chip also controls the supply of e-liquid to the atomizer by pumping just enough e-liquid as you vape so when you press the fire button it heats the coil while simultaneously spraying the atomizer's build with e-liquid via the electronic pumping system, the system is called ESS (Electronic Spray System) Driver. The idea is that the e-liquid is completely isolated from the heating core apart from when you actually vape so you are always vaporising fresh e-liquid, so giving improved flavour.
Although it's a temperature control device it's a proprietary system and the settings have been tailored to suit the available ADA's and is very user friendly so those that only normally vape using power mode will have no issues using the device has it's very simple to use. The wattage boosts are P1 which is 12-15W with the 0.3ohm ADA and 6-8W with the 1.0ohm ADA and P2 which is 22-25W with the 0.3ohm ADA and 10.5-12.5W with the 1.0ohm ADA, the variations in wattage is because it's not a constant output device so the power will decrease (i barely noticed) has the voltage of the battery drops.

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The Elf ADA

The Elf ADA looks just like a little 14mm RDA and works the same way just are not rebuildable so once you are not getting satisfactory flavour you need to replace it with a new one. The all in one top-cap and mouth section can be turned to adjust airflow and of course it has a BF pin fitted but it's not a 510 fitting but proprietary. The threading is much shorter but wider than the usual 510 connector and the connector on top of the device is shallow and has a fixed BF pin.
Of course this would be much better if you could fit other little RDA's and/or there was a rebuildable version of the Elf but the whole way the device has been set-up with the pre-set boosts has been tailored for the available Elf ADA's which is why the connection has been made to be proprietary so it won't be used with unsuitable RDA's and builds, the fact that you have to purchase Pioneer4You Elf ADA's might well have something to do with it but i do understand why it's been done to have the device working to it's full potential.
The fact that you have to use the Elf ADA's and they are not rebuildable is just what it is and my only issue is only one ADA is included which is the 0.3ohm Ni-Mn alloy ADA which is very poor, at the very least one of each of the two available ADA's should of come in the kit. The two available ADA's are the already mentioned and included 0.3ohm Ni-Mn alloy which is said to be best using as a restricted DL vape and the 1.0ohm SS316 which is said to be best using for MTL, i did receive extra of both coils which come in boxes containing 2 ADA's.



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The E-Liquid Tank

The e-liquid tank holds 3.5ml of e-liquid and towards the top there is an indented section to get your finger into for grip, just pull down and it slides out of the device. Looking at the device their is a pipe that feeds all the way down to the bottom, when fitting the tank just feed the pipe into the main hole at the top of the tank and slide back into position, it fits perfectly. Looking at the top of the tank we have a hole which is used for both filling and feeding the pipe into as already described. We also have a second minute hole which allows air to escape or suck air in depending on the requirement, make sure you leave enough volume for the pipe when filling. I found filling and both removing and refitting the tank quick, easy and a 100% mess free experience, this really must be the cleanest most leak resistant bottom feed set-up i have used. The tank is clear and once fitted your juice level is visible at all times, if you do have the misfortune of cracking or damaging the tank they are available in packs of three.




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Review Continued Below:
 

timwis

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Review Continued:

The Display

The display is very simple but sharp and very bright, all the pictures included does show the display to be blurred but it's simply the case that it's too bright for my camera. To the left we have the battery status bar then centre we have the temperature either in Celsius or Fahrenheit depending what unit you have set. Finally we have the wattage boost setting which will be either P1 or P2 depending which you have selected.



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Navigating And Operating The V3-Mini

The device can't actually be turned off only locked which is done by clicking the fire button 3 times, this locks the entire device and it will not fire, to unlock it's again 3 clicks of the fire button.
The device is very easy to use, clicking the fire button 5 times changes the display to have temperature left, unit (C or F) centre and your boost (P1 or P2) right. The temperature will be highlighted and the up and down buttons can be used to adjust, pressing the fire button now highlights the unit which again can be altered between Celsius or Fahrenheit another click of the fire button highlights the wattage boost which you can choose either P1 or P2.
When on the normal operating screen single pressing up or down alters by one unit the speed of the electronic pump, 15 being the lowest and 60 being the highest. If you find the vape is cutting out due to their not being enough e-liquid being delivered just increase the pumps speed. you can also hold down the up button to pump e-liquid to the atomizer without vaping. If you find the pumps setting is too high causing the deck to flood or giving spit back you can initially hold the down button down which will suck the access liquid back into the tank before lowering the speed of the pump to a suitable speed. That's it! Just vape and the e-liquid will automatically be pumped to the atomizer at the same time.



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Protections

Of course we get the dry burning protection that temperature control delivers but the IPV V3-Mini also has the following:

Low Voltage Protection
Over-heat Protection
Short Circuit Protection
Low Resistance Protection



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My Experience Using The IPV V3-Mini

After reading up about the technology before receiving the kit i did expect to be writing a review strongly applauding the innovation, hopefully finding it worked reasonably well but also pointing out that their still needs to be improvements as usually innovation of this kind when it's first introduced still has some way to go. Not a bit of it, this device works absolutely great and in my opinion is going to be a game changer, their are two mods on the way using the same ESS Driver integrated with the YiHi Chip which will use regular RDA's which i find quite an exciting prospect based on how well the V3-Mini works, apparently they have been working on the technology for 3 years so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that it works in my experience flawlessly.
I tried both ADA's and although the device is direct output even with the 0.3ohm ADA i only noticed slight drop off in power just before the battery died. I did prefer the 0.3ohm ADA although i was surprised at the power the 1.0ohm seemed to give, yes it was less than the 0.3ohm but didn't seem by much. I also found i could DL and MTL with both ADA's although yes the 0.3ohm was better as a restricted DL vape and the 1.0ohm as MTL but both was able to give an acceptable vape in the opposite style.
I found the device so easy to use, when you install a new atomizer and press fire the display say's No Liquid and the pump aggressively whirls away for a good few seconds, i found the next press of the fire button gave the same result but on the 3rd press the device was ready to vape. After getting a good idea of the 1.0ohm ADA i have been using the device constantly as my out and about device for the last three weeks with the 0.3ohm ADA and the flavour is still great. Apart from when i tried the 0.3ohm MTL with the airflow closed down to just open (then i did drop the temperature to 380 Fahrenheit on P1) and when i tried some nic salts (again i needed to lower the temperature) i have constantly just had it set at 440 Fahrenheit on P2. Once i found the best setting for the pump was 40 i have not had the vape cut out a single time due to lack of liquid and i have never needed to suck any liquid back, had any spit back or suffered any leaking whatsoever, even when i have had the device in my pocket.
The flavour from the ADA's is just like little RDA's and far superior to what pod systems provide despite how much they have improved. The pro's just continue, although the e-liquid tank holds just 3.5ml of liquid i have been finding due to the way the system micro manages the e-liquid supply it's outlasting a 7ml bottle on a standard bottom feed device. Finally the battery life is very good, because i have used the device for a few hours per day for the past 3 weeks rather than whole days it's difficult to be exact about battery life but i would say most vapers will find it lasting almost all day with the 0.3ohm ADA and more than a day with the 1.0ohm ADA.
The cons of the device is obviously that it's a closed system so will need to keep buying the ADA's, the fact it's not constant output although i noticed very little drop off and i feel the device could charge quicker and have a type C USB port. The device took 1 hour 45 minutes to charge and i would of liked that to be nearer 1 hour but it does support pass-through although the USB port is on the base which i also don't like, finally he device is firmware upgradeable.



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Likes

Feels and looks solidly made
Aesthetically pleasing
Many colour/design options
Portable
Innovation
ESS (Electronic Spray System) Driver
Integrated YiHi SX635J Chipset
Easy to use temperature controlled device
2 Wattage boosts
E-liquid isolated from heating core until you vape
Can manually pump e-liquid to atomizer or suck back into tank if needed
MTL or Restricted DL
Device lock
Cleanest most leak resistant BF set-up i have used
3.5ml tank of e-liquid goes a long way due to micro management system
Removing, Filling and reinstalling tank very quick, easy and mess free
Adjustable airflow
RDA flavour
ADA's Giving good longevity
Very good battery life
Supports pass-through
Firmware upgradeable

Cons

Closed system
Only 0.3ohm ADA included
Slight drop off in power towards end of battery life (barely noticeable)
Takes 1 hour 45 minutes to charge (could be quicker)
USB on base of device and not type C
Device can't be fully turned off

I would once again like to thank Sherilyn from Pioneer4You for supplying the IPV V3-MINI for the purpose of this review.

http://www.pioneer4you.com/product.html?id=39

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