Regulated vs unregulated? Confusing stuff.

[conanthewarrior]

Hi people, hope your doing ok.

First,to make myself clear, I am NOT thinking of buying anything unregulated, I don't know the safety aspects yet, or even the point of, unregulated vaping.

I see that regulated devices tend to have adjustable wattages, and voltage, while the unregulated is fixed?
Isn't this more beginner friendly than a deeper level of vaping?

I am quite new to this cool new world, so please forgive me if I have misunderstood the whole regulated vs unregulated thing, it also takes me a little bit longer than most to learn things due to a injury to part of the brain last year( on my birthday of all days-yayy) that affected my short term memory among other things.

So, If someone has a link or could explain, in a nutshell, what the difference is, that would be great.

Thank you all, Conan.

 

[outwest]

Unregulated mods have no electronics. Think of them as being akin to a flashlight (or torch, depending on where you live). They're simply a tube with a button that connects the battery to the atomizer (which then provides the current to the coil). If you have a short in your coil, congratulations, you just did a dead short on your battery. If you build a coil that has wrong resistance, the same thing. If your battery is unregulated (without safety circuitry built in), either of these situations can cause your battery to go kaboom.

Edit to add - found a youtube showing what happens when battery gets dead short

Note, the video maker makes comment about it not being as dangerous as some make out to be. Keep in mind, though, that the fire and explosion you see will be taking place inside a metal container, which intensifies everything and creates shrapnel (think small pipebomb).

All this being said, use your head when doing your builds and when using your rig. E.g., if it starts getting insanely hot, dont just stare at it dumbly. Everyone has different opinions, but I'd suggest a protected battery for unregulated mod in order to have that extra bit of safety.

 

[nabibrian]

The advantage of variable wattage is you can find the wattage you are most comfortable with and the unit will adjust your voltage based on the resistance of the attached atty.

Mechanical mods have no internal processor to keep your voltage at a set level. So in Layman’s terms your battery will have a voltage output starting at 4.2 volts and then will slowly deplete with use. The lack of a processor means there is no internal protection for over-depleting a battery which can lead to battery failure. This lack of a circuit also means there is no protection if your atomizer has a short. The lack of these two protections can make the mod dangerous to use if you are not educated throughly on battery safety and electricity. Therefore we recommend them for advanced users only.

Source: http://blog.mtbakervapor.com/variable-voltage-vs-mechanical-mods/

Regulated mods have internal circuitry. These types of mods include standard voltage mods, variable voltage mods, variable wattage mods and variable voltage and wattage mods. They do have the appropriate circuitry to protect from, say continually firing a faulty battery and melting it. Your regulated mod will shut down if something is wrong with your connections, which makes them a newbie friendly device. Some of these regulated mods also have a built-in voltage meter and Ohm reader which become very handy as a teaching tool for those getting into the advance e-cigarettes. Regulated mods can get a little more advanced as you get in to variable voltage and wattage devices. If you are using one of these devices, or are thinking of trying one out, just make sure you look up Ohm’s Law and understand the relationship between resistance, current, voltage and wattage.

Source: http://blog.mtbakervapor.com/variable-voltage-vs-mechanical-mods/

Additional Link:
http://www.vaporauthority.com/pages/learn

 

[conanthewarrior]

Ok, I guess from that description I am never going to go unregulated then! That sounds dangerous. I order my cloupor mini tonight BTW woop! Monday is a public holiday though so I won't get it till at least wednesday .

 

[raqball]

Mech mods are 110% safe!

I used nothing but them for years. The key is to know what you are doing. They do have an added bonus. The are pretty much trouble free and if you buy a high quality one, it will last a lifetime!

If the vape apocalypse ever comes to fruition then a pure mech mod will be your best friend! With routine cleaning and very little maintenance it will last you for as long as you choose to vape.

Don't stack batteries, understand ohms and if you want a dual battery configuration then get something that has a mosfet.. Problem solved!

Mech mods are 110% safe!

 

[UncleRJ]

For a newbie, IMHO regulated is the way to go.

Lots of safeguards and precautions are built into these devices. If you put something with a bum coil on them or over and under the limit of the device, it just will not fire and it will tell you what your problem is.

All of this without exploding either

 

[raqball]

Well.... The iSticks are going kaboom right now as well...

I think a newbie would be fine as long as they educate themselves 1st. Mech mods got a bad rap years ago from people who were stacking batteries.. And yes, plenty of them went kaboom as well..

 

[UncleRJ]

Well.... The iSticks are going kaboom right now as well...

I think a newbie would be fine as long as they educate themselves 1st. Mech mods got a bad rap years ago from people who were stacking batteries.. And yes, plenty of them went kaboom as well..

I totally agree. And the mechs that were going KABOOM were largely brand new vapers that purchased their mechs from folks just trying to make a fast buck and not educating their new customers on how to use them safely. And more than a few of these mech starter kits also came with substandard batteries to begin with.

And yes you are right, the mass production and quality control issues do seem to be catching up to the Istick line right now.

Which also explains while you won't see me vaping any of the latest and greatest hardware as I rarely purchase ANYTHING until it has been in the hands of vapers for at least 6 months.

Case in point, I finally purchased a Subtank Mini. The latest version.

Now I can finally give up on cartomizers

 

[GrayVaper]

Well.... The iSticks are going kaboom right now as well...

I think a newbie would be fine as long as they educate themselves 1st. Mech mods got a bad rap years ago from people who were stacking batteries.. And yes, plenty of them went kaboom as well..

I recently saw a picture somewhere of an iStick that went ballistic at 5am while charging and the guy who owned it just happened to be awake and caught it just in time. The end result looked like a recovered artifact from a fire. NOT PRETTY!
My wife has a 10 iStick mini that she plugs in at night. After showing her the damaged device, she has decided to only charge it within sight.

 

[conanthewarrior]

I totally agree. And the mechs that were going KABOOM were largely brand new vapers that purchased their mechs from folks just trying to make a fast buck and not educating their new customers on how to use them safely. And more than a few of these mech starter kits also came with substandard batteries to begin with.

And yes you are right, the mass production and quality control issues do seem to be catching up to the Istick line right now.

Which also explains while you won't see me vaping any of the latest and greatest hardware as I rarely purchase ANYTHING until it has been in the hands of vapers for at least 6 months.

Case in point, I finally purchased a Subtank Mini. The latest version.

Now I can finally give up on cartomizers

I am glad the shop I spoke to advised me not to go unregulated, they said that may be something I want to do eventually, but will probably be happy enough with the 30 watter that I wont want too. Glad they didn't try to sell me an unregulated mod, I know nothing of OHMS law, and would be a likely candidate of blowing myself up, especially with my brain issues. I think regulated will be safer for me, so I will stick with that.

 

[UncleRJ]

I am glad the shop I spoke to advised me not to go unregulated, they said that may be something I want to do eventually, but will probably be happy enough with the 30 watter that I wont want too. Glad they didn't try to sell me an unregulated mod, I know nothing of OHMS law, and would be a likely candidate of blowing myself up, especially with my brain issues. I think regulated will be safer for me, so I will stick with that.

It sounds like the folks in that vape shop have your best interest at heart and you are lucky to have a shop like that near you!

 

[Saddletramp1200]

It sounds like the folks in that vape shop have your best interest at heart and you are lucky to have a shop like that near you!

Just me, but if you need more than 30w your trying to weld. Your shorting out a piece of wire with cotton & Juice.