So many questions...

[EquivalentExchange]

I hope this is okay to do but I have a couple questions and I don't want to clog up the forums with several different threads that I figured I'd just go put them together.

1. I don't understand ohms law despite trying to research it, I think my biggest issues are knowing what the volts and amps are on the batteries.

2. What is a recommended wire to use for clouds? I use kanthal, and I do about 6 wraps on my rdas when using a Tugboat V.2 mech because I feel like any more and it takes a long time to heat up or gets really hot but I don't think I'm getting a good hit.

3. Is there a special way I should be wicking my rda's? I just kind of cut them even on both sides and fold them under using Cotton Bacon V2 but sometimes I don't feel it absorbs juice enough or doesn't produce enough vaper when firing.


Please feel free to drop any knowledge or helpful things you've found out that may help me. I've been vaping for about a year now and building for about 8 months. I feel like sometimes I get good builds and then I'll change my wire do the same build and it's not nearly as good for some reason, I want to make sure I'm getting the most of vaping.

 

[nightshard]

1. Since you don't understand basic battery safety or ohm's law you shouldn't be using a mech in the first place.
18650 have a nominal voltage of 3.7 and max voltage of 4.2. The battery continuous amp rating depends on the type of battery used.
2. The right build to use is first and foremost a build that is safe to be used based on the amp rating of your battery and the resistance of your coil (based on ohm's law).

 

[nightshard]

Moved to mechs

 

[EquivalentExchange]

1. Since you don't understand basic battery safety or ohm's law you shouldn't be using a mech in the first place.
18650 have a nominal voltage of 3.7 and max voltage of 4.2. The battery continuous amp rating depends on the type of battery used.
2. The right build to use is first and foremost a build that is safe to be used based on the amp rating of your battery and the resistance of your coil (based on ohm's law).

1. I'm aware I shouldn't be using mechs, but I've started pretty basic with coils and my mech never gets hot or shorts or anything and I just kinda kept it the same this whole time using normal wire, nothing low resistance. I was curious how I found out what my amperage is on the batteries I buy? Where is it listed? I have been using Sony VTC5A 18650 2600mAh 25A and am not sure if the 2600mAh is the amperage or the 25A is.

 

[gakudzu]

25A is the CDR(continuous discharge rating), so that's the number you use in the equation. I don't use mechs, so that's all I got for ya.

 

[EquivalentExchange]

25A is the CDR(continuous discharge rating), so that's the number you use in the equation. I don't use mechs, so that's all I got for ya.

That's really helpful, I appreciate it!

 

[AndriaD]

I don't know Ohm's Law by heart, either, BUT! use this page: http://www.steam-engine.org/ohm.asp of Steam-engine.org -- plug in the resistance (ohms) of your coil, set the voltage to the 3.7v of the battery (since you use a mech and can't change that), and the "power" will show you the amperage required to run that coil -- if it's a number higher than 25A, (or 20A, for some batteries) then it's not safe. The lower the resistance, the higher the amperage must be, to run that coil safely.

Can someone post Mooch's battery diagram, that shows all the popular batterys' amperage ratings?

Andria

 

[gakudzu]

 

[gakudzu]

http://vapingunderground.com/threads/anthony-vapes-presents-vaping-safety-101.300140/

 

[gakudzu]

Also:

http://vaping360.com/guides/battery-safety/

 

[gakudzu]

It also sounds like your wicking may not be consistent from build to build. You want them to fill the coil, but not too tightly. They shouldn't bunch up against the side of the coil when you pull them back and forth. I trim the ends on an angle, after fluffing them, to thin them down, and lay them in the bottom so that they barely cover it. If it isn't soaking up enough juice to keep the vapor going, you used too much wick.

 

[gakudzu]

Also, what gauge kanthol are you using?

 

[nightshard]

plug in the resistance (ohms) of your coil, set the voltage to the 3.7v of the battery

Set the voltage to 4.2V since this is the max voltage (for a single 18650 mech) and worst case scenario.

4.2V / 25A = 0.168 ohm

 

[EquivalentExchange]

So just so I understand correctly, since my batteries are Sony VTC5A 2600mAh 25A I'm safe to vape at .19ohms? Which is the lowest I tend to go. Please let me know if this is right, I want to ensure I understand this. Knowing what all the pieces are helps so I'm just trying to double check.

 

[EquivalentExchange]

Set the voltage to 4.2V since this is the max voltage (for a single 18650 mech) and worst case scenario.

4.2V / 25A = 0.168 ohm

Set the voltage to 4.2V since this is the max voltage (for a single 18650 mech) and worst case scenario.

4.2V / 25A = 0.168 ohm

Thank you! That makes sense, I definitely feel like I understand it better. I just could never figure out what to look for on the batteries.

 

[nightshard]

When looking for specs never look at what's written on wraps or in manufacturer specs, look at tests and graphs.

What's written on wraps in the case of rewraps is (almost) never correct and always overrated and manufacturer specs are sometimes over or underrated.

 

[r055co]

New to Mech's -

1. Ohm's law, http://www.steam-engine.org/ makes it easy and there's even an app on it for Android
2. Batteries, fucking batteries, take good care of your batteries and know them!!!!!!!!
a. Avoid shit batteries like eFest who rewrap rejects with grossly inflated amp ratings. Stick with authentic LG, Sony or Samsung from reputable (not ebay or amazon) sources, great places to get authentic are from
http://liionwholesale.com/
https://www.imrbatteries.com/
b. Stick well within Continuous Discharge Rate (CDR) Not the "pulse"
c. Keep up to date with what Mooch tests and battery ratings, follow his posts on Facebook and his Blog
d. In Mod's with multipule batteries, marry them.
e. Get some battery wraps, they're cheap and easy to re-wrap batteries. Any nicks,tears or what ever don't be stupid and just re-wrap.
3. Don't build stupid low a good builder can chuck and get awesome dense vape from a good build. It's simple, with 20 CDR Amp batteries -
a. Single battery mod's you're fine with .2 ohms on up
b. Dual Parallel you're fine with .15 on up. Parallel you take the full CDR of one battery and you can add 1/2 the amp rating of the next battery
c. Series you double the voltage but you share the amp. So a series you build high with a lot of wire, no lower that .4 ohms.
4. Make sure you don't have any shorts. For an extra caution any new build I vape on a regulated mod for a few drips or with a tank about a 1/4 tank. This is to insure nothing wonky with my build or any shorts.
5. Careful if it's not in your hand, if it doesn't have a lock on the button and you pit it in your pocket (which I really don't recommend) insure nothing else is in your pocket and it's loose. Don't want to put it in your front jeans pocket and blow your dick off ya know
6. Last but certainly NOT the least, keep it clean! Clean it when you first get it "before" you even use it and clean it on a regular basis.
a. Ultrasonics are a very good investment, got mine off Amazon for around $25.

 

[EquivalentExchange]

When looking for specs never look at what's written on wraps or in manufacturer specs, look at tests and graphs.

What's written on wraps in the case of rewraps is (almost) never correct and always overrated and manufacturer specs are sometimes over or underrated.

I found a site through another thread called IMRbatteries.com which apparently sells authentic batteries. Are these safe to follow the specs? As for wire I use basic 22 kanthal.

 

[r055co]

I found a site through another thread called IMRbatteries.com which apparently sells authentic batteries. Are these safe to follow the specs? As for wire I use basic 22 kanthal.

IMR Batteries is a great place along with Liion Wholesale, they both can be trusted.

 

[nightshard]

Imrbatteries is a trusted battery vendor.

The vast majority of battery vendors just rewrite in their sites, whatever is written on the battery wraps or specs.

 

[EquivalentExchange]

Is that decent wire to use? I'm looking for a good hit thst I get at about .25 ohms but without a bunch of wraps. I'm using a Copper Broadside with a Copper 25mm Kennedy RDA. Is 24mm wire gonna be Bette suited for this?

Also is there something to keep in mind to make my batteries last longer before it needs charging? Are lower ohms going to drain the battery more?

 

[nightshard]

Unlike with regulated, with unregulated you build you coils based on the range or average of wattage you expect to reach.
To get an estimate or average of the expected wattage you use the battery nominal voltage (3.7) and the coil(s) resistance within ohm's law formulas, expect the actual wattage to be a bit lower since there's also voltage drop to take under consideration.
The higher the mass of the coil, the higher the wattage it would require to function efficiently.

Lower resistance = higher wattage = higher amperage = shorter battery life

24G refers to AWG American Wire Gauge which is 0.51mm (and not 24mm).

 

[nightshard]

0.25 would mean an average of 55W (without calculating voltage drop)..
To get to 0.25 with dual 22G coils would have to build 8 wrap 3 ID coils and that's a lot of metal, 55W is not nearly enough for the coils to work efficiently.
Either build lower or use 24G.

 

[AndriaD]

And if you build lower (ohms), you might need better batteries; you're already pretty close to pushing it. And the batteries won't even last as long as they are now, if you use even lower resistance.

If you really need that kind of intense hit, you'd be better off with a regulated mod; you'd still need top-notch, high-amp batteries, but you'd have a *little* protection from blowing your face off. You don't want to become the next "Vaping is EVIL!" headline when the battery blows off a body part, or just sets fire to something.

Andria

 

[EquivalentExchange]

And if you build lower (ohms), you might need better batteries; you're already pretty close to pushing it. And the batteries won't even last as long as they are now, if you use even lower resistance.

If you really need that kind of intense hit, you'd be better off with a regulated mod; you'd still need top-notch, high-amp batteries, but you'd have a *little* protection from blowing your face off. You don't want to become the next "Vaping is EVIL!" headline when the battery blows off a body part, or just sets fire to something.

Andria

I was told that the Sony VTC5As were good batteries. Is there a good battery you would suggest?

 

[EquivalentExchange]

I'm also running into an issue with with seems like rusty coils. I feel like I'm changing cotton at least once a day if not more and coils at least 2 times a week and I'm getting what looks like rust or some form of erosion on the coils so early on. This used to only happen after like 2-3 weeks of using the same coils, any idea what that could be?

 

[AndriaD]

I was told that the Sony VTC5As were good batteries. Is there a good battery you would suggest?

LG HB2, LG HB4, LG HB6 -- all are 30A batteries. They have much lower mAh ratings, but you're always going to find that with higher CDR batteries -- shorter battery life, in exchange for higher amperage.

Higher amps means shorter life, period. This, along with not liking a lot of heat, is one of the major reasons why I use coils that are 2 ohms or higher -- I use LG HE2s; only 20A, but 2500mAh, and I can get 2 full days out of them, using such high resistance and low wattage (always less than 10w).

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

I'm also running into an issue with with seems like rusty coils. I feel like I'm changing cotton at least once a day if not more and coils at least 2 times a week and I'm getting what looks like rust or some form of erosion on the coils so early on. This used to only happen after like 2-3 weeks of using the same coils, any idea what that could be?

Sounds like you need to dry-burn them. Pull the wicks; rinse the coils in water, then fire them for 2-4 seconds, rinse again, and repeat 3-4 times, until the coils look cleaner. Final rinse, then re-wick; should vape better!

Andria