Looking for an upgrade

Lucutus

I ordered a pair of efest 18350 from ESI but they ended up shipping me the AWS ones as they were out of stock on the efest.

I also got a pair of efest 18650's too.

The Vamo on both types of setup (pair of 18350s or a single 18650) last me a day and a bit, YMMV depending on how much you vape, I don't chain vape, but I'm a pretty consistent vaper.

I prefer using the 18350's, can't explain why, I just do *shrug*

Make sure you double up on the batteries so one set is always charged and ready.

superneat

Cool, thanks for the info!
I might go with 2 of the efest 18350's to start with so, I'll revert to my twists while charging for the meantime.
I'd rather get the two smaller batteries so I can do the mini mode and I saw on PB's review there will be no rattle in that config.

What should I be looking at in terms of sticking on top of the vamo? I have 3 X T3's, what is the obvious upgrade here, a dripper? No budget really so if that ebarron is the best than I would likely go for that.

Lucutus

T3's don't fit the Vamo, the skirt is too wide for the drip well, the full size vivi nova works well on it.

The dripper is fantastic though.

superneat

Lucutus wrote: »

T3's don't fit the Vamo

Oh snap! Is there some sort of adapter I can get?

grindle

andthatwouldbethisthing

I do know the T3s can be fussy about the connection though. Some 510-EGO adapters have a flat connection, some a tube-type connection that pokes up, and the T3 hasn't gotten along with the tube-type ones n the past for some folks (including me).

Might just be the seating of the tube is a fraction of a mm off, but it makes the difference between fire and no fire.
Can't remember what shop I got the flat connection adaptor from, sorry - email TBS or ESI or whoever else carries them to see which they have.

superneat

Adapter it is then.
As far as a charger goes for the 18350's, is this one ok?
http://www.thebestshop.eu/shop/vv-mods/146-trustfire-tr-001-charger.html

So if I get the Vamo, adapter, batteries and charger, then use my T3's with it for a week or two, my next treat for myself should be the spiral dripper?

I like the idea of great flavor and strong TH while I'm at home, so ebarron dripper there and the twists for out and about, would that setup be all I need, really?

Cheers.

superneat

All this of course, is being funded by the jar I'm throwing my price of the ciggies into since I quit, amazing how fast it fills up!!
Makes you realize how much you've been wasting on an attempt to kill yourself

Tempted to save for a provari but I'll see how I get on with the Vamo first, €200 bucks is still a lot of money! :rolleyes:

grindle

That's all the set-up you'll need, yeah. Not sure you'll need the twists much day-to-day as you're using the Vamo in small mode... but I do know bouncers and security can be absolutely unrepentant, mind-boggling pricks about anything they don't recognise, so the twists might be a good idea for pubs/festivals.

With the Spiral Dripper, I'd hang on 'til this new eBaron 'Killer 705' device comes about. It'll work as a dripper, but it'll also work inside a normal carto-tank for outs-and-aboutsies. Should be out in a couple of weeks, so it'd definitely be worth waiting a few days for.
Seems to be going for around €55 on the sites abroad that are preordering it. An extra €5-10 for the benefit of having a tank with the actual flavour of a dripper with chamber is a bargain.

Charger: Trustfires are known to slightly overcharge batteries, which is meant to be a grave no-no - but myself and almost anybody else in Ireland who uses a large battery probably use a Trustfire (it's what our vendors mostly stock, so...). Don't remember any catastrophes from the last year at least.

superneat

Thanks grindle. I find the twists are great for work, small enough to go unnoticed at times.
I think the Vamo might be too big for that, so the plan is to use it at home and out and about, when I'm off.

I am loving the T3, but I don't have anything to compare it to, other than a few puffs from a T2. So just trying to find info on what is better than it, I don't mind paying €50-€60 on something if it's gonna be worth the money!

Going to put in my order now for the Vamo and stuff, will give a bit of feedback when I get it. And it will be a couple of weeks anyway, before my next upgrade, so hopefully this killer 705 will have been tested and reviewed in depth by then.

grindle

I'm not sure if you're getting into the rebuilding side of things or just buying the replacement cups&coils, but...
If you don't want to spend the €60 outright then get the Phoenix that ESI have on special for €7.
TBS sell wick and wire now (or skip the wick and buy some cotton make-up pads to make strips of wick from - next-best thing to mesh IMO).

It's a great vape but will loosen up and start leaking after extended use, although.. and this is a big although... it's a fúcking terror for those without eagle-eye vision to rebuild. Deliriously tiny holes to fit wire through.

superneat

Not too pushed with the whole rebuilding aspect really, would rather use something that just works, and when it doesn't, replace it. The cost of this stuff compared to the smokes is nothing anyway!

Just looking around for the best price for a Vamo now and came across this SS version (bamboo?) for like a tenner more.
http://www.healthcabin.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=8214

Now it will be coming from China so there's two things here.
1. I would prefer to buy Irish
2. I would like the best for my money, the SS seems to get more favorable reviews.

Also I may be waiting longer for it to get here from China. Is it worth going for the SS over the chrome? Does it fade and wear off over time? I suppose it isn't the biggest deal but I don't wanna be using something that gets tatty after a short time using it.

grindle

I've only seen owners of the gun-metal/black chrome complain about the finish wearing off sooner rather than later (from rubbing off the hand, no less), but it is just a coating. If it falls or gets scraped enough, any finish will come off.

I was sure I saw some vendor mention the SS version on the Irish Vaping FB group, but as FB is unsearchable it's next to impossible to find.
If said vendor wants to bump their comment up on FB?

The problem with buying from China is that if something's wrong with your unit, the Irish guy's'll have it replaced within a few days, the Chinese guys might replace it, within a few weeks.

superneat

Ya that's the worry with ordering from China.
What about this website "besserdampfen.de"
The SS is on there for €45, not too bad, and the batteries and charger are also a little cheaper as well.
Will work out pretty much the same, plus it'll be from the one website as opposed to two.
Might go with that.

superneat

Does anyone know if this charger
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Xtar&CartID=3

would be better than the trustfire?

http://www.thebestshop.eu/shop/vv-mods/146-trustfire-tr-001-charger.html

Or would this be better still and worth the premium?
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/XTAR-WP2-II-USB-Charger-For-16340-18650-18700-3-7v-Battery-Car-Charger-EU-Plug-/220919302339?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Battery_Chargers&hash=item336fd108c3

Will be used with two 18350's.

grindle

Yup, Xtar chargers have better reviews than Trustfire.
Pila chargers are the best reviewed/performers but carry a heft price-tag.
The eBay Xtar one is worth getting if there's any chance at all that you might use an 18650 in future.

Up to you whether you do or not -with the ESI Xtar you could always buy two more 18350s to keep paired if you want to use Vamo's long-mode (they have to be paired and never ever used separately if you want to use them together again), but if you ever move on for the Vamo to a ProVari in future you'll have to buy a new charger as well as batteries.

I'd go for the path with most options (eBay Xtar).

superneat

grindle wrote: »

they have to be paired and never ever used separately if you want to use them together again)

Have I this right? If I use one battery in mini mode, I can't then use the two together in long mode? I would need to use two different batteries and keep them paired all the time? Feck

So I'll have to buy 4 batteries altogether, 2 for mini mode and 2 for full size operation.

Also with the XTAR WP2 II, I don't see 18350 listed on ebay or the mftr website but I'm sure I saw it somewhere but can't find it now
Will they work for sure?

grindle

superneat wrote: »

Have I this right? If I use one battery in mini mode, I can't then use the two together in long mode? I would need to use two different batteries and keep them paired all the time? Feck

So I'll have to buy 4 batteries altogether, 2 for mini mode and 2 for full size operation.

Yup, have to be paired, and each time you put the two batteries back in you have to swap which one goes on top as it takes a smidgen more of a battering than the bottom one.
If you used a battery independently and then used it with a relatively unused battery, once the more-used battery reaches empty the other battery starts providing all the power to the mod whilst also reverse charging into the empty battery which will cause thermal runaway. Not even a maybe. The only maybe is if you can get the batteries out fast enough before they vent gas (IMR) or explode (unprotected or batteries whose protection has either failed or is fake - protected batteries that work should stop the mod from working once too much current passes through, which happens very quickly).
Worth noting that overcharging is the biggest cause of single batteries venting/exploding (usually in the charger, usually due to either a fake battery or a bad charger), whilst in-ecig stacked batteries are the "winner" for thermal runaway, usually unprotected batteries, non-IMRs. IMRs will heat up enough for you to notice and take out within a few seconds as they can handle pretty huge current-draws. Small mercies.
This is why so many people are sketchy about stacking batteries and why dual battery mods generally use batteries in parallel instead of in series.
Number them, take care of them and nothing should go wrong.

superneat wrote: »

Also with the XTAR WP2 II, I don't see 18350 listed on ebay or the mftr website but I'm sure I saw it somewhere but can't find it now
Will they work for sure?

Seems you'll need spacers for it to work with 18350s.
Some vendors in America sell them with spacers and lots of forum posts referring to people charging 18350s with it. That's probably why.

superneat

Well in the end, because I've no patience, and I also wanted everything from the same e-tailor, I went with the Vamo and got 2 efest 18350's for using in mini mode and one efest 18650 for normal mode.

What I might do is use the 2 18350's in it first, and then compare them to using just the single battery, and then decide which would be the best use for me. Because the only charger on the site was the trustfire, and grindle (blaming you if I get cremated) reckons they are ok-ish, I went with that too.

I can always upgrade the charger when I need new gear, which probably won't be too far off... like everything I enjoy, I'm constantly updating!

I already have enough in my cigarette jar for two of those fancy ebarron dripper thingies, it will be a challange to not buy one!

Thanks for all the help and info I got here anyway, I'll give an update and my thoughts when it arrives!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

trustfire are fine. they're the most popular charger out there by a long shot so you're always going to hear more stories of them failing than other brands just because of that reason. reliability wise they're no worse than any other afaik and they do what they're supposed to do well.

grindle

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

trustfire are fine.

This. All of what he said.

Remember that every review of everything is being written by a fanboy of whatever the particular persuasion is, that makes up ~1% of the total users.

If there were something catastrophically wrong with the Trustfire chargers (most popular large-battery charger in the world) there'd be heads rolling to get them off the streets.

The unfortunate thing about our hobby is that it's all about pushing batteries to their limits (boosting/stacking).

If this is all still around in five years, that new battery "Manhattan Project" the Americans are starting will truly revolutionise the landscape.
Batteries with 5x the capacity, 5x cheaper. Jaws will drop. Mine is already partially dislocated.

Lucutus

superneat wrote: »

I already have enough in my cigarette jar for two of those fancy ebarron dripper thingies, it will be a challange to not buy one!

Just get the one and a pack of medium resistance replacement heads, sorted then

superneat

Ya like anything you buy, there is enthusiast, mainstream and budget chargers I suppose, you get what you pay for in the end.

Lucutus wrote: »

Just get the one and a pack of medium resistance replacement heads, sorted then

Seriously tempted! I have also been looking at these nice shiny tanks like the AGA-W, are they any good?
The more I look into it, it seems the rebuildable side of things are interesting me!
I don't mind if it's complicated if the end result is worth it, but boy do they look nice!

kiffy

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

trustfire are fine. they're the most popular charger out there by a long shot.

Bloody good job too, I have ordered the TrustFire TR-003 4 Channel Charger, shud get it this week.
BTW got on fine with the eVic and me Maive last night, took 141 puffs, so going off the numbers they quote about 12 fags worth, though friends and strangers must have taken about 30/40 or more puffs, still amazed at the amount of people who still haven't seen a mod .
Was talking to a bloke who was using an eGo T. Thought I was going to have to bludgeon him to death with a pint bottle to get me eVic back he loved it, and everyone loved the Maeve juice nice TH with only 6mg too and great vapour with the white label juice.
Must go to the cupboard now and take a fist full of hedex got a blinding hangover

Lucutus

kiffy wrote: »

Must go to the cupboard now and take a fist full of hedex got a blinding hangover

Aha! So it's *not* the smoking that causes the hangover... I knew it!

Lucutus

superneat wrote: »

Seriously tempted! I have also been looking at these nice shiny tanks like the AGA-W, are they any good?
The more I look into it, it seems the rebuildable side of things are interesting me!
I don't mind if it's complicated if the end result is worth it, but boy do they look nice!

I got an Aga-T from Sir Digby a while back, I built it out twice with no issues, end result was great, but it didn't seem to last for more than two days each time before getting complicated and not quite working as well as it did at the start, hotspots and slight leaking.

Cleaning it out after each time is a pain, dis-assembly is just convoluted. As you say though, they look great!

I'll try rewicking and recoiling the Aga-T again soon, the idea of having a tank on the go for everything is too appealing to just give up on it, it does work, just doesn't keep working!

In contrast, I rebuilt 6 ceramic cups for the eBaron dripper last night in about an hour. with some wick and wire, it's pretty easily done. Should be enough to last two months or so.

The drippers are really 'sitting down' devices, perfect to use when you are able to drip into them with a needletop bottle etc, but useless for out and about. I've been using mine at home at the PC, on the couch and in work at the desk. In the car, I'll swap to a kanger t3 or mini vivi nova on an ego twist for safety, (Don't drip and drive people!)

I want to find a balance between quality end result and convenience, getting the best vape I can produce and reproduce reliably and then stick with that... so far, that's the dripper on a vamo.

superneat

kiffy wrote:

BTW got on fine with the eVic

How does it compare to the provari, or is it a case of, apples and oranges?

Lucutus wrote: »

end result was great, but it didn't seem to last for more than two days each time before getting complicated and not quite working as well as it did at the start, hotspots and slight leaking.

That's not ideal, I don't mind spending an hour getting something right....if I know it's going to last!

Lucutus wrote: »

In the car, I'll swap to a kanger t3 or mini vivi nova on an ego twist

How are the vivi nova's? It it worth getting one if I already have 3 x T3's?

Lucutus wrote: »

I want to find a balance between quality end result and convenience, getting the best vape I can produce and reproduce reliably and then stick with that... so far, that's the dripper on a vamo.

Mmm, really tempted now.

grindle

superneat wrote: »

How are the vivi nova's? It it worth getting one if I already have 3 x T3's?

Nope. If you want/need a hotter vape, get a Kanger T2. Cheaper.

If you're seriously thinking about getting a dripper, just wait the week for the Killer 705.
Todd on UKV:

Should be available the first week of the New Year from House of Mods.

So, @ ESI a couple of days after HoM up it, unless eBaron coordinates it better than the Guevara Reserve release.
Works standalone as a dripper, works with tanks. It's... The EVERYTHING device.

I'm practically frothing at the mouth for the thing at this stage.
Want... :mad: An exact... :mad: Release date... :mad: NOOOOOW! :mad: :mad: :mad:

:rolleyes:

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

what's a good carto tank to use the killer in? havent looked at carto tanks in over a year

The Pontiac

Can't wait for The Killer 705.

grindle

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

what's a good carto tank to use the killer in? havent looked at carto tanks in over a year

The designer/manufacturer Leo can be seen using his with this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eII712FdY6g

Combine that with the oh-so-sexy drip-tip eeloe sells, plonk it on top of a ProVari Mini, and we may just have the best looking ecig on the planet.