Brandon

Lots of good points made here. I noticed an increase in my appetite when i made the switch from analogs to PVs. It was almost right away. But there are just so many factors that could have played into this: Less nicotine intake? Less 'other' chemicals intake? PG or VG triggering hunger response? Tasty flavors triggering hunger response? For me personally I think it's a combination of quitting analogs (and thus either less nic or just less of the other chemicals) and also the awesome flavors of the juice. I know for a fact that if I vape that nutty 555 juice when I'm several hours after having a meal, I start getting hungry. Works everytime. This is pretty interesting stuff!

Hey Scott! Mark showed off his mod in chat this evening. I got to see it, and it's really cool. Very unique approach that nobody has taken before. You like wood? You'll like his mod. Mark, obviously everyone will need some pics very soon

So far the 14500 is holding up well. After a good long vaping session, i pulled the cover off quickly just to test the battery warmth. Wasn't even warm to the touch! Actually kind of surprised me. Also surprisingly there wasn't much of a voltage depression under full load. Battery voltage was 4.19V no load. 3.89V under full load. Very surprising that there wasn't more of a depression than that. These 14500s really are impressing me. I think they're very versatile. There's actually room in the box to put two 14500s in parallel, but you'd have to mount the attys on the side rather than the top. I tested that option before making my final decision, but it wasn't as comfortable holding it width-wise in my hand so I decided on length-wise. The inside of the box is not near as pretty as the outside But I'll get some shots of it tomorrow. I'm going to keep testing it for a few more days, and provided everything continues to perform like it has been, I'll seal all possible short-circuit points in either silicon or more epoxy. I haven't tested 2 magnums on it yet; I'm a little afraid to do that! One magnum is blowing me away right now, but 2..... wow. I suspect the PCB cutoff would kick in, but that's only a guess. I am noticing a difference in flavor between the magnum atty and the 2 parallel normal 510s. The flavor difference is not consistent between different juices. Some taste great on the magnum, but others seem to lack what they used to have. It's interesting. The flavors taste normal on the 2 510s, but there's just a bit more of it and a whole lot more vapor.

Ok, got the D tips and the magnums in today. Wow.... Okay, between testing out my first mod and using this beast I'm getting a buzz and need to slow waaaaaay down.... So far, the D tips and magnum attys are performing like a champ. I've not had the pleasure of high volt vaping yet, so this is the closest I've got. And dang do these things churn out the vapor. It's going to take some getting used to, but in a good way For me personally it's just fantastic. I can use it on my BB and not have to worry about which high volt mod I'm going to buy (well at least for now anyway). The D-tips fit perfectly on both the atomizer and in my mouth. I really do like that hourglass shape. And not having to take off the cart to drip? Well, that's more of a bonus than I imagined it would be. So far, fantastic all around!

Thanks for the comments folks! It really was fun. But now I need to read some more about DC Boost circuits Mark, your wood mod looks fantastic sir. Thanks for showing it off in chat! Can't wait to see how it progresses through some of the changes you mentioned, and the way it locks together really struck me by surprise. Excellent!

Honestly I think this is a fantastic idea! Nana's point made about the cost is a genuine concern indeed, but if vendors have the software and the will to make it happen at an affordable expense, then this could really take off. I'm game!

Perhaps not a good idea for my first mod, but I love to solder! Dual 510s (in parallel powered by one 14500 cell), for double the vaping pleasure but at a smooth 3.7V. Red LED indicates it's armed (switch is turned to "on" position) and blue LED to indicate the button is depressed and vaping is in progress. Honestly this was a heck of a lot easier than it should have been. I love soldering and playing with LEDs, so that part was very familiar. But overall I was pleased with how quickly it progressed. I worked inbetween times when the wifey was home (she's actually forbade me from making mods, so this was all done on the sly). The only difficult part was drilling the first hole. It turned out a little too large and crooked due to not using the proper drill bits. But besides that, it was very smooth. I started it yesterday evening and finished it this evening. The LEDs look a little strange b/c they're actually the larger 5mm high brightness LEDs with a dome top and a water clear acrylic shell. So I whipped out the dremel, ground the top down flat and short, and scuffed up the sides to help diffuse the light. A hack job there, but I have hundreds of them on hand so I couldn't justify buying more just for this. Lead-free silver solder (already had it), 20AWG milspec silver-coated teflon insulated hookup wire (already had it), red and blue LEDs (already had them), 510 battery connectors from Madvapes, large horn-style switch from madvapes, triple AA battery box (already had on hand, but I bought a few extra from Madvapes)and 2 part epoxy from Ace Hardware. Overall cost around $15. The draw and vapor production is just what you'd expect: light and airy yet strong and full of vapor. I like it Just don't let those attys run dry or you get double the burnt taste. Next time I'll have to work on the alignment of the dual attys. It's too easy to not get a good seal around both the carts, even though they're whistle tips. Very fun project that didn't take very long and was very cheap. What more can you ask?

Special shoutout and feature of Mark on the lastest episode of VaporCast! I'm listening to it right now. Check it out!!

Thanks folks! Glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the feedback. For me personally, WordUpEcig will be my go-to place for juice. I'm still on the search for juice from someone that my wife can vape, so I'll still be playing the field quite a bit. But for my needs, this is probably going to be my one-stop-shop. Dr J has a couple of review videos of their juices too. Most notably his latest one where he travels back in time to sample some old school flavors from them. Very cool Dr J!

Oh sweet! Thanks Dave and Brian!

That's good news Sensay, glad the boiling worked for you. I actually like it when the draw starts getting tighter. But that also means the flavor is about to take a nose-dive, so it's kind of a catch 22.

I've been vaping on these juices for about 2 weeks or slightly longer, but I wanted to give them some time before making a final call. Okay, they're all VG. And one of the most wonderful things about WordUpEcig (besides their awesomely huge selection, super low price, and friendly service) is the fact that you can choose either pure PG, pure VG, or a 50/50 mix. That alone is worth a visit, but they also have the most astounding assortment of tobacco flavors too which is attractive to me b/c I really favor tobacco over others. I ordered 5 flavors in pure VG in a sample pack at 11mg strength of 5mil bottles for the super low price of only $20.99. That's about 42 cents per mil! Amazing. Plus Jeff threw in a small 3mil sample bottle of their new "Balanced Blend" in 24mg strength b/c he's essentially very awesome. Here we go: 555: Probably familiar to most of you, but it's a slight tobacco flavor with a very pronounced sweet nutty flavor. Not sure what type of nuts it would be as I don't normally like them. But it's sweet and savory, and definitely makes me a little hungry inbetween meals. My overall favorite due to the fact that the bottle is the most empty of the lot. Tobacco/Russian Tobacco: I ordered "Russion Tobacco" but the bottle is labeled simply "Tobacco". So I'm not sure if this is what I ordered and there just wasn't enough room on the label, or if it's a mistake. Either way, I'm happy with it. Think: your basic generic tobacco flavor. Sweet and just a little dry. Simple, with not very many undertones. Just the slightest little hint of nuttiness, but it's very very faint. Overall, my 2nd favorite evidenced by the fact that the bottle is the 2nd most empty. Jeff's Mix: I had no idea what to expect here, but the fact that it cost an extra $1.00 really intrigued me. A good tobacco base with a sweet fruitiness to it. Not a specific fruit flavor that you can pin down, just generic fruit. But it's actually blended very well, and neither the tobacco or the fruitiness overpower each other. I really enjoy it, and out of the lot it has the strongest throat hit and ranks at #3. Kents: I had no idea what this was supposed to emulate b/c I never smoked Kents cigarettes. Heck, I'd never even heard of them. But it's definitely on the dry side. Not very sweet, but with some fruity overtones. It's hard to imagine fruit not being sweet, but this is what Kents tastes like to me. A savory, dry, tobacco, fruitiness. Pretty good and appears to be my 4th favorite as it is the 4th most empty. Cuban Cigar: Okay, think pungent, strong, super savory, and a dry nutty flavor. Pretty much exactly what I expected. I only had a few cigars back in my analog days, and really this was spot-on with what I remember. It's very uncanny how realistic it is. Definitely not one of my favorites, as it is the 5th most empty in the whole lot. But if you're looking for a realistic cigar flavor that sticks around and lasts in your mouth, this is your beast! Balanced Blend: This was the 3mil sampler Jeff sent me that is in 24mg strength (wow!). Actually very similar to Jeff's Mix except the throat hit seems less even though it's twice as strong as what I'm used to. Just the slightest hint of tobacco flavor with a stronger sweet fruit flavor (no specific fruit) and also just a tad hint of nuttiness. Essentially what it sounds like: a balanced blend of tobacco flavors. Kind of reminds me of some Flue-Cured tobacco I got elsewhere. It's actually very good, but since it's 24mg I can't handle very much of it at all. I have to rank it #6 just due to the fact that the 24mg gives me a buzz after a few minutes. Were it in a lower strength that I can handle, it may rank higher. (whew) Ok so there you have it. On a sidenote, all of these flavors have the best throat hit of any juice I've ever tried. Yup, even better than PG juices. They have a very nice vapor production since they're VG, have a really strong throat hit, but are dilute and thin enough that they drip and soak into your cart just like they were a normal PG juice. But whatever Jeff has in his recipe for throat hit is totally incredible. They all took me by surprise. The one strange thing I noticed, which I have yet to really understand, is that after a few minutes I start getting a weird salty taste in my mouth. Doesn't matter which of the flavors I try. I always get that weird saltiness. I think it's whatever he's using for the throat hit. Sometimes it doesn't bother me that bad, but then other times I just have to switch to something else b/c it's too annoying. That's the only down-side to them. Besides including that sample bottle that I didn't solicit or pay for, he also included a handwritten personalized note. Things like that are what make customers come back for more, and I definitely will be coming back. Thanks Jeff!

Oh wow, I think it's just beautiful. In my house it wouldn't have a very high SAF (spouse acceptance factor) but for me personally it's just so fantastic looking. Love that the juice tube is visable! That somehow seems to add to the mystique of it. Fantastic work! And yes, we'd love to learn more

Lots of good points made in this thread. The vinegar thing works wonders for me, but honestly I don't know if that shortens their life b/c I've not been vaping that long. I haven't had one die on me yet, but on the flip side of that arcade token is the fact that I have 5 attys in rotation right now. I like the idea of chunking an atty when it starts to taste nasty, but for me it's not practical. I honestly think it's b/c of the juice I vape. I'm about 95% all VG right now (only whip out the PG when I have a craving for it or maybe if there's a beer in my other hand). And it's about 50/50 between Rath's juice and WordUpEcig's VG juice. After only a very short time I start getting that burnt-sugar carmalized flavor. Like after 1 day. I haven't really heard it happening to folks so quickly, so it's either something I'm doing, or it's the juices I'm vaping (oh and this didn't happen when I very first started vaping and was on strictly PG juice). But in either case, disposing of attys begs the question: who has genuine Joye510 attys the cheapest? I picked up a 5 pack from wicked eliquid b/c they're cheaper that way. But they're not labeled as Joye, rather they have their little devil face logo and the letters MP on the gold band. Besides that they look identical to my real Joye510s I have, but they certainly don't feel the same. The draw is much easier, lighter, and more airy which I actually do NOT like. So let's suppose I wanted to buy a 5 pack of genuine Joye510s somewhere like once a month. Where do you all suggest to get them? P.S. Sorry if this is off topic.

LOL! Now that's funny Well my order didn't come in today, so hopefully tomorrow I'll actually be able to contribute to this thread!

What a freaking fantastic idea! No more nasty burned taste! Dave, we'll have to find ya one

The supply voltage is going to determine how many amps will be pushed through the device. If you have an unlimited power source (such as a powersupply or wallwart), but yet a low voltage, you're not accomplishing much. You can't force more current through a circuit than the resistance (and thus voltage needed to overcome it) allows. So yes, voltage does matter. Without voltage, you have no current flow.

Blowing it out very very well really seems to help me. And I mean blowing it out of the thread end (putting your mouth over the cart end). Some folks do it the other way around, but this really works best for me and gets no juice in your mouth. If that doesn't work (and eventually it only does so much good) my deep cleaning regime is to put it in a small jar of white vinegar for a few hours (like 3-4hrs). Then about once an hour, really stir it up good. You can see the leftover juice dissolving into the vinegar when you hold up the jar to a light. It looks like heat waves or convection currents coming out of the atty. Afterwards, rinse it very well in warm/hot water, blow out as much water as you can, stick a paper towel up into it and leave it upside down overnight. The next morning take a look at the little thread wicks coming from the bridge. If you did a really good job, they should be pure white like they were when the atty was brand new. Hope it helps.

Thanks for the replies folks! Well that's a deal-breaker right there. Doesn't matter how good a product someone makes, if they can't get it to their customers then what's the point? Thanks Stubear. I checked out the ECF too and saw lots of bad posts. Maybe I'll look into them again in a few months after all their negative feedback starts to sting them.

Hey thanks for the additional info Brian. Also Tektronik for the little tip about laying it on it's side and using a Q-tip. On an unrelated note, am I the only one around here that has bought a little trash can for my office and my 'man room' and keeps a roll of toilet paper in each desk? I mean seriously, I blow out my atomizer now at least once a day (sometimes more) and take it off to wipe down the threads really well like 3 times a day. Oh, and this is just with standard 510s. Not even the magnum... Maybe my OCD is getting worse

Hey thanks for the correction on Robert's Detonator batteries WillBlack! I checked back on his post in February and they *weren't* the LiFePo4s. Good catch there. Now about those lithium chargers trickle charging - are you saying this is a function of the charger or it's an error or just bad quality manufacturing that makes the charger continue to leak a small amount of current even when the cycle is complete? If that's the case, then I need to read up on that and try to identify some good quality chargers that don't have this defect. Any suggestions there?

I remember you talking about this one of your your previous episodes of VaporCast. Good to see you're jumping on it now. Also, thanks for sharing that letter. A very good starter for other people interested in doing the same thing in their hometowns.

Fantastic news Brian, thanks for sharing. What device are you using them on? I'm curious if the extra current drawn from them would make a big difference in the voltage drop on a smaller battery like a 10440 or a stock battery. Can't wait to get mine

Is it recommended? Well, yes and no. The cells heat up very quickly, and the most politically correct way of thinking is that you risk exploding the cells from too much internal pressure. But if you're careful and slow about it, it can actually work. That's essentially the principle behind your laptop's "battery maintenance" feature - pushing a lot of amperage into the pack in a short amount of time; then discharging it completely, and then recharging it again. Of course, since this is a consumer maintenance principle, that charging current won't actually be very high and won't be dangerous as in the example of the DC welder or using a DC powersupply. But, it can work to recondition an old battery pack that is near its useful life. Actually they do have a protection circuit on them. Ever notice your vapor production drop off and then suddenly stop? You look down at the end of the battery and the LED blinks at you for like 20 seconds? That's the battery's PCB kicking in on the shutoff voltage so that you don't overdischarge the cell. Actually it's both. The charger cutsoff at a predetermined voltage, which is usually 4.2V. Some are higher, like around the 4.3 to 4.35 range, but that's very rare. So for the most part consider your charger cuts off at 4.2V as that is the consumer-level industry standard for safety and long life. You can get away with a higher cutoff charging voltage of 4.3 or a tiny bit higher, and you actually get a higher cell capacity at this voltage, but it cuts your battery's life cycle in half or more, and is a tad bit more on the dangerous side. Let's just say that all of the chargers that you and I can get our hands on (outside of the industrial scene) cutoff at 4.2V. Now the PCB on our protected batteries also have a high voltage cutoff protection to provide us safety in case we screw up and decide to hook them up directly to our car battery to charge, and that depends upon the manufacturer. Most likely it's around the 4.3V mark, but I've not been able to find a datasheet directly from the manufacturer (either trustfire or ultrafire) to verify what that is specifically. Yup. But that's only because lithium chemistries are so violent when things go wrong. Short circuit a nickle cell and you may get a little venting (they do vent hydrogen gas in extreme circumstances; and are designed with safety valves to completely vent out all of the gas and not allow the cell to be reused). Short circuit an unprotected LITHIUM cell..... well, just check out youtube for some good explosions. And the same goes for overcharging them as well. You get violent reactions from over-discharging OR over-charging them. What happens if that little charger that you use burns out and tries to charge your cells over 4.2V? When you're dealing with fire, you can never have too many safeties ...(whew)... Sorry for the long post. Now I'm going to sleep.

An excerpt from a PM : Even lithium cells of any lithium chemistry eventually begin to breakdown. The whole principle of a rechargeable cell is based around a metal being decomposed into an oxide which releases electrons; then reversing the process by applying electrons back into the metal to convert the oxides back into the natural form of the metal. But it's not perfect. Not all of the molecules that are oxidized are able to be converted back into their original state. So eventually more and more molecules can't be broken back into the original metal. Thus overtime you'll see the cell's capacity decrease and decrease until its capacity is crap compared to what it was when it was brand new. But since lithium cells in our chargers don't actually undergo a trickle charge, there's no worry of messing up your cells with an overnight charge, or even leaving them on the charger for days on end. If you happen to leave a nickle chemistry cell on a charger for a long time, you do indeed reduce the cell's life cycle because the charger is forcing that trickle charge into the cell. Forcing electrons into the cell when it's at maximum capacity destroys the electrodes overtime because any extra charging current that is not needed by the cell is actually converted into heat. Those extra electrons have to go somewhere, and since the cell can't convert anymore oxides back into their original state, the electrons are just lost as heat and this eventually breaks down the electrodes. This is one of many reasons why lithium cells aren't trickle charged. After all, we've seen plenty of videos of lithium cells exploding when someone tries to overcharge them. Don't leave your nickle cells on trickle charge too long, or the extra heat (although not readily perceived by touching them on the outside) will deteriorate those highly reactive metals. Yup. This is more common to lead acid batteries and nickle chemistries, but it can actually work for lithiums as well. What's actually happening is that the charging system will increase the charging current to higher than normal. It's actually very successful in lead acid batteries and nickle cells, but not so much in lithiums. The charger increases the charging current to much higher than normal in an attempt to "shock" the oxides quickly back into a state of ionization. Meaning, this type of reforming charge is to try and take a bad cell that has a lot of oxidation (due to lots of used cycles in which not all of the molecules can be converted back into their original state) and forcefully break those bonds so that it is useful again. A nice and dirty example is to take an old nicad (nickle cadmium) cell and connect the leads onto a DC welder. Anyone that's welded before knows you're dealing with TONS of amps flowing through a small space. Hook that nicad cell up to the welder (or another high amp power source) and you force tons of electrons back into the cell and break apart those oxide bonds. It really does work, and you can revive old and dead cells this way. I've not actually done it with a welder before, but have used a high power DC powersupply, and it really does work (although eventually you have to toss it; because you can't do this forever). ...continued...