Walt

This.
This is on my Christmas list...
 

I made a few of these in different sizes  out of some old teak I had lying around

I've built several out of scrap wood lying around...
My current tank holder is a 5"x5"x1" piece of pine with holes slightly larger than the 510 connection and spaced roughly 1" apart (which makes a grid of 16 holes) for holding tanks on my desk.
Here's a few pics of ones I've bothered to take pics of

(made from spare closet doorknobs)



One I made for a former member here

I have about a dozen of these.  I picked them up for $1 each from a B&M when they were going out of business.  I'm trying to get my brother to machine me some more.  All of them are aluminum.  Most are threaded, but a couple aren't.  I see these frequently for about $3 each and I have yet to knock over a tank.  In any event, it beats trying to balance them on their 510 pins and hope they remain upright.

I also have some ideas of a modular type setup similar to the one below, but made of wood.  I want to be able to break it down or re-configure it to my liking as well as expand it as my collection of mods, tanks and RDA's continues to grow.
 

I know there is another thread about this tank, but I thought I'd do an actual review of this tank.  Even online reviews have seemed to cover just the basics and not compare any of the different coils in the same review.  So without further ado, I present my review of the SMOK TFV8.
I’ve been using the TFV8 for about a week now.  I had enough loyalty points built up with one of my local B&Ms that I couldn’t pass it up, so I bought a black one.  After loyalty points were applied it cost me a whopping $15 after tax.  For those who may have been living under a rock for the past couple of months, the TFV8 is a sub ohm tank from SMOKTech.  It features a 6ml capacity, huge airflow, multiple coil options including an RBA coil head and a wide bore delrin drip tip (a delrin 510 adapter is included in the box for those who don’t like wide bore tips).

Almost immediately I knew I was going to want at least one, possibly two, more of these tanks.  Based on the way I vape, sub-ohm tanks are what works best for me and this tank definitely works.  It produces both clouds and flavor.  For me it’s a nice balance of each.  I’m not looking to chuck huge clouds and I’m not looking to be overwhelmed with whatever fruit or dessert flavor I happen to be vaping at the time.  So since I already knew I liked the tank and wanted at least one more, I ordered a second one.

There are a few things that really set this tank apart from some of the others I own and use.  The first, and probably the most prominent, is everything that’s included with this tank.  Most tanks I own came with the tank and an extra coil or two and, of course, a little blue screwdriver or hex wrench.  Occasionally I would find some extra O-rings or, in the case of RTA’s, some wire and some cotton, but for the most part it was just an extra coil or two.  This tank includes a ton of extras.  O-rings, spare Pyrex tank glass, cotton, extra coil heads, vape bands, cotton, hex wrench and a delrin 510 drip tip adapter.

The first thing that actually caught my eye, though, was the size of the coil heads.  Saying they are huge would be an understatement.  These things are Ginormous.  Seriously.  They are big.  They are also offered in a fairly wide variety, although all of their coil heads are of the sub-ohm variety.  The coil heads included with the tank are the V8-T8 Octuple coil head (.15 ohm), the V8-Q4 Quadruple coil head (also .15 ohm) and the rebuildable base pre-installed with dual fused claptons (claimed .28 ohms). 

Each of the included coil heads (as well as most of their other coil head offerings) is unique.  Different airflow design, different wicking slots…things that set them apart from each other and make them different experiences in spite of the same ohm rating.  Of course, as I already mentioned, there’s the size.  I took pics of the included coil heads and the RBA head side-by-side along with a couple of other coil heads for size comparison.  The coil heads on the top from left to right are a KangerTech OCC head and an Aspire Atlantis coil head.  The heads below from left to right are the V8-T8, the V8-Q4 and the RBA head.  The second pic is a view of the insides of the coil heads.


While I haven’t used the RBA heads from either tank yet, I did check them on my ohm meter for a couple of reasons.  The first was that the claptons in the first tank looked a little sloppy to me.  Almost as if someone was watching the clock before their shift ended and this was the last set they had to do before they could clock out and go home.  As I suspected, it came in at .44 ohms, quite a bit higher than their claimed .28 ohms.  On the other hand, the coils in the RBA from the second tank look much cleaner and they clocked in right on the money at .28 ohms.

On the tank itself, the airflow is huge.  It isn’t most airflow I have experienced, but it is more than adequate.  Two slots on each side that can be adjusted with a sliding ring on the base.  While the adjusting ring doesn’t lock into place, the friction on it is sufficient enough to keep the airflow set where you want it.  I haven’t had any issues with my airflow adjusting itself, and I am frequently shoving my setup in a pocket, taking it out, repeat, throughout the day.

As with the TFV4, it’s a top fill tank with a hinged top that “swings” out of the way.  A convenient feature because you can literally refill while on the move without having to worry about juggling a tank top or drip tip while you fill.  The fill slot is more than sufficient even for bottle drippers.  That being said, don’t forget to close off your airflow if you happen to be outside on a hot day when you fill your tank.  I did have one issue with leakage after a refill, but that was 100% operator error and I have had zero issues since.

The vaping experience is absolutely awesome.  SMOK calls it the Cloud Beast, and it is.  I typically take one to two second drags and that is more than enough with this tank to fog up the inside of my car or my mancave.  I have been vaping on the black tank with the V8-T8 that comes installed on the tank for a week.  Again, that is a .15 ohm coil head.  SMOK claims the coil is rated at 50-260 watts but recommends 120-180 watts for the best vaping experience.  I have been vaping it at 120 watts.   The juices I have been using have been a 30PG/70VG blend.  I suspect for my personal tastes I will likely find myself going a little higher in the wattage for thicker juices and a little lower with thinner juices.

I installed the .15 ohm V8-Q4 coil head on my second tank.  I have been vaping it only for a few hours now, but so far my experience with it has been as enjoyable as with the V8-T8 coil head.  It has been a slightly different experience, though.  First, SMOK claims the V8-Q4 is rated from 50-180 watts with 90-150 watts for the best vaping experience.  Next, the airflow is a slightly more restrictive than the airflow with the T8 coil head.  It’s a subtle difference but it is noticeable.  Finally, the particular juice I started with in this tank was also a tad thinner than the juices in my other TFV8.  The juice I have been vaping with the Q4 coil is a 35PG/65VG blend.  I bounced around between 80 and 105 watts with the Q4 coil head.  95 watts seems to be the optimum spot for me with the particular juice and that coil head.

Now for the negatives, and they aren’t really negatives, only opinions.  The first – it can get warm if you are chain vaping.  The only time I really chain vape is when I’m driving.  A 2+ hour commute in rush hour traffic can contribute to that.  And since drinking and driving is not only stupid, but against the law, chain vaping helps me cope with the idiots on the road.  The other negative is that it is only 6ml.  Wait, what?  ONLY 6ml?  This puppy is a juice hog.  I can easily go through two fills per day and be well into a third with this tank.

All in all, this is an excellent tank if you like sub-ohm tanks and you are a DTL vaper like me.  The airflow when using the T8 coil head and the included wide bore delrin drip tip rivals that of most RDAs I have used.  There are a couple of other coil head options besides the coil heads that come with the tank, including a different RBA head, but all of the coil heads are rated at .15 or .2 ohms.  The main differences between the heads are the airflow and the wicking channels.

If you are a MTL vaper or you don’t like warm vapes, this tank may not be for you, although I suppose you could swap out the pre-installed claptons for you own coils and run something with a higher ohm rating.  But if you don’t like warm vapes or sub ohms and you choose to buy this tank anyway, you have been warned.

Last, even at MSRP, which is something like $59.99, I think this is a great tank.  I didn’t pay MSRP for either tank and you don’t need to either.  I have seen them online anywhere from $29 to $37.  Depending on where you get it from and the cost of shipping, you may actually save money by going with one from a slightly higher priced vendor, so shop around.

Today I learned that having multiple tanks is nice for having a variety of flavors at hand and trying different tanks, but a real pain as far as maintaining an inventory of disposables, e.g. coils.  I also learned to start writing things down.  I have an ijust 2 that came with a dual wound, .3 ohm coil.  I replaced it with a .5 single wound that "works".  It does not however provide anywhere near the amount of flavor.  OoooPs.  Had to look up the original equipment provided.  Now I will need to source that.  Hmmmmmmmm.  I'm learning.  I'm also going to need to source some little containers that can be labeled  for the pieces/parts.  Last thing learned is having some juice that is "ok" can be a good thing to limit vaping at work.  Some of this stuff tastes just too good to put down. 

Just got myself an early Xmas gift today of eleaf istick pico (my first adjustable vaporizer!).  So far so good.  I'll be writing a one or two week review soon!
Happy Holidays!  And a personal thank you to the Vape shop I got my vape from (Charlie's Vape Shop).

LOL its not a pleasant hit

Yikes!   Just learned what a fried coil tastes like.  Mega Yuck!  My IJust 2 cooked.  I've read in here that "you will know" when it happens.  Holy Moly!  I guess so!

Cutting by half is a good start when you go to sub-ohm vaping, but I've found it is more linear than that... if you want to maintain the same Nicotine "feel" as you get from the higher Ohm coil.
For example... if you are using a 1.5 Ohm coil and 12mg Nicotine... and want to drop to say a 0.5 Ohm coil... you're dropping by 67% in resistance, so you should drop at least 67% in Nicotine strength too... to say 4mg (or 3mg if you are buying commercial brands that offer strengths in 3mg increments). 
Personally, I use 6 or 9mg at 1.2 Ohm... an when I (occasionally) use a 0.5 Ohm coil (59% reduction), I also drop my Nicotine by the same (or more) ratio... so that puts me vaping 2-4 mg strengths at 0.5 Ohms.

Sounds like good advice Tam. Six months sounds like a good time frame. Right now there's plenty to fence with everyone's opinion and what not. I dropped alcohol 23 years ago and the process has similarities, lol. And of course, I have to try to be careful not to beat friends over the head with it as I am so glad to have found this. Don't want or become a smoke-a-nazi, lol.


Sent from my iPad using The Vapor Talk mobile app

Okay, now tell me what PG/VG ratio your juices are. 

Another way to look at is a 1.5 ohm coil at 9W runs 3.7V, a .5 coil at 32W runs 4V, so a .5 coil will run 2.1V at 9W which probably isn't enough to get it hot very fast.
Not much difference between 3.7V and 4V.

Like Rich says above a lower ohm coil will produce more heat at a set voltage than a higher ohm coil. Watts are not constant across a range of resistances as they are a product, I think, of the relationship between resistance (Ohms) and voltage. It has to do with Ohm's Law. I get the basics of, but don't understand Ohm's Law well enough to explain it. All I can recommend to get it explained is to look up Ohm's Law on the net or wait for someone here that can actually explain it.
My guess as to why we set watts on our mods is that it is actually a finer adjustment than volts.

Your .5 coil is made of wire that is a heavier gauge than the 1.5 coil, so there is more metal to heat than the lighter gauge wire, An example would be when welding with a heavier wire you need more amps then with a lighter wire.
I use temperature control most of the time, and it takes more watts to keep the temp at what I want when using a heavier gauge metal than with a lighter gauge wire.
I'm not very good at explaining things so I might have confused you even more.

Today, I learned about volume.  If I want a quick nicotine fix I can go to a small bore tank like the nautilus or a joyetech ego aio loaded with 12 or 18 mg juice and if I want to just enjoy a long vape I can pick up a large bore tank with either 3 or 6 mg juice.  No more choking and coughing.  I'm also learning about about balancing temp either via tc or wattage setting.  Today, I'm realizing how much money I wasted letting analogs burn sitting in the ash tray just because I might want a "hit" at any time.  Today I learned that I don't have to clean my glasses every half hour when I'm vaping. 
 
Right now I'm realizing that I'm assembling a gratitude list, lol.  Too cool, too cool, too cool! 

YAY!!!!
Glad it worked for you

Quick shout out to @edna, Just picked up a nautilus mini.  Bravo!  Great suggestion.  Dropped the wattage to 7W per the 1.8ohm coil and walla!  I'm vapin 12mg with the eleaf mod and lovin it!!!
 
Oh what a relief it is!!!  Beautiful mod and I just carry a couple of tanks. 
 
Doin the happy dance!

Quick shout out to @edna, Just picked up a nautilus mini.  Bravo!  Great suggestion.  Dropped the wattage to 7W per the 1.8ohm coil and walla!  I'm vapin 12mg with the eleaf mod and lovin it!!!
 
Oh what a relief it is!!!  Beautiful mod and I just carry a couple of tanks. 
 
Doin the happy dance!

Quick shout out to @edna, Just picked up a nautilus mini.  Bravo!  Great suggestion.  Dropped the wattage to 7W per the 1.8ohm coil and walla!  I'm vapin 12mg with the eleaf mod and lovin it!!!
 
Oh what a relief it is!!!  Beautiful mod and I just carry a couple of tanks. 
 
Doin the happy dance!

Today I learned that different tanks need to be set to different power settings.  Some take a lot more power than others.
Today I learned that I want to buy at least half of the mods and pens  sold.  I get the "shiny" comments now.
Today I learned my sense of smell is coming back after a week of vaping.  The cat pooped in the corner of the studio probably a week or so ago and I just discovered it.  With my nose.
Today I learned that most everything I do, the government wants to control.  Ok, really it was reaffirmed. 
Today I learned that I can probably buy some zero nic juice.  I really love vaping for the sake of vaping.  Of course that will mean another new tank.  See learned thing two. 

Today I learned that different tanks need to be set to different power settings.  Some take a lot more power than others.
Today I learned that I want to buy at least half of the mods and pens  sold.  I get the "shiny" comments now.
Today I learned my sense of smell is coming back after a week of vaping.  The cat pooped in the corner of the studio probably a week or so ago and I just discovered it.  With my nose.
Today I learned that most everything I do, the government wants to control.  Ok, really it was reaffirmed. 
Today I learned that I can probably buy some zero nic juice.  I really love vaping for the sake of vaping.  Of course that will mean another new tank.  See learned thing two. 

Today I learned that different tanks need to be set to different power settings.  Some take a lot more power than others.
Today I learned that I want to buy at least half of the mods and pens  sold.  I get the "shiny" comments now.
Today I learned my sense of smell is coming back after a week of vaping.  The cat pooped in the corner of the studio probably a week or so ago and I just discovered it.  With my nose.
Today I learned that most everything I do, the government wants to control.  Ok, really it was reaffirmed. 
Today I learned that I can probably buy some zero nic juice.  I really love vaping for the sake of vaping.  Of course that will mean another new tank.  See learned thing two. 

Today I learned that different tanks need to be set to different power settings.  Some take a lot more power than others.
Today I learned that I want to buy at least half of the mods and pens  sold.  I get the "shiny" comments now.
Today I learned my sense of smell is coming back after a week of vaping.  The cat pooped in the corner of the studio probably a week or so ago and I just discovered it.  With my nose.
Today I learned that most everything I do, the government wants to control.  Ok, really it was reaffirmed. 
Today I learned that I can probably buy some zero nic juice.  I really love vaping for the sake of vaping.  Of course that will mean another new tank.  See learned thing two. 

Today I learned that different tanks need to be set to different power settings.  Some take a lot more power than others.
Today I learned that I want to buy at least half of the mods and pens  sold.  I get the "shiny" comments now.
Today I learned my sense of smell is coming back after a week of vaping.  The cat pooped in the corner of the studio probably a week or so ago and I just discovered it.  With my nose.
Today I learned that most everything I do, the government wants to control.  Ok, really it was reaffirmed. 
Today I learned that I can probably buy some zero nic juice.  I really love vaping for the sake of vaping.  Of course that will mean another new tank.  See learned thing two.