# Upgrade Time



## BigK (26/5/14)

I currently have an Ego twist with a mPT3 and an EVOD and as payday looms i find myself thinking about spoiling myself with new vape gear. I visited Vape King this Saturday and saw various members of this forum with their MODs and was fortunate enough to try some VK4 of one of them. It completely blew my mind and my taste buds. So now i find myself contemplating getting one but..... I have no idea where or how to start . What would i require ? How much would it set back my pocket ?


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## Andre (26/5/14)

Are you talking about a mechanical mod with Rebuildable atomizer or a regulated mod with a commercial tank? For the former you need to build your own coils, do your own wicking, have the correct batteries, a good knowledge of Ohms Law and safety. And you need a charger for the batteries. For the latter just good batteries, spare coils and a charger.

Reactions: Like 2


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Matthee I'm thinking a regulated mod with a commercial tank. Skill set does not permit rebuildables as yet lol


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## Andre (26/5/14)

Ok, I presume from Vapeking as you are near them. 
If you can afford it, go for the Sigelei 20W, which you can use for rebuildable atomizers as well should you go there in the future. Otherwise, the SID. On top of that the Kanger Aerotank or the Aspire Nautilus. I prefer the former, but many are Nautilus fans.
Do know, however, that this combination will not really give you a better vape than your current setup. The mPT3 gives a great vape. For a discernible difference you will have to go to a rebuildable atomizer.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Silverbear (26/5/14)

What are your requirements?

What are you looking for in a mod, size, capacity, VV or VW or both?

whats important to you in the tank, capacity or looks?

All the other stuff such as ohm's, cleaning' filling are important but each tank has it's own quirks and gimmicks.

For VTF (that's vapor, throat hit and flavor) well here is where the difference lies. Quality is another issue.

Sorry not trying over complicate the question, but the point I am trying to make is understand your usage requirements, from there you can be guided.

But for some one looking to start out in the more advanced devices, a good suggestion would be to look at the MVP v2 (any variant) and a kanger tank (mini or standard).

So knowing what style of vaping you do, where and when you vape and how much are the important questions to answer when you are looking for a good basic vape that does not require you to do a lot of DIY.


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Wayne the MVP does check all the boxes but I'd prefer something that does all of that but is in more conventional cylindrical shape


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## shabbar (26/5/14)

most welcome to the forum @BigK 

check out the svd .


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## Silverbear (26/5/14)

Then my suggestion would to look at the devices mentioned above by @Matthee, but keep in mind that they are largish devices too. If what you are looking for is something a bit more stealthy, e.g. Evod looking but that give you the flexibility to choose your own settings then look at the new Vision Spinner II which has VV bit no VW. Top quality device.


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## shabbar (26/5/14)

you will however require a charger and 18350/18650 batteries with that 

recommended are nitecore chargers and samsung / efest batteries


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Wayne I was considering the vision spinner too. So my question is if i sacrificed looks and decided to go with an MVP would there be a big difference between the MVP and my current setup ?


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## Silverbear (26/5/14)

Battery, Yes. I assume you currently have a standard 650mha Evod battery, if so that offers you no flexibility in settings and battery life is probably around 4 - 5 hours depending on how much you vape, with the MVP you will have the ability to check the ohm's on your tank, check battery level and then be able to set the power output of the battery and most importantly of all is you will have a much longer battery life. On the MVP, again depending on how much you vape you should get more than a day's worth of vape time out of the battery.


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## Metal Liz (26/5/14)

sacrificed looks  the MVP is beautiful and definitely a great buy, pass through, VV, VW, puff counter, Ohm reader, 1 and a half days constant vaping battery power... need i elaborate more hahaha  MVP for the win

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Metal Liz I meant "sacrifice" lol. @Wayne i currently have the Ego C Twist 1300mha


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## Metal Liz (26/5/14)

hahaha good save @BigK, you nearly gave me a heart attack there bwhahahaha  my MVP falls in the same category as my love for Metallica, nobody must diss them in my prescence


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## Silverbear (26/5/14)

Then you have good battery life already and variability of settings, so the next logical move would be to something like the MVP or on to more advanced tube style mods such as those referred to above and then you would need externally chargeable batteries and a charger


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Metal Liz Who's this Metallica you talking about ?  Just kidding I'll definitely keep that in mind

Reactions: Funny 1


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Wayne any take on the SVD ?


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## Silverbear (26/5/14)

Awsome, great, solid, reliable. Very good choice, what I like about the SVD is that it is telescopic, so you can fit any size battery into it without any fuss, so you can vary it up to suite your daily requirements you are not lock into one battery size. So imo, the svd would be a good choice and a great place to start.

Now we just need to look at what tank you are going be be choosing.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Reinvanhardt (26/5/14)

This is what @BigK tried on Saturday. Was nice meeting you my friend!


​It's a mechanical mod powering a rebuildable atomizer.

The mod in question is a Sentinel M16. I bought this from Fasttech for $15. You will find similar success by using locally available mechanical mods too. Vapeking has quite a variety.

The atomizer in question is a Kayfun 3.1. They sell at Vapeking for R620 but you can get it cheaper by ordering from Fasttech here. Delivery is free but it takes about 6 weeks.

So it's quite a sophisticated battery in this here's tube mod. Vapeking and other local vendors sell reliable, good quality batteries, so that's easily available. Next you'll need a charger.

We end up building and customizing our own coils according to individual throat hit, flavour and vapour production preferences. This is not a route that all vapers take, but you have testified! There are a few stepping stones that you'll skip by going this route, as mentioned in the above posts, so you might consider enjoying the scenery along the road to mechanicals. The choice is yours.

Oh and we build our coils by wrapping kanthal around a round object of about 1 - 3mm like a drill bit. We test the resistance of that coil by using an ohms reader or a multimeter. And we wick the coils by threading cotton through it, preferably organic, purchased from Dischem.

Here's a picture of a coil after the cotton's been threaded through.


​You'll be 100% capable of using this atomizer or another "dripping atomizer" on the SVD. The difference is that the SVD is regulated for safety reasons so you won't be able to use a coil quite as low, meaning you won't be able to generate as much watts through the coil. SVD is limited to 15w. You vaped at about 18w at that stage. Essentially a mechanical mod bypasses the regulation.

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 4


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Reinvanhardt was awesome meeting you buddy. So would it be possible to get a similar type of vape without going the rebuildble route ? I'm just looking for a stepping stone in that direction before I start building my own coils.


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## Alex (26/5/14)

@Reinvanhardt that Sentinel M16 of yours is really awesome. I was impressed at just how solid it is. Almost as good as my sexy brass Nemesis 

@BigK, hey man it was very nice to meet you on Sat. And my advice would echo @Reinvanhardt. And just to add that it's really not very complicated, all the coil building and stuff is easy and fun to do. So you need a few extra things like a battery charger and an ohm meter. But it's so rewarding to make your own device work, and in a way that you can customize to your own preferences.

For a dead easy setup that you will master in no time, get a Kayfun Lite or Kayfun 3.1. Add a mech mod like a nemesis/hammer/sentinel or whatever you prefer. There are tons of youtube tut's on building and wicking. Plus were right here to help you if you need.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Andre (26/5/14)

BigK said:


> @Reinvanhardt was awesome meeting you buddy. So would it be possible to get a similar type of vape without going the rebuildble route ? I'm just looking for a stepping stone in that direction before I start building my own coils.


That is why I recommended the Sigelei 20W - you can use it whilst enjoying the scenery on the road, but you can go quite far with it on the rebuildable road thereafter as well. A SVD ouputs max 15 W, whilst the Sigelei can go up to 20 W. The MVP does max 11 W.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## BigK (26/5/14)

@Alex it was great meeting you too. Fantastic to finally put faces to the avatars so to speak lol. One thing i really love about this community is how helpful and friendly everyone is. Makes this journey so much more fun and rewarding. I suppose i could try my hand at coil building as it doesn't sound too difficult. My only concern is that out of frustration i may ditch the whole setup if it doesn't work out.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Silverbear (26/5/14)

Now we starting to talk tanks, as I mentioned above.

It is highly unlikely that you are going to get the same vape out of a stock tank, but you can get close.

With the type of device that @Reinvanhardt had you try on Saturday is set up to run at a much lower ohm which generates more heat from the coil, included in that is the use of cotton as his wicking material, and as @Reinvanhardt has correctly mentioned, this requires higher Wattage or volts to generate the kind of output to produce that type of vape.

With a stock tank and coil the best you can do on is with a 1.5ohm coil on the SVD at around 10 to 12 watts, this will give you very close experience. But if you want to recreate that vape, rebuilding is the only way.


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## BigK (26/5/14)

Other thing is how reliable is Fastech ?


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## Alex (26/5/14)

BigK said:


> Other thing is how reliable is Fastech ?



So far only had one order, which finally arrived.... and everything was good. No other complaints other than the loooooong wait.


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## BigK (26/5/14)

So far we have the Sigelei 20W, Sentinel M16.... anything else i should be looking at in that category ?


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## Alex (26/5/14)

BigK said:


> So far we have the Sigelei 20W, Sentinel M16.... anything else i should be looking at in that category ?



Get a few of these, if you don't like it, I'll buy it off you. http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10005773/1493800-nemesis-style-mechanical-mod

Reactions: Funny 1


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## crack2483 (26/5/14)

30w clones are up on FT too if you interested.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Silver (27/5/14)

BigK said:


> I currently have an Ego twist with a mPT3 and an EVOD and as payday looms i find myself thinking about spoiling myself with new vape gear. I visited Vape King this Saturday and saw various members of this forum with their MODs and was fortunate enough to try some VK4 of one of them. It completely blew my mind and my taste buds. So now i find myself contemplating getting one but..... I have no idea where or how to start . What would i require ? How much would it set back my pocket ?



Hi @BigK

Great advice here from all the vapers and a winning post from @Reinvanhardt. Its worth mentioning that he has a master coil builder medal below his avatar, so that comes with lots of practice 

I hear your hesitation to go the rebuildable route. I was the same. But after i rebuilt my first coil which took about 30 minutes, i havent looked back. That was a few months back. Havent vaped a standard "bought" coil since.

That said, I think rebuilding is not for everyone. And commercial tanks and coils are getting better and better.
The mPT3 you have is one of the better commercially available and stock setups. You may just be the type of person that prefers not to rebuild and rather buy packs of 5 coils and swap them every week or two. Nothing wrong with that at all.

A few questions if i may:
- Can you describe which vape you prefer? Your mPT3 or your EVOD? Is it the EVOD2 or EVOD1?
- what juices are you vaping at the moment?
- whats your budget for this so called next upgrade?
- how important is portability and "carryability"? Will this new setup be just for home?
- describe what you liked about @Reinvanhardt 's setup you tried. Was it the intense flavour, or the throat hit? Have you tried that same juice in your current device?

Hopefully I can give you some good advice if you can answer some or all of these questions.
Importantly, there seems to be no single solution that works for everyone.

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 1


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## BigK (27/5/14)

Hi @Silver . I Currently have an EVOD1 and i would say i definitely prefer the mPT3 of the 2. Currently I am vaping VM4, VM peach rooibos, VM choc mint, VK menthol and VK wacky wicks. I would say my budget is in the R 1500 range. Portability is important but not vital as i can easily carry my EVOD or mPT3 when I'm outdoors (I work out on engineering sites). The best part of @Reinvanhardt setup was definitely the intense flavor I have tried the same juice on my current setup and its good but i now know how much better it could be.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Silver (27/5/14)

Thanks for the answers @BigK 

If I understand correctly, @Reinvanhardt 's setup you vaped was at 18 Watts. And you liked the intensity and the flavour. Most people will say that the Kayfun (which you tried that day) is very good with flavour. I dont think it will be currently possible to recreate that experience using a commercial tank/coil setup at lower power. 

So to get that vape you are probably going to have to get a similar setup. In your price range a Kayfun tank on top of a mechanical tube mod (like a Nemesis or something similar) should do it. Then you need a few top notch batteries and a good quality charger. You will need to practice the coil building and wicking but thats not very difficult. Perhaps a meetup with someone experienced will help a lot for the first time. Then you will be crusing. 

The Kayfun is popular because it gives great performance and good flavour and has a tank to carry juice onboard. 

My only concern is that I personally dont use my Kayfun/Nemesis that much. Here is why:
- because my kayfun is a clone, it has quirks. One of which is that it sometimes leaks. Some of this could be my own user error in the filling procedure etc but clones are known to have their quirks. So check if the one you want to buy is known to be a "well behaved one" or one with problems. You dont want your first rebuildable experience to be soured by this. Someone like @Reinvanhardt could probably advise you better than me in this regard. If you buy an original, you shouldnt have these quirks but they are a lot more expensive. 
- my kayfun clone's post screws make it quite tricky to attach the coil. 
- changing flavours or doing a quick fix of the coil or re-wicking is a bit of a pain, especially if there is still juice in the tank. 
- the bottom firing mechanism on my nemesis is not my favourite. Make sure you like the bottom firing idea. 

Despite the above, the Kayfun/Nemesis combination is a favourite of many. 

If you just want the intense vaping experience without a tank of juice onboard, then you can get a dripper. I have the IGO-L and it works very well for me to taste juices since its easy to change the wicks. But its not convenient for ongoing vaping since you have to drip juice on it every few puffs. Some say though that the dripper experience cannot be matched for flavour and throat hit. 

If you want the dripping experience without the hassle of dripping and the convenience of a tank, then the REO does that well. But it has to be imported and it costs about R2,500 with the spares etc. 

My suggestions/options above are by no means exhaustive. There are so many. And you may well find something else that suits you much better. Just discussed them given my own experiences and to give you something to think about. 

PS- I do think that building your own coils and getting that right is well worth the extra effort

Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 3


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## BigK (27/5/14)

Thanks for the comprehensive reply @Silver . I think i have alot to think about when it comes rebuildbles. Considering that i also do spend much of my time travelling rebuilding coils may be problematic. Is there a mod where i could possible attach a commercial tank or a rebuildble. For example would a SVD with the low ohm Aerotank coils get close ?


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## Gazzacpt (27/5/14)

BigK said:


> Thanks for the comprehensive reply @Silver . I think i have alot to think about when it comes rebuildbles. Considering that i also do spend much of my time travelling rebuilding coils may be problematic. Is there a mod where i could possible attach a commercial tank or a rebuildble. For example would a SVD with the low ohm Aerotank coils get close ?


Hi rebuildables are not that much of a mission I use a kayfun on a daily basis. The coil in this one is over a week old. Cotton is new though but nothing stops you from using a silica Wick it holds up for a while a week or more. With cotton I rewick after every second tank. Just rinse everything if you doing a flavor change dry burn the coil to get the gunk off, stick in a new bit of cotton and off you go. With silica you just rinse burn assemble. Commercial coils just don't cut it for me anymore. I even use self rebuilt coils in my evods.

Sent from my GT-I9190 using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## Silver (27/5/14)

Hi @BigK

I think it doesnt really matter what you attach say an aerotank with a stock coil onto, it will not be like what you experienced on @Reinvanhardt 's setup

However a better mod may well give a slightly better vape than the ego twist.

I found my MVP gave me a slightly better vape than my vision Spinner all at the same settings. Strange. It has to do with the way it delivers the power I think.

Come to think of it, you should probably try connecting your tank onto a MVP or SVD and see what its like before you buy one.

On the point of building coils while you travel, dont worry, if properly built, the coil itself lasts for ages. Its just the cotton wick that is changed every second day or so.

I went to Cape Town last week for 4 days with my Reo and took my mini protank as backup. Didnt vape on the protank once. Coil on the reo was perfect. Still using it now. I just changed cotton wick once halfway thru my trip. Took me all of 5 minutes in my hotel room. Really no issue at all.

Just saying that its not like you have to rebuild the coils every day. The coils can last for weeks. And if you use silica wick, the wick lasts much longer too.

Reactions: Like 1


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## BigK (27/5/14)

Thanks @Silver and @Gazzacpt. Now to just order the goodies off Fastech.


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## BigK (2/6/14)

So on Saturday during a visit to @JakesSA home for a collection i decided to purchase the Vamo V5 from him. I paired this up with a Nautilus Aspire tank. So far it seems like an awesome combo, great flavor, TH and vapour production. @JakesSA was extremely helpful and a genuine guy. Id definitely purchase any vape related gear he stocks in the future.

Reactions: Like 5


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## baksteen8168 (2/6/14)

Congrats @BigK on your Vamo V5 Purchase. I was so close to buying the same from @JakesSA but opted for the group buy of the Sigelei 20W. Just hope there is still stock of the Nautilus by the time I pick up my goodies. 

I for one will also be buying from VapeClub (@JakesSA and @VapeGrrl ) again.

Happy Vaping

Reactions: Like 2


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## BigK (2/6/14)

Thanks @baksteen8168. I'm sure you will love the Sigelei 20W. I figured I'd try the Vamo and if the bug really bit i might move to a mech mod with a RBA in the future. I think the Nautilus is much better than my mPT3 and definitely well worth the cash.

Reactions: Like 2


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## baksteen8168 (2/6/14)

@BigK I decided to jump straight in to the Sigelei. My combo at the moment will have to get me through until then. Trying to do the spend once big thing, but after browsing the forum here I suspect that it wont be possible just buying one mod. 

Already looking at rebuildables and i dont even have my device yet.

Reactions: Like 1


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## JakesSA (2/6/14)

Thank you for the custom @BigK, hope that rig gives you hours of vaping pleasure!

Now if some of these mech mod/rebuild specialists will just give me some hints on what I should stock in that segment ...


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