The future of temp control

[Alex]

VIR looking amazing
VIR 0 comments
Further to my last post regarding Imeo's latest video on VIR I have now had a chance to watch the full one and a half hour video. As well as the video I have caught up on the huge thread over on ECF. I must admit to having a bit of information overload but I will do my best to cover the main points of the video and thread here. First here is a look at the PCB from VIR.



As you can see the board is tiny. This latest GG innovation has taken 3 years in design and production. The reason for the size is part of the design, Imeo wanted to make something very small to reduce the overall size of the mod. As well as the size the main purpose of VIR is to offer a product that does more than provide a good vape, it offers a much safer vape.

It achieves this in a number of ways all powered by the tiny PCB which is the heart of VIR. The technology behind VIR is all programmed into a unit the size of a thumbnail. There are too many functions to list them all again but you can check out the full list HERE.

The main and most important features from the video are, in my opinion, the following -

• Prevents inhalation of acrolein (produced when VG gets beyond 280 degrees)
• Can detect and prevent a dry burn
• Reverse battery protection
• Over-discharge protection for battery
• Ease of operation (Although the video is over an hour long it is mainly highlighting the processes VIR goes through to maintain a constant, safe vape. In normal use most of the functionality goes on with no user input.)
• Auto wire detection with different LED indicators

ECF Thread

The thread on ECF does have a lot of useful information but became sidetracked for a while with some discussion regarding patents and patent laws. I feel this is an issue for Imeo and we as users should focus on the end product. Having said that there have been a few new nuggets of information.

• 
  
  
  • VIR will come in steel and brass versions
  • Will cost 180 Euro's
  • Expected release sometime in the next 2 months

There are also some graphs posted with VIR test results by Dr.Farsalinos. The most impressive one is the one below. Notice how VIR reaches the desired temperature very quickly and then keeps that temperature constant during the draw.


As we get closer to the release of VIR it is becoming clearer how good this new technology promises to be. The long wait seems well worth it, VIR looks set to be a great addition to the GG line up.


source: http://gg160.blogspot.com/2014/11/vir-looking-amazing.html

 

[Andre]

Sounds promising.

 

[Alex]

VIR - revealed at last

Imeo has finally posted a thread on ecf tiltled VIR Official. The post contains the video below which lists the details of VIR although there are no images yet.


These are the main points

• 3 years in development
• VIR prevents inhalation of acrolein (produced when VG gets beyond 280 degrees)
• VIR can sense a non fed atomizer and prevents dry hits
• VIR can detect and prevent a dry burn
• Will not allow the wick to dry burn, prolonging wick life
• Prevents wire from getting red hot, prevents oxidation
• VIR checks the wick 1000 times per second leading to consistent flavour
• Parallel coils work with all the same functions
• Control of smoke on atomizers with liquid control, especially GG devices
• VIR allows control of smoke temperature
• Through control and management of the current, VIR prolongs battery life
• VIR performs the same regardless of gauge of wire
• VIR keeps vape the consistent between atomizers of different resistance
• VIR can sense flooding, sending correct power to remedy the flooding
• Understands when you are not inhaling and cuts off after a few seconds
• VIR gives a coloured LED signal depending on type of wire
• Detects available battery power and gives an LED signal when vaping falls below normal setup
• VIR gives power when inhaling, if button is pressed without inhaling the power goes down. This gives protection for unlocked devices in pockets
• All changes work in real time, no need to stop and check settings
• You will know the temperature at which your atomizer works
• Mechanical button
• No screen
• Working atomizer check
• Strong/Weak battery check
• Lock mode
• 25 second cut off
• Short circuit protection
• Reverse battery protection
• Over-discharge protection for battery
• Thermal monitoring
• 2-25 Watts with a single battery, 2-35 Watts with 2 batteries (2 x 3.7v)
• Ability to stop LED flashes by pressing button
• Detect lower and higher limits of temperature range
• Remembers your last set up
• 0.45 - 2.2 Ohm resistance range
• Atomizer won't work while pushing a button to enter menu
• Menu won't trigger by mistake, ie when using short button push inhales
• Minimum voltage 3 Volts

Finally one last point that may make a difference to users is the fact that VIR will only work with Titanium grade 1, e-smokeguru Titanium alloy and Stainless steel. If VIR detects the use of Kanthal or Nichrome it will not work. The range of wires that can be auto detected goes from 0.2 to 0.6 mm.

Still no details that refer to a release date but this is a big step forward. At the very end of the video there is a patent number for the device, showing how seriously Imeo is taking things with VIR. At a time when there are pushes from all sides to discredit vaping and vaping safety, a device like this is a monumental leap forward. Anything that improves safety is always a good thing and Imeo has always been very careful to include safety features in his designs.

VIR has been in development for a very long time and the list of features more than justifies the long wait we have had. It seems like VIR is a very versatile and useful add on, I can't believe all these functions are crammed onto one device. Also it will be interesting to see the device itself and how it incorporates into a GG mod, to a lot of people the overall look is very important.

Now we just need a price and a release date for VIR. Hopefully we'll get these soon along with some pictures and maybe a video.


*UPDATE*
In the ECF thread Imeo gives a time scale of two weeks for a video and two months until VIR is ready. Obviously this can easily change but it's nice to have a rough idea.

 

[Yiannaki]

Great find @Alex

This looks very promising! Lets hope they don't pull an evolv move and launch 5 versions before they get it right

 

[free3dom]

Looks very promising indeed. Amazing stuff @Alex

It does seem that these guys have taken the proper R+D route and done their testing in-house, not releasing "alpha/beta" versions of the product until they were satisfied with the results. Well done to them for showing restraint in a market where minor revision devices are released on a weekly basis

I am curious as to how the wire will perform and what it's properties are, but I'll do some research later to see. Once again, this goes to show that vaping is still an infant technology and there is still a long road ahead for it to grow - which is just awesome, and a little scary for the bank account

 

[Philip Dunkley]

@Alex, very informative mate!!
This is very exciting, and I cannot believe how long the whole temperature sensing thing has been going on.
I myself have found Temperature Sensing a very interesting technology, and my experience with the actual products have not been bad at all.
I currently have an SX Mini, which in my opinion, after owning all the other temperature sensing devices out there, is the best Temp Controlling device on the market. Unbelievably smooth vape coming of of it, and I've set the temp limit to 250C.
Second place to me comes the Vaporshark, and not by a long mile, it's very close to the Yihi, just found the Yihi more consistent.
I cannot wait for this technology to evolve, and I truly believe that this is one of the major technologies to be used in vaping for the foreseeable future.
This is great to see how much R&D has been put into the product, and how safe they are going with the battery/Watts Limit. Finally some sense!!!
Will be keeping my eye on this big time.