Mech Mods

[rjm92]

Morning everyone.

What's the benefit of having a mech mod? Can You get mechs that fit 21700 batteries?

I'm aware of ohms law and how you need to make sure you've got a suitable battery to handle the resistance

Is there any starter sort of mechs to get in to to see if I like it? I'm presuming you have to change the batteries often as its only a single 18650 that's in there?

Thanks for looking and for your advice in advance

 

[stevoknevo]

Morning everyone.

What's the benefit of having a mech mod? Can You get mechs that fit 21700 batteries?

I'm aware of ohms law and how you need to make sure you've got a suitable battery to handle the resistance

Is there any starter sort of mechs to get in to to see if I like it? I'm presuming you have to change the batteries often as its only a single 18650 that's in there?

Thanks for looking and for your advice in advance

The only benefit a mechanical mod has over a regulated mod is it won't stop working due to an electronic breakdown - a good quality mech should last a lifetime with regular maintenance. An electronic device is more convenient and will provide your chosen output throughout the life of the battery with the added convenience of being easy to change output, up or down, at will - a mech can't do this and will only provide what power is available from the battery to your coil, and the vape intensity decreases as the power in your battery does.

I'm currently only using mechs, I like the clean power delivery of a mech, something I notice and appreciate over an electronic device.

I'd definitely recommend a 21700 mech purely as the 21700 batteries are a big step up from 18650s - the highest amp rated 18650 is the Samsung 20s at 30a but it only has 2000mAh (mAh is essentially battery capacity/how long they last for) the Samsung 30t is a 21700 battery, is capable of 35a and has 3000mAh, so you can run a lower resistance with a third more runtime. But it really depends on the resistance you plan to run - the two cells I've listed above are the best on the market for low resistance in their respective sizes, the 18650 Samsung 20s can be run at 0.14, the 21700 Samsung 30t at 0.12,but you'll get far greater run time on the latter.

Building a bit higher at 0.17 allows the use of the excellent 25a cells in both sizes, the Sony VTC5a or the new Molicel P26A are 25a/2600mAh in 18650 size; the Samsung 40t is 21700 sized and 25a rated, but they have a massive 4000mAh capacity! That's a lot of extra runtime!

You definitely change your batteries out more frequently on a mech due to the vape output between a fully charged and even a half charged battery having quite a difference in said output (resistance dependant of course, the lower the resistance the more noticeable battery drop off is) - I've no way of measuring but I change mine at roughly half charge from full.

Can't really recommend a 21700 mech as I've yet to use one, and the only 21700 I have my eye on is the Kennedy Vindicator which is hard to justify to anyone at £130! I'd probably avoid the Bonza as some apes have reported poor performance from it due to the poor switch (the atty is excellent though!) The Tauren by THC is well liked by mech users on here and is available for £35 from SR Vapes.

 

[smplmind]

I mostly use mechs and mostly squonkers the other main advantage is that they are smaller because there is no board inside, this is my main reason for using them plus as said above they are reliable and easy to maintain.

 

[Deleted member 54254]

I use a lot of mechs although not exclusively. As for benefits, I would say other than breakdown as compared to regulated there is none, it's more a preference factor. I enjoy how liquid flavours change as the battery diminishes but again this can be achieved on regulated by varying the wattage.

There are a few 21700 mechs on the market but decent authentics tend to be quite pricey. This would boil down to how much you're willing to spend.

It's quite hard to recommend a starter mech, when I first got into them I was pointed towards the Broadside clone but I see Fasttech don't carry them any more. I do see them on other sites but I don't know anything about their build quality.

Generally it's beneficial to find one with a liner as this offers some protection against shorts from battery tears and a floating top 510 pin means you don't need to worry about protruding atomiser pins as you do on hybrid mechs.

Anyways, I've rambled on, good luck and any more questions, don't be afraid to ask

 

[rjm92]

The only benefit a mechanical mod has over a regulated mod is it won't stop working due to an electronic breakdown - a good quality mech should last a lifetime with regular maintenance. An electronic device is more convenient and will provide your chosen output throughout the life of the battery with the added convenience of being easy to change output, up or down, at will - a mech can't do this and will only provide what power is available from the battery to your coil, and the vape intensity decreases as the power in your battery does.

I'm currently only using mechs, I like the clean power delivery of a mech, something I notice and appreciate over an electronic device.

I'd definitely recommend a 21700 mech purely as the 21700 batteries are a big step up from 18650s - the highest amp rated 18650 is the Samsung 20s at 30a but it only has 2000mAh (mAh is essentially battery capacity/how long they last for) the Samsung 30t is a 21700 battery, is capable of 35a and has 3000mAh, so you can run a lower resistance with a third more runtime. But it really depends on the resistance you plan to run - the two cells I've listed above are the best on the market for low resistance in their respective sizes, the 18650 Samsung 20s can be run at 0.14, the 21700 Samsung 30t at 0.12,but you'll get far greater run time on the latter.

Building a bit higher at 0.17 allows the use of the excellent 25a cells in both sizes, the Sony VTC5a or the new Molicel P26A are 25a/2600mAh in 18650 size; the Samsung 40t is 21700 sized and 25a rated, but they have a massive 4000mAh capacity! That's a lot of extra runtime!

You definitely change your batteries out more frequently on a mech due to the vape output between a fully charged and even a half charged battery having quite a difference in said output (resistance dependant of course, the lower the resistance the more noticeable battery drop off is) - I've no way of measuring but I change mine at roughly half charge from full.

Can't really recommend a 21700 mech as I've yet to use one, and the only 21700 I have my eye on is the Kennedy Vindicator which is hard to justify to anyone at £130! I'd probably avoid the Bonza as some apes have reported poor performance from it due to the poor switch (the atty is excellent though!) The Tauren by THC is well liked by mech users on here and is available for £35 from SR Vapes.

wow thanks for all the advice mate! I buy pre built coils as not got my head arou f building myself. I'm hopeless haha. My builds come out at about 0.2 & 0.25 on dual coils and single coils so I would be fine using most batteries at this ohm strength wouldn't I? Do you know if the THC Tauren comes with a sleeve to protect the battery once inside the mod? And is there much difference between buying brass, copper or silver?

 

[stevoknevo]

wow thanks for all the advice mate! I buy pre built coils as not got my head arou f building myself. I'm hopeless haha. My builds come out at about 0.2 & 0.25 on dual coils and single coils so I would be fine using most batteries at this ohm strength wouldn't I? Do you know if the THC Tauren comes with a sleeve to protect the battery once inside the mod? And is there much difference between buying brass, copper or silver?

It's hard to say whether you would be fine at that resistance on a mech - what kind of power do you run those builds on a regulated device? Copper is the most conductive, then brass, then stainless steel, but you'd hardly notice the difference across them to be honest (about 1-2w difference according to mooch)

 

[rjm92]

It's hard to say whether you would be fine at that resistance on a mech - what kind of power do you run those builds on a regulated device? Copper is the most conductive, then brass, then stainless steel, but you'd hardly notice the difference across them to be honest (about 1-2w difference according to mooch)

I run it between 60 and 70 Watts mate

 

[stevoknevo]

I run it between 60 and 70 Watts mate

A rda built at 0.2 is the equivalent of 88w on a freshly charged cell at 4.2v; 0.25 is 70w at 4.2 - I've not taken any sag etc into account, but somewhere between 0.2 and 0.25 will be spot on for you, the joy of a mech is finding exactly the resistance that suits you and the way you vape!

Personally, at that resistance, I'd be going 21700 mech and Samsung 40t cells for runtime.

 

[rjm92]

A rda built at 0.2 is the equivalent of 88w on a freshly charged cell at 4.2v; 0.25 is 70w at 4.2 - I've not taken any sag etc into account, but somewhere between 0.2 and 0.25 will be spot on for you, the joy of a mech is finding exactly the resistance that suits you and the way you vape!

Personally, at that resistance, I'd be going 21700 mech and Samsung 40t cells for runtime.

brilliant! I'll invest in some on payday!

 

[Biochemist]

Nobody said that they look very pretty! For me that's the draw, otherwise regulated mods beat them in every aspect of vaping.

Maintenance is a bit of a pain, but necessary, for top performance you really need to clean your mech contacts, switch and threading every 3-4 weeks at most.

You won't get more power from a mech, no matter whatever you read, there are regulated mods on the market that can safely deliver ANY power you may want. People will tell you that the current delivered by mechs (flat) feels different when vaping vs the current delivered by a chip (pulsed). I am still not sold on that. I THINK I agree but there probably some placebo effect going on. Nowadays there are very good chips on the market, back in the day mechs really did deliver a far smoother vape than regulated mods, but this is now history.

Some people find it restrictive that many regulated mods won't fire at all in stupidly low resistance (0.05 Ohm) - mechs will fire at any resistance, and can be very safe is used correctly, with proper care.

All that's banged on all the time about knowing Ohm's law, the Amperage limits of the batteries, and protruding 510 pins when using a hybrid mech, testing your build on a meter and a regulated mod before putting it on a mech really need to become your bible for the first months of using a mech or you may end up in the news.

But they are very pretty! Like that ex many of us may have had, who was just too high maintenance, and a pain to be around but...so pretty!