First mech advice

[Smokeandsteam]

It doesn't have a locking mechanism but the Keen by timescale is a great mech. Lined tube, great switch and budget friendly(as well as taking 21700 batteries). Was really surprised with how good it is.

The Subzero X has a great locking mechanism, as well as a lined tube. It's a bit pricier and only takes 18650s but is a great mech.

Thanks very much. The Subzero X sounds perfect. I’m going to do some shopping around in the sales this weekend! I definitely want a lock with the first mech I think. I’m going to go step by step. Thanks again mate

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Glad to help [emoji106] Exciting times ahead for you, there's just something about the power delivery of a mech that a regulated can't match in my experience - just a cleaner, smoother, all round nicer experience, and my preferred way of vaping.
The only way to become experienced with them is to use them, and then figure out your battery runtime and when to change them out - you'll know exactly when that is as you'll be hardly able to get a vape from it, but when you stick the cell on your charger it'll rarely be fully discharged, that's my experience of them anyway; then you'll start to get the gist for when to change a bit earlier.
Takes a bit of getting used to coming from a regulated device that gives you a very consistent vape through the life of the battery for the most part, but the tapering of the voltage output on a mech can bring out flavour nuances in liquids you've never noticed before
Then tinker away with different builds in the atties you use on it to find your sweetspot - I like to build so the output is very slightly higher than I'd prefer on a fresh cell so that as it drops off I get longer a duration for my preferred vape on any given atty. Great fun tinkering away and nothing beats nailing a build that's perfect for your tastes.

Keep us informed of your journey and have great fun [emoji106]

Great post. It’s really whetted my appetite. I didn’t know that about the battery by the way. I’ll definitely be looking out for that. I’m definitely going to experiment with builds, but to start I’m going for a 0.3 build and will keep it there until I’ve build confidence in use. I’m really looking forward to the ‘hit’ experience

can I ask one more question. How often should you strip down and clean the mech? And what do you recommend to use to get it clean?

 

[Deleted member 54254]

Had to think for a bit to remember my first mech, broadside clone as recommended here. Unfortunately Fasttech no longer carry these but I did some hunting to see what I could find similar.

https://www.2fdeal.com/style-25mm-mechanical-mod-copper_p1110.html

https://www.2fdeal.com/style-25mm-mechanical-mod-brass_p1111.html

Pro's include non-hybrid, lined, cheap.

Cons are unknown quality, only takes 18650 battery.

Either myself or Im sure someone else would be happy to look over it for you to make sure it's Ok.

Anyways, just a suggestion

 

[oldhippydude]

Exciting times ahead for you, there's just something about the power delivery of a mech that a regulated can't match in my experience - just a cleaner, smoother, all round nicer experience, and my preferred way of vaping. [emoji106]

I always am sceptical about statements like this.
I have never owned a regulated mod to compare.
I know why I like mechs. I like the simplicity, reliability.

From what I see. When we were new to the forum almost all active users on the forum went through a period using mechs.
When the alternative was a 20w mod that was likely to die in 6 months or a year that was understandable.
As mods got more reliable, flexible and powerful. Most experienced mech users switched to regulated devices.
They did not prefer mechs even though they new how to get the best vape for them out of them.

I also see lots of folk on here trying mechs believing they are somehow going to get a better vape and being disappointed and going back to regulated.

I fail to see how you can get a better vape from a mech. I do believe you can get just as good a vape but it is harder to achieve because, obtaining more or less power, requires a new coil rather than a few clicks of a button. As mech users we get used to the power dropping with every draw, not what regulated vapers are used to.

Generally I believe a watt is pretty much a watt whether regulated or mech. There may be differences in how the power is delivered by some regulated devices that some vapers may detect, but that is offset by the fact that you do not really know what watts you are really getting from your mech when you account for voltage drop unless you do complicated testing with professional test equipment.

OP is doing the right research, and is willing to experiment, so mechs might be well suited to him.
I hope he finds his reasons to like mechs.
He will then join the small minority of vapers, like you and I that prefer them.

Good luck @Smokeandsteam enjoy your mech. I personally would use nothing else but the truth of the matter is most folk prefer regulated devices.

 

[cliveh2]

Great post. It’s really whetted my appetite. I didn’t know that about the battery by the way. I’ll definitely be looking out for that. I’m definitely going to experiment with builds, but to start I’m going for a 0.3 build and will keep it there until I’ve build confidence in use. I’m really looking forward to the ‘hit’ experience

can I ask one more question. How often should you strip down and clean the mech? And what do you recommend to use to get it clean?

Cleaning, I tend to do when it needs, depending on how often you use it will depend on how often you clean
You will see the threads starting to get a black residue on them and also feel the drop of power
I use these for cleaning (peek is pretty messy but bloody good) and an old sock to apply the polish then a soft dry cloth to buff and toothbrush for the threads

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/132857104737

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/293268322403

 

[oldhippydude]

Cleaning will be required more often with copper or brass than stainless steal.

If you want max power from your mech then it has to be copper but only if the threads and contacts are kept clean and in my experience that is a lot of cleaning.

I have settled for ss, the less frequent cleaning suits me and I am not chasing power and the testing I have done on my mechs with 1 ohm coils shows only a tiny difference in voltage drop. Perhaps there is more difference at lower resistance. I would be surprised if Mooch did not have a video about it.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Can I just say the advice, discussion and help on this thread has been first class. It’s much appreciated. Thank you all very much

 

[stevoknevo]

I always am sceptical about statements like this.
I have never owned a regulated mod to compare.
I know why I like mechs. I like the simplicity, reliability.

From what I see. When we were new to the forum almost all active users on the forum went through a period using mechs.
When the alternative was a 20w mod that was likely to die in 6 months or a year that was understandable.
As mods got more reliable, flexible and powerful. Most experienced mech users switched to regulated devices.
They did not prefer mechs even though they new how to get the best vape for them out of them.

I also see lots of folk on here trying mechs believing they are somehow going to get a better vape and being disappointed and going back to regulated.

I fail to see how you can get a better vape from a mech. I do believe you can get just as good a vape but it is harder to achieve because, obtaining more or less power, requires a new coil rather than a few clicks of a button. As mech users we get used to the power dropping with every draw, not what regulated vapers are used to.

Generally I believe a watt is pretty much a watt whether regulated or mech. There may be differences in how the power is delivered by some regulated devices that some vapers may detect, but that is offset by the fact that you do not really know what watts you are really getting from your mech when you account for voltage drop unless you do complicated testing with professional test equipment.

OP is doing the right research, and is willing to experiment, so mechs might be well suited to him.
I hope he finds his reasons to like mechs.
He will then join the small minority of vapers, like you and I that prefer them.

Good luck @Smokeandsteam enjoy your mech. I personally would use nothing else but the truth of the matter is most folk prefer regulated devices.

It's certainly not as noticeable on modern regulated mods with DC-DC as opposed to PWM outputs (PWM could have a rattlesnake like output on some older mods, and especially early temp control mods used in TC from the likes of Yihi) and you're right that 99% of vapers prefer the convenience and adjustability of regulated devices - however if you're sensitive to it, like I am, or actively look for it, you can notice/feel the difference in power delivery from a mech versus the current being passed through electronics and being actively regulated to maintain that consistent output - it's fairly nuanced but if you pick up on it it's something you notice if you use both types regularly.
I happily used both ever since I bought my first mech after about a year of vaping, but I've come across certain atties that just work better on regulated mods than mechs - Eden Mods Snapdragon being a prime example for me; I bought a GP Paps v4 tube to run the Snappy on and I was having to run it at 0.3 to get the draw I preferred, whereas I ran it at 0.6ish/30-35w on a regulated mod; topcap used to get rather warm quite quickly on the mech, but I'd have to give it a good chain vape on the regulated to get it as warm.
A mech is certainly not going to be a huge revelation but a lot of people like the vape from them - a few of my mates that have tried my mechs will be like 'oh that's magic, can you get me something like that?' I'm just like naw, yer a feckin bampot at the best of times and I'm not equipping you with a potential pipe bomb ya rocket, stick with what you've got!

But around 18 months ago I was using mechs around three quarters of the time, no need to worry about getting soaked in the rain or dropping it in the sea, just dry it off/quick clean and away you go - regulated is bin fodder in those situations. Just over a year ago I stuck with the mechs and it's rare for a regulated to get used at all as had a few failures and thought bugger this - I've had way more dangerous situations with regulated devices than mechs and I'm super cautious with everything around vape safety; I've had quite a few board failures, one went literally five seconds after I put it in my jeans pocket, felt my leg getting warm for a second and then smoke belching out my pocket and the screen was burnt out; another unlocked itself in my inside pocket and fired repeatedly and melted the lining of my jacket, I was driving at the time and the button wasn't touching anything as it was lying button up in my pocket, button was very sensitive on that thing and I think being on a bumpy road set it off got rid of that as soon as I got home!

OP is keen and done his homework, he'll either find it all a bit meh or love them.

 

[oldhippydude]

OP is keen and done his homework, he'll either find it all a bit meh or love them.

I agree totally.

 

[Haze]

I would be surprised if Mooch did not have a video about it.

He tested all the different materials a while ago and found egligible differences between them all. He’s done it for the tube material and contact materials. There’s low, single digit watt differences at low resistances.

He’s done some threading/contact testing and come to the conclusion that clean and quality threading, and smooth, flat, clean contacts make by far the biggest difference to voltage drop.