DIY Coils: Tips, Tricks, and Whatnot

Similar threads merged.

 

PRO-TIPS: Batteries

Batteries are the life's blood for vapers. No batteries = no power = no vape. Forget the clone vs authentic war, batteries are where you want to invest your money. The better the battery, the longer the battery life AND the better the vape AND the safer you'll be. So let's look at some common sense tips regarding batteries.

1. Buy name-brands (if at all possible). LG, Sony, Sanyo, Samsung, (and some) Panasonic are all brands that have proven themselves over years. IMO Efest is hit and miss. Personally, I would use them even for sub-ohming but I'd never go below 0.25 ohms. That's just me. Now like everything else, batteries are cloned. The way to lower your chances of being ripped off are to:
--only buy from reputable dealers (people who've been selling vape gear for a while, and those who haven't ripped you off). If you travel overseas, you can always buy batteries from one of the large sellers. I recommend Illumn.com - Flashlights, Batteries, Carry Gear, Intelligent LED Lighting, and More! I've dealt with them for years, and @Siam Diesel even longer.
--You can always check the battery serial numbers on 18650 Date Code Lookup Tool – 18650 Battery | BATTERY BRO Your serial numbers give the make, model, and date of manufacture of the battery. While it's not a sure fire way to check to see if your batteries are clones, you can see when the batteries were manufactured.


2. Always inspect your battery wrap. Tears, nicks, and looseness can all lead to a hard short (that means BOOM). Check these out:



The battery on the left has a snug-fitting battery wrap with no tears or nicks. The battery on the right, however, has the wrap peeling back. This battery needs either a rewrap or a replacement. Don't use it.

3. Keep your batteries clean. Believe it or now, battery terminals can rust. Exposure to moisture and dirt can cause terminals to rust. Exposure to juice can attract dirt to the terminals, causing a possible misfire.



The left battery is clean. This will deliver a solid punch. The battery on the right is slightly rusty PLUS the wrap is developing tears. Hmmm...might be time to dispose of this one.

4. The carrying and storage of batteries. Most of the idiots we read about who have a mod vent or explode on them are generally brain-dead shitgibbons who, in addition to violating the above tips, keep loose batteries in their pockets, where they hard short with keys, coins, and whatnot. IF you have a 2-battery mod, then buy a good 2-battery case:



In a good case, the batteries will fit snugly and have room to breath. The case will have some sort of locking tab on it and be made of a hard plastic. If you have a single-battery mod, this gives you a spare in case you hit the vape hard. You can also use silicone battery condoms.

Well, there ya have it. I'm knocking off for a beer now.

 

Lol...I'd join you but it's only 11am here and I had too much wine last night!
Great write-up @debatedude !

 

Wow! Been a year since I updated this thread. Guess it's about time to give it a bump.

PRO TIP: CLEANING
For all those hard-to-clean places in RDAs and tanks, use a baby bottle nipple washer. They're great for cleaning around posts, cleaning threads, and for cleaning the inside of barrels.



They also work a treat cleaning drip tips!