Cheers, man! I've been messing with this vape stuff for a long time, so my cloud-chasing days are over. At this point, I don't need the nicotine. I do this for a hobby. I just like continuing to analyze, research, and discover... ...to turn around and use that to successfully get that next-level vape. It's all about the satisfaction.
Writing is another thing I just kind of do for me - I have just always done it. When I'm not doing write-ups here, I'm scribbling in notebooks and musing in my mind. With both vaping and writing, there's always a lot going on in my head when I'm engaged in it, but it all kinda slips past my awareness and I only realize how much was pouring into it after the fact - I just lose time. There's no effort or conscious push to do it, so I wouldn't consider myself particularly dedicated. It's the opposite of work. And when it feels like work, I don't do it.
I'm just glad that I can take these two passions of mine and do a little more than spin my wheels... ...to make it all into something more worthwhile for not only myself, but hopefully others as well. I am grateful to have this platform for the two interests to converge upon in a positive way... ...as well as for people like you, who bother to read and take something from it. That's really cool to me. Thanks for taking the time! It means a lot to me.
The dry hits have gotta be something with the wicking setup. Claptons are usually hard to get dry hits from. Could be not enough chamber space or airflow for the heat to travel. Sounds to me like it's a problem with juice flow to the build, not with the build itself.
The crackling, yeah... ...it can be a thing. Thicker outer wire will usually do this... ...the pockets are bigger and this leads to a lot of pressure building up in the juice when it heats and expands. The after-crackle is usually just from the coil being too big for its own good. It's staying hot enough to continue vaporizing and sucking-in juice even after you cut the power.
With that being said, it sounds to me like most of your problems are due to the heat-retention thing I was talking about. What are the gauges for your clapton wire? What RTA are you using? A temporary fix is to let off of the button before you stop pulling. My advice for the next one would be to try taking a wrap out and/or upping the diameter a tad. Taking a wrap out will bring down the mass. Upping the diameter reduces heating overall. If you can, try upping the core or the outer wire gauge. It's important to match your clapton gauges/size to your device. You have to accommodate your airflow, wicking capabilities, and chamber space. It can take a little trial and error, but it's always doable. A clapton doesn't need to be fat to perform the way a clapton is supposed to.
Well, mechanical mods are a different creature. The power drops off across the span of single pulse, so your builds have to be more power efficient. Pulling the power from the battery carries different risks, benefits, and downsides. There's a bit of a learning curve to using them. Anybody can do it, but it can take some time. Once you know how, it's not a hassle at all to use mechs. In some ways, it's actually much easier. They're not necessarily better or worse for high-power vaping (in fact, it's arguable that they only shine as high-power devices,) just different.
They have sort of a unique "hit" profile to them that mech users cherish. I am one of those people. But I also wouldn't say they're for everybody. If you're thinking about going that route, then you need to ask yourself "Am I doing this because I want to use a mech or am I just looking for a better vape?" If the latter is the case, I wouldn't recommend them, as you have easier, more effective options. Regulated box mods will better serve your intentions.
With mechs, you want lean, balanced coils with just enough surface area. They need to be able to pull the perfect amount of power for their masses all on their own. Thick standard wires do work very well, but the coils themselves have to be kept fairly small. For instance, if I was gonna do a dual 24 for my SMPL tube mod, I would probably do 5 wraps @ 2-2.5mm. And that's gonna ohm-out to .18-.22. They're little coils that pull a good bit of power. Looking at them, you wouldn't expect much, but they actually perform very well.
Mechs pair best with RDA's, which handle high-power, standard, sub-ohm dual coils without any fuss. It's the classic high-power setup. You could say that it birthed the whole cloud-chasing phenomenon. Unfortunately, tanks tend to be finicky and frequently require power adjustments, making mechs a sub-optimal power source for them. Everything to do with mechs has to adhere to one simple principle: simplicity.
Though I'm an avid mech-user, I'm not a collector, so I don't really know what's hot in the mech world these days. I have two that I love and that's all I really need. Neither are considered beginner's mechs - they have hybrid toppers, which come with more risk of venting when placed in the hands of someone who doesn't understand the designs of both their atomizers and mods well enough.
Basically, they don't have a positive contact. It's just a 510-threaded hole on top. The 510 on the atty makes direct contact with the battery. If you put the wrong atty on there or use it the wrong way, hard shorts can and have occurred. The benefit here is that by eliminating current transfer points, the raw power is less inhibited. They hit harder.
The first is a SMPL 18650 tube mod. If you're willing to learn about hybrids and how to use them safely, then I would highly recommend it or something similar to it. If you want to go that route, then do your homework on hybrids and have at it! There is an abundance of info on hybrid mod safety out there.
My favorite mech (and really, mod in general) is the Noisy Cricket. It has a similar design to the SMPL, but it uses two batteries running in series. Series mods belong to a special subclass of unregulated devices. When people say "mech mod" they're usually not referring to one of these. They operate on somewhat different paradigms from conventional mech mods. Running one battery straight into the next doubles the voltage output, allowing you to run much larger coils and even fancy ones like your claptons, fused claptons, staples, and so on. There's much more going on than that, but that's the basic premise.
That one, I would absolutely not recommend as a first mech. Though very powerful and effective, it's for experienced builders who have a firm grasp on the physical mechanics behind coils, ohm's law, and for safety's sake, a fairly intimate knowledge of the how's and why's behind what they're devices do. Let me tell you... ...if you do the footwork and get to the level where you can safely and effectively use and unregulated series mod, it's totally worth it. Series mods are bad-ass. There's nothing like it. It's not just about the vapor production. Something about the types of builds series power lends itself to just... ...the most dense, chewy, textured and flavorful vapes around. It doesn't even have to chuck if you don't care about or don't want clouds. My flavor quest ended with the Noisy Cricket.
I just want to stress again that you should get a second opinion on what mech to start with. I think some people would be mad if they found out I recommended you a hybrid for your first mech. I'm sure there are plenty of good non-hybrid mechs... ...I just don't know a thing about them because I think hybrids are superior and know how to use them safely, so I don't bother with anything else
I'd be happy to help in any way that I can, but I would highly recommend you check out the unregulated section. There's a lot of genuine knowledge and experience hangin around in there... ...people who are well-prepared and willing to guide you and help you with any problems you might encounter.
I'd also like to encourage you to hop on over to the
Post your builds thread. We talk a lot about different devices, coil theory, and building techniques. Builders, new and experienced alike, get to together there to share what they're up to, talk shop, and learn from one another.
And again, no problem. Enthusiasm recognizes enthusiasm!
