Posted in Recent News

NEW FROM REGULATOR WATCH – Activist Angst | Bill S-5 to FDA Deeming Rule

Here’s the latest from Brent Stafford at Regulator Watch:

Anger and disappointment for a great number of vaping activists mark the imminent passage of Bill S-5 Canada’s new federal vaping regulations. While in the United States a sharp shift in FDA policy means a reprieve from the dreaded deeming rule, but not the acrimony surrounding it.

In both countries the battle at times has been ugly as activists struggle with the inevitable transition from opposition to engagement with government regulators.

Join RegWatch for part-2 of our 2-part special featuring an exclusive interview with Linda Bauld, Deputy Director at the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies and lead author of the largest study as yet undertaken of young people’s use of e-cigarettes and smoking in the UK.

Are aggressive tactics key to securing vaping rights? Find out—only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com.

RegulatorWatch.com – October 29, 2017.

Posted in Recent News

NEW FROM REGULATOR WATCH – No Gateway | UK Study Disarms Youth Vaping to Smoking Myth

Here’s the latest from Brent Stafford at Regulator Watch:

Does teen vaping lead to teen smoking? It’s the most pressing question in the battle over vaping regulations. In most countries regulatory strategy is predicated on the belief that for young people vaping could serve as a gateway to smoking. But is it true?

Join RegWatch for part-1 of a 2-part special featuring an exclusive interview with Linda Bauld, Deputy Director at the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies and lead author of the largest study as yet undertaken of young people’s use of e-cigarettes and smoking in the UK.

Does experimentation turn into use? Find out—only on RegWatch by RegulatorWatch.com.

RegulatorWatch.com – October 24, 2017.

Posted in Battery Mooch Recent News

A BATTERY MOOCH POST: Aspire Unrated 1800mAh 18650 Retest…now using a different battery, performs worse

This was a retest for this cell. In my previous testing it performed very well. Unfortunately Aspire has changed to a lower performing cell.

This cell’s wrap originally said “40A” but now it has no rating. There is a paper “Aspire Battery Safety Chart” included when you buy one though. It seems to indicate that this cell has a claimed continuous rating of 20A and can be vaped with at up to 30A.

I strongly disagree with Aspire’s decision to have no current rating on the wrap. Once that small piece of paper is misplaced then the only way to determine the cell’s claimed rating is to go to Aspire’s web site. This is an unacceptable burden on the vaper. Why not just have the rating on the wrap? Why should vapers have to work to determine if their use of this cell is safe or not?

The previous version of this cell was strong competition for the Sony VTC5A for mechanical device users and those who needed the hardest hitting cell, i.e., the one with the highest voltage when pulsed.

While this Aspire still hits as hard as the VTC5A for the first couple of draws it quickly drops in voltage as it discharges. The Sony VTC5A is clearly the better performer now, running for at least 40% longer when pulsed at high current levels done to 3.2V (about 3.6V at rest).

I am rating this cell at 25A and 1800mAh.

Two cells were purchased by me for the purposes of testing.

Cell photos: https://imgur.com/a/CwFKg

Ratings graphic: https://imgur.com/a/Wiecn

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/bench-test-results-aspire-unrated-1800mah-18650-now-using-a-different-battery-performs-worse.835021/

All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/

Posted in Is It Safe Recent News

FROM DR. FARSALINOS – Cancer risk from e-cigarettes > 50,000 (thousand) fold lower than smoking

I am certain this study will generate ZERO publicity. This is very common for studies showing anything positive on e-cigarettes. After so many studies published in the past few years, smokers still believe that e-cigarettes as similarly or more harmful than smoking. Sad for public health…

See the entire article HERE.

Posted in Battery Mooch Recent News

A BATTERY MOOCH POST: LG HG6 30A 3000mAh 20650…a great true 30A battery but only 2800mAh

This cell is a 20650. It is 20mm in diameter and 65mm long. It does not have the usual LG four “leg” top contact. This cell only has three “legs”.

I can’t find the datasheet for the HG6 but postings I’ve seen so far show it as a 30A cell with a minimum capacity rating of 2900mAh and nominal capacity rating of 3000mAh.

In my testing it easily outperforms the excellent Sony VTC5A and runs cooler than the LG HB6. It is a great performing true 30A cell.

Against the other 20mm diameter cells it also does well. Down to 3.2V the HG6 equals or beats by a little the Sanyo NCR20650A or iJoy 5-leg 20700. The Sanyo NCR20700A still beats all of them, but not by a lot.

While rated at 3000mAh, cells I tested from two sources and having two different batch/date codes only delivered about 2800mAh of capacity at 0.5A down to 2.5V. This is 100mAh lower than its minimum capacity rating. LG uses a cutoff voltage of 2.0V though for their capacity rating for this cell. If I ran them down to that level I think they would meet the 2900mAh minimum rating.

To allow for direct comparisons of any cells I test I set my capacity testing cutoff voltage at 2.5V. Since two HG6’s, from two different batches, tested near 2800mAh when discharged at 0.5A down to 2.5V I am rating this cell at 30A and 2800mAh. It still tests out well, as described above.

Two cells were donated by EcoLux (https://ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk) for the purposes of testing. Thank you! Two other cells were purchased by me.

Cell photos: https://imgur.com/a/XuyYq

Ratings graphic: https://imgur.com/a/btfnH

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/bench-test-results-lg-hg6-30a-3000mah-20650-a-great-true-30a-battery-but-only-2800mah.834503/

All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/

Posted in Rebuildables Recent News

THE KAYFUN PRIME!

A PBusardo Review – The Kayfun Prime

In this video we take a full look at the Kayfun Prime and compare it to the Kayfun Mini V3 and the Kayfun 5. To those MTL folks out there… we got our Kayfun back!

The Links:
SvoëMesto Website
SvoëMesto Shop
Where to buy link
Origin Vape

The Video:

*NOTE: Any use of these videos in part or in their entirety without Phil Busardo’s expressed written consent is strictly prohibited.

The Photos:

Posted in Battery Mooch Recent News

A BATTERY MOOCH POST: Vapcell Black 38A 2000mAh 18650…bit overrated but incredible performer

This cell has “Max continuous discharge: 38A” on the wrap. While this is a bit of an overrating this is a great performing true 30A cell.

It appears to be a Samsung but it outperforms any Samsung I’ve seen in that capacity range. It might be one of the new generation cells being produced for automotive use.

While this Vapcell has a lower capacity rating than the VTC5A it holds its voltage up better at high current levels. This makes it about equal to the VTC5A in total running time down to 3.2V. The Vapcell hits a touch harder than the VTC5A at the start but the VTC5A runs for a touch longer. I’m not sure you’ll see a difference in actual use though. The Vapcell does run cooler than the VTC5A and this can help extend overall battery life when used at very high current levels.

It runs cooler than the HB6, and for a lot longer, making it a better choice than the HB6 for very high current use. This is a damn good cell!

While rated at 2000mAh, this cell only delivered 1912mAh of capacity at 0.5A down to 2.5V. I consider this the “typical” or “nominal” capacity. The rated capacity must be considered the guaranteed minimum capacity and therefore must be less than this nominal capacity. It is typically 100mAh-200mAh lower than the nominal capacity rating.

I am rating this Vapcell cell at 30A and 1800mAh.

I don’t know where this cell can be be purchased yet but vendors can contact Vapcell (www.vapcelltech.com or https://szfyte.en.alibaba.com/). The two cells that were tested were donated by Vapcell for that purpose. Thank you!

Cell photos: https://imgur.com/a/ozTtz

Ratings Graphic: https://imgur.com/a/Gj0z3

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/bench-test-results-vapcell-black-38a-2000mah-18650-bit-overrated-but-incredible-performer.834167/

All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/

Posted in Battery Mooch Recent News

A BATTERY MOOCH POST: Bench Test Results: iJoy 40A 3000mAh 20700 (4-“leg” version)…worse than 5-leg version, only 20A 2800mAh

iJoy now has two versions of their “40A 3000mAh” 20700 battery, both in the same wrap. The original one has five “legs” coming down from the top contact and was rated at 30A 3000mAh by me.

This newer version of the “40A 3000mAh” battery has four “legs” coming down from the top contact. Unfortunately it is a hugely overrated, poor performing battery.

The voltage sag for this 4-leg cell version is a lot greater which results in about 30% less vaping time at moderate power levels (versus the 5-leg cell).

While both versions of this cell are on the market now, and using the same wrap, iJoy has stated that they will be using a different wrap soon for the 4-leg version. iJoy has also stated that the 4-leg version will not be sold separately in the future and will only be included in their kits. The 5-leg version will continue to be sold separately.

iJoy has also told me that they are working to lower the internal resistance of this cell. This will bring its performance closer to that of the 5-leg version. Once they release the updated 4-leg cell, with the new wraps, I will retest them.

The white top ring insulator of this cell is card stock, i.e., paper, like the 5-leg version. It is quite thin though. Pay extra attention to the top of these cells if your charger is a tight fit or your mod damages cell wraps.

I am rating this version of this iJoy cell at 20A and 2800mAh.

The diameter of the 4-leg version ranged from 20.42mm – 20.49mm. This includes the distinct bumps at the seams of the wrap. Four cells were measured.

The diameter of the 5-leg version ranged from 20.42mm to 20.48mm with five cells being measured. The 4-leg and 5-leg versions are essentially the same size.

A note…the capacity rating of the 5-leg version will also be lowered by me (probably from 3000mAh to 2800mAh) as additional experience with these cells, and other 2×700’s with their different chemistry, has made me realize this change is needed. This will affect the Efest, EBAT, and Ampking 20700’s too as they also use the 5-leg version of this cell. Their performance has not changed, just the rating I am giving them. More info in another post.

Several 4-leg cells were tested. I want to thank those who arranged to get samples of them to me, especially Evolution Vaping in the U.K. They expressed shipped cells to me here in New York City not once but twice after I realized I needed more cells to test. Thank you all!

Cell photos: https://imgur.com/a/735dC

Ratings Graphic: https://imgur.com/a/hXsxd

Test results, discharge graph, photos: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/bench-test-results-ijoy-40a-3000mah-20700-4-“leg”-version-only-20a-28.833915/

All my test results to date: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blog-entry/list-of-battery-tests.7436/

Posted in Battery Mooch Recent News

A BATTERY MOOCH POST: VandyVape Pulse BF Squonk Box Mod Button Testing

Due to other things I needed to get to I had to stop at 20,000 presses but here are the results. There were 15,000 presses using a 0.17 ohm build and a VTC5A battery, recharged every 200 presses. Then there were 5,000 presses using a 0.09 ohm build with stacked (series) VTC5A’s recharged every 200 presses.

Note: NEVER attempt to vape using a 0.09 build in a series mod! This was done merely for testing the button’s resistance to arcing in extreme setups.

This button does not use a sliding pin type contact method, as it appeared to do in the rendering posted by VandyVape. It uses a steel bar wth swaged-in contacts at either end to bridge the contacts swaged in to each of the two terminals for the external connections. The actuator presses the bar down and the two terminals are connected through the bar. A spring and silicone cone help to push the bar and actuator back up after the button is released.

This button was originally advertised as having a 30A continuous rating, which was ridiculous. VandyVape has removed that claim and it now has no ratings and only states that it is an “intelligent fire button”. I think this is a translation issue as there is nothing other than basic button components inside, no MOSFET or protection of any type. This reference to it being intelligent is probably just a poorly translated way of saying it is a smart or intelligent design.

After 20,000 presses the button never failed to work and didn’t get mushy or gritty or stuck in the on position. Nothing got even warm using the 0.17 ohm build but the terminals (only) get very hot even with momentary button presses with the 0.09 ohm series build. This is quite understandable though as that is a LOT of current.

The arcing damage that accumulated from these 20,000 presses was not bad. Especially considering the huge current flow with the series build. I think the overall life of this button will be good for the average user. However, since the contacts cannot be cleaned or maintained the damage might eventually cause problems for super-subohmers. This is not the target user for this single-battery squonk box though.

While my testing was not comprehensive, I would like to have done 100,000 presses, I don’t see any big problems using this button without a MOSFET in this device for the typical user. However, this is no guarantee that every person who buys this device will have zero problems using this button for years. I do feel better about it now than I did before the testing though and will be getting at least one of these mods for myself.

Disassembly photos: https://imgur.com/a/DVDxB

Posted in Event Videos Miscellaneous Recent News

THE RETURN TO EVOLV – 3 YEARS LATER!

A PBusardo Video – Back To Evolv!

In this 3-part video series we head back to Evolv after 3 years to see the changes. We get to see the manufacturing process, from boards being created right down to tech support. We also have a very interesting interview or better yet… conversation on many different topics.

I hope you enjoy it.

The Links:
Original Evolv Visit – Part 1
Original Evolv Visit – Part 2
Evolv Website
Evolv Twitter
Evolc

The Video – Part 1:

The Video – Part 2:

The Video – Part 3:

*NOTE: Any use of these videos in part or in their entirety without Phil Busardo’s expressed written consent is strictly prohibited.