Humpty's Review of the Smoktech Pipe Mod (E-PipeMod)
(Jan 2014)






It's always a bit of nerve racking experience when receiving a new mod from the mail. You just don't know what can go wrong. So this time around I played safe and ordered a mechanical pipe mod. I mean, what's the worse that can happen? It turned out all went well plus there was a hidden pleasant surprise.

Cost

Body
us $ 37.99 (no extra kit)


(supplier : HealthCabin)


size:
weight:




Looks and Feel

Build-wise, the quality felt pretty good.

A little on the heavy side, this will help to balance out heavy tanks/cartomisers but will also feel conscious in the pocket. A pity because it's a nice small tidy size and can stay upright in the pocket most of the time.

Out of the three choices (gold,black,silver) I opted for the black. Whether the lovely polished surface can survive everyday sweat and e-juice stains, only time can tell.  The button, rim and cap are covered by equally luxurious polished chrome.

I already have a home made pipe-like mod so I'm already used to an angled vape. It makes a welcome difference to the vertical mods which are the norm.

The mod holds a single 18350. This small size together with an angled atty holder compacts the unit to be almost entirely covered by the palm of your hand. I have vaped publicy in the street several times, not once did it attract any attention.

The top and bottom are left to a silver colour. The bottom cap holds a bottom spring (gold colour plated). Even the top rim comes off to reveal the button switch but serves no purpose.
 


Operation/Construction

I should point out that (inside) there is one wire connecting the +ve to the atty socket, but this is excusable (very few mods are 100% mechanical).

Hitting the switch a few times revealed something unexpected.
Not only was the feel smooth and silent but after several sessions, I felt I had a little more control than was possibly intended.

The switch is of a clever analog design. Underneath is the battery cap and spring - no surprises.
On top of the battery is a plastic stopper which prevents the battery going furthur up. Above the stopper is a mechanical upper-spring switch. A slight press of the button brings the contact to the top of the battery terminal which completes the circuit. But wait, there's more. Harder pressure pushes the battery down onto it's base spring. My first thought was that this is redundant since the circuit is already complete. But think of it this way, if there's any bad contact at the battery terminals, this motion could cause enough friction to cure the contacts.

Another plus is that the top spring switch being mechanical, can infact reduce current if pressed very very lightly, so that the contact barely touches - a sort of analog variable resistance. Not needed ofcourse, but fun at times if you wanted to play a bit while vaping.

A word of advice: don't be tempted to pull out the bottom spring, it will take you a long time to get it back in the cap.

As standard there's a 510 socket surrounded by an an ego well. But it's puzzling why they didn't also thread the inside of the well so that an ego type tank/atty could screw in. Instead you have to rely on they tank/atty to have a 510 thread or you have use a converter in-between.

Another quirk in the design is that when you press down, the top of the button connects to the (+ve) end of the battery, while the outer rim surrounding the button is part of the casing (-ve). This means 'you', at least your thumb, becomes connected to the full 3.7V !. I think it would be better if they had gone for a plastic button-top instead of a metal one. As such, I have covered the button-top with a bit of cling film, just to be on the safe side, (you never know if your thumb's too wet!).







Size Comparison
Disassembled

Next to a 14500 box mod.



Vapour Taste and Throat hit
Depends on your atty and e-liquid.

Pure analog circuit an switch passes through all or most of the current from the battery to the atomiser.


Limited to standard lithium battery (3.7-4V or lower).

No problems with modern tanks and carto/clearomisers of 2.5V or below.

Pros Cons
Smooth analog button and clever switch design.

Easy to clean battery spring.

Bottom well collects leaking e-liquid.

Slightly heavy.
No ego inner thread.
Bottom cap is male so can be fiddly to screw in and spring could be easy to fall out.
Top of button ought to be plastic to be safer.

Conclusion
Do mechanical mods offer peace of mind? The only surprise this mod gave was a clever switch design.
The only grumble was the lack of an ego thread, other than that, it's a real pleasure to use. Let's hope the paint job holds up.









End.



Tips : The Clingfilm Wrapper

As mentioned above, on undesirable flaw in the design is that te top button exposes your hand to the circuit. Your hand will recieve the full voltage of the battery as you press down (in parallel with the atty).

To prevent this, you can cover the button with clign film. The pics on the left show you how easy it is to do this.




With the button in the plastic insert,  wrap a double layer of  clingfilm to cover the button.










Put on the cap and trim off the wrap.















If the wrap is too tight, do not screw-in all the way or it will trigger the button. Over time, the wrap will loosen and you'll be able to screw-in all the way.
The button comes apart quite easily.














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