Reddit reviews INNOVA 3300 Hands-free Digital Multimeter (10 MegOhm)

Morning folks. Berc here with your "I want to mech up as cheaply as humanly possible!" equipment list.

The nemesis mechanical mod! $25 dollars

Sony 30amp VTC4's! You can find these cheaper on illumination supply but they run out really fucking quick

The classic Igo-W! A three post rebuilding atomizer!

The fantastic Nitecore i2 intellicharger

A cheap multi-meter

Some kanthal wire, preferably in the 32g range for beginners

Some organic cotton, preferably in cotton ball form

MOTHAFUCKIN BATTERY SAFETY!

Read up and learn on the sub about building practices and youlle be good to go! Buy some killer juice and vape until your ventricles explode!

Greetings all!

My main suggestion to anyone wanting to get into vaping it is to skip the ego-starter kits, MVP2 (cheapish Vv or Vw boxes), non-rebuildable tanks (Protanks, Nautilus) and just drive right into the mechanical mod / box mod world. I say this because the vaping experience is so much better with rebuildables. I went with the all of the above, and I personally wished that someone would’ve told me to just dive right in, because all that stuff is sitting around not being used. The people that I’ve talked to are typically hesitant to do so because of the coil building, but there are so many YouTube tutorials, suggestions and information on /r/RBA and /r/electronic_cigarette that it’s much easier than it seems. Anyway, if I were to start all over again, these are the things which I’d buy.

Must Haves
These are the things which I consider essential to starting off the on the right foot. I’ve purchased a lot of things, and these are the things which I suggest to my friends. Most of the links are from Amazon, because it’s what I’ve primarily used.

Battery - Sony VTC5
http://www.eciggity.com/2-pc-sony-18650vtc5-2600mah-30a-battery/

These are pretty much the standard when it comes to “safe” batteries. They’re affordable, good amp limit and have been recommended many times. If you purchase from the link above, they also give you a plastic carrying case!

Charger - Nitecore i2 or Nitecore i4
http://www.amazon.com/Nitecore-IntelliCharger-i4-Battery-Charger/dp/B005UAI372/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404287334&sr=8-1&keywords=nitecore

Affordable, reliable and these won’t “overcharge” your batteries. The difference between the i2 and i4 is the amount of batteries they can charge at a single time. They also have a new fancier one out, called the Digicharger D2 and Digicharger D4. Those are nice because it has a LCD panel that displays a lot more information than the i2 and i4. I personally use an just an i2.

Mechanical Mod - Stingray
http://www.vaperoyalty.com/hcigar-stingray-mod-stainless-steel/

Now, 90% of what is suggested for an actual mechanical mod is going to be of personal taste. The Stingray is the “older brother” of the Nemesis. This is what I purchased when I first started out vaping. The unit is very easy to break apart, clean, has a locking ring, has a floating 510 connection and venting holes in case of a battery leak. Almost everyone I know has a Stingray.

Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer - Magma by Infinite
http://101vape.com/rebuildable-atomizers-tanks/309-magma-atomizer-clone-by-infinite.html

One of the best purchases I’ve made. The juice wells are very deep compared to everything else on the market (that doesn’t have a tank system). Threads are nice, easy to build on, post holes are large and the air-flow is easy to manipulate. You can run this on a single coil or a dual coil. Blows almost all the other RDAs I have out of the water. This is my main RDA.

Organic Cotton - Maxim Hygiene Products Organic Cotton Balls
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Cotton-Balls-Triple-count/dp/B00E8T2X36/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404288337&sr=8-3&keywords=organic+cotton

I suggest using un-bleached, organic cotton. Some people take it one step further by washing them, I think thats taking it a bit far and I don’t do it. You can pick them up from any convenience store or supermarket (CVS, Walgreens, Target, Whole Foods), a 100 count will last you AGES.

Kanthal - AWG A1 26 Gauge
http://www.amazon.com/Kanthal-Gauge-100ft-0-40386-Resistance/dp/B00HALND7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404288659&sr=8-1&keywords=kanthal+26

I like to use 26g kanthal wire for my dual coil builds. 26g is a bit thicker than what a lot of people suggest (28g), but for me, because it’s thicker, it’s easier to work with.

Screwdrivers - Stanley 6 Piece Screwdriver set
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009OYGV/ref=oh_details_o05_s01_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The screwdrivers which come with your RDAs are short, small and crappy. I like these screw drivers because they come in a variety of sizes and you do not need to mess with a drill-bit. What I really like about these, is at the end of the drill bit is a small little ledge (can’t think of a better word), where you can push your coil and scrunch it up a bit.

Ohm meter / Multimeter - Any generic ohm reader or Innova 3300
http://101vape.com/meters/170-ohms-meter.html

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O1X65A/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can use a multimeter to do basically the same thing as an ohm reader. The multimeter has an added benefit of being able to read the volts are your battery as well. I have both, but I prefer to use a “regular” ohm reader. This video below can teach you how to use a multimeter for that purpose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgXAmPBAO5g&index=2&list=LLU7AM2JUxXCrj4TSCDQDffw

Optional items
Things that I’ve purchased that you can probably substitute with something in your house. They’re nice to have, most people have these, but I decided to link these anyway, because I didn’t have some stuff (my scissors were too large).

Scissors - Generic surgical scissors
http://www.amazon.com/Amercian-Diagnostic-Corporation-3425-Stainless/dp/B000GHIUR2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1404289491&sr=8-5&keywords=surgical+scissors

To cut your cotton. Small, sharp and gets the job done.

Tweezers - Ceramic tweezers
http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10007588/1655800-heat-resistant-stainless-steel-tweezers-for-e

Allows you to hold your coil together and torch them without heating up the tweezers.

Wire cutters - Hakko CHP-170
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPDG1K/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For cutting your kanthal off that spool!

Atomizer holder - Plano 23630-01
http://www.amazon.com/Plano-23630-01-Stowaway-Adjustable-Dividers/dp/B000E3FKVC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1404289861&sr=8-4&keywords=plano

You’re gonna buy a bunch of atomizers. Everyone buys a bunch. You’re not going to be able to help yourself. I use this plastic case to keep everything neat and separated.

Building deck - Tenderfoot Stands
https://www.facebook.com/tenderfoot.stands?fref=ts

You don’t need this. But it makes building RDAs easier. You can also place your juice filled RDAs on here.

Torch - Mini Jet Flame 503
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007A9YSPW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This will help you get those coils nice and tight, without having to fire off your mechanical mod.

Battery Case - Bluecell
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Q6PJO8/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you don’t buy the batteries from the link above, you’re gonna want a battery case. Do not keep your batteries loose in your pocket or floating around your bag. They can come in contact with something metal and potentially damage the battery.

You could buy one of these http://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-3300-Hands-free-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B001O1X65A/ref=lp_15707471_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1406769985&sr=1-2 for much cheaper than one of those special ohm readers. I used to use one when rebuilding protank coils with cotton.

I eventually got tired of rebuilding them and recently purchased an aspire nautilus mini. Honestly, the hype is justified. This thing is better than anything I've rebuilt in the protanks.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention. The TOBH is the RDA (Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer) and the Kayfun is a RTA (Rebuildable Tank Atomizer). The dripper you drip drops into it and the RTA has a tank. On both of these you would build your coils and wick them with whatever you choose whether cotton, eco wool, rayon, etc..

The nitecore charger is probably the best charger under $20 from what I've tried.

As for a Ohm reader I actually use a multimeter since I can't check the resistance of my rebuildables and the voltage of my batteries plus some other things around home.
INNOVA 3300 Hands-free Digital Multimeter (10 MegOhm) by Innova http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O1X65A/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_qTy8tb0YVJTAA

Finally between the vtc 4 and 5 the mAH difference is 500 mAH. The 5 is the newest one from Sony and a little bit more. I personally went with the VTC 4 from ilumn with the coupon code ispower shipping essentially was free.

If anything doesn't make sense or still need more explanation let me know it's a bit late here so my sentences may not be as clear as usual. Also the two rebuildable are in my opinion the best and shouldn't be taken as fact.

I recently got this one and when I test coils before I mount them on my IGO-L, I get crazy fluctuations in my readings for an estimated 1.0 Ohm coil, I get readins of 300 Ohms to 1 Ohm) and, if it does settle at all, it;s widely inaccurate.

My buddy told me that the test lead's cables are probably shoddy and I'm probably never going to get a good reading for low Ohm coils with a cheapy meter like this.

I'm thinking now of going with one of those Ohm Readers with 501 connectors right on the unit like this. even though I had the idea of having a "single-purpose tool", I guess I can use it as a stable "work base" while I'm building as well. Any opinions?

I have this one maybe I didn't get the best one for the job?

I bought this one from Amazon and have the same problem. Pisses me off.

Measure the voltage. Either use an inline volt meter, pull the battery out and test it with a multimeter or pop it in a charger that shows the battery voltage.