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Supplies Needed for e Cig Mod

Supplies Needed for e Cig Mod

Today’s post will explain how to use the scotch tape mod to improve e cig vapor production. This mod also increases how hard it is to take a drag which can be a benefit in some situations as you will read later in the article.

First I would like to go over a few situations in which the quality of your vapor is important.

Why is Good e Cig Vapor Important

There are a few reasons you may be looking to improve, increase, or otherwise enhance your e cig vapor or “smoke” production. These reasons range from the practical to the totally impractical and even irrational.

One arguably impractical reason for being able to produce thick clouds of e cig vapor is that it may be a good way to impress skeptical friends who have never seen or heard of the devices. Among veteran e-smokers, e cig vapor production is even a status symbol these days.

Once you get used to smoking electronic cigarettes there is almost nothing more satisfying than exhaling a nice big thick, copious cloud of vapor except maybe blowing a few smoke rings!

There are more practical reasons for wanting to improve e cig vapor production other than it is just so darn satisfying though. Nicotine cravings need to be satisfied too and since the vapor is what carries the nicotine to the tissues in the back of your throat and lungs it is essential for vapor to be the right consistency.

Also, sometimes variations in hardware quality such as atomizers and batteries or nicotine solution being used to top off or completely refill cartridges can affect your e cig vapor as well so you may occasionally need a way to tweak or increase the vapor.

The Scotch Tape e Cig Mod

Enter the scotch tape mod. I remember when I started smoking electronic cigarettes almost 2 years ago now. The scotch tape mod was the first mod in the wonderful world of electronic cigarette “modding” I was introduced to as I watched YouTube videos one night. Unfortunately I can’t remember who it was that made that video to give them credit, but I thought it was pretty cool that he was able to double his vapor production in just minutes simply by using plain old scotch tape.

As it turned out, my first electronic cigarette was producing excellent vapor at the time and it wasn’t until later after I started trying other models and doing reviews that I decided to test the mod out.

If you read my latest review of Smoke51’s “Krave” disposable e cigarette, you know I recently found another use for the scotch tape mod other than improving vapor production. During the Krave review I noticed that the automatic pressure sensitive switch became quite stubborn after a few puffs. In fact, I was having a very hard time getting the battery to juice the atomizer no matter how hard I took a drag.

I wasn’t able to determine whether this was a design problem or just a defective battery, but I really wanted to finish the review because the first couple drags off the Krave were really good.

The Smoke51 Krave comes with a surprisingly high quality 4-hole atomizer for a disposable 3 piece unit. I theorized that since a higher number holes in the atomizer makes the draw easier, that if I had fewer holes then the draw would be harder and therefore the pressure exerted on the battery’s pressure switch would be greater and might energize the battery.

It turns out I was right.

To implement the scotch tape mod you simply use clear tape to cover one or more of the atomizer’s intake holes. I have included a couple pictures and a couple notes to follow as a more detain illustration of how to implement this mod.

At the end I explain why Krave is ideally suited for this mod as well as a couple reasons why the this mod actually SUCKS at times.

How to Implement the Scotch Tape e Cig Mod

Supplies Needed for e Cig Mod

Supplies Needed for e Cig Mod

Supplies Needed: Scotch tape (or any kind of cellophane packing tape), 3-piece electronic cigarette (or any type of ecig with atomizer holes near the mouth piece), pin or needle.

3-piece with Holes Next to Mouth-Piece (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

3-piece with Holes Next to Mouth-Piece (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Up to 3 Holes to Be Covered<B>(CLICK TO ENLARGE)</b>

Up to 3 Holes to Be Covered (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Notice how this atomizer has four holes. Before taping over them, screw the atomizer and cartridge back onto the battery.

Note Placement of Scotch Tape  <b>(CLICK TO ENLARGE)</B>

Note Placement of Scotch Tape (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

With the atomizer screwed into the batter apply tape as shown in this picture. Notice that the Krave has a little extra white body to it toward where you push the cartridge on. If your 3-piece model doesn’t have this then just apply the tape to both the battery and the cartridge. YES, this means the cartridge will be taped on, and you will need to take the tape off to change the cartridge or drip.

Press FIRMLY all around the tape once it is applied to make sure you have a good air-tight seal.

Poke the Hole!  <b> (CLICK TO ENLARGE)</B>

Poke the Hole! (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Use the point of a needle or pin to poke a hole through the tape to open at least one of the atomizer holes. IMPORTANT AND OBVIOUS: You must use the needle to create at least one atomizer hole!

Poke 1 Hole at a Time  <b>(CLICK TO ENLARGE)</b>

Poke 1 Hole at a Time (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Poke only one hole at a time, testing your vapor production between each hole poked by taking a few drags.

Leave 1 Or More Holes Covered  <b>(CLICK TO ENLARGE)</B>

Leave 1 Or More Holes Covered (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

You will end up with some holes covered and some with holes that will allow the air to flow into the intake. For the Krave, I had to leave 3 holes covered to activate the pressure switch reliably which gave me a really hard draw, but also incredible vapor!

Why the Scotch Tape Mod SUCKS Sometimes

There are a couple reasons why this modification kinda stinks and why I don’t use it on a regular basis.

The biggest headache you are likely to encounter is that you will need to remove the tape in order to change cartridges and batteries.

If you are using higher quality tape this may not be an issue, but if you are just using whatever you have around the house it can sometimes be a PAIN to remove the tape because the holes poked in the tape cause it to peel off in small pieces and thin strips. This takes time and is a huge inconvenience.

As it turns out, the Krave disposable model is ideally suited for this modification because you don’t have to remove the scotch tape at all. If you study the first and fourth pictures in this article closely you will notice the placement of the tape doesn’t need to come in contact with the cartridge at all.

Since the KRAVE is a disposable and you don’t need to re-charge or change batteries, the tape never needs to come off!

Depending on circumstances, you will probably need to remove the tape eventually.

Other drawbacks of this mod include the atomizer getting hotter than normal and using cartridges / nicotine solution faster. These are both things you want in a way and are actually required to increase e cig vapor production, but if the atomizer isn’t sturdy enough it will burn out faster than normal and replacing atomizers and using cartridges at a higher rate will obviously cost more.

This is the price to you pay sometimes for good vapor!

So I hope this modification helps a few folks out there looking to optimize their e cig vapor. Please comment with questions or any other suggestions you have for modding electronic cigarettes.

Today’s post will explain how to use the so-called scotch tape mod to improve e cig vapor production. This mod also increases how hard it is to take a drag which can be a benefit in some situations as you will read later in the article.

First I would like to go over a few situations in which the quality of your vapor is important.

Why is Good e Cig Vapor Important

There are a few reasons you may be looking to improve, increase, or otherwise enhance your e cig vapor or “smoke” production. These reasons range from the practical to the totally impractical and even irrational.

One arguably impractical reason for being able to produce thick clouds of e cig vapor is that it may be a good way to impress skeptical friends who have never seen or heard of the devices. Among veteran e-smokers, e cig vapor production is even a status symbol these days.

Once you get used to smoking electronic cigarettes there is almost nothing more satisfying than exhaling a nice big thick, copious cloud of vapor except maybe blowing a few smoke rings!

There are more practical reasons for wanting to improve e cig vapor production other than it is just so darn satisfying though. Nicotine cravings need to be satisfied too and since the vapor is what carries the nicotine to the tissues in the back of your throat and lungs it is essential for vapor to be the right consistency.

Also, sometimes variations in hardware quality such as atomizers and batteries or nicotine solution being used to top off or completely refill cartridges can affect your e cig vapor as well so you may occasionally need a way to tweak or increase the vapor.

The Scotch Tape e Cig Mod

Enter the scotch tape mod. I remember when I started smoking electronic cigarettes almost 2 years ago now. The scotch tape mod was the first mod in the wonderful world of electronic cigarette “modding” I was introduced to as I watched YouTube videos one night. Unfortunately I can’t remember who it was that made that video to give them credit, but I thought it was pretty cool that he was able to double his vapor production in just minutes simply by using plain old scotch tape.

As it turned out, my first electronic cigarette was producing excellent vapor at the time and it wasn’t until later after I started trying other models and doing reviews that I decided to test the mod out.

If you read my latest review of Smoke51’s “Krave” disposable e cigarette, you know I recently found another use for the scotch tape mod other than improving vapor production. During the Krave review I noticed that the automatic pressure sensitive switch became quite stubborn after a few puffs. In fact, I was having a very hard time getting the battery to juice the atomizer no matter how hard I took a drag.

I wasn’t able to determine whether this was a design problem or just a defective battery, but I really wanted to finish the review because the first couple drags off the Krave were really good.

The Smoke51 Krave comes with a surprisingly high quality 4-hole atomizer for a disposable 3 piece unit. I theorized that since a higher number holes in the atomizer makes the draw easier, that if I had fewer holes then the draw would be harder and therefore the pressure exerted on the battery’s pressure switch would be greater and might energize the battery.

It turns out I was right.

To implement the scotch tape mod you simply use clear tape to cover one or more of the atomizer’s intake holes. I have included a couple pictures and a couple notes to follow as a more detain illustration of how to implement this mod.

At the end I explain why Krave is ideally suited for this mod as well as a couple reasons why the this mod actually SUCKS at times.

How to Implement the Scotch Tape e Cig Mod

[insert pic of needed supplies]

Supplies: Scotch tape (or any kind of cellophane packing tape), 3-piece electronic cigarette (or any type of ecig with atomizer holes near the mouth piece), pin or needle.

[insert pic of krave with arrow pointed to hole near mouthpiece]

[insert pic of atomizer and cart with arrows pointing to the 4 holes]

Notice how this atomizer has four holes. Before taping over them, screw the atomizer and cartridge back onto the battery.

[insert pic of taping the e cig here]

With the atomizer screwed into the batter apply tape as shown in this picture. Notice that the Krave has a little extra white body to it toward where you push the cartridge on. If your 3-piece model doesn’t have this then just apply the tape to both the battery and the cartridge. YES, this means the cartridge will be taped on, and you will need to take the tape off to change the cartridge or drip.

Press FIRMLY all around the tape once it is applied to make sure you have a good air-tight seal.

[insert needle pic]

Use the point of a needle or pin to poke a hole through the tape to open at least one of the atomizer holes. IMPORTANT AND OBVIOUS: You must use the needle to create at least one atomizer hold!

[Insert pic of hole poked]

Poke only one hole at a time, testing your vapor production between each hole poked by taking a few drags.

[insert picture showing one hole poked and one hole covered]

You will end up with some holes covered and some with holes that will allow the air to flow into the intake. For the Krave, I had to leave 3 holes covered to activate the pressure switch reliably which gave me a really hard draw, but also incredible vapor!

Why the Scotch Tape Mod SUCKS Sometimes

There are a couple reasons why this modification kinda stinks and why I don’t use it on a regular basis.

The biggest headache you are likely to encounter is that you will need to remove the tape in order to change cartridges and batteries.

If you are using higher quality tape this may not be an issue, but if you are just using whatever you have around the house it can sometimes be a PAIN to remove the tape because the holes poked in the tape cause it to peel off in small pieces and thin strips. This takes time and is a huge inconvenience.

As it turns out, the Krave disposable model is ideally suited for this modification because you don’t have to remove the scotch tape at all. If you study the first and fourth pictures in this article closely you will notice the placement of the tape doesn’t need to come in contact with the cartridge at all.

Since the KRAVE is a disposable and you don’t need to re-charge or change batteries, the tape never needs to come off!

Depending on circumstances, you will probably need to remove the tape eventually.

Other drawbacks of this mod include the atomizer getting hotter than normal and using cartridges / nicotine solution faster. These are both things you want in a way and are actually required to increase e cig vapor production, but if the atomizer isn’t sturdy enough it will burn out faster than normal and replacing atomizers and using cartridges at a higher rate will obviously cost more.

This is the price to you pay sometimes for good vapor!

So I hope this modification helps a few folks out there looking to optimize their e cig vapor. Please comment with questions or any other suggestions you have for modding electronic cigarettes.

3 Comments

  1. Joe Sweeney says:

    Very interesting cheap mod

  2. PiWright says:

    I kinda stumbled into this mod on accident and am shocked to find that it is considered a mod. I have an Intellicig which uses a four hole atomizer. I noticed one night it kicked out allot more smoke than normal. I did not think about it at the time though. Then I got some pre-filled carts that did not fit right and kept falling off the atty. I wound up taping them on. While I was taping them on I got to thinking about that night that the intellicig worked so well and how the way I was holding the e-cig at that time blocked the holes. So I taped off three of the holes. He is right about why it’s a pain in the tukus. But you can do this on the ultra cheap by holding the e-cig so that one to three of the holes are covered by crook of your index finger and avoid to battery recharge issue.

    • Sparky says:

      You are right. I usually try covering one or two holes with my fingers to see if there is improvement before I do the “mod.” If only one or two holes need to be covered then doing the mod may not be necessary, but covering up to three is a little harder.

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About Me

The Electronic Cigarette Review is NOT about me.

Its here for millions of people in America and the rest of the world who smoke and may be considering electronic cigarettes as an alternative for their health, smoking bans, outrageous taxes and other costs.

When I went to the web searching for GOOD information on electronic cigarettes it was difficult to find.

This site will have something useful here for everyone thinking about trying electronic cigarettes or those who are looking to take their new found joy of smoking the e cig to the next level!

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