I’d like for this to be an open thread with honest info about Temperature Control Mods (TCM) user experience. I’m sure for an inexperienced TCM user the choices of TCMs are overwhelming. I’ve definitely had my share of hits and misses when it comes to TCMs. I’d like for TCM users to share their preference and experience with TCMs that you own. I hope this will help anyone looking to get into TCMs make a informed decision.
From my experience my simplest and most reliable TCM has been the Snow Wolf 200W. It doesn’t matter what I put on it, it read, self adjust and fire. I’ve had no issues at all with the two I own . Asmodus stands behind these mods with simple tech support.
My IPVs are my second most reliable and ease of use. I have no issues with my IPV4s or my IPV3 Li. I haven’t experienced the battery short issue with the original IPV4, so I’m always cautious when I use them. Thank god they fixed this issue with the IPV4S.
The eVic VT 60w TCM has also been reliable once I figured the correct builds for them. My only issue is now that I’m using 22g Ti wire, it suffers a little when it comes to power.
The Sigelei 75W TCM was a disappointment for me because of the lack of features and power. If you are a heavy vaper like me, you will be disappointed with the battery life. It just don’t fit my style of vaping. I’m strictly vaping Ti coil builds below .1 ohmm and it’s not supported by this TCM.
The SMOK XCube2 is a good TCM once you get it to work. This TCM is far too technical for the average user. My experiences has been good and awful. There is no tech support with this mod… you get what you get and you have to figure it out on your own. There is no consistency when it comes to these TCMs. SMOK seems to send updates every week, further proving these TCMs are flawed. But IMO it doesn’t address the real issues with these TCMs. This TCM is not for an inexperienced TC user and just a PITA unless you happen to get one of the good ones. I would say stay away unless you like a gamble, because that’s what you get with this TCM.
The Vapor Flask v2 was my first TCM and basically a learning tool for me. I don’t use it anymore, but I did learn a lot with this TCM.
SMOK M80 was not a true TCM. It did work perfect as a VV/VW mod. I vaped it forward to a friend in need of a mod.
XCube 2 - For me it’s been stable as a rock. I know a lot of you have had problems with it. I hope they iron out their QC and fix their app and stuff Only one I have that supports SS in TC, and it does it well!
IPV 4S reliable - just works! Good power.
eVic VT 60W - Good stable mod. Limited power. Good battery life.
eVic VTC Mini - I’m actually pretty impressed with it. Way better battery life than I expected. Also, with an update it’s now 75W.
iStick TC40W - To me it’s pretty useless in TC and awful battery life. I use it as a VW-device and I’m hapy with that.
iJoy Asolo - Weird TC mod, but it works really well in “Taste Control”-mode.
My first TCM (kind of) was the Smok M80. We all know it’s not a true TCM but I didn’t purchase it for that function, but what I can say about it is that it kind of worked with Kanthal and Nichrome builds. You could definately still get a dry hit that’s for sure but it definately adjusted the warmth of the vapour that was created. Granted all be it by simply fluctuating the wattage without actually knowing the temp.
The M80 is straight forward to use, simple menu structure, can fire down to .1ohm, 4000mah battery life with the added bonus of a Mechanical mode for firing based on ohms law.
My other TCM as you fully know is an IPV4S. What a machine!!!
For a simple cost effective TCM (under $65) this has to win hands down.
I found when I purchased 26gTi that I wasn’t getting the warmth from the vape regardless of temperature set.
So I took your advice and purchased some 22gTi and wrapped some simple spaced coils .06-.08ohms and simply wow.
When something just works, it works.
Menu structure is easy to navigate, it’s simple to use, once you find your sweet spot it’s pure bliss.
UPGRADED IPV4-S
a solid reliable mod hits really well and easy to use
I did have the internal battery short which I repaired myself but besides that a great mod
XCUBE II RUNNING OS 1.093
fortunately I’m a geek and was able to adjust to the way this operates and got one with out any issues it handles my builds whether SS or TI without any major issues I do have to tinker with the tcor and or adjust the ohms but I do consider myself a semi-advance vaper…so for a person who just wants the newest thing I do not recommend this
I have two koopor minis on the way and will update this post as soon as I get it in hand
iStick 40, as @daath already mentioned has a pretty lousy battery life in TC mode. I managed to empty one tank on it, the Goblin mini I use it in wattage mode. It is nice and small so easy to take with you somewhere and stealth vape. Smok XCUBE for me has been nothing but a royal PITA in TC mode. I get nothing but dry hits or no hits. In wattage mode it works great though. So for the price I still have a good working 160 watt device with awesome battery life, but for TC I give it a meh. IPV4s has been a solid TC mod for me. Easy to use, no problems at all. It just works the way it’s supposed to.
pressed for time so just a quick one, hope to expand on it later tonight,
A couple more I think need including:
these, apart from Xcube are all pretty much 1st gen TC
Vaporshark DNA40 Usable feels ergonomic once you have a skin (you need one to stop battery door falling off) lowish wattage maximum.
pet peeve- No proper way to switch it off - therefore stays at home
Snowolf 200W fingerprint magnet TC creates noticeable “flutter”.
Alarmingly, when first opened it looked like it was made by a 17 year old Afghan IED manufacturer.
Represented relatively good value at the time it was bought.
pet peeve- No proper way to switch it off - therefore stays at home .
Too big.
Despite my reservations, I quite like it, usually use it non-TC though drippers mostly.
Favourite by a long way Yihi SX mini M class (i bought a second one, as I couldn’t find anything else that could compare)
Does everything I want it to reliably, good menu, switches off when you want it to.
when dripping I just use it in bypass mode and it turns into a dumb 80W mech-mod…
that is properly vented ;0)
This is the mod, and operating system that I compare all others to nothing has so-far ticked all those boxes.
(they should have sold it as “Buy one, get a mech mod for free”)
Hoping the Vaporflask 200W/Yihi chip materialises, I’ll pre-order
XCUBE II
A lot of bang for your buck.As said above, a bit of a PITA,
pet peeve- ** you can switch it off, if it is in a cooperative mood
** - therefore stays at home mad as a box of frogs.
-feels “needy”
True, that works, (after about the 3rd try)
although it often decides to switch itself on, when it is already on.
-II’ll scratch that,
not the PITA bit though
My first TC mod and to date the favorite of the three TC mods I own. As long as the nickel or titanium build is solid the TC function works perfectly. The only real cons are this is a sealed unit so no battery swap and it more often than not doesn’t detect a new coil. Even still it always seem to provide good TC function when no new coil is detected if both mod and atty are the same temp when installing, and that applies even when switching from one type wire to another. Also it’s just gorgeous with the automotive paint finish.
Joyetech VT Mini
Impressive for its size and single 18650 battery. The battery door is excellently made with very strong magnets and a snug fit. I got the black which has a matte finish that resists fingerprints well. I use this mod mostly with the Goblin Mini at home as both battery and tank will deplete quickly for a heavy vaper. Temperature control works as reliably as the VT 60w, but finds new attys with much better consistency. If this was at least a 2 battery mod with SS support it would be perfect. Still it’s a nice little device I would buy again.
SMOK xCube II
I’ve been quite lucky. Most problems with TC I’ve had were related to less than perfect builds. I’ve had no issues with the app or updating as others have reported. The only real issue is it jumping to watt mode in SS and after what I think may have been a slight corruption in firmware going from v1.092 to 1.093 although I have yet to confirm this. In wattage mode this thing is a beast, and if someone wanted an excellent VW mod with a cool factor at a good price then they should get two of these as it has coolness in spades. When TC works it works well, although I do think the Joyetechs are more stable. Still I use this daily, all day.
I have a feeling temp control will continue to gain popularity and for my own vaping purposes it’s really all I’m doing these days.
I love the hand feel of this mod but hated the TC which was flawed . Good battery life and I do use it the odd time .
Heatvape Invader mini
Cool design and rugged as hell but the chip while it does work it doesn’t work reliably .
Smy 50 TC
Hate comes to mind when I think of this mod . TC works but you can’t get a decent vape period . Works well in vw
Hcigar HB 40
Great little box , TC works well with nickel ,battery life is good not great. Authentic Dna chip
ipv4 Ipv3 Li Two of my faves although I find myself gravitating toward my IPv4 . Both work well and if they upgraded the chip to change the Tcor they would work even better .
Xcube 2
All work and little play . It works and it works well once you spend hours getting dry hits and pounding your fists on the table . Support is non existent and my cube can’t seem to be updated . I do like it but this isn’t for somebody who just wants an easy go to vape . The app is useless for android , works ok with Apple .
Ijoy Asolo 200
At first I thought hallelujah , I didn’t waste my coin on a piece of shit ,now I’m not so sure . It actually does work in taste control for every wire I’ve tried…no dry hits at all . The Temp control does work but it’s picky about your resistance …I’ve found if you wrap to low of a resistance in TI it will just boot you back to vw but if you wrap over .15 it works . it has started to ask me if its a new coil almost every time It sleeps…like after 1 min so that has become annoying to the point of me not wanting to use it .
Sxk Zero 60 w TC
This one is interesting because it has a " nickel purity" setting which basically changes the TCoR so you can use virtually all types of wire . This was out before all these fancy new mods were doing it and slipped by my radar. The setting goes from 10 to 100 . So the tcor of titanium is .0035 so you put the setting to 35 and its theoretically supposed to work however ive found the setting needs to be higher . Still in testing on this one but its tiny and built like a brick . I actually quite like it .
Dovpo TC-50
The temp control mod that wasn’t. I have found that it works a lot better with titanium than nickel even though technically it doesn’t support titanium. It does read it as TC wire. Not SS though. Basically, it does TC, it just does it very poorly and only when it really wants to or you mess with it enough. You have to put your coil on and press the plus, then lock the power (I don’t think that step is really necessary), then change your temperature, then you can vape it. BUT if it goes to sleep, upon waking it will see your coil as being 0.12-0.13 and almost immediately goes into temp protect. You have to hit it once or twice, unscrew it, and screw it back down to force it to read the temp again. Typically, if I start with a 0.15 coil, it goes to sleep and comes back reading it as a 0.12 coil, and I have to hit it, unscrew it, and screw it back down until it reads about 0.18 for it to work well. Repeat every time it goes to sleep. Needless to say, I don’t do TC all that often. I’m looking forward to my eVic VTC Mini and seeing what TC is really about.
E-Leaf 40 Watt TC (Might have been a bad mod) but right out of the box malfunctioned in wattage mode. Intermittent fire/misfire. It kept changing the read out on coil ohm’s every time I hit on it. I had to send it back to the vendor.
I hope Smok can get the bugs worked out before the xCube mini is released. Haven’t pulled the trigger on a TC mod yet, but right now I’m thinking I’ll either go with it or a VTC Mini. Thanks for all the info, guys! It really is a bit overwhelming, and these mini-reviews are great!
Nuthin’ on the current Koopor 60W TC model? I’m hoping the new Plus 200W model is a winner. If you believe the hype (SMOK) it sure sounds like it could be.
Only own 2 TCM Mods.
Snow Wolf 200 watt… Raw power yet can be tamed and gentle when needed. Daily carry but if you have never held one…heavy but can be gotten used to. Use mainly with an rba. Decent battery life IMHO.
SX Mini M Class… Able to fine tune and dial in vape perfectly depending on how I want to vape at the minute. Finesse and class are the two words I use, if you are willing and can spend $200 on a mod. Worth every penny IMHO. Works great with anything I put on it and you can even use it in Bypass mode like a mech mod with kanthal builds. Lately my black TFV4 has been attached and SX Mini M Class has latest firmware with TCR and Offset. As with any mod with a single 18650 I find it can use batteries however your mileage may vary.
I have two different TC mods, The Xcube II and the Sigelei 150 TC. On each I’ve only used TC with nickel 200 and titanium coils. Here is my take on each of them…
Xcube II as others have said getting this mod setup in TC to perform well is trial and error, Mostly error. One you get it set up it does work and works quite well. The build you install is critical. If the initial resistance it too high it thinks you are using a high guage wire and it will not fire the coils with enough wattage. If the initial build resistance is too low, temperature accuracy isn’t very stabe. Although low resistance build work much better, the trick is building coils with enough initial resistance to obtain better accuracy but low enough resistance to have the mod deliver enough wattage.
Another issue I have with the cube it it’s control of the output wattage control is SLOW and slower to update the real time display on the app. It updates wattage output only once per second. (verified with an oscilloscope) this can result in an unstable vape temperature. This is a lot more noticeable with higher airflow RDA’s or the Steam Crave Aromamizer RDTA. You can display calculated temperature of the coils by clicking the center of the main circular screen and select wattage. Getting a good build can minimize this fluctuation.
The app is close to total GARBAGE and full of bugs for the android platform.
Company support is non existent though the firmware and app is upgraded often the upgrade may introduce more problems then it cures. Forget about ever getting a reply from them if you email them.
Sigelei 150 TC Appearance wise, the Sig is much better constructed inside and out. It’s fit, finish, battery contacts, 510, etc, appear to be of better quality then the xcube II. Very well constructed mod. This mod is designed for nickel 200 coils only since you cannot change the temperature coefficient. It also does not have a USB port so it can not be upgraded. Menu setup and control is simple on the Sig. With nickel builds it works very well and is quite accurate. You can install titanium build and get very good results if you simply lower the controlling vape temperature on the display by approximately 90-140 degrees to your liking. The Sig output control wattage update speed is FAST. It will hold a stable vape temperature much better than the Xcube in my opinion. Output control is so fast it sounds like an old steam locomotive as it fires the coils on and off several times a second. I suspect the output control is Pulse Width Modulation on the Sig 150TC. Another benefit of the Sig is it’s much less critical of the build installed. As long as you build fits into the resistance range you can fire it. I’ve installed a 7 wrap, 3mm diameter 22 gauge titanium dual coil build in an RDA and the Sig would fire it and deliver a very good temperature controlled vape. The Xcube II would not handle this build very well and delivered mediocre vape quality regardless of settings.
When it comes to temperature control using Titanium or Ni200, I reach for the Sig 150TC because I feel the vape quality and temperature consistency of the vape is superior compared to the Xcube II and it is a lot more comfortable in the hand. Straight wattage output control using kanthal builds, I consider the Xcube and the Sig as almost equal. You may be tempted to respond with the statement, “But the Xcube is 180 watts and the Sig is only 150 watts” True however in reality needing such high wattage to fire an atty build is rarely needed and very detrimental to battery life. And because of output current (amperage) and output voltage restrictions you can achieve maximum wattage under a narrow range of resistance. 0.2-.356 on the Cube and 0.167-.375 on the Sig. Of your build is outside of these resistance range it will not fire your coils at maximum wattage regardless of the displayed wattage setting on the mod. When and if a Sigelei 150 TC Version II comes out, I’ll probably be first in line.
Only one I have that supports SS in TC, and it does it well!
I use it in wattage mode. It is nice and small so easy to take with you somewhere and stealth vape.
