The new JAC made SERIES-E will be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we caught up with our Managing Director, Andy Logan, to discuss what he's looking forward to with the launch of JAC Vapour's first in house battery and what customers should expect.
Andy, you've been trialling the SERIES-E for a while now. What have you found to be the most enjoyable aspects of this battery?
Apart from its looks, the size is about perfect, and it's been rock solid in reliability.
I'm not the easiest going on my e-cigs and it's been bashed, dropped and in general not looked after very well, but it's ploughed on and looks pretty much brand new after 4 months use. Personally I would never return to the eGo sized battery, and I hope our customers feel the same way.
Could you gives us some information regarding the specifications users can expect?
The SERIES-E is a 1000mAh 510 connection battery, so it will last most users a full day.
I am a heavy vaper and find I'll go through around one charge in a day, I reckon for 95% of vapers it will last more than a day though.
Despite having a good capacity the battery feels pretty small, it's easily covered in a hand so it can be used very discreetly, it's actually about 2 inches shorter than an eGo twist 900mAh.
The batteries are pretty much the same price as twist batteries, but I think the package is far more attractive.
I see the SERIES-E batteries replacing every battery of 650mAh capacity and above, If I was looking to purchase a kit that was bigger than the mini ego 400mAh, so something like the 650mAh or the 900mAh twist, I'd put my money with the SERIES-E every time.
The eGo is a great e-cigarette, but I think the form factor has now become a bit limiting; all the new high quality tanks are being built at around the 18.5mm diameter mark. So if you're a fan of tanks like the Protank, the Aerotank or even the Nautilus, the SERIES-E will match it perfectly, rather than the microphone look you tend to get with eGo batteries.
I am currently using the SERIES-E with a Protank 3 which I have fitted with the new Japanese cotton wicked dual coil, and the performance matches far more expensive devices.
I have the battery set to 3.7v with 12mg liquid, while running a 1.8Ohm Japanese cotton wicked coil. Even at 3.7v this outperforms any of my previous eGo setups, there's loads of vapour produced, and a nice clean taste, occasionally I crank up the battery to 4.2v or 4.8v, and it handles these heat increases easily, but more often than not 3.7v is more than enough for my needs.
The battery will also work with all our other eGo threaded tanks, so it's compatible with any 510 or eGo style tank on the market like EVODs, Novas, CE4s and CE5s. It also doesn't look out of place with something as big as 22mm diameter tank, it's a very flexible form factor, and the brushed Stainless Steel matches just about everything.
What can users expect with regards to kit contents and pricing?
The batteries will be sold separately and can be used with our standard eGo or eGo twist chargers, so if you're looking to upgrade, all you really need to do is replace your eGo with a SERIES-E battery (£23.99) and you'll see the benefits.
The SERIES-E will also be supplied in kits. One battery kits, with a specially designed case, charger and beauty ring will start at £32.99, and fully specced kits with 2 batteries, a case, charger, Japanese cotton coils, e-liquid, and an Aerotank will come in at £64.99.
The fully specced kit is quite a bit more than our current eGo kits, but considering the Aerotank alone is a £20 tank, they still represent incredibly good value.
There will also be Protank and Genitank options for the kits as well, so there will be a kit to suit pretty much any budget, you won't need to get a second job to get your hands on these.
How does the SERIES-E differ from other batteries on the market?
Around May 2013 I was becoming frustrated with standard eGo dimensions, as I enjoyed using 18.5mm tanks and there were no real options for 18.5mm batteries unless you were prepared to spend £150 on a mod or buy a massive length battery.
So, our lead engineer and myself set about designing an 18.5mm battery that would be affordable. The idea was that it would offer an upgrade to current eGo style batteries without breaking the bank, but also add extra features while still maintaining a comfortable size. From the beginning, we decided that the product had to look good and be made with the best quality components we could find.
In September last year, we built a prototype of our design, initially it was an 800mAh VV twist style battery at 18.5mm with a sprung connector and came in at around 80mm. We then started approaching our manufacturing partners to see if they would be interested in building it in partnership with ourselves to keep costs to a reasonable level.
Initially everybody we approached would not consider making the battery with an 18.5mm diameter form factor, the common reply was, ‘Just make an eGo, everybody likes the eGo' and if it ain't broke why try and fix it, it became incredibly frustrating.
Eventually we came across a manufacturer that had been entertaining a similar concept, so we agreed to share ideas and build the battery together. Over the coming months we managed to add a few additional features, and upgrade the build from copper to solid stainless steel, while increasing the mAh to 1000mAh and reducing the size to 76mm. The end result is the SERIES-E as you see it today, and I am very confident we achieved what we set out to do.
As this battery was developed in house by JAC Vapour, what were your biggest motivators when engineering the SERIES-E? What were the most important factors when developing JAC's latest innovation?
We wanted to make a battery with advanced features that offered a new form factor for mainstream batteries.
It had to be reliable and made from the highest quality components whilst remaining affordable.
The idea was it would offer compatibility to the new and very popular 18.5mm diameter tanks, and it would take the best features from advanced devices and make them easily accessible to the user.
The battery is not designed to replace mods, it is designed to be an affordable upgrade for eGo users that want more from their device. We also wanted to make a device that looked great, and felt great to use.
When will customers be able to purchase the SERIES-E?
We have had a few setbacks along the way, we have worked hard to ensure our ideas of quality translated into the mass production of the device and this has caused a few delays to expected dates.
The first sample batch will arrive this week, and then the full production batch will arrive in store for the first or second week in November. So, it's around 3-4 weeks beyond our expected launch date, which is disappointing, and I apologise to people that have been waiting for the SERIES-E.
I can assure them though that the e-cig will live up to expectations and we'll also be adding a few bonuses to the kits when they first go on sale to try and compensate for the delays.
Finally, where next after the SERIES-E?
If the SERIES-E proves a hit, we'll certainly not be standing still.
We've already designed a 22mm mechanical Mod and we're currently looking for a manufacturing partner for this, hopefully this will be ready 2nd quarter of next year.
We'll also be expanding our SERIES-E range next year and we're already building prototypes.
We've also just completed an upgraded coil and wick after experimenting with many different materials, and these will be compatible with our PT3, Aerotank, Genitank and EVOD2, they boost performance quite a bit and will be available from next month.
The V1P kits are also going through a full upgrade. It's still the best performing small e-cigarette available on the market, but we have an upgraded V1P+ case size coming and we've also got a new 35mm bottom coil tank that will improve performance further. Both these should be available early December, and everything will be backward compatible for existing users of the V3i range.
Products aside we'll also be expanding the main business, with the introduction of retail shops, and international sites, we've also recently signed an international distribution deal that will see our products available in 30 countries worldwide. Overall we have incredibly busy year ahead!