So, I have been doing some 'heavy testing' of my fw3 and have some info i'd like to post, so apologies in advance as this is likely to be a long one.
Some background. I asked a few weeks back if anyone knew how long the heater fires for after the end of a draw. I was finding over 20 seconds (although not properly tested), which seemed overly long. I have since removed the batteries to try to 'reset' the fw3 to see if this helped.
I took the opportunity to refresh and analyse the batteries whilst i was at it. Findings from this are:-
-Changing batteries DOES NOT reset any temp changes you have made. . Mine remained on +4 with the new batteries, so it likely did not 'reset' the fw3 in any way.
-the batteries are white eneloops, rated at 1900 mah, and the capacity of the 4 refreshed batteries was between 1840 and 1870 mah, so pretty consistent and close to rated power.
-Temporarily using Imedian 2400 batteries instead of Eneloops gave a couple of extra sessions (as you'd expect) with no performance changes i could tell.
I have since more thoroughly timed the heater and have found that my unit consistently fires the heater for 15 seconds after I finish a draw (to do this i quickly whip out the mouthpiece as soon as i finish my draw and count until the heater stops glowing red).
Knowing this has really improved my fw3 experience (which was already top notch).
Since i rarely wait longer than 15 seconds between draws anyway, I can now confidently just take draw after draw without the need for a primer puff each time. This results in more consistent vapour production with less effort, and quicker sessions.
It has also resulted in markedly better battery life. I think before i was doing a primer puff and waiting 5 seconds even though the heater was already up to temp, thus wasting time and battery.
On top of this, as the chamber stays hotter from more regular draws/faster sessions, i have now reduced my temp settings from +4 back to the standard +1 setting, with similar results in vapour/effects. I expect further battery life gains from this as the heater is not heating as hot as before.
I am still testing, but with the original batteries back in, i went from around 5 sessions to around 7 sessions per charge. This was before i reduced temp settings. I will post results from the lower temp settings at a later date.
In summary, my heater keeps firing for long enough to not need primer puffs, resulting in shorter sessions, with less overall heater 'on time' and a knock on effect of lower heat settings required = better performance and battery life.
Hope this helps people.