The ACE50 is a premium variable wattage box mod made by ACE Technology Co, LTD, also known as ACESMOK. ACE Technology CO is based in China and specializes in R&D and manufacturing electronic cigarette products.The ACE50 variable wattage box is an original design which is something that we don’t see a lot of from China. As per ACESMOK the ACE50 was designed in Italy, and manufactured in China. I will admit to a little side eye when I first read this however, now that I have the device in hand I definitely get the sense that style and refinement was genuinely part of the inspiration behind the design and construction of the ACE50.
The ACE50 box mod featured in this review came directly from ACESMOK. The ACE50 is nicely presented in a branded gift box , which also includes a user manual, a usb charging cord, 4 spare screws for the back cover, and a mini screwdriver.
Buy an ACE50 Mod on eBay for $76.99
ACE50 SPECIFICATIONS:
- Brand: ACESMOK
- Material: Billet Aluminum
- Type: variable wattage mod
- Connection threading: 510 (fits up to 23mm diameter atomizers)
- Dimensions: 90mm 53mm 25mm
- Weight: 125 grams
Features:
- 1) iPhone surface finish workmanship and iPhone button design.
- 2) Working Voltage: DC 3.0V-6.0V.
- 3) Output Power: 3.0W-50.0W.
- 4) Resistance range: 0.3-3.0 ohm.
- 5) Quiescent Current: ‘550 uAh.
- 6) MAX Current: 15Amps.
- 7) Working Mode: Constant voltage/power output.
- 8) Short circuit protection
- 9) Auto Stand-by and Sleep Mode while no smoking
- 10) Pure metallic touch feeling.
- 11) 3 modern colors: Classic Black, Luxury Golden, Pure Silver.
- 12) OLED display: power/voltage, resistance, battery.
- 13) Show charging when charged by USB
- 14) Fashional design.
- 15) Suitable for 18650 battery.
BUILD QUALITY
The sample ACE50 that I received from ACESMOK came in a color that is actually not available as one of their color options, which are classic black,luxury gold, and pure silver. The color that I received is a short of off white/champagne like color that I believe was used for samples only because it’s the same color that is featured in all of ACESMOK’s demo videos on youtube. Below are photos of two of the other colors available.
Out of the box the ACE50 has a solid feel, with a nice amount of weight to it without feeling heavy. The overall build quality is very good and definitely doesn’t feel like a cheap mod. The iphone inspired display screen definitely lends a sense of refinement to this style of box mod , which tend to have a more rugged sensibility to them. The construction of the display screen I would actually describe as superb. The display screen lays perfectly lush and clean, without any bubbling, rippling, or tacky looking glue jobs. The billet aluminum body has a matte finish, with a minimally textured feel.
The fire button and up/down buttons are of the same aluminum used on the main body and lay within an elongated recessed well along the side of the body. The shape and size of the button are much nicer and more comfortable to use than the rounded metal buttons found on the DNA 30 Hana style box mods. All of the buttons have a clicky feel to them and do not any rattle. There are battery vent holes on the lower right side of the body and the back cover is held in place by two phillips head screws like the DNA 30 style box mods.
There is a recessed well around the 510 connection and the 510 pin is non- adjustable. The usb charge port is on the bottom of the device and when the included usb charging cord is installed the words “charging” will be displayed on the LED screen. Having the charge port on the bottom of the device is a con for a lot of vapers who prefer to be able to leave their device standing during charging, but for me it’s not a deal breaker. When I offered feedback to ACESMOK about possibly changing the location of the usb port on future upgrades, they were adamant about keeping look of the ACE50 refined, and as clean as possible.
The recessed well around the 510 connection is 23mm in diameter and is deep enough that most atomizers will appear flush mounted even if they have a longer 510 pin. I have tried no less 5 different atomizers with the ACE50 and I have not had any issues with certain atomizers not screwing into the threads, or failing to make contact with the device.
Aside from the clean, and attractive aesthetics of the device, the ACE50 hands down has the cleanest, most meticulously assembled internals that I have seen inside a box mod. It is clear that ACE50 was not afraid to proudly display their circuit board assembly by using a clear cover over the board. The chipset used in the ACE50 is designed by ACESMOK. One of the things that took me several minutes to figure out was which direction to install the battery. Most box mods have the positive side of the battery facing up towards the top of the mod however, in the ACE50 the positive side faces down. This is not the result of a janky assembly job, this is a design by intention.
As mentioned earlier, there are three battery vent holes on the lower right side of the device, and being that batteries tend to vent from the positive side in the event of a thermal runaway, this design and assembly of the internals make perfect sense. Being that I assumed that the positive would face up, when I initially installed my battery the device did not turn on and I thought I received a bad unit. While ACESMOK does not specify that this device is equipped with reverse polarity protection (in fact the manual warns against reversing polarity), clearly it does have reverse polarity protection because I did not fry this chip upon installing the battery incorrectly… twice.
The ACE50 is slightly taller, and a bit wider than the Cloupor DNA 30 box. One aspect of the ACE50 that I prefer over the Cloupor DNA 30 is the flat surface of the buttons on the ACE50, and also the arrangement. As I mentioned in my Cloupor DNA 30 review, the buttons tend to wear on my fingers when I use it a lot. The other issue that I had with the Cloupor is that due to the placement of the up/down buttons I very often would accidentally change the wattage setting while using it.
With the up/down buttons set closer to the fire button on ACE50 this has not been an issue. In fact, it is a lot easier to change the wattage settings on the ACE50 without having to change my hold position of the box like I do with the Cloupor. I can just slide my index finger down to the up/down buttons and adjust.
FUNCTION
Being that the ACE50 is not a clone and uses its own chipset, the some of the basic functions are totally different from DNA style box mods. When you install the battery there will be a quick flash of “Hello” on the display screen, but the device will not be turned on. After installing the battery you will need to click the fire 5x to turn it on. Now, here is where things get .. err interesting. Once turned on, you cannot turn the device off with 5 clicks. You can however lock the firing mode from the menu to prevent the device from accidentally firing while in your pocket, which I will cover more shortly.
On the LED screen display there is a puff counter on the top left, with the battery life indicator in percentages to the right of that. The wattage display is at the center, the resistance meter is on the lower left, and the firing voltage on the lower right. Voltage is only displayed while firing the device. The wattage up/down adjusts in .5 increments.
To access the menu you click the fire button 3x and the main menu will appear on the display screen. From the menu you have “lock out, resistance, and display” options. I could not capture all of the menu screens on camera because the menu moves very fast, and only remains on screen for 2 seconds after selection.
- Use the fire button to scroll up and down to select one of the three options. Once you have moved the highlight bar to the desired menu option wait 2 seconds and the menu will move into that option.
- Once you are in the lock out or display menu, use the fire button to highlight “out off or out on, and display off or display on”, once the desired option is highlighted wait 2 seconds and the option enters itself, you do not have to hit any buttons to select it. The highlight bar will enter whichever option that it is left on for 2 seconds.
In my opinion the resistance option should not be part of the menu because the resistance of your atomizer is in constant display on the LED. This menu option does nothing but reiterate what you already know, and can see. The lock out option is of course very useful, and the option to turn off the display is what “stealth mode” is on most other regulated box mods. Unfortunately, the fire lock on/off feature is actually reversed on my device, which means that off = on, and on = off. Being that this is a new device with not a lot of feedback available, I am not sure if this is just an error on the device that I received, or if they are all like this.
The ACE50 does fire from sleep/standby mode. The display screen blacks out within 5 seconds after it is fired. The ACE50 does not have flash memory, so when you change your battery the last wattage setting does not remain and the device resets to the minimum 7 watts.
POWER REGULATION
When I first came across the ACE50 box, and realized that its max voltage output is 6v, I immediately assumed the possibility that the chip may be regulating current output to compensate for the lower voltage maximum output. In fact, this is exactly what Cloupor has recently announced that they have done with Cloupor T8 150W box. I have heard many consumers complain about the change in the T8’s maximum voltage output from 14.4v down to 7.4v, and also question how it would be possible to achieve 150W across the firing resistance range with this voltage output limitation. Well, it is “possible” to regulate current flowing through a load independent of voltage output.
In Ohms Law there are three calculations for power/wattage, 1) voltage multiplied by current/amps 2) current/amps squared multiplied by resistance 3) voltage squared divided by resistance. However, when considering “regulated powersupply” sometimes we need to go farther than what is apparent or assumed. High wattage/power output can be maintained in the case of a voltage reduction or limitation so long as the current output is increased by the same proportion to compensate for the voltage reduction/restriction.
There are plenty of low voltage/high current DC power supplies being used in various other electrical applications, so I am not surprised to see this form of regulated power supply being applied to electronic cigarettes. That being said, after speaking directly with ACESMOK they have confirmed that their chip DOES NOT regulate current output, it is regulated for constant voltage. However, I did want to touch on the possibility of current regulation independent of voltage output because we are going to see this with the Cloupor T8.
PERFORMANCE
One of the more positive things that I discovered while testing the ACE50 box is that the chip has buck and boost circuitry. I was able to fire this device as low as 2.2v (inline meter tested), even as the specs indicate a 3v minimum. Step down or buck conversion has become quite desirable amongst vapers, and is one of the reasons that chips like the Yihi SX350 have become so desirable. I began testing the ACE50’s voltage output under load at .8 ohms being that this is the mid-mark for where most of us are vaping these days (.5-1.5 ohms). Below you will see the captured voltage under load at .8 ohms for 25 and 50 watts.
However, the one drawback of the ACE50 is its lower than average voltage output of 6v, which means that at higher resistances you will not be getting 50 watts of power. According to ACESMOK this is actually by design.
As per ACESMOK there was both a concern for safety and the quality of the vape which lead to their decision to design their chip with a 6 volt maximum output. ACESMOK intended for the ACE50 to put out the maximum of 50W from resistances of .3-.75 ohms. ACESMOK also felt that when resistances above 1 ohm were fired at 50W that it created a “burnt taste”, which I am inclined to agree with. However, The only problem that I have with this is that the “50W firing range” was not made clear in the device specifications. As consumers we tend to be the most accepting of those things that are made clear to us upfront.
Even at its intended “50W firing range” the ACE50 does fall short of that mark with resistances below .7ohms. When I tested voltage output under load at .5ohms, 34.77 watts was the most I could get out of the ACE50. So there needs to be some improvements made to the chips efficiency in order to successfully meet its targeted resistance range of .3-.75 ohm firing u to 50W. In the chart below you will see the actual voltage output under load (value listed on right) when tested with a 510 inline meter at .5, .7, .8, 1.3, and 1.9 ohms.
OVERALL
When I first stumbled across the ACE50 box mod, I was immediately attracted to it because of its clean, attractive aesthetic and form factor. While I have no need for 50 watts of power, I think that this box is quite sexy. Overall I find the build quality to be above average, and I do enjoy the vape that I am able to get with the ACE50 box mod. Realistically this box mod is more than powerful enough for the average vaper using atomizer resistances from .6-1.5 ohms. I usually vape between 12.5-17.5 watts on a regular basis, and the capacity of the ACE50 more than meets my own needs.
However, manufacturers need to be mindful of not misrepresenting the true capacity of their devices because it is this that often leaves a bad taste in the mouth of a consumer. Anyone who is in the market for 50 watt device that fires up to 50W across it’s firing resistance range as specified would feel mislead, and rightfully so. Although I do have to mention that basically all of the high watt mods on the market have exaggerated their specifications to some degree. The Evolv DNA 30 does not fire 30W up to 3.00 ohms (30W up to 2.3 ohm), and the SX 350 does not fire 50W up to 3.00 ohms (50W up to 1.4 ohm) even as their specifications are presented in a way that lead you to believe that they do.
In spite of the fact the ACE50 only gets close to 50 watts between .7-.8 ohms, it does have several redeeming qualities. Its well assembled internals/build quality, buck/boost circuitry, fires from sleep mode, nice button construction and placement, a refined and sophisticated aesthetic, and it is not a clone but an original box mod. So all and all I would recommend the ACE50 box mod as long as the true wattage output capacity of this device is within your needs.
PROS
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CONS
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Where to Buy an Ace50 Mod
Buy for $76.99 – eBay seller, Ships from the USA
Buy for $88.00 – Ships from China
Nice review. I can’t see in the pictures, are the electronics glued in place or do they use screws?
Click on the pictures to enlarge them to full screen size .. the chip is screwed in, you will see it clearly once you enlarge the photo. :)
I tried “accidently” changing the wattage on my Cana over 10 minutes ago and can still see the indentation on my ring finger. You must hold that mod in some kind of death grip.
This thing only adjusts wattage in half watt increments? But for that, I think I would pick this over the Cana for my friends ready to step up to that level. For my budding interests in porous ceramics and a bit higher voltages, I want to be able to play in the 8 volt\40+ watt range, if needed.
No death grip, its just the way that my fingers across the mod when I am vaping ..
Thanks Nicole, another great review!
Hi Sage .. thank you so much my dear, I appreciate it. :)
Not bad looking box, but that charge port on the bottom is a big no to me, I don’t want to remove my atty every time I want to charge it, also one thing that irritates me with these boxes, is they seem to gone backwards with the 510 pins, we got floating pins but they are not being used in these boxes, yes some are adjustable, but I don’t want to keep messing changing the pin if can change it at all.
Thanks for the in depth review :)
Hey Paul! :) .. Well, I did try talking to ACESMOK about moving the charge port. I don’t remove my tank atties when I recharge, and to be honest when I recharge my Cloupor Cana which has the charge port on the body, I still lay it down anyway :p. But I do agree that if they moved the charge port to the side of the body that this will be more agreeable to a greater number of vapers. :)
As usual my darling, thank you for comments, and support. <3
go one, and love it. I use a subtank……..1.2 ohms. and usually run 20 watts. I got a super deal.
Yeah, I actually liked using this mod a lot. I don’t use it now only because I have received so many new regulated devices since that review. Glad you are enjoying yours, cheers!