Alright, I'm putting my foot into the RBA door. Need experienced opinions pretty please!

[FunkyVapes]

I recommend starting with one of the did clones (griffin, vulcan, gen 1, etc.) for the following reasons.

1. proven design that works well. For example, the wick hole is close to the edge, so that when the cap is on, the air hole is probably about 3 or 4 mm from the wick. I don't know for certain, but I think that's important.

2. They come with 400 mesh and 32 ga. kanthal to get you started. You can see if you like it before ordering more, and it'll probably be a year or more before you actually need to order more. This is a biggie in my eyes because I'm poor as a church mouse, and I can't afford to toss too many things back into the unused box lol.

3. Even if you don't like ss, all is not lost. Set it up for dripping to test new juices. Very easy to do with cotton or silica or even cotton covered ss. Let's just say that I will not be buying any more 510 attys.

4. Easy to set up in different ways. For example I'm using the spin-E setup for dripping in one of my gen 1s. I would never have even tried that except for the gen-1, and I love it. Another example is cotton/ss or silica/ss hybrids wicks, whatever works for you.

5. Glass tanks are available if you want one.

Some tips that I've learned from the forum here that work for me.

1. Make your wick slightly smaller than the wick hole. Important for two reasons. 1. makes for less chance of shorts in that area, and 2. aids in wicking. ( I just learned that today. See this post. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...tems/374459-who-vapes-100-vg.html#post8462373) If you're not using the Petar k method, just roll the wick until it fits a little sloppy. If you are going to use that method, make sure your drill bit, nail, or whatever, fits a little sloppy in the wick hole.

2. When testing, always check for resistance first, then pulse. Gently move your coils to cure hot spots. I felt like an idiot the first time I did that because I had no idea which way to move the coil. As it turns out, it the movement that counts.

I hope some of this helps, and best of luck on whatever device you decide to get. I predict that you'll like it.

One last thing, if you order from COV, use code bigbuyer.

Thanks for quoting my post, buddy. Great explaination youu gave here too. Jolly-good show!

 

[KillTheNoise]

Thanks vapdivrr and JD1 for answering my questions quite well.

I've set myself to ordering smaller amounts of the lower sized wire and different mesh so I can see what I think will be best, then from there I will order larger amounts depending on what I figure out I like better.

The DID clones. Are they as cheap as the AGA-T? I can't seem to find the right place to look for them, just a case of not knowing where to look though I guess...? Any links that can be posted would be great!

edit - Found the 500 mesh I wasn't seeing before.

 

[KillTheNoise]

Alright so I took the leap of faith.

Ordered an AGA-T2, a 6"x12" sheet of both 400 and 500 mesh, and 3' of both 30 and 32 Kanthal-A1 wire.

Hoping for it to be here around Thursday because I can't friggen WAIT to start playing with it! Thanks to everyone who took time input their opinions and help out a noob!

 

[StaircaseWit]

Good luck! You did well with what you ordered. It'll give you plenty to play with for a while.

 

[KillTheNoise]

Couldn't have done it without the help of everyone here!

I'm sure I'll have more questions, but will I need a multimeter or can I use the eVic to read the resistance before using it?

I'm assuming the reason a meter is used is to clarify the ohms and see if it's shorting?

 

[wolcen]

I don't think a multimeter would be a wasteful purchase. Yes, your eVic should tell you the ohms of the assembled atty, but it wouldn't let you probe around to find a bad connection, or tell you how many ohms your coil is BEFORE you mount it in your RBA etc.

Can't remember who said it, but someone's tag line goes something like "a vaper without a multimeter is like a doctor without a stethoscope". Perhaps not as true today with all the smart devices around, but still very helpful to have.

 

[4matic]

Alright so I took the leap of faith.

Ordered an AGA-T2, a 6"x12" sheet of both 400 and 500 mesh, and 3' of both 30 and 32 Kanthal-A1 wire.

Hoping for it to be here around Thursday because I can't friggen WAIT to start playing with it! Thanks to everyone who took time input their opinions and help out a noob!

where did you purchase the mesh and wire from?

 

[KillTheNoise]

Vaporizers, Ecigs and Accessories

The owner's name is Lance Wallen, great customer service, great products, great prices, and he has a good selection of different supplies. Am definitely going to recommend him, even though it's my first buy in the RBA world, I know a good business owner when I meet one, and this guy is a good one.

 

[4matic]

Vaporizers, Ecigs and Accessories

The owner's name is Lance Wallen, great customer service, great products, great prices, and he has a good selection of different supplies. Am definitely going to recommend him, even though it's my first buy in the RBA world, I know a good business owner when I meet one, and this guy is a good one.

sweet thanks man! i actually already bought my aga-t+ from discountvapers but will probably go here for some mesh and wire.

 

[vapdivrr]

the only reason i prefer the aga to the did clones is the working area, to me the did clones were just to tight to work on, they work very good but just to small for me. i bought a multimeter when i first started vaping, because thats what most reccomended, i used it one time. the very first set-up i wanted a certain resistance for my coil, with the meter i knew that my wire needed to be a certain lenght, now i know exactly the lenght, i do the same coils all the time and see no reason for using the multimeter everytime i do a coil. i know there are people that use them religously, and think they are needed for saftly reasons. i would listen to some of the replys to this issue and make your own decision.

 

[vapdivrr]

also, there really is no comparison to previously vaping a certain resistance in the cartos you were using compared to a certain resistance in a genesis. it really is quite different. in a carto, one may have loved a coli at 2.0 ohms, but when going to a genesis atty, the same person may prefer a much lower resistant coil, it really is comparing apples to oranges. i think lowering resistances, or making them higher, or 400 mesh comparing to 500 mesh, or tight wick or loose wick, are all things that can be tweeked along the way, but the actual mating of the wire to the wick is something that is key. when these devices first came along there was basically one way to set it up. you had to oxidize the wick, install the wick, and wrap the wick, then connect the leads, or oxidize the wick, wrap the wick, then install the wick and connect the leads. now there is a different way, it requires no real oxidation to the wick, also the wire is wrapped around a drill bit or something equivalent, the bit is then inserted into the device, then the wick is installed. they call this the peter k method. some swear by this, personally i have tried this method and think it is just to time consuming. but being that you are starting out new, its going to be a decision that you must make. once you get profficient in setting up the device, then you can fine tune it by trying out different configurations of wire, resistances, wicks. when i started out there was basically 32g wire and thinner, and 325 mesh, so thats what was set-up. then thicker wires became more popular, so i tried them, then different meshes came about ,so i tried them. but now there are so many ways that you can make that initial set-up, so you just will have to try a combination and see what happens. imo i would do the 30g, to a resistance of about 1.5 to 1.8 ohms, which may equal about 5 to 7 wraps around the wick(depending on the diameter of wick) then vape this at around 4.4ish volts, or around 12 watts. not 100% sure of the amount of wraps , being i do not use 30g wire, but i should be close.

 

[Sad Society]

I wish you the best of luck cunningstunts.

The Evic is picky when it comes to RBA's. Especially SS Mesh type setups. If the RBA is not set up right the Evic screen will say 'Atomizer Short'.

But there is a way to trick it. Just unscrew the RBA slightly and it may work. When it's tightened on the Evic, that's when you'll get the atty short message. Maybe it's just because I use low ohms on my Evic. But I think the SS Mesh is part of the problem.

 

[KillTheNoise]

vapdivrr that is invaluable advice! I don't know which wick to start with but I was probably going to use the 500 with some 30g wire. The wrapping methods was another thing I was kinda iffy about, seems like people do all sorts of different stuff. So, I'm glad you said 5-7 wraps as I wasn't sure which to do, so thanks again for the great input! I'm sure I'll be at it for a while because I like my stuff looking perfect and neat, damned OCD.

Sad Society, I'm having mixed thoughts on using my eVic for the RBA or just buying a VAMO or something with a higher amp limit. I'm not sure if I'll need to get into that 10-15 watt range that I like, and cannot have with the eVic. Guess this is just another thing I'll have to see when I get the RBA all set up. Are you happy with your eVic while using rebuildables or do you keep it for other delivery devices?

 

[wolcen]

The eVic is a pretty interesting device, but the low amp limit (and ICR battery) was disappointing to hear about. SS does take a little extra umph to heat up, but it may still do OK. Ultimately, I have no idea.

Really I just wanted to remind you not to forget to do your first test at its lowest setting.

 

[vapdivrr]

vapdivrr that is invaluable advice! I don't know which wick to start with but I was probably going to use the 500 with some 30g wire. The wrapping methods was another thing I was kinda iffy about, seems like people do all sorts of different stuff. So, I'm glad you said 5-7 wraps as I wasn't sure which to do, so thanks again for the great input! I'm sure I'll be at it for a while because I like my stuff looking perfect and neat, damned OCD.

Sad Society, I'm having mixed thoughts on using my eVic for the RBA or just buying a VAMO or something with a higher amp limit. I'm not sure if I'll need to get into that 10-15 watt range that I like, and cannot have with the eVic. Guess this is just another thing I'll have to see when I get the RBA all set up. Are you happy with your eVic while using rebuildables or do you keep it for other delivery devices?

you know i absolutly have no info on the evic, i seen a previous post about a low amp limit. my provari has an amp limit at 3.5amps, so some of the info that i have told you is with similiar amp limitation devices. if the evic has an amp limit of 2.5, then you might be best suited with 32g wire. thicker wire equates to lower resistances, lower resistances equates to higher amps. i personally like thicker wire, imo has the best flavor, so with thicker wire you wind up with lower resistances. i guess the electrons flow more easily in a thicker wire, thus less resistances. with this ease of travel you use more amps thus more battery. so being that there is only a certain amount of space on the wick to make your wire wraps, 28g will be a low resistant coil, 30g will be in the middle and 32 will be higher. in one of the examples i gave you in a previous post, a 1.7 ohm coil@4.4volts = 2.6amps, (you just devide volts by ohms) with the provaris 3.5 limit this works fine, but a 2.5 amp limit will not. in this case you really wouldnt lower the voltage because the wattage is reduced, so you would need to increase the ohms. trying to increase the ohms with a thicker wire (30g) requires more wraps, in which there may not be enough room on the wick. to accomadate this example, 32g wire may be required. now some people use thicker wire, and try making higher resistances by making very close coils, almost touching, i however do not. i like a little distance in between my coils. also by making alot of coils very close together delays the response time of the vape. you would never think that these little devices can be so involved, they are but they arent. once you get a few under your belt they become very simple. watts are voltage squared devided by resistance or ohms, amps are volts devided by resistance or ohms. so it is hard to know what configuration you will use, and to get a device that will accomodate that configuration. a mechanical mod is an awesome device for gennys, but do not tell you things like resistance,battery life and they dont push constant volts. in a mechanical mod as the battery drains, the vape suffers, a vv device holds constant all the way. but a vv device has limitations of amps, watts etc. i have both. the most popular vv devices now have very high amp limits, up to 5 amps, but cannot go below a resistance of 1.2 ohms, which for me is a killer, because my favorite set-up is a 1.0 ohm coil. without knowing all this when i started i first bought a mechanical mod, then months later bought a provari v-2, which is perfect for me. it is the only vv device that can go to lower than 1.0 ohm. anyways i have gone on for way to long, and some of this maybe just confusing the heck out of you. talk to you later.

 

[Sad Society]

Are you happy with your eVic while using rebuildables or do you keep it for other delivery devices?

Yes. I use my Evic with an RBA. I think it can go as low as 1 ohm. Or the lowest I've seen on mine is 1.1 ohms. I'm using a Penelope RBA with a SS mesh/cotton set up, using 30g kanthal. A very difficult set up that I finally got to work.

 

[KillTheNoise]

Yes. I use my Evic with an RBA. I think it can go as low as 1 ohm. Or the lowest I've seen on mine is 1.1 ohms. I'm using a Penelope RBA with a SS mesh/cotton set up, using 30g kanthal. A very difficult set up that I finally got to work.

You saying the Penelope was difficult or using it with your evic? I'll be getting mine today (fingers crossed) so after work I'll see!

I feel a sickness coming...may have to leave work early!

 

[Rule62]

All of the VV and VW devices are a bit sensative to RBAs. That's not entirely a bad thing. It just requires the builder to be meticulous with the set-up.

 

[KillTheNoise]

Ah, well I see those heavenly three words "Out for Delivery" on my tracking page. . So tonight will be very fun!

 

[Gr8Scott]

I gotta just chime in and tell you that your user name is awesome.

It's stunning

Wonder if everybody catches it


Anyway welcome to rebuildables.

I am sort of new to it, but between this and DIY juice....

Cost isn't really even a factor anymore at all.

Liberation Rocks.