Or those looking to upgrade.
I spent a lot of hours the last week+ learning all about new(er) products. Tomorrow Aug 8th I don't know what will happen with regulations but I'm ready to order today. I've been vaping since around 2012. A year or so into it, after using things like Ego twist MODs and Kanger Protank, I got a Hana DNA30 clone box mod and a sinlge coil drip tank and haven't really looked at gear until recently.
This info is useful to vapers who think along the same lines as me, and hopefully I can help save you time deciding what to buy.
For the main MOD, I went with the Reuleaux DNA200. It's a large mod with long battery life for all types of coil builds.
I didn't get the cheaper RX200 or RX200S or RX2/3 as my main MOD. The reason was for the DNA board being able to safely USB charge (and discharge while you vape) instead of having to use a seperate charger with the RX - which actually still doesn't help that the RX doesn't discharge evenly throughout the 3 batteries as you vape. There is tons of reuleaux dna200 vs RX200 info but some things about the charging etc I try tp sum up in previous threads I made:
Wismec Reuleaux DNA200 onboard USB charging safe? Still should Rotate batteries? - Evolv DNA Forum
http://..................com/thread...iple-18650-that-can-safely-usb-charge.262107/
Are there any 100W+ TC dual/triple 18650 that can safely USB charge?
http://..................com/thread...200w-tc-triple-3-18650-and-dual-18650.261686/
recommendation 200W Dual and Triple 18650 TC (with screws not magnets?)
Exact batteries for .15 coils? And a second set for higher ohm builds. Please
To somewhat summarize, what I read from a credible source (at least they seem) in one of those links (possibly to another link) is that the RX doesn't evenly discharge or USB charge the 3 batteries which can be unsafe (vent or explode worst case scenario). But the person says that the RX chip will stop charging when the highest battery reaches max volts allowed (the others may be far from being done charging but it won't keep charging any of them because the battery that maxed out triggered the chip to stop charging all). You can check the voltage of all 3 batteries with the MOD and I think the magic number you never want to see more than a difference of is .3 Volts between battereis. I have read plenty of people post they had differences close to .3 volts with the RX but I don't think I read one where there was actually more than that. Also when discharging (when you vape), when the lowest battery reaches the minimum, it will stop letting you vape eventhough the other batteries might still have more energy. Basically, you can charge the batteries in the safest external charger you want but when you vape them in an RX, it still won't discharge them all evenly (never want to be more than .3 Volts different is the magic number if I'm not mistaken). The DNA200 chip does discharge and USB charging as well as high end chargers from what I've read (people check them on external multimeters etc and are not only reying on the DNA's built-in volt checker which is also probably extremely accurate).
Also, the DNA is just much better all around, more accurate with Temp controll if you get into that , etc etc, although it might require some learning of the escribe software to tweak things. I would also think that the DNA is much less likely to fry from some user error or something.
I did however also order a Reuleaux RX2/3. This is the version you can put three or two batteries in (would only get 133 or 150 watts with 2 batteries, I forget which, but 133 is plenty for more than enough for most vapers). Because I need a back up device that can handle the tanks etc I bought. And I wasn't about to spend another $150ish for a second DNA200. The RX 2/3 I got on fasttech for ~$42 shipped. The RX200S is slightly better than the RX200 original, and the RX2/3 is nice to have in case the 3 18650 is too big sometimes. I was very close to getting a Hcigar VT133 for my back up MOD (has a DNA 200 with two 18650s) but the battery door is stupidly easy to slip off from what I've seen.
There are also plenty of non-DNA 100-200W chips (and DNA chips) in MODs that you can safely USB charge because these mods use a single Lipo pack battery or a single 18650 instead of two or three 18650s (in SERIES is the magic word where the balancing between multiple batteries becomes important). But these lipo packs have quite low battery life (only like 4,000 mAh, but you can put 3X 3,000 mAh 18650s in a reuleaux for 9,000 mAhs). Maybe it's over my head buy I'm baffled why some brands don't just make a MOD with one big lipo pack (wouldn't it actually be smaller than 3X 18650s due to the shells?) and then since it's a single battery, they can get away with USB charging with their shady chips that can't handle balanced charging or discharging. The cost would be cheap because of the chips, and universal replacement lipo packs in 9 months or cost about the same as three batteries. And possibly the USB can zip charge at full 1-2Amp like some lipo mods do, so it doesn't even warrant an external charger's faster speed by much.
I'm not sure if you even have to rotate the 3 (or 2) batteries in a DNA200 MOD. Rotating is suggeted in case one battery slot/terminal takes most of the energy/discharging which should be evenly rotated between the batteries but might not be, especially in the DNA, but not the RX. Many people don't rotate with a DNA and say they never had a problem or discrepancy of nearly .3 volts, but many people suggest to rotate. My link to the evolv forum (the makers of the DNA chips), maybe someone will give concrete proof if it's needed or not. Again, I think maybe all this means is if a multimeter never shows the batteries more than .3 volts apart, or anywhere near that much difference would be better. The only problem with rotating the batteries in the DNA 200 is there's safety rings over the battery terminals to prevent people from putting them in backwards, and these can rip at the batteries, so they have to be rotated very carefully which cna become a chore. I read just taking them out is a hassle and might require a guitar pick (or something similar in plastic, not metal) to pop them out. Some people even cut the rings out with a razor but I don't recommend that unles you're super careful not to damage the battery connections. There's also another "trick" with the DNA and RX Reuleaux about opening the device and tucking the screen ribbon cable away from the fire button which presses right on it and can eventually require the ribbon to need replacing. It's a pretty simple trick and there are videos but do at your own risk.
Whichever you get, if you get something with more than 1 battery, "marry" those batteries together which means buy the same brand new and use them only for that MOD. If you get the RX 2/3 I have read credible sources (someone on pbusardo's blog, I assume is credible enough) that you CAN rotate a set of three and use two of the three when in dual mode but that you should also rotate them when they go back as tripple mode. In other words, you don't need a set of two and a set of three battereis for the RX2/3. The third cell that wasn't needed for dual mode should be rotated with one that was used in dual mode when you recharge it still in dual mode, and then the one that was in the MOD for dual mode that wasn't changed out yet should be rotated out thenext time and so on and so forth (or maybe every second or third time you charge is good enough, I don't know). Batteries are pretty cheap though so maybe it's easier to just get a set of two and a set of 3. I think the DNA will come out with a 2/3 version (and I would just usb charge it) but I wanted to order the RX 2/3 backup MOD before aug 8th regulations just in case. I already have a 2 bay nitecore charger I would use for the RX instead of its onboard USB charging if shjt hits the fan with my DNA200. But as I mentioned, the RX probably won't discharge them evenly so it's only half the risk of using the RX to also charge them.
TANKs:
I got a vaporesso gemini RTA for $19.99 shipped. You have to build the coils for this. It's quite easy. I think they make a version you just pop premade coils in but you most likely get better hits and performance just building coils, not to mention they cost like 4 cents each to make. I got ceramic tweazers on ebay for like $3 from china. You'll see why if you need to watch some tutorals for building coils. I bought a 15 foot roll of fused clapton wire for $9 shipped. I got it as all kanthal because I don't know how to use other metals in temp controll (TC) yet such as stainless steel which suposidly gives cleaner flavor, but kanthal claptons are liked by many.
The gemini is very similar to the griffin and Aromamizer which are all top notch rtas. I chose the gemini though for a few reasons pointed out here
Griffin 25
I try to get all my tanks as plain silver stainless because I like to think it's safer. I don't want any unnecessary paint or anything near my vape. I prefer 316L stainless because it's the same grade as the bolts they'd put in someone's knee or something like that. The Kayfun V5 that I list below, the authentic is $120 and is 316L. The clone I decided to get instead for like $25 claims to be 316L (but who would really know if they lied?), but I don't know if there's much reason for cloners to lie as if 316L is even that much more expensive than other grades of stainless. I don't know all the specifics on metals and safety. I have read vaping doesn't even get hot enough to react with anything like even if there was lead in brass coil posts but I like to hope that 316L or other plain stainless are a bit saferr. The coil material is of course probably the most important aspect. I don't like lots of o-rings in the tanks or anything like that like plastic 510 drip tip adapters vs metal ones. Drip tips I read the common black plastic POM (Polyoxymethylene) material "produce toxic formaldehyde gas whether heated or mechanically abraded" if you just google "Polyoxymethylene Formaldehyde" and it has nothing to do with anti-vaping. Does it actually do that when vaping? I don't know but POM stays cool when vaping gets hot (such as large clapton coils) hence why POM is a popular drip tip. I would prefer instead a thick pyrex 510 drip tip or a 316L. I didn't find a 316L yet. It's not getting that hot though, it's like saying don't cook in a stainless steel pan unless it's 316L.
I got a smok tfv8 for $20 shipped, only to use the gigantic octa coils that are premade for the time being. The RBA deck it includes that you can buid on, I would be better using my Vaporesso Gemini because it's basically the same thing except the Gemini has juice flow and top air flow. And has two small holes in the center of the build deck that pull air in from the center which might make it "better" than if they weren't there. I just want something right away that I can't mess up that will give huge clouds so I got the TFV8. Maybe the premade octa coils do give bigger vapor than a dual or quad fused clapton in a drip tank but I don't plan on dishing out for premade TFV8 octa coils (and the prices might go up for USA vapers).
That's the thing with all these tanks, there are very slight differences between everything, and there are so many, so it takes a while to narrow everything down. And I probably missed even some of the popular ones for my comparisons but I'm overall very satisfied with my choices.
I also wanted a tank that can do single coils in case the dual coils are too much vapor sometimes. You can probably build duals in a certain way that they aren't, but whatever, I got a single coil tank just inc case. You can definitely build a single in the gemini or the TFV8. They have a Velocity style deck which IMHO is probably the best so far, and Velocity deck easily allows thick coils wire like fused claptons. If you google Velovity single coil image search you can see how to easily make a single coil in a velocity through the center of the posts. But with tanks that are meant for dual coils, using a single means it would pull air from all sides instead of just one side. Which isn't necessarly a bad thing, and actually might be good, but possibly when using one coil, you would need to close the air holes up quite a bit and end up with an annoying whistle. I will try it though. Some velocity style RTAs/RBAs include a plastic insert to block off one side but that's just adding more plastics etc I try to stay away from. I think the material is the same peak insulator all tanks have around the 510 pin but it's like a big chunk of plastic to block off half the tank (and it makes the coil smaller than doing one through the center of a velocity deck). So I did a bunch of research and settled on the Kayfun V5 clone for single coils.
RDA:
For RDA drip tanks, I like to hope they give better juicy-coil hits vs relying on wicks to soak up juice in a tank style.
Also want to point out that most of the drip tanks nowadays are essentially just top coil tanks like the old genesis but with a smaller juice well. The RDA I use now is a simple two post one air hole I drilled out a bit. I build them so that the coil is as low to the deck without touching so the juice soaks up quicker to the coil. With modern RDAs with deep juice wells, you can't bend the coil down that far so it's almost touching the deck. In other words, you can drip into the tank and the coil will get well soaked and the first hit or two will be perfect but after that, it's just a top coil genesis as the coil relies on the wicks to bring the juice up. The performance might be better on an RTA like the gemini because the juice flows in sideways into the coil chamber and the coil is right there (like a protank V1 does) vs the juice having to travel all the way up the wicks from a deep juice well. In other words though, just don't plan on using an RDA to soak up all the juice from a deep well (some RDAs can hold 2.5ml+ of juice which is a lot). Just take the first great puffs and then redrip I would think. At least that's what makes sense to me on paper. I never even used a sub ohm modern RDA, and all the experienced vapors probably love them but I'm just pointing this out.
One RDA I chose is the Tsunami rda 24mm. Authentic is about $25. It has adjustable bottom air flow that comes up under the coils instead of air from the sides. And you can close one side off and use single coil (on one side of the velocity deck vs a single through the center of it). Is bottom air flow better than side air flow? I don't know but I hope so because the trade off is that you have to be a bit careful when you drip onto the coils that you don't let juice get down the air holes and leak out the bottom and possibly then into your mod's 510. Tsunami has a metal threaded adapter to use whatever 510 you want. I never used an airy atomizer and these big cloud attys are like giant straws to me so I like the option of using something more restrictive if needed. There are RDAs that have both side and bottom air flow such as Mutation XS RDA and Hatty RDA, and you can choose to close off one or the other completely (possibly) but I don't think I found one that has both side and bottom air flows plus a Velocity style deck (and a 510 adapter, or the option to close off one side to do a single coil on the "side" of the velocity to avoid possible whistle) which I think I'll much prefer the velocity over the chance that side + bottom airflow actually "increases flavor".
Another RDA I got was a Velocity V2 RDA clone. This is where the original Velocty style deck comes from, and I would love to support the makers of this but I chose instead to get a clone for like $15 vs the authentic is like $125 for whatever reason. Both are allegidly 304 stainless, which again, might not be any reason for cloners to lie and give you cheap poisoned metal or something if it's even any much cheaper than regular 304.
It can do a single coil but it should be though the center of the velocity which may or may not make it an annoying whistler if you need to decrease the holes all around the cap for a single coil, and it may or may not improve or degrade the vape flavor etc vs having one coil on the side with only air holes on that side such as can be done with the Tsunami I'm getting. The main reason for the Velocity is there's no bottom air holes, so I can just drip a good amount of juice on the coils and not worry about it leaking out the bottom. Will I notice any difference between the Tsunami with bottom airflow vs the Velocity with adjustable side flow? I don't know. I'm not very good at detecting these minute things and I think a lot of testimonies for such are sort of placebo affect.
Edit: actually I didn't get the Velocity V2. I saw no reason since I got the Mad Hatter V2 listed below (got tow of those, one from china cheaper as a back up, and one from USA so I can get it sooner). The real V2 has two alignment tabs on the cap so you can more easily pop the cap back on so that the tabs lock the air flow. The clones don't have two from what I saw, which isn't really a big deal but thought I'd mention it. Also the Velocity clones it's kind of hard to tell which come with a separate regular 510 connection pin and which come with the Squonk hollow core for bottom feeding juice with squonk. Some have a mini pin that closes off the hollow core which might get fiddly. I just saw no reason to get one considering the Mad Hatters specs even though the clones are like $8 on fasttech.
Last RDA I got was the Mad Hatter V2. Authentic for around $25. Velocity deck. Adjustable Side air flow only. Basically the same thing as the Velocity V2 but the Mad Hatter has a great feature, a hinged top cap. I am a bit of a germaphone when I'm out and about. I don't like putting my hands all over RDA drip tips to pull it or the cap off to re drip. If the coil is ran through the center of a velocity deck, and if I end up using a really wide drip tip, then I can just drip down the drip tip onto the coil, but otherwise, I pull the cap off and drip which gets annoying, and have to touch the drip tip. With the Mad Hatter, all you have to do is just pop the hinged cap up and drip. I plan to just do this with my mouth and not have to put hands on the atty at all. The thing I don't like about the finned heat sink 510 drip tip it comes with is those fins are likely to get all filled with crud you can't easily clean out, but it comes with another tip or two and a 510 adapter to use whatever 510 you want.
I also got some 510 heatsinks from fasttech for like $1 in case I have 510 connection problems with any atty/mod combinations and also for their purpose in case certain attys get too hot. Stainless seems to be the most popular but I did some googling if aluminum works better for heat dispersion and read
Thermal Conductivity of Metals
The top 4:
Silver 429
Copper 401
Gold 310
Aluminum 250
And for comparison
Stainless Steel 16
stainless vs aluminium heat sink - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums
so I got the copper one
$1.71 510 Finned Heat Sink for Atomizers - copper / 22mm diameter at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
But also the stainless in case I need for some reason those notches on the top and in case the copper one gets damaged and I need a back up.
$1.61 510 Heat Dissipation Heat Sink for Atomizers - stainless steel / 22mm diameter at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
and also an 18mm one they have in case I need to use my back up back up hana DNA30 clone box, it has a recess near the 510 that is only about 22mm and might prevent larger attys from making a connection. I think they have 510 extenders but I couldn't easily find one. I shouldn't need this though but just got it jus tin case.
narrow bore 316 drip top (not 316L)
$1.46 316 Stainless Steel 510 Drip Tip for Kayfun Mini V3 RTA - 17mm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Wider bore 316 drip tip (not 316L)
$1.48 316 Stainless Steel 510 Drip Tip - 15mm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Aluminum drip tips
$0.87 Aluminum Drip Tip for 510 / ViVi Nova / DCT - silver at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
$1.23 Bullet Style Aluminum Drip Tip for 510 / ViVi Nova / DCT at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Glass 510 tip
$2.09 Glass 510 Drip Tip - small / 28*12mm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
This was a long read but if you think along the same lines as me, I saved you all the hours it took me to figure this all out. And thanks again to those who helped me in my threads. Take care.
I spent a lot of hours the last week+ learning all about new(er) products. Tomorrow Aug 8th I don't know what will happen with regulations but I'm ready to order today. I've been vaping since around 2012. A year or so into it, after using things like Ego twist MODs and Kanger Protank, I got a Hana DNA30 clone box mod and a sinlge coil drip tank and haven't really looked at gear until recently.
This info is useful to vapers who think along the same lines as me, and hopefully I can help save you time deciding what to buy.
For the main MOD, I went with the Reuleaux DNA200. It's a large mod with long battery life for all types of coil builds.
I didn't get the cheaper RX200 or RX200S or RX2/3 as my main MOD. The reason was for the DNA board being able to safely USB charge (and discharge while you vape) instead of having to use a seperate charger with the RX - which actually still doesn't help that the RX doesn't discharge evenly throughout the 3 batteries as you vape. There is tons of reuleaux dna200 vs RX200 info but some things about the charging etc I try tp sum up in previous threads I made:
Wismec Reuleaux DNA200 onboard USB charging safe? Still should Rotate batteries? - Evolv DNA Forum
http://..................com/thread...iple-18650-that-can-safely-usb-charge.262107/
Are there any 100W+ TC dual/triple 18650 that can safely USB charge?
http://..................com/thread...200w-tc-triple-3-18650-and-dual-18650.261686/
recommendation 200W Dual and Triple 18650 TC (with screws not magnets?)
Exact batteries for .15 coils? And a second set for higher ohm builds. Please
To somewhat summarize, what I read from a credible source (at least they seem) in one of those links (possibly to another link) is that the RX doesn't evenly discharge or USB charge the 3 batteries which can be unsafe (vent or explode worst case scenario). But the person says that the RX chip will stop charging when the highest battery reaches max volts allowed (the others may be far from being done charging but it won't keep charging any of them because the battery that maxed out triggered the chip to stop charging all). You can check the voltage of all 3 batteries with the MOD and I think the magic number you never want to see more than a difference of is .3 Volts between battereis. I have read plenty of people post they had differences close to .3 volts with the RX but I don't think I read one where there was actually more than that. Also when discharging (when you vape), when the lowest battery reaches the minimum, it will stop letting you vape eventhough the other batteries might still have more energy. Basically, you can charge the batteries in the safest external charger you want but when you vape them in an RX, it still won't discharge them all evenly (never want to be more than .3 Volts different is the magic number if I'm not mistaken). The DNA200 chip does discharge and USB charging as well as high end chargers from what I've read (people check them on external multimeters etc and are not only reying on the DNA's built-in volt checker which is also probably extremely accurate).
Also, the DNA is just much better all around, more accurate with Temp controll if you get into that , etc etc, although it might require some learning of the escribe software to tweak things. I would also think that the DNA is much less likely to fry from some user error or something.
I did however also order a Reuleaux RX2/3. This is the version you can put three or two batteries in (would only get 133 or 150 watts with 2 batteries, I forget which, but 133 is plenty for more than enough for most vapers). Because I need a back up device that can handle the tanks etc I bought. And I wasn't about to spend another $150ish for a second DNA200. The RX 2/3 I got on fasttech for ~$42 shipped. The RX200S is slightly better than the RX200 original, and the RX2/3 is nice to have in case the 3 18650 is too big sometimes. I was very close to getting a Hcigar VT133 for my back up MOD (has a DNA 200 with two 18650s) but the battery door is stupidly easy to slip off from what I've seen.
There are also plenty of non-DNA 100-200W chips (and DNA chips) in MODs that you can safely USB charge because these mods use a single Lipo pack battery or a single 18650 instead of two or three 18650s (in SERIES is the magic word where the balancing between multiple batteries becomes important). But these lipo packs have quite low battery life (only like 4,000 mAh, but you can put 3X 3,000 mAh 18650s in a reuleaux for 9,000 mAhs). Maybe it's over my head buy I'm baffled why some brands don't just make a MOD with one big lipo pack (wouldn't it actually be smaller than 3X 18650s due to the shells?) and then since it's a single battery, they can get away with USB charging with their shady chips that can't handle balanced charging or discharging. The cost would be cheap because of the chips, and universal replacement lipo packs in 9 months or cost about the same as three batteries. And possibly the USB can zip charge at full 1-2Amp like some lipo mods do, so it doesn't even warrant an external charger's faster speed by much.
I'm not sure if you even have to rotate the 3 (or 2) batteries in a DNA200 MOD. Rotating is suggeted in case one battery slot/terminal takes most of the energy/discharging which should be evenly rotated between the batteries but might not be, especially in the DNA, but not the RX. Many people don't rotate with a DNA and say they never had a problem or discrepancy of nearly .3 volts, but many people suggest to rotate. My link to the evolv forum (the makers of the DNA chips), maybe someone will give concrete proof if it's needed or not. Again, I think maybe all this means is if a multimeter never shows the batteries more than .3 volts apart, or anywhere near that much difference would be better. The only problem with rotating the batteries in the DNA 200 is there's safety rings over the battery terminals to prevent people from putting them in backwards, and these can rip at the batteries, so they have to be rotated very carefully which cna become a chore. I read just taking them out is a hassle and might require a guitar pick (or something similar in plastic, not metal) to pop them out. Some people even cut the rings out with a razor but I don't recommend that unles you're super careful not to damage the battery connections. There's also another "trick" with the DNA and RX Reuleaux about opening the device and tucking the screen ribbon cable away from the fire button which presses right on it and can eventually require the ribbon to need replacing. It's a pretty simple trick and there are videos but do at your own risk.
Whichever you get, if you get something with more than 1 battery, "marry" those batteries together which means buy the same brand new and use them only for that MOD. If you get the RX 2/3 I have read credible sources (someone on pbusardo's blog, I assume is credible enough) that you CAN rotate a set of three and use two of the three when in dual mode but that you should also rotate them when they go back as tripple mode. In other words, you don't need a set of two and a set of three battereis for the RX2/3. The third cell that wasn't needed for dual mode should be rotated with one that was used in dual mode when you recharge it still in dual mode, and then the one that was in the MOD for dual mode that wasn't changed out yet should be rotated out thenext time and so on and so forth (or maybe every second or third time you charge is good enough, I don't know). Batteries are pretty cheap though so maybe it's easier to just get a set of two and a set of 3. I think the DNA will come out with a 2/3 version (and I would just usb charge it) but I wanted to order the RX 2/3 backup MOD before aug 8th regulations just in case. I already have a 2 bay nitecore charger I would use for the RX instead of its onboard USB charging if shjt hits the fan with my DNA200. But as I mentioned, the RX probably won't discharge them evenly so it's only half the risk of using the RX to also charge them.
TANKs:
I got a vaporesso gemini RTA for $19.99 shipped. You have to build the coils for this. It's quite easy. I think they make a version you just pop premade coils in but you most likely get better hits and performance just building coils, not to mention they cost like 4 cents each to make. I got ceramic tweazers on ebay for like $3 from china. You'll see why if you need to watch some tutorals for building coils. I bought a 15 foot roll of fused clapton wire for $9 shipped. I got it as all kanthal because I don't know how to use other metals in temp controll (TC) yet such as stainless steel which suposidly gives cleaner flavor, but kanthal claptons are liked by many.
The gemini is very similar to the griffin and Aromamizer which are all top notch rtas. I chose the gemini though for a few reasons pointed out here
Griffin 25
I try to get all my tanks as plain silver stainless because I like to think it's safer. I don't want any unnecessary paint or anything near my vape. I prefer 316L stainless because it's the same grade as the bolts they'd put in someone's knee or something like that. The Kayfun V5 that I list below, the authentic is $120 and is 316L. The clone I decided to get instead for like $25 claims to be 316L (but who would really know if they lied?), but I don't know if there's much reason for cloners to lie as if 316L is even that much more expensive than other grades of stainless. I don't know all the specifics on metals and safety. I have read vaping doesn't even get hot enough to react with anything like even if there was lead in brass coil posts but I like to hope that 316L or other plain stainless are a bit saferr. The coil material is of course probably the most important aspect. I don't like lots of o-rings in the tanks or anything like that like plastic 510 drip tip adapters vs metal ones. Drip tips I read the common black plastic POM (Polyoxymethylene) material "produce toxic formaldehyde gas whether heated or mechanically abraded" if you just google "Polyoxymethylene Formaldehyde" and it has nothing to do with anti-vaping. Does it actually do that when vaping? I don't know but POM stays cool when vaping gets hot (such as large clapton coils) hence why POM is a popular drip tip. I would prefer instead a thick pyrex 510 drip tip or a 316L. I didn't find a 316L yet. It's not getting that hot though, it's like saying don't cook in a stainless steel pan unless it's 316L.
I got a smok tfv8 for $20 shipped, only to use the gigantic octa coils that are premade for the time being. The RBA deck it includes that you can buid on, I would be better using my Vaporesso Gemini because it's basically the same thing except the Gemini has juice flow and top air flow. And has two small holes in the center of the build deck that pull air in from the center which might make it "better" than if they weren't there. I just want something right away that I can't mess up that will give huge clouds so I got the TFV8. Maybe the premade octa coils do give bigger vapor than a dual or quad fused clapton in a drip tank but I don't plan on dishing out for premade TFV8 octa coils (and the prices might go up for USA vapers).
That's the thing with all these tanks, there are very slight differences between everything, and there are so many, so it takes a while to narrow everything down. And I probably missed even some of the popular ones for my comparisons but I'm overall very satisfied with my choices.
I also wanted a tank that can do single coils in case the dual coils are too much vapor sometimes. You can probably build duals in a certain way that they aren't, but whatever, I got a single coil tank just inc case. You can definitely build a single in the gemini or the TFV8. They have a Velocity style deck which IMHO is probably the best so far, and Velocity deck easily allows thick coils wire like fused claptons. If you google Velovity single coil image search you can see how to easily make a single coil in a velocity through the center of the posts. But with tanks that are meant for dual coils, using a single means it would pull air from all sides instead of just one side. Which isn't necessarly a bad thing, and actually might be good, but possibly when using one coil, you would need to close the air holes up quite a bit and end up with an annoying whistle. I will try it though. Some velocity style RTAs/RBAs include a plastic insert to block off one side but that's just adding more plastics etc I try to stay away from. I think the material is the same peak insulator all tanks have around the 510 pin but it's like a big chunk of plastic to block off half the tank (and it makes the coil smaller than doing one through the center of a velocity deck). So I did a bunch of research and settled on the Kayfun V5 clone for single coils.
RDA:
For RDA drip tanks, I like to hope they give better juicy-coil hits vs relying on wicks to soak up juice in a tank style.
Also want to point out that most of the drip tanks nowadays are essentially just top coil tanks like the old genesis but with a smaller juice well. The RDA I use now is a simple two post one air hole I drilled out a bit. I build them so that the coil is as low to the deck without touching so the juice soaks up quicker to the coil. With modern RDAs with deep juice wells, you can't bend the coil down that far so it's almost touching the deck. In other words, you can drip into the tank and the coil will get well soaked and the first hit or two will be perfect but after that, it's just a top coil genesis as the coil relies on the wicks to bring the juice up. The performance might be better on an RTA like the gemini because the juice flows in sideways into the coil chamber and the coil is right there (like a protank V1 does) vs the juice having to travel all the way up the wicks from a deep juice well. In other words though, just don't plan on using an RDA to soak up all the juice from a deep well (some RDAs can hold 2.5ml+ of juice which is a lot). Just take the first great puffs and then redrip I would think. At least that's what makes sense to me on paper. I never even used a sub ohm modern RDA, and all the experienced vapors probably love them but I'm just pointing this out.
One RDA I chose is the Tsunami rda 24mm. Authentic is about $25. It has adjustable bottom air flow that comes up under the coils instead of air from the sides. And you can close one side off and use single coil (on one side of the velocity deck vs a single through the center of it). Is bottom air flow better than side air flow? I don't know but I hope so because the trade off is that you have to be a bit careful when you drip onto the coils that you don't let juice get down the air holes and leak out the bottom and possibly then into your mod's 510. Tsunami has a metal threaded adapter to use whatever 510 you want. I never used an airy atomizer and these big cloud attys are like giant straws to me so I like the option of using something more restrictive if needed. There are RDAs that have both side and bottom air flow such as Mutation XS RDA and Hatty RDA, and you can choose to close off one or the other completely (possibly) but I don't think I found one that has both side and bottom air flows plus a Velocity style deck (and a 510 adapter, or the option to close off one side to do a single coil on the "side" of the velocity to avoid possible whistle) which I think I'll much prefer the velocity over the chance that side + bottom airflow actually "increases flavor".
Another RDA I got was a Velocity V2 RDA clone. This is where the original Velocty style deck comes from, and I would love to support the makers of this but I chose instead to get a clone for like $15 vs the authentic is like $125 for whatever reason. Both are allegidly 304 stainless, which again, might not be any reason for cloners to lie and give you cheap poisoned metal or something if it's even any much cheaper than regular 304.
It can do a single coil but it should be though the center of the velocity which may or may not make it an annoying whistler if you need to decrease the holes all around the cap for a single coil, and it may or may not improve or degrade the vape flavor etc vs having one coil on the side with only air holes on that side such as can be done with the Tsunami I'm getting. The main reason for the Velocity is there's no bottom air holes, so I can just drip a good amount of juice on the coils and not worry about it leaking out the bottom. Will I notice any difference between the Tsunami with bottom airflow vs the Velocity with adjustable side flow? I don't know. I'm not very good at detecting these minute things and I think a lot of testimonies for such are sort of placebo affect.
Edit: actually I didn't get the Velocity V2. I saw no reason since I got the Mad Hatter V2 listed below (got tow of those, one from china cheaper as a back up, and one from USA so I can get it sooner). The real V2 has two alignment tabs on the cap so you can more easily pop the cap back on so that the tabs lock the air flow. The clones don't have two from what I saw, which isn't really a big deal but thought I'd mention it. Also the Velocity clones it's kind of hard to tell which come with a separate regular 510 connection pin and which come with the Squonk hollow core for bottom feeding juice with squonk. Some have a mini pin that closes off the hollow core which might get fiddly. I just saw no reason to get one considering the Mad Hatters specs even though the clones are like $8 on fasttech.
Last RDA I got was the Mad Hatter V2. Authentic for around $25. Velocity deck. Adjustable Side air flow only. Basically the same thing as the Velocity V2 but the Mad Hatter has a great feature, a hinged top cap. I am a bit of a germaphone when I'm out and about. I don't like putting my hands all over RDA drip tips to pull it or the cap off to re drip. If the coil is ran through the center of a velocity deck, and if I end up using a really wide drip tip, then I can just drip down the drip tip onto the coil, but otherwise, I pull the cap off and drip which gets annoying, and have to touch the drip tip. With the Mad Hatter, all you have to do is just pop the hinged cap up and drip. I plan to just do this with my mouth and not have to put hands on the atty at all. The thing I don't like about the finned heat sink 510 drip tip it comes with is those fins are likely to get all filled with crud you can't easily clean out, but it comes with another tip or two and a 510 adapter to use whatever 510 you want.
I also got some 510 heatsinks from fasttech for like $1 in case I have 510 connection problems with any atty/mod combinations and also for their purpose in case certain attys get too hot. Stainless seems to be the most popular but I did some googling if aluminum works better for heat dispersion and read
Thermal Conductivity of Metals
The top 4:
Silver 429
Copper 401
Gold 310
Aluminum 250
And for comparison
Stainless Steel 16
stainless vs aluminium heat sink - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums
so I got the copper one
$1.71 510 Finned Heat Sink for Atomizers - copper / 22mm diameter at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
But also the stainless in case I need for some reason those notches on the top and in case the copper one gets damaged and I need a back up.
$1.61 510 Heat Dissipation Heat Sink for Atomizers - stainless steel / 22mm diameter at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
and also an 18mm one they have in case I need to use my back up back up hana DNA30 clone box, it has a recess near the 510 that is only about 22mm and might prevent larger attys from making a connection. I think they have 510 extenders but I couldn't easily find one. I shouldn't need this though but just got it jus tin case.
narrow bore 316 drip top (not 316L)
$1.46 316 Stainless Steel 510 Drip Tip for Kayfun Mini V3 RTA - 17mm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Wider bore 316 drip tip (not 316L)
$1.48 316 Stainless Steel 510 Drip Tip - 15mm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Aluminum drip tips
$0.87 Aluminum Drip Tip for 510 / ViVi Nova / DCT - silver at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
$1.23 Bullet Style Aluminum Drip Tip for 510 / ViVi Nova / DCT at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
Glass 510 tip
$2.09 Glass 510 Drip Tip - small / 28*12mm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
This was a long read but if you think along the same lines as me, I saved you all the hours it took me to figure this all out. And thanks again to those who helped me in my threads. Take care.
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