Precise Strata RDA Build Thread

[igetcha]

In all due respect, you misunderstand how the Strata works, your photoshop illustrates this. It does come out the side, it doesn't come out the bottom like it appears, the strata has a right angle ledge under those holes, the air has to make a turn and come out the side just like any side entrance coil, so it can and does flow over the coils just the same as any side entrance coil. On your Ophion coil, I don't know why you wouldn't be getting clouds of vapor like I and others have, but from the one pic, I can say move the coil out closer to the walls and move it up a bit, if you've already tried that, then I have no answers why it works for others but not you, however, I will do up detailed tutorials on how to make the coils we are having success with so that may help you and others out.

and in all due respect, what you are saying is not accurate to say the least......there is a massive difference between air being forced through a hole and passed directly over a coil compared to air being 1st forced against a ledge (which undoubtedly becomes unevenly dispersed) and then partially passing over a coil

if the ledge had channels to concentrate the air flow and aim it at the coils then that would very likely work just fine. but as it stands the air flow comes in through the top outside holes, passes at a right angle down to the inside top cap holes, hits a ledge where it is then unevenly dispersed and then if you are lucky it partially travels over the coil

a very simple experiment that i advise you to do, assuming that you yourself vape....grab a cheap dripper like the Igo-L, set it up with a very basic setup and position the air hole directly in front of the wick and take a vape. you will find that it produces nice thick vapour with plenty of throat hit and tons of flavour. next, remove the top cap and position the air hole so it is facing away from the coil....now take a drag and you will immediately notice that the vapour becomes much thinner and wispy, the flavour very likely increases and the throat hit becomes slightly harsh and unpleasant

the latter is the exact same experience that most people get with the Strata, simply because in my opinion the air flow is ineffective

some guys are saying that the Strata is all about the flavour, not vapour and this is something i actually totally agree with, though not for the same reasons. after all, the exact same results can be achieved by using any atomiser and positioning the air hole away from the coil. and anyone with an ounce of experience with rebuildables is aware of how the relationship between coil and air hole position can be tweaked to increase / decrease vapour, increase / decrease throat hit and increase / decrease flavour simply by positioning the air hole in front of the coil or by moving it away. in my opinion the Strata actually removes those options which every other atomiser can offer (i.e. you only have the choice of lots of flavour and harsh throat hit)


the Simplicity and Strata i purchased is a fantastic looking combination and one that i desperately want to work well. so i genuinely look forward to your build videos and seeing you personally take a vape and show it in action

 

[forcedfuel50]

and in all due respect, what you are saying is not accurate to say the least......there is a massive difference between air being forced through a hole and passed directly over a coil compared to air being 1st forced against a ledge (which undoubtedly becomes unevenly dispersed) and then partially passing over a coil

No, you are incorrect and we will have to agree to disagree. Air is not forced on any design as you state, air is drawn in via vacuum on all designs. The second air clears ANY side entrance hole, it takes a pretty much right angle and goes up to the tip due to vacuum, it is simple fluid dynamics. If air was forced, then your "theory" would be plausible as air would be pressurized and exit the hole straight out, but it's not, they are all vacuum operated, big difference you are evidently unaware of. Second, this is a side entrance, plain and simple and will pass over the coils just as completely (in fact more completely and thoroughly) then all the side entrance designs I have seen (hence why you want to put the coils out to the edge as much as possible and elevated above the deck, when air exits, it flows up and directly over the coils).

In all due respect, I took the time to study the competition and what is poorly designed is just holes hogged out of the side. If you are getting weak vapor, it isn't due to the airflow over the coils (if set up correctly that is), sorry. When I have time, I'll post up a video with our clear polycarbonate top cap, you'll see air flow over the coil(s) is superb.

Cheers,

David

 

[forcedfuel50]

I'm going to temporarily lock this thread as I can see it is quickly turning into a flame war (I've already had to delete posts of some making outright lies ) until it cools down. Once it cools down, i'll reopen it to those who really want to share their findings (good or bad setups) in the interest of actually helping others, not those who make false accusations, spread rumors, stir the pot or who have an agenda. Five years on the forums and some things never change.

 

[forcedfuel50]

We are going to re-open this thread. Please be aware, this thread is to HELP people with their Strata builds and we will moderate with a heavy hand if need be. This thread isn't the place to settle your long standing animosity, spread rumors or make false assumptions and accusations. Nor is it the place to air out how much you "know" in designing and building atomizers. If you think that, then by all means, go ahead and produce your own atomizer. This thread is to help those who actually have a Strata and want to extract its full potential.

Also, as is with ALL rba's/rda's on the market, bad builds can be made for them all, but that doesn't make them a bad atomizer, just a bad build. As someone emailed us late last week said, they can't believe what is going on with some of these comments as it took them a few MONTHS just to get their other brand RBA/RDA's dialed in to perfection, yet a few are coming on here after only a few hours of use (or no use at all), even "respected" reviewers, and putting it down, which speaks volumes to their agenda. That won't be tolerated.

We know this RDA has a lot of variables that can make it more difficult to dial in, but we are confident that if you take the time, you will find this to be one of the best vaping experiences you've ever had!

The Super-T Team.

 

[forcedfuel50]

This thread is long overdue, but it's better late than never. I hope Nach doesn't mind me starting this up since this build is essentially his Ophion coil, but I think that people are getting a bit antsy to get their Stratas performing optimally. The coil that I make varies slightly from Nach's, but it is relatively simple to make. It is essentially identical to building a microcoil. I am using 26g kanthal, 7 wraps around a thick paper clip (measuring 0.035" in diameter). I torched the coil after wrapping.



Once the coil has cooled, stretch it out a bit and then attach it to the positive post. Do not stretch it out too much at first because you want the length of the coil to fit perfectly around the periphery, and it is easier to stretch the coil further rather than to compress it.



Once you have the coil attached to the positive post, slowly stretch the coil out to the proper length and attach it to the ground post.



Here is the coil lit up:



Pack the center with your wicking material of choice; I use organic cotton wick. I have been getting better performance from loosely packed wick versus a tightly packed wick. I have not been stuffing the wick all the way down to the base because I like it to act as a reservoir for juice. The height of the wick should not pass the base of the helix portion of the positive post.



Now fill it up with juice, let it soak, and vape away!!!

Thank you so much for taking the time share this with us Path77, it is truly appreciated. Any other builds you've been experimenting with that you like?

 

[forcedfuel50]

Hey Path,

Are you only using one of the side posts? It looks like you are, so I'm curious as to what kind of resistance you're ending with.

Here's my 2nd and current build that I whipped up last night:

-Twisted 30awg
-Dual coils from one continuous run of wire - 0.3ohm
-"Spread coils" wrapped over 2mm hollow Ekowool over a 16awg needle (pretty sure it's 16awg...could have been 18 - lol)
-Ends of Ekowool down into the reservoir, leaving some air space underneath the coil
-Holds a TON of juice and wicks really well
-Strong TH when freshly dripped

Thank you for the pics and setup Bailsray! This is similar in function to my modified snork wrap, only using two coils instead of one. I can't tell from the pic where that is in relation to the deck height. Have you tried it up higher and even closer to walls (well, at least the middle of the coils, I see the ends are getting pretty close to the wall).

 

[forcedfuel50]

I'm mainly waiting for my Simplicity 18650 to arrive before I can test further builds. It's been on order for 5 weeks now.

I think i sent that out Saturday, i think so anyway

 

[forcedfuel50]

I'm got my Strata now (I bought it from Cloud 9 in the UK). I'm a bit "old school" and not a cloud chaser, so I coiled my Strata with a simple single 1.5ohm coil (I removed one post) at the end of a length of Voodoo wool which I then ran into each well. I'm very pleased with the result - good vapour (not massive but similar to my Luxe RDA) with excellent flavour and remarkable hit. When I recoil I'll post a picture.

As yet I've had no shorts by the way

Good to hear you dialing in your setup professor, good to see you in here!

 

[forcedfuel50]

All the things I've tried that I've seen people rave about. The atomizers du jour. I'll say it again - the Strata has beaten them all. I mean all. Of course this is me talking, my criteria for an excellent vape is probably different from most. I have a difficult time understanding what could be causing consternation, the release version Strata has won my heart with no struggles, no special fancy build, no time spent.

Why?

Thank you Snork. I know some people may label and dismiss regulars as nothing but fan boys, but Snork was very vocal during beta testing in what he didn't like, so it goes to show that not all fans are fanatics!

 

[forcedfuel50]

mine works great guys, learn to build.
then i line up the air holes.
this atty doesnt vape like a feking patriot. it's a unique vape. you may have to drop your nic even more then normal

Good morning Thetoxic_jon, I must admit I chuckled a bit when I read your comment. Good to hear you are coming up with some builds that suit your tastes!

 

[forcedfuel50]

The main issue I've had with some of the comments I've seen is the idea that its not possible to do a simple, successful build. I disagree with that. The build I posted is very simple and performs well. Yes, you certainly can get fancy if you want to, but for me a dripper needs to be fast and easy to build, and perform well. If easy wasn't an option, I would not be too happy.

Hi Jamesd16128, It is good to hear you are having success with simpler builds! I'm in the process of bringing over all the scattered posts on the Strata builds over into this thread so i'll bring yours over too shortly.

 

[forcedfuel50]

I set up my P+ Strata this morning. Dual long hemispherical coils, each 6 wraps of 28 gauge Kanthal over 2mm OD Ekowool, approximately .4 total ohms. It was very easy to build. It's also a stupendous vape, though I needed to back off from it with a Tanbur! Most certainly the hugest clouds I've ever produced, the throat hit is just where I like it (with the Tanbur ) and the flavor and draw is of course amazing.

For my tastes it's too much though, not being used to or desiring that much power. If I make a similar build in the future I'll shoot for more tameness.

It looks a lot like basilray's in the build thread. I'll see if I can get a picture though.

Edit: Nothing fancy.

Oh, and now it dawned on me why you couldn't picture it. I meant semicircular, not hemispherical.

Well, I've had a couple hot button/sticking issues with my über-manly 43 watt dual coil. Decided that's über-uneccessary so I got in there with my toenail nippers and cut out half of it.

It's just as good.

I'm quoting my own three posts to gather them in one spot.

My P+ Strata is performing so beautifully with the above setup. It really makes me wonder whether the problems some people have, real or theoretical, are a result of overthinking.

Once I removed the second coil the setup is about as simple as simple gets, the only differences from what I usually do are that the coil wraps are more widely spaced along the wick resulting in a wrapped coil length of right around 6mm (1/4") and I used a wire gauge which gave me a lower ohm than I was accustomed to. A nice simple straight piece of coil which I attached and then formed into a little semicircle contained just within and just above the deck, using my finger and a little screwdriver to get the shape and position where I wanted it. So simple.

Doing the same thing twice resulted in the initial dual version, which was mind-bogglingly awesome but also superfluous for my tastes and unnecessarily on the border of safety for my 18490.

 

[forcedfuel50]

Holy. Crap. I might have just built me the mother atty. Dual horizontal, 26g micro ~1.5mm OD coil, 7 wraps per coil, .5 Ohms result. ~3/4" x ~1/2" solid rolled mesh, oxidized and rolled to coil ID and threaded in (quite tight) Tuck ends of wick into edge of well. Pulse to eliminate shorts. Prime coil and let er go.

I think this air system is a win.

Might suggest same as above but more wraps or 28g to bring resistance around .9-1.0. Posting another video if anyone wants to see.


Here's that new build. Hope it helps someone. Wick is just starting to break in now and I'm still smitten.

Possibly related to Todd? on Vimeo

Yes please Good to hear you are making the most of the air system in the strata, it's a beast that can be tamed

And wow, that is some clouds there in the video, very nice!

 

[jamesd1628]

Just moving this over from the other thread:

I thought I would post up some pics of my setup and a video of the performance. I will put this in the build thread if it reopens.

The setup is a single coil of 30awg kanthal, 6 wraps, on a nail that is somewhere between 1/16 and 5/64. I use the nail because it fits perfectly in my Squape wick channel, whereas 5/64 is slightly too big. Anywho, I don't have a good ohm meter to use on the Strata due to the hybrid connector, but this setup always comes out right at 1.5 ohms.

The coil is placed as far out as possible, right up against the outer wall (without touching). I also curve the coil slightly outward to run right along the outer wall (again, without touching). I bent it outward with a flathead screwdriver, very easy to do. I only bent it after installing the cotton. The setup results in some long coil tails to the posts. I draped some cotton over them to eliminate hot legs. The empty side of the atty has Spheroid filler in it to prevent flooding.

I marked the base with a sharpie to identify the location of the center of the coil. I also marked the cap to identify airhole location. Note that I don't have the airhole directly in front of the coil, but basically at one end of the coil.

In this configuration, it works well and the setup is relatively easy. I did post a video of the vapor I'm getting from it. It's pretty much on par with my other attys. In the video, I'm using a P+18350. Pics speak for themselves I think.

Video of performance: IMG 0883[1] on Vimeo

 

[Nach]

Good news folks. My Simplicity 18650 is out for delivery today! So I shall proceed with the write-up and tutorial for the Ophion coil.

I will post it here as well as dedicate a thread to JUST THE OPHION COIL. I would like to ask that David use his heavy handed moderation in that thread too when it arrives.

 

[Phillyskater101]

Good news folks. My Simplicity 18650 is out for delivery today! So I shall proceed with the write-up and tutorial for the Ophion coil.

I will post it here as well as dedicate a thread to JUST THE OPHION COIL. I would like to ask that David use his heavy handed moderation in that thread too when it arrives.

I'm jealous!! Post some pics ASAP

 

[Drozd]

A couple of notes...
First for Scott...I don't think you realize that these have only been shipping for 3-4 weeks now' since like the end of Feb, I believe...and at first only like 100 for the precise+...so unlike every other RDA that's 510 threaded thats out there..theres just not the market saturation for people to flood youtube with build videos...we're talking a fairly limited (less than 100) initial group...and even less of those 100 original precise+ owners that make videos...

The airflow system...the o-ring needs to be lubricated with juice and properly seated (working the cap all the way on and off a few times should do this)...until then the airflow will feel totally open even when you think it's fully closed..turning the cap will seem stiff til this point too then it becomes smooth as anything...

Now builds...I've played around with 5 different ones now...the first 2 were failures because I tried building it like another RDA (coils parrallel with posts)...

Then I tried the ophion (flattening out a coil wrapped on 3/32 rod)....this is where the lightbulb came on....while not my style (just semed a waste of juice keeping the cotton saturated enough) , I definitely see the cloud making potential with sport vapers and high VG users...it did however illustrate that coil position is critical...

The last 2 have been what I'll call modified traditional...
The first, a simple dual coil, 28g, 12 wraps each, on a 3/32" rod (I'm using pure Tungsten TIG welding electrode), ending at 1.0 Ohm...coils are placed with the center of the coil just barely above level with the edge of the deck and following the curve of the well (just inside the edge), wicked with rolled cotton...great vape....the efficiency of the airflow and improved atomization did require a drop in nic level and an increase in VG in my juice mix to tame increased throat hit...only complaint was the wick's ability to keep up if chain vaping...

So, the last, rather than just split the coil with 2 wicks...I set it up as a quad coil using 32g (to keep the same resistance), same diameter, coil height and outward position the same, just now the wick has 4 tails per side into the well...

Again coil height position and outward placement is critical....keep them as close to the inside lip as possible...height wise, center of coil at top of lip or slightly above...

Edit: I'll try to get some pictures later....

 

[Durty D]

Just got my strata! Time for a bath....

So many directions to choose from as far a building this out.... keep those builds coming folks!

 

[forcedfuel50]

This statement leads me to believe you have no idea what you are talking about.

ONE AND ONLY warning, knock it off!

To all other would be trouble makers, please re-read this:

We are going to re-open this thread. Please be aware, this thread is to HELP people with their Strata builds and we will moderate with a heavy hand if need be. This thread isn't the place to settle your long standing animosity, spread rumors or make false assumptions and accusations. Nor is it the place to air out how much you "know" in designing and building atomizers. If you think that, then by all means, go ahead and produce your own atomizer. This thread is to help those who actually have a Strata and want to extract its full potential.

Also, as is with ALL rba's/rda's on the market, bad builds can be made for them all, but that doesn't make them a bad atomizer, just a bad build. As someone emailed us late last week said, they can't believe what is going on with some of these comments as it took them a few MONTHS just to get their other brand RBA/RDA's dialed in to perfection, yet a few are coming on here after only a few hours of use (or no use at all), even "respected" reviewers, and putting it down, which speaks volumes to their agenda. That won't be tolerated.

We know this RDA has a lot of variables that can make it more difficult to dial in, but we are confident that if you take the time, you will find this to be one of the best vaping experiences you've ever had!

The Super-T Team.

 

[Barefoot Joe]

Drozd...I'm looking forward to the pictures of what you don't know you're talking about!

Going out on a limb here, but VG would tame a throat hit, not PG...right? If that is what is being referred to, it's a simple typing error. Regardless, we need to play nice.