SmokTech "Mini" RBA - AKA "Squid" tips/tricks
- Thread starter Kent Brooks
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I have both the "Squid" and the "Phoenix V4" from hoosier, both in SS, they are basically the same aside from a few differences. Anyway, I drilled out the airhole on both to 3mm. I like an airy draw, so that you can either do a slow controlled draw or a few super quick draws and you get great performance either way. I also position my coils as close to the airhole as possible, so that it acts sort of like a drag and adds a bit of resistance to the draw, since the coil + wick are sort of plugging the air hole a bit due to their close proximity to the air hole.
This really only works well with sub-ohm coils, at higher resistance the coil takes so long to heat up and the vapor produced is thinner to the point where it's incredibly difficult to get a good vape (IMO of course)
The opposite also seems to be true that smaller holes don't work well with really low resistance coils. Again, just my opinion, but the smaller (stock) air holes don't give enough airflow to properly take advantage of the coil at those power levels. After drilling mine out vapor production seemed to increase by a noticeable amount and the vape got a bit smoother, still great TH but just a tad cooler, and more of a feeling of billowy clouds going into your lungs instead of hot steam, if that comparison makes any sense.
From what I can tell most people drill theirs out to around the 2mm mark. I'd start small and work your way up as far as size goes. You can always make it bigger, but making it smaller will usually be a hassle involving stuffing stuff into the hole to restrict the airflow a bit.
This really only works well with sub-ohm coils, at higher resistance the coil takes so long to heat up and the vapor produced is thinner to the point where it's incredibly difficult to get a good vape (IMO of course)
The opposite also seems to be true that smaller holes don't work well with really low resistance coils. Again, just my opinion, but the smaller (stock) air holes don't give enough airflow to properly take advantage of the coil at those power levels. After drilling mine out vapor production seemed to increase by a noticeable amount and the vape got a bit smoother, still great TH but just a tad cooler, and more of a feeling of billowy clouds going into your lungs instead of hot steam, if that comparison makes any sense.
From what I can tell most people drill theirs out to around the 2mm mark. I'd start small and work your way up as far as size goes. You can always make it bigger, but making it smaller will usually be a hassle involving stuffing stuff into the hole to restrict the airflow a bit.
I'm a fan of these. Sun-Vapers has 2 models on sale for $4.79 each, the Cheapie and the Cutie. The Cheapie includes a stainless steel drip tip that alone is worth the price of admission. The Cheapie has the SS cap and uses hex screws (hex rench included) and the cap fits pretty tight. The Cutie has an aluminum cap and the posts are like the Octopus RDA with the thumb screws, and the cap doesn't fit as tight. They both have a tight draw that I like, but may bore it out just a little with a nail.
I love these small drippers, first the IGO-S and now these. Awesome for contant flavor changers like me and the flavor beats the bigger dripper.
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I love these small drippers, first the IGO-S and now these. Awesome for contant flavor changers like me and the flavor beats the bigger dripper.
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This is really good insight I had not yet taken into consideration. I have built a few coils on the Squid despite only having it for a few days... I build a 3 wrap 32gu Kanthal with cotton that hit like a truck (.9ohm), but the throat hit about made me choke... LOL I've been on clearos up until now so all I have is high nic (24mg) juice). In that situation sounds like I need more air coming through to loosen the draw.
At present I have a freakish build on this sucker... 12 wraps of 32gu Kanthal @ 4.0ohms, also cotton. I am loving the cotton compared to the silica, it seems to wick better and prevent leaks from the airhole. Cotton seems to suck the juice up like crazy. Ironically enough, the 4.0ohm hits BETTER than the .9 ohm with the stock air intake hole... I have been vaping it @ 6v on the Provari - easily the best plume of vapor I have produced thusfar.
Thank you so much for the input on this, I like the "start small" suggestion.
Cheers,
~Clark
Ironically enough I initially picked this up because I needed to test my DIY batches without having to dump a clearo every time - great minds think alike. I saw that Sun-Vapers deal, it looked like a good one. I think I have the genuine Smoktech version of the Octopus. The seal is sufficient, but it's by no means "tight." I wouldn't trust it in my pocket for sure. I like the thumbscrews a ton (great for a noob dripper like myself, no tools). I had hoped the cap would be SS, but it it's too light to be stainless... it has to be anodized aluminum. That part was disappointing. I picked both of mine up at MVS since I was ordering a Pink Vision Spinner 1300mah as a gift for the old lady... I figured I would save on the shipping. I think I paid about $8.50 for the Octopus and the Squid with the 10% discount code. I may pick up the Cheapie and the Cutie just for the hell of it, at that price, why not... LOL Is there a free shipping deal @ Sun-Vapers? I've never done business with them...
32 guage Kanthal, 12 wraps, 4.0ohms, cotton wick - hits like a truck @ 6v (Provari)
Another thing I notices is that the resistance goes DOWN if you don't wrap the coil around the post screws like they do in the stock build. Not sure why, though... I thought the length of the coil only mattered on one side of the post. Might be an aberration...
Nice mini there brother, very nice... "german" silica? What's difference?
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Thanks! Love doing the minis. I think I'm about at the limit of how many wraps and how small the diameter is for proper wicking with silica. Will try around 15 wraps with 30ga, but I'm not too confident it'll keep up. Silica is definately more limited with these than cotton.
German silica consists of 12 small lengths of twisted silica and those 12 are twisted again. Also sometimes called double-twisted silica. It's sold as 3mm but feels more like 2.5mm. Can be ordered from the Germany supplier on ebay or from RTDVapor for a dollar per foot. It performs so much better than regular twisted silica to me. A lot more durable, holds up to repeated rinsing, dry-burning, and torching. Wicking is better and most important to me is the flavor is better.
Here's a couple pics of German silica next to regular silica.
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