RDA Any tips on optimizing my dripping experience?

[DougFNJ]

Hi all,

I have been using tanks since I began vaping. I have experimented with RDA's when they first came out and never had good enough equipment for wattage.

So over the last month I got a VaporShark DNA 200 and picked up and Authentic Kennedy 22 and Authentic Velocity V2.

I have been blown away by the flavor and clouds I am getting....intense!!! So needless to say I have been enjoying it for the most part. I have been enjoying building and experimenting. I am a complete newbie either way and would like to know the best tips for the most optimal experience. Any help would be appreciated.

The issues I am having are 2 things. First I am finding dripping pretty messy vs tanks. I wouldn't dare put it in my pocket, on both tanks I am finding light coatings of juice at the outer bottom of both RDA's, when I remove them from the mod there is a lot of juice accumulating in a nice little juice circle. I am just painting the the juice on the cotton in the Kennedy, and not too much dripping in the Velocity but I still find them a bit messy. Is there a way to control this? I drip the juice mostly over the coils and the cotton next to the coils, is this the best spot to drip on?

The 2nd issue is when I first build I get a good 10-20 hits before I have to drip again. The next day I get maybe 5 hits before I get a dryer hit. Is it the coil or the cotton? How often do you need to change them?

 

[Verb]

Once you learn the appropriate amount to drip. Not removing the topcap and dripping down the driptip reduces some of the mess.

 

[Izan]

Hi all,

I have been using tanks since I began vaping. I have experimented with RDA's when they first came out and never had good enough equipment for wattage.

So over the last month I got a VaporShark DNA 200 and picked up and Authentic Kennedy 22 and Authentic Velocity V2.

I have been blown away by the flavor and clouds I am getting....intense!!! So needless to say I have been enjoying it for the most part. I have been enjoying building and experimenting. I am a complete newbie either way and would like to know the best tips for the most optimal experience. Any help would be appreciated.

The issues I am having are 2 things. First I am finding dripping pretty messy vs tanks. I wouldn't dare put it in my pocket, on both tanks I am finding light coatings of juice at the outer bottom of both RDA's, when I remove them from the mod there is a lot of juice accumulating in a nice little juice circle. I am just painting the the juice on the cotton in the Kennedy, and not too much dripping in the Velocity but I still find them a bit messy. Is there a way to control this? I drip the juice mostly over the coils and the cotton next to the coils, is this the best spot to drip on?

The 2nd issue is when I first build I get a good 10-20 hits before I have to drip again. The next day I get maybe 5 hits before I get a dryer hit. Is it the coil or the cotton? How often do you need to change them?

LOL... okay...
Perhaps it time for a sqounker.

"I have experimented with RDA's when they first came out" -- I learned to build on an ERA , Divo, and cyclone also..
What does wattage have to do with RBAs?

As noted...practice makes perfect..
Make it fun!

Cheers
I

 

[B2L]

Perhaps it time for a sqounker.

This X2

 

[sig-cmt]

I am just painting the the juice on the cotton in the Kennedy

Is it the coil or the cotton? How often do you need to change them?

Both, more or less. Juice carbonizes on the coils, cotton accumulates residue, which in turn reduces its wicking ability.

 

[DougFNJ]

Thank you for the replies

I've thought about a squonker and may eventually get one. Heh, there is definitely a bit of a science to this. I guess I will start by changing out the cotton more often. The Kennedy is not as easy to drop into the drip tip because it leaks from the airflow a little more often. The Velocity is a little easier in that area.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Crow79]

Tips for filling virtually any RDA to prevent leaks:

Let's ignore the Kennedy (and any RDA that has bottom airflow for a moment).

Rule #1

Never drip into an RDA (or put it in your pocket) with your airflow open. Always have it closed and drip through the tip. Most RDAs, when dry, can accommodate 1/2-1 full dropper of liquid safely, without risking any Leaks. Just give the juice a few seconds to settle before opening up the direct airflow.

Rule #2

If you absolutely must remove the top cap/airflow adjustment to drip, do not remove the barrel. No matter how careful you are, when you slide the barrel back onto the build deck, it will squeeze the wick slightly, and carry juice into the o-rings meant to seal the atty from Leaks. The juice will eventually find its way out through the bottom due to the expansion and contraction of the metal as it heats and cools.

Rule #3

Always, always, always line your side airflow up to the coil itself, and try to ensure the wick isn't touching the slot(s) at the edge. As the wick gets saturated, the liquid will ooze out of the slot... This is why I always prefer to close off side airflow when filling (see rule #1)




For bottom airflow RDAs

My problem with bottom airflow RDAs are simply this... They are a gigantic pain in the anus. I would only buy a bottom airflow RDA if it was a two post design, or velocity style deck.

Why? The centre post is what really causes the leaking problems, and forces you to have to remove the barrel and tediously paint the wick, barely taking advantage of the juice well. Even if you are careful, because there is no good place to completely avoid dripping into the airflow, you are almost always going to get a small amount of leakage.

Without the center post there, you would be able to place your dropper dead center on the deck itself, and fill the well without worrying about the liquid falling on the top of the coils, which in turn will drop into the airflow causing a leak. Without the centre post it will wick FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE WICK LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO.

Simply put, any bottom airflow RDA that has a centre post is more trouble than it is worth. Period. Mutation X v4, Kennedy, freakshow... All garbage In my opinion until they get rid of that stupid centre post.

Also, never try to put a bottom airflow RDA in your pocket unless there is a very good way to completely block off the bottom airflow. You are asking for trouble.

Those are my tips. Others may not agree, but i hate how I have to inconvenience myself with some of the stupid bottom airflow RDA designs out there because someone wanted to create a gimmicky atty instead of one that functions properly.

 

[sofarsogood]

I use an rda exclusively, an SV clone from fasttech. It has only one air supply on the side of the barrel. For pocket carry I seal that hole with an extra tall, extra tight silicone ring also available from Fasttech. The SV is very good at flavors. I add only 1% to my DIY so even if some gets into my clothing I don't reek. The SV is so good at flavors my other rda's can't pick up 1% so the SV is the only one I use. I care about throat hit, don't care about clouds. My build and power settings are below.

 

[DougFNJ]

Excellent tips! Thank you very much for the thoughtful responses. Another thing I just found out yesterday at a vape shop was I was not using the right amount of cotton which created the dry hits after just a few hits. Fixing that got me a lot more flavor and hits, HUGE difference.

 

[Nikea Tiber]

With bottom flow 3 post RDAs it is critical to keep your wick tails away from the airflow, and drip between the positive and either of the negative posts so the droplet of juice travels down between the two posts.
The MXv4 is always a bad leaker, Kennedy and freakshow decks aren't as bad with the leaking, but only marginally less so with condensation compared to the bottom flow mutation.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

For each coil on the Kennedy you could put one end of the wick into the well on the outside of the -neg post and the other end raised inbetween the +pos and -neg posts so you can get away with a little bit of dripping through the driptip, and as said above always keep the airflow and surrounding areas free from wick.
Counting drops dripped through the DT is a good way to go, and only dripping enough for two or three vapes will always keep your atty ready to be put down or do as i do and only drip at home and use an rta for out and about.
Rayon is also a good way to optimize your vape experience, rather than renewing your wick every or every other day as you do with cotton you can go weeks on rayon.

Personally i dont see what all the hype is over bottom air fed atty's, you will get as good a vape on a side fed airflow so long as you get the coils situated properly plus you don't have the worry of an unexpected leak.

Edit: The Velocity is a great atty with a deep well but it is known to leak a little, i've found juice on the bottom of it a few times, always find juice or condensation in the gap where your airflow is and between the outer cap and the base where the o-rings are

 

[Wruff]

Edit: The Velocity is a great atty with a deep well but it is known to leak a little, i've found juice on the bottom of it a few times, always find juice or condensation in the gap where your airflow is and between the outer cap and the base where the o-rings are

I got one yesterday and quite dislike that about it, the juice that collects in that gap and inevitably ends up on hands and mod and then on everything.
Dammit it's always something.

 

[Dylang919]

I don't know exactly were to post this but this thread seems appropriate. Everytime I remove an RDA from a mod there's juice underneath the RDA and on top of the mod. I'm always super careful not to over drip so I don't understand how this is happening. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

I don't know exactly were to post this but this thread seems appropriate. Everytime I remove an RDA from a mod there's juice underneath the RDA and on top of the mod. I'm always super careful not to over drip so I don't understand how this is happening. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

what rda are you using?

 

[Dylang919]

what rda are you using?

I use multiple RDA's. The Sapor, the Lush, the Velocity, etc. I don't over drip but they are still always wet underneath with juice on top of the mod(s). I'm worried about juice getting down in the 510 and messing crap up big time!!

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

I use multiple RDA's. The Sapor, the Lush, the Velocity, etc. I don't over drip but they are still always wet underneath with juice on top of the mod(s). I'm worried about juice getting down in the 510 and messing crap up big time!!

yeah the last thing you want is juice in your mod, i killed a snowwolf this way, luckily i got it replaced but it was mainly from using rda's with air feeding in from the bottom.

Do you take your topcaps off a lot to juice up?
if yes then i would suggest taking off the top cap and drying all the juice off where the o-rings are, install the top cap and drip through the driptip

 

[Dylang919]

yeah the last thing you want is juice in your mod, i killed a snowwolf this way, luckily i got it replaced but it was mainly from using rda's with air feeding in from the bottom.

Do you take your topcaps off a lot to juice up?
if yes then i would suggest taking off the top cap and drying all the juice off where the o-rings are, install the top cap and drip through the driptip[/QUOTE

Yeah, I always take my top caps of so I can saturate the wick and coils better, but I'm careful not to let it run down the sides. I thought maybe this was common with RDA's since it happens everytime I use them. I'll try dripping dripping down the drip tip only to see if this is a cure for what's occurring. I take it then, that this is not normal and you don't have this problem?

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Well, some rda's do some don't, it depends on how well fitting the o-rings are.

Try counting how many drops you need to juice your wicks back up so you can do it blindly through your driptip, it wont take long to get used to it, and even looking down inside to see how much juice they have or even by the amount of taste your getting will tell you when to re-juice.

When you are pulling off and putting on your top caps between vaping you have to imagine that your cap has juice on the inside wall which will get squeezed down past the o-rings.
Try it and let us know how it go's

 

[Dylang919]

Well, some rda's do some don't, it depends on how well fitting the o-rings are.

Try counting how many drops you need to juice your wicks back up so you can do it blindly through your driptip, it wont take long to get used to it, and even looking down inside to see how much juice they have or even by the amount of taste your getting will tell you when to re-juice.

When you are pulling off and putting on your top caps between vaping you have to imagine that your cap has juice on the inside wall which will get squeezed down past the o-rings.
Try it and let us know how it go's

Thanks, I will definitely follow up. I've been vaping a year, but only finally building the last 2 1/2 months so this is pretty new to me. The good news is though that I'm building like a champ already so I'm pretty stoked about that. I thought is was going to be hard as hell is why I didn't try way sooner. I finally said to hell with it and gave it a go. Now, that's pretty much all I use is rebuildables.

 

[SLIPPY_EEL]

Thanks, I will definitely follow up. I've been vaping a year, but only finally building the last 2 1/2 months so this is pretty new to me. The good news is though that I'm building like a champ already so I'm pretty stoked about that. I thought is was going to be hard as hell is why I didn't try way sooner. I finally said to hell with it and gave it a go. Now, that's pretty much all I use is rebuildables.

Yup it dont take long to get in the swing of things and you cant beat the taste, well done for making the jump and make sure to post some pics of your coils some time in the coil thread --> Post pictures of your working wick and coil setup