Anybody Using A Kabuki?

[Knifemaker]

Man, I hate it when the mail gets screwed up! Grrrr!! Sorry to hear it!

I do wish Provape would stop using the coating they are on the Stealth's. The Ceramic coating is nothing more than a spray paint that is baked on. (Possibly Powder coat). And is in NO way close to the toughness of a DLC Coating such as is on the ZenKote Products.
It's not even apples to oranges type of comparison. it's so different in quality. More like VW Bug to Ferrari Enzo.

Knife.

 

[DarkZ]

I think the tracking will also show where it was delivered. I called USPS a little while back because something was showing delivered and it was not delivered to me. They were able to tell me exactly which house it had been delivered. It was one street over from me, they picked it up and delivered it to me. Hope they can tell you.

that's pretty good of USPS, last time I ordered a Chanel bag for my wife, damn UPS (not USPS) delivered to a bank that's 5 blocks away from my house, I had no idea where to look for, luckily the bank called me.....

 

[DarkZ]

quick question, what is the average range(watts) everyone is vaping on their kabuki with provari P3? I find mine is sitting around 8.8 - 10.8 watts depends on the juice..... I have tried higher watts, but the coil seems to burn out quicker.

 

[JD53]

quick question, what is the average range(watts) everyone is vaping on their kabuki with provari P3? I find mine is sitting around 8.8 - 10.8 watts depends on the juice..... I have tried higher watts, but the coil seems to burn out quicker.

Your Aspire coil should have a recommended voltage range printed on the side of the coil.

 

[Zen~]

For what ever reason, the Zkoated Provari's are high polished before the zkote. The Kabuki's are left with a satin finish.

The metal prep before the DLC is applied,decides whether it is high shine, or subdued.

My all time Favorite watch is the DLC finished Panerai. It is a Dull, Pencil lead color with a soft bead blasted finish.
First one I ever saw was in the opening scenes of Eraser. Arnie, Statem. Stallone, The Rock, and quiet a few others wear theirs even in the movies. Even though they are ultra expensive for a Work Watch.

Knife

So let's clear some things up... ZenKote™ is a proprietary finish, and is not DLC or PVD-DLC... It is an NPVD process, Nano Particle Vapor Deposition... using a formula that is not available elsewhere, so no other company has a finish that is identical. DLC is a high Carbon Finish that is pretty poor in terms of conductivity... great for watches, pretty poor for mods. That being said, the Panerai pencil lead finish is GORGEOUS... but ZenKote™ is tougher.

My first Provari was a 2.5 and would love to have it Zencoated to preserve it but I didn't think he did that coating for single items. Someone please correct me and say I'm wrong![emoji106]




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I generally do not do individual items, especially used ones. I have on occasion added an item or two to a run of coating, but if something went wrong in the process, the owner of the tube realizes they may end up with results other than those which they expected. It can happen! So I avoid it.

I would give Zen a call. DLC shouldn't have this problem. sounds like an incomplete coating. It happens! It is a very, very hard coating. Almost indestructible when properly applied.

The "don't use soap" confuses me. It is used quite a bit in the Watch world, (High End) and used in salt water diving, and all kinds of bad environments. A little bit of soap should do Nothing if the DLC is properly applied in multiple layers.
I've seen many watches that have been worn for years, without a mark on them. And a watch gets a LOT more abuse than a tank for most people. And we all use mild, (dish Soap) and water to clean the watches. Never heard of a single problem from any one doing this with DLC coatings.

I'm wondering if ZEN is simply using typical PVD coating, rather than the full DLC version. He states that it is next to diamond in hardness, and this only describes the DLC version. Strange!
In fact, DLC stands for Diamond Like Coating.

so the question is, is Zen using the very common PVD Coating, or the more complicated (and expensive) full DLC- PVD coating?
In watching his "To Destruction" Test in Part 2 of PBusardo's vid of the Zen interview, one could conclude that it is indeed DLC. If turning at high speed on a lathe, and applying sandpaper of differing grits to it does nothing but polish it, there is no way simple every day carry (in such a short time) would show any ill effects.

I have some DLC coated end mills here in the shop, that have repeatedly,at high speed, cut through very tough high grade Jet Turbine steels, and show NO Wear whatsoever. I seriously doubt that simply wiping it with a paper towel is going to damage it. LOL

I would definitely give Zen a Call. Something is amiss here. and with Zen's penchant for quality, I think he will be more than happy to take a look at the problem.

Knife

So two things... One I just explained, there's a difference between DLC and ZenKote™... second... the "stealth" finish is CeraKote which is a baked on liquid paint process, it's not powder coat. Personally, I don't care for CeraKote, but it's what Provape uses on their stealth PVs, so I do the same so it will match... I also never said "no soap"... I said never boil it or put it in an ultrasonic, heated or otherwise. I DID say mild soap and "warm" water is ok to gently clean it. That being said, I VASTLY prefer ZenKote™, though Zenkote is MUCH more expensive. It's also nearly bullet-proof.

Got some Triton Mini coils in. Both the 1.8 Clappnors (shout out to Rush fans) and the 1.2.

Haven't had much time to play plus I built a Tugboat for the Radius and have been back on a dripping kick. .65 dual 26ga at 35w on a Radius is pure heaven, but I digress....................

Got a 1.2 in a Kabuki now. Good looking coil. Appears better made but its the same company so we shall see.

Air flow is better. Still terrible but better.

And here is where the train starts to leave the tracks.

The airflow is from two places. The sides of the body and the base pin. Both places have bigger holes. Suck through it without power and you can hear the extra airflow. But so far I can't get that bottom pin to work. I had to swap in a Nautilus pin.

So its better airflow but not what it should be.

In terms of power it handles plenty. On the Radius I had it up to 25w and it was fine with not the slightest burnt taste. It was however starting to be a pretty hot vape.

Currently its on a 2.5 at 4.2V. It has a 12mg 50/50 juice in it. Flavor and vapor are better then a Nautilus but still very low on both counts to me. As a nicotine injection device its fine. For flavor and nicotine that Tugboat with the 3mg is where ya wanna be. Vapor production on that while not high is noticeable.

So, many people (mostly mouth to lung vapers) will disagree with you that the airflow is "terrible" on any of the coils mentioned. Second, The Triton Mini coils do not have airflow from the side of the body. The only air comes in from the bottom pin. The body holes are for the uptake of liquid. The flavor on the Clapton AND the 1.2Ω Triton mini does not even approach the flavor of the stock nautilus coils, when used between 10 and 14 watts. The Triton Mini Coils at 3-5 watts higher taste like the flavor has been turned off. More vapor, yes... more flavor... absolutely not.

Man, I hate it when the mail gets screwed up! Grrrr!! Sorry to hear it!

I do wish Provape would stop using the coating they are on the Stealth's. The Ceramic coating is nothing more than a spray paint that is baked on. (Possibly Powder coat). And is in NO way close to the toughness of a DLC Coating such as is on the ZenKote Products.
It's not even apples to oranges type of comparison. it's so different if quality. More like VW Bug to Ferrari Enzo.

Knife.

So, yeah... ZenKote™ isn't DLC... PVD-DLC would be a lower cost alternative... If your ZenKote™ Kabuki got in a cage match with DLC... ZenKote™ would scrape the coating right off the DLC object!

 

[Katdarling]

Oh man, welcome home, Zenster. Thank you for clarifying all of this for us.

 

[coldgin96]

quick question, what is the average range(watts) everyone is vaping on their kabuki with provari P3? I find mine is sitting around 8.8 - 10.8 watts depends on the juice..... I have tried higher watts, but the coil seems to burn out quicker.

Right now, I'm doing 10.2 watts 1BOOST

 

[DarkZ]

Right now, I'm doing 10.2 watts 1BOOST

I'm running around 3boost, how long do you find your coil last?

 

[gnees]

quick question, what is the average range(watts) everyone is vaping on their kabuki with provari P3? I find mine is sitting around 8.8 - 10.8 watts depends on the juice..... I have tried higher watts, but the coil seems to burn out quicker.

9.8. no boost. Coils last 4 to 6 weeks. I vape 50/50 clear liquids.

 

[coolerat]

So, many people (mostly mouth to lung vapers) will disagree with you that the airflow is "terrible" on any of the coils mentioned. Second, The Triton Mini coils do not have airflow from the side of the body. The only air comes in from the bottom pin. The body holes are for the uptake of liquid. The flavor on the Clapton AND the 1.2Ω Triton mini does not even approach the flavor of the stock nautilus coils, when used between 10 and 14 watts. The Triton Mini Coils at 3-5 watts higher taste like the flavor has been turned off. More vapor, yes... more flavor... absolutely not.

Yes the tootle puffers are very happy and they have like 700 brazillion choices now. So they have arrived. The search is over for them. If they are the type that doesn't enjoy the journey they are now happy and fufilled. If they are the type that enjoyed the journey they haz a sad. But either way its over for them. Tootle way and never smoke.

But for others either they haven't found what it takes to quit smoking or they look at vaping as a journey. And it can be alot of fun if you like it. I enjoy the hunt. I live in NY and was a heavy smoker so for me a 5 pack of Triton coils costs me about 3½ hours of smoking. Then figger I smoked for nearly 40 years and you can see I can buy a WHOLE bunch of Triton coils and still be money ahead. So for afew hours I didn't smoke and I had some fun. Without the Triton coils I still wouldn't have smoked but I would have spent the money some other dumb thing.

See thats the thing about vaping, its like a train. You can get off at any stop. Or you can stay on. Or stay on, get off and get back on. Or any combination. And you can have one of one thing or 10 of 1 thing. Or 10 different things. Or 5 of 1 and 5 of another. As I type this I'm going back and forth between a SX Mini with a Chutulthu at 30w and a Kayfun 3.1 on a Provari 2.5 at 3.8V. The SX is giving me my morning nic and a sweet bit I flavor and the Provari gives me that constant need to have something in my hand headed towards my mouth.

 

[Knifemaker]

quick question, what is the average range(watts) everyone is vaping on their kabuki with provari P3? I find mine is sitting around 8.8 - 10.8 watts depends on the juice..... I have tried higher watts, but the coil seems to burn out quicker.

I'm at 10 w. on the Radius and Kabuki and the 1.8 coil combo and 29 on the Aromamizer at .48 for the moment.

Knife

 

[DPLongo22]

quick question, what is the average range(watts) everyone is vaping on their kabuki with provari P3? I find mine is sitting around 8.8 - 10.8 watts depends on the juice..... I have tried higher watts, but the coil seems to burn out quicker.

No P3, but 9-11w here, consistently, depending on juice, mood, time of day (and sometimes even wind speed & direction).

 

[gnees]

No P3, but 9-11w here, consistently, depending on juice, mood, time of day (and sometimes even wind speed & direction).

I find altitude has a lot more to do with my watts, then direction.

 

[DPLongo22]

I find altitude has a lot more to do with my watts, then direction.

Oh, great. NOW you tell me.

 

[jwbnyc]

No P3, but 9-11w here, consistently, depending on juice, mood, time of day (and sometimes even wind speed & direction).

I'm right there as well, 9-11W.

 

[DPLongo22]

So let's clear some things up... ZenKote™ is a proprietary finish, and is not DLC or PVD-DLC... It is an NPVD process, Nano Particle Vapor Deposition... using a formula that is not available elsewhere, so no other company has a finish that is identical. DLC is a high Carbon Finish that is pretty poor in terms of conductivity... great for watches, pretty poor for mods. That being said, the Panerai pencil lead finish is GORGEOUS... but ZenKote™ is tougher.

I generally do not do individual items, especially used ones. I have on occasion added an item or two to a run of coating, but if something went wrong in the process, the owner of the tube realizes they may end up with results other than those which they expected. It can happen! So I avoid it.



So two things... One I just explained, there's a difference between DLC and ZenKote™... second... the "stealth" finish is CeraKote which is a baked on liquid paint process, it's not powder coat. Personally, I don't care for CeraKote, but it's what Provape uses on their stealth PVs, so I do the same so it will match... I also never said "no soap"... I said never boil it or put it in an ultrasonic, heated or otherwise. I DID say mild soap and "warm" water is ok to gently clean it. That being said, I VASTLY prefer ZenKote™, though Zenkote is MUCH more expensive. It's also nearly bullet-proof.



So, many people (mostly mouth to lung vapers) will disagree with you that the airflow is "terrible" on any of the coils mentioned. Second, The Triton Mini coils do not have airflow from the side of the body. The only air comes in from the bottom pin. The body holes are for the uptake of liquid. The flavor on the Clapton AND the 1.2Ω Triton mini does not even approach the flavor of the stock nautilus coils, when used between 10 and 14 watts. The Triton Mini Coils at 3-5 watts higher taste like the flavor has been turned off. More vapor, yes... more flavor... absolutely not.



So, yeah... ZenKote™ isn't DLC... PVD-DLC would be a lower cost alternative... If your ZenKote™ Kabuki got in a cage match with DLC... ZenKote™ would scrape the coating right off the DLC object!

Thank you for this very comprehensive outline, Zen. It's great information.

I did not recall what you exact instructions were, regarding the Stealth, but remembered that you weren't supposed to do SOMETHING (I just did not recall what that something was, and I hope I was clear on that).

Now, if you can, is it possible to explain the resiliency of the basic satin silver finish? That's obviously something different from the CeraKote, which is used for at least some of the colors (black, for sure). It boggles my mind that my four-year-old satins look almost brand new, and would love to know why that is the case.

I'm thinking others might too.

 

[DPLongo22]

I'm right there as well, 9-11W.

No adjustments for the various climate-related scenarios?

 

[jwbnyc]

No adjustments for the various climate-related scenarios?

I don't even know what day it is.

How would I know what the weather is doing?

 

[Freedom2Vape]

No adjustments for the various climate-related scenarios?

Adjusted based on the cycle of the moon and which house the planets are NOT aligned?

 

[DPLongo22]

I don't even know what day it is.

How would I know what the weather is doing?

Probably just as well, since you were around 9f this morning too. Oblivion equals happiness, in cases such as today's temperature.

I wish my dog cared about that stuff as much as I do. 15 minutes outside this morning, while she sniffed every bit of the frozen tundra.

I thought I was going to die.