Evolution of a vape (sort of)

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GeorgeS

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  • May 31, 2015
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    It all started as I was bored one day and decided to drop by the local vape shop and see what they had for sell. Silly me I bought a "pod mod" to see what all the fuss with the devices was about.

    Enter the mod on the far left. A "pod mod". I don't recall what it cost me but it was small and light and not very expensive and the sales person claimed "it won't leak" so I figured - what the heck, I'll get it and make up some 'salts' juice and try it out.

    While it was fairly easy to fill and the sales person was right, it did not leak. It did suffer from a number of 'issues'. Namely dismal output, battery life and juice capacity. Did I mention that the "flap" to get at the microUSB connection for charging was challenging? While I tried to make use of it while I enjoyed my morning coffee after a few weeks of ether running out of juice or battery at just the wrong time I started looking else where. However now that I had 30ml of 50mg juice mixed up I though I'd 'upgrade' my "salts dispenser".

    Move to the setup in the middle, a Nautilus mini clone (with aftermarket RBA) and a iStick40. While the RBA is downright painful to build on I left the 1.4 ohm Kanthal build on it and filled the 2ml tank with the 50mg juice. The iStick40 is said to have a 2700mah battery (and optional TC with NI coils). The iSticks have their USB ports on the bottom. So with the tank filled up and the iStick charged up I again went about my business. This setup was a vast improvement over the 'pod mod'. Better (but not great, after all it is a Nautilus mini) output, longer battery life and more juice. It felt good to be able to grab some gear out of my stash and put it to use. The setup did have its downsides, namely the filling of the tank. Tanks of this era are filled by unscrewing the bottom+coil/atomizer out of it and squeezing juice directly into the upside down tank and then screwing it back together. While I had a dozen or more of this style of tank in use in my early vaping days, I've grown accustomed to easy top fill tanks so started thinking that I could do better so back to the stash I looked.

    Enter the setup on the right. While the mod itself is fairly new (Dicodes 21700) the tank is a eLeaf "Lemo2" (only slightly newer vintage then the Nautilus). This setup gives me 3.2ml of tank, even higher output, top fill ease, longer battery life and TC of the coil. The three drawbacks of this setup are that its MUCH larger and heavier than the pod mod that I started out with and the only way to get new energy into the mod is swap batteries. Last and importantly (for those that like to use coil wrecking flavors) is that the only way to service the coil is complete disassembly of the entire tank to gain access to the coil. (not much of a worry when vaping pure unflavored juice).

    This is the setup I've been using while enjoying my morning cup of coffee though. Just all part of a evolution. :)
     

    vaper1960

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    Enter the setup on the right. While the mod itself is fairly new (Dicodes 21700) the tank is a eLeaf "Lemo2"
    Have not read the rest of the thread yet but had to mention "that looks like an old school Lemo2" I love mine (even though I recently posted about it leaking... my bad actually forgot how to wick it right) Mine are new (have three of them) got them on a clearance sale and saving the other two as back ups. Anyway if you need any tips on building this, shoot me a PM (conversation) I love the restricted DL and even though I have other RTAs with more flavor (when they don't leak) it is still my favorite. I use rayon... wicks better (but my other RTA like cotton) OK... going to finish reading the thread now.
     
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    vaper1960

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    I tend to use the "coil killer" juices when I know I will have to re-wick soon (that way I don't really care) A good "dry burn" (lower wattage/pulsing) will save the coil but I always completely rinse the tank with warm/hot water first. Even though the juice fill slot is not that small, I lay the tank on it's side and use a syringe/blunt needle... so easy and no mess.
     

    UncLeJunkLe

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    I always found the Nauts hard to unscrew.

    Yeah, they do have that problem with the top cap. And I never was a fan of metal screwing onto threaded glass. The tank is probably the most popular tank in vaping history thus far, though.
     

    Coyote628

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    So what is that pod mod called?
    Looks like a lost vape Orion q. I've got one. They're decent. They dont leak, top fill and top airflow. Put some high octane nic in one and you got yerself a a dandy cigarette substitute.
     

    GeorgeS

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    • Yes, on close inspection it is a Lost Vape Orion. Cute novelity item
    • I have 10 or more Lemo2's in the stockpile, 3 in service. One of my favorite top fill tanks. If built right they don't leak and it is easy enough to suck the tank dry with a needle syringe to service the coil (just more work than other designs)
    • I started stock piling years ago so I have a bunch of Nautilus and Atlantis tanks in stock along with mods from that era of vaping.
    • With tanks I vape mostly unflavored DIY juice, I save the DIY flavored juice for my Squaker collection (part of which is in profile image)
    While the podmod and Nautilus setups would still work in a pinch, (and I started vaping with that sort of gear years ago) nether give me a satisfying vape these days.

    Nice to see that others remember the Nautilus and Lemo2, great tanks in their day and when they were in production.

    g.
     
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    Mordacai

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    @GeorgeS, have you heard anything about the Atmizoo Creek RDA?

    Unfortunately there's only genuine or authentic available, but they do MTL to DTL and if they're anything near their Tripod RTA for flavour. They could well be worth it, unfortunately I'm frugal and can't really justify the price to myself.

    So I'm hoping that someone makes a decent clone.
     
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