Factory coils vs RTAs/RDAs

[AXIOM_1]

This thread is intended for people to provide their input as to whether they prefer sub ohm tanks that house factory coil heads or whether they prefer rebuildable RTA /RDA tanks and WHY do you prefer one over the other.

I am a mid to high wattage vaper most (which is most of the time) and whenever I am out and about then I will slap on one my MTL tanks.... When I first started vaping (lots of years ago) there was not a vast array of atomizers where a bit of power could be put to them. Then the mid powered sub ohm tanks started appearing with the rollout of the Atlantis.... I had owned several sub ohm tanks and tried many of them but was never impressed with the flavor. So in the old days, I stuck with rebuildable RDAs and rebuildable RTAs even though I was not too impressed with many of the RTAs of that time period. Times sure have changed though with RTAs (for the better)....

Because the first sub ohm tanks were nothing special, I avoided them and stuck with RDAs and RTAs.... Also, and just as important, the other reason was the low cost of operating a rebuildable RTA/RDA verses a sub ohm tank in which I had to purchase their factory coils. Not only that but if the tank gets discontinued and you can no longer get coils for it then you are tough out of luck...

So, because the early sub ohm tanks were fairly low powered and didn't have the best flavor in the world (generally speaking) then I shyed away from them... But many sub ohm tanks started coming out with factory mesh coils that could handle higher wattages...

Just recently I purchased a SMOK kit for the mod. The mod came with a TFV 18 MINI tank but I was not in the least interested in the tank due to it using factory coil heads and so I set it aside for a few days. Plus the TFV 18 line of tanks have always been known to be "airy" (they still are) and their flavor was often diluted due to the massive airflow.... However, out of curiosity I decided to try the new tank and to my utter surprise I was blown away by the intense flavor those coils produced. The flavor rivals that of my RDAs, if not even better. I was shocked because the SMOK tanks of the past that I have used did not have too swift of flavor.

Another great sub ohm tank I own for flavor is the Fireluke 4.... It's not as good as the TFV 18 mini but pretty close....

So, it seems that these newer mesh coil heads in the sub ohm tanks are getting very good.....

So join in this thread and share what type of atomizer you prefer and why..... Anyone else getting the great flavor off of the Smok TFV 18 mini like I am? The Fireluke 4? I would like to hear about what other sub ohm tanks are producing good flavor.

 

[Javichu]

I started like a lot of people with a simple kit,Vaporesso Veco i think it was.

After awhile i decided to upgrade and give rebuildables a try,i did use RTAs for a long time but then i just grew tired.
Getting a new RTA,having to learn where to put the exactly the coil,how to wick it and then even sometimes having to start over because i did it wrong.

Decided enough is enough and it just wasn't worth the trouble,yeah its cheaper and you do get better flavor but meh,that doesn't make up for the stress and effort,at least in my opinion.

So i think its been 4 months or so since i switched to tanks with drop in coils and i couldn't be happier.
Tried several (Zeus,Hellbeast 2) but for now my main tank is the UFORCE-L,phenomenal flavor and performance from the new TW coils.

Doubt i will ever go back to RTAs,never liked RDAs nor i drip or squonk.
For me the name of the game is simplicity,little effort max results hence me just using drop in coils.

 

[Coyote628]

I've been using a fireluke 2 for the last 3 years. The mesh coils, due to the actual surface area that heats up being greater than a traditional wire coil, makes the flavor really kicks up. When I started using a sub ohm style tank, it was a tfv8. Then I went to the tfv12 and ended that journey with a tfv16. Smok has a definite bad reputation but those tanks, at least the ones I had, were actually pretty decent. But then, they went overboard and cranked out too many different tanks really quickly. I lost interest about then. I do have a few various assorted RDA's that I can build on and can wrap a satisfactory coil but I'll use the fireluke as long as I can still get coils for it. Mesh really was a great innovation. Another tank I used briefly was the NRG from Vaporesso with the mesh coils. Honestly, I couldn't tell any difference between that and the fireluke though. That's pretty much my take on tanks and such.

 

[Territoo]

I have a few tfv 12s and tons of coils for them plus a few other coils for other tanks. These are put aside for when I get too old to build. My eyesight is already going. In the meantime, I prefer to build with the Dead Rabbit being my favorite.

 

[Letitia]

Single coil top air rta is my goto and has been for several years now. The reasons I love them are slightly restricted dl, simple build/wick and good flavor. My first tanks were the nautilus and they just frustrated me due to af. My aha moment was when I got my first kanger stm. I was smitten; kept a couple using the square 0.5 coils and a couple more in rba coils. I do occasionally use drop in with the vaporesso itank or Hellbeast 2. Mostly bought those for the stash incase I can't build for some reason.

 

[AXIOM_1]

Doubt i will ever go back to RTAs,never liked RDAs nor i drip or squonk.
For me the name of the game is simplicity,little effort max results hence me just using drop in coils.

Yep, lots of folks are the same way........ I love RTAs but I do get sick of building on them.... I used to sort of enjoy it but after awhile it gets rather old (for me anyway).

 

[AXIOM_1]

The mesh coils, due to the actual surface area that heats up being greater than a traditional wire coil, makes the flavor really kicks up.

My problem is that I used many of the old sub ohm coil heads on the old tanks and they used coiled wire just like many rebuildable RTAs use and most of them were none too swift for flavor.... So, I got away from using them and used RTAs and RDAs..... After years went by the coil head technology was moving foward and I was not even aware of it. Mesh strips had started replacing wire coils but since I no longer used sub ohm tanks then I was not aware at just how good some of them mesh coil heads had become regarding flavor...... By sort of an accident, I was introduced to the FireLuke 4 sub ohm tank recently and when I took my first pull off of the thing I could hardly believe the awesome and intense flavor. It was as good as my RDA (almost).... I then acquired the GIANT TFV18 and like the Fireluke the flavor blew me away...... The problem with the TFV18 is that if you want to operate at say 50 watts it will not happen. That is strictly a high wattage tank (up to 140 watts)...... That is a tank for cloud chuckers and I had wrongly assumed that it had flavor that sucked like the old Smok tanks. Boy was I ever wrong with that assumption. It has BOTH clouds and flavor.

 

[evan le'garde]

RTA's can be diagnosed and fixed with a tweek here and there. For me that's the only real difference. So that's what I vape with.

 

[TARTARA]

RTAs... all day long... every day of the week... and twice on Saturday... L☻L !

Yeah, sometimes it's a little bit of a problem to make new builds, but i have them always in order and ready to go... if anyone is "off" or ready for a new build... either i build them at the moment or im talking the next one, so somewhere during the week i make my builds and all over again... ! I have 2-3 attys with pre-made coils, but i have them as a backup and i barely use them !

 

[tj99959]

RDA's for me (most of the time) Ya I'm a dripper. Been doing it for over 11 years, and ain't gonna change.
Wrapping a new coil is about like opening a new pack of cigs, so not a big deal, and is part of the habit.
Mixing a new batch of juice is about like going out to buy a new carton, and also feeds into the habit.
The one thing I've learned in my 81 years is that the more things have changed ... the more they stay the same.

 

[GeorgeS]

Humm.... seems two questions:
1: factory or wind your own
2: RDA or RTA

One of the items that attracted me to vaping was the reduced cost. Sadly (or gladly depending on how you look at it) I learned early on that factory coils were hit/miss and VERY costly as compared to rebuildables.
While I do still own atomizers which use factory coils (handful including 'podmods') they get very little if any use. I mainly use my rebuildables due to - you guessed it COST.

While I have a very large assortment of tanks there is only a few models that I use regularly. I generally look for top fill, juice/air flow control and >=4ML capacity. I only use two models that are dual coil.

As many will likely mention that no matter what tank your using the flavor is nothing as compared to a decent RDA. Hence in most of my tanks I vape unflavored DIY juice.

When it come to flavor(s) I think the small assortment of my squanker collection (in my profile photo) speaks for itself. Generally when I do flavors I'll use one of them. Heads above the flavor of any of my tanks. Out of the bunch the Pico Squeeze2 is my favorite (8ml juice capacity, 21700 battery, good TC out of the box). As for atomizers I like the 'Hadaly' - flat deck (what you want in a squanker), very easy to build on, small chamber. The clones I got from Fasttech were dirt cheap. Due to getting 'vapor tongue' with flavors fairly quickly, I have a row of different flavors that I can quickly switch to.

I should also mention that with the exception of the coppervape (in the profile photo) ALL my mods are used in Temperature control mode with NiFe48 wire. Generally I'm a <=30W 'slightly restricted' to unrestricted direct lung vapor.



g.

 

[DPLongo22]

I'll prefer blister-packing until the day I die. Old school (BVC, Nauti, CLR, mainly).

That said, I use a good number of RTAs too. But preference? POPPIN' coils.

 

[AXIOM_1]

RDA's for me (most of the time) Ya I'm a dripper. Been doing it for over 11 years, and ain't gonna change.

Yep, I am the same way these days as I mostly use a dripper... I am an old duffer myself and I am at home a lot and so am able to drip hassle free When I go out somewhere I will slap on a low power RTA and do MTL..... Yep, it's hard to beat a well designed RDA for flavor.....I will say though that some of the mesh coil heads are becoming quite good for flavor, which surprised me when I tried a couple of them recently. But, I build by own clapton's (which cost very little as you know) .......... I do own the TFV18 and the Fireluke 4 tanks that use factory coil heads, I do not use them much because I refuse to spend money on expensive coil heads. I will use them mainly for a backup.

 

[AXIOM_1]

Due to getting 'vapor tongue' with flavors fairly quickly, I have a row of different flavors that I can quickly switch to.

Yep, I keep a couple of different atty's filled with different juices and attached to different mods. When I get tired of a flavor I just grab a different mod.......... I do not have an array of RDAs (yet) as the main one I use is a small Vandy Vape Rath. I blast on it most of the time as it has excellent flavor but when I want to switch flavors I just grab a different setup and use it for a while.

 

[Katdarling]

Ok ok ok. I'll chime.

Way back in the day it was atties and drips and coils (oh my). My bestie and partner in vape crime and I were excited and terrified to try ooooooooo....... building a coil and wicking by hand!

Just about (maybe even exactly today) 6 years ago, we took the plunge and did that building of the coil! That lasted...

like a year maybe two.

Now it's back to (as DPL said) POPPIN' coils all the way. They work. They taste delightful, and some of them (CLRs) can easily be rewicked!

I prolly have no place in this thread, Axiom.


PS. The first build was 2/27/16. So much for MY math.

 

[TARTARA]

Ok ok ok. I'll chime.

Way back in the day it was atties and drips and coils (oh my). My bestie and partner in vape crime and I were excited and terrified to try ooooooooo....... building a coil and wicking by hand!

Just about (maybe even exactly today) 6 years ago, we took the plunge and did that building of the coil! That lasted...

like a year maybe two.

Now it's back to (as DPL said) POPPIN' coils all the way. They work. They taste delightful, and some of them (CLRs) can easily be rewicked!

I prolly have no place in this thread, Axiom.


PS. The first build was 2/27/16. So much for MY math.

https://howlongagogo.com/date/2016/february/27

 

[Katdarling]

"What a difference....... a YEAR makes..."

 

[TARTARA]

https://howlongagogo.com/date/2016/february/27

By the way... pretty nice site with some nice features !

 

[DPLongo22]

Just about (maybe even exactly today) 6 years ago, we took the plunge and did that building of the coil! That lasted...

like a year maybe two.

Oh, come on. We still build, just much less frequently. Erl's got to ride!

I prolyl have no place in this thread, Axiom.

I would argue...

PS. The first build was 2/27/16. So much for MY math.

The word "Begrudgingly" belongs somewhere in that sentence.

 

[DPLongo22]

TOTALLY random and irrelevant, whenever I break out a new pack of coils, I hear Maklemore in my head. "Poppin' tags" becomes "Poppin' PACKS".

"I'm gonna pop some packs..."

The human brain remains a very curious thing.