Fail!!!

[CrazyIvan]

So I recently got a rba (this one). I thought its small price would give me an opportunity to try out the RBAs without dropping too much cash.

I watched the videos, read the forums, rolled a bunch of coils, oxidized the crap out of various meshes, rolled them tight, rolled them loose, eliminated "hot spots", etc etc. No matter what I do, the flavor is just meh. I'm getting plumes of vapor, twice what I get from carto tanks. It doesn't taste burned. The flavor is just muted. Very muted. If I take the cap off and do a burn, it smells good, but when I vape it, it's crap. So I'm just horribly frustrated, especially due to the time I invested in this without any decent results. This is my last resort, perhaps you guys have a useful tip, but I feel like I've tried everything and RBAs are just supposed to be this way. The juices I've tried are mostly 70/30, the mesh is 500, the A1 Kenthal is 32g. I've wrapped coils ranging from 1.3 ohm to 2.0 ohm (4/3, 5/4, and 6/5). Tried all voltages. Total fail.

 

[Furymongerr]

Somebody help this man!

 

[Statistic]

All I can offer is that even a perfectly rolled wick with a perfect coil that is hotspot free still needs a bit of time to "break in". And those chobra clones are a pain in the neck to build especially for someone new to RBA (so I've heard, I don't have one).

Build yourself a nice wick, make sure it is hotspot free and glowing even, vape it for a full day or so.. see if it's not tasting better halfway through the second tankful on that particular build.

Good luck with it!

 

[pdib]

I would add two things. 1: it may well be the atty. I tried some DID clones and found myself very unhappy with the vape I couldn't get out of them.
2: I've seen where people recommended fatter wire, 30g, say; and folks tried it, and said, "yeah, that does increase flavor"


What to do? Try something with a known/good track record that's not too expensive. (IGO-L type of thing)

 

[pdib]

All I can offer is that even a perfectly rolled wick with a perfect coil that is hotspot free still needs a bit of time to "break in". And those chobra clones are a pain in the neck to build especially for someone new to RBA (so I've heard, I don't have one).

Build yourself a nice wick, make sure it is hotspot free and glowing even, vape it for a full day or so.. see if it's not tasting better halfway through the second tankful on that particular build.

Good luck with it!

Stats, I hear about this "break-in" business, and I don't get it. My best flavor and etc. w/ ss mesh was always the first couple hours of a new build.

 

[Statistic]

Stats, I hear about this "break-in" business, and I don't get it. My best flavor and etc. w/ ss mesh was always the first couple hours of a new build.

Hmm.. my experience was different. It always seemed to pick up a bit after the first tank. Never got away from the genny tilt on ss mesh but I felt it started wicking better the second day. I have to be honest though.. (I really don't want to be discouraging to anyone new(er than me) to rebuilding because ss mesh is proven and reliable) even though I did build some good and decent ss mesh wicks I never really got a great vape from ss mesh.. acceptable.. but nowhere near what I've gotten from some of the other silly fun stuff I've been playing with lately.

I'd definitely second the suggestion to simplify though.. go with something like an IGO-L to learn the ropes and you'll always have a solid little dripper to fall back on while you pull your hair out practicing more complicated builds

 

[E_DeCastro]

What divise are you using? How many watts? What voltage?

 

[pdib]

Yeah, there's a certain GeneAutry'sdog to ss mesh. I sometimes miss the ritual and the fiddling. And the whole Genny thing . . . . . nah, fuggedaboudit.

 

[grainey1968]

We all understand your frustrations CrazyIvan. Been there (sometimes going back there), done that and had the headache.
Start from scratch. If you are getting muted flavor, then there is something wrong with your setup. Muted flavor to me usually comes from the mesh (either shorting from the sides of the wick hole, wick touching the bottom of the tank or touching the positive post; or mesh shorting (not oxidized enough). Sometime the taste could be in the RBA (dismantle it and wash)!

I would start with the obvious, the things that you can visibly see (wick touching bottom or +ive post, hotspots etc). If these are good, then I would be checking the oxidization of the mesh. I wash my mesh in dish washing liquid (definitely overlooked by many). Then I torch the mesh (both sides). Then I fold an 1/8 of mesh on one slide and then roll my mesh to it (eliminate ss short frays). When my wick is rolled, it should slide in the wick hole (very easily), I then torch it (not white hot, but orange) for 2 - 3 times, letting it cool down each time (no quenching). Then I burn some e juice on it (2 - 3 times).
I (not always) use the Petar K method to form my coil (4/5 of 32g should give you approx 1.7ohms) and I would then burn the coil for 4 or 5 times by firing the PV. Insert with wick, check for hotspots and fix if required; get some juice and give it a try.

Don't give up yet dude - honestly; it is worth it!

 

[donnah]

Some juices just don't taste good with the SS mesh.. case in point in this video.



That being said, just be sure that all parts of your coil are touching the wick. Even if a tiny part of the wire isn't hugging the wick, it will give an "off" taste. I never had good luck with the petarK method, leaves too much to chance and the wick has to be the exact perfect size for it to be able to just slide down into the coil without leaving gaps that will give a burnt/metallic taste. Forget the did/clone and get an RSST. It's cheap and super easy to build. If you don't like it, it'll sell quick in the classys.

I also recomment the IGO-L.. great flavor and easy to build. Captivape has both the rsst and the igo-l at good prices. I bought my rsst and had them drill the air hole to 1.3 (extra $2.50 but worth it to me). Good people to deal with and reasonable shipping fees. They also have a good selection of wick and wire.

 

[CrazyIvan]

Thanks for all the tips. I've tried a couple more times but still having issues.

My last wick/coil are textbook. I rolled the coil using drill bit method with 5/4 and got a perfect 1.7 ohm coil. I rolled a fairly airy wick (unoxidized this time) with 500 mesh, used pulse method, and all coils light up evenly from red to yellow. The vamo actually turns off first few times with pulse method due to shorts. But eventually I get no shorts, no ohm dancing etc. Good oxidation. I then filled the tank, primed the coil and vaped away.

Again, same symptoms. The flavors are muted compared to my carto tanks. Lots of vapor. Almost too much nicotine. So I tried mixing a stronger batch of my current favorite (bubblegum/redbull), and the flavor improved. I tried to stick it out and vaped about 4-5 mills so far with it. The flavor improved even further as the wick got a bit more "seasoned", but still not even close to the cartos.

TH is also very weak. I can see huge amounts of vapor, but I can't "feel it". I tried with the air hole off-center since it is said to produce more TH, but all I got is weird choking sensation that made me caugh.

Donnah, you may have hit it on the head. The juices I vape may just not be a good fit for the steel wicks. I'll try again with other flavors and see if it gets better. I will keep experimenting since I really like the idea of RBAs and its cost benefits. But for now, I'm back to carto tanks and vaping happilly.