Finally... an RBA I enjoy!

[bah-num]

Not to get down on RBA's and RDA's, but I've not had much success with them. They just don't satisfy. For about the last year I've been rocking Protanks and enjoying them sufficiently. Been rebuilding the coils on them for the last several months with great success. But I always found the consistency of the actual coil housing (I guess you'd call it?) pretty poor. I kept having to buy new stock coils because the insulators would eventually degrade and it was always hit or miss. Kanger kept messing with the design to suit their myriad of different bottom coil tanks, and recently they changed the insulator material to a soft silicone that expands when you'd tighten down the tank (I heard Kanger was having another company make these while they were moving?). Anyway, I didn't like all the fiddling and cutting of the silicone to prevent it from choking off airflow or having to unscrew my tank a bit to get it to vape right, so I've been trying a few different rebuildables trying to find a replacement.

However, I haven't liked any of the ones I've tried. Started with an RSST and was thoroughly unimpressed. Yeah, it was easy to build a wick and coil but the flavor sucked! Then I tried an AGA-T2, a bit of a pain to build compared to the RSST (spring loaded vs washer tightening). Again, crappy flavor and cold unsatisfying vapor (and I didn't want to have to keep upping the power to compensate). Maybe it was my wicks, maybe it was SS in general or I didn't give it enough time to break in... I've heard they can take a few days before the flavor really sings. Thing is, I don't want 3-4 days of ....ty vaping everytime I make a new wick and coil, and all the tinkering really put me off (I don't want to have to carry a veritable utility belt just to vape... it's enough I have to carry a few extra tanks, bottles and batteries with me). So, I ditched the Gennies... bad flavor, tinkering and non-pocket-friendliness be gone!. Decided to try an IGO-W thinking "OK, going back to a fibrous wick system should solve some of the problems". Nope, same crappy flavor production. Not happy, but it was a cheap test, so not much lost... though I think the coil I wrapped just sucked, but I didn't want to invest that much time in a dripper when most of my vaping takes place outside of the home.

Then it hit me. What do these systems have in common? The top cap! A big airy chamber with plenty of room for the vapor to expand! A far cry from the very compact tube which the vapor travels up in a protank. So I went back to my local shop and took a look at their "bottom coil RBA's". They had an Ithica (probably a clone) and a Kayfun (definitely a clone lol). Ithica: a mishmash of sections and o-rings. The biggest convoluted mess of a tank I'd ever witnessed, that was out of the question. Kayfun clone: much more straight forward. And what is this? A compact chamber and chimney? This looks like it functions in a very similar fashion to my protank... it's a protank on crack! "Take my moneyz good sir!". Built the ....tiest coil I've ever wrapped and hoped for something half-way decent. Was pleasantly surprised to find a warm, concentrated vapor hit my mouth, a nice flavor upon the tip of my tongue and a healthy cloud on exhale. Aaaahhh, satisfaction! Flavor isn't quite as good as my protank yet (some of the high notes of my juice are missing and I can taste a bit of the silica, but remember... it's the ....tiest coil I've ever wrapped!). I know my next build will be stellar... especially when I orient the coil the correct way

I'm gonna give cotton on a micro coil a go, but first I want to familiarize myself with how this thing feeds over extended vaping. I tend to have a light draw compared to most (peeps always be flooding my tanks!). So gonna stick with silica for the time being and try the steam sandwich micro coil build. Can't wait! Well, I have to, it's late and I have to work in the morning... damn, could have built a new coil instead of writing this, but oh well, didn't want to put the thing down, was enjoying it too much!

I'm glad I stuck with this RBA adventure

 

[emus]

Another good option is small diameter small chamber toppers. The vapor quality of my 14 to 18 mm toppers (including Genny style) is better than all my >21 mm toppers including Aqua clone.

 

[savagemann]

Awesome that you found a satisfying vape.
Wait until you nail down your build on it.......Imagine if you could multiply the flavor you protanks put out by 3 fold.......that's about what it'll be like when you find the perfect build.
If you still have your igo, don't ditch it just yet. Once you get some good builds going, it may come in handy.

 

[SkvLTD]

With RSST anyway, I'm perfectly fine as long as I position the air hole right off the wick position (and toke fairly fast/hard to keep the air flowing). Else, its what I gathered myself regarding bigger chambers- they cool/condense/whatever the vapor quickly enough for it to lose the energy from heating up thus costing flavor.

I might just try to homebrew a chamber filler to see how that would affect the whole experience (rather DIY than buy existing solutions).

 

[ConradM]

Wall of text. Next time try reducing the chamber. It's actually pretty pointless to use an RSST without one.

 

[ConradM]

Another good option is small diameter small chamber toppers. The vapor quality of my 14 to 18 mm toppers (including Genny style) is better than all my >21 mm toppers including Aqua clone.

Or you could just stuff a cotton ball in the top cap.



That effectively leaves enough room for the wick. Night and day difference.

 

[bah-num]

Thanks for the replies, I'll have to try that cotton ball trick and see if it helps on my gennies. I haven't gotten around to building another coil yet, gonna finish this tank full first.

It's amazing how many of these "advanced" atomizers still use polycarbonate plastic. I'm probably gonna order a fogger in the next few days. Cryin' shame I'm not gonna be using this kayfun too much, it vapes great! But they had to use freakin' polycarbonate for the tank portion, the absolute worst plastic for tanks. I'll probably order an SS tank section too (this kayfun clone didn't come with one) and pray that it works with this clone (if I can find one), but I'm not gonna be happy about it and that means no cotton wicks... last thing I need is to dry hit a cotton wick because I couldn't see how much juice I had in my tank

 

[emus]

Or you could just stuff a cotton ball in the top cap.



That effectively leaves enough room for the wick. Night and day difference.

I've done the cotton ball chamber reducer and have a 22 mm Pulse G clone w/ SS reducer; better, but neither match vapor quality of a native 14 to 18 mm topper.

Perhaps the custom Delrin chamber reducer would work better.

I suspect insulated reduced chamber topper caps will be common in the future.

 

[Bosco]

I've also noticed that my small diameter atties have the best flavor. My $5 cyclone clone has flavor that's an order of magnitude better than my RSST or Igo-L. If my Kayfun lite is a 10 in flavor then the cyclone would be a 7 or 8 and the RSST and IGO more like a 4-5. Both of those devices (RSST and IGO-L) really piss me off because the flavor is so poor. I use the IGO for "experimental" builds and the RSST makes a nice paper-weight.

By the way OP . .I wouldn't worry that much about dry hitting cotton. The flavor dies well before the cotton actually burns. I've had tons of dry(ish) hits on cotton with my drippers and they don't taste worse than silica dry hits and, like I said, I always have noticed the flavor drop off WAY before the wick actually burns. I only made the jump to cotton about 2 months ago but I've used nothing since in any of my tanks or drippers and, so far, have not actually burned a single wick.

But yeah . .I don't use the metal tank in my Kayfun, either. The M-tank just looks too cool. I recently bought the large M Tank which makes the entire tank plastic . .that gives it a different and cool look as well. I treat the metal tank kind of like a spare tire . .if I happen to crack the plastic at least I'll have something to keep the kayfun running while I look around for spare parts which will take forever because they are always out of stock.

 

[bah-num]

OMG FLAVOR EXPLOSION! Yeah, just rebuilt my coil and, oh my, I've never had such wonderful flavor in all my years of vaping! An 8 wrap micro coil of 30 gauge kanthal with silica using the steam sandwich method. Could only get 2 1/2 strands of 2mm silica in since I only had a nail that was about 2.5mm in diameter. Meters out at 2.1ohm but hits harder than the 1.4ohm I had in there previously. And the flavor! I'm in heaven... if only I had a chalupa (DIY Baja Blast).

 

[bah-num]

I've also noticed that my small diameter atties have the best flavor. My $5 cyclone clone has flavor that's an order of magnitude better than my RSST or Igo-L. If my Kayfun lite is a 10 in flavor then the cyclone would be a 7 or 8 and the RSST and IGO more like a 4-5. Both of those devices (RSST and IGO-L) really piss me off because the flavor is so poor. I use the IGO for "experimental" builds and the RSST makes a nice paper-weight.

By the way OP . .I wouldn't worry that much about dry hitting cotton. The flavor dies well before the cotton actually burns. I've had tons of dry(ish) hits on cotton with my drippers and they don't taste worse than silica dry hits and, like I said, I always have noticed the flavor drop off WAY before the wick actually burns. I only made the jump to cotton about 2 months ago but I've used nothing since in any of my tanks or drippers and, so far, have not actually burned a single wick.

But yeah . .I don't use the metal tank in my Kayfun, either. The M-tank just looks too cool. I recently bought the large M Tank which makes the entire tank plastic . .that gives it a different and cool look as well. I treat the metal tank kind of like a spare tire . .if I happen to crack the plastic at least I'll have something to keep the kayfun running while I look around for spare parts which will take forever because they are always out of stock.

I just don't want the wick to be unvapable, at least the silica isn't "burning", I can just semi-flood the coil to compensate and still get a decent vape. Once the cotton burns the neurotic side of me screams "GET THAT WICK OUT OF THERE!". So far this thing feeds my 50/50 juice very well, so maybe next week I'll pull the silica out and do a cotton wick As far as the plastic tank goes... I vape a lot of citrus. Usually TPA key lime, which I haven't seen show up on any of the lists of known tank crackers, but it is a citrus. I also have a very nice honeysuckle based juice that I'm not gonna be able to let anywhere near this kayfun.

Ok, got about a 1/2ml of baja blast left, gotta do a quick DIY for tomorrow... really enjoying this, gotta find the time to make a large batch to let steep

 

[Bosco]

I just don't want the wick to be unvapable, at least the silica isn't "burning", I can just semi-flood the coil to compensate and still get a decent vape. Once the cotton burns the neurotic side of me screams "GET THAT WICK OUT OF THERE!". So far this thing feeds my 50/50 juice very well, so maybe next week I'll pull the silica out and do a cotton wick As far as the plastic tank goes... I vape a lot of citrus. Usually TPA key lime, which I haven't seen show up on any of the lists of known tank crackers, but it is a citrus. I also have a very nice honeysuckle based juice that I'm not gonna be able to let anywhere near this kayfun.

Ok, got about a 1/2ml of baja blast left, gotta do a quick DIY for tomorrow... really enjoying this, gotta find the time to make a large batch to let steep

Do it - you may never go back to silica - I never will. So far in my experience, the cotton never runs dry enough to actually burn until the juice is empty. I've had a few, not many, dry hits on my kayfun and the following hits have been fine. Cotton wicks so much better than silica that it's actually hard to get a dry hit - but it can happen with several big rips back to back.

It's so easy to thread a new wick that I do it at least every 2 tanks. The old wicks always come out looking in really good condition .. ie . .never scorched, no gunk on them, etc.

 

[bah-num]

Do it - you may never go back to silica - I never will. So far in my experience, the cotton never runs dry enough to actually burn until the juice is empty. I've had a few, not many, dry hits on my kayfun and the following hits have been fine. Cotton wicks so much better than silica that it's actually hard to get a dry hit - but it can happen with several big rips back to back.

It's so easy to thread a new wick that I do it at least every 2 tanks. The old wicks always come out looking in really good condition .. ie . .never scorched, no gunk on them, etc.

Oh I've tried cotton in my protank. The flavor was quite excellent! But I knew that particular tank intimately I knew at what juice level it fed well, and when it would experience dry hits and how much I could vape it before i had to set it down and let it soak more juice, or when it needed a little primer puff to help it feed. I just want to run a few tanks through this kayfun with a properly built coil so I know how it feeds. My first setup in this was a mess and I'm not quite sure if some of the more "off" hits I took were teetering on being dry, or if it was just the mess of silica I had clogging up the chamber lol. I'm always a bit wary on a wick I can't dry burn But I'm looking forward to the day I put cotton in this bad boy Hell, I might rip out the silica tomorrow and slide some cotton in tomorrow night if it keeps vaping like this

 

[emus]

I've compared silica, cotton yarn and cotton ball wicks in genny style and aqua clone.

Fastest wicking speed = cotton ball.
Slowest wicking speed = cotton yarn.
Fastest wick swap = cotton.
Easiest to build = cotton ball.
Best TP refresh = cotton ball.
Richest TH = cotton ball.
Best clouds = cotton ball.
Best inside coil wick repack = cotton ball.
Best initial clean taste= silica.
Best flavor after break in = cotton ball.
Most resistant to user error burn = silica.
Best semi-dry alarm taste = cotton.
Most accommodating to 0% to 100% VG = cotton ball.

 

[iamlenb]

I'm with you on the cotton in a Kayfun. And you may want to try out a vertical dragon microcoil oriented over the airhole. I use 28g at 1.2 ohms, measured out at 2.5 inches of kanthal. Heat/torch coil and compress, then wrap with thin cotton ball pulled into a transparent sheet. Install over the airhole and fill the chamber with a wispy cloud of cotton ball to the deck over the juice channels. Flavor insanity ensues.

Rewrap is easy, pull the cotton, wrap another sheet around the coil, restuff with more cotton cloud, fill and vape. Dry burn between wicks if needed. I've been using the same coil in this build since Halloween.

 

[mdbsat]

Do it - you may never go back to silica - I never will. So far in my experience, the cotton never runs dry enough to actually burn until the juice is empty. I've had a few, not many, dry hits on my kayfun and the following hits have been fine. Cotton wicks so much better than silica that it's actually hard to get a dry hit - but it can happen with several big rips back to back.

It's so easy to thread a new wick that I do it at least every 2 tanks. The old wicks always come out looking in really good condition .. ie . .never scorched, no gunk on them, etc.

THIS.

I just recently switched to cotton on my RDAs and now my Kayfun and I will never go back to silica. For ME, the flavor is just too good with organic cotton.

 

[mdbsat]

I'm with you on the cotton in a Kayfun. And you may want to try out a vertical dragon microcoil oriented over the airhole. I use 28g at 1.2 ohms, measured out at 2.5 inches of kanthal. Heat/torch coil and compress, then wrap with thin cotton ball pulled into a transparent sheet. Install over the airhole and fill the chamber with a wispy cloud of cotton ball to the deck over the juice channels. Flavor insanity ensues.

Rewrap is easy, pull the cotton, wrap another sheet around the coil, restuff with more cotton cloud, fill and vape. Dry burn between wicks if needed. I've been using the same coil in this build since Halloween.

Are you using a mech mod or VV/VW? If using the latter how many volts do you put through this build? Thanks in advance!

 

[emus]

I'm with you on the cotton in a Kayfun. And you may want to try out a vertical dragon microcoil oriented over the airhole. I use 28g at 1.2 ohms, measured out at 2.5 inches of kanthal. Heat/torch coil and compress, then wrap with thin cotton ball pulled into a transparent sheet. Install over the airhole and fill the chamber with a wispy cloud of cotton ball to the deck over the juice channels. Flavor insanity ensues.

Rewrap is easy, pull the cotton, wrap another sheet around the coil, restuff with more cotton cloud, fill and vape. Dry burn between wicks if needed. I've been using the same coil in this build since Halloween.

My dragon was mean. Spewed clouds out air intake and produced a course TH. One of these days I plan to build kissing dragons.

How do you tame your dragon?

 

[Kemosabe]

OMG FLAVOR EXPLOSION! Yeah, just rebuilt my coil and, oh my, I've never had such wonderful flavor in all my years of vaping! An 8 wrap micro coil of 30 gauge kanthal with silica using the steam sandwich method. Could only get 2 1/2 strands of 2mm silica in since I only had a nail that was about 2.5mm in diameter. Meters out at 2.1ohm but hits harder than the 1.4ohm I had in there previously. And the flavor! I'm in heaven... if only I had a chalupa (DIY Baja Blast).

glad to hear youre up and running! success stories for the win. how about sharing that Baja Blast DIY recipe? sounds delightful.

and yep, im in the cotton club. silica is a second class wick medium in my house
but i was just like you. the burn potential kinda scared me. once you go cotton, youll be glad you did. its extremely easy to sense when your cotton is even half dry, never mind dry enough to burn. you WILL 100% know well in advance.

Oh, and i forgot to mention: seeing how you are a citrus vaper (i am too), thats likely why you didnt prefer mesh. i love mesh, but not for my citrus juices. no way. citrus on cotton all the way. mesh is for bakery and tobacco juices JMHO.

 

[bah-num]

glad to hear youre up and running! success stories for the win. how about sharing that Baja Blast DIY recipe? sounds delightful.

and yep, im in the cotton club. silica is a second class wick medium in my house
but i was just like you. the burn potential kinda scared me. once you go cotton, youll be glad you did. its extremely easy to sense when your cotton is even half dry, never mind dry enough to burn. you WILL 100% know well in advance.

Oh, and i forgot to mention: seeing how you are a citrus vaper (i am too), thats likely why you didnt prefer mesh. i love mesh, but not for my citrus juices. no way. citrus on cotton all the way. mesh is for bakery and tobacco juices JMHO.

Thanks! As far as the Baja Blast recipe, I'm still working on it. I want it to taste exactly like Baja Blast, it's really damn close, but there's a few notes that are missing. On top of that I'm in the process of starting my juice business so an exact recipe will not be given But I can tell you it contains TPA Citrus Punch (naturally lol) and TPA Key Lime, with a hint of coconut. Sorry, I know that's a common sense answer that you probably could have easily arrived to on your own, but my recipes have to become "trade secrets" otherwise what's the point of starting a juice business