RDA First RDA experience kind of bad

[Moonbogg]

I didn't want to spend a lot at first, so I got a Tugboat V2 clone. Washed it good and wrapped a 28ga around .117 dia screwdriver, 7 wraps for about 1.5ohms. Threw in some KGD and started off at 13 watts and went up to 19 on the provari before it cut out. I had the single airflow option enabled on the rda, aimed right at the coil.
Vapor was there, but thin. Flavor was very muted. I got over nic'ed pretty fast using 12mg of course. Anyway, I'm wondering why my rda experience didn't have the super flavor everyone talks about. My kayfun has much more flavor and a solid warm vapor that feels more wet and dense. Wondering what I did wrong. Maybe not enough power? I just didn't care for it to be honest. Thinking of sticking to the kayfuns really.
At this point i'm glad I didn't drop a lot on an RDA. Not sure its my thing.

 

[HMav]

A lot of the drippers with the side air flow need some tweaking to get the expected performance. remove the wick and dry burn, double check that the coil is glowing from the inside out and also double check the post screws. Redo the wick and make sure it is a nice sliding fit in the coil, do not tuck the tails under the coil (leave them short and just touching the deck) and raise the coil so its centerline is just above the air hole. Each atty is a little different, but maybe this will get you going until someone who is more familiar with the Tugboat can chime in.

 

[HecticEnergy]

I could be wrong because I don't own one, but I think the Tugboat is a bit more for cloud chasing.
Maybe try something with a smaller chamber like a cyclone, trident, patriot, or if you want to step into slightly more complicated builds, a veritas/marquis. I have a FT cy-clone (k6) that I LOVE, my Trident was my first RDA and it was spectacular. My veritas and cy-clone are in daily rotation. I use a zenith when I want some dense fog on rare occasion. Kay fun has spectacular flavor, but its a really restrictive vape for me, which is great for stealth vaping, but not my preferred hit.

 

[UncleChuck]

You're going to get differing opinions on this, but personally I feel Kayfuns give better flavor than pretty much any dripper out there. The ERA and Igo-S are the only drippers I've tried that compete with the flavor of a kayfun, likely due to the tiny chambers.

Power is a big factor as well, with the larger chamber of the Tugboat you'll probably need to run at least 30 watts before you start to get the same type of warm moist vapor as you get from the Kayfun. Even with the airflow set low the big chamber can deaden flavor and cool the vape.

Running dual coils, with a little larger diameter will probably help too.

 

[HecticEnergy]

A lot of the drippers with the side air flow need some tweaking to get the expected performance. remove the wick and dry burn, double check that the coil is glowing from the inside out and also double check the post screws. Redo the wick and make sure it is a nice sliding fit in the coil, do not tuck the tails under the coil (leave them short and just touching the deck) and raise the coil so its centerline is just above the air hole. Each atty is a little different, but maybe this will get you going until someone who is more familiar with the Tugboat can chime in.

Also play with your coil placement on the deck - closer to the airflow or midway between side of the deck and the posts. I've found each RDA has different characteristics, but the general guidelines HMav stated usually provide a better vape.
Placing the airflow so the air can hit the coil face and the under side of the coil gives you more surface area than just blasting the face of the coil with the air from the airflow, producing more vapor/flavor etc.
The wick should be snug enough to feel friction in the coil, but not so tight your mod falls over as you are pulling the wick though.

 

[CrazyCory564]

Holmes RDA. Magma quality flavor, affordable, and authentic.

I swear Cigreen should be paying me with how much I say this

 

[gpjoe]

Lots of good info already posted. I will only add this: Do not overfill your dripper. If the coil is sitting in juice it will give off weak vapor. If I overfill any of mine. I just tilt the mod to give the coil some air and it starts producing much more vapor.

Don't give up - you will get the hang of it.

 

[HecticEnergy]

Lots of good info already posted. I will only add this: Do not overfill your dripper. If the coil is sitting in juice it will give off weak vapor. If I overfill any of mine. I just tilt the mod to give the coil some air and it starts producing much more vapor.

Don't give up - you will get the hang of it.

submurged coils will attempt to boil the liquid. This is a poor way of getting vapor production

 

[Moonbogg]

Thanks guys. I personally feel that with the huge chamber, more power is needed to create a more dense vape, not to mention the airflow is higher. I'll mess with it a little more later and possibly grab an istick 50w when they are out.

 

[HecticEnergy]

Thanks guys. I personally feel that with the huge chamber, more power is needed to create a more dense vape, not to mention the airflow is higher. I'll mess with it a little more later and possibly grab an istick 50w when they are out.

More coil surface area may be needed in addition to the power - more wraps of thicker wire (lower gauge - 26?) around a bigger dowel.

 

[Ridilen]

The coil position also explains why sometime I get a weak vape. I am using a Hobo V2 and sometimes it is not the vape I want. I am currently using .7ohm @ 25W. I find that I tend to fill the liquid up to the point of covering half the coils. I am going to try and raise the coil level. All else fails, I will just fill it less. Thanks for the info.

 

[BoomerFZ1]

Holmes RDA. Magma quality flavor, affordable, and authentic.

I swear Cigreen should be paying me with how much I say this

What is the Holmes RDA?

 

[jaxgator]

What is the Holmes RDA?

Holmes RDA.

 

[BoomerFZ1]

Holmes RDA.

Very subtle (jerk! ). I actually did that in eBay but didn't find anything. Thanks though.

 

[Kprthevapr]

I would suggest lowering your nic level too. When dripping, higher nic levels don't drip as well, they tend to give a harsher hits. Maybe try 6 nic if that feels like too much you can always get zero nic and cut it down accordingly.

 

[sparkky1]

Thanks guys. I personally feel that with the huge chamber, more power is needed to create a more dense vape, not to mention the airflow is higher. I'll mess with it a little more later and possibly grab an istick 50w when they are out.

With a 1.5 standard build @ 18 watts on a tug you should be chuckin nicely but for one, 7 wraps of 28 awg around .117 / 4.5 mm tool would produce a 2 ohm build and your using a VV lipo battery that is who knows how old.
That atty was meant for sub ohming, not so good for flavor.
You want flavor get a Marquis RDA and pair it with a 20 amp High drain battery also might need an ohm meter

 

[BoomerFZ1]

Holmes RDA.

Man that Holmes RDA looks tight. Very much like the Magma I just started using which is great for us M2L hitters.

 

[jaxgator]

Man that Holmes RDA looks tight. Very much like the Magma I just started using which is great for us M2L hitters.

Less likely to leak than the Magma from my understanding. There's a thread on it here in this section somewhere to get more info if you want.

ETA: Here ya go Boomer: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/rebuildable-atomizer-systems/611010-holmes-rda-cigreen.html

 

[CrazyCory564]

Man that Holmes RDA looks tight. Very much like the Magma I just started using which is great for us M2L hitters.

In a nutshell; The holmes is the same thing as the Magma, but instead of the air posts being flush on the deck, (very prone to leaking considering how much the deck holds) they are raised so that the air is only coming from about 2-3mm away from the coil, and liquid can't fall in to it. I also like the airflow options better,but that's just my opinion.

Be warned, They came out with a v2, but I heard it only has 2 external airholes instead of 4, and one of the reasons I loved the v1 was because of it's airflow,

Maybe that has been dealt with by now, maybe not; I don't see it being too hard to drill out if it hasn't been though. v2 also has a delrin insulator around the drip tip.

I had to order my v1 from the UK since they were sold out in the states and not in production, but I don't know if that's possible anymore. I say get the v2, and if the airflow isn't enough for you, drill another hole or two into the afc ring and bottom section.

Hope this helps you; As of now this is the only real dripper I use because I am a flavor junky. For the price, you can't beat it, and I think it stacks up to almost every 100+ dripper out there.

I made a HORRIBLE youtube video the other day called "Holmes RDA by Cigreen: Best Flavor RDA on the Market to Date" explaining my thoughts if you want to check it out, but it really is the worst video in existence. Using a ....ty laptop webcam and being sick didn't help whatsoever, but somehow it has 11 views, and they aren't from me

And you can definitely do M2L's on the smaller airhole settings; I really can't praise this thing enough. C'mon Cigreen, start sending the checks my way

Seriously though, there is almost absolutely no other authentic RDA that performs as this does, despite most costing at least 3x as much

 

[sparkky1]

Seriously ?