Gifted a TFV4 mini-have RCA questions

[chellie]

I was just gifted moments ago a TFV4 mini tank and 4 separate RCA coils. I think my friend purchased it on clearance because when I looked it up - I see huge price drops. He said that he knows I just started building coils and he got me a bunch of extra rba pieces for it.

Looks like a nice tank. I use a Kanger toptank mini with the RBA - build it at around .6 and vape at 20 watts or so. I am not super adventurous with my vaping and like my current set-up. I'm a former smoker and not so much of a hobbyist yet. I vape a lot and have been vaping close to 7 years.

The tank looks nice but if I were to use it - I would use it just with the RBA piece and build my own coils. Heres my questions,

Should I use it? Why or why not?

The rba piece is actually called an RCA and is billed as a rebuildable clapton coil - can I use it with just regular wire close to my current build? One came with the tank and he gave me 4 others so I have 5 of the RCA's. My mod has temp control but so far I only use wattage.

Is it safe to use on my KBox for the top tank?

Thanks

 

[Myk]

I use Kanger SubTanks, TopTanks, TFV4 and TFV4 minis almost exclusively. All rebuild decks exclusively.
Yes you can use regular coils with it and even temperature control, it's just big enough around the screws to fit the thicker claptons if you wish.

Here is something I do with the RCA's. Vertical coils. About 5.25" of 26ga 316L (or whatever you use, the 5.25"-ish is the important part. About a 4mm rod to wrap around. Half a ball of cotton unrolled and tore apart lengthwise.

I think these pictures are the first time I did it and before I decided to make them taller with 5.25" and half a ball. You don't want them to go all the way to the tube or it spits but close is good.

This is definitely shorter than what I do now.
Screw the coil in normally then twist the rod so it's vertical and push the rod down into the hole.
I go positive side down because that's getting the air to cool it. Use a heavy needle to bend the connections as shown and space the coils as shown.

Start the cotton packing tight against the coil and between the screw walls.
0000000000000000000000000000000000

Start wrapping around the rod so you can slide the cover over, thread the rest of the wick through and screw it down.

Now you've got a long tail of cotton coming out. You can unwrap it from the rod some to feed it in as you pack it down with a needle. You want to see some cotton coming out of the feed holes but not too much, you can push too much back in later.

After you get it looking like above and have the wick loosely filling everywhere (it takes visualization and feel while you're packing the cotton in), go round and around packing it down around the outside (not against the coil, you don't want to move it, if the wick is too high near the coil use the needle to pull that too the outside to back it down, that move also helps to keep cotton from getting pulled into the airflow when puffing hard).
Then you have it looking like this (except higher).

I like to prime with the rod still in there, keep squirting it in until it comes out of the feed holes.

 

[chellie]

I use Kanger SubTanks, TopTanks, TFV4 and TFV4 minis almost exclusively. All rebuild decks exclusively.
Yes you can use regular coils with it and even temperature control, it's just big enough around the screws to fit the thicker claptons if you wish.

Here is something I do with the RCA's. Vertical coils. About 5.25" of 26ga 316L (or whatever you use, the 5.25"-ish is the important part. About a 4mm rod to wrap around. Half a ball of cotton unrolled and tore apart lengthwise.

I think these pictures are the first time I did it and before I decided to make them taller with 5.25" and half a ball. You don't want them to go all the way to the tube or it spits but close is good.

This is definitely shorter than what I do now.
Screw the coil in normally then twist the rod so it's vertical and push the rod down into the hole.
I go positive side down because that's getting the air to cool it. Use a heavy needle to bend the connections as shown and space the coils as shown.
View attachment 742261

Start the cotton packing tight against the coil and between the screw walls.
0000000000000000000000000000000000 View attachment 742263
Start wrapping around the rod so you can slide the cover over, thread the rest of the wick through and screw it down.
View attachment 742265

Now you've got a long tail of cotton coming out. You can unwrap it from the rod some to feed it in as you pack it down with a needle. You want to see some cotton coming out of the feed holes but not too much, you can push too much back in later.
View attachment 742267

After you get it looking like above and have the wick loosely filling everywhere (it takes visualization and feel while you're packing the cotton in), go round and around packing it down around the outside (not against the coil, you don't want to move it, if the wick is too high near the coil use the needle to pull that too the outside to back it down, that move also helps to keep cotton from getting pulled into the airflow when puffing hard).
Then you have it looking like this (except higher).
View attachment 742269

I like to prime with the rod still in there, keep squirting it in until it comes out of the feed holes.

I really love this post with pics and all - many thanks.
What I use regularly is the top tank mini with the top box it came with and I use my other top tank mini with the box of the Mini C. Before that I used the subtank Nano and then the top tank nano.

I am just about 100% satisfied with my setup but I do like the idea of having another rebuildable tank and it looks like an easy build. Your build is a little more advanced --but I can do it --and I will certainly try it.

I just ordered some fresh batteries.

My next move is to get another box --maybe the Kanger 200watt? - just to have an extra box and I'd kind of like to see if the 2 battery set up would last me longer.

Thanks for the answer and the help.

 

[Myk]

I really love this post with pics and all - many thanks.
What I use regularly is the top tank mini with the top box it came with and I use my other top tank mini with the box of the Mini C. Before that I used the subtank Nano and then the top tank nano.

I am just about 100% satisfied with my setup but I do like the idea of having another rebuildable tank and it looks like an easy build. Your build is a little more advanced --but I can do it --and I will certainly try it.

I just ordered some fresh batteries.

My next move is to get another box --maybe the Kanger 200watt? - just to have an extra box and I'd kind of like to see if the 2 battery set up would last me longer.

Thanks for the answer and the help.

I'm a fan of dual batteries.

I recognized the above coil, that's the same as I do on the SubTank/TopTanks for Ω consistency before I had temperature control, it was 3.25" of wire. TFV4 with the RCA deck is very comparable to the Kangers in every way. If you build one you should be able to do exactly the same to the other as far as the coil goes. The RCA is more prone to leaking so takes some trial and error getting the right amount of wick compared to the Kanger deck for horizontal (I'm not sure about horizontal coils in the revision of the kangers with the holes, I was vertical by then). That leaking is what got me going vertical.

Smok's other rebuild decks, single and dual are very different.

This is the RCA with a SS staggered fuse clapton I'm trying to get working for TC, the height of the pack is more like what I get now with the longer wire (about one wrap too high in this picture).

 

[chellie]

I'm a fan of dual batteries.

I recognized the above coil, that's the same as I do on the SubTank/TopTanks for Ω consistency before I had temperature control, it was 3.25" of wire. TFV4 with the RCA deck is very comparable to the Kangers in every way. If you build one you should be able to do exactly the same to the other as far as the coil goes. The RCA is more prone to leaking so takes some trial and error getting the right amount of wick compared to the Kanger deck for horizontal (I'm not sure about horizontal coils in the revision of the kangers with the holes, I was vertical by then). That leaking is what got me going vertical.

Smok's other rebuild decks, single and dual are very different.

This is the RCA with a SS staggered fuse clapton I'm trying to get working for TC, the height of the pack is more like what I get now with the longer wire (about one wrap too high in this picture).
View attachment 742439

Thanks. I am keeping the photos for reference. I did see the others rba coils they make- the first one I think is single coil --some say it works with the mini and other say no and the 2nd rba they make I think is the dual. The RCA looks similar to what I have built on and since I have 5 of them..lol, I am going to stick with it. I know that based on the screws that it can hold a dual build but to me that would be hard to fit and I plan on just using a single coil. And eventually trying a clapton one.

Right now I only use wattage. I want to get a dual battery box and then I will start to experiment with ss 316 and temperature control.

Thanks again for all the info. Once I get the new batteries, I am going to spend some time building on the new tank and may be back if I get stuck. Thanks again.

 

[Myk]

I think on the RCA the 2nd screw is if you have a really heavy wire you can trap it between screws.