Idiots guide to rba's

[Mr e]

What up vapers, I am in the process of getting into rebuild able atomizers. Have an atom bomb, and a cobra on the way. Just wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom for the newb on the block.

peace
ian

 

[everthefool]

I'm looking into them can anyone shed any light on what the expensive ones have that the cheaper ones don't? And where can I get one. Seems like everyone flames the china made ones and the expensive one are always sold out

 

[justinred]

Oxidize. Oxidize. Oxidize.

 

[nj1001]

petar K method

 

[dredd0606]

There are so many variables with genesis style atomizers, from number of tank holes (effects wick options) to airhole size (tight vs airy draw) to airhole placement (vapor production vs throat hit). Some have caps that are screwed on, some are secured with o-rings so the airhole can be moved vs the wick to change your vapor production/throat hit. Upper chamber size affects taste, smaller upper chambers seem to concentrate the flavor IMHO. Then there is the kind of screws used, how the kanthal is secured to the +post, wick placement (centered vs offset). And lets not forget tank material! Plastic, plexiglass, or acrylic tanks have been known to have bad reactions with certain juice (Pluid most notably), but there is also Pyrex, fused quartz, and stainless steel.

By far the most important factor is YOU and your skills in rolling a wick, oxidizing the wick, wrapping your coils, and working out hotspots. If you can't roll a wick, don't oxidise your wick properly, and wrap a nasty coil, the most expensive atty/hybrid on the market won't help you. Get a cheaper chinese clone to learn with, and quite a bit of kanthal and mesh (I'd recommend 400 mesh to start with and 32AWG kanthal), and ALWAYS test your wick/coil once its wrapped with either a APV that shows atty resistance, or a multimeter. Failing to do this can result in a destroyed APV.

Take your time, watch a few youtube videos, and PRACTISE! You will probably get frustrated and have to walk away for a bit (God knows I did), but with time, patience, and practise, you will get better.

Here are some tutorials I found on youtube:

Tutorial: Setting up a genesis atomizer from scratch with hotspot fixing - YouTube (I personally really like jcwest's method of oxidizing your wick)
The DrillBit Method - YouTube (Petar K Method)
How To Make A Genesis Wick & Coil Part 1 of 7 - YouTube (7 part series on making a wick/coil)

I'm sure there are more, but hopefully this helped.

 

[Mr e]

Awesome tips. I love that Peter k method. Looks like it makes life a lot easier!

 

[dredd0606]

I'm not such a fan of that one because it assumes your wick diameter is exactly 2mm. I prefer hand wraping the kanthal around the wick, but I do stick a needle or straightened paper clip in the center of the wick for stability.

 

[Thrasher]

I'm looking into them can anyone shed any light on what the expensive ones have that the cheaper ones don't? And where can I get one. Seems like everyone flames the china made ones and the expensive one are always sold out

Fit, finish, looks, style, longevity, and durability, the difference is the cheap ones are usually plated or part steel part something else, the machining is better on the xpensive ones because they are usually hand machined whereas the cheap ones are whipped out on an assembly line somewhere, there are some people complaining about how fast the aga screw threads are stripping, a problem you never hear of with say a did or cobra.
a picture on a website is deceiving when you hold one in your hand and play with it you start to realize the differences.

do the cheap ones not work? no they work fine, but if your going to stay with that style would you rather have stamped brass plated with chrome or hand tooled titanium?

The cobra is still in stock at alba vapors and MMvapers has a few of the diff style DID's for sale yet. as well as both types of bliSS.
But like the Zatty its a 1 man operation and sandy destroyed his shop, recently i found out a a bit back, a tsunami destroyed saim mods the maker of the cobra, as well (explains the shortage of stock in USA).

most of the well made ones are very small shops and they can only pump out so many, and since so many people are already waiting they cant keep up.

A good thing to do is search the web for genesis atties and mark the companies for later and keep checking. as well as GET VERIFIED and search the classifieds here, there is always someone selling something.

while i wont knock the cheap ones as it's a perfect device for finding out if you want to own one, I dont have any, and stuff like the AGA is being refined and worthy of a look if your not sure., soon the AGA-w then the AGA-T rev2 is coming out
Search for the AGA or MOV did clone two very decent cheapies

And in the end, you buy a MMV DID and dont like it?, listing in the classies here guarantees you wont have it for long or be out very much money for trying it..

 

[dredd0606]

IMHO, is grab an aga-t for your first genesis. They're well made, glass tanks are readily available, and they're fairly easy to work with (and I think they're real stainless steel, not pressed brass that has been chromed). They're also readily available in the classies, and fairly cheap from vendors. There are co-ops for them from time to time, and I've heard the AGA-T2 is coming soon with some nice enhancements.

I'm not a huge fan of the chobras (I think they're call a mongoose now) or the dud/chid. Poor copy of the original.

Of course, with all things vape, YMMV.

 

[Thrasher]

IMHO, is grab an aga-t for your first genesis. They're well made, glass tanks are readily available, and they're fairly easy to work with (and I think they're real stainless steel, not pressed brass that has been chromed). They're also readily available in the classies, and fairly cheap from vendors. There are co-ops for them from time to time, and I've heard the AGA-T2 is coming soon with some nice enhancements.

I'm not a huge fan of the chobras (I think they're call a mongoose now) or the dud/chid. Poor copy of the original.

Of course, with all things vape, YMMV.

yea the chobra and duds suk - the only knock off getting a good rep is the one MOV sells.

the AGA is SS plates and cap, but if i remember the shaft is chromed something (but like all things, someone made a SS replacement)



the only problem i see with the AGA is the airhole being off a little when screwed tight. the W will/should be double O-rings on the cap instead (supposedly)
And no information as of yet what they changed on the V2 AGA-T (im betting its all SS and maybe moved the airhole)

 

[Mr e]

Anyone ever use one of these while oxidizing? I have one I use when soldering small analog circuits. It's a life saver. Seems like it might work well for oxidizing wicks as well.

Maybee a bit overkill, but why not...


Also, it seems easy to spot a hot spot before putting juice in, but I couldn't tell from the videos how the hot spot could be noticed while the atty was filled with juice.

 

[Thrasher]

a lot of people go into overkill with the wick thing, i did too when I started, then I watched a guy on you tube roll the wick up and oxidize it with a lighter and some juice. 2 minutes tops i think, he doesnt even oxidize the whole thing just 2/3rds of the length, what he said makes sense anyways--- what does scorching the material not exposed on the surface of a rolled wick do anyways? nothing, it doesnt touch anything and its inside so how can it make the surface cunductive.

tried it and it worked fine, to each his own but I think this is another case where ... more works but really is unnecessary as long as the results show you did it correctly.

 

[megablock]

Considering RBA, Very informative for me.

 

[scrappy]

I've got the A7 and the Phoenix from MOV. Though they did send me the wrong atty. I ordered the V3 but the taste on this regular Phoenix is so good I don't really care.

The regular cheapo Phoenix is by far a better atomizer than the A7. They both have the same wick set up, SS 325 with 32 AWG Kanthal, and the Phoenix tastes so much better. Personally I think there's two mods that are an absolute must with it though. First is drilling out the airhole a little. The draw is super tight, but be careful because you can make it REALLY airy (which I like). Second is moving the airhole between the two posts like shown in this thread. Once I did those two things it really came alive and blows all of my other atties out of the water. (vivi nova, 901's, 306's, 510's)

 

[dredd0606]

a lot of people go into overkill with the wick thing, i did too when I started, then I watched a guy on you tube roll the wick up and oxidize it with a lighter and some juice. 2 minutes tops i think, he doesnt even oxidize the whole thing just 2/3rds of the length, what he said makes sense anyways--- what does scorching the material not exposed on the surface of a rolled wick do anyways? nothing, it doesnt touch anything and its inside so how can it make the surface cunductive.

tried it and it worked fine, to each his own but I think this is another case where ... more works but really is unnecessary as long as the results show you did it correctly.

That's Jamie (jcwest). That's exactly how I do my wicks, except I use unflavored 100% VG, and I test every wick with a multimeter. I've never had one have any connectivity after doing it that way.

 

[tc1]

Youtube is definitely the go-to source for info regarding rebuildables. Tons of videos that will help you visually see how they are rebuilt. JC West has a nice video on youtube that I find straight to the point and noob friendly.

As far as which to buy ... it really comes down to what style you think looks better on your pvs. They all virtually work the same. Definitely grab a cheaper clone to try first.

 

[Mr e]

Thought I'd give this a quick bump. I just rolled my first really good wick. Tried the Peter k method last week. It was ok, but Didnt hit as well as the pre rolled wick that came with my atom bomb. For this time, I used 500 mesh, and 28 wire. Rolled it from scratch. I have to say, I enjoyed the whole process. Hooked it up in a zenesis mini I recently got off classifieds, and this thing is hitting like it has never hit before. Didn't use the Peter k method, and didn't stick a paper clip or anything in the wick. The 500 mesh was rigid eno[ugh so that I could wrap the wire nice n tight, and not bend or crimp the wick. Put some juice in and it's hitting like a champ! I'm glad I stuck with it. Thanks for all the suggestions!