*knock knock* ... can I come in now?

[Triphamr]

I'm on day three, waiting... patiently, stalking ever so nonchalantly, staring at the word "... Processing." I took the plunge three evenings ago and ordered a black 2.5 with green led, extension cap, 2 batteries, and a charger. Oh and one of those nifty battery carrying cases so my spare doesn't roll off the table like the meatballs always do.

Needless to say I'm excited. I've been analog free since Jan 1 2013. Started off with Blu's, then to ego-T with generic vision clearos, tried cartos w/the little 1.2ml mini-tank thingies, moved on to a Protank, then Protank 2, then added an MVP when I dropped my ego-T into the river while reeling in a fish. Sat down vaping one day and said to myself.... "Self, you deserve a Provari!" and let's top it off with a Russian! I'm sure the credit card guys in their little cubicles began rubbing there hands and grinning evily since my card usually sits at 0.

I received the Russian today with some new flavors. Tucked the tasty treats in a dark cabinet, opened the box to the Russian. Smiled. Closed the box and sat it on the table to wait for its new partner. I'm scouring websites now trying to find the best source for bulk Kanthal and some new wick material for the Protank heads I'll be experimenting on in preparation for my first coil in the Russian. I'm new to this whole RBA thing. Nervous but sooo excited.

Will go to the store tomorrow and buy some Isopro, hell maybe some Kahlua and Vodka instead and look for a good bag of cotton. I'm giddy!

~Trip

 

[PLANofMAN]

Kanthal Wire 30 Gauge RW0107 - 100 FT 0.39oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG
You can quit looking for Kanthal. The link above is the cheapest place to get it. They also carry other gauges of Kanthal.

Walgreens for organic cotton balls, or WalMart for organic cotton yarn. Look for the Peaches & Cream brand, and buy the white one (it's more of an off white/eggshell color).

Welcome home.

 

[Triphamr]

WOW PoM - That price on Kanthal is awesome! Thanks a million for the link and tips on the cotton as well! I had seen the Peaches and Cream recommended on the forums before, was going to grab some of that and/or a bag of cotton from Rite-Aid.


Maybe you have some advice for number of coils to try first on a single coil setup? I vape 50/50 usually on 3.6 to 4.0 (mostly bakery or cofee flavors) on my MVP. Do you recommend a good starting point for the Provari/Russian that I might try first? I was thinking 5 wraps of 28g trying for 1.2 ohms or so?

 

[Sed Contra]

I find that 28 gauge generally lacks responsiveness on the Provari. 30 gauge works much better for me. I typically do 6-8 wraps on something like a 5/64 drill bit for 1.3-1.6 Ohms. Also, I find that the Kayfun/Russian takes kindly to rather low wattage: 3.6 volts on a 1.4 Ohm coil is plenty, whereas I'd crank it to 4.5 volts with a dripper or even a Taifun.

Hope that my experience benefits you...

 

[Triphamr]

Thank you! Yes any advice is much appreciated. I'm sure experimentation will result later on, I'll give 30g a shot and try wrapping 6-8 wraps, should I assume you use cotton?

I find that 28 gauge generally lacks responsiveness on the Provari. 30 gauge works much better for me. I typically do 6-8 wraps on something like a 5/64 drill bit for 1.3-1.6 Ohms. Also, I find that the Kayfun/Russian takes kindly to rather low wattage: 3.6 volts on a 1.4 Ohm coil is plenty, whereas I'd crank it to 4.5 volts with a dripper or even a Taifun.

Hope that my experience benefits you...

 

[Sed Contra]

Oh, and I buy sterilized cotton in the first aid section at CVS. It comes both as one huge roll of cotton and as cotton balls. I don't bother boiling it, and it tastes clean to me.

Peaches & Cream from Walmart gets some use, too, though I prefer a cotton & hemp blended yarn from ModNWorld (I think...). I always boil yarns; even after multiple boilings, they still may have a slight taste for a short while before going away. I find yarns don't wick as fast as cotton balls, but they maintain their shape and seem to last noticeably longer.

I also like XC-116 and XC-132 from rbasupplies.com. It's like Ekowool (braided, hollow silica), kinda, but it's made of ceramic and can be reused for a very long time just by torching it clean every so often or dry burning the crap out of it. It's expensive, especially compared to cotton, but I've found some great uses for it.

Silica...nope...I just don't use it. I'll do builds for other people with it, but I have chosen not to use it, myself.

 

[Mark Anthony]

Kanthal Wire 30 Gauge RW0107 - 100 FT 0.39oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG
You can quit looking for Kanthal. The link above is the cheapest place to get it. They also carry other gauges of Kanthal.

Walgreens for organic cotton balls, or WalMart for organic cotton yarn. Look for the Peaches & Cream brand, and buy the white one (it's more of an off white/eggshell color).

Welcome home.

Yep..... That's everything you'll need right there!!! ^^^^^^^

 

[kbf101998]

Congrats!! Sounds like it will be a beautiful set up! Enjoy!!

 

[Train2]

Welcome aboard!!!
Enjoy the new toys...

 

[donnah]

You might want to get that Russian out and start cleaning it so it will be ready. Sometimes they come with quite a bit of machine oil on them. I had one that took a couple days of soaking in hot dawn and scrubbing to get it clean and oil free.

Congrats!!!

 

[AngiBe]

Congrats on your new ProVari and welcome to the other side!

 

[Kellysleep]

Congrats welcome you have made a wise choice there you will not be disappointed.

 

[Triphamr]

Did my shopping today!! Got everything I need now and when I got home had a little email surprise... "Your order has shipped"! I live in the same state as Provape so they just have to throw it across the state and it'll be here tomorrow!

 

[Triphamr]

Update:

Wow... and woW! I've been missing so much flavor!!!1

It took me 3 tries to make a coil I liked. But when I did, I added a cotton wick and juiced it up with some SB 12mg 'Madrina' and crossed my fingers while filling the rest of the Russian. Popped it onto the Provari, checked the volts, 3.6 and primed it.


Oh good gawd.
Where have I been! Cuz I aint goin' back!!



~Trip

 

[p.opus]

Update:

Wow... and woW! I've been missing so much flavor!!!1

It took me 3 tries to make a coil I liked. But when I did, I added a cotton wick and juiced it up with some SB 12mg 'Madrina' and crossed my fingers while filling the rest of the Russian. Popped it onto the Provari, checked the volts, 3.6 and primed it.


Oh good gawd.
Where have I been! Cuz I aint goin' back!!



~Trip

And another person hears the siren song of the Kayfun and can't go back.....

 

[slappy3139]

Oh, and I buy sterilized cotton in the first aid section at CVS. It comes both as one huge roll of cotton and as cotton balls. I don't bother boiling it, and it tastes clean to me.

Peaches & Cream from Walmart gets some use, too, though I prefer a cotton & hemp blended yarn from ModNWorld (I think...). I always boil yarns; even after multiple boilings, they still may have a slight taste for a short while before going away. I find yarns don't wick as fast as cotton balls, but they maintain their shape and seem to last noticeably longer.

I also like XC-116 and XC-132 from rbasupplies.com. It's like Ekowool (braided, hollow silica), kinda, but it's made of ceramic and can be reused for a very long time just by torching it clean every so often or dry burning the crap out of it. It's expensive, especially compared to cotton, but I've found some great uses for it.

Silica...nope...I just don't use it. I'll do builds for other people with it, but I have chosen not to use it, myself.

Really interested in the readyxwick. Can that be used in a kayfun?

 

[Triphamr]

Sorry, I don't know anything about the readyxwick. I used sterilized cotton from Rite Aid and with the flavor/vapor I'm getting I don't need to look any further. I've found the holy grail and I'm VERY happy with it.