Lemo Drop: My Bipolar RTA

[c3scott]

Whenever I have problems I just think to myself, "Be smarter than the tank", and it works every time. Good luck on your quest.

Mine is junk sorry. Perhaps a first run I don't care anymore. I choose not to have a tank that I have to constantly adjust the 510 and it still tastes like crap. Don't think I care if I'm smarter than a defective device. I'd rather smoke than mess with that thing. eleaf has a history of poor customer service and shoddy products imo

 

[c3scott]

Check evcigarettes.com. if they don't have one, make one. I've done that a few times.

As for the 510, keep it screwed in. Mine doesn't jump around, but I do use it on a mod that has a stable 510. I think a year ago I did use it on my old ipv1 without any issues though.

I have read about making them..kindly send me in the right direction.

 

[roxynoodle]

I have read about making them..kindly send me in the right direction.

FDV sells delrin blanks. Peek you generally have to buy a chunk of.

You can use various Dremel bits to cut and shape it. Use your old insulator as a model. Sanding gently will remove any rough edges. Delrin is soft enough you may even be able to cut it decently with an exacto knife. Its not hard, really. I've made a few for attys. I'm too cheap to ditch an atty when it can be repaired.

And if you don't want your Lemo, I'll adopt it . Been thinking of picking up a second anyway before they're gone. I tootle puff mine, but I think it has great flavor and is low maintence.

 

[Trayce]

Well I think I fried the insulator when the ohms jumped to lord knows what because of my 510 pin. Go take a hit off that when you don't know where it's gonna be because of that pin. I have searched for replacement peek insulators for the lemo. I has the same bad taste no matter what I do therefore I think the insulator is fried.

According to the Rip review for the Drop there were initial models that had the non-Peek insulators and those indeed will ruin your whole vape. Later models all used Peek. Sorry you seem to have gotten an earlier model.

 

[DaveP]

My iStick 20W is a solid rock. The two 50W's I owned failed in the first month with blank displays. I don't own a 30W, but will probably try one soon. My current mod is a Cool Fire 4. I'm stuck on it even though it only lasts a day on a charge. I was spoiled by the two day charge life on the iStick 50W.

To the OP with resistance issues, you didn't mention that you dry burned the new coil to anneal the wire. Resistance is all over the place when you install a new coil. You have to bring it to an orange glow (without wick) two or three times to anneal the wire. Doing that creates a coating from oxidation that insulates the coils from each other. Once you dry burn a new coil the resistance will stabilize and stay at that value.

I'm assuming that you are using Kanthal wire. I use 28ga on my Kayfuns ... 8 wraps on a 3mm rod for 1.8 ohms, more wraps if I want it lower.

 

[roxynoodle]

Sorry to hear about your 50Ws. They do have freakishly long battery life. I ran one over with my tractor and it still works.

 

[DaveP]

Mine is junk sorry. Perhaps a first run I don't care anymore. I choose not to have a tank that I have to constantly adjust the 510 and it still tastes like crap. Don't think I care if I'm smarter than a defective device. I'd rather smoke than mess with that thing. Eleaf has a history of poor customer service and shoddy products imo

Some RTA's have picky center contacts. For those, a mod with a spring loaded center connector will usually fix that. Another option is to remove the center contact screw on the tank and put a silicone o-ring over it to make it project a little farther and make contact. If your tank barrel bottoms out on the mod case intermittent problems may result. I like to see a little light between the two when it seats firmly.

 

[Trayce]

To the OP with resistance issues, you didn't mention that you dry burned the new coil to anneal the wire. Resistance is all over the place when you install a new coil. You have to bring it to an orange glow (without wick) two or three times to anneal the wire. [...] I'm assuming that you are using Kanthal wire.

Thanks, but I'm using temperature control and Ti wire in the Drop. Ti should not be dry burned to the point of oxidation (which can be hazardous to your health as you probably already know) but can be pulsed to a pretty blue hue, and I have done that with some of my builds but it didn't make a diff.

Some RTA's have picky center contacts. For those, a mod with a spring loaded center connector will usually fix that.

This wasn't to me, but the mod I am using is spring loaded (IPV4S). So while it might usually fix it (and I agree it should most of the time) some mods might have deeper wells (?) and the contact is iffy, even with the spring loaded pin.

Another option is to remove the center contact screw on the tank and put a silicone o-ring over it to make it project a little farther and make contact. If your tank barrel bottoms out on the mod case intermittent problems may result. I like to see a little light between the two when it seats firmly.

That's how the Drop sits now on my mod, after putting a silicone ring around the pin. If nothing else I know it's making good contact now and so can eliminate it as a possible contributor. As before I did this, the Drop was bottoming out as you say, so hard to know how solid the pin contact really is in that case.

 

[c3scott]

FDV sells delrin blanks. Peek you generally have to buy a chunk of.

You can use various Dremel bits to cut and shape it. Use your old insulator as a model. Sanding gently will remove any rough edges. Delrin is soft enough you may even be able to cut it decently with an exacto knife. Its not hard, really. I've made a few for attys. I'm too cheap to ditch an atty when it can be repaired.

And if you don't want your Lemo, I'll adopt it . Been thinking of picking up a second anyway before they're gone. I tootle puff mine, but I think it has great flavor and is low maintence.

PM me I will vape it forward

 

[c3scott]

May actually have the original packaging, no guarantee on that though✌

 

[Zombo]

The Drop is still my favorite tank (although I only own 2 others...Fogger V5 and STM).

It works flawlessly on my P3 ( 1.1 Ohms, 16-20W) and on my IPV 4S ( Ti mode, 0.33 Ohms, 398F, 40-50J).

The only (minor) issue I have with the connection is when my P3 falls hard on the floor, then I get a "Ohms too high" misreading. It's a simple solution, I just loosen the Drop off of the P3 and then re-tighten it. I haven't dropped my 4S yet. /fingers crossed

 

[Two_Bears]

Got an authentic Lemo Drop a couple months back from a reputable US distributor. (Far as I know there aren't any clones anyway.) This has been my experience:

LOVE THIS THING!
(later that night)
HATE THIS THING! WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH IT?!
(post-futz, sometimes with a new build or wick)
OMG, LOVE THIS THING, HAFTA BUY ANOTHER!
(soon therafter with resistances jumping like quantum particles)
AM THROWING THIS *&^%$# OUT!
(post-futz redux)
LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!
... and so it goes....

I know other ppl are having the same problem. And the crazy thing is, it's not a rocket. There can only be very few causes. Yet....

1. screws are tight
2. have used screws and post holes for anchoring
3. builds are irrelevant as each one vapes great until it doesn't anymore
4. silicone o-ring placed under 510 pin even though it was slightly protruding
5. positive screw securely tightened into deck
6. wick not too short/thick/thin, or blocking juice channels

Here's the thing. After installing a coil I check the resistance on an OHM reader. Now if I put cotton in it, it reads higher by maybe .20. I tighten screws... can't feel there was any give to them. I place it on the IPV4S and set resistance. It reads high even if I didn't get the wick wet or put on the chimney. And b/c it reads high, the vape is off b/c the mod applies too much power and I get burned hits after a few pulls.

So now I HOPE I learned the trick... which is to build it, NOT put any cotton in it... put it on the IPV4S and set the resistance... THEN wick it... [and don't set it again after b/c it WILL be higher]. With the resistance set lower where it should be, the power TC supplies is correct. So far it's hitting great, but way too soon to say if this was the final key as I've thought I had it licked before.

When this thing is hitting good it's even better than a dripper. But when it starts getting dry hits or burned hits even though I've done everything for it but spin a prayer spool at Mt Everest... it's one big honkin' drag. My Kanger Subtank Mini (which I also love) is not nearly as finicky!

Anyone else set resistance prior to wicking for the Lemo Drop?? Or is that the way it's always supposed to be done regardless of the device?

If I told you how much I hate the Lemo 2 that I threw in the garbage, and playing with the Lemo Drop at a vape shop yesterday: your computer would explode. So to get a thumbnail sketch how I feel about those tanks see my thread I started 20-30 minutes ago.