Long time Vivi Nova mini user, needs replacement

[mjt]

I've been using the VN mini for a long time now after I had to switch away from Boge cartos when they became trash. When the VN works, it's great, but it's prone to flooding and the heads are so hit and miss. Some don't wick or are tight draws, others seem hot from the start and never mellow, even at the lowest voltage settings. Since, switching to VN, my juice consumption went way up, between the leaks and filling the tank, I'm spending way too much on juice and heads.

I'm not interested in my building my own heads.

I'm ready to try something newer and more efficient, that provides a similar experience to what a Nova does when it works properly. Frankly, I've only waited this long because the choices just seem to be staggering. When I switched to the Nova, tons of people were doing it, so I went with the herd. I don't really see a clear herd at this point.

The Aspire Nautilus looks interesting and there several others option out now like this, including the new air-flow controls. Can someone help me wade through all this for some options?

 

[Garemlin]

Some of my most reliable and used:

Aspire Nautilus
Aspire ET-S
Kanger ProTank II
Kanger T2

I have considered trying the Mini PTII but it has to small of a capacity for me.

 

[mjt]

Some of my most reliable and used:

Aspire Nautilus
Aspire ET-S
Kanger ProTank II
Kanger T2

I have considered trying the Mini PTII but it has to small of a capacity for me.

Thanks, which one do you like? I'm considering the Nautilus. What's the head life like?

 

[Garemlin]

Thanks, which one do you like? I'm considering the Nautilus. What's the head life like?

I like them all for various reasons. The Aspire ET-S is my out and about because of the size and protection of the glass. The T2 is also for out and about. It is a top coil though which gives you a warmer vape. Which I personally like Still the cheapest and has the best flavor and vapor. They are an oldie but have stood the test of time. The Nautilus for it's sheer size and capacity. Though it hasn't impressed me as much as I thought it would. The PTII surprised me. Great flavor and vapor and the heads are easy to rebuild with new coils and wicks which I am going to start doing.

Head like on the Aspire ET-S and Nautilus varies depending on your juice. Thicker an sweet juices maybe two weeks. Milder juices I have had them go for a month. A soak and cleaning will get a little more life out of them. The smaller BDC heads for the ET-S and other Aspire BDC clearos seem to last longer than the Nautilus heads though.

The T2 heads seem to go on forever. I have ran them for up to two months with no loss in flavor and vapor. Then a good cleaning will get a little more life out of them. And they are only $1.50 a piece so no need to rebuild.

The PTI heads not sure. Only been running them for a few weeks.

 

[mostlyclassics]

I continue to use Vivi Novas, both the 2 ml and the 3.5 ml sizes. But I'm very careful to buy only genuine Vision Vivi Novas.

mjt, I've never had any of the problems you describe, except when I bought a couple of clones (that's the polite word) by accident. By the way, the parts are not interchangeable between genuine Vision Vivi Novas and the clones.

Even though the first letters are capitalized, "Vivi Nova" is only a type of device, like "automobile." A "Vision Vivi Nova" is the genuine article, like "Cadillac automobile."

 

[mjt]

I continue to use Vivi Novas, both the 2 ml and the 3.5 ml sizes. But I'm very careful to buy only genuine Vision Vivi Novas.

mjt, I've never had any of the problems you describe, except when I bought a couple of clones (that's the polite word) by accident. By the way, the parts are not interchangeable between genuine Vision Vivi Novas and the clones.

Even though the first letters are capitalized, "Vivi Nova" is only a type of device, like "automobile." A "Vision Vivi Nova" is the genuine article, like "Cadillac automobile."

Well, I've been buying only what listed as genuine Vivi Nova heads. That said, I'm still using the ancient VN 2.0 top coils. It's time for a change. I ordered a Nautilus, I'm going to look at the Aspire ET-S too.

People are reporting weeks on these Nautilus heads. I'm lucky to get 3 days out of my Nova heads, if I get a good one. The only thing about the Nautilus I don't like is the tank size and unprotected glass. I've always like the mini Nova size best.

 

[mostlyclassics]

Strange. I get weeks out of genuine Vision Vivi Nova heads. I'm using mainly a DIY menthol and Mt. Baker Vapor's Lightning, both quite light. When Vision Vivi Novas get funky-tasting, I disassemble and soak/clean everything in hot water. Then I air-dry, reassemble and dry-burn. I lose maybe 10% of the coils to this treatment. (Popped heads go into the "to be rebuilt" box.) I've cleaned some heads as many as five times.

mjt, are you sure you're using genuine Vision Vivi Novas? Here's what the box looks like:

Note especially the brand name "Vision" on the sides. Vivi Novas in any other kind of box aren't genuine.

Also, genuine Vision Vivi Novas show the graduations on the tank with two digits to the right of the decimal point: "0.70 ml," "1.40 ml," "2.10 ml," etc. (3.5 ml size), or "0.50 ml," "1.00 ml," "1.50 ml," etc. (2.0 ml size). The clones never do.

 

[mjt]

Strange. I get weeks out of genuine Vision Vivi Nova heads. I'm using mainly a DIY menthol and Mt. Baker Vapor's Lightning, both quite light. When Vision Vivi Novas get funky-tasting, I disassemble and soak/clean everything in hot water. Then I air-dry, reassemble and dry-burn. I lose maybe 10% of the coils to this treatment. (Popped heads go into the "to be rebuilt" box.) I've cleaned some heads as many as five times.

mjt, are you sure you're using genuine Vision Vivi Novas? Here's what the box looks like:

Note especially the brand name "Vision" on the sides. Vivi Novas in any other kind of box aren't genuine.

Also, genuine Vision Vivi Novas show the gradations on the tank with two digits to the right of the decimal point: "0.70 ml," "1.40 ml," "2.10 ml," etc. (3.5 ml size), or "0.50 ml," "1.00 ml," "1.50 ml," etc. (2.0 ml size). The clones never do.

Hmm, maybe not. I've always just received the blister pack, no box. My Nova tanks were all genuine in the proper box, but it's possible these heads haven't been.

 

[mostlyclassics]

That could be, though usually clone heads have slightly different threadings and thus don't fit.

A mystery. . .

Do the replacement heads in blister packs look like this?

These came from Health Cabin in China. They're an official Vision retailer.

 

[mjt]

That could be, though usually clone heads have slightly different threadings and thus don't fit.

A mystery. . .

Do the replacement heads in blister packs look like this?

These came from Health Cabin in China. They're an official Vision retailer.

Yep, that's what I've been ordering.

 

[Stringplucker]

The Nautilus' manual states 10-20 days on a coil...YMMV, however. There's issues with some of the earlier builds...the 1.6 ohm that comes pre-intalled is prone to leaking, but the 1.8 is good. As for the unprotected glass...that can be remedied by an aftermarket SS bowl to replace the Pyrex. Ebay has the bowls for roughly $16usd.

I just got the PT3 mini today, so I cant speak for it's performance yet...but I am quite surprised at the amount of clouds I can pull from it. I plan on changing the DT, due to the slight metallic taste I get. I'm thinking Pyrex would be nice.