New to RDAs and buying my first this week ( Drop ) And have a few questions

[mj79]

OK everyone.. I have been vaping for about a solid 16 months now, and just have a few questions, as Im about to try my first rda

I think I'm going to try the Drop, as everyone seems to really like it overall..

The only thing I have Is some cotton bacon cotton I picked up a while back. Other than that , I need suggestions for a good kit, and was looking at this one

Coil Master DIY Full Kit V3

I am no fanboy by any means, so if there are better or equal kits for less, I'm all ears

Next: coils...

With prebuilt coils being so readily available now day, I figured at first it would be best to just try them as I can get a very Complex built coil ( for a newb ) for a pretty descent price

I dont know the difference between all the different types of coils ( fused clapton, alien, framed staple etc ) so need help with that

I have watched alot of youtube before I posted here and see "Squidoode" has some amazing builds

SO I think thats a good enough start for now, so all advice is welcomed and much appreciated

Matt

 

[mj79]

Also , this is almost a foreign language to me WHen It comes to coils, coil sizes and then on top of that gives you multiple 'options' for coil sizes

Pro-Made Coils by Squidoode - Fused Clapton Coils - Squidoode

 

[Ralph_K]

I got the vandy vape specialty wire I think its a 10' spool for $6 but I got juggernaut A1 kanthal. I'd rather have a spool instead of pre-made b/c then you can experiment with size and amount of wraps. I have dual 4mm coils 6 wraps in my RDA

 

[Ralph_K]

The coilmaster kit is good but not sure about the meters and I think they all pretty much suck. If you have a regulated mod you don't really need the meter though

 

[mj79]

Ok .yea .I just need wanted something nice that's all.. I have 2 regulated mods as is ( Alien, smoant batlestar ) so it's not a big deal .just the essentials

Also any suggestions on coils? What is the benefit of a $15 premade fused Clapton vs just a basic 6 wrap piece of wire like that would come with a standard RTA

 

[Don29palms]

If you want a very basic build that will have great flavor and big clouds pick up some nichrome 80 rectangle wire from kbeevapor.com. 7 wraps on 3.5mm id will give you right around .23 ohms with dual coils. I run thos in my Drop and alot of my other RDAs. As far as prebuilt coils that is hard for me to say.

 

[jersey_emt]

Complex builds can offer better flavor or vapor production than a simple plain-wire build. Whether or not it is worth the extra cost to buy the premade coils / wire, or the time to learn and make them for yourself, is something only you can answer.

Personally, I don't see much point in going any more complex than a fused or twisted core Clapton build. The more complex builds definitely look pretty, but the difference in performance is too small (and sometimes nonexistent) to make it worth my time to build.

And I usually don't even go that far – a simple twisted build is what I use most of the time. It gives me around 90% of the flavor and vapor production of a fused / twisted-core Clapton build, and is very quick and easy to make. Just twist two (or more) strands of wire together using a cordless drill, then wrap your coil. Even if you don't have a cordless drill available, twisting two strands by hand is easy and fairly quick.

 

[stols001]

I use simple builds, just a single strand of SS wire that I either build myself, or use a prebuilt coil, depending on how my tremors are that day. I'd say start simple, learn to wrap your own coils so that you know you can, and if you want to get all exotic, then start looking at some prebuilt wires.

I do not find the flavors in my RTAs to be lacking at all, with that said, I vape MTL on single coil decks, and I'm happy where I landed. But it's still a great place to start. From low complexity to higher complexity as it were.

It is correct, most ohms meters that don't cost much aren't supremely accurate. I like mine merely as a stable base to build on, up to and including vaping my build to make sure everything is okay/not going to leak over my far more expensive mods.

Good luck,,

Anna

 

[mj79]

ni80, stainless, kanthal... Then you add in different sizes of wire and its just overwhelming.. I started vaping again last year , and have been doing good so far, but everything has been subohm.. I have an Arco 2. a few Cleito 120s, and a crown 3 .. I am happy with them but I really wanna try an RDA , but just need to learn alot about them and what to buy/build and why. specific wire, size, build types etc..

 

[mj79]

Another question.. WIth your basic simple as can be single strand coils ( like the one that came with my BB rta. The wraps are spaced, but when I watch some videos people are using ceramic pliers and clamping the coil to make it tighter.. I hope that makes sense .. another thing I dont get..

Is there a "all about RDA " video for dummies someone can link

 

[Don29palms]

Don't worry mj. It's really not all that complicated.
The 2 basic kinds of coils are contact coils and spaced coils. Contact coils are wrapped tight and the coils touch each other. Spaced coils are wrapped so the coils don't touch each other. For someone just starting I would recommend making contact coils to start. To begin with don't worry about the different kinds of wire. Get a roll of 26g Kanthal A1 and a roll of 24g Kanthal A1. Get familiar with Steam Engine. It will tell you about making coils. Start out just making simple coils and learning to wick the coils. As you get more experienced then move to different types of coils. You can buy just about any type of wire you want to make more exotic coils. All RDAs work basically the same. Right now the Drop is arguably the best RDA out there. It's easy to build on and wick.
I, like alot of others here, make my own wire and ejuice. It really can become an addictive hobby. It really is enjoyable.

 

[mj79]

Thank you @Don29palms If im just doing standard 5-7 single rolls , why 24 ga v 26 ga? also why Kanthal vs NI or SS?

 

[mj79]

Oh and also, why the difference is sizes of the wrap? I see some make 2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4.0 diameter coils

 

[Don29palms]

Different materials will have different resistances. Larger the diameter uses more wire which means higher resistances and more wire mass. More mass means more watts to heat up. For me it's more of a preference. It's also a balancing act. I like big dense clouds with lots of flavor. I also like a warm vape. I have made many Many MANY different types of coils. What I like the best is either nichrome 80 rectangle wire or ss 316L fused claptons. I usually use 3.0mm or 3.5mm id depending on the RDA I'm using. I'm not even going into tc. That's another story. I hope that makes sense.

 

[stols001]

Diameter is usually about what "size" coil works well in your RTA. It's something you can experiment with to see what works best in your deck. Wire with more mass will give the same resistance result but thicker wire tends to require more wattage to heat up, and also different gauge wire can be different to work with. Tons of factors affect how a coil will vape and how you will like the vape. Just jumping in somewhere and practicing with steam-engine.org should help.

Best of luck,

Anna

 

[Ralph_K]

My way of thinking is if you can fit 4mm coils in your RDA then that is what you should use because you can fit more cotton. You can easily get 20+ puffs before you have to redrip if wicked right

 

[mj79]

Thanks everyone. Lots of good info for me to read up on .. I'm guessing the drop could fit a 4mm wrap in a single coil, and maybe 3.0 for dual?

 

[Don29palms]

Thanks everyone. Lots of good info for me to read up on .. I'm guessing the drop could fit a 4mm wrap in a single coil, and maybe 3.0 for dual?

Yes easily

 

[mj79]

Ok. Local shop has the dead rabbit for $35... I really wanted the drop, but would this be another good choice? It's local and a descent price I believe .

 

[Don29palms]

Ok. Local shop has the dead rabbit for $35... I really wanted the drop, but would this be another good choice? It's local and a descent price I believe .

No. The Dead Rabbit is GARBAGE!

Trust me when I say you'll be much happier with the Drop.
(I have both)