Newbie vaper with a couple of questions.

[416Moe]

So, i'll start off by saying that im a 20/yo male that has been smoking analogs for about 4 years now. I got reading/interested in vaping around new years of this year and finally pulled the trigger this past Saturday and threw out my pack of smokes and lighter along with it, went to my local merchants market or flea market depending where your from with exactly what i wanted in mind. The merchants market in downsview park in Toronto has a CanVape booth in it, the workers there are great. The gentlemen at the booth went over how i should get started (filling my tank and using the VV/VW settings on my device).

Heres what i grabbed;
MVP V2 Mod
15ml of Vapenjuice Vanilla custard
15ml of Vapenjuice Bella Mount
iClear 16
5x 1.8 Ohm coils for the iClear 30 and 16 tanks.

Anyway, its my third day with out analogs, and i have to say, i dont miss them at all, the first day was really easy as i kept my self busy by playing with my mod and vaping on it, the second day i had a couple of cravings but nothing too bad, and today, i had no cravings at all even though i was out with smoker friends earlier to grab lunch.

So here are my questions;
Is it just me or do the iClear 30 tanks suck? The one that came with my MVP V2 is hard to draw off of and not only that, it started leaking out of the 510 connection the second day of owning the thing.
As a first RBA, i was thinking of either getting the Russian 91% clone or a SmokTech RSST, which is better? why? And where should i order either one of them (leaning towards the 91% at this point)
What gauge kanthal wire should i be using to build my coils? (aiming for around 1.6 Ohm)
Where can i get tanks/jucies either locally or online with fast shipping (2-3 days max) in Toronto (north york area). CanVape is great but their only open on weekends which is kind of an inconvenience.

Thanks in advance,
Moe

Ps, feel free to move this thread if i started it in the wrong sub-forum.

 

[Evilocity]

Congrats on the switch to vaping!
I have 2 kayfun which are the same thing as a Russian 91%. I would recommend either over the rsst as they are very simple and proven to be reliable while delivering a quality vape. The rsst is known for being a little bit finicky and some would agree it has a steeper learning curve than that of kayfuns and Russians.
As far as wire, kanthal a1 at 28ga is a great wire to have on hand. You can easily target 1.5 ohms and go higher or lower with ease depending on the coil size and number of wraps. If I'm not mistaken, the mvp is able to read and display the ohms of your build, however I would highly recommend getting an ohm reader/tester. Safety first.
Keep at it and ask whatever questions you need to ask, lotta helpful people on here.

 

[bobrob]

I didn't really like the iClear tanks either, but everybody has an opinion on every tank ever made.

Personally I love the Russian / Kayfun systems. That would be my choice.

I build mine with 30 ga kanthal 9 wraps around a 1/16 drill bit gives me 1.7 or 1.8.

 

[Tinkiegrrl]

Congrats OP! Great choice on the MVP 2. It's great for newbies and more advanced vapers alike. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have started with one myself.

 

[DoubleEwe]

Hi Moe, congrats on the switch to vaping and all that

Agreed on the iClear tanks, they are not for me either.

I would say go for the Russian out of the two you are deciding between, or go for the Kayfun Lite Plus V2 instead. They have great flavour and are easy to build on, the adjustable airflow is a definite plus point allowing you to vape as you please.

For that kind of coil resistance I would say 30AWG, but you might want to get some 28AWG too (if you want more wraps).

I personally don't like genesis style (the RSST) RBAs, for me at least they were a lot more difficult to get a decent vape from. If you use cotton or silica wicks then they have a long way to travel to get from the juice to the coil (not helped by gravity either), the vape is also hotter (less distance between coils and mouth). Wire mesh U wicks are a pain in the backside to get without kinks in, they also have a long break-in period, which never happened for me, I always got the metallic taste. Some will say mesh rocks etc, but to me it is not worth the effort when there are the Russian & Kayfun out there.

Can't help on the juices I am afraid.

You should look at Fasttech for any vape related product (IMO), be sure to check the reviews of the products you want along with the discussions on there. Also check the additional options for the shipping, choose registered China post rather than the default option.

I would not buy batteries from Fasttech though.

 

[416Moe]

Congrats on the switch to vaping!
I have 2 kayfun which are the same thing as a Russian 91%. I would recommend either over the rsst as they are very simple and proven to be reliable while delivering a quality vape. The rsst is known for being a little bit finicky and some would agree it has a steeper learning curve than that of kayfuns and Russians.
As far as wire, kanthal a1 at 28ga is a great wire to have on hand. You can easily target 1.5 ohms and go higher or lower with ease depending on the coil size and number of wraps. If I'm not mistaken, the mvp is able to read and display the ohms of your build, however I would highly recommend getting an ohm reader/tester. Safety first.
Keep at it and ask whatever questions you need to ask, lotta helpful people on here.

Thanks for the reply, yea i think the 91% is the way ill be going, my local vender sells for the Kayfun and the 91% (both clones) for the same price, but i think what will end up selling me on the 91% is going to be the adjustable air flow, and also you are right my MVP does show the Ohm reading of the build that i have on it but like you said i will be getting a multimeter or one of those ohm meters with the 510 connecter on it just for safety as i have noticed that my MVP sometimes shows anywhere between 1.8-2.0 on the same coil.

 

[416Moe]

I didn't really like the iClear tanks either, but everybody has an opinion on every tank ever made.

Personally I love the Russian / Kayfun systems. That would be my choice.

I build mine with 30 ga kanthal 9 wraps around a 1/16 drill bit gives me 1.7 or 1.8.

Yea the iClear 30 is a POS excuse my french lol. The iClear 16 on the other hand out performs the 30 in every way possible IMO, and another thing about the 30 that i hated the first second i used it with that rotating drip tip, what a terrible idea.

 

[416Moe]

Hi Moe, congrats on the switch to vaping and all that

Agreed on the iClear tanks, they are not for me either.

I would say go for the Russian out of the two you are deciding between, or go for the Kayfun Lite Plus V2 instead. They have great flavour and are easy to build on, the adjustable airflow is a definite plus point allowing you to vape as you please.

For that kind of coil resistance I would say 30AWG, but you might want to get some 28AWG too (if you want more wraps).

I personally don't like genesis style (the RSST) RBAs, for me at least they were a lot more difficult to get a decent vape from. If you use cotton or silica wicks then they have a long way to travel to get from the juice to the coil (not helped by gravity either), the vape is also hotter (less distance between coils and mouth). Wire mesh U wicks are a pain in the backside to get without kinks in, they also have a long break-in period, which never happened for me, I always got the metallic taste. Some will say mesh rocks etc, but to me it is not worth the effort when there are the Russian & Kayfun out there.

Can't help on the juices I am afraid.

You should look at Fasttech for any vape related product (IMO), be sure to check the reviews of the products you want along with the discussions on there. Also check the additional options for the shipping, choose registered China post rather than the default option.

I would not buy batteries from Fasttech though.

Tripple Post ... LOL!!

I dont think ill be dealing with fastech, i dont have that kind of patience lol. Looks like my next purchase will be a 91% with some extra 28ga or 30ga kanthal wire and some organic cotton.

 

[Docsgt68]

The mvp2 is definitely a good place to start, I think I still have my v1 in a box somewhere, loved it though. The iclears are junk in my opinion. I wouldn't throw them out completely until you get the swing of building on the Russian (which I think is better than the rsst) . It's not hard, but it could take a couple of builds to get where you like it. And leaking....ah leaking... be forewarned it's always kind of in the background, if you're wicking is too long on the gravity fed tanks (Russian and the like) they can leak, so definitely look into that when you get there.

 

[416Moe]

The mvp2 is definitely a good place to start, I think I still have my v1 in a box somewhere, loved it though. The iclears are junk in my opinion. I wouldn't throw them out completely until you get the swing of building on the Russian (which I think is better than the rsst) . It's not hard, but it could take a couple of builds to get where you like it. And leaking....ah leaking... be forewarned it's always kind of in the background, if you're wicking is too long on the gravity fed tanks (Russian and the like) they can leak, so definitely look into that when you get there.

From what i have been reading/watching on youtube, i should be trimming the wick flush with the first part of the tank right above the the coil (the stainless part just below the clear area) please correct me if im wrong though.

 

[bobrob]

From what i have been reading/watching on youtube, i should be trimming the wick flush with the first part of the tank right above the the coil (the stainless part just below the clear area) please correct me if im wrong though.

That's how I do it, exactly.

EDIT: assuming you mean the lower part of the "chimney" piece there.. that where I cut it (not the outside part of the tank)

 

[416Moe]

That's how I do it, exactly.

EDIT: assuming you mean the lower part of the "chimney" piece there.. that where I cut it (not the outside part of the tank)

Yes that is what i mean, Thank you for the reply.

Is using a precision screw driver to wrap my wire around good enough as i dont think i have the right drill tip to use.

 

[bobrob]

Is using a precision screw driver to wrap my wire around good enough as i dont think i have the right drill tip to use.

One of the yellow set of screwdrivers? They work great, I use them too. I often use the 1.4mm flat head screwdriver (the smallest flat head in my set) to wrap around.

 

[Budkiss]

This, by far, the best online visual resource for coil building.
SOOOO Easy to pick your target ohm and wire choice and whammo it tells you what to do.
Check it out
Coil Toy - Online calculator for e-cigarette resistance coil building

hope this helps

 

[416Moe]

One of the yellow set of screwdrivers? They work great, I use them too. I often use the 1.4mm flat head screwdriver (the smallest flat head in my set) to wrap around.

This, by far, the best online visual resource for coil building.
SOOOO Easy to pick your target ohm and wire choice and whammo it tells you what to do.
Check it out
Coil Toy - Online calculator for e-cigarette resistance coil building

hope this helps

Great! Thanks a lot for the replies guys, i really appreciate it being a new member and all.

I guess the next step for me is to buy a Kayfun 3.1 or a Russian 91% and start building my coils and vaping away, and i cant go without saying this, this site is probably the best forum i have joined in the recent years by far. So many helpful people around here and everyone seems really chill.

 

[bobrob]

everyone seems really chill.

That's because we are all still getting our nicotine! (ok, most of us)

You'll love the Russian (or Kayfun). For me, it was a game changer as far as flavor and vapor production. I have four of them!

Keep that precision screwdriver set handy, btw, the #0 phillips is perfect for the bottom fill screw on the Russian/Kayfun (and a lot better than the screwdriver you'll get with a Kayfun).

 

[Jvalles95]

Get the russian 91 and some 28g kanthal, for juices i reccomend mt baker

 

[The Ocelot]

If you can stand listening to him, Rip Trippers shows how to do a simple single coil build for the Kayfun/Russian (I just turned the sound down until I saw him start building). I followed him step-by-step and my first coil worked perfectly. It didn't look very straight, but vaped fine. (It's the first build he does in the video.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7o7RFoTtw0