Oh boy...Can O' Worms...

[Bitter Jeweler]

So, I've been flavor chasing, and decided to get a new mod, and tank, and try the sub ohm out.
I got the Kanger Subox Mini.

I was a chain smoker, now, chain vaper, and the eGo Spinner batteries just weren't cutting it.
Constantly charging, losing track of what was charged when, using them all and having them all go dead at the same time, and carrying them (3) around. So far I love the box mod. (that's what it's called, right?)

But, so far I love the box mod with the Nautilus Mini's with 1.8ohm coils. I have 4, as I like to switch flavors often. I am new to Absolut Crème Brulee, and I loved it on the spinner at 4.8 volts. I cranked the nautilus to 6volts (18ish watts) and BAM! That's what I was looking for!!! Sweet!!! Full of flavor!!! Oh boy!!!

(this may get disjointed and tangential)

So I tried it (ACB) in the K Subtank Mini, with the .5 ohm, and even the 1.5ohm OCC coil.
In my mind, I was to set the watts to get the same volts that was a pleasure in the Nautilus Mini.
Yeah, not so much.

Everything about the subtank mini is different than the nautilus mini. Now I see why people acquire so much gear. I am finding the airflow I like, and smaller bore tip is better. It's still different. The pulls, or drags are shorter. I liked the longer draws from the nautilus better. But if I close down the airflow holes, the vape is hotter, and the flavor changes/weakens, and gets harsher (12mg Nic). I don't mind the warmth, I actually like that more than the cooler vape of the nautilus. I prefer to do mouth to lung. I find straight to lung much harsher on the exhale.

So I also tried my favorite ADV Strawnilla. It's terrible! It's also ruined the flavor to me. I try it back on the Spinner, and I can't taste it anymore. I tried Strawnilla first actually, so maybe I burnt my coil, or something. But the cotton doesn't look burnt, I was getting vapor, so it shouldn't be dry hits. I just don't know what's going on here. I don't remember what I was firing it at 10 hours ago.

I also tried Mah Peeps, and I got better flavor than the nautilus mini, for a while. I also tried Razz Cup, which I couldn't taste at all before, and I could finally get some flavor. Not strong, but there. But in messing around, I wound up with the same problem as the Strawnilla. It's "bleh" now.

Ok, so in trying so many adjustments, with 12mg Nic, boy was I "high". This happened both at work, and when I came home and experimented some more. So we went for dinner for some wonderful Ethiopean food. Yum!

After dinner I was a little bummed over this whole new experience, and chasing flavor, and losing it instead, for the most part. In the end, I love the box mod, and I am quite happy with the nautilus mini's on it, so, no loss.

Then I think...hey! lets try that RBA the K Subtank mini comes with. I saw a video, and had already read numerous threads about wicking, so what the heck! Lets do this!

It comes with precoiled wire of .5 ohms, so I screw one in there, lightly fire it to look for even heating, work out the "appropriate amount of cotton wick. Trim them down to 45º angles, tuck them down to the deck, put some juice on to help, and screw the cover back on...

Wow, that wasn't so hard! Why was I so fearful of going this route?
Well, ACB, with THIS .5ohm RBA coil fired at 14watts (2.6volts) tastes as wonderful as it does in the nautilus mini 1.8ohm/6volts! Awesome!

So what I don't understand is how to work out what settings I want for various flavors. I know I need to get some zero Nic juice to lower my nicotine to 6mg. I might even find 3mg to be my nicoticket. (see what I did there?) I can't wrap my head around what to go by for settings though. Why is the taste at 6volts on a 1.8coil far better than on a 1.5, or .5 ohm coil? What should I pay attention to? On the spinner, volts was my gauge. Do I have to just wait till I unlearn that, and just learn what watt produces the best flavor for me, and not pay attention to the volts??? Why did I get better flavor with the RBA over the prebuilt OCC coil?

In the end, I'm fine if subohms ain't for me. I am not a cloud chaser (don't get me wrong, I find them satisfying and wondrous), I am mainly after flavor and getting adequate nicotine. I do see though, as much as I enjoy the flavor, I don't need to chain vape to get my nicotine fix (which is what I think was going on before).

Oh, Hi! I'm new here, and I write long stories. Sadly, I can't refund your time.

I appreciate any insight.

 

[Megan Kogijiki Ratchford]

I abandoned my OCC prebuilt coils in favor of the building deck too. I found the OCC head just made everything dead in flavor but the deck is great, I love it! I use a 1.7 ohm coil at 9 watts and it's marvelous. Have no idea what's up with the OCC heads since I rebuilt them...and I hate .5 ohm coils too, too hot!!

 

[Scottitude]

When not dripping, I've found that Strawnilla in an Atlantis with .5 heads at about 35w is quite flavorful.

I don't dislike the Kanger sub tanks but they do mute the flavor, regardless of how I adjust airflow.

They're pricey but if you can afford an Erlkonigin RTA (cheaper if you can score one in the classifieds) you can get great flavor at higher ohms and lower wattage.

YMMV.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Do You just look at your watts, and start low, and keep bumping it up until you feel the flavor peaks? Do you go up till it's toasted and go back down?
When you go back down, does the flavor come back, or do you still taste "burnt"?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

When not dripping, I've found that Strawnilla in an Atlantis with .5 heads at about 35w is quite flavorful.

See this is the thing! I just checked what volts 35 watts gives on my .5 coil, and it shows 4.1v I was doing the spinner at about that, up to 4.3v (1.8ohm) and yeah the flavor was spot on. But it's different now, that's what I don't understand. But your info says my logical correlation is right. My tongue says no.

I'm not gonna fuss over strawnilla anymore today. Maybe my tongue will reboot tomorrow.

I don't dislike the Kanger sub tanks but they do mute the flavor, regardless of how I adjust airflow.

They're pricey but if you can afford an Erlkonigin RTA (cheaper if you can score one in the classifieds) you can get great flavor at higher ohms and lower wattage.

YMMV.

I just bought this, and you're making me chase gear! How could you?! LOL
But, duly noted.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

You will get more amps out of a box mod at the same voltage than out of a spinner hence more watts of heat and more vapor or burned taste as the case may be.

 

[Scottitude]

I started the Strawnilla too low and was unimpressed but as I slowly ramp it up, the flavor started to pop.

I do vape several different flavors a day so maybe they don't have time to get stale on my palate. If I stick with one flavor for too long, no matter how great it is, it does start to get a little bland so I switch it up. After half a day of Frenilla, for example, it almost becomes tasteless (to me). If I switch out to a couple other flavors and go back to it in the evening, it's back to being a great flavor.

Check you conversations.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Is my burnt taste just too much nicotine, maybe?

 

[Robert Cromwell]

nope

 

[USMCotaku]

Also, since in generalized terms, wattage is the amount of energy "heat" at the coil. On your spinner, the higher voltage still equals less wattage then you are running on the .5 coil

If you start out low on your watts, and bump it up, you will find a point where you can tell if you go higher or draw longer you will get a burnt hit....if you back your wattage down from there, your coil and wick will be fine.
Sent with one hand, the other is busy vaping.

 

[Scottitude]

Could be, could be the OCC heads & the PG/VG ration of your juice. I'm not a big fan of the OCC heads, I prefer the original ceramic ones. A lot of people seem to be concerned about the ceramics "breaking down' but I inhaled smoke through fiberglass filters for so long that I'm not super concerned about the possibility of inhaling some microscopic ceramic particles. It hasn't been proved to be a problem, just people that fear the possibility.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Everything I've tried has been 50/50 pg/vg. I just tried Peeps, 35/65, and took it all the way up to 50 watts (5v) and it was hot and sweet, and never tasted "bad". It was warm and sweet around 35 watts.

My mouth tastes peppery like nicorrette gum, so, I think lowering my nic level will help.

This is really interesting to me, how all this comes together. But I need a nic break again. Whew!

 

[seanol]

The big breakthrough for me was temp control. With a .13 nickel coil and temp set at 450f using a rayon wick in by subtank my Strawnilla came alive! That is at 28w. I can pull on that as long as I want and the flavor stays the same and it doesn't get too hot.

It really is about what works for you and the equipment you have. I had tried other non tc builds and it was hit or miss. Different tanks as well. I have a Goliath that is on par with my drippers using ACB! That was one I did not expect.

Now the mechs sit in the corner till night time. My ADV is a Vapor Flask or Zero clone and one of the two tanks on each.

Best of luck in your journey,
Sean

 

[keepsmiling]

Just get a Reo..welcome

 

[57chilicat]

Just stopping in to say welcome! As for the kanger sub tank, I have had one for over a month and just tried it yesterday and I gotta say I am not a fan with the OCC head and I didn't try the sub ohm head yet! It seems to take forever for the coil to heat and that results in a very delayed vape. I plan to try the re buildable deck today and see if that works better. I want to love it but time will tell! So far I prefer my nauty minis!
And at this point, nothing can touch the overall performance of my REO.
And this is all part of our search for the best vape experience for each of us and our personal sweet vape spots!

 

[DanJiblets]

There's a lot of reading here and it's early lol. I just wanted to say I'm obsessed with subtanks. I run my .5 around 16-17 watts. They're not really made for super high wattage. I get great flavor and clouds right there at 16 watts. Everyone has their preferences, and this sounds like it's just a lot different from what you're used to.

 

[Flavored]

Do You just look at your watts, and start low, and keep bumping it up until you feel the flavor peaks? Do you go up till it's toasted and go back down?
When you go back down, does the flavor come back, or do you still taste "burnt"?

Oh, yeah, watts is your starting point in vaping, not volts, unless your coils are the same resistance. Watts are heat. Mathematically, watts = voltage squared divided by resistance. In the example you gave for the nautilus, that would be 4.8 X 4.8/ 1.8 = 12.8 W. When you shot for that same voltage on the 0.5 ohm coil, you did 4.8 X 4.8 / 0.5 = 46.1W. That’s almost 4 times the heat, kinda like trying to bake a potato at 2000 degrees. The folks that do that, put so much heat into a juice, are using bigger wire (heat distribution is spread over a larger area), have learned how to wick it properly, know how to drip/feed to keep the wicks supersaturated with juice, and balance it with a lot of air flow.

Back off to 10-12W on new devices, especially new tanks, nudge up from there until the flavor/vapor suits you.

 

[Sloth Tonight]

Watts/volts, meh...I don't mess with regulated stuff so all I'll chime in and say is there's a lot more to it than that. Coil placement for one - gauge of wire, type of wire - inner diameter of the coil. Everything affects flavor. It's both fun and frustrating sometimes til' you find what works best for you in a given device

 

[Richu75]

I've done the whole sub-ohm and high current circus. In the end it's not for me.
I like mouth to lung, like I used to drag that disgusting tobacco cigarette before.

Now I settle for my erl mini/nano's. I coil them all the same (28 AWG, 6 turns on 3 mm).
I get a constant and satisfying vape every single time. Only takes about a minute to find the sweet spot for a new juice.

 

[motabrownie]

+1 for the REO. I vape Strawnilla throughout the day on a REO with a Derringer BF atty at around .06 ohms and always get creamy strawberry goodness. Ive tried it in a Subtank with both the OCC coils and on the rebuildable deck and never can quite get the same flavor.