Opinions & Suggestions for a beginner with RBAs

[Bshollow]

I'm most likely going to be taking the plunge into RBAs due to my desire to indulge in NETs, though I am fairly new to vaping. I'd like any suggestions or advice any of you fine folks might be willing to offer on hardware and good tutorials. I know that I desire hardware capable of producing thick clouds and strong flavor. If you want to throw in any information on variable voltage/wattage and how it may or may not affect things I'd be grateful for that too!

 

[Rusty Shakelford]

get an MVP 2 kit and you will be happy.

 

[CloudZ]

What hardware do you already have?

 

[Bshollow]

I currently have a Vaporzone Pro.
VaporZone

It was originally a gift, bit of a long story, but now my curiosity is getting the better of me and I am wanting to explore vaping in depth. I've been told, due to my flavor desires, that I need to check out NETs, but many people recommended RBAs because apparently the natural extracts are hell on tanks and cartos. I'm ok with that, and I am ok with going with a drip set up, but I am trying to figure out a good RBA to work with that won't disappoint me as far as flavor and clouds. I've been considering a Provari, among a couple other alternative Variable Voltage/Wattage PVs but for now all I have is the Vaporzone Pro which I am told is similar to an Evod.

At the moment though, my concern is more on the RBA hardware to work with, as I will likely purchase the PV and the RBA together.

 

[ta2dave76]

I would start with an igo-L or a Nimbus. Play around with different builds, and find something that you like. Temco has wire on ebay for cheap. Also get an ohm meter. Watch vids on Youtube.

Good luck!

 

[PhatRon]

Links to best priced RBAs

Go with the IGO-L, IGO-Ws, Trident or Nimbus Clones if you don't mind a clone...

Silica Wick & Kanthal combo pack

28 Gauge Kanthal

30 Gauge Kanthal

32 Gauge Kanthal

Personally I like using Organic Cotton Balls from Walgreens and a 2 ohm 1/16th diameter 30 Gauge Kanthal Microcoil in my IGO-W on my Smok Winder and MVP2 at 9 watts average.

$14.99- Ohm Meter @ 101vape.com

Digital Multimeter @ Amazon.com

HOW TO CHECK THE OHMS OF AN ATOMIZER USING A MULTIMETER - YouTube

Also learn how to utilize Ohm's Law to find what vape is best for you!

Ohm's Law Calculator

 

[Bshollow]

Great info, thanks guys!

 

[thatwierdguy]

Also rather in the same boat, with being relatively new to the vaping world, 2/3months, I guess. Also getting into some NET's and wanting to move from 50/50 liquids to 100% VG. I have some experience with electronics from being a kid who shopped at "Radio Shack" and would put together some simple circuitry. I've got a window open to read up on "Rebuildable Atomizers for Dummies" and I'm pretty confident that I can wrap some wire around a wick and install it without shorting the circuit. I'm really looking for some newb-friendly RDA's and R-Tank-A's, I'd like to get one of each (and not too expensive, for firsties- less than $30, maybe less than $20 each). If I could get an opinion or two about the offerings from 101vape here: Rebuildable Atomizers/ Tanks - 101 Vape I'd appreciate it. I'm thinking about buying another MVP2 from them, that's why I'm looking there. Any opinions would be appreciated! Later folk's

 

[ta2dave76]

Igo-L or W, or a Nimbus or Trident clone. If ya get the Nimbus, get one with screws and not allens. Jmo...

As for cheap tanks, the rsst can be had for $19 from VapingCraze.

 

[thatwierdguy]

Thank's for the info. So I'm wondering Igo W, or Igo W 4? Also, what about the Aqua clone: Aqua Atomizer Clone - 101 Vape (it's out of stock ATM, but still curious)? I do want to keep this last order (for a while, I think) all coming from one place, if I can....

 

[betterthanyou]

I am also just getting into RBAs. I ordered an ehpro kayfun 3.1. Is the kayfun appropriate for someone just starting out?

 

[Bshollow]

From pretty much all the research i have done, rebuilding the coil and wick assembly is a relatively simple process that just might take a bit of practice. From there it's just testing your resistance level either with a multimeter or with your PV if it has that feature. It appears it can get "complicated" if you do not have a VV or VW PV, but probably only until you get a feel for it. If you do have a VV or VW PV you can adjust it to match your rebuild, even if its a bit off. Of course you will likely acquire target resistances you prefer, but i figure once you've rebuilt a few you'll probably be able to work that out.

With that being said, it's pretty much the quality of the atomizer itself I gather. Though I'm not really sure what "features" would really make one better than the other, except cosmetics and so forth. I would venture to think your coil and wick have more to do with flavor and vapor production, but I am just a novice and have not actually rebuilt one yet.

 

[VapoJoe86]

Thank's for the info. So I'm wondering Igo W, or Igo W 4? Also, what about the Aqua clone: Aqua Atomizer Clone - 101 Vape (it's out of stock ATM, but still curious)? I do want to keep this last order (for a while, I think) all coming from one place, if I can....

I just got my aqua clone a couple days ago (from 101vape) and I would NOT recommend it as a first rebuildable. It vapes great but it is a dual coil setup and let's just say there was nothing easy about it. Installing those coils on that tiny deck was extremely difficult for me even after 10 or so builds (I was practicing). If you're just wanting to get your feet wet, I would start with a Kanger Protank and rebuild those coils with cotton wick and 30G kanthal.

 

[Bshollow]

During my research I saw that the IGO-L casing slips off very easily, is this issue fixed for the IGO-W?

 

[PhatRon]

my IGO-W top cap does not slip off ever. If it does slip off, you can always get some bigger o-rings or you can put some floss under the ones that you already have and it will push them out a little more.

 

[thatwierdguy]

What about this? Chi-Triot (patriot clone) - 101 Vape Would this be about as easy to work with as a the I-go's? As well as I can see this has the posts/terminals with the screw on the top and the holes to insert the wire on the sides (is there a term for those?) - which I think is really the way to go for me.

BTW, I've been using some Protank2's, and can picture rebuilding those heads(eventually, and I'm saving my kaput heads for the future), but that's more intimidating to me than an RDA. Am I wrong in thinking that the coils made for an RDA would be larger in both dimensions?

- edit
Also, if I want to start out with a vaping experience power-wise similar to Kanger PT2 2.4ohm heads, and I'm pretty sure I want to use silica wick and kanthol wire, which width wick and wire should I use? Maybe this is a more complicated question than I assumed- idk. But, in a nutshell, this is for my first attempts with, now it seems, a pyrex rsst and a nimbus clone. I'm not needing to have it all optimized at first go here, and I can crank up the voltage if necessary. Advice, or links, appreciated...

 

[Nu2Dis]

What about this? Chi-Triot (patriot clone) - 101 Vape Would this be about as easy to work with as a the I-go's? As well as I can see this has the posts/terminals with the screw on the top and the holes to insert the wire on the sides (is there a term for those?) - which I think is really the way to go for me.

BTW, I've been using some Protank2's, and can picture rebuilding those heads(eventually, and I'm saving my kaput heads for the future), but that's more intimidating to me than an RDA. Am I wrong in thinking that the coils made for an RDA would be larger in both dimensions?

- edit
Also, if I want to start out with a vaping experience power-wise similar to Kanger PT2 2.4ohm heads, and I'm pretty sure I want to use silica wick and kanthol wire, which width wick and wire should I use? Maybe this is a more complicated question than I assumed- idk. But, in a nutshell, this is for my first attempts with, now it seems, a pyrex rsst and a nimbus clone. I'm not needing to have it all optimized at first go here, and I can crank up the voltage if necessary. Advice, or links, appreciated...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/new-members-forum/506159-kanthal-coil-calculator.html#post11666846

This link will take you to a post that has a spreadsheet. This spreadsheet is an amazing tool you can use to determine wire size and coil diameter to reach your desired resistance.

 

[thatwierdguy]

Cool, thank's! will check it out

 

[G Izlude]

One thing I haven't't seen mentioned, and I apologize if I've over looked it, is to research your batteries chemistry and capabilities. You can wrap coils as low as 1 ohm and be reasonably sure that an 18xxx sized batteries will be safe from venting/fire. that being said, a 1.0 ohm coil on an 800 mAh 18350 is probably not going to give you much vaping time.

worth noting that unless you have a DNA20, you'll need to get a mechanical mod if you want to go into the sub ohm world. I don't recommend going into sub ohms without doing your homework.

To know your batteries amp limit, you need to know the C-rating of the battery. This is sometimes hard to find and is often not printed on the battery itself, and sometimes it's not even available from the retailer. the battery's manufacturer should have this. To calculate the amp limit, use this formula:

mAh/1000*C-rating=amp limit​

using ohms law calculator, already linked above, you can see how many amps the coil will draw based on the given voltage and resistance. If that number is close to or above what your calculated amp limit is for your battery, you must either raise the coil resistance or reduce the voltage provided to the coil.

 

[Muero]

In my experience, don't use very thin resistance wire. I bought some 32 gauge nichrome, and though I can get it to work, it's pretty fragile. I bought 28 gauge and really like it.