RBA Noobie advice

[nerak]

Hmm right now, I'm using silica, about 5 wraps with 28kg. I'm getting a "dry" hit, almost like I'm breathing in a light powder chalk. I prefer heavy, wetter hits, if that makes any sense. The flavors don't seem to be coming out quite as strong, I will try to take pictures once I get home. I do have some bamboo I purchased earlier, but I'm yet to try it. I also use a hex wrench, wrap the coil around it, and pull my 2.5mm silica through, and it the wick seems almost loose and not touching all the sides. Could that be the issue?

Well, this is what Robert posted about his set-up:

redeyedancer
For Grand
28 gauge wire
2.5 wick doubled
5 coils
it will rip your lungs out!

Seems that will give you a very different hit because of the low ohms. Might be very tough to keep wet. And will probably mute flavor.

 

[Della Cirque]

I've been messing around with an A7 I use with my tube mods, as my REO is in the mail right now! I can never seem to get it to taste as good as my disposable atties. What's the consensus on that, are disposable atties better in terms of flavor/TH/vapor than RBAs?

Getting the right amount of wick was what I struggled with in the beginning. Once I got that right, RBA's far surpassed disposables in every way. (TH, flavor and vapor)

 

[Della Cirque]

Hmm right now, I'm using silica, about 5 wraps with 28kg. I'm getting a "dry" hit, almost like I'm breathing in a light powder chalk. I prefer heavy, wetter hits, if that makes any sense. The flavors don't seem to be coming out quite as strong, I will try to take pictures once I get home. I do have some bamboo I purchased earlier, but I'm yet to try it. I also use a hex wrench, wrap the coil around it, and pull my 2.5mm silica through, and it the wick seems almost loose and not touching all the sides. Could that be the issue?

I think the wick needs to lightly touch the sides of the coil, just a little bit of room left to allow for swelling. When there isn't enough wick in the coil it drys out very fast and produces burnt flavored vapor.

 

[TennDave]

I think you may need to squonk more too- I know that in my case I give the bottle a good firm 3 second squeeze- sometimes twice. You don't have to be as firm on a full bottle. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Big Hitter]

I've been messing around with an A7 I use with my tube mods, as my REO is in the mail right now! I can never seem to get it to taste as good as my disposable atties. What's the consensus on that, are disposable atties better in terms of flavor/TH/vapor than RBAs?

NO !! ...... Keep trying its pretty easy to make a coil/wick that taste much better than any disposable atty.
It might take a bit of time but its well worth learning. Keep in mind each component has its own unique flavor as well. There are many different wick materials and they all give a slightly different taste. A lot of folks here use a cotton wick ... I couldn't do that at all. To me silica tastes much better. Even the same wire I have from two different sources have a different flavor.

I'm convinced the reason its much better is most people use kanthal a1 wire and I believe all disposable attys are made with nichrome wire. I tried using nichrome once and it tasted terrible.

 

[Commie]

I've noticed that skinnier wick with thinner wire works better for me. The cotton I use wicks very fast, so thin wick doesn't dry out too fast, and smaller coil heats up faster, so I don't have to hold the button for a few seconds before vaping. Hated that about thick SS wicks. They seem to work like a big heat sink for me.

What makes it easier is coiling your resistance wire over a nail/needle/screwdriver bit, attaching it to the atty, and only then pulling the wick through it. That way the coils come out more even and haven't produced any shorts for me yet.

 

[enoryt]

Thanks so much for the help, I was a bit busy last night so I never got to play around with my set up. I will dedicate tonight to getting my A7 better than my other atties!

 

[FeistyAlice]

Alice, the "no bag" is finally gone! It took awhile, but it has been gifted and pif'ed it from here to all four corners.

I forgot to tell you thank you. Thank you.

Good Friday Fine REO Folk. Quick drop in.

Find and give some happy.

Hugs and love, Feisty Alice