RBA question for a Provari

[JJOOHHNN]

I do think I want to stick to carto tanks for ease of use but I am curious about some things.

If I do get an RBA I will get the real thing to reward to creators and not a clone.

If I do get an RBA I don't plan on doing any sub ohm stuff and would stay within the Provari's range.

Here are the questions.

1. What will an RBA give me that I am not getting with a carto tank?
2. How much more time will I give up because of rebuilding and such?
3. I don't see there there would be much of a cost saving? Well I guess there is but cartos are not really expensive.
4. What all would I need besides the device?
5. It is my guess the one to get is the kayfun?

 

[Paul.K]

1) For me it's about flavor and volume of vapor. I tried two rounds with cartos and they are not for me. YMMV
2) Guess it all depends on how often you go through cartos but I clean and re-wick once a week (15-30 minutes). Rebuild the coil once a month. Another 10 minutes max.
3) Negligible costs as kanthal roll and box of cotton is very cheap.
4) I suggest a pro-ring of some sorts for a better look. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/provari/500190-pro-rings-2013-year-end.html
5) Love my kayfuns. Not sure there is better performing, ease of setup, and zero leaks.

 

[kas122461]

All I have is the Kayfun lite and the Plus.

1 Personally I think great flavor and a lot more vapor.
2 I build coils about once a month, but rewick with cotton 2 times a week, sometimes once if I am lazy.
3 I never considered that before, not sure.
4 Box of cotton of silica wick, and some kanthol wire, possible a beauty ring.
5 Its the one I chose and its great!

KAS

 

[Smoot]

I have a Russian 91% on mine. slightly cheaper than KFL.

Taste is better on RBA, but i find some juice that i love in carto tanks, are too overpowering in RBA.

Rebuilding is a 5 min thing once you get it down, even less but I have never timed myself.

Cost savings is there depending on how many cartos you normally go through. I rebuild coil once a month, if that. Re-wick when taste falls off. Generally one week.

You would need wire, and wick. try them all out to figure what you like. I prefer kanthal 30 ga. wire and eco-wool. Trying cotton next build.

 

[kas122461]

I guess I kind of lied, I do also have the sophia, which is also a great devise, and you can still use your carto tanks, which I do like the looks of, and the flavor is also great, but these use NR-R-NR wire set ups, which is a bit more complicated.

KAS

 

[Baditude]

My experience is limited, but I'll share them.

Last summer I purchased my first RBA. An AGA-T2 plus, a Genesis-style RBA tank with pyrex glass. I learned to wrap coils (30g Kanthal) relatively easy but my downfall was rolling the stainless steel mesh into nice wicks. I ended up purchasing pre-rolled SS wicks (400g mesh) from Vapor King, and those worked reasonably well for my purposes.

The best overall video tutorial I found was Zen's for the Z-AttyPro for Provape. He goes thru the steps with excellent photography. Showed how to pulse fire the coils with the Provari and how to check for hot spots. PBusardo has also done a couple of good videos specifically for the AGA-T.

I had mixed results with the AGA-T's. Initially I had pretty good success, and ordered another one. Upon further research, I found out the AGA-T is not one of the novice-friendly RBA's due to a higher propensity to develop shorts (no insulation). I got incredible clouds with a 2.o ohm coil on the Provari. I can't say that the flavor was any better than with my cartotanks, though. I'm sure that my setup times would have improved over time, but from start to finish with a new wick and coil, it took me a half hour. Comparatively, it takes me 7 minutes tops to setup a new cartotank.

I'm not currently using my AGA-T's. I found them to be rather inconsistant in performance, requiring frequent tinkering with the wick and coil, which I consider high maintanance. Genny's are not for out-and-about use, they will leak if not kept upright. I realize others have had better results than I, but at a certain point I grew tired of the time consumption and went back to using cartotanks. They are what I know best and have gotten the best results with. Others who like to tinker to perfect their attachments will like RBA/RDA's, but I just want to vape. YMMV.

From what I've read, the Kayfun-style RBA's are the way to go presently. I just can't afford to try one at this time. I would have a tough time deciding on what flavor to devote to one, as I like to switch flavors frequently.

Information Resources for Your First RBA

 

[Ozwald]

I do think I want to stick to carto tanks for ease of use but I am curious about some things.

If I do get an RBA I will get the real thing to reward to creators and not a clone.

If I do get an RBA I don't plan on doing any sub ohm stuff and would stay within the Provari's range.

Here are the questions.

1. What will an RBA give me that I am not getting with a carto tank?
2. How much more time will I give up because of rebuilding and such?
3. I don't see there there would be much of a cost saving? Well I guess there is but cartos are not really expensive.
4. What all would I need besides the device?
5. It is my guess the one to get is the Kayfun?

1. Customization. You can build it any way you want to. More flavor? Less flavor? More throat hit? Less? Vapor production? You can fine tune it however you see fit.
2. Depends. If you find a build that you like, you'll save time. I can build a coil from scratch, install it, wick it & be vaping on it in less time than it takes to change a carto & prime it. If you like to experiment, you can put hours into the thing.
3. Huge cost savings. Kanthal & cotton are dirt cheap, not to mention you can get much, much more life out of them. For the cost of 100ft spool of Kanthal & a bag of cotton balls you're looking at 3-4 boxes of cartos at best. 4 boxes of cartos wouldn't last me a year, but that much Kanthal & cotton (provided I wasn't experimenting) would last a decade or more easily.
4. Kanthal wire, wicking material, a lighter, a multi-bit screwdriver with small bits & something to wrap your coils on.
5. I prefer the KFL+, but there are many options out there. Technically the Russian & R91 are clones of the Kayfun line, but made with nearly the same quality (not a cheap SlowTech-sold ripoff). The difference in price is nearly non-existent. Currently I can get a KFL cheaper than an R91, but that isn't always the case. It's just a few bucks on a ~$100 item. Choose the one you like better aesthetically. Personal preferences aside, neither is better than the other.

 

[jd1978]

I use 3 different rba's. IGO-F, IGO-W, and Forge clone. All 3 are wicked with cottons. I have a range of 1.2 - 2.7 ohms between the 3. These 3 are all really drippers. These give excellent vape production and great flavor. I'll add some pics of these setups.

IGO-W


Forge clone


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I577 using Tapatalk

 

[darkgear]

Congrats on choosing authentic vs clone. It's the right thing and the safer to do.

Sophia would be my suggestion since you already have tanks for carto's.

1. Flavor
2. premade ceramics for the sophia make it faster than changing and priming a carto. When you have to rebuild. it's fast and cheap.
3. yes not much cost savings since it'll make you want another soon.
4. some extra ceramics, ready wires and some 2mm silica.
5. Not kayfun. leaks. plastic tank section. Can't see juice if you use the metal section. Harder to refill than a Sophia in a tank. Can't rebuild without draining/wasting all the juice.

 

[SamNapolitanke]

this is interesting, thanks to the OP, I have the same questions... so would you guys say that dripping is the ultimate flavor chaser?

I would like to have a way of testing new flavors without having to fill up a mini tank or a carto

 

[CrimsonJack]

Congrats on choosing authentic vs clone. It's the right thing and the safer to do.

Sophia would be my suggestion since you already have tanks for carto's.

1. Flavor
2. premade ceramics for the sophia make it faster than changing and priming a carto. When you have to rebuild. it's fast and cheap.
3. yes not much cost savings since it'll make you want another soon.
4. some extra ceramics, ready wires and some 2mm silica.
5. Not kayfun. leaks. plastic tank section. Can't see juice if you use the metal section. Harder to refill than a Sophia in a tank. Can't rebuild without draining/wasting all the juice.

It's funny how personal preference comes into play with this stuff. I've never had a kayfun leak, and find it much easier to refill than a carto tank. I don't mind sucking out the juice with a syringe if I wanna rebuild or rewick, just takes a sec, and I'd much rather deal with that than a ceramic, nr/r wire, etc. Now, that being said, I'm actually considering a sophia or diver to get some of my pretty tanks back in the lineup.

this is interesting, thanks to the OP, I have the same questions... so would you guys say that dripping is the ultimate flavor chaser?

I would like to have a way of testing new flavors without having to fill up a mini tank or a carto

I personally think if you are JUST using a dripper to test flavors, you're probably better off just getting a couple bridgeless atomizers rather than an RDA, though it's really just a personal preference. Easier to blow out an atty than rewick for the new flavor, though even that isn't a huge chore. Plenty will disagree with me, I'm sure.

 

[darkgear]

this is interesting, thanks to the OP, I have the same questions... so would you guys say that dripping is the ultimate flavor chaser?

I would like to have a way of testing new flavors without having to fill up a mini tank or a carto

Buy a $5 510 atomizer and learn to drip. Best flavor. Best way to go juice hunting.

 

[JJOOHHNN]

I don't think I can become a dripper. I vape while I work.

 

[Paul.K]

It's funny how personal preference comes into play with this stuff. I've never had a kayfun leak, and find it much easier to refill than a carto tank. I don't mind sucking out the juice with a syringe if I wanna rebuild or rewick, just takes a sec, and I'd much rather deal with that than a ceramic, nr/r wire, etc. Now, that being said, I'm actually considering a sophia or diver to get some of my pretty tanks back in the lineup.

Totally agree with personal preference thing. I just recently tried the Sophia and it was also not for me. I can see the design is very good and it works fairly well but still prefer the Kayfuns both in flavor and and ease of setup. I think the leaking issue, if any would have more to do with the tank.

 

[SamNapolitanke]

interesting I've never heard of those. thanks for the tip. im happy with cartotanks ATM. I want something quick and easy to taste new jooze... any particular brand you recommend?

 

[18Wheels]

I use both carto tanks and rba's. I use carto tanks when out and about because don't have to worry about orientation, leaks, carrying needle bottles etc. Also you will have something to vape while rebuilding rba's. I use rba's when watching tv or driving because I have a holder in my truck that keeps them vertical. You get more intense flavor with a rba and use lower nic strength. Cost wise buying rba's is more expensive than buying carto tanks but coil and wick replacement is much cheaper than buying carto's.

 

[SamNapolitanke]

yeah I need the mobility, my pv is in my pocket all day.

 

[CrimsonJack]

interesting I've never heard of those. thanks for the tip. im happy with cartotanks ATM. I want something quick and easy to taste new jooze... any particular brand you recommend?

There are a ton out there in a wide range of prices. These are supposed to be one of the better brands: Cisco spec. About $9 apiece.

These are decent, cheap, and probably good to learn on. Discount Vapers. $5 a pop.

 

[JJOOHHNN]

I guess there is nothing wrong with having two Provari on the desk loaded with a carto tank and one with an RBA on it. If I can learn do rebuild.

 

[18Wheels]

interesting I've never heard of those. thanks for the tip. im happy with cartotanks ATM. I want something quick and easy to taste new jooze... any particular brand you recommend?

You can use any rba or rda to test juice, just put a couple of drops on the wick and vape, don't fill the tank unless your happy with it.

If your using ss mesh just dry burn it and move on to the next flavor.