RBA's not heating up quick enough and no flavor

[blindsoup]

Hello All,
I just started getting into rba's recently. I have both a Genny (ZAP) and a Dripper(IGO-L). I have the exact same issues for both. Please note: The coils do glow evenly after a new build.

Issues:

• When first picking it up, it takes a few hits to produce any heat/vapor
• The flavor is weak, regardless of what juice i use (The vapor is great though)

Question:

• Should the atty crack and pop when vaping? (Occasionally, I get a quick 'pop' which always seems to startle me.....)

I am using them on a Provari at about 1.8 ohms. 30g Kanthol on 2mm Silica
Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[vapdivrr]

kind of need more info. my guess is there is not enough wattage for the resistance of the coil. what wire? what resistance? what mod? and what wick? and configuration of wick?

 

[bulldog63h]

What voltage are you running? That very well could be the issue.

 

[blindsoup]

4.8v with a 1.8ohm coil. 30g Kanthol / 2mm Silica / 4/5 wrap / Provari V2

Once it gets going, it fires fine, until i put it down for a while and pick it back up. Then it takes a few hits to get it going again. Also, the flavor is very muted.

Thanks Much for any help.

 

[Thrasher]

4.8v with a 1.8ohm coil. 30g Kanthol / 2mm Silica / 4/5 wrap / Provari V2

something def not right that set up should be very hot, i usually get around 1.8 to 2 ohms on my coils and rarely go over 4v.

just venturing a guess but i think maybe the wire is not what it is labeled as. 4 wraps of 30g on something as small as 2mm should be a lot lower. im in the 5/6 wrap range on doubled 3mm silica in my kayfun barely hitting 2 ohms

 

[Kanj.nguyen]

If vapor is good but flavor is weak, you should check the airhole size. If its too big it will mute flavor.

You definitely need to fire at higher wattage than you would on a Kayfun - KF design makes the vape hotter. Make sure your positive and negative screws are tightened well.

 

[blindsoup]

Thanks for the replies.

I should mention that i use a double wrap on the 2mm wick. I drilled out the airhole on the IGO to 2.2 (stock was 1, I believe). I have read that the flavor on RBA drippers is amazing. I am not experiencing that - maybe I am just spoiled using the HH357. Being so expensive, I was hoping i could replace that with an RBA dripper. I'll keep building coils, and stay with it. I failed to ask.......Does it take time for the flavor to develop on an RBA? I believe I have read somewhere that there is no 'break in' time.

 

[Thrasher]

with silica wicking no, it should be good to go from like the second puff.

im really at a loss as to why the wire is slow to heat at such a high voltage.

for flavor i can tell you this is usually related to airflow. the coil has to be perfectly placed in front of the airhole a little tweaking up or down or the cap left and right can make a major change.

and then again the actual build of the rda will make a difference. i thought the igo was kinda light but very very smooth, and the actual silica can change things up some.

there are a ton of variables when you get into rebuilding, sometimes it takes a bit of playing to get to where you want to go, but once you hit it, doing it again isnt an issue usually.

 

[notawoman]

Maybe the airhole is too big, I wrap a .6-.8 ohm single coil on 4 folds of 3mm cotton and run it on a mech. I like my airhole at 5/32.

 

[st0nedpenguin]

A 2.2mm airhole is diminishing your flavour for sure.

 

[Mikerachy]

Maybe the airhole is too big, I wrap a .6-.8 ohm single coil on 4 folds of 3mm cotton and run it on a mech. I like my airhole at 5/32.

That's a big hole o_o

 

[blindsoup]

Here is where I am at. I rebuilt the coil, it is wicking great and vapor is plentiful. I covered the hole partially by half. Still no flavor at all, and I am using Pluid. Wish I knew what it was. Maybe it is the specific kind of silica I am using. Very frustrating.

 

[vapo jam]

to clarify what others have stated, the airhole is too big for the coil that you're using. i have a nimbus with dual 3/32" (about 2.4mm) airholes, and the flavor is excellent. i have no idea how big the holes on my helios are, but the draw is even looser than on the nimbus, and the flavor is excellent. however, my nimbus is 0.5 ohms (35 watts on a fully charged battery, 27 watts at 3.7 volts), and my helios is 0.4 ohms (44 watts full charge, 34 watts at 3.7v). because the power is so high, i need the extra airflow in order to keep the vapor at a reasonable temperature.

in contrast, at 4.8v and 1.8 ohms, you're firing your coil at about 13 watts. at this power level, the 2.2mm airhole will allow too much airflow, which will keep the coil cooler than it should be. would it be possible to cover up 3/4 of the airhole instead of just half? this would allow about the same airflow as a 1.1mm airhole, which is probably about where you want to be.



disclaimer: i'm not in any way advocating building sub-ohm coils, especially ones as low or lower than mine are. i personally use safe practices, including the use of a dmm, proper batteries, etc. if you don't, or don't know what these are, don't even try it!

 

[blindsoup]

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions:

I covered up the hole 3/4's as suggested (covered with a piece of a band-aid, worked really well). The draw is much better, still loads of vapor and wicking nicely. However, no flavor .....none at all. I took the IGO apart, cleaned it. I will start over again tomorrow night with a fresh coil.

 

[notawoman]

That's a big hole o_o

oops, meant 3/32.

 

[gokusnimbus]

may be you chain vaped and vaped out your taste buds. 2.2mm is definitely too big. whats the draw like? very airy?

try this, on the igo-l get your 2mm silica and fold it 3 times so its 4 strands--fat wick. wrap 28g kanthal 8-10 times. should be around 1.9 - 2.1 ohms. more coils will make more flavor. 5.4v on the provari should make around 15 watts of tasty vape

 

[CloudZ]

With your 30 gauge kanthal, I would only fold the 2mm silica once and wrap 4 or 5 times around it. Make sure it is not so tight that the silica gets cut into but not so loose that the silica can easily slide inside the coil.

That said, 2.2mm is a very big hole if you can only pump 15 watts through the coil. That basically explains the lack of flavor and abundance of vapor. I actually drilled the holes too big on my IGO-W, so I filled them with JB Steelstick and re-drilled. They were 1.6mm each and now they are 1.2mm each, which seems about perfect. The stock holes seemed like they were about 0.8mm, which was just way too little airflow for high-wattage vaping. I like 1.6mm on my single coil setups, so you may want to try that. If you can get a new cap for the IGO-L, that would be ideal, since filling and re-drilling is kind of a PITA if you want it to look nice when you are done.

I've never tried an HH.357, but for the price I am sure they are specifically designed to maximize flavor. So you might be setting the bar too high.

 

[blindsoup]

I've never tried an HH.357, but for the price I am sure they are specifically designed to maximize flavor. So you might be setting the bar too high.

You may be absolutely right.......

Here is where i stand....and will stay standing (for now):

Rebuilt several times again. Various wraps/guage sizes/silica sizes. I covered the hole up, pretty much all the way. I had 1.5/2/2.5 ohm coils. I believe at this point, i am wrapping a solid coil. All glow evenly, etc..... Same result...Zero flavor. Is it possible that my coils are crap and are actually shorting out somewhere? The ohms do not jump, and everything seems good. I am hanging it up for now, too frustrated at the moment. I really want this to work. Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.

 

[CloudZ]

Well, I am surprised that you say it has NO flavor, not just slightly weak or muted. If you are getting lots of vapor, the coil is probably working correctly. How is the throat hit?

I think there is one last method you should try, and that is a microcoil. This type of coil is very similar to what they use in an HH.357, except the wick is cotton. Take a 1/16" drill bit (or something similar) and wrap your 30 gauge around it about 10 times, making sure all the coils are touching their neighbors. To do this, you wrap it as close as you possibly can by hand, then heat up the coil and squish it with some tweezers to get them as close together as possible. You want it to look smooth and consistent, and you can heat it with a flame or by hooking it up and firing it. After that, get a sterile cotton ball and tear off a small amount, roll it between your fingers loosely until it is small enough to just fit inside the coil. Add or remove cotton as necessary to make this work. Tightly roll the tip of one end and slide it through the coil. Fluff it up a bit, push the ends down so they touch the deck of the IGO and trim off the excess. Soak with juice and try it out. It might taste like cotton at first, but that goes away. Look at some pictures in the microcoil thread to make sure yours is similar.

Good luck.

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