Reactor Coils - Wish List

[hamburglar]

Ok, we all know that the reactor tank is basically a Freemax Starre Tank. Doesn't matter who manufactures it. It is a really nice tank, and Halo sells it at a really nice price.

Halo sells the Kanthal coils in 0.5 ohm (20-60Watt) and 0.25 ohm (20-100Watt). These are offered at a good price, and I have been pleased with them.

But there are others out there, and I think it would be nice for Halo to expand their offering. I would especially like to get the Ceramic coils at a good price from Halo. Here are some of the others that I know of:

Ceramic 0.3 ohm
Clapton 0.5 ohm
Nickel DVC 0.15 ohm
Nickel DVC 0.25 ohm

Personally, my reactor battery didn't last very long. It pooped out on my about 60 days in. But its an istick50 and they are not known for longevity. But I am still using my Reactor Tanks on a Halo Tracer Battery, along with a couple other 3rd party batteries. And I don't plan on getting rid of these tanks. I would very much like to purchase my coils from Halo also.

 

[Gary W]

Sounds like a great list. I've only recently heard about ceramic coils though and never actually have seen one. Do you like using the Starre tank on the Tracer?

 

[wheezal]

i dont know what u just sed, so i'll assume it was aboot pudding pops, cuz they are delishus.

but there is a thread for feedback to Halo:

Suggestions & Feedback

not sure it gets the love it used to in days past, but wouldnt hurt to also post your pudding pop suggestion thar.

 

[hamburglar]

Gary, the Starre tank (Reactor Tank) is a good fit on the Tracer Battery. It works well and fits flush.

I have also used that same tank on an Sbody Macro (my favorite pocket setup), and an IStick TC100. I absolutely love that tank. I have a couple of them but I broke the glass in one. Ill order new glass and keep using it.

 

[Gary W]

Sounds good, hamburglar! I love the tank as well. I just ordered the new Tracer Twist battery from Halo and I'm looking forward to trying it out on that too. The Tracer twist is a bit bigger than the Tracer standard battery...I'd have to check the specs again. I really love the Reactor but I tend to take the Tracer with me and keep the Reactor for home use.

 

[Gary W]

That sounds awesome. Payday can't come soon enough!

 

[hamburglar]

Rvshehata,

I just got the 0.25 Stainless, 0.5 Stainless, and 0.25 Kanthal to test. Looking forward to trying those. Thanks for the feedback on the 1.5 Kanthal. I may give that a shot next.

 

[Zombieslug]

Rvshehata,

I just got the 0.25 Stainless, 0.5 Stainless, and 0.25 Kanthal to test. Looking forward to trying those. Thanks for the feedback on the 1.5 Kanthal. I may give that a shot next.

Hey, Hamburglar!
I was wondering about your thoughts on the different coils.
Also, you'd expressed an interest in them having Claptons, and I see on the site that they have .5 Claptons , and was wondering if it's worth giving them a try.
I still love my Reactors, but have been smoking stinkies a lot for awhile now, and need to put an end to that.
So, time to invest in more (maybe even better?) vaping stuff again.
I've been so pleased with the regular .5's on the Reactor, including their life-span, and was curious about how the Claptons and Stainless compare on taste and longevity.

 

[hamburglar]

Hey I made that post on Aug 11th. At that time, or a day or two after, I put a Kanthal 0.25 in a reactor tank and started running it at 80-90 Watts. It lasted about 2 weeks and I went through about 60ml of juice. Id say it performed just like the 0.5 kanthal coils, but I could run it at higher wattage. So that was nice.

At the same time I installed a 0.5 Stainless coil in a Reactor Shorty tank. I have been running it between 35-40 watts. Ive burned at least 200ml of juice through it. And it is still installed and working!!!! That's over a month of use! Its just now starting to spit and dry hit just a little bit. So probably time to replace it. But I am extremely impressed with the stainless.

I have not ordered a Clapton yet, but I will by no later than black Friday.

 

[Zombieslug]

Hey I made that post on Aug 11th. At that time, or a day or two after, I put a Kanthal 0.25 in a reactor tank and started running it at 80-90 Watts. It lasted about 2 weeks and I went through about 60ml of juice. Id say it performed just like the 0.5 kanthal coils, but I could run it at higher wattage. So that was nice.

At the same time I installed a 0.5 Stainless coil in a Reactor Shorty tank. I have been running it between 35-40 watts. Ive burned at least 200ml of juice through it. And it is still installed and working!!!! That's over a month of use! Its just now starting to spit and dry hit just a little bit. So probably time to replace it. But I am extremely impressed with the stainless.

I have not ordered a Clapton yet, but I will by no later than black Friday.

Wow! That's nuts on the stainless.
I'm wondering about whether it's worth exploring higher wattage and trying the .25's. (i guess maybe SS .25's?)
Haven't seen much feedback anywhere on the difference in flavor... as in - is it worth burning through more than twice as much eliquid? Is the taste THAT improved by blazing through all that extra juice? And do the coils last half as long?
Only info i can find relating to the difference is people saying that they find the flavor better in the Freemax Starre .5's than the .25's.
So - since it's the same tank and coils... do you find a significant flavor improvement with the .25's and all that extra wattage and juice usage?
I've been wanting a Smok X Cube Ultra for awhile, but i'd like to be able to use my Reactor tanks still, if possible, since i have six of em.
(Oh... also... 35-40 WATTS on the SS .5's??? That's not burning your cotton???)
Thanks for any info you've got. Having a hard time finding feedback anywhere.

 

[hamburglar]

Let me first share the wattage information on the coils. Its hard to find this info without purchasing the coils and looking at their markings.

Stainless 0.5 Ohm - 20-50 Watt
Stainless 0.25 Ohm - 20-60 Watt
Kanthal 0.5 Ohm - 20-60 Watt
Kanthal 0.25 Ohm 20-100 Watt

The setup that I used the Stainless 0.5 coil in was a Halo Reactor Shorty tank, and an Sbody Macro Battery (tops out at 40 watts) I normally run the 0.5 Kanthal coils in this setup. I noticed that at the end of life I start to get a burnt flavor with the Kanthal. I did not with the stainless. It tasted really clean the entire time. The only indication I had that the coil needed to be replaced was the cotton not soaking up juice quickly enough for my normal vaping. I started getting some dry hits.

I tested the Kanthal 0.25 with a Halo Reactor (version 1) tank on an IStick TC100 Battery. Usually I use the 0.5 kanthol coils in this and drive them up to 60 Watts (their rated max). This is my weekend or drinking vape.....lol When I want higher wattage. But with the 0.25 installed I kept it between 80-90 Watts the entire time. It was a warmer vape. Flavor pretty much the same as running 60 watts. I honestly could not tell any difference. I guess the 0.25 coils are useful if you want to go over 60 watts. Lasted about the same as a 0.5 coil at 60 watts.

 

[Zombieslug]

Let me first share the wattage information on the coils. Its hard to find this info without purchasing the coils and looking at their markings.

Stainless 0.5 Ohm - 20-50 Watt
Stainless 0.25 Ohm - 20-60 Watt
Kanthal 0.5 Ohm - 20-60 Watt
Kanthal 0.25 Ohm 20-100 Watt

The setup that I used the Stainless 0.5 coil in was a Halo Reactor Shorty tank, and an Sbody Macro Battery (tops out at 40 watts) I normally run the 0.5 Kanthal coils in this setup. I noticed that at the end of life I start to get a burnt flavor with the Kanthal. I did not with the stainless. It tasted really clean the entire time. The only indication I had that the coil needed to be replaced was the cotton not soaking up juice quickly enough for my normal vaping. I started getting some dry hits.

I tested the Kanthal 0.25 with a Halo Reactor (version 1) tank on an IStick TC100 Battery. Usually I use the 0.5 kanthol coils in this and drive them up to 60 Watts (their rated max). This is my weekend or drinking vape.....lol When I want higher wattage. But with the 0.25 installed I kept it between 80-90 Watts the entire time. It was a warmer vape. Flavor pretty much the same as running 60 watts. I honestly could not tell any difference. I guess the 0.25 coils are useful if you want to go over 60 watts. Lasted about the same as a 0.5 coil at 60 watts.

Interesting.
I'm just wondering about moving to a higher-powered mod set-up so that I CAN try the warmer vape thing.
Sounds like it doesn't change flavor at all? Just able to make it a warmer vape.
Guess I sort of assumed that by burning that much more eliquid at higher wattage - there'd be a stronger flavor presence? Guess not, huh?
I dunno if I'm gonna go that route (probably give it a try).
In the meantime, I know these .5 coils are rated to go that high, but I always sort of found that after about 28 Watts, the flavor started becoming weaker, and never pushed the coils much further, assuming I'd just end up burning the cotton and ruining the coil for future use.
I'll push em a bit further on these kanthal .5's i'm using and see what I think with the (original) Reactor batteries I have - because I think I DO enjoy a warmer vape.
I've got one pack of .5 Claptons (guess they're kanthal too) on the way... to see if they happen to boost flavor - just for curiosity's sake.
Then I think I may try some SS .25's with a higher-powered mod.
I'm really getting annoyed at fiddling with my batteries/tanks to try and make em read at .5.
Everybody's saying .5 and .4 and .6 are all the same to them - you just set your wattage and vape - whatever the resistance ends up being.
Guess I'm overthinking it?
Not from my perspective. From .5 to .6 is a big jump in voltage at the same wattage. And since I have my batteries set for maximum flavor at .5, when it goes to .6, it goes into flat taste for me at .6, and I think makes it approach burnt.
And once the cotton burns, yer fuct with that coil.
Whatever.
This fiddly crap is what always sends me back to stinkies, and I'm SO over smoking cigarettes. But also SO over this frustrating lack of control as far as CONSISTENCY.
(which is exactly why i've given up on trying to bother with rebuildables. NOTHING more frustrating to me than spending the time to make the build, then the wicking not allowing it to vape properly afterwards. Fiddling. More fiddling. STILL can't just freaking VAPE THE TASTY!)

 

[hamburglar]

I am certainly not an expert about the flavor and small changes due to wattage. I think my sense of taste and smell is sub-par after a decade of smoking. To me higher wattage just gives me a warmer vape, and a bigger blast of vape. So basically I use wattage at or under 40 watts the majority of the time. But when I am in the mood, I grab my larger mod and run higher wattage. The 0.25 coils will be nice now that they are available, because I feel like I can safely go over 60 watts now.

I DIY the majority of my ejuice. If I want it stronger, I just mix it stronger. I like to vape a lot, so I also mix the nic strength pretty low. These days I mix it at 1.44 mg/ml (0.3ml of 48mg/ml,per 10ml finished juice). I do like some Halo juice as a treat though

 

[DaveOno]

Important point about the nic level, hamburglar. Regardless of how much more taste or vapor, the lower ohm coils use juice a lot quicker. So each hit is delivering more nic. The few times I go sub ohm, it is with juice at half my normal nic level.

Smokie, keep the course, brother. You are done with stinkies. Deal with the little idiosyncrasies of this vape gear. It is way better than the stuff we vaped 3 years ago. Better coil life, longer lasting charges, better vape experience.

Welcome home.

 

[Zombieslug]

Important point about the nic level, hamburglar. Regardless of how much more taste or vapor, the lower ohm coils use juice a lot quicker. So each hit is delivering more nic. The few times I go sub ohm, it is with juice at half my normal nic level.

Smokie, keep the course, brother. You are done with stinkies. Deal with the little idiosyncrasies of this vape gear. It is way better than the stuff we vaped 3 years ago. Better coil life, longer lasting charges, better vape experience.

Welcome home.

Thanks for the encouragement, Dave.
I most definitely AM done with stinkies.
They're really starting to bother my throat, and they taste awful now, after going back n forth with delicious vapes, yet I keep getting frustrated and foolishly returning to them.
I truly think i'm done now though.
Thanks to just talking some of this through with @hamburglar (I know no one who vapes - though I've spent quite a bit of money a few times hooking family and friends up with Halo gear in the last few years unsuccessfully), so haven't been able to get a handle on any of this stuff except through guess-work and expensive purchases.
This Reactor set-up thrilled me from the get-go, and I still love it - aside of the fluctuation business, but it seems that is just par for the course.
I gotta say, @hamburglar - thanks for your posts! I've bumped a couple tanks up to 34 watts @.5, and I'm absolutely loving the warmer vape, with no diminished flavor at all.
I always feel that the warmer vape tends to improve the impression of flavor with most my eliquids anyway. Wish I'd not been so worried about burning my coils at the higher wattage for all this time, but bygones, right?
I'm sorry to say in a Halo thread that I can't afford Halo juices anymore @ twenty bucks a 30mL, and have moved to buying 120mL bottles for twenty bucks instead - mainly in the dessert flavor profile that makes me happy.
I will always have a huge place in my heart for Halo, and continue to enjoy my Reactor tanks and great long-lasting coils (even with dessert flavors)... but I think that it may be time to upgrade my batteries (it's been about 9 months of Heavy usage and Little usage intermittently between stinky periods).
I think an X Cube Ultra will be a nice treat for me, to use with my collection of Reactor (version 1) tanks... maybe trying the SS .25 coils.
Thanks to the always helpful and supportive vaping compatriots here in the Halo subsection of ECF I find myself highly encouraged to give stinkies the middle-fingered salute with both hands for once and for all. (30 years is enough. And I'm only 44. )
It's nice to be home.
Thanks again @DaveOno and @hamburglar (and @wheezal & the rest of the Halo crew)