RN4081 Atomizer - thread pitch changed?

[Vapyr]

I'm new to vaping and this forum, and this is my debut post. I'm sure this will be more detail than you experienced folks need to answer my question, but better too much than not enough.

Rather than ordering my first eCig online I decided to support my local smoke shop and buy from them. I figure if I buy what they sell, I have a ready source of parts locally, and can draw from their expertise if needed. It didn't really work out that way.

The unit I bought is depicted in "myECig.jpg" below. Hunting around for a matching box online it looks like this would be an RN4081. It is a "3 piece" unit, the battery is white with light gray stripes, and the atomizer has a protective shroud that covers the bridge. I measured the voltage of the battery at 3.7v, and I measured the resistance of the atty at 3.9 ohms.

All has been fine and I have been pleased with the unit. I wanted a 3-piece because I'm a tinkerer and wanted to prepare my own cartridges easily. The main drawback of this is when changing flavors or nicotine/not, it takes awhile to vaporize all of the prior juice out of the atty before you're into the "new stuff". I decided to grab a couple new atomizers from the place I bought the eCig from, so I could have an expensive version of a cartomizer -- dedicating an atty to a few different concoctions. No problem, got them and a few days went by. Then I went to put on a new atty last night and lo and behold, the threads are different than mine.

In AttyCompare1.jpg and AttyCompare2.jpg you can see my atty (fine threads on left or at top) vs. the new atty (coarse threads on right or at bottom). Other than the threads the atomizers are nearly identical. They both measure right at 3.9 ohms, have the same length, the same shield diameter (.323 in. / 8.2 mm), etc. The new (coarse thread) atty does have larger carburation holes, and the bridge material is a little wider, but that's about the only difference I've noticed.

I went back to the store today figuring they just sold me the wrong one. Well, that's the only atty they sell for those units, and even more surprising, the same unit in pink, and all other colors but the white, have the coarse battery/atty threads. He said the white ones were from their newest shipment and they also got a whole box of atomizers but they are all coarse thread.

He did have an atty for another ecig that had the smaller threads, but did not have the full shroud covering the bridge. Also the diameter of the rest of the atty was just a little smaller (but noticeable), and I have no idea about the resistance as I didn't have an ohm meter with me.

Looking around online it seems like most of the atomizers I see, and all of the RN4081 atomizers I see, have the coarse threads. Many of the pictures online don't show the threads really well, so there may be some fine thread ones out there and I just can't discern it from the pictures.

So, what I'm left wondering is: what atomizers can I use with this battery, and is this an RN4081? If finding atomizers for this unit is going to be a pain in the ...., I'm open to just buying a whole new eCig and starting over. I have a bunch of this size of cartridge and would like to be able to at least use them, so if you're going to recommend a new eCig, please consider that.

I've been reading on the forums here for the past few hours trying to make sure this hasn't come up before. If I failed and this has already been addressed, my apologies.

My main criteria in an eCig would be: a) lots of vapor, b) widely supported (easy choice and availability of atomizers, cartridges -- especially blank cartridges, etc.), c) looks more or less like a normal cigarette, d) is a 3-piece design. If I'm just a crummy searcher and this atomizer (the fine thread one) is readily available, then I'm all set -- I'm otherwise happy with the unit if I can get batteries and atomizers. If not -- and ongoing parts availability for this eCig is going to be a pain -- I'm ready to dump it for another. I've read about LR atomizers (for more vapor, but at a loss of some battery life) and would want to have the option to experiment with that on whatever I end up with.

OK, I'm starting to ramble here. Any thoughts on what I have and/or what I should switch to if what I have is a support nightmare?

Thanks!!!

 

[cskent]

Hi and welcome to ECF. If the threads are different most likely they're different models. That's one of the things that differentiates one model from another. You can get replacements from a few places like Litecigusa.net_RN 4081 atty. If you look at the picture it seems to be the coarse thread though. I'd make sure you actually have a 4081 first so you don't end up with more stuff you can't use.

I owned an RN 4081 when I first started vaping. I had nothing but trouble with it so moved on to another model quickly. If yours is doing what you need it to, there's no point in buying another unit. But if you can't find parts for it you'll eventually have to get something different. If battery life isn't an issue I'd suggest either the KR808 or a 510. If you want long runtime, go with something that has a larger battery like an eGo or Riva. They also produce better vapor than a small battery unit.

 

[Vapyr]

Thanks for the reply cskent. When I made my post I was fairly certain it was a RN4081 because I found other identically packaged items being sold online as RN4081. Now however I'm certain it is a RN4081 as I went and looked at the packaging again and lo and behold on the back of the manual it says RN4081B1. Perhaps the "B1" is important here. I Googled RN4081B1 and only found like two hits, neither one of which were particularly helpful. Honestly I really want to just make this the merchant's problem -- I bought locally precisely so I wouldn't have to mess with garbage like this. I'm guessing that they probably won't be able to supply me with batteries either going forward.

Perhaps the RN4081 got redesigned and the new batteries and atomizers will become more readily available in the future. Meanwhile I've got two atomizers I can't use for anything, and of course I tossed the receipt -- because why in the world would I need it. I'm so glad I paid super top dollar full boat retail to support my local merchant.

 

[cskent]

It does sound like they are different versions of the RN4081. That doesn't solve your problem however. You could always buy batteries to match the atomizers but that would kind of defeat your purpose. You might try calling or emailing some vendors who sell 4081 stuff and explain the situation to them. Most vendors are willing to acommodate and will do what they can to help.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Yes its possible it's a slightly different version of the RN4081 with a different thread on it. The website for the manufacturer of RN series e-cigs is here - SHENZHEN FIRST UNION TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. They make cigs for Smoking Everywhere, Njoy, Smoke51 etc.

There's no logical reason to do it, although I could speculate that certain vendors may want to have a less compatible model as a sort of "lock in" to force people to buy replacement parts from them at inflated prices, rather than have them get cheaper generic parts elsewhere.

I've got an RN4081 atty here (not used any more) and it looks more like the coarse thread model in your pictures above. The fine thread version looks rather like a Joye 510/Joye 306 connector, although it's difficult to tell whether it would actually be the same from a picture.

 

[Vapyr]

Yep - that was my first thought -- well, since this atomizer is so common, I can just buy batteries that fit them, and then I'm all set. Except I won't have a charger for those batteries. So I can buy a charger for that thread spacing. But then I've bought a whole new eCig at that point. Hahahaha.

I will definitely check in with a couple vendors that sell the RN4081 and reference the pics in the OP to see if they have atomizers like that. If this is the way the RN4081's are now then chances are they are going to have to start carrying parts for them eventually.

 

[Vapyr]

Papa, I agree with your observation that the threads on this look a lot like the 510.

For now my issue is resolved as the local merchant called my cell today and let me know they decided to "part out" some of their "white battery" RN4081 kits so they would have spare batteries and atomizers to sell for people who have bought that eCig from them. They are also going to order the correct atomizers and batteries from their source in China to go with them, but are (understandably) a little frustrated that they now have to deal with two different atomizers for the RN4081's (the coarse thread for all the different color batteries except white, and the fine thread for the white). I can definitely appreciate what a pain that is on their side.

Thanks to all for your input on this.