Say hello to sunshine

[audiocat86]

Hey all, new to the forums, but I've been vaping for about 6 months now. I started because I wanted to quit smoking, and so far it's been going good.

A bit of history: I started with an eGo clone with a basic Vision clearo. It was fine and dandy. My sister and another friend introduced me to some of the higher end stuff; sister rocking a ProVari unit and my friend with a mechanical mod. I was after a bit of thicker cloud with my ego, so I decided to drop down to a 2 ohm clearo, and that worked out well for me.

Fast forward a few months, and my girlfriend's car somehow devoured my ego. For Christmas, she picked me up a K100 mechanical and igo-w RBA, built by the shop where she got it from. I immediately read up on it and the many different builds possible before I even started using it.

The question I have is when should I rebuild my igo-w? So far, it still tastes great and I have a pretty good cloud.

Another question is why does it sometimes burn hot? It's a dual-coil setup and measured at 1.5 ohms on my multimeter, and I do know that when the juice is almost dry, it's kinda hot. But there are some hits where there's still a good amount of juice that burn quite a bit. Anything I can do about this? Does the juice make any difference? I believe the juice that my girlfriend got me is a 70/30 PG/VG blend.

I've also noticed that when I take long hits, it goes from a cool hit to a harsh burning one within 3-4 seconds. Is this normal?

Other than that, when it is time to rebuild, I was thinking of using some 30-32ga kanthal. No idea what wick material yet, probably silica or ekowool. I also want to bump it down to 1 Ohm (so 2 2-ohm coils), but I don't know if that would produce the burning sensation earlier or not.

Any help or insight would be appreciated!

 

[Whatsername]

Hello and welcome! I can't help you with your questions but I'll give you a bump so someone else can!

 

[Dakota Jim]

well the hot/burnt taste on some hits is the mechanical is not regulated like your ego was - fresh charged battery is firing at 4.2 volts and it will go down as you use it

getting hot and burnt after 3-4 seconds is your battery stressing at the amp pull you are giving it

the rda itself getting hot is caused by the "steam/vapor" it is creating without any eliquid surrounding it to insulate as in your normal clearos and tanks

rebuild it when you are getting a burnt taste all the time - if you use cotton you can easily just pull the cotton wick - dry burn the coil clean and then put new cotton in (I use organic cotton from walgreens - about $4.00 for a lifetime supply - and I don't boil it just as I never boiled my cigarettes before smoking them)

Dual coil will stress your battery quicker - make sure you get some 22 or 30 amp batteries to handle it better - if the button or battery tube ever get "hot" stop using immediately

 

[RubyRoo]

Hey! I have an Igo-W and it's a great atomizer. As far as what gauge kanthal to get, that all depends on the type of build you are going for. If you are going for a simple, silica build, I'd go for 32 gauge and 3mm silica. I build my Igo-W with dual micro coils and cotton wick. So, if you are going with micro coils, I'd pick up some 28 gauge and some organic cotton balls.

The Igo-W also has the TINIEST AIRFLOW HOLES IN THE WORLD. They are about .5mm each and cause a very warm/hot/slightly harsh vape. If you are feeling brave, I'd drill them out to at least 1mm each or 3/64 drill bit size. They are also very difficult to drill out, and there are many threads here on ECF that can give you advice with drilling out your RDA.

And remember, a higher PG liquid, will give you more of a throat hit. I generally stick to at least a 50/50 blend in my drippers. More VG with more airflow around your coils will also give you more vapor and flavor. Also, the position of your coils will effect your vape too.

Search the threads here, and look into the rebuildables forum for some great advice. I hope this helps!

 

[audiocat86]

Awesome! Thanks for the tips! The extra battery my girlfriend got for me is an IMR unit, a Sony US18650VTC4, and it states that those have a 30A draw, so I think I'm clear there. The battery that came with it is an ICR unit from Kamry and no idea what the specs are. I'll keep in mind about the draw as I continually fire it.

As for the air holes, I can fit a 1/16 inch (1.58mm) Allen straight through. I was thinking about boring it out to 3/32 (2.3mm), since I have access to a mill and appropriate bits. Is that necessary?

 

[audiocat86]

Did my first rebuild the other day (30 gauge with 2mm silica folded twice). I got it down to .8 ohms, a bit lower than my goal. I actually like it as it is.

I went to a local shop and got some tips from a few guys that frequent it, and holy hell! Rebuilding this thing is pretty easy! I was also able to try some different PG/VG blends. Of the ones I've tried so far, I think I like the 60/40 blends.