School me on my new RTA... please

[MatchHead]

Hi all,

I have been vaping with my own juice from my homemade box and rebuilding Aspire BVC coils for a few years (and happily so). But I recently stepped up to an RTA (FireLuke) with a 3 battery box (Reauxleux). I'm lovin' it! Didn't know what I was missing.

But I could use some info from the experienced ones.

I started with the sextuplet coil that came with the tank. Worked pretty darn well. After 3 weeks I think its beginning to drop off. How long do the premade coils usually last?

I just swapped in the rebuildable deck with the two premade clapton coils that came with it. It was burning VERY hot, I had to drop the wattage down to 50ish (from 75). But its smoking great. Is it normal to reduce the wattage for these types?

When I installed this head it showed as .18 ohms. But after smoking a bit it has dropped to .12. Is this normal?

This head is VERY leaky. I'm thinking I maybe didn't wick it properly. But maybe you guys could offer some advice before I tear it down and retry.

 

[mimöschen]

The life expectancy of a coil depends on various factors, so some people get a week out of a coil, others a month.
It depends on the wattage, juice and overall personal vapestyle.
Thicker or sweeter juices gunk up a coil much faster, than thinner liquids for example. Higher wattages can burn out a coil faster than lower wattages and chainvaping kills a coilhead faster than a more moderate vaping style.
For my part, I rewick after about 100ml of juice. Most of the time even sooner.
But that's personal preference.

With an RTA you have to find your personal sweet spot. If it's too hot, lower the wattage. Although I'd do it the other way round. Start low and crank the wattage up in 5w increments, until you get the vape you like.

I've never had such a drop in resistance.
Make sure that the deck and all screws are screwed in tight.

If all the orings are in place, the tank is properly screwed together and it still leaks, you need more cotton in the juice ports.
If it leaks only on refilling, try closing the airflow before you pour the juice in.
Close the fillport more slowly.
Do not refill while the tank is still hot. Let it cool down first.
Try burping the tank. Before opening the airflow, turn it upside down. That causes the pressure inside the tank to release, without pushing the juice inside the chamber. But burping is only necessary, if the tank isn't properly wicked imo.

 

[mimöschen]

When wicking an RTA the for the first time, I go for an inner diameter of 3mm for the coil and feed it with around a quarter of a muji pad after removing the outer layers.
I then cut the wicks that long, that the juice intakes are fully filled.
If I feel it doesn't wick properly, I can still remove the deck and thin out the wicks until I get the vape I like.
For me I've come to the conclusion, that wicking is the essential part, when building on an RTA, because it's impact on flavor and vapor production is immense. It might need a little bit of experience or practice, but sooner or later you do it almost by instinct alone.

 

[stols001]

Some people get months out of a coil, others get less. Rewicking is usually more frequent than that, but it's easier, usually. Depending on coil material you can dry burn it to clean it, or scrub it with a small brush.

Resistance changes of that sort should only happen if you are using stainless steel and they MIGHT stay lower after that first use, but only slightly. It's entirely possible that one of your coils has come lose from the post, however, so you should probably check it (especially if it's a kanthal wire).

As far as wattages, priming from the low side and going up slowly generally works. A dual coil RTA often has a lower resistance (unless you really work hard at creating high resistance coils) as it will halve the resistance of what you build. Lower resistance builds GENERALLY require more wattage to produce a likeable vapor, but it is possible you have gone too high, or you may just prefer the other deck. I can't vape sub0hm very much as I am a MTL vaper and tend to want less vapor and higher nicotine and a tighter draw. With that said, some builds just provide good vapor at a range of wattages, so if you prefer a lower wattage, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

It can be hard to get an RTA not to leak. If your coils are in place correctly you may want to look at trying to get your cotton tighter in the coils. I actually prefer rayon which shrinks a bit, so I really stuff my COIL tightly, but then do a fair amount of trimming/thinning the wicks. You might want to watch a youtube video or two to get particular tips for how to best wick your deck, they are sometimes very helpful.

Good luck,

Anna

 

[Letitia]

I always go back and watch a couple of videos when I get a new rta or rba head. I just fast forward to the wicking. I agree that you don't have enough wick. With rba you usually need to tweak a bit to find the sweet spot.

 

[MatchHead]

Thanks everyone!
I did watch some videos on wicking before I tried one. And I thought I might be a little short on the ends. But for my first try, I really wanted to get it in there and see what happens! So I'm pretty sure I didn't stuff the channels enough.

I'll also remember to let the tank cook before filling. Thanks mim!

I just put the 6 banger back in and I'll give the deck another rebuild.

Thanks again for the great info!