Sick of rebuilables

[T41CK]

I've have tried out 2 rba's and I just cant seem to get the right. Got a DID clone, this didn't work for me. Got an AGA-S and this didn't work for me as well, tried SS mesh and silica and I can't seem to get them wicking properly. It feels like I've tried everything and seems that when I get them wicking, they taste burnt. SS mesh IMO is a whole different story and I have a feeling that I'm not oxidizing it properly. I've followed the infamous Scott Bonner video to the T but when it comes time to vape my Ohms go way down when power puffing and back up when I'm not.

On the other hand, I am loving my stardust V3 right now. Blowing out huge clouds of vapor and the perfect taste(not burnt). This is really starting to annoy the bleep out me knowing that I have droped $50 on rba's and getting better results of a $6 POC. Why is this?

Have a carto tank(boge F16) coming in the mail soon along with a couple of kanger T3's and to honest I am a little skeptical about this little care package as well.

I have also heard good things about the terminator/odysseus but I think am going to wait and see what the official test results from the guinea pigs in the co-op are, I am hoping thy are good.

Sorry to rant in this section but I figured since I'm having so much trouble with my RBA's I figured some on could beat it into here.

 

[dam718]

I am about to take this dive myself, have a couple of RBA's on the way, as well as a dripping atomizer...

From what I have seen, I don't know that I would classify the oddy as being in the same class as the AGA series or the DID. The oddy works a lot more like a REALLY nice Kanger T3, bottom coil atomizer so your wick should always be saturated. You also have a nice system for air flow control. Yeah, there is the need to use NR wire legs for your coil, but that's not a deal breaker, IMO.

I'm going to get an Oddy clone as well... In addition to the AGA-T+ and the Phoenix RBA's I have coming.

What I think is pretty nice about your testimonial here though is this... Each and every person is going to have a setup that works for them. If anything I would say that you are one of the lucky few who is getting great results from an inexpensive setup!

I know you can't be happy with your experience with RBA's... Just trying to find that half full glass...

 

[Tartan]

As much as you want to get into Rebuilds I honestly think if you have found something that works for you, stick with it it.

The most frustrating thing for me was inconsistency (across the board), so I bought myself a Provari (Vapes the same from fresh to dead) and I got a ZAP (thinking simplicity is bliss).

I've built 2 coils on the ZAP and 4 coils on my AGA-T.

I nailed the ZAP coils first time both times and i STILL haven't got a coil to work on the AGA-T.

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble i really am, i feel your pain. I found just taking a step back and thinking "do i NEED to build this coil or will this 6 dollar thingy satisfy me"

Personally i found that the rebuilding part of the process is actually fun for me, the tweaking the different wraps.. AN EXCUSE TO BUY AND USE A BLOWTORCH IN THE LIVING ROOM WITHOUT MY WIFE LOOKING AT ME TOO FUNNY!!!! its all just a lot of fun for me...

If rebuilding is frustrating trash it, stick to what works and what provides the least amount of frustration.

I needing something that i enjoyed and the simplicity of flipping open that box of cigs...packing it...and lighting up...i have that now.

Officially off cigs for life...even if Niquid is illegal tomorrow...i'm still buying Pure Michigan (strawberry) and vaping the .... out of it just so i have a reason to keep using and rebuilding my AWESOME hardware.

 

[CountSmackula]

As long as you've got something that makes you happy.

I used to use top coil clearos only. Was a happy camper... except for the price of the heads. I bought my first Chid just to try out the RBA 'thing'. I got lucky & got my first coil right the first time (well, except for nudging out the hot spots).

Now... 5 Chids, 4 Chobras, 2 AGA-Ts, 1 AGA (w/ 2 AGA-T+s on the way) later, I'm a VERY happy camper. Rebuilds only cost pennies - on the rare occasions they need 'em.

 

[dam718]

Yessir, having a reason to buy a blowtorch was pretty sweet... Haha, every time I walk by one I always wanted one just cause... Now I have one cause I NEED it!

 

[dam718]

As long as you've got something that makes you happy.

I used to use top coil clearos only. Was a happy camper... except for the price of the heads. I bought my first Chid just to try out the RBA 'thing'. I got lucky & got my first coil right the first time (well, except for nudging out the hot spots).

Now... 5 Chids, 4 Chobras, 2 AGA-Ts, 1 AGA (w/ 2 AGA-T+s on the way) later, I'm a VERY happy camper. Rebuilds only cost pennies - on the rare occasions they need 'em.

Pennies per rebuild would be a fine argument if you had ONE RBA! FREAK! LoL! Homie has 14 RBA's talking about saving money on rebuilds... Shut yo mouth fool! Probably has enough invested in RBA's alone to have bought 100+ top coil clearos! But I do get it! And I'm just making fun, can't fault a guy for sure... I'm building my collection faster than I care to admit... I try to justify it by the fact that I'm not smoking anymore... So far I'm breaking even, and smoking is EXPENSIVE here in Hawaii...

 

[bmwjen]

ok, it isn't really a blowtorch........I did a youtube video well over a year ago showing how to use the mini propane tank/nozzle to cure your wick. Yes, this was done in my living room.

 

[Hello World]

Have a carto Tank(boge F16) coming in the mail soon along with a couple of kanger T3's and to honest I am a little skeptical about this little care package as well.

Pessimism at it's best, I go on the assumption it's all garbage until proven otherwise ... lol

Can become a costly expedition. Sometimes I wonder maybe I should just stick with the deficients I already have as it often seems this can't be the worst ... lol

It's such accepted norms and practices in the e-cig world to buy a faulty product from some vendor/manufacturer and then buy from them again. And they know it.

Many spend thousands of dollars every year on cigarettes, but can't afford $100 on some item that keeps them off tobacco. Maybe the solution is to drop $500 - $800 on a top rig and be done with it.

 

[Thompson]

Thats what I really like about RBA. No more wonky coils that are mislabeled or decent performance followed by muted flavor & reduced vapor. Cost savings are a bonus.

 

[CountSmackula]

Co-ops rule!

Yikes, now that I look at it I've spent $242.67 on RBAs (~$17.33 per... but that includes rebuild kits & at least 1 spare clear tank for each). About what I spent on my ProVari & Vamo including the AW & Panny IMRs to run them. At least I use them all. I keep a different juice in each one & use ~5/day.

"Hi, my name's CountSmackula and I'm a genesis junkie."

 

[T41CK]

Thanks for your replies everyone, I have been in the New Members section for a while and just came back to see the progress.

At least I know I am not the only one suffering from these issues. I am literally out of ideas when it comes to RBA's, thing is I really do think they are the ticket. I just feel that even if I dropped a hundred dollars on crap ones that I would eventually find one that works but apparently not. Seems as if the top of the line RBA's might just be the way to go. All I know is that the Terminator might just it. I know I know I should just count my losses now and get a Zap,Genesis or Odysseus but I can't draw myself to do it.... Not just yet anyways.

Ahhhhhh and yes I do plan on putting some major cash down on a rig this year, I am actually saving for it right now. It keeps... Well I keep wanting to buy junk thinking cheap is the route to go. Ahhhh but not. Thank you everyone for hearing my rant

 

[chuckie]

My clone works better than my expensive gen.attys. A genesis atty is 2 end caps and some wire,some people can build them some can't.It does take a little practice.Read the thread by Raidy the inventor of the genesis it may help,if not I'd stick with whatever works for you.Good luck.

 

[bmwjen]

I go way back to the original 1/2 foot long scubagen to the original LINE, & the original Orion, those I still have sitting in one of my boxes somewhere..... (videos on my youtube zumbajenni)
RBAs really ARE the way to go. I 100% agree with you that in the community it seems to be acceptable practice to buy something crap from china, then return & purchase from the same vendor. I put a thread in the general section over a year ago that I am sick of buying crap, & then having to have my husband mod my mod.
I was glad to see USA vendors start carrying mesh, so that I don't have to order from overseas anymore. I got in on a co-op a few years ago & still have enough wick to last me another few years. I prefer mesh. I think Zen was the first to carry mesh, & cured mesh out of his shop over a year ago. I originally got into it because if it ever does go down & I can't get ecig supplies/juice anywhere, at least I will be skilled enough to rebuild an atty, & make my own juice.
In the long run it IS best to save up & buy something nice rather than the cheap crap. Take it easy, take a deep breath, don't get too overwhelmed, relax, enjoy the ride & know that ECF is always here for you.

 

[T41CK]

Yeah I only found out about Raidy a few months ago. He is a complete beast and I don't think we would have what we have to date if it wasn't for him

 

[Section1]

Find what you like and go with it. I still buy carto's for my 808's and really enjoy vaping them at times. Many choices out there and rebuildables aren't for everyone. I still have a love / hate relationship with mine at times. Whatever keeps you off analogs is what matters as far as I'm concerned.

 

[neonballoon]

I was just about to throw in the towel when trying to rebuild REOmizers (bottom-fed RBAs for REOs) and I could not get it set-up correctly so that it's better than the Cisco LR attys I was using. Sometimes I would get the vapor but no flavor whatsoever.
So as a last ditch effort, I dropped $160 for a Chalice I when it came in stock hoping a more expensive one can help me build it better (that logic) along with 5 more attys for me to just forfeit to.
I was getting the same cruddy results until I found one method which you can find in the front page of this forum, is to pick up a 3/32 drillbit, I think the other thread he was using 4/40 to pre-wind the coil and slip my cotton wick through. Fired it up without any cotton wick and it glowed evenly and beautifully than any other coils I've hand-wrapped. I am now a happy camper, only carry my Reo Grand+Chalice. Perfect easy coils every time and that RBA vapor is worth it to go through the learning curve.

Another guy was having an exact same issue as myself & you on the e-cig subreddit and after I suggested him to use the drillbit, he was able to get it set-up perfectly also. Check it out before you quit.

 

[xpen]

I think you've just set the bar a bit high when starting with the two atoms you've mentioned...

Both of them are very good, yet known for being somehow difficult to tame; I've read of people already experienced with RBA's pulling out their hair with the AGA's and the DID/DUD (and other similar RBAs)

Perhaps you should start with an RBA like a Phoenix or A7 as they're definitely easier to set up, and quite cheap; then when you get more experienced - and less frustrated by insuccess - you'll get back to those two. and win

I'd steer clear of the Zap/Penelope/Odysseus and similarly 'complicated' RBAs for the time being...

I've have tried out 2 RBA's and I just cant seem to get the right. Got a DID clone, this didn't work for me. Got an AGA-S and this didn't work for me as well, tried SS mesh and silica and I can't seem to get them wicking properly. It feels like I've tried everything and seems that when I get them wicking, they taste burnt. SS mesh IMO is a whole different story and I have a feeling that I'm not oxidizing it properly. I've followed the infamous Scott Bonner video to the T but when it comes time to vape my Ohms go way down when power puffing and back up when I'm not.

On the other hand, I am loving my stardust V3 right now. Blowing out huge clouds of vapor and the perfect taste(not burnt). This is really starting to annoy the bleep out me knowing that I have droped $50 on RBA's and getting better results of a $6 POC. Why is this?

Have a carto Tank(boge F16) coming in the mail soon along with a couple of kanger T3's and to honest I am a little skeptical about this little care package as well.

I have also heard good things about the terminator/odysseus but I think am going to wait and see what the official test results from the guinea pigs in the co-op are, I am hoping thy are good.

Sorry to rant in this section but I figured since I'm having so much trouble with my RBA's I figured some on could beat it into here.

 

[T41CK]

I figured I would update this thread a bit.

Today I am having a little bit of a better experience with the AGA. IMO it seems to get better after refilling the tank a second time. Meaning I used up about 3/4 of the juice that was in the tank and and topped it off. Tonight I am not getting any burnt flavor at all, with the same wick might I add and a nice amount of vapor. It also seems that when filled completely up the the top with liquid(pretty much coming out of the top two holes where the wick goes into the tank) it performs the best IMO. Laying the AGA on its side while I'm not vaping on it helps as well.

For the DID... I might just give it another shot tonight. I have been watching many tuts on mesh wick and to be honest, I don't know what I'm doing wrong here. I watched scubba steves video as well and here I thoughts I was over oxidizing the mesh. Scubba Steve seems to be oxidizing just a tad bit more than me and has no problems... Envy...ha ha. The only reason I think I'm over oxidizing the wick is because I was following a thread a few weeks ago and a rebuilder... was having the same issues. It would fire at first then jump down on ohms after vaping and back up while not. A member came on and said that he might be over oxidizing from the sounds of it. I was getting the same issue so I assumed.

But yeah my stardust is still a beast....IMO

 

[JD1]

....On the other hand, I am loving my stardust V3 right now. Blowing out huge clouds of vapor and the perfect taste(not burnt). .....

But wait, it gets even better. I use a wick setup on my reduxes similar to whats shown in this picture. When it come time to clean, I pull the old wick out of the coil, pulse the coil a couple of times, slide in a new wick and let it soak a couple of hours and I'm back in business. I haven't been using this method long enough to see how long my coils will last, but I'm thinking its going to be a long time. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ivi-nova-rebuild-tutorial-18.html#post7074093

 

[vapdivrr]

it is a bit of a conundrum, you dont want to spend alot of money on something that you might not like, but then again a quality device imo is easier to get right. for me anyways, the 2 cheapy clone gennys that i own, or had owned were alot more difficult to get right than my other quality devices. currently my ac-9 is by far the best genny that i have ever tried, and by far the easiest to get right.