Ok, I got my Ithaka clone coil working, turns out it was actually a problem with the center pin not being tight inside rather than the coil. The pre-made dual coil rig reads in at 1.8ohms.
So, I loaded it up with my tried and True Pineapple/Mango DIY and, well... this thing (the Ithaka clone) .. I'm more than impressed but also mad. I was not expecting something so dramatic.
This thing is SO damned efficient that none of my juice tastes ANYTHING like they do in a Protank, CE4, T3, EVOD or anything else. This thing is in a league all it's own. The flavors are SO much more distinct, separated and prominent, I can't figure out if I even like that because I've grow so accustomed to the muted flavors I have designed for myself and the now obvious inability of cheaper clearos to deliver it. I had built my flavors on Protanks mostly, and they usually taste pretty close to the same in other devices, but this Itaka is off the dang scale. If I'm going to use it, I'm going to have to buy 10 of them and start from scratch on DIY because NONE of my recipes will work now, they are far too strong. I can now actually taste each individual flavor that is mixed in with my juice... I can actually pick it out and tell it's there rather than tasting the resulting mixed flavor, if that even makes sense. I'll have to cut flavors at LEAST in half. I'm going to try it in single coil configuration when I get some wire just to see what it's like, but this thing ...
This thing is definitely not for plug-n-play people. It is infinitely adjustable for warmth, airflow, wicking rate, pin length, you name it.
I mean, this thing hits so hard, I'm going to have to drop from 18mg to 12mg or maybe even lower. And the flavor... jeezus man, I swear someone actually snuck in here and squeezed actual pineapple and mango juice into my tank when I wasn't looking.
I just don't know what to say.
Does this sound normal to you guys who are experienced in this arena? I've done my share of vaping, but the most expensive tank I've used is an iClear30 if that tells you anything. I think I may have bit off more than I can chew with this thing. I'm really excited about the ability to tweak all the things that have always been annoyances with other tank systems, but getting this where I want it is going to take a while.
Seriously, it reminds me of when I used to race local dirt tracks back in the 90's. I started out with a beater, hand-me-down tires and worn out engines I had put together with pocket change. I got used to what I had to do to keep the thing coming out of the corners and keep engine and wheel speed where I needed it to be. Then, one winter I got all new stuff, I had a brand new prof built engine, a Beast chassis and proper tires. It took me half the first season just to get to a point I could drive the dang car. I basically had to learn to drive all over again because I had something that worked the way it was actually supposed to... and that's what I feel like with this stinking Ithaka tank.
Now let me ask you, have you ever heard someone complain before about buying something that worked too well? Is this behavior because of the design somehow? The dual coils? I'd really like to know from a technical standpoint why it delivers flavor and nic so much better than say, a regular Protank that is working properly. Is it normal to have to pump a lot more wattage into something like this as well? Instead of my normal 7.5-8.0 watts, I'm running this thing at 13+. the normal laws of energy and coils don't seem to be applicable here for some reason.