The Lemo RTA: A Build With Pics

[Bored2Tears]

OK, so I have a related question since we seem to be on the subject of leaking and wicking. Lately, I am getting quite a bit more than the usual drop of liquid on my 510 contact pin on the base. It is leaking into the "cup" portion of the base. I'm sure my terminology isn't proper but I think you get my drift. I'm pretty consistent with how I do my wicking but I suspect this is usually a problem due to "under-wicking" ?


If that isn't the cause, I suspect my problem is that I have AFC tube/screw in the center post poorly adjusted. It's strange because this all started one day after my resistance was going all wonky on a coil and it appeared that the center post had worked itself out when I unscrewed the atty base. It was on a bit too tight, and it loosened out the center pin with the base somehow. I thought I got everything back on tight but then the liquid began seeping through that AFC / pin connection.

My vape seems unaffected.... and still good vapor production, so I don't think my wicking is too far off the mark...but maybe it is. I dunno ...I only have about two months with the Lemo and I only rebuild when necessary. I don't fiddle with it if it's working ok.

Anyone want to throw some guidance my way? The seeping of liquid isn't causing a problem really, but I probably lose about 6-8 drops of liquid each time I refill. Not a lot but a nuisance.

 

[WeirdWillie]

It's almost always wicking
Either your wick isn't retaining the juice it is absorbing, or you are flooding your your chamber with more juice than your wick can absorb and your coil can boil off.
How is your air flow set?
What are you using for wick?
How are you wicking?
Can you post pictures

 

[RandyF]

100% agree. I fill my Lemos completely every time, and I don't think they have ever had a vacuum related problem like most of my other RTAs.

And when I say completely, I mean only the tiniest of bubbles left in the tank.

I fill both of mine up completely every time as well. I really don't understand how people are getting leaking out of their Lemo's. I have built and rewicked mine dozens of times and the only leak I have ever had was when one of my tank seals had a kink in it. If the cotton/rayon is at least touching the base, without blocking the channel, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Bored2Tears]

It's almost always wicking
Either your wick isn't retaining the juice it is absorbing, or you are flooding your your chamber with more juice than your wick can absorb and your coil can boil off.
How is your air flow set?
What are you using for wick?
How are you wicking?
Can you post pictures

Sorry, can't post pics right now...but will tonight or at a later date if I can't resolve the issue. My wick material is KGD cotton, and I am running a very basic single coil, 28g Kanthal at 1.75mm or so. I wick bunny-ear style and cut the ears almost flush with the chimney, then tuck them in. My AFC is about 70%-80% open. I back it off about one full turn from fully open. I build this way every time.... as I am not too adventurous about trying new coils or wicks. Granted, I am not a real experienced coil builder so I am sure that I am not consistently getting the wicking material the same every time. I sometimes struggle getting the right amount.

I usually always run 50/50 e liquid.....but the juice I am running right now does seem thinner, even though it is supposed to be 50/50.

 

[KGB7]

If you do a hard or too many pulls/inhales to prime it (to get the air in to the tank), then it will leak as well.

 

[Bored2Tears]

Should I leave my wicks a little longer? I really don't check where they are touching after tucking them in with the chimney on. I guess I just watched a bunch of videos on how others wick theirs and most seem to cut them just slightly above the chimney / chimney base.

 

[RandyF]

Should I leave my wicks a little longer? I really don't check where they are touching after tucking them in with the chimney on. I guess I just watched a bunch of videos on how others wick theirs and most seem to cut them just slightly above the chimney / chimney base.

I juice my cotton (before I put the chimney on) and place it against the wall, making sure rests and spreads out over the length of the base, but not covering the channels. I also put a little juice on the base and wall so the cotton will adhere better. Once I like the way it looks, I just slip the chimney over it, put it all together and fill 'er up. Has worked every time.

 

[KGB7]

I juice my cotton (before I put the chimney on) and place it against the wall, making sure rests and spreads out over the length of the base, but not covering the channels. I also put a little juice on the base and wall so the cotton will adhere better. Once I like the way it looks, I just slip the chimney over it, put it all together and fill 'er up. Has worked every time.

Thats what i started doing as well and it works perfectly.

 

[Bored2Tears]

I'll have to try the method above. I cut my wick length with the chimney on, then tuck it in.....without ever really looking at whether it's touching the base or where it is in the juice channels. Guess I was afraid of trying to put the chimney on afterwards and having the wicks get caught on the chimney walls while screwing the chimney on.

 

[RandyF]

If you get it all pushed up against the wall and base, the chimney should go right over without any issues. Just make sure none of the wick is hanging over, which will get into the threads as you screw the chimney on.

 

[nopoison]

very basic single coil, 28g Kanthal at 1.75mm or so

I dont think your coil is big enough to handle the juice flow IMO. The one that comes pre-built on the Lemo from the factory is about twice the size (about 3.5mm) and pretty much what I am using. And I wick it like you do too without any trouble. The only thing i do different is I put a tiny screwdriver into the juice channel before I "lightly" stuff the wick down into the chimney base. After I have the wick in place I pull the screwdriver out and I know the hole doesnt have any wick blocking it. Of course prime it well with juice before putting everything else back together. This is pretty much the kayfun build and its not the way i started with the Lemo but after trying it out it just works better for me now.

 

[Bored2Tears]

I dont think your coil is big enough to handle the juice flow IMO. The one that comes pre-built on the Lemo from the factory is about twice the size (about 3.5mm) and pretty much what I am using. And I wick it like you do too without any trouble. The only thing i do different is I put a tiny screwdriver into the juice channel before I "lightly" stuff the wick down into the chimney base. After I have the wick in place I pull the screwdriver out and I know the hole doesnt have any wick blocking it. Of course prime it well with juice before putting everything else back together. This is pretty much the kayfun build and its not the way i started with the Lemo but after trying it out it just works better for me now.

You know, I had the thought a couple times that I should start using a bigger diameter coil, but never acted on that thought. I have no idea why. Creature of habit I guess. So, if under-wicking is contributing to my problem, this would make a huge wick compared to what I've been using. Will give that a go tonight as it's time to rebuild anyway.

 

[Bored2Tears]

Does everyone find it easier to trap their wire leads under the screws, or are you all mostly pushing them into the holes on the build deck? Lately I am struggling with the post screws and keeping the wires under there...but the first time I tried using the holes I gave up on that too.

I just struggle sometimes with hand/eye coordination ha ha.

 

[KGB7]

Using the holes, with nidle nose pliers and some patience it goes in with no issue. You need to precut the legs a tad shorter, right after the screw hole.

 

[NOVA jon]

I juice my cotton (before I put the chimney on) and place it against the wall, making sure rests and spreads out over the length of the base, but not covering the channels. I also put a little juice on the base and wall so the cotton will adhere better. Once I like the way it looks, I just slip the chimney over it, put it all together and fill 'er up. Has worked every time.

I would also add to screw on the first part of the chimney and check your wick again making sure it's against the base of the deck on each side and away from the juice channels. Sometimes when screwing on the chimney, you move the wick a little and that will sometimes cause it to leak because the juice flows around the wick.

 

[stearic]

If you get it all pushed up against the wall and base, the chimney should go right over without any issues. Just make sure none of the wick is hanging over, which will get into the threads as you screw the chimney on.

I usually put the chimney on and cut my wicks to just above that, push them down (need to try doing the bunny ear method) and then juice them up once they are down and in place, doing any adjusting as needed to make sure the juice channel is clear. This to me prevents having any issues of the chimney catching the wick and twisting it as you screw it down onto the deck.


I've been using the holes and not the screws for my coil leads. Anything larger then 28g seems to not want to catch on there. I need to order some 26g kanthal as i've been using the extra that comes with the lemo to make coils and i have had good coils come about with those. I know i read somewhere on here also that some people changed out the screws on the deck to some other ones as the stock lemo ones aren't that great at catching the coils in the first place.

 

[newphreak]

I tried to trap the wire under the screws, but the nickel wire is too soft and when i tried to move the coil into place it always ended up loose. So this is what i ended up with:
Inner diameter 2,4mm
10ish wraps, came out to 0,19ohm. So far working perfectly on my VS rDNA which I received today.
The wick I've made a little longer then usual since it's so thin. So I've tucked it around on the side and against the wall.

 

[WeirdWillie]

Gonna try posting this here too since this thread seems more active.

To those of you that have both a Lemo and a Lemo Drop, do you find that the juice flow is more restricted on the Drop? On my Lemo I can run it at 24 watts with no issues but with the Drop I have to turn it down to like 15 watts otherwise I hit my TP cutoff which suggests to me that the juice flow is inadequate. Additionaly, if I let it sit for a while to feed, or force some juice into the chamber by slightly unscrewing and retightening the tank I get a strong vape for a while, then I start slamming into the TP, again suggesting a feed problem. I'm thinking it might be because the small tank chamber creates a stronger vacuum while simultaneously reducing the pressure of the liquid itself to gravity feed into the tank. As I vape it, emptying the tank, I get more air into the tank it seems to feed better. Anyone else experiencing this? Maybe I'm just overfilling it?

Told you I'd report back, got my drop today
Poped in my customary twisted 28/30 ni200 1.8mm ID 10 wrap .17 ohm spaced coil
wicked with shiseido japanese cotton, been pretty much chain vaping it for about an hour and a half now at 30w 400 degrees no problem haven't hit TP once.
That said it vapes, wicks and feeds juice as great as any other Lemo I have which was to be expected, as it has the same build deck and air flow as its big brother. However the flavor is just not quite there, don't get me wrong it's ok but not as good as big brother.
I'm running identical builds, same Nicoticket Wakonda from the same bottle, same settings and I'll have to say big brother is the clear winner for flavor.
My initial thoughts are I'm not impressed when compared to the full size Lemo.
Still better than any kayfun or clearomiser but not as good as big brother.

 

[Canno]

I guess I have just been lucky. I wick just like bored2tears said. My coil is bigger though. I have never had the first problem. Coil it, wick it, pull up the cotton and screw the bottom chimney on. Trim it just above the top of chimney poke it down in there. Then juice it up. Put back together. Fill it and vape like a fool. I have never paid any attention to juice channels, base walls or any of that. Like I said, I guess I'm lucky.

PS.. When I first got mine I watched the Pbusarwhatever review and wick pretty much like he did.

Oh........and I got my second one a few days ago. I like em.

 

[RandyF]

I need to get a Lemo Drop to put on top of my SMPL mech. I know, wrong thread, but WeirdWillie's post got me thinking how nice a LD would look on top of my SMPL, and how compact it would be.

OT:

Does everyone find it easier to trap their wire leads under the screws, or are you all mostly pushing them into the holes on the build deck? Lately I am struggling with the post screws and keeping the wires under there...but the first time I tried using the holes I gave up on that too.

I just struggle sometimes with hand/eye coordination ha ha.

I trap them under the screw heads. When it comes to Ni, the shorter the coil the DNA40 needs to manage (which includes the legs), the better.