The ZAP Rebuildable atomizer (RBA)

[RedhatPat]

Just wanted to report that after using the stock wick and coil for a month, I finally put in a new wick and coil. I took out the insulator and used 2 of the included 400 mesh wicks instead of one. It's like night and day! It was nice before but now it's awesome! It's wicking much better, more vapor and the draw seems tighter...or maybe I'm just used to it.

Didnt nostradamus predict this, doesnt this mean the end of the world? You wrapped a coil around 2 pre-oxidized 400's? Is that allowed? I mean does it really work, safe, etc? What's the point around the insulator, I mean what's its purpose and what are the consequences for removing it?

P.S Is anyone selling preoxidized, nicely rolled ready to go 500 ss mesh yet??

P.SS If your drip tip is a lil loose on your zap, wrap the oring in dental floss or sewing thread for a more snuggable fit!

 

[donnah]

Didnt nostradamus predict this, doesnt this mean the end of the world? You wrapped a coil around 2 pre-oxidized 400's? Is that allowed? I mean does it really work, safe, etc? What's the point around the insulator, I mean what's its purpose and what are the consequences for removing it?

P.S Is anyone selling preoxidized, nicely rolled ready to go 500 ss mesh yet??

P.SS If your drip tip is a lil loose on your zap, wrap the oring in dental floss or sewing thread for a more snuggable fit!

The consequences of removing the insulator is that you get much more room for a bigger wick and no, the world didn't end when I combined two of the stock wicks lol. I'll use up the premade wicks I received with my zap but I won't be buying more...I'd rather roll my own.

A larger wick works much better imo.

 

[MikeE3]

Didnt nostradamus predict this, doesnt this mean the end of the world? You wrapped a coil around 2 pre-oxidized 400's? Is that allowed? I mean does it really work, safe, etc? What's the point around the insulator, I mean what's its purpose and what are the consequences for removing it?

P.S Is anyone selling preoxidized, nicely rolled ready to go 500 ss mesh yet??

P.SS If your drip tip is a lil loose on your zap, wrap the oring in dental floss or sewing thread for a more snuggable fit!

Just what it's name says. It insulates the wick/coil from the body of the atty. Even with a properly oxidized wick, it's not a 100% insulator between the coil and atty body, there's still a very minor 'current leak'. Think of it like water taking the path of least resistance - the current will flow through the coil (least resistance) but a tiny bit is still leached off through the oxidized wick. That's best case. Worse case is the insulator will prevent shorts with an improperly oxidized wick. Is the insulator 'needed' - no, it's just a pre-caution.

 

[Idaholandho]

Zen being the Master...I choose to leave my insulators in all of them and replace when needed. The difference without them is nil to me and he added it for a reason and does not recommend removing it for a excellent vape exp.

 

[kiba]

i dont use the insulators anymore, but i do think that beginners should for a bit. they have their place, I mean w/ an insulator, you can use a completely unoxidised wick. you can do the same thing without one, but it just takes more practice due to shorts. I like to just lightly oxidise my wicks before and after i roll them since I'm not using insulators, if I was using them, I wouldnt oxidise at all, bc since you are using the insulator, theres really no point in oxidising at all.

 

[Idaholandho]

i dont use the insulators anymore, but i do think that beginners should for a bit. they have their place, I mean w/ an insulator, you can use a completely unoxidised wick. you can do the same thing without one, but it just takes more practice due to shorts. I like to just lightly oxidise my wicks before and after i roll them since I'm not using insulators, if I was using them, I wouldnt oxidise at all, bc since you are using the insulator, theres really no point in oxidising at all.

Great point as usual!
As I noted earlier, kiba or g t f o

 

[ninfreak]

its kiba and nin or .....g t f o ...get it right!!!

 

[Idaholandho]

its kiba and nin or .....g t f o ...get it right!!!

F. I knew it. I knew you would show up! You....You and your ninja like skills.

So question - why is it that on every Zen or any coiled atty, do I seem to have a challange with the bottom coil. I wrap them great and they vape great but occaisionally I have to poke the bottom coil after a while to get it hot, usually about 1/3 tank or when I'm about to run out of fluid.

Also, why do I have alot of juice in the top cap or on the coil base while vaping? Am I not at high enough volts(3.7) to effectivly burn my juice at say a 2.0 coil? as I tend to like it set there for the best flavor with certain juice but I have what seems to be a lot of waste that doesnt burn.

Thanks ahead.

 

[kiba]

the bottom coil thing probably bc the wick is still wet at the atty floor and the juice is cooling that bottom coil not letting it light up like the others. the juice in the top cap thing, just pull for a half second after you release the fire button and you wont have as much condensation.

 

[Idaholandho]

Thanks again Kiba. I thought as much on the coil issue. How's the ribbon wire working out?

 

[kiba]

i think its pretty good, as far as vapor production and flavor its pretty close to 28ga kanthal.... but for ease of setup it blows it away completely, no hot spots or shorts at all and no adjusting it necessary it just works... I dont use the drill bit method I just wrap the wick off the atty and slide the whole thing in and then lock the leads down (I started doing that for U-wicks bc its just easier, and it kinda carried over to how I do all my setups now), doing it that way you still have a few hot spots or shorts from time to time with regular kanthal, but with this stuff, it just lights right up. I just ordered some thats supposed to be close to the same resistance as 32ga kanthal so i'll try using that in my gf's and my zaps and let ya know when it gets here (which will probably be a month from now ).

 

[kiba]

also, for anyone looking to order some...

28ga A-1: ~5.5 ohm/ft.
30ga A-1: ~8.3 ohm/ft.
32ga A-1: ~13.1 ohm/ft

0.8x01mm Ribbon: ~5.5 ohm/ft
0.6x0.1mm Ribbon: ~7.1 ohm/ft
0.5x0.1mm Ribbon: ~9.5 ohm/ft

 

[Idaholandho]

Great info...Didnt you get the ribbon from somewhere in Germany or was that someone else? I am now looking for some to compare. Depending on juice I flop from 28ga or 32ga and seem to have more control of wire tension on my wicks if I "Zen" wrap. Honestly, the drill bit method seems to be an extra worthless step for the impatient. I suspect wrapping off the atty would be easier(great tip) and have read about a few that do and will try.
Thanks

 

[kiba]

dont wrap off the atty if your going to use the insulator though.

 

[Idaholandho]

Thanks. I have a couple ZAPs and may test one without. I always swore I'd leave em in. Thanks for all the help as usual

 

[RedhatPat]

How do you replace the insulator? I'm finding it hard to fit the new one in. Should I use high grade food contact (NSF H1) o ring & gasket lubricant because ejuice isnt cutting it. Also I have a tip for using those short pieces of mesh you are left with when you cut the wick, make bonuts! When I step away from the Zap to drip I add 2 bonuts to the inside of the atty as this allows them to hold more liquid and feed it smoother, IMO.

See also:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ecf-library/287117-bonuts-dripping.html

 

[RedhatPat]

first give the whole thing an iso bath before you even think about vaping it, these things are CNC machined and during the process get machining oil all over them, mike says he puts them in a autoclave to clean them but i think he misses some as 2 out of my 3 zaps came w/ machining oil (doesnt take anything away from what an awesome device it is but machining oil tastes bad mmkaay )

also are you using the wick that came with it? toss those theyre garbage imo, get yourself some 200 and 500 mesh roll it up solid so that theres only a very small hole through it and tightly so that it barely fits inside the insulator (its up to you whether yuo want to use the insulator but i think it holds value for those who are new to gennies as it will eliminate basically any shorts to ground as long as you make sure the wick is lifted up off the bottom) w/ the insulator you want about 5/6 wraps, from ~4-5v, use only 32 gauge wire to start out w/ and torch the wire to get it heat treated before you start wrapping, it will burn off any oil that might be on there and also make it a lot easier to work w/... also crimp the wire where it comes off the wick to go onto the ground screw and pos screw so as to eliminate hot spots, try to run the ground one up the screw to get as small a lead as you can and try to run the pos lead up the wick to keep it saturated w/ juice as long as it can. try to position the entire coil as much in front of the air hole as you can as well.

here is a pic of what it should look like when your done, this is on my kicked SW, but its the only device i have an insulator in right now...

What do you mean by crimping?

 

[Irishred]

The drip tips I brought for the ZAP are too big. Even w/o o-rings. Any suggestions on where I can buy the tips? I'm getting tired of buying tips that won't fit.

 

[kiba]

What do you mean by crimping?

fast forward to 10:30, I dont use anything else from dino's method bc he does petar K style, and I just wrap my wicks off the device... but I do crimp my leads ever since i saw mike doing it at vapercon, never knew why untill i saw dino's vid though, lol.

 

[dirquist]

Just popping in here hoping for some help. Im having trouble getting my ZAP to make contact with my Provari Mini. If I push down on it and get it in the perfect position it will work but if I leave it set alone when I come back I need to do it again. And now I cant get it working at all. Is there a way on either the Provari or the ZAP to get the connectors to come out farther? Ive done rigorous cleaning on both the pin on the Pro and the Zap with 91% rubbing alcohol and even some scraping and re-cleaining so I think the pins are clean.

EDIT: Oh, and just to add everything else I put on the ProVari work fine and make perfect connection.