Top air RTAs

[Shawn Hoefer]

Bought a bunch of 'em for side by side comparisons. So far, I have the following:

Wotofo Sapor 25
OBS Engine
OBS Engine Mini
OBS Engine Nano
OBS Engine II
GeekVape Zeus
GeekVape Zeus Dual
Kaees Solomon 2
Digiflavor Themis Standard
Vapefly Horus
QP Juggerknot
Augvape Intake
Aspire cleito EXO (with RBA)
smok X-Baby (with RBA)

ON ORDER:
UD Athlon

Have I missed any? If I have, speak up and I'll add it to the collections for testing.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna start building and vaping these in earnest. I'll post my thoughts...

 

[Tonee N]

Geekvape Zeus Dual[emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

Today, I'm using the GeekVape Zeus Dual on the Smok I-Priv. I love the looks of the tank... Matchy-matchy in the extreme...

This afternoon, I'll post some pics of the deck and the build I'll be using.

I can say, thus far, I'm seriously impressed. It's easy to build, offers plenty of air... I run it about half to three-quarters open, and great capacity/versatility with the choice of bubble or straight glass tanks. Even though the interior of the tank I selected is black, I have no problems seeing the juice levels when the bubble tank is installed.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

It occurred to me as I was writing that last post I should provide some baseline data.

To keep things on the up and up, I'll be using the same juice, cotton, and wire in all tanks.

My wire of choice is SS316L fused clapton 2x26/36.

I'm using Puffs Labo cotton pads.

For juice, my ADV is Apocalyptic Crawler Peanut Butter and Banana... A 92% VG blend at 3 mg nic.

I am a TC vaper, but I'll be running the coils in both modes for the tests.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

Fairly big deck with largish post holes...

...easily accepts up to 3mm ID coils.

I like to position the coils so the I can just see the bottom of the coils through the side air slot...

And the top of the coils even, of course.

With 3mm coils, you'll need quite a bit of cotton...

Which will take quite a bit if combing to fit in the wicking slots.

The build came out to 0.123Ω (not intentional, but I like it... I kind of like to think that if I had a sensitive enough ohmmeter it would have read 0.12345 ).

I have the mod set to SS TC at 430F, 80 W, TCR 92. The vapor production is good, and the flavor is very good.

I switched it over to power mode 70 W, Hard preheat, and got the same vapor and flavor. Even with 92% VG, it kept up with a 5 minute chain vape session.

Overall, I really like the GeekVape Zeus Dual.

 

[drugarth]

You missed the UD Athlon 25, with the rta deck.
I have the Zeus, engine/engine nano, the intake and the sapor and the Athlon is actually my favorite top air tank so far.

 

[Letitia]

You missed the UD Athlon 25, with the rta deck.
I have the Zeus, engine/engine nano, the intake and the sapor and the Athlon is actually my favorite top air tank so far.

Never took a look at that one. Dual? That would explain why I can't remember it.

 

[Letitia]

Yep Athlon is a dual. I'll put it on the maybe list.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

You missed the UD Athlon 25, with the rta deck.
I have the Zeus, engine/engine nano, the intake and the sapor and the Athlon is actually my favorite top air tank so far.

Thanks! I'll add that to the lineup.

 

[Acer50]

Obs Engine definitely on top of a Geek Vape Ageis Legend.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[mimöschen]

Yep Athlon is a dual. I'll put it on the maybe list.

It had a drawback for me, but I can't put my finger on it which one anymore.
But I remember it's never really been on my list.

 

[drugarth]

It had a drawback for me, but I can't put my finger on it which one anymore.
But I remember it's never really been on my list.

For some the drawback is it only fits small coils, but no issue for me, I like micro coils
Ooh and it is a bit tall when you add the extensions for more volume

 

[tailland]

(Would you be so nice to comment on the convenience/ease-of-build specifically between zeus/nano? I'm dead set on buying one of those in the next days)

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

Today, the Themis standard (there's also a mesh version I do not yet own, and not sure I will...).

This is a dual coil RTA with a cage inside the glass. Mine is all black, so it's often hard to judge liquid levels. Here it is on the Ovanty Vega...

There is no bubble tank option, so the capacity is a bit less than the Zeus Dual. The top fill is virtually identical... The same tabbed 1/4 turn twist lock mechanism, buy the Themis is a little looser, and I prefer that. The holes are also a little wider... I find the tip of my chubby gorilla bottles kinda gets wedged in the Zeus, but not the Themis.

The Themis uses a deck separated from the base like the Boreas, and like the Zeus Dual, there are raised airflow slots on the sides.

Plenty of room for 3mm coils maybe 3.5mm I'd plain round wire or flat wire is used. This is due to the Themis having the airflow channels straight along the sides as opposed to curved around the sides.

Because the Themis has vertical airflow slots, I wanted to make the coils fill up that space. That means I needed longer legs than I had in the Zeus Dual.




That's very close... Could have been a scosh taller.

Wicking is about the same as the Zeus Dual. Maybe a little less length on the cotton...


When priming, be careful. The Themis deck doesn't have a base on it. So it is possible to flood the build and leak onto your mod or ohm meter.

The tank's airflow is a little less than that of the Zeus Dual. Where I run the Zeus Dual at about half, I'm running the Themis around 3/4.

Flavor and vapor production are about the same with both, although, oddly, I get a bit more banana out of the Themis where the Zeus Dual favors the peanut butter. Of course, there are minor differences in the way the mods handle the TC, so...

In wattage mode, the Themis keeps up just as well as the Zeus Dual.

Of the two, I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite. Probably the Zeus Dual, but only because I can see the liquid levels a little better, and it matches the 21700 capable I-Priv better than it matches the 18650 only Ovanty Vega... I prefer 2x700 over 18650 these days... Love the power and capacity upgrade.

 

[DP2Raja]

Never took a look at that one. Dual? That would explain why I can't remember it.

LOL! You should try it! Seriously, I have the single coil and dual coil Zeus, my single coil sits most of the time. The dual version is VERY good. I like the deck better. Come on Letitia, give it a try.

 

[Shawn Hoefer]

(Would you be so nice to comment on the convenience/ease-of-build specifically between zeus/nano? I'm dead set on buying one of those in the next days)

I can try to get those up tonight.

Without the rigamarole, I can say that the Engine Nano is easier to build, but I think the Zeus single might have a slight edge on flavor.

 

[Letitia]

LOL! You should try it! Seriously, I have the single coil and dual coil Zeus, my single coil sits most of the time. The dual version is VERY good. I like the deck better. Come on Letitia, give it a try.

Not likely. Dual builds are tasty but more than what I need or want for day to day builds. I keep a list of the better ones incase I develop an itch for one.

I have to give the taste edge to the Nano over the single Zeus. The Zeus is the hands down winner for smooth af. To this day the best af atty imo.

 

[tailland]

Not likely. Dual builds are tasty but more than what I need or want for day to day builds

The Zeus Dual RTA can be used for single and dual coil builds.

 

[Letitia]

The Zeus Dual RTA can be used for single and dual coil builds.

Dual rtas are very seldom as successful with single coil builds unless they come with individual decks. Personally for me it is worth the investment to have 2 separate individual rtas designed specifically for a single and another for a dual.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Dual rtas are very seldom as successful with single coil builds unless they come with individual decks. Personally for me it is worth the investment to have 2 separate individual rtas designed specifically for a single and another for a dual.

I am using mine with a single coil and loving it. I just used a slightly bigger coil than on the single Zeus. And I don't use high wattage usually between 25-35 watts. The coil is Demon Killer Staple staggered fused Clapton .36 ohm 4 to 5 wraps spaced and I can't use this while driving. The vapor would block my vision. Flavor is great.
As usual ymmv.


LOL