Took mine apart this evening and found none of the issues he pointed out. He might have had a lemon (QC issues, perhaps), or a prototype.
Top air RTAs
- Thread starter Shawn Hoefer
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Awesome. That would suck if a bunch of semi-expensive cool mods had aneurysms waiting to go off and self destruct.
So, I'm a little late. Sue me 
On second thought, in the current culture in the US, maybe don't...
So, then, the Dead Rabbit RTA
It's got the Dead Rabbit deck...
Which is easy enough to build on. I, personally, prefer a true postless or Velocity style deck, but this ain't bad. It could use a little more space under the posts, and the could be accomplished by thinning the plate that contains the wick slots. Also, the posts supporting the deck could be a little smaller. I found that unless I bent the legs out a little, they'd set agains that post and be quute difficult to clip. Regardless, it fit my standard 6 wrap 3mm SS316L fused Clapton (2x26/36) just fine. Could maybe fit a slightly bugger build on the deck, but not sure how the wick slots would do with that much more cotton.
Speaking of... Wicking, on the other hand, is a breeze...
Poke it through, brush it out, tuck it in, done.
Installing the deck is not as easy. Like the OBS Engine line, this has notches and tabs to align everything.
Unlike the OBS Engine, the deck is independent instead of the chamber. To install this, then, it has to be removed from whatever you're building on or things just spin around.
Filling is easy. Unscrew the nicely knurled top cap, dump in the juice, screw the top cap back on. You can fill up into the fill chamber... Just filling until the glass section is full cheats you out of a couple ml.
Much has been said online about a whistling if the coils are not positioned just right. I experienced that, but found that cutting the airflow down just the tiniest bit, or slowing my draw eliminated that.
This WILL leak. Ya gotta lay it on its side overnight, but I did find a puddle the next morning. I've not had that happen with any of the other RTAs I've reviewed in this thread. There's a solution to this problem, though...
Don't lay it on its side overnight. Duh.
Being tipped for short periods of time presented no problems. I think the potential for leaking us there because of the truly straight airflow path...
The vapor and flavor are nice. No fireworks, but nice. The air is certainly more than the Engine (any of them), but still slightly less than the Zeus Dual.
I made some disparaging remarks about the Dead Rabbit RTA when I first saw it, calling it a revamped 1st gen Engine. While I'll stand by that, the increased air and better wicking make this tank a little better than the original Engine. I haven't gotten any of the spitback I used to get off of the Engine with this atty, either.
@vexx says he's not impressed. I am not impressed, either. But don't think that means I dislike the tank... In fact, I like it, but it's not quite living up to the hyoe surrounding it. All of this is to say that if you already have an Engine or a Zeus Dual, there's no pressing reason to rush out and spend $30. If you don't, and you're in the market this one deserves consideration.
If you're wanting a single coil banger, give this a pass... Although you can run singles on it (the joy of postless decks), the build has to be massive or the wick channels don't get filled and the flavor suffers.
On second thought, in the current culture in the US, maybe don't...
So, then, the Dead Rabbit RTA
It's got the Dead Rabbit deck...
Which is easy enough to build on. I, personally, prefer a true postless or Velocity style deck, but this ain't bad. It could use a little more space under the posts, and the could be accomplished by thinning the plate that contains the wick slots. Also, the posts supporting the deck could be a little smaller. I found that unless I bent the legs out a little, they'd set agains that post and be quute difficult to clip. Regardless, it fit my standard 6 wrap 3mm SS316L fused Clapton (2x26/36) just fine. Could maybe fit a slightly bugger build on the deck, but not sure how the wick slots would do with that much more cotton.
Speaking of... Wicking, on the other hand, is a breeze...
Poke it through, brush it out, tuck it in, done.
Installing the deck is not as easy. Like the OBS Engine line, this has notches and tabs to align everything.
Unlike the OBS Engine, the deck is independent instead of the chamber. To install this, then, it has to be removed from whatever you're building on or things just spin around.
Filling is easy. Unscrew the nicely knurled top cap, dump in the juice, screw the top cap back on. You can fill up into the fill chamber... Just filling until the glass section is full cheats you out of a couple ml.
Much has been said online about a whistling if the coils are not positioned just right. I experienced that, but found that cutting the airflow down just the tiniest bit, or slowing my draw eliminated that.
This WILL leak. Ya gotta lay it on its side overnight, but I did find a puddle the next morning. I've not had that happen with any of the other RTAs I've reviewed in this thread. There's a solution to this problem, though...
Don't lay it on its side overnight. Duh.
Being tipped for short periods of time presented no problems. I think the potential for leaking us there because of the truly straight airflow path...
The vapor and flavor are nice. No fireworks, but nice. The air is certainly more than the Engine (any of them), but still slightly less than the Zeus Dual.
I made some disparaging remarks about the Dead Rabbit RTA when I first saw it, calling it a revamped 1st gen Engine. While I'll stand by that, the increased air and better wicking make this tank a little better than the original Engine. I haven't gotten any of the spitback I used to get off of the Engine with this atty, either.
@vexx says he's not impressed. I am not impressed, either. But don't think that means I dislike the tank... In fact, I like it, but it's not quite living up to the hyoe surrounding it. All of this is to say that if you already have an Engine or a Zeus Dual, there's no pressing reason to rush out and spend $30. If you don't, and you're in the market this one deserves consideration.
If you're wanting a single coil banger, give this a pass... Although you can run singles on it (the joy of postless decks), the build has to be massive or the wick channels don't get filled and the flavor suffers.
The UD Athlon should be here by Friday, and the Rimfire and Acevape MK RTAs by early next week. Would have already had them, but China has some weird holidays
UD Youde Athlon 25
I'm gonna do this, although it's a wasted effort, sort of, kinda...
Thing is, this Subohm tank/RTA is about as rare as hens' teeth. I found mine on Heaven Gifts, but it was about the only place.
"Nah," you say. "I found Athlons all over the place." Maybe, but ONLY the Athlon 25 comes with an RBA. Not the 25 mini, not the 22...
If you're wanting the versatility of a subohm tank with RBA, you might wanna look elsewhere, too. The coils are $14 for 2 on sale. Ouch!
Onward, then...
The RBA section is a cute little Velocity styled affair that delivers the air to the bottom if the coils. It has it's own 510, and there's nothing to align. You don't even need to align the fool's threads when installing as this is press fit. The deck is held in the chamber by two O-rings.
Juice gets to the wick through ports cut in the side of a two-layer chamber/chimney. Air through the outside layer, and coils/vapor on the inside.
Without coil...
With...
Although the deck is on the smallish side. The postholes are more than adequate of my fused Clapton. The chamber, on the other hand, ain't gonna support my 3mm 6wrap standard build. For this, a 2.5mm 5wrap will have to suffice.
Wicking is easy. Thread, cut, brush, tuck, done.
Installation is, as mentioned before, also a snap. Press it in and screw on the base.
Of course, the coils were primed in advance of installation...
Filling is easy, and typical...
And, in use, it produces VERY good flavor and decent vapor when it works.
What? When it works?
Yup. I'm having a hard time maintaining a stable resistance reading. About 20% of the time, I have to back it off and tighten it again to get a reading. I think this is caused by the press-fitting of the deck (heard of similar issues on the Nunchaku, and Crown 3). It might be the floating 510 center pin in the tank.
The Athlon 25 holds 4ml of e-liquid. I feel like there's a little wasted space in there that should have bumped to to 5ml.
As you might have guessed, it's 25mm In diameter. In reading the page about it, I see it's 47.5mm tall excluding the drip tip. Problem is, you can't exclude the drip tip... It uses a Recoil or Cleito style drip tip cover. The O-ringed drip tip stub remains...
It's a touch restrictive, even wide open. That's to be expected, though. It is more open than the Augvape Intake...
I want to say something nice about this tank. Something more than I've already said (good flavor, easy coil/deck installation, leak-proof), but I can't find a lot of redeeming qualities for a tank that refuses to work part of the time, and uses a proprietary drip tip.
I'd give this one a pass.
I'm gonna do this, although it's a wasted effort, sort of, kinda...
Thing is, this Subohm tank/RTA is about as rare as hens' teeth. I found mine on Heaven Gifts, but it was about the only place.
"Nah," you say. "I found Athlons all over the place." Maybe, but ONLY the Athlon 25 comes with an RBA. Not the 25 mini, not the 22...
If you're wanting the versatility of a subohm tank with RBA, you might wanna look elsewhere, too. The coils are $14 for 2 on sale. Ouch!
Onward, then...
The RBA section is a cute little Velocity styled affair that delivers the air to the bottom if the coils. It has it's own 510, and there's nothing to align. You don't even need to align the fool's threads when installing as this is press fit. The deck is held in the chamber by two O-rings.
Juice gets to the wick through ports cut in the side of a two-layer chamber/chimney. Air through the outside layer, and coils/vapor on the inside.
Without coil...
With...
Although the deck is on the smallish side. The postholes are more than adequate of my fused Clapton. The chamber, on the other hand, ain't gonna support my 3mm 6wrap standard build. For this, a 2.5mm 5wrap will have to suffice.
Wicking is easy. Thread, cut, brush, tuck, done.
Installation is, as mentioned before, also a snap. Press it in and screw on the base.
Of course, the coils were primed in advance of installation...
Filling is easy, and typical...
And, in use, it produces VERY good flavor and decent vapor when it works.
What? When it works?
Yup. I'm having a hard time maintaining a stable resistance reading. About 20% of the time, I have to back it off and tighten it again to get a reading. I think this is caused by the press-fitting of the deck (heard of similar issues on the Nunchaku, and Crown 3). It might be the floating 510 center pin in the tank.
The Athlon 25 holds 4ml of e-liquid. I feel like there's a little wasted space in there that should have bumped to to 5ml.
As you might have guessed, it's 25mm In diameter. In reading the page about it, I see it's 47.5mm tall excluding the drip tip. Problem is, you can't exclude the drip tip... It uses a Recoil or Cleito style drip tip cover. The O-ringed drip tip stub remains...
It's a touch restrictive, even wide open. That's to be expected, though. It is more open than the Augvape Intake...
I want to say something nice about this tank. Something more than I've already said (good flavor, easy coil/deck installation, leak-proof), but I can't find a lot of redeeming qualities for a tank that refuses to work part of the time, and uses a proprietary drip tip.
I'd give this one a pass.
Good write up!
Initially I had the same issues with the resistance, and a lot of "no atomizer" messages. I found that I had to tighten the screw in the rba, this made all the issues disappear...I have 4 of these and no issues with any of them anymore.
Because of the flavor, and the draw (which is perfect for me) it is still my favorite top-air, but I can image this issue puts people off (and yes no big coils and it is a bit tall)
The OBS Engine II has become my favorite. I was a huge fan of the original Zeus, but wanted a bit more so I tried the Zeus dual and was underwhelmed. Yes it produced more vapor, but the flavor was lacking, and it whistled at my preferred draw. I tried the Engine II and was blown away. The flavor is better than any other top air tank I've tried, Zeus, single and dual, Themis, Athelon, Intake. Sure it can be a challange to coil at first, but it's really not that difficult. Wicking is super forgiving and I find it produces a great vape at a range of airflow settings. My only gripe is I wish it used an 810 drip tip. I like the included tip, just wish it tapered to be a little more narrow at the top.
Just realized that I missed one! I have the VaperzCloud TFMT inbound, now... And, I contacted QP Designs to be put on their list for the next batch of Juggerknot Minis... This thread is starting to cost me
Thanks for all the info! Glad I had a notebook handy to write stuff down lol.Just realized that I missed one! I have the VaperzCloud TFMT inbound, now... And, I contacted QP Designs to be put on their list for the next batch of Juggerknot Minis... This thread is starting to cost me
The Voopoo Rimfire and Acevape MK RTAs have landed. I'll see if I can't get their stories posted Monday-ish...
The VC TFMT is inbound and should be here Monday... We'll save that one for next week.
The VC TFMT is inbound and should be here Monday... We'll save that one for next week.
Seriously? I get such intense flavor from the Zeus Dual with a couple of Alien Claptons that it almost makes me cry (with joy!). The thing rocks. The flavor is so thick with my blueberry cheesecake that I keep a fork in my hand just in case I need to cut a smaller bite!
Honestly it was the draw that killed it for me. Way too much wide open, and dialing it down caused a whistle that drove me nuts. The flavor wasn't bad per say, just not great. I'm sure if I played enough I would have found an appropriate build, just didn't seem worth the effort for me.
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