Top air RTAs
- Thread starter Shawn Hoefer
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I'm not sure if you're married or not, but if you are you have one cool wife, lol. (all of the tanks kicking around)I'm dedicated
I use mostly DL tanks, but I own a wide variety of tanks that include MTL and DL
I do have a spouse, and she IS the coolest woman... I have more than 350 atomizers and 250 mods and she is fine with it...
Que the "does she have a sister" posts.
350 atty's and 250 mods??? Wow, that's incredible! I know you're working on this top airflow rta project at the moment, but I'd love to ask someone who owns 250 mods what his top 5 are, mech or regulated.
Of the single coil RTAs, I think I like the Solomon 2 best, but I have yet to recieve the Juggerknot Mini.
Of the dual coil RTAs, I think I prefer the Zeus Dual, but the Themis standard and Rimfire are close.
Honestly, it's easier to say which I don't like... The TFMT is basically garbage. Not a huge fan of either mesh RTA. There's spitback issues with the Engines (not so much the V2, but the deck is a PITA).
I could go on...
Ohh because I got a zues dual but broke it last night, so I’ll probably just get another one then, thanks!
Mine should be here today.... Maybe.... I say maybe because it's in USPS's hands and they are ahhh, umm, terrible!
My experience with USPS is not bad. But, then again, I figure ANY agency/company that can take, move, and deliver billions of packages worldwide with ANY degree of accuracy is doing a fair job. I think people are too hard on USPS in light of the task they have. That doesn't mean I don't get impatient ans frustrated when my package doesn't show up when I want it to, or worse, is late (rare) or damaged (VERY rare).
I'll be doing the review on the Elevate momentarily...
Since my packages have been landing in the USPS Chicago hub I've had very good shipping times. Usually comes the day before expected delivery for the last couple of months.
I don't have any luck with USPS.. Usually everything is a day or longer past the estimated date.... I prefer FedEx when I have the option and don't mind paying a bit more for using them...
Stands to reason some hubs will be more efficient than others. Been a long time since I was in a big hurry for something to arrive, now half the time I don't get around to building a new atty for several days.
The Wotofo Serpent Elevate
Full disclosure: Matt from Suck My Mod had agreed to send me an evaluation copy. The initial run was halted due to complaints about the plastic bubble tank, so I was delayed. The new run was supposed to be in two weeks ago, and I didn't hear from Matt and felt to reach out again would make me seem a pest. This, then, was purchased by me from Eightvape for around $35 after shipping.
The tank is 24mm at the base and 36mm tall. Of course, if you use the bubble tank it's fatter through the middle... Like me
. It'll hold 3ml with the straight glass and 5ml with the bubble. I do not know if there is a 2ml TPD version available.
The finish is media blasted/matte. Quite nice. It comes with two 810 Goon style drip tips... A fancy resin version and a plain translucent gray. Also in the package are a couple coils, a couple pieces of shoestring cotton (not actual shoestring, y'know... The wick with the aglet on the end), a spare straight glass section, some extra o-rings, 510 drip tip adapter, a spare set of flat tip grub screws and a flat tip screwdriver, a hex key, and a coily tool clone. Thankfully, Wotofo now packages the spares in bags with clear backs rather than ALL spares in separate, identical black bags.
Side note... There's been some controversy about the coily tool clone in that it's a clone, and apparently not the tool Matt wanted. He preferred a rod with a bend to mark and cut the leads. Personally, I'd prefer it if they quit including any tools (excluding specialty tools. At this point, I have probably 30 pounds of tiny screwdrivers. A well written manual would do a lot more for me than acquiring a stack of coily tools and t-tools, etc. Further, I no longer use most of the included tools as I have long since purchased a decent tool kit.
But, I digress...
The deck is a recessed postless affair. Very little guesswork is left when deciding how and where to install the coils...
As it has four terminals, you can even wrap the coil clockwise or counter-clockwise. The coily tool is marked at 5mm for the legs. So, the only question that remains is the diameter... I typically install 3.5mm ID coils in my single coil atties, and attempted to do so here. I met with VERY limited success and saw the "atomizer shorted" error frequently. A 3.5mm round wire build would likely be a bit better, but I said I would use the same coil throughout these reviews, so... 3mm ID SS316L fused clapton 2x26/36 6 wrap 0.24Ω is what is installed.
Very pleased with the somewhat beefy grub screws that it came with. They've 1.5mm sockets, and I've been able to get some torque on there without stripping them out.
Once the coil is in place and pulsed (if needed... I almost always do... Thread in the cotton. I bend the cotton down and slip the scissors in aligned with the base of the deck section and cut.
I then fluff a bit, and tuck. I want the ends sitting between the base and the deck.
Note that the base of the deck section is quite thin, and threaded. I'd have been a touch happier with a slightly thicker piece in here. It hasn't been a problem, but I see where and how it could be...
The chimney is double walled at the top. The raised deck section seals to the inner wall, and the outer wall screws on the base of the deck section. The air enters the top and follows the outer wall to get to the coils From the bottom and sides.
Prime, and fill. The top cap is a standard screw on affair... About 1.5 full turns exposes two decent sized kidney fill ports.
The AFC ring is removable and is the only thing on the tank with knurling. In this case, it looks like chain link fence, but I think they were shooting for snake scales.
As with all RTAs, wicking is key. I had a tight wick, and it wouldn't keep up (using TC, I never had a dry hit, but it would start strong and die). I had a loose wick, and experienced gurgling, a mouthful of juice, spitback, and leaking (when set in its side). Finding the happy medium takes a bit of fiddling.
Once properly wicked, the vape is great. It's as saturated and flavorful (if not as cloudy) as any dual coil atty I own. That's not to say that there isn't any cloudage...
There are a few cons:
Full disclosure: Matt from Suck My Mod had agreed to send me an evaluation copy. The initial run was halted due to complaints about the plastic bubble tank, so I was delayed. The new run was supposed to be in two weeks ago, and I didn't hear from Matt and felt to reach out again would make me seem a pest. This, then, was purchased by me from Eightvape for around $35 after shipping.
The tank is 24mm at the base and 36mm tall. Of course, if you use the bubble tank it's fatter through the middle... Like me
. It'll hold 3ml with the straight glass and 5ml with the bubble. I do not know if there is a 2ml TPD version available.The finish is media blasted/matte. Quite nice. It comes with two 810 Goon style drip tips... A fancy resin version and a plain translucent gray. Also in the package are a couple coils, a couple pieces of shoestring cotton (not actual shoestring, y'know... The wick with the aglet on the end), a spare straight glass section, some extra o-rings, 510 drip tip adapter, a spare set of flat tip grub screws and a flat tip screwdriver, a hex key, and a coily tool clone. Thankfully, Wotofo now packages the spares in bags with clear backs rather than ALL spares in separate, identical black bags.
Side note... There's been some controversy about the coily tool clone in that it's a clone, and apparently not the tool Matt wanted. He preferred a rod with a bend to mark and cut the leads. Personally, I'd prefer it if they quit including any tools (excluding specialty tools. At this point, I have probably 30 pounds of tiny screwdrivers. A well written manual would do a lot more for me than acquiring a stack of coily tools and t-tools, etc. Further, I no longer use most of the included tools as I have long since purchased a decent tool kit.
But, I digress...
The deck is a recessed postless affair. Very little guesswork is left when deciding how and where to install the coils...
As it has four terminals, you can even wrap the coil clockwise or counter-clockwise. The coily tool is marked at 5mm for the legs. So, the only question that remains is the diameter... I typically install 3.5mm ID coils in my single coil atties, and attempted to do so here. I met with VERY limited success and saw the "atomizer shorted" error frequently. A 3.5mm round wire build would likely be a bit better, but I said I would use the same coil throughout these reviews, so... 3mm ID SS316L fused clapton 2x26/36 6 wrap 0.24Ω is what is installed.
Very pleased with the somewhat beefy grub screws that it came with. They've 1.5mm sockets, and I've been able to get some torque on there without stripping them out.
Once the coil is in place and pulsed (if needed... I almost always do... Thread in the cotton. I bend the cotton down and slip the scissors in aligned with the base of the deck section and cut.
I then fluff a bit, and tuck. I want the ends sitting between the base and the deck.
Note that the base of the deck section is quite thin, and threaded. I'd have been a touch happier with a slightly thicker piece in here. It hasn't been a problem, but I see where and how it could be...
The chimney is double walled at the top. The raised deck section seals to the inner wall, and the outer wall screws on the base of the deck section. The air enters the top and follows the outer wall to get to the coils From the bottom and sides.
Prime, and fill. The top cap is a standard screw on affair... About 1.5 full turns exposes two decent sized kidney fill ports.
The AFC ring is removable and is the only thing on the tank with knurling. In this case, it looks like chain link fence, but I think they were shooting for snake scales.
As with all RTAs, wicking is key. I had a tight wick, and it wouldn't keep up (using TC, I never had a dry hit, but it would start strong and die). I had a loose wick, and experienced gurgling, a mouthful of juice, spitback, and leaking (when set in its side). Finding the happy medium takes a bit of fiddling.
Once properly wicked, the vape is great. It's as saturated and flavorful (if not as cloudy) as any dual coil atty I own. That's not to say that there isn't any cloudage...
There are a few cons:
- Thin base with no knurling can make it hard to disassemble... Thankfully, the matte finish is a bit gripper.
- Thin threaded sections.
- Finicky wicking.
- Limits on coil size and placement.
I agree. Once you find the sweet spot with wick flavor is very good and the af is much quieter with a slight restriction added.
Yes, I was getting some dry hits, until I trimmed off most of the wicking that went through the juice ports.
Another pro for me is it will easily trap single round 26g wire.
Another pro for me is it will easily trap single round 26g wire.
Does anyone know if the build decks / bottom bases of the engine and engine nano are interchangeable? I'm asking because OBS is selling seperate build decks at the moments on Ali.
I've tested the glass, and they are compatible. The decks, however, are not due to the way the airflow/chimney/chamber/tabs line up with their respective decks.
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