Troubles with my Riva 510 - am I doing something wrong?

[Molgaard]

Hey guys,

I've had my Riva 510 from Liberty Flights for about three weeks now. At first everything was great but things are getting more and more problematic with it.

First of all one of the two atomizers that came with it stopped working and wasn't heating. I've since had a replacement sent, but now the other one is degenerating too. I'm using the dripping method, since filling the cartridge (standard 510 type with filler) does nothing but generate warm air.

Secondly, vapour production has massively decreased since I started. The liquid I'm using is RY4 from Cloud 9, and at first I was getting massive amounts of lovely warm vapour. Now I'm only getting a tiny bit, it's cold, and there's very little throat hit. I often get a horrible metallic aftertaste, or a painful feeling in my throat after exhaling.

I've been dripping two or three drops every half hour or so to keep the coil wet.

I'm also experiencing leaks; between the battery and atomizer, and around the cartridge where it connects to the atomizer. Sometimes the flavour diminishes and I take the cart off to refill, only to find the connecting part of the cart covered in fluid, which is surely being wasted.

I doubt the parts are malfunctioning since I have two of each, and I've tried swapping them all around to no avail.

What am I doing wrong? Should I get a drip tip or a tank catridge, or a cartomizer? Or maybe a low res battery?

Cheers

 

[markfm]

I'd suggest you try a pack of boge 2 ohm 510 cartomizers. Atties, dripping, isn't for everyone (including me).

Others may suggest tanks, different things. I've used the boge cartos for months, they've been consistent, decent, performers.

 

[vsinner]

Cartomizers are a nice simple solution as mark said, but the riva shouldn't be working badly as you described with a regular atty just after a week, what's your cleaning method for the atomizers?

 

[Uncle Willie]

I discarded the attys that came with the exact same kit within days and switched to cartos .. dripping is not for me ..

 

[WalksWithWiFi]

they might just be crappy atties..
after all, it happens, especially with some manufacturers-
going to say that cartos do make a big diffie if you are not into dripping(i drip and use cartos)
Boge 2.0 cartos are my fav-and many others

the problem is finding a decent vendor with the cartos in stock =p

 

[dormouse]

Yes dripping can leak - that is why it is only recommended on manual batteries with a sealed end (like the Riva).

The carts should work unless your juice is so thick that it won't flow. Fill the cart until it looks damp on top buy not a puddle.

Is your juice dark or does it have noticeable particles? Some dark juices and some others use flavorings that leave a lot of flavoring sediment that can clog up an atomizer and require cleaning sooner. Try blowing the atty out into a tissue then re-prime with juice.

And 3 weeks? When I used atomizers I had to clean one every weekend. After a week of use an atomizer would be all gunked up and not working well. I would switch to a clean one (after priming it well with juice and waiting for that to soak in) and clean/soak the dirty one in freshly boiled water and then in a jar of pure grain alcohol (you can use rubbing alcohol but just don't injest it - it is poison).

Cartomizers are the way most people vape their favorite thinner juices. They hold 2x as much juice as a cart, need juice less often, and provide a more consistent vaping experience (and also no atomizer to clean). I use high-PG juices with 20% or less VG in cartos to get good performance longer. I avoid any juice that seems to leave a lot of flavoring sediment in the stuffing. A cartomizer is a disposable 1-piece cart w/ internal atomizer and I can get at least a week of good use out of a Boge carto with the juices I use.

The most popular cartomizers for 510-threaded devices are Boge. I recommend you learn on the standard resistance ones (around 3.0 ohm) since they are more forgiving and won't singe as easily as you learn to sense when juice needs to be added. And then you could switch to the hotter 2.0 ohm ones if you want (they also use battery charge faster). Beyond that there are various other kinds of cartos like dual coils and reservoir cartos that require a syringe to fill.

--

How I fill a cartomizer (Vapor4Life for KR8 or Boge 510 for 510 which are all soft-cap w/ no inner seals and defined central air channel)

I use thin (20% or less VG) liquid or Vapor4Life WOW liquids, preferably clear liquids w/ no sediment

Filling a blank carto - I pop off the soft cap (unbent paperclip carefully in the mouth hole, not catching any wires or stuffing!). I hold some tissue against the threaded end hole. I tilt the carto and slowly drip 18 drops onto the inner wall of the carto so it slides down into the stuffing while I rotate the carto. Then I wait 15 seconds or so then I drip however many more drops the stuffing wants to soak up. Then I do clean-up. If it is leaking, I clean that up. Then I tilt the open end down into the tissue and puff hard a few times into the threaded end to clear any juice out of the central air channel (I want to see light through there). If it looks too wet above the stuffing, I gently touch a bit of tissue to the stuffing (otherwise that liquid will be gurgling or spitting in my mouth). Then since this was a fresh fill of a blank, I now let it settle. I lay the carto on different sides for 15-20 minutes. Then it should be ready to vape. If you use thicker juices than me, then you may need to let it settle longer.

As I am vaping - if the vapor gets a bit light or a bit dry or tastes bit off or the carto is getting unusually warm, I will take the carto off the battery, open it, add 6-8 drops or whatever it seems to want (I will either hold a bit of tissue against the threaded end hole just in case, or skimp on how many drops I add to make sure I avoid drips if I have no tissue). I check to make sure the threaded end is dry, give it a couple of puffs into the threaded end to make sure the air channel is clear, and continue to vape.

Note - it is easy for me to "open" my main cartos for adding juice because I replace the white end cap with a plastic or delrin drip tip (I get them at LiteCigUSA.net). So I can easily pull that out with my fingers when I add juice and it keeps my lips cool if the carto is hot.

 

[reprisal]

I greatly dislike the atties that come with the Riva starter kit. They underperform from the start and get worse quickly. Get a 15 pack of Boge LR (2.0 ohm) cartomizers from crystalclearvaping. for $20 and free shipping. Much less of a hastle and great flavor/vapor.

 

[JustaGuy]

I have the same kit. One atty died in a week, replaced by LF. Both attys are working so far. They do seem delicate, but offer easier pull than 2.5 ohm standard Joyes.

No vapor, no flavor could be due to dirty atty. Have to clean them. There are various methods, running under hot water or soak in boiling hot water, alcohol/vodka, or dry burning. I clean mine every day. Dirty atty or carto = no vaping.

Juice leaking, too much juice in atty, can only put 3-4 drops in there at once, puff, puff, drip again. Dripping is not for everyone.

Carts don't hold much, thus all the carto suggestions you see. You can only put 7-10 drops in a cart with stock filler and have to tilt the PV batt side down to help the juice flow. Even so, polyfill can hang on to some juice you can't get to. I still use carts, but use blue foam filler to fit more juice in.

Good luck!

Edit: p.s. don't hold the batt button too long, juice flow can't keep up, slow long pull into mouth, not directly into lungs, wait a few seconds before next pull.