so every time i buy a new atomizer, whether it's a dripper or a genesis-style, there is always something about it that makes me want to take a dremel, hacksaw, a reamer, and/or a drill press to it. since i already build and modify things of all sorts, i'm thinking about machining and piecing together an atomizer system from the ground up. i would like to know about the problems, grievances, and annoyances you most often come across and in what sort of devices, and this would help me design a new type of atomizer. any and all input would be greatly appreciated!
what grinds your gears? post about your atomizer annoyances here
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It makes me mad when companies make it difficult to rebuild their products! Take the I 30B heads can't be rebuilt easily and I hate silica! Would love to pull it apart and slap in my own micro coils and cotton but they sit in a drawer and collect dust! Such a shame, I really like the design other than the coil/wick!
keep in mind that items like iclears are originally build to be disposable. They can be a pain to rebuild one but once you get it down pat its not terrible. My rda's I can have up and running in about 5 minutes if im starting from scratch, 2 minutes or less if i already have a coil wrapped for it. That's including removing the old one and rinsing it out, vivi nova's which is what my wife like is about the same time frame just a little tricky fiddling with the smaller area's.
Sure, however the old Kanger single-coil attys are easy to rebuild and stay attractive to me because of it. Devices like the new iClear lose my interest because Innokin makes them difficult to rebuild.
Flat head screws in atomizers bug the crap out of me. They're so annoying to screw/unscrew, it's why my trident sits in a drawer now, waste of money. Even the little allen tool nuts are easier to use(provided you have a real allen tool and not the tiny little thing that they usually come with). EVERY RBA that has posts with screws should use phillips head screws or a similar type.
Poor machining. Threads that have a mind of their own. Finishes that wear off. Poor quality glass.
This is why I only by brushed finish mods instead of their polished counter parts. The polished finish is too fragile, and I like the look of brushed metal more anyways.
Personally, I prefer bottom coil rba's, especially liking dripper tank models that can be used as and rta, Re-buildable Tank Atomizer, or an rda, by merely pop off the tank system and placing a dripper cap over the build like the flash-e-vapor rba/rda can. And it should be able to handle builds from 0.3-3.0 ohms providing a great vape no matter your ohm preference.
A large and easily accessible build area would be nice. Like atomizers that offer a hole or slot mounting position along with under the screw heads. Screws heads should have wide shoulders for easy catching of coil leads, Either have Philips or allen heads for an more secure tightening.
I have never had an issue with Authentic rba's, it's usually the clones I have to alter to vape as well as the original.
Protanks, iclears, the Nautilus are all changeable atomizers, and should never be classified as rba's. Sure, sure you can re-build them, but that is not what they were intended or designed for. They are for vapers who have no interest in building, and wanting an easy swap out. If you want to build, get a decent rba. Geeze for the price of a pt, naut or ic, you can get a decent clone rba.
Yeah agree, swear some manufacturers forget what the screws are used for.
This is why I only by brushed finish mods instead of their polished counter parts. The polished finish is too fragile, and I like the look of brushed metal more anyways.
I prefer brushed finished also. The polished ones can be plated so one doesn't know whether it's all SS or could be plated brass. Plus brushed doesn't show finger prints and smudges like polished does.
The generally cheap and crappy way most inexpensive vape gear is made is an issue but since 90% of everything is made in china with third world labor standards (if that), has a lot to do with that crappy machine work and bottom of the barrel QC .
I like high end hifi also. Lots and lots of Chinese made HiFi gear made today incorporate really great ideas but are poorly executed with lowest quality parts and no care or thought put into repair-ability or longevity. The manufacturer doesn't need it if the price reflects a disposable nature of the device.
Who fixes a TV now is another example I can go on about. Most fail due to $.02 capacitor failure.
I find the same with vaping hardware, Why make a Kanger coil either reliable or easily repairable if it can be made for pennies and sold over and over again as a disposable part that by nature is designd with a limited lifespan. When sold as such, the factory keeps humming along making more for pennies per unit.
It will take us, the tinkers, the hobbyists, the basement workshop innovators to move things like that along. Fighting the "screw it, its cheap to replace" mentality is the hurdle.
Just my humble opinion and I may be wrong.
I'm liking my cheap, Chinese Kanger stuff right now and trying not to do my share to keep the big american tobacco "innovators" well fed anymore at least!
Instead, figuring out how to repair this cheap vaping stuff is not that hard with some patience and I was gonna tinker anyway!
Not knocking High End vape gear at all. Take the US made Provari for example. Expensive for what it is, But, I have never seen a complaint about poor thread machining, or lack of customer support. You pay somebody to give a crap about what goes out from the production floor, actually inspect the finished product and don't run substandard leftovers on the line overnight, the product is almost universally flawless. Reflected in the price of course. Continuing support, care in manufacture and high standards are what you are actually paying for with something like that.
Cheap comes with a price most of the time, the corners get cut somewhere.
So many great ideas are hobbled by the goal of $.30 per unit goals.
I like high end hifi also. Lots and lots of Chinese made HiFi gear made today incorporate really great ideas but are poorly executed with lowest quality parts and no care or thought put into repair-ability or longevity. The manufacturer doesn't need it if the price reflects a disposable nature of the device.
Who fixes a TV now is another example I can go on about. Most fail due to $.02 capacitor failure.
I find the same with vaping hardware, Why make a Kanger coil either reliable or easily repairable if it can be made for pennies and sold over and over again as a disposable part that by nature is designd with a limited lifespan. When sold as such, the factory keeps humming along making more for pennies per unit.
It will take us, the tinkers, the hobbyists, the basement workshop innovators to move things like that along. Fighting the "screw it, its cheap to replace" mentality is the hurdle.
Just my humble opinion and I may be wrong.
I'm liking my cheap, Chinese Kanger stuff right now and trying not to do my share to keep the big american tobacco "innovators" well fed anymore at least!
Instead, figuring out how to repair this cheap vaping stuff is not that hard with some patience and I was gonna tinker anyway!
Not knocking High End vape gear at all. Take the US made Provari for example. Expensive for what it is, But, I have never seen a complaint about poor thread machining, or lack of customer support. You pay somebody to give a crap about what goes out from the production floor, actually inspect the finished product and don't run substandard leftovers on the line overnight, the product is almost universally flawless. Reflected in the price of course. Continuing support, care in manufacture and high standards are what you are actually paying for with something like that.
Cheap comes with a price most of the time, the corners get cut somewhere.
So many great ideas are hobbled by the goal of $.30 per unit goals.
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Yep, my matte (brushed SS) Nemesis is a little over 6 months old and other than a few scratches it still looks almost new and I have yet to clean it other than wipe it down and remove gunk from the switch/threading.
I'm think I'm headed in the opposite direction of gear grinding but I recently bought a Helios clone that, imo, is the greatest RDA design to date. I absolutely love the t-post for the positive terminal. It makes it SO much easier (almost fun) to build a dual coil setup. That coupled with the adjustable airflow makes it my very first truly awesome experience with an RDA.
The helios is quite the good little atty. I keep meaning to slot mine so I can put a quad coil in it. The helios does make dual coils really easy though. If it wasn't for the $120 price tag it'd be my go to recommendation for vapers getting into RBAs.
Torx or at least Allen screws would be much better as long as they had sufficient flanges to capture the wire.
I was a Protank, Vivi Nova, and Aspire CE5 BDC fan for quite a while. The Aspire CE5 led me to the Aspire Nautilus. The Nautilus is the best thing I've vaped since I started. It's like a brand new SmokTech Mega carto or a dripper on day one, except the flavor just continues on and on for weeks according to those who have been vaping it for a while. I'm on my 4th day and the flavor hasn't changed a bit ... still great.
It's expensive at $35, but replacement parts are available and the tank is Pyrex. 5ml capacity is also a plus. Dimensions are somewhat similar to an original protank, maybe just a tad larger.
It's expensive at $35, but replacement parts are available and the tank is Pyrex. 5ml capacity is also a plus. Dimensions are somewhat similar to an original protank, maybe just a tad larger.
Actually, I bought the clone and I am really loving it. The build quality is pretty solid. A buddy of mine owns the real one and to be honest, I don't see $100 difference between them.
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