What is out there? Looking for a round up of rebuildables / repariables

[MikeB]

Ok, I'm sick of my other vaping methods. (thread all about this here ). I've tried cartos, CE2s, a Vivi Nova, and tanks. Basically all have pluses and minuses, but none of them are a fit for me. What I have recently discovered is dripping. Got a 306 atty at the suggestion of other ECF folks and I am freaking in love! Only problem is dripping is a pain. Not bad at home but its inconvenient at work, reckless in the car, and impossible in the dark at night on my porch. This has lead me to rebuildables/repairables because from what I gather these are almost, if not exactly, like dripping. Some claim its better because each hit is consistent unlike with dripping.

What is out there? I'm Looking for a round up of rebuildables/repairables along with the pros/cons of each.

So far I know about:

-Odysseus/Penelope:
Looks awesome. Has air flow control and juice flow control. Doesn't look hard to build. Only question I would have is if the silica wick pollutes the taste any. I've also would guess you could use something else as a wick, but I'm just guessing. I also wish you could see your juice level.

-DID Genesis:
Looks great. The SS wick should be tasteless as long as it's oxidized, and I love that you can see your juice level. It doesn't seem to have air or juice flow control, and I have my doubts about how well the SS wick will work only using capillary action. It also looks rather, um... involved to build.

-Vivi Nova / CE5 "stardusts":
Personally, I don't see how these count. Its more of a replaceable head rather than rebuildable. If you did rebuild it, it would be more like Vivi Nova moding... For me these have a horrible plastic taste. From what I gather, its because the entire length of the wire is hot including where it goes through the seal, which is where the taste comes from.

Are these the only four products? I haven't scoured the forums yet, but I'm planning to, but most threads seem to be about a specific topic. I want to round up my options into one place if anyone is willing to help.

Thanks!

Edit: All of the above are good products, but keep in mind that the benchmark I'm using here is dripping... (which is awesome)

 

[Flyer]

-Vivi Nova / CE5 "stardusts":
Personally, I don't see how these count. Its more of a replaceable head rather than rebuildable. If you did rebuild it, it would be more like Vivi Nova moding... For me these have a horrible plastic taste. From what I gather, its because the entire length of the wire is hot including where it goes through the seal, which is where the taste comes from.

Don't know if this is coming from personal experience with an older version or not, but that is not my experience. Been rebuilding heads in 5 version 2.5's for some time now and have never had a plastic taste. Also, the insulator cup you refer to is barely even discolored much less burnt, melted. I don't have any of the high end rebuildables and still want one, but am not in the rush for one that I was since using the VN.

 

[MikeB]

Don't know if this is coming from personal experience with an older version or not, but that is not my experience. Been rebuilding heads in 5 version 2.5's for some time now and have never had a plastic taste. Also, the insulator cup you refer to is barely even discolored much less burnt, melted. I don't have any of the high end rebuildables and still want one, but am not in the rush for one that I was since using the VN.

Yea, I've only found a few people that seem to have my experience. I'm using the Vivi v2.5 as well, but the taste is a weird soapy/plasticy... something. Whats more is that I can detect the same taste on the CE2s and CE3s as well. Never liked any of them for this reason. The taste is really subtle, but the longer I vape one the more sensitive I become to it. Honestly I don't know what the issue is. One person suggested it was the ceramic and you could fix it by taking it apart and heating the ceramic until red which cooks out whatever that is. Seems like a lot of work to me, but supposedly fixes it. I honestly can't figure out what the deal is.

 

[MickeyRat]

There's the defcon mini and the Atom from chopper71.

There's the RAtank at dfwvapor.

 

[MikeB]

There's the defcon mini and the Atom from chopper71.

There's the RAtank at dfwvapor.

Lol, MickeyRat, do you know everything about vaping? Seems no matter where on the ECF I post a question, you step up to the plate. Maybe I should cut out the middle man and just PM you instead.

All jokes aside, your input is always much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[woody1911a1]

i stole this list from another forum where it was posted as stolen from another forum

Vivi Nova GotVapes.com, E-cigarette Supplies - Atomizers Cartomizers Mods Juice and more
also available at COV http://www.cloudsofvapor.com/store/1...word=vivi+nova

NGP (multiple versions) NGP Elektromos Cigaretta | NGP – a magyar, kézm

Bulli (multiple versions) Willkommen beim King of Vapor

Zenesis Home

Mark T Infinity http://www.cloud9vaping.co.uk/Mark-T...y-Atomiser-Kit

The Ato-Miser The Ato-Miser

My-T & G-Bell by Yenki69 www.vaporwall.com • Login

LS-E Startseite Liquid Stube - Die Liquid Stube

Genesis Maxi/Min/Line SS/Line V2 by Van VaporWall

The DID e-vape.gr

GG Odysseus Welcome to Clouds Of Vapor

GG Penelope Welcome to Clouds Of Vapor

A.R.T. https://sites.google.com/site/artatomizer/

KruserOne https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kruser/154913201302928

BT-V1 Home - BT-V1 - Selbstwickelverdampfer

GLV Elektrische Zigarette E-Zigarette Elektronische Zigarette bei inTaste

Talos (to com June 2012) Elektrische Zigarette E-Zigarette Elektronische Zigarette bei inTaste

Kaifun Мод «SvoёMesto» v.2.0 ― SvoёMesto

Patriot Mega Ato Reparable PATRIOT MEGA Galvanizado - Cigarrillos electrónicos easyVap

Phantom V21/V18 http://www.highendsmoke.de/Phantom-G...313cae36d5d896

Clearome ecigfr - Clearomes

Katana peace.off.cake@gmail.com

Willpro www.willpro.cz

Defcon Mini S & S MODS - Home

eShots Phoenix http://www.eshotsph.com/eshots-acces...atomizers.html

Ikarus http://www.ukvapers.com/topic/25293-the-ikarus-list/

8todripper & 8tomiser mailto: cgo.guerreiro@gmail.com

Scubagen's info at scubabatdan@yahoo.com

SS line clone http://www.sulit.com.ph/index.php/vi...i#imageGallery

Spheroid by Perseas http://www.vaporwall.com/forum/viewt...p?f=196&t=1251


cheers Woody

 

[Xaiver]

...-Odysseus/Penelope:
Looks awesome. Has air flow control and juice flow control. Doesn't look hard to build. Only question I would have is if the silica wick pollutes the taste any. I've also would guess you could use something else as a wick, but I'm just guessing. I also wish you could see your juice level.

Preface: I don't like dripping, it's too much work with an infant around. The closest I come to dripping is when I'm testing out random flavor combos, and even then I only do it once or twice and then stash the atty.

I got Penelope a week or two ago. There's a pretty steep learning curve to rebuildables, and it's little minute things. It took me a foot of wire to figure out that I was making the NR-R wire connection wrong and it was causing some serious flavor issues.

I did spend a lot of time on the 'search for the best liquid delivery' and settled on Smoktech Cartos, which I still have and use on my at-work mod. That said, they don't really hold a candle to Penelope. Not in flavor, throat hit, or just raw power. I, personally, don't have any issues with strange wick flavor. It's a ton better than carto-stuffing flavor, which is what I came from. The only strange flavor that I get is when a portion of the wire isn't in contact with the wick, and it's sort of heating up on it's own, it makes a strange metal flavor. If there's too much coil not touching the wick, I can't vape it and have to re-build it.

Penelope (and odysseus, since they're almost the same) is one of the easier ones to build, from what I understand. The 'wish I could see the liquid level' bothered me for a while too, but...it's just like an atty, if an atty could hold 3mls. You'll taste when you're not getting enough liquid. I have a tendancy to top it off every couple of hours, so that isn't an issue. If it's a big deal to you, there's a fellow that makes a clear window for it. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/gg/312694-penelope-clear-windows-kir-fanis.html

Only big issue with Penelope is that there aren't a ton of them around, which seems to be the way it is with the rebuildables. It's not like you can say "Okay, I want Penelope" and order her. You'll have to sign up for a pre-order, if you can find one, and then wait a week or three before COV gets it in stock, and then they'll ship it out in a couple days.

If you're lucky enough to get your hands on one, you'll then have to find a place to get wick and wire. COV will get in a shipment of wick/wire and it will be out of stock inside of two hours. Twice now, I've been at work when it went back in stock (Friday night, usually) and got the email, got home and it was out of stock, or I sat at their website while it crashed over and over, trying to get some in the cart.

Those issues aside, though, this is the best vape I've ever had. The rebuilding is a sinch once you get the hang of it, it takes me 5-10 minutes to build a wick which lasts 4-10 days, it seems. I believe that they're doing a pre-order right now that's supposed to go out on the 23rd or so. If you want one, jump quick!

Either way, best of luck!
-X

 

[MickeyRat]

-Odysseus/Penelope:
Looks awesome. Has air flow control and juice flow control. Doesn't look hard to build. Only question I would have is if the silica wick pollutes the taste any. I've also would guess you could use something else as a wick, but I'm just guessing. I also wish you could see your juice level.

I didn't notice this before. I'm gonna tell you a little more. Right now you can get a Penelope at COV. I've had mine since last Monday. They are pricey but, one thing about GG stuff, it usually goes fast in the classies, The silica wick works well and doesn't effect the taste. Working with resistance and no resistance wire is a bit of a pain but, it's pretty forgiving. It generates clouds. That's nice but, it's a juice hog. I think that may be true of most RBAs. With my juice at least the coil gets gummed up pretty quickly. The longest I've had one last is three days and there's a noticeable drop off in performance in 24 to 48 hours. It only comes wire to make one coil. So, get your wire early.

I'm not a big fan of silica and I've been trying different materials. There's a discussion about this in this giant thread.

For some reason all I have to do to curse a genesis is to order one. I'm in one coop and I've ordered one and they have both been delayed. I'm in another coop as well. It's not late yet but, I'm convinced I'll manage to jinx it. I haven't ordered a DID that may be your best bet.

 

[MikeB]

i stole this list from another forum where it was posted as stolen from another forum

(...big list...)

cheers Woody

HOLY CRAP! Good job, lol! I had no idea there were so many.

Uh oh... this will make narrowing it down a bit (lot) more difficult.

 

[MikeB]

I didn't notice this before. I'm gonna tell you a little more. Right now you can get a Penelope at COV. I've had mine since last Monday. They are pricey but, one thing about GG stuff, it usually goes fast in the classies, The silica wick works well and doesn't effect the taste. Working with resistance and no resistance wire is a bit of a pain but, it's pretty forgiving. It generates clouds. That's nice but, it's a juice hog. I think that may be true of most RBAs. With my juice at least the coil gets gummed up pretty quickly. The longest I've had one last is three days and there's a noticeable drop off in performance in 24 to 48 hours. It only comes wire to make one coil. So, get your wire early.

I'm not a big fan of silica and I've been trying different materials. There's a discussion about this in this giant thread.

For some reason all I have to do to curse a genesis is to order one. I'm in one coop and I've ordered one and they have both been delayed. I'm in another coop as well. It's not late yet but, I'm convinced I'll manage to jinx it. I haven't ordered a DID that may be your best bet.

That's disappointing about the performance fall off. I was hoping to only make a coil about once a week, not every three days. :-/

I haven't read much of that thread, but after just the first page or so, cotton seems like the way to go. I had wondered about that myself. Cotton is used in all kinds of wicks, form candles to kerosene lamps, I helped my mom make candles when I was a kid and it was all cotton wick. The stuff won't burn as long as it is saturated with fuel. For instance, she made candles from natural bee's wax and when that wax melted it wicked great and burned slow. She still has some candles she made 20 years ago, and they're still about half their height and the wicks are long. She's even had to trim them before.

I'd like a genesis, but the coop ordering isn't very appealing. Also I'm not sure how good I'll be at rolling mesh to the right size. Looks difficult.

Another thing, I'm confused about the whole genesis thing. I thought a genesis was a DID, it's not? Then there is a Zenesis, which at first I thought was just a misspelling of a genensis, but apparently its a different product. Wow this is confusing.

 

[evilferret]

In the same boat as the OP. I always go back to dripping for flavor/TH but than switch to carto tanks for ease and flip flop every season.

Can anybody chime in about the Penelope vs Zenesis?

Willing to wait for the Zenesis if it really is all that. Still have no idea why the Genesis style atties are considered better.

OP the Penelope is avail now but I'm still delaying ordering one. I have one of the older UFS and found out the hard way GG replacement parts are a pain to get.

 

[Xaiver]

Penelope's only got a hand full of parts to her, not very many at all. I'm not sure what in there could need to be replaced. There's 3-4 O-rings, 1 small plastic piece and a ceramic at the very center. I've dropped it a couple times with my Silver Bullet attached and the ceramic is still solid. (Onto concrete, not the carpet) I'm not saying that the pieces are indestructable, but it should last for quite a long time.

I figured that: 130 dollars for Penelope, I go through about 3-4 cartos a week.

4x2.00 = 8.00 (Rounding a little for easy math) 8x4 weeks = 32$/month for cartos. 32x4 months = 128. If it lasts 5 months, I've saved money. Except that I'm still using a few cartos for work. Either way, I don't think that I'll be looking for replacement parts for a long time.

 

[Malduk]

Genesis (or "genisis") mods are a category of their own; they are just different in many aspects. I would really encourage you to do some research before deciding which one to aim for. It is well worth it though.
Things to look about in gen-style atty are:
- quality of production and materials used
- posts: screws are usually easiest to work with and make a good connection
- top cap; thread or placed with o-ring
- atty chamber size: smaller the atty chamber, more pronounced the flavor is
- some other stuff, but wouldn't want to nitpick here

You don't have to pay Zenesis price to get a great genesis, but make sure you know what materials are being used. There's a lot of cheap... well... crap, being made and sold out there.
Also, prepare to have some fun with mesh and setting up the coil. Getting started can be frustrating, but when you get a hang of it, its not a big deal. There are a lot of tips and tricks out there that can help you out. Having said that, genesis setup lasts the longest of all other options I've tried.

I would say that both Penelope/Ody and good gen-style atty, are a step up from a regular cartos and whatnot.

 

[evilferret]

Penelope's only got a hand full of parts to her, not very many at all. I'm not sure what in there could need to be replaced. There's 3-4 O-rings, 1 small plastic piece and a ceramic at the very center. I've dropped it a couple times with my Silver Bullet attached and the ceramic is still solid. (Onto concrete, not the carpet) I'm not saying that the pieces are indestructable, but it should last for quite a long time.

I figured that: 130 dollars for Penelope, I go through about 3-4 cartos a week.

4x2.00 = 8.00 (Rounding a little for easy math) 8x4 weeks = 32$/month for cartos. 32x4 months = 128. If it lasts 5 months, I've saved money. Except that I'm still using a few cartos for work. Either way, I don't think that I'll be looking for replacement parts for a long time.

Well looking at COV, everything for the Penelope seems out of stock (aside the Penelope itself).

Also I hate cleaning wicks that I buy off eBay or other websites, the ones from COV seem to be pre-cleaned and ready to vape.

Dunno, I just hate the idea if something fails (something always fails) it might be out of stock (say the ceramic) or it'll be a pain in my ... to find a generic replacement (cleaning the wicks or sourcing/making my wires).

I'm not really worried about price for my purchases as long as they keep me off the analogs.

I actually have a few GG items that need replacement parts that are sitting in my drawer. Whenever they failed, they never had the replacement parts in stock and I just ended up using other devices or going back to analogs.

How is the Penelope for you? It is still on my consideration list but getting replacement parts for the GG require me to quit my job and be on the internet 24/7 (or at least for me).

Anychance you can compare to a Genesis style atty?

 

[evilferret]

I'm looking at the Zenesis since I can't seem to find a Gen style atty w/ a glass tank (or a good polyprop tank).

Any info would be great. Still going through the Zenesis thread and my eyes are watering over.

I have a habit of liking juices that will melt the polycarb tanks but I really want a clear tank (I know I can go with a metal tank).

Sorry OP for hijacking. I really should make my own thread but you had your eyes on the same stuff as me.

 

[Malduk]

Not many with glass tanks around (latest scuba mini gen from coop will have pyrex glass tank though), but there are some with SS tanks if juices are the issue.
There's also new interesting hybrid being made by Van, all in SS, if that is an option for you.

 

[Malduk]

Oups, just reread you want clear tank. Sorry.

 

[evilferret]

Oups, just reread you want clear tank. Sorry.

Heh, its okay. I know I'm just being greedy.

At least the ecig industry moves so fast, there will another newest/greatest PV/atty/whatever that I must have soon.

 

[MickeyRat]

That's disappointing about the performance fall off. I was hoping to only make a coil about once a week, not every three days. :-/

That's my experience with my juice and I've only had it 6 days. I'm still trying to find the setup that works for me. The thing is, if you aren't willing to fiddle with it, I'm not sure you should be looking at rebuildables.

I haven't read much of that thread, but after just the first page or so, cotton seems like the way to go. I had wondered about that myself. Cotton is used in all kinds of wicks, form candles to kerosene lamps, I helped my mom make candles when I was a kid and it was all cotton wick. The stuff won't burn as long as it is saturated with fuel. For instance, she made candles from natural bee's wax and when that wax melted it wicked great and burned slow. She still has some candles she made 20 years ago, and they're still about half their height and the wicks are long. She's even had to trim them before.

I've tried rolling my own from cotton off a roll. That was pretty good and I may go back to it. I tried kitchen twine. That didn't wick very well. Right now, I'm using some cotton yarn that I boiled to get the sizing out. That's working pretty well but, I don't know how it'll hold up yet.

I'd like a genesis, but the coop ordering isn't very appealing. Also I'm not sure how good I'll be at rolling mesh to the right size. Looks difficult.

Another thing, I'm confused about the whole genesis thing. I thought a genesis was a DID, it's not? Then there is a Zenesis, which at first I thought was just a misspelling of a genensis, but apparently its a different product. Wow this is confusing.

The genesis is a class of rebuildables. The DID is a genesis but, all genesis are not DIDs. The Zenesis is another. The genesis class actually covers most RBAs, Don't buy one, if you expect it to be plug and play though. No matter what RBA you get, you are going to have to do some fiddling.

 

[MikeB]

That's my experience with my juice and I've only had it 6 days. I'm still trying to find the setup that works for me. The thing is, if you aren't willing to fiddle with it, I'm not sure you should be looking at rebuildables.

I've tried rolling my own from cotton off a roll. That was pretty good and I may go back to it. I tried kitchen twine. That didn't wick very well. Right now, I'm using some cotton yarn that I boiled to get the sizing out. That's working pretty well but, I don't know how it'll hold up yet.

The genesis is a class of rebuildables. The DID is a genesis but, all genesis are not DIDs. The Zenesis is another. The genesis class actually covers most RBAs, Don't buy one, if you expect it to be plug and play though. No matter what RBA you get, you are going to have to do some fiddling.

Thanks for explaining. So I guess they call them a "Genesis" because that was the name of the first one?

Also, what about trying actual cotton candle or kerosene wick? Some of the candle wicks come coated in wax, but not all if I remember, and I think kerosene wick comes dry but I may be wrong.

It's not the fiddling that concerns me, I don't mind learning a new skill, rather its the reliability and consistency of performance. Once I've done my fiddling I want it to work and not be finicky or temperamental if I've done my job right. These aren't mass-produced disposables, rather they require the user to maintain them, so I assumed the trade off would be better performance and consistency. Otherwise, why bother? That said, it could be your experience building them (hypothetically) since you mentioned you've only had it about a week. It could also be the juice. Perhaps the juice doesn't vaporize as completely as some and leaves behind a residue that builds up.