RBA vs pre-built - Please explain

[MarylinC37]

This is the build deck from the 22mm Velocity RDA. It's basically two straight posts, each post with two holes - unfortunately because the screws come in from the side they can mangle and distort complex coils with a wide flat profile. This is the same type of Velocity Deck that is available as an optional extra for the Steamcrave that @Reti was asking about

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There are a few variations of the velocity deck developed - the dual post deck from the Twisted Messes 24 Pro RDA is considered a velocity deck, but as the holes are fairly large and side by side with the screws coming down from the top you can fit large coils in there without any concerns about mangling them.

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There was a time when it seemed every DL atomiser released had some variation of the velocity deck, here is the deck of the OBS Engine Mini RTA, they didn't even bother trying to disguise it or adapt it in any way - but it's easy to build and pretty good so I don't think anybody cared

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Sorry about the dodgy pics - my camera is crap and I've got the old man tremors today so most of the attempts I made looked like fuzzy potatoes and these three are the clearest of the lot. Hopefully you can make out enough detail.

Thank you.

That's really good of you to take the time to explain all that and your photos are fine.

I see the problem there of the screws being badly thought out, not only by damaging the coil but also making a worse electrical connection. The post design on the Passage RDA deck are a big improvement with it's top screws and floating clamps system which minimises any distortion of the coil.

Still nothing from Royal Mail with my new squonk mod as I'm waiting to see how the DR3 performs in squonk mode. I wish I'd tried RDA's a long time ago. I'm really liking it.

 

[Reti]

I see what you mean about the velocity deck and it potentially ruining wide complex coils.
I've not had any problems with my dual deck and cutting the right length. I tend to leave them longer, fit them and see how they look. Then snip off a tiny bit more until I get it right.

I was just curious to know if there is any kind of performance gains or anything from a velocity style deck. But obviously not so there's no reason for me to get one as I'm having no problems with cutting the ends.
I've seen those plastic mould things for cutting the ends at the right length on review videos but I've been ok so far. Thanks for the recommendation though.

And thanks @MarylinC37 for the video on the cleaning. That's really good to know! I have the exact same steel wire brush that he showed there and I have used it lol. I will steer clear of that and use his water method. It looked really effective too.

My first handmade aliens should hopefully arrive tomorrow. Really looking forward to installing them and giving them a go.

Also... the way you install cotton in mesh coils with cutting the ends instead of thinning them... I tried doing the same thing on regular coils and it worked perfectly. No dry hits or anything so I might continue to do that. It's less fiddly than thinning the cotton and there's also no danger of thinning it too much under the coil doing it the cutting way. I'm also getting less spits doing it that way.
To clarify, cutting each end diagonally to make a point, and then trimming the top. Then tucking what's left - like a > shape. Into the juice wells. Works really well!

I'm tempted to covert mine into an RDA just to try it but I'm not sure how to drip. How do I know when I need to drip? Is it when I start getting dry hits? (I'd rather not experience that lol). Do I drip down through the drip tip?

Thanks dudes.

 

[Reti]

Up until I changed to sub ohm tanks about 8 years ago I really loved my OG Nautilus 5ml tanks. There were only two coils available in those days which was the 1.6 and 1.8 ohm but it was the first decent tank I ever owned which didn't leak or gurgle at all and had good flavour. It's a testament to the Nautilus that those coils are still included among the range of coils they offer now.

I have the Nautilus 3 but wasn't a fan of the coils at all. The holes that expose the cotton inside the coil are far too small imo and didn't absorb the juice quick enough to enable a deep inhale without getting a dry hit.

 

[MarylinC37]

I see what you mean about the velocity deck and it potentially ruining wide complex coils.
I've not had any problems with my dual deck and cutting the right length. I tend to leave them longer, fit them and see how they look. Then snip off a tiny bit more until I get it right.

I was just curious to know if there is any kind of performance gains or anything from a velocity style deck. But obviously not so there's no reason for me to get one as I'm having no problems with cutting the ends.
I've seen those plastic mould things for cutting the ends at the right length on review videos but I've been ok so far. Thanks for the recommendation though.

And thanks @MarylinC37 for the video on the cleaning. That's really good to know! I have the exact same steel wire brush that he showed there and I have used it lol. I will steer clear of that and use his water method. It looked really effective too.

My first handmade aliens should hopefully arrive tomorrow. Really looking forward to installing them and giving them a go.

Also... the way you install cotton in mesh coils with cutting the ends instead of thinning them... I tried doing the same thing on regular coils and it worked perfectly. No dry hits or anything so I might continue to do that. It's less fiddly than thinning the cotton and there's also no danger of thinning it too much under the coil doing it the cutting way. I'm also getting less spits doing it that way.
To clarify, cutting each end diagonally to make a point, and then trimming the top. Then tucking what's left - like a > shape. Into the juice wells. Works really well!

I'm tempted to covert mine into an RDA just to try it but I'm not sure how to drip. How do I know when I need to drip? Is it when I start getting dry hits? (I'd rather not experience that lol). Do I drip down through the drip tip?

Thanks dudes.

I've had my RDA for less than a week and it was so ridiculously simple to figure out so give it a try.

Basically the build deck has a raised edge to create a little reservior for you to drip juice into and allows you vape on it for several puffs before you need to drip some more.

I like the fact that it means I can run a little juice directly over the coil to help freshen it up. You can also keep watching what the gunking is looking like and judge how well your build is still holding it's flavour and when it needs a clean and some new cotton.

Most RDA's also come with an additional gold 510 pin with a hole through the centre to channel juice so you can screw it onto a squonk mod and keep pressing on the squonk tank to get more juice to fill the reservior.

 

[Crispycritters]

I'm tempted to covert mine into an RDA just to try it but I'm not sure how to drip. How do I know when I need to drip? Is it when I start getting dry hits? (I'd rather not experience that lol). Do I drip down through the drip tip?

it's pretty much just a case of dropping down the drip tip and vaping You will be able to tell when you need to re-drip as the flavour will reduce as the wicks start to dry and you will get plenty of warning before dry hit time. A dry hit from and RDA is unpleasant - but not anywhere as bad as getting it wrong from mesh.

Dripping is easy and will take minutes to suss out - all you have to figure out is how much to drip, too little and you will constantly be dripping which is a pain - too much and the excess juice will pour out of the airflow and you can guarantee you will end up looking like you've pissed yourself because you just know where the juice is going to land.

I mainly use RDAs/ at home - except if I'm watching a film on TV then I'll stick with RTAs so i can switch off and forget about dripping for a few hours, but there isn't really any learning curve - and if you like pushing the power to the limit then RDAs are the easiest to live with as there are no worries about the wicking being able to keep up. As long as you don't vape it 'till it's nearly dry, put it down, forget about it - then pick it up later and take a massive hit lol.

 

[Reti]

I've had my RDA for less than a week and it was so ridiculously simple to figure out so give it a try.

Basically the build deck has a raised edge to create a little reservior for you to drip juice into and allows you vape on it for several puffs before you need to drip some more.

I like the fact that it means I can run a little juice directly over the coil to help freshen it up. You can also keep watching what the gunking is looking like and judge how well your build is still holding it's flavour and when it needs a clean and some new cotton.

Most RDA's also come with an additional gold 510 pin with a hole through the centre to channel juice so you can screw it onto a squonk mod and keep pressing on the squonk tank to get more juice to fill the reservior.

Speaking of seeing what's going on inside. Check out this bad boy
Glaz RTA V2 31mm,Glaz Series (steamcrave.com)

 

[MarylinC37]

Speaking of seeing what's going on inside. Check out this bad boy
Glaz RTA V2 31mm,Glaz Series (steamcrave.com)

Wow that's a chunk. You'd need some big ass coils to go in that thing. If the TPD bods see that they'll have a fit. Interesting that the manual is in Italian so they don't care about TPD.

 

[Reti]

Wow that's a chunk. You'd need some big ass coils to go in that thing. If the TPD bods see that they'll have a fit. Interesting that the manual is in Italian so they don't care about TPD.

Hahaha. I'm not convinced that TDP is enforced that much. My Zeus tank came with a sticker "Only to be sold in the USA" and there was no 2ml glass. I can very easily buy nicotine strengths from a UK company online that is illegal under TDP.
It doesn't seem to be taken that seriously. There's loads of tanks in UK shops that have a capacity way above 2ml. The biggest I've seen is a 32ml tank.

 

[Reti]

Anyone got any experience with the Vapefly Siegfried Mesh RTA?
Apparently it doesn't have wicking ports. You literally just snip the cotton and that's it. The juice is pulled up from under the cotton. It comes in a kit with a mod and I think it looks great.
Siegfried Kit | vapefly Siegfried kit | VapeFly

 

[Crispycritters]

Anyone got any experience with the Vapefly Siegfried Mesh RTA?
Apparently it doesn't have wicking ports. You literally just snip the cotton and that's it. The juice is pulled up from under the cotton. It comes in a kit with a mod and I think it looks great.
Siegfried Kit | vapefly Siegfried kit | VapeFly

Essentially the juice pours in from the sides and forms a reservoir directly under the cotton - I don't have it so I can't comment but it looks like it will be very effective for mesh but I wouldn't be too keen on trying it with regular coils.

One thing to be aware of is that mod is bypass which means you have to use Ohms Law build to a specific resistance to get the best from it and avoid red hot dry hits from hell if you go too low or an insipid underpowered vape if the resistance is too high.

If your favourite mesh is made by another manufacturer and you don't care for the Vapefly stuff you must stick with mesh of similar resistance to that supplied with the tank - for example, sticking a strip of 0.13 Wotofo Mesh in the tank and firing it on that mod will be a very bad idea as it will be hot af. You probably need to stick with resistances of around 0.20 to match the mod power output - which means you won't have much choice in which mesh you can use. If you aren't familiar with Ohms Law I'd give the mod a miss.

To be honest mate, I don't think that mod and tank are a good match. As the mod is by-pass it will provide battery voltage output and the power will reduce as the battery level drops - with a mesh tank you are much better off being able to select a specific wattage and get the same powered vape for the entire battery charge. You won't get that with that mod.

This is all just personal opinion but I would only buy that kit if I had a matching RDA of the appropriate size to use on the mod - I would treat the mod as a mech mod with safety protections that I could safely pocket carry. I would use the tank on a separate REGULATED mod.

I like the mod and tank as individual items - but they make a really bad combination IMO.