RBA vs pre-built - Please explain

[Reti]

Hate to be a killjoy here - but I've bought a few spools of Pirate coil Kanthal wires and they were pretty bad - one was literally soaked in machine oil and it still tasted nasty despite repeated cycles in my ultrasonic using hot water and detergent. i binned the wires.

That wrapping wire is way too thick for the cores - and triple 26 core Kanthal isn't for the bashful. it will need A LOT of power to make it work properly. I wouldn't.

Oh dear. That's not good. But thanks for the heads up.
What gauges would you recommend I go for? I have a mod that goes up to 200w. I've used tri-core fused clapton at 2-26/36 with no issue.

EDIT: I see they also have stainless steel. I prefer stainless steel coils. For me I think it provides a nicer flavour.

 

[Reti]

Also... someone tell me about titanium wire please? I hear it's somewhat controversial in ways to use as vaping coils.
Is titanium the one that can only be used in temp control mode?

 

[MarylinC37]

Seeing as you've had a go at mixing a few juices and homogenising got mentioned I thought it might help you that I use a little mini electric mixer. It's only a cheap little thing but I've been using mine for years and it's works a treat. This is the one.

Norpro Cordless Mini Mixer

 

[vapervince]

3-26/36 would be tri core, titanium is not suitable for wattage vaping.

 

[Crispycritters]

Oh dear. That's not good. But thanks for the heads up.
What gauges would you recommend I go for? I have a mod that goes up to 200w. I've used tri-core fused clapton at 2-26/36 with no issue.

EDIT: I see they also have stainless steel. I prefer stainless steel coils. For me I think it provides a nicer flavour.

What gauges to go for really depends on what typical wattage you are likely to vape at - and what type of atomiser you are likely to fit them in, but really the question is are you likely to want to. I can't really advise on that subject, personally I tend to stay below half of that power level, but were all different lol.

i'f you're happy vaping tricore 26 gauge fused claptons then they have similar total mass so should be ok at similar wattages - but at the moment I think you may be paying too much attention to the outer wrap style and overlooking some things that are probably more important. That is the outer wrap is too thick, and Pirate Coil produce some nasty spools of wire - ideally the outer wrap should be 10 gauges higher than the inner core wires. Even if you buy a spool of that wire in SS316L it will have a, too thick, 32 gauge outer wrap - and you could run into low resistance problems if you use that wire in dual coil mode.

I just automatically hear alarms ringing in my head when I hear 32 gauge being used as an outer wrap on complex coils. It doesn't mean it's awful, but I suspect it is machine made - and don't expect it to be the same quality as the hand made coils you bought recently. It won't be.

 

[MarylinC37]

I certainly couldn't begin to compete with someone like @Crispycritters expertise when it comes to coils.

What I would say though is don't get too over focused on the coils and over complicate things because you need to also think about what their basic purpose is.

Their primary job is to act as the heating element to vaporise your juice but it's the juice that provides the flavour so although selecting the right coil can do a lot to help you need to think about how you get the coil, the cotton and the juice to all play their part in how they work with each other to give you the perfect amount of vapour and flavour.

 

[wraith]

Titanium is good for temp control but.. and it's a big but.. if you overheat it it can produce some very very nasty substances so it shouldn't be dry fired like other metals can when building.

 

[Reti]

So I've spent loads of time looking at all different atty's etc. I'm buying one this Friday (Black Friday sales) and on the top of my list right now is the Wotofo Profile X. I like that it's 28mm, has a spring loaded plate for mesh but can also take dual coils. I also like that the coil is in the tank rather than under it which places the coils closer to the mouth.
I'm looking at some sales on ebay too. There's some decent stuff going for really cheap so I think I'm going to bag myself a Vaperz Cloud Osiris 30mm RTA (Reviews are good) or a Vandy Vape Triple II (3 coil RTA).
I want to try out different things and if I can bag them cheap on Black Friday sales then all the better!


Also today I watched a review on an RDA by Steam Crave. It's the Hadron, which takes dual mesh coils! It pairs with the Steam Crave Hadron pumper which is a 30mm tank which stores the liquid and has a built in pump. The atty sits on top of it and instead of needing a squonk mod you just pump the juice from the Pumper into the juice well of the RDA. It works with any RDA but as it's 30mm I think anything under than 30mm on top of it would look silly. It looks great with the Hadron. I think it's a great way to get into squonking & RDA's without having to fork out for a squonk mod. Plus, DUAL MESH RDA! The flavour is apparently sublime!
One thing that bothers me about an RDA though is not being able to see what you're putting into the juice well and having a possible overflow, so I felt that an RDTA where you squonk into the small tank under the deck might be better rather than squonking straight into the juice well, such as the Hellvape Helheim S30 RDTA or Thunderhead Artemis. Everyone raves about the flavour of RDA's though so I just thought a Steam Crave Hadron and Pumper would be a good way to try it out so that's something I'm thinking about.

Here's a pic of the set up:

But yeah. Like I say, unless something else takes my eye before Friday I'll be getting the Profile X. Was looking for a dedicated mesh RTA that's bigger than 25mm

 

[Reti]

Titanium is good for temp control but.. and it's a big but.. if you overheat it it can produce some very very nasty substances so it shouldn't be dry fired like other metals can when building.

Yes I've heard about the fumes that can come off them but apparently the temperature needed for that is considerably higher than a vaping mod would produce, apparently. (Around 1,200c).
Anyone here got any experience with titanium coils? So far for me, I think stainless steel tastes the best but I've only tried Ni80, Kanthal and of course SS.

 

[Deleted member 54254]

I use titanium and would advise you stay away from it until you gain a lot more experience.