A New member but a 4 month vaper ( I want to treat myself)

[richardb2]

Dear all about 4 months ago I got an ego and a vaporiser . Heaven. Except it gumed up after a week. Step two research and I got a vamo variable voltage mod and a pro tank ( it leaked like a so and so ) A Davide atomiser was a dream and I got spare heads for it . Loved faffing with the variable voltage thing though the threads on it sucked.  I then got a mech mod with mega funky Korean stuff along the barrel ( I have no idea now what it is called but it was about £35-40 if I remember). Looks  good but needed a bit of super glue to sort out a loose screw, I also got  two dripping atomisers. I am now making ( badly ) my own coils round silica wick ( Coil buddy ordered ) for my dripper . My Vamo, in full lightsabre mode,  got swiped  so now i have my mech and drip atomiser.

I just got paid a few quid ( just a few ) . Next step a proper rebuildable.

My question.

Some rebuildables use a wire mesh some the same silica wick i use for my dripper ( I think ) . Being a neat and tidy bloke is it best to carry on with the silica and if so  what do you recommend. Or maybe if the mesh ones are better and given the mesh and silica are not expensive any recomendations?

lastly Clones.

I am all up for supporting the genuine inventor  and going for quality but at what cost? If its a matter of of few quid I can do but some high end stuff is a hundred quid or more. 

Been working 6 days a week for ever and deserve/need/want something better than I have.

I am not very technically minded but came to this forum via your excellent intro to vaping thread that had a lot of instructional videos ( even got a volt meter on the strength of what I lerarned. But I can follow instructional videos so am not intimidated by rebuilding things I know it will take patience and practice.

Just want a damm good vape.

Thanks all Richard 

 

 

[Clivia]

hi richardb2 - welcome to the best forum -  I leave the technical explanations to the more advanced members here - I am perfectly happy with my vtr and mini itastevw for out and about - love my protanks too - no probs with them - apart of the fact that banana liquid seems to need far more coils than for example citrus mix

[Karma]

to AAEC richardb2

I'm sure someone will be along soon to help you spend your money

[DiscoDes]

[newdawn]

Hi richardb2 and to aaec. I like the mini protank, but I've got V2 with the removable drip tip. Not sure which version of the bigger protank you have, but I think one of them was prone to problems. Have since purchased two kayfun lite Russian clones and well...they're only ok. Will be following your thread with interest as the more experienced give their views.

[Roscopecotrain]

Hello and welcome to aaec

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2

[charon]

Greetings and to AAEC richardb2

Nice start sadly Protanks have been known to suffer leaking and gurgling issues. I found that the stockheads were OK, but a good rebuild with silica and kanthal tend to resolve a lot of problems. Just remember that a clearomiser is in essecence a hollow tube, joints have to be air tight and the only way for juice to escape must be the wick.( bear that in mind for all clearos and you can't go far wrong)

Personally, I'm not a mega fan of mesh or wire rope, but as there are such a great range of RBA out there the world is your oyster.
Enjoy.

[Super-Shiny]

Hello and richardb2

[aliscampbell]

Hi richardb2 and from another newbie. I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction with a rebuildable.

[giles]

richardb2

First, type of wick - (main) types are silica, cotton wool, mesh. Silica you know. I don't think that cotton wool tastes very different to silica, but some prefer it.

Cotton wool draws better than silica - will deliver more juice to your coil - which makes it good for setups with a lot of wire compared to the resistance, like dual coil and microcoil. It is also cheap (just buy balls from Boots), and has the advantage that if it gets a bit burnt it is easy to pull out of your coil, rinse & dry-burn the coil, and put in some new cotton wool - you don't have to build a new coil often. You can't dry-burn the cotton wool itself. Some prefer the taste to silica, but I don't think it is very different.

Mesh (mostly used in Aga-type atys, but can be used in anything) has a distinctive effect on the taste which has its fans. Not all that pricey. A bit more of a faff than cotton wool or silica, but not much. I now only use it in a hybrid with cotton wool on a fruity juice.

I think there are 4 main types of RBA - Penny/nautilus, aga/oddy, kayfun/russian, and spheroid.

Penny/nautilus are usually a bit more expensive and need res/no/res connections, and in general are more of a faff to build.

Aga/oddy are cheap & easy to use, but if you turn them upside down the juice falls out.

Kayfun/russian in my opinion give the best vape and are easy to recoil and leak-free. But originals are expensive and clones mostly seem to need work after you get them - cleaning swarf out of the tubes, maybe pfte tape on the filling screw, maybe redrill or some other trick to get rid if the whistle. But once that is done they are great.

I don't have a spheroid.

I recommend a tobeco kayfun clone and cotton wool in micro-coil.

Enjoy!

[ionian]

Hello richardb2 - excellent advice and explanations from giles above.

In my opinion, cotton and microcoils is the most versatile and easy set up you can use, and the flavour is fantastic. It does taste very similar to silica, but because you change the cotton regularly the flavour stays crisp like a new coil, whereas the taste can fade as silica ages.

We all have opinions on the rights and wrongs of clones, but we don't judge on this forum - we'll help with whatever you get, be it an original or a copy.

Like giles, I'd suggest a kayfun or kayfun copy (any of the multitudes out there) and try a microcoil build or silica. Both work very well.

I would also strongly urge you to get something that you can check your resistance with before you start - a cheap vv device, or an ohms meter - if you are using mechs, you must be sure there are no shorts on your coil, as well as knowing what resistance your coil is.

[dave]

I'd agree that the Kayfun is a good choice. This is the cheapest original:

www.cloud9vaping.co.uk/epages/yxve46fvrnud.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/yxve46fvrnud/Products/SM-KF-LITE-PLUS2

Designed in Russia and machined in Germany so is very good quality. I've no experience of the various copies of this that are available but I can certainly vouch for the quality of the originals and the service from that vendor. Think of it as about the cost of 10 packets of fags

[richardb2]

Thanks all . I have not tried cotton wool wicks yet. Maybe a trip to boots ( or a rumage in my wifes draws ) is in order. The Kayfun or versions of it seems to have a lot of fans here. I will look at that.

Richard

[smarties]

Hi and   richardb2 good advice from giles there, I too am favouring the kayfun/russian with cotton microcoil setup, a bit of faff getting the clones right but brilliant when they're sorted.

[giles]

One thought if you are going for a kayfun, which is personally I'd avoid the Rocket clone (or anything else with a brass deck). It's one of those things that people argue about the danger of, but it isn't that much cheaper.