Have been a long time tanket, very long. Often intruiged by the smaller, simpler RDA setups, but everytime I try I get let down by not as good vapor/tlavor, hot spittyness, etc. Tried all kinds of coils, cotton loading. Testing out the newer Vandy Vapes RDA, and let down again. Sometimes harsh, not super flavor, spitty. Currently have fused claps in at about .3 ohms, with a mere 40 watts. Cotton saturated. What am I missing here ? Where’s the super flavor at ??
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Are you getting the “non flavor” issue with all juices?
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@MisterSinner hard to explain but yes. It’s not that’s there’s NO flavor, it’s just really nowhere near what I get from my beloved, bulky, Steam Crave. Sometimes it’s harsh, and seemingly no matter how much or little I juice the wicks, I’m always getting some spitty-ness here or there. Once I wick it to needing re-filling, I’m kinda like, “Ehhh, maybe put this one aside” and go back to my tank.
You can see in the pic, coils look great (no hot spots, no hot legs), wicks look pretty saturated, I got the cap on right side up (LOL), I mean what’sa guy gotta do.
Maybe I’ll try some other coils, maybe spaced, change how I wick (again), but so far, it’s like man, lemme go back to my tank. Feels like I’m missing something, or not seeing the broader appeal. I’ve had SO bad luck with RDA’s than when I’m testing flavors, mixes, I still fill my baby Steam Crave tank up (which would be MUCH easier to test on an RDA deck IMO).
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Gotcha. I use the SC as well. Def tighter pull with more flavor. So I see what you mean. Your coils look great and the wicking too. You will of course get a different vape between the two. About the spitty issue, I have experienced that myself and yeah just messed with the wicking. Is the Icon top cap domed inside or flat?
EDIT: are you on the same wattage for the SC and your rdas?
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With this current setup, what’s the inner diameter of the coil you’re using? Looks like maybe 3mm but tough to tell in the pic. Reason I ask is to suggest an alternative coil.
Do you have any kanthal clapton wire? Just kanthal clapton, nothing fancy. Try a coil with a 2.5mm diameter, say about 5 wraps, or maybe 6… This out to get you in the 3-4 ohm range or so. Yes it won’t take as much cotton but still works fine. You will need to run this coil around 70-80 watts to get a really fast ramp up. This is a smaller coil, yes, but I find it a fiesty coil… I get really good flavor with this type of coil. I started making these smaller coils for my aromamizers, then found I liked them in my rdas and rdtas as well. But this is just what I’ve found I prefer. And these coils last me for months, with no babying except a dry burn with cotton changes.
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Thank you. I run the SC @ 35-40w, and the Icon RDA at about the same. Maybe I just suck at wicking LOL. NOT wanting to give up yet, but man, what’s the definition of insanity again ?? Trying the same thing, expecting different …
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Hmmmmm, very interesting. The current ones are Kanthal with a 3mm ID. My 3mm post is the only one that doesn’t have any dust on it LOL, but I could try a smaller ID and see if that makes any difference. Thank you.
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ok cool. that helps with flavor as well. and airflow…big factor with flavor.
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Roger that. Bring on the DOMES !!!
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I’ve found that some coil builds just spit more. I rock fused claptons as a go to and I know that they like to, regular claptons to an extent as well (compared to single wire builds). Most rda’s have a sweet spot for coil placement, may have to play around with that. I’ve not used the icon rda yet, and it doesn’t look like it has bottom airflow, so you may have to play with the height of the coils. Can you see them through your side airflow? Does it look like the air is hitting the top of the coil? Air hitting the top of the coil will cause spit back too. I use rda’s a lot now since kicking the tfv8 for a squonker, so I’ll help out if I can!
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@AZViking agreed, and thank you. Yes, bottom air flow, and have it nailing the coils, dead on. I remember I’d had an issue with my SteamCraves back in olden times wherein I didn’t have enough cotton stuffed in the coils, and it started to spit a bit. Snugged the cotton, problem solved. I could see the placement/type being an issue here. I always thought the most DIRECT air flow on the coils was the way to go, and I have them sitting about right even with the slots. May have to vape it dry and break out the tweezers. Even as of this writing, vaping on it, and mmmmmmm, spitty mcspit, which is making ME have to spit.
Yeah, give the 2.5mm a try. You will prob have to get a coilmaster or 2.5mm rod and coil it yourself, and some kanthal wire, but both are pretty cheap these days. Or just put those premade kanthal coils on a 2.5mm rod, pull on the leads with pliers till they tighten down to 2.5
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That is a nice looking rda tho.
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From where i am sitting it looks like you got a lot of cotton in there. When i wick my rda’s i make sure the center under the coil is free from cotton so the air can move freely and get to the coil.
I always comb out the ends to make them thinner and tuck them in.
Edit! When i look under my coils in my rda’s i can see the posts and that means i got enough for the liquid to get sucked up and little enough for the air to move around. This enhances the flavor. At least for me.
Try to wick the same rda 2 ways. 1 way with lot of cottons where you cant see the posts and vape on it to see what flavor you get. 2 cut the cotton a bit shorter and make sure to thin out the ends and make sure you can see the posts and vape on that and see what flavor you get.
And if you want to you can get back in here and tell us the difference if there is any.
Good luck man.
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Thank you. That’s my issue, it’s a good looker, WTF am I doing wrong with it LOL.
The air flow cutouts seem a bit strange to me, like creating turbulence instead of smooth, swooshy draws; maybe just the way it was designed… amount of cotton can definitely do it, even just dripping on the posts will do it, but I have to trust your judgement on that. Just gonna be a little trial and error with the coil placement until you find that sweet spot. Maybe bring them up a bit so that the air is hitting the bottom of the coil instead of dead on may help. The couple that I really love have the air flow channels cut at a downward angle, and that’s how I set mine up. Read good things about that atty, should perform well for you.
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@Norseman thank you. I don’t have the cotton packed in, but I DID fold the small tails under. Maybe I’ll re-try with a smaller coil ID, and just leave the tails hitting the deck/well.
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