I run a dual vertical 24g K1 w/3mm ID 5/4 wrap at .28 oHm resistance. In my opinion the slightly larger inner diameter helps to prevent a dry hit on vertical builds.
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Just ordered a Steam Crave V2 (not supreme) at a great price. Figured I could learn on that and make sure I want to move into RDTA territory. If all goes well, I will look to add a Supreme later. Is there anything I should know about the V2 that differs from the supreme as far as build and possible wick issues?
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Not a fan of the rubber airflow band on the old v2. Sort of a small deck too. But I still have mine and I do like it.
One thing that always gets me… why do they call RTA’s RDTA’s sometimes? I’ve always thought the RTA has the tank above the deck, and the RDTA has the tank below.
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Rebuild able Deck Atomizer otherwise known as a dripper.
Rebuild able Tank Atomizer your standard rebuild able tanks.
Rebuild able Deck And Tank atomizer, it can be converted to a dripper or a tank depending on what parts you use, basically you can remove the tank portion.
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That explains it for the Supreme v2, but not for all of them. I think some manufacturers just call them whatever. By that definition, a lot of RDTA’s are misnamed then because you can’t actually remove the tank; you just wouldn’t fill it to use it strictly as an RDA.
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I always thought that the “D” in RDA stood for “Dripping”
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Can it be used without the band and just leave the airflow wide open? Any issues with leaking or seepage around the band?
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I quickly discarded the band and left it wide open.This one and the Supreme v1 both had slight weeping issues for me around the airflow holes. Maybe my fault, maybe not.
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@WitchWolf Congrats on getting into the game. The biggest difference between the V2 and the Supreme is that the Supreme has air and juice flow, the V2 has only air flow. Understanding that it can be confusing on all these different models and versions OF models, all of my V2’s have a metal air flow band. All of my V1’s came with the removable rubber vape bands, all of which I took off.
On my V1’s I never use the rubber vape band, and have never had any leaking, sideways, upside down, just doesn’t matter. On my V2’s I typically run with the metal air flow ring wide open, again, never had any leaking. No real pitfalls with the V1’s or V2’s but occasionally if I’ve OVER packed the cotton and I find dry hits coming, I either block off all air flow holes, or turn OFF the air flow, and take a drag or two, to re-prime, then open air back up and keep vaping.
Because of their designs (at least the V1 and V2’s) with no juice flow, HOW you wick and how MUCH you wick has a direct impact on wicking. Can you pack the cotton in and choke off juice flow ?? Sure, Can you put too LITTLE and have some issues ? Sure. It’s hard to explain the RIGHT amount of cotton (or whatever you wick with), but I fluff and stuff, never PACK the cotton into the deck. Maybe that’s why my lazy ass loves the verticals soo much, with only ONE tail to worry about. With 3mm ID coils, and the associated thickness of cotton that fits in, I cut the end of the tails about even with the outer edge of the deck, then fluff and spread (fan out) the tails, then gently place in the deck, covering all 4 juice holes. That’s about it.
Just be advised if you have too MUCH cotton packed in there, you could experience a dry hit, BUT, super easy to resolve. Close OFF the airflow totally, give it a good pull (suck) or two, and you should see air bubbles floating up, kinda like force priming it, open air flow back up, and vape on.
Send us some pics once you get your V2, so we can all be on the same page with the model you have.
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For clarity…
V1:
V2:
V2 Limited Edition:
V-RDA:
Supreme:
Supreme Limited Editions:
Supreme V2:
Plus:
Titan:
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Basically yes.
Most of the RTA has three main parts: Deck, Tank, Chimney. Here is a popular RTA for you : Gemini RTA Tank, iJoy Tornado RTA. RDTA means: Rebuild-able Dripping Tank Atomizer ,it’s RDA + RTA, with a tank to hold ejuice, and with a deck to build on, the difference is the function of “Auto Dripping”.
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@WitchWolf Forgot to answer this one. YES, you can totally chuck the rubber vape band in the trash can if you want. I tried using it on and off, and found out that with the V1 (that comes with the rubber vape band) I ended up leaving it wide open anyway, so I didn’t need it. The V2’s come with a built in metal air flow ring, and again, I end up leaving that wide open all the time.
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@WitchWolf Just got back into town, and was looking forward to testing a few steeped mixes, and put fresh cotton in the V1, which is my sole mix tester. You had asked about tips/tricks, and there really aren’t many. Your experience will mostly depend on how you load the cotton into the deck. You said you picked up the V2 which is a little bit bigger, but here’s the V1.
Fresh dry burned 7 wrap, 24 ga. Kanthal verticals:
1/2" strip of Atomizer Wick cotton with outer layers removed, twist end to pull through with tweezers:
I’m using verticals, so I clip the top even with the top of the coil:
The V1 has a small build deck, so I trim the tails about even with the outer edge:
MOST important step, fluff and fan out tails before loading deck:
Fluff and stuff, don’t PACK it in, nice and fluffy loose, covering 4 juice holes:
Juice up the cotton/coils, assemble your RDTA, and fill.
If at any point (unless you really overpack the deck) you get a reduction in juice wicking, or dry hits, turn OFF the air flow, take a drag or two (stiff pull, and you should see bubbles), and now you’ve primed it for more delicious vaping !!!
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@SessionDrummer
I’ve never tried coiling vertically. Is there a benefit to vertical instead of horizontal?
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Good question @Saxxon. It might be laziness on my part, and I can use one strip of cotton for both sides hehe. When I was using the very FIRST Steam Crave with the older build deck, I ran horizontals for quite a while. Realizing it was a smaller deck, it just seemed like I was always fighting loading two tails per side on the small deck. Started using verts and never looked back. I’ve heard stories about verts taste better, horizontals are better, etc., never tasted any difference on the same tank. I’m sure SOME tanks might favor one build or the other, but my experience on all of my SC’s has me solidly in the vertical camp. Clearly my simple single wire coils, or claps with simple loading aren’t anywhere near as fancy as many of the builds out there, but it just gives such great flavor and taste, I can’t stop using it.
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The SC’s don’t seem to be picky at all (I’ve got a few tanks that ARE) about the height of the coils. I’ve moved them higher, lower, doesn’t seem to phase the SC’s at all, which is great. Because I am loading cotton below, I leave mine in the middle or slightly higher for the cotton.
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Thank you, @SessionDrummer…you rock! As I wait for its arrival, I was just getting online to study up some more and you just addressed one of the things I was planning to look into tonight. I have a couple of pre-built coils that I plan to start with, so wicking will be one of the first things I get to explore. From what I have read so far, it seems to be one of the most, if not the most, important things in the process. Thank you for this primer.
I do have a question about making coils though. I have read that you want a little space between the wraps when it is finished, but I have seen some that look as if they are touching each other. I have seen others that were very wide and definitely not touching another wrap. Does this matter? If so, how do you space them?
I have also seen something about brushing them when you dry fire test them to get them to burn evenly. What do you use for this and how do you tell when they are right?
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