I’m sure you’ve all noticed how much of a flavor discrepancy exists between an RTA and dripping, while dripping there’s a massive flavor burst that brings out nuances that are muted in a tank setup. I’m not sure exactly why that is, and I’ve tried looking. The best explanation I’ve mustered is that the entire coil is coated with juice, not just the inside, but I’m not satisfied with that as a sufficient explanation.
It also got me to wondering if a Squonk RDA where the juice travels up, around, then oozes down out directly onto the coils exists anywhere in the realm of high-end vaping gear. It would look extremely unorthodox (like a sink faucet), perhaps even downright odd, but the flavor would be just like dripping from a bottle instead of using a tank.
I can just hear the youtube reviewers repeating ‘right onto the coils’ like a made-for-free infomercial and the sound of cash registers slamming like a pink floyd song. Anybody who used one wouldn’t be able to use anything else, and they wouldn’t get just one, they’d buy many. It’d be like the sub-ohm revolution all over again. Idk, maybe I’m overstating things, but I’d like to have one myself.
In the meanwhile, I’ll be sitting here with a bottle dripping along while I vape an RTA, like Mr. Coolungs.
The Capstone from Vandy Vape works like that. I had two, but prefered the semi-opaque caps - with which the air holes cracked beyond use because of the temp of my coils…
I think a shorter chimney and maybe smaller chamber come in to play more than how juice is slathered on. I think most squonk RDAs use the simple ‘ooze from the bottom’ method because even with traditional dripping, after the first hit the remaining hits are fed via wicking from the juice well anyway (in other words, the coils are only bathed in juice for the initial hit). So even with a ‘faucet style’ feed system, I personally don’t see a huge benefit. But, and most importantly, vape what you dig.
Coils bathed in juice are a major source of spitback. A system that pours juice over my coils would be more of a negative than a positive for me. Even when dripping, I squirt juice between my coils and let the wick do its job. And if it doesn’t, it’s time to change wick (and usually I change coils and wicks at the same time).
Nope. The latest RTAs I’ve bought are as good with flavor as my RDAs. Wick, choice of coils and how it’s built have a lot more impact on flavor from my experience.
I’m not saying every RTA has excellent flavor but the same is true for RDAs. With a little research, trial and error you will find some atties in every style that bombard you with flavor.
Not even just the latest, really. The ‘old skool’ Sigelei Moonshot 24 I recently got has great flavor and stands shoulder to shoulder with some RDAs easily.
That’s true too. And much like mixing, you need to test a lot of different ones because a single weak RTA definitely doesn’t speak for them all.
The best RTA I have for flavor is the Aqua Footoon FX in which the coil is mounted vertically, suspended in place with a ceramic insert, and the wicking is wrapped around and surrounds the coil. I have quite a few tanks and that one is simply superior, with the caveat that the ceramic insert can only hold single round wire. Again, the entire coil Is being saturated from every direction. I have also noticed the Wotofo Elder Dragon can contain coils situated where they’ll be drenched by a healthy squonk. One’s arriving Monday, so we’ll see.
Hopefully it won’t be as disappointing as the Dvraw v2. After seeing people on fasttech rave about it, I figured I’d pick one up…big mistake. For one, it’s almost impossible to build on, it’s one of those atty’s where the wire just sits underneath screws, but the screws are situated slightly below a metal lip at the base so it’s impossible to hold the wire in place as it’s being screwed in. Grrr. Secondly, It’s just mediocre in terms of flavor. i could throw the thing in the garbage, already.
Proves to me conclusively that ‘high-end’ in terms of vaping is simply a name and a price point. Thanks for the comments, everyone.
I saw that deal, woulda grabbed one if I didn’t have one already. Instead got a couple Ghouls and ETNA’s for $5 off everzon. Another ‘saturate the coil in juice’ tank was this strange-looker called the Hugsvape Ringlord, except they’re 27mm tanks which is too big for any of my set-ups as I prefer compact, lightweight devices.
I’d take a well-made, cheaper kit over an expensive, fiddly or fussy kit any day, everyday. Now I’m hoping for a sale on Pulse X’s before May, as I’m a cheap-skate and only buy stuff on sale or clearance.
I agree with this right here. I’ve never put much stock in being able to “paint the coils”. It’s more about how the airflow is designed to hit the coils, chamber size and shape, and distance from the coils to your mouth. I don’t pretend to know how it all works though. I just know squonking so juice goes on coils doesn’t help. If that were the case the OBS Cheetah 3 would’ve sold like gang busters.
I’ve read people post crazy things that don’t make sense to me.
“Nope, that design relies on capillary action” Me- So what?
“I like my RDAs at paint the coils when I squonk.” Me- Who cares? The wicking inside the coil being saturated the right amount is what’s important to me. Not being able to dunk my shit under lol.
"Oh, that RDA has a raised squonk pin? I don’t want it. I want any excess juice sucked back in the bottle. " Me- Yeah that’s an important feature (/sarcasm)
Yeah, but have you ever directly compared the difference. taken an rta that you’re used to the flavor of, and dripped a couple drops right onto the coils? i almost feel obligated to do it with certain flavors periodically to liven them up, as it were.
How often do you change coils / wicks and do you vape different flavors on the same setup?
If you stick to the same flavor per coil / wick and you replace them regularly, it shouldn’t make much of a difference.
Regularly, if not often. Plus I use rayon so my coils are usually clean, wicks don’t discolor much. It really depends on the flavor. I have a lemon iced tea that, depending on whether vaped from a tank or dripped, tastes like two different juices.
It may not be that much of a difference with juice you’re already accustomed to and used to tasting. When I’m making a new recipe there’s a huge taste variation between the two, though.
Like take the RTA apart and drip juice on the coils? Yeah I had to do that long ago. My only atomizer was a Griffin RTA. I broke both glasses for it and just dripped on it. I don’t recall a big leap in flavor though.
I tend to wick my coils probably on the looser side. Some of the pre measured laces are too thick IMO. I’ve watched videos where it looks like they’re pretty tight. Less cotton is most times better and the cotton inside the coil has no trouble getting (or I should say soaking up) liquid. There’s no need to drip directly on the coil IMO. That’s just the way I view it. When I used to drip, I’d just drip usually right down the center.
I totally agree, but that’s exactly why I got in the habit of clicking (holding the fire button for a few milliseconds) before putting my mouth on it… a technique I noticed with impatience during re-wicking; once i know there’s enough juice to NOT dry burn my cotton, and then hitting/tapping the fire button, you can see all the juice sitting on the coil get instantly soaked up into the coil. Hard to remember the last time I got spit-back… unless I’m preoccupied and over saturate.
… the difference has become massive to me.