After building my deck with everything in place.

[EMusic]

What wattage do I start vaping at? Is it like upping the wattage like with factory coils or do I/can I start at higher wattages?

I'm using the Big Baby Beast RBA, at 0.36 ohms.

This is my first time using an RBA, by the way.

Thank you!

 

[ej1024]

Start low
Adjust to your liking

 

[EMusic]

Thank you!

 

[EMusic]

So the coils seem fine. Something about my wicking didn't seem to work, as I was not getting much flavor when firing. Maybe it's the type of cotton? The cotton came in my Toptank mini kit. Maybe I didn't have enough cotton in there?

I was changing back to factory coil after calling it a failure and ended up breaking my smaller glass size.

Good thing for the replacement glass!

 

[EMusic]

Oh I figure I'll take the RBA to my local Vape shop and have them show me how to build right. I think getting in-person help would work.

Oh well!

 

[stmtpr]

I learned a lot about wicking from YouTube videos. Reading about it and then watching someone do it helped me understand.

 

[EMusic]

I was watching a tutorial on YouTube and went by the book but when firing I didn't get almost any flavor and was getting dry hits.

I don't want to ruin the coils that are set up so I'm going to see if another vaper can help me in person.

Thanks stmtpr!

 

[EMusic]

Or should I give it another go?

 

[EMusic]

Wait maybe it's the type of wire. Is that why I don't get much flavor?

 

[stmtpr]

No worries. You'll get the hang of it. I've heard it said many times that wicking is the hardest to get the hang of. Keep at it. Might think about getting an RDA to ease the learning/ build process.

 

[EMusic]

Thanks. I am willing to do whatever it takes so I can do it right!

 

[DX9]

Everything takes a few times. Just got a new Griffen 25 Plus and it took about three different tries to get it right. Did take about almost a tank of juice to get it really hitting flavour though

 

[EMusic]

Everything takes a few times. Just got a new Griffen 25 Plus and it took about three different tries to get it right. Did take about almost a tank of juice to get it really hitting flavour though

Thanks for the help, DX9!

I decided to try again, this time with my Toptank mini instead of the Big Baby Beast.

Ohms are registering at .30 and I think I nailed the wicking!

Any recommendation what wattage to start at? I mean like 10 watts or 20 watts, etc. Is there a calculator for that?

 

[EMusic]

I decided to start at 30W and have gone up to 45.7W at 3.7 volts. So far it's firing okay!

 

[EMusic]

Fires great and hits nice and lots of flavor! Yay! My first successful build.

 

[gakudzu]

Got that rba a couple days ago and liking the hell out of it. I gave it just enough wick to tuck down over the juice holes. Slides through the coils easily, just a little drag. I still don't always get my wick right on the first try, but I nailed this one. Hitting mine between 40-80w. Plenty of clouds and great flavor. Dunno, man. Dry hits usually mean tight wicks, and spitting means loose. Try a lil less and see what happens.

 

[EMusic]

Thanks again everybody!

 

[gakudzu]

LOL You got me while I was posting. Glad you got it going.

 

[EMusic]

Got that rba a couple days ago and liking the hell out of it. I gave it just enough wick to tuck down over the juice holes. Slides through the coils easily, just a little drag. I still don't always get my wick right on the first try, but I nailed this one. Hitting mine between 40-80w. Plenty of clouds and great flavor. Dunno, man. Dry hits usually mean tight wicks, and spitting means loose. Try a lil less and see what happens.

Thanks for the help, gakudzu! Check my recent posts. I got it to work on my Toptank mini and it is as good as it'll get (for a first successful build!).

 

[Whiskeywarrior]

Good on ya guys. I usually start out around 3-3.5 volts and go up from there on smaller builds. On bigger builds, like below .1 I set it to around 80w and go from there.

 

[EMusic]

Good on ya guys. I usually start out around 3-3.5 volts and go up from there on smaller builds. On bigger builds, like below .1 I set it to around 80w and go from there.

Thanks Whiskeywarrior. I went back down to 30W because I was getting burnt hits. Now it's smooth again.

 

[EMusic]

Will the flavor get better over time or is it basically the same from the start?

 

[gakudzu]

If you're having to back off the power to avoid dry hits, I'd say your wicks are too tight in the coil, or too thick at the juice holes. It may get better as the wick gets more saturated, but then again it may get worse because the wick swells as it gets more saturated.

 

[EMusic]

Bubbling in the beginning is good, right?

Oh and the dry hits were after taking puffs one after another. That stopped happening when I allowed time for the wick to resaturate. Is that appropriate? Or should I not be having to do that?

 

[EMusic]

Sorry for all the newbie questions!

 

[gakudzu]

Bubbles should rise after every hit or 2. That means it's drawing more juice in to replace what you just vaped out.

 

[EMusic]

So it seems that 30W (3.0 volts) is the limit before getting burnt hits. Is that normal?

 

[gakudzu]

Sorry for all the newbie questions!

No worries. Better to ask, than not ask

 

[gakudzu]

Are we still on the Big Baby rba? I see something about the Subtank up there. Wondering if I fell behind lol

 

[EMusic]

Are we still on the Big Baby rba? I see something about the Subtank up there. Wondering if I fell behind lol

No I switched to my Toptank mini RBA after failing with the Big Baby. Toptank is the one I've been talking about with you!

 

[Whiskeywarrior]

You shouldn't be getting dry hits. I think the wick is a bit too tight.

 

[EMusic]

You shouldn't be getting dry hits. I think the wick is a bit too tight.

Thanks! What about the burnt hits at higher wattages?

 

[gakudzu]

Ok I see I did fall behind again lol.

I was using my mini rba around 40-50 watts and getting good flavor. On that one, I cut the wicks so they just touched the juice holes on the sides. Then fluffed them out to cover the holes.

 

[gakudzu]

Thanks! What about the burnt hits at higher wattages?

Tight wicks. If you hit it a couple more times without letting it wick, it will go from burnt tasting to dry hit.

 

[EMusic]

Maybe my wicks were cut too long/too much cotton in the wells?

In any case I switched to a different flavor (Fried Cakes) which should taste like Twinkies so we'll see how that goes.

 

[EMusic]

Tight wicks. If you hit it a couple more times without letting it wick, it will go from burnt tasting to dry hit.

That makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Whiskeywarrior]

Thanks! What about the burnt hits at higher wattages?

Same thing. The wick is choking the juice flow. The higher watts require higher juice flow. So you need less cotton in the holes. Just take it apart and cut a bit of wick off and try it again. But with only a little juice in the tank so if it leaks it's not bad.

 

[gakudzu]

Maybe my wicks were cut too long/too much cotton in the wells?

In any case I switched to a different flavor (Fried Cakes) which should taste like Twinkies so we'll see how that goes.

I had the same problem when I started on the mini rba. Turns out less wick was the cure. Try searching "Pancake wicking" on youtube. The vid I saw fixed me right up.

 

[EMusic]

You mean cut off the wick that is already in the build or a new one?

 

[Whiskeywarrior]

I would do either but, a new wick can only give you more experience with it.

 

[gakudzu]

Try this:

(Turn the sound off if you find him as annoying as I do lol)

 

[EMusic]

Took it apart and the coil is black. Does that mean it's already ruined? Or is that normal?

 

[EMusic]

Try this:

(Turn the sound off if you find him as annoying as I do lol)

Great video. Now I know!

 

[gakudzu]

Took it apart and the coil is black. Does that mean it's already ruined? Or is that normal?

The wire being black is ok, but change the cotton. Now you need a vid on cleaning the wire, lol. Basically, you just pull out the cotton, heat the coil to glowing, and run water over the coil, BUT JUST THE COIL. Don't get the mod wet, obviously. Repeat. Dry fire, remove hot spots in the wire by squeezing or strumming while red, BUT NOT WHILE FIRING. Let cool, rewick, prime, and refill. It's a bit much in the beginning, I know, but after a few times it gets easier.

And sorry for the CAPS. Not yelling, just emphasizing.

 

[EMusic]

Thank you again! I appreciate all your help.

 

[gakudzu]

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

 

[HondaDavidson]

The sweeter and darker the juice the faster and darker the wick will get. I don't change wick till the char builds up on the coil to the point it look like a BBQ bricketts. But then my juice is NETS based and has high level of disolved solids and sugar to caramelize. I change cotton wicks daily.. had a silica wick on my avocado for 2 weeks. Till I put in a single vert build last night.

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[EMusic]

I decided to give the Big Baby another shot and ...

Success! No dry hits and no burnt hits. Good flavor and very enjoyable vape. I went with the Scottish rolls method.

Thank you again everybody! That's 2 successful builds under my belt now.

 

[EMusic]

So should I only vape on this setup with the juice I started with? Or can I switch over to a different flavor without changing the setup?

Thanks!

 

[HondaDavidson]

So should I only vape on this setup with the juice I started with? Or can I switch over to a different flavor without changing the setup?

Thanks!

It won't hurt anything but the flavor of the vape.. .. most will rewick at flavor changes... for me it depends on it the 2 juices are compatable or not. I like to vape a tank or 2 of unflavored between flavors. This way I don't have to rewick everytime.



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