Eleaf Tessera & Ello TS kit Review by KingPin!

[KingPin!]

Hi Folks,

I feel obliged to open this review with a line from Adele; “Ello from the other siiiiiiide…… another Tessera review; that makes a thousand tiiiiimes…..”

You know when you get that one song line in your head and can’t get it out … Damn you Eleaf!!

So what was I talking about again? ….Oh yeah “The Eleaf Tessera Kit, with the Ello TS tank”! Yeah I did just go there, but with a mouthful like that lot; it helps to put it in a song.

I was sent this kit directly from Eleaf for the once over. As usual as with any kit I’ll go over the tank first, then the mod. I don’t like to make recommendations in my reviews; I’ll go over my findings to help bolster your research should you be interested in the product.

So without further ado…



What’s in the Box?

• 1 x Eleaf Ello TS tank standard version 4ml (assembled with the HW2 0.23ohm coil)
• 1 x Spare Coil HW1 (0.2 ohm)
• 1 x Spare Drip tip
• 1 x Spare Glass
• 1 x Eleaf Tessera Mod
• 1 x USB Cable
• 1 x User Manual and other info
• 1 x Spare bits bag

Available colours: Black, Rainbow, Red, Green, Silver

Product Information: https://www.eleafworld.co.uk/Tessera-e-cig-kit-and-e-liquid.html (outside of the UK for 4ml? you can also use www.eleafworld.com/)

Part 1 - The Ello TS Tank

Ello TS Tank Specifications

• Height 40mm (48mm with narrow drip tip, 50mm with wide bore)
• Diameter 25mm
• Airflow: Two adjustable (15mm x 2mm)
• Filling: Top fill - slide top cap to reveal opening (8mm x 4mm)
• Capacity 2ml TPD edition or 4ml standard edition
• Weight: 59g (with juice and coil)
• Materials in construction: Stainless Steel (SS)304, Pyrex
• Drip Tip: Delrin (Comes with 2 – H:8mm, Bore 11mm & H:10mm bore: 14mm)
• Drip Tip: Compatible with Smok Beast Drip Tips
• Positive Pin: Gold plated S 304

Build Quality and Impressions

I like opening a kit to find that the company hasn’t skimped on extras and with this kit you get a fair amount; two coils, spare glass, two drip tips, O-rings. Now depending on where you live (inside Europe having to suffer the TPD regulations) you’ll be picking this up in either 2ml or 4ml form (there is no extension in the kit).

The Ello TS tanks finish is an anodized candy green matching the mod perfectly. From a looks perspective they have incorporated the triangles around the airflow control ring (AFC) and refill assembly to match the design on the mod and to give a little extra grip to those areas.



You get two drip tips. They are the standard Smok TFV8 fitting (the one with two O-rings around the base). The first option is the exact kind you will find on Smoks Beast TFV8; it’s a tall chimney design with thin walls and a large bore of 14mm. The other is a slightly lower profile with tapered edges to follow the line of the top cap mount. It has thicker walls and a bore of 11mm. Of the two I much prefer the smaller bore option…it’s very comfortable and is what I’ve chosen to use throughout my testing and review.




The top cap is a slide to refill design. There is a little mark to indicate where to push, once engaged it will move over a spring loaded ball bearing revealing a single 8mm x 4mm juice port. It can be a little tricky to refill this tank with the wider nozzles; PET dropper bottles work really well though. When you are done refilling and you happen to have any juice overspill or condensation sitting on top; you’ll find it pushes everything out just like a penny arcade machine, wiping excess juice away is almost mandatory.



The tank utilises the now standard “Smok baby beast size coils” which opens the tank up to a large range of aftermarket purchase options. The chimney section screws on top of the coil but is slightly recessed making it narrower than some of its competitors; I haven’t noticed a huge amount of difference either way.



Otherwise this is a very much similar affair as with all of the tanks out there now utilising this sub ohm template. The tank breaks down into 5 pieces, you get two 15mm x 2mm airflow slots with an adjustable AFC, the positive pin sits proud once you screw the coil in. It’s a very safe design approach and there’s a reason for that…..it works well for starter kits.



The only thing I wasn’t overly fond of was the very large rubber seal sitting in the bottom of the tank. Normally the approach is to rest the gasket underneath the edges of the glass and very little, if any will be exposed to E-Juice. That’s not case with this monster though, it encircles the entire coil! Whilst it should be food grade material I still don’t like the idea especially after many months of usage.



I want to mention how smooth the threading is because they have really done a bang up job of it throughout, even the AFC ring glides like it has a little pressure seal. I found the Ello TS to be very well machined throughout. The only area they could have perfected is to remove the very slight play in the top cap in that the ball bearing could offer a tiny bit more resistance.

I’ve experienced no leaking, nor condensation seeping from the Ello TS tank throughout the life of both coils. It was good to see the white gaskets sitting flat on the coils with no wires poking out, the cotton also looked to be packed well, very good in comparison to some company’s attempts at these sort of coils.



How’s it Vape?

The HW1 (0.2 ohm coil) is rated between 40-80 watts. I found the stated resistance to be accurate (0.01 ohm Variance); the coil break in time (to get rid of that horrible cotton taste) to be quick at just 3ml. I had to put a good 15ml through the coil before I was able to push the wattage past 40W otherwise I was getting a burnt taste. After this initial period I was able to push the coil to around 55W which is still under their stated range.

The airflow is fairly restricted on the HW1 even wide open. I’ve settled on vaping this with the airflow control ring (AFC) set at just under half way. In my opinion the HW1 is definitely suited to those who prefer the clouds and a decent lung full as the flavour takes a back seat whatever wattage I tried.

I ended vaping the HW1 coil with a preheat of 55W for 0.5 seconds and the wattage set at 45W, which is where I felt it had best balance of cloud and flavour. It lasted 1 week which is disappointing.

The HW2 (0.3 ohms coil is rated between 30-70 watts. I found the stated resistance to be accurate (0.01 ohm Variance). It’s a very similar story with regards to break in time and having to vape at the lowest stated wattage before trying to bump it. I was able to take this coil up to a measly 45W (well below the stated range). I had high hopes for this coil being I prefer the coils based on the Smok X4 design; but this particular one underperformed for me, perhaps it was a janky coil?

The airflow on this coil is still fairly restricted again but this suits my style perfectly. Those out there that like a wide open airy vape neither of the offered coil options will suit you.

I ended vaping the HW2 coil with no preheat and the wattage set at 45W, which is where I felt it had best balance of cloud and flavour. It lasted 2 weeks.

Tank Pro’s

• Good production quality
• Decent Clouds on the HW1 coil
• Spot on match for the mod
• Decent capacity
• Compatible with all the baby beast coil size options
• Refill is easy
• Two drip tip options & Kit comes with spare glass
• No Leaking (coil dependant)

Tank Cons

• Refilling requires wiping away excess juice
• Felt the HW2 Coil underperformed for its design
• Both coils wattage ranges were wildly overrated
• Coil life was disappointing on the HW1 coil
• Could benefit from a 510 drip tip adaptor
• A little play in the top cap (ball bearing could have a tad larger)
• Big rubber O-ring sits inside the tank section exposed to heat and juice

Ello TS Tank - Final Conclusion

In terms of the numerous tanks on the market offering the now standard “Smok Baby Beast coil size” the Ello TS tank is fairly average in terms of its performance (at least with the coils provided in my kit), it’ll get the job done but I felt those coils were holding it back. Eleaf did a really good job with its quality and the drip tip is really comfortable so it’s a bit of a shame, perhaps aftermarket coils would help it along?

 

[KingPin!]

Part 2 - The Tessera Mod

Manufacturer Specifications

• Dimensions: H 82mm x W 42mm x D 28mm
• Weight : 218g (fully assembled with juice in the tank), 159g on its own
• Display : 1.45inch TFT screen
• Wattage Range 1-150W
• Voltage Output: 0.5V – 8V
• Battery: Internal 3400mAh
• Modes: Wattage (VW or RTC) /Temperature Control (TC) for Ni, Ti, SS / Manual Temp Control (TCR)
• Allowable Resistance Range: 0.05ohm – 1.0ohm in TC modes / 0.1ohm – 3.0ohm in VW modes
• Charging: 5V/2A
• Thread: 510
• Chipset: Eleaf’s own Proprietary
• Firmware Upgradable
• Amongst the usual protections; Temperature Protection when Charging

Build Quality and Impressions

Firstly let’s cover why it’s called “Tessera” the name means a small block of stone, tile, glass, or other material used in the construction of a mosaic. So you can see why; with the different triangle shapes incorporated into the panels and tank, the name makes sense.

The Tessera sports exactly the same ‘candy green finish’ as the Ello TS tank, it’s very striking and looks to have a thick layer of lacquer for protection. To date I haven’t had any issue with chipping or wear except inside the USB port where I’ve been constantly using the cable.

Starting with the top you have a centre mounted 510 which will accommodate 25mm atomisers without overhang. Unfortunately you will notice a 0.5mm gap when an atomiser is screwed down. I personally like my atomisers to sit flush so this does set my OCD off a little but I suppose it won’t be scratching up that lovely paint job.



The positive pin is gold plated. It sits pretty low in the assembly, combine this with its soft compression spring and you might have an issue using atomisers with shorter threads. I have tried a few of mine and haven’t had an issue with resistance readings so far but it’s worth pointing out anyway. Looking from above the pin it doesn’t look to be sealed which could make it susceptible to leaking so I wanted to investigate further.

In my first picture of the 2S Lipo battery pack you can see the 510 assembly is sealed into a box.



Both negative and positive wires (circled in red) are soldered onto two different screw points with the switch wires soldered down the side (circled in blue). Since I didn’t want to break the mod I couldn’t get inside the box to see how the assembly looked inside. My guess is there is some sort of solid frame fixing the plate in place using those screws, they have then soldered on top of the screws connecting everything to the board.



Moving back outside and sticking on the theme of possible leaking the 510 centre plate sits on top of the metal frame leaving recesses either side. These are there on purpose since on one side the gap is needed for the fire bar. If at any point you have a major leak from the atomiser you will find it makes it way down into those areas which aren’t sealed.

The Tessera has a very comfortable form factor due to the mods small dimensions, its bevelled edges and the way Eleaf designed the front screen and back plastic panels. My fingers rest easily into the contours helping me to maintain grip even if the mod gets slippery after a while. In fact whichever way round I hold the mod it’s comfortable and is therefore suitable to both left or right handed vapers. It’s a metal construction with plastic front and back panelling and feels pretty durable.



One important thing to note is the mod can be easily tipped because of the bevelled edges at the bottom. If you happen to tip it over down towards the screen; you’re going to end up giving the tank on top a big old wack, I would therefore advise using a band near the top to protect the glass.



The fire bar is seamlessly integrated into the mod (it’s located to the left side of the screen). I would say it’s probably one of the most tactile fire bars I’ve ever used offering a near perfect resistance. It has a shallow depress, can be engaged almost the entire length of the bar, has nice click and it springs quickly back to position afterwards. In addition it has almost no sideward play so in my opinion they absolutely nailed it.

The display is high resolution and very easy on the eyes, if you don’t like its colour you can pick one of the other options in the menu. The layout is fantastic and everything is easy to read. It’s visible in almost all light except bright sunlight, at which point the screen is black, but overall again a cracking job on this Eleaf.



I do find the screens outer casing to be a finger print magnet, and it will pick up scratches fairly easily. I’ve been wiping it over with kitchen towel and I can see micro scratch marks appearing, something to be wary of.

Underneath the screen located to the bottom right sits the Down, Function and Up buttons. Considering how well Eleaf designed the fire bar I feel these buttons were lacking a little. When you wobble any of them it moves the whole lot up and down. I also found the function button a little small for my sausage fingers so would like to have seen this a little bigger. Having said all of this they are nice and clicky and don’t rattle when I shake the mod. Underneath these buttons sits the common USB port which I haven’t had any sort of issue with.


I cannot see any visible venting on the mod however when I blow air against the bottom plate I can feel it getting inside fairly easily.

Under the mod is a reset button in the event you ever have it freeze up.



Modes and Usage

General Comments and Observations

• Above 20W; Wattages move in whole amounts only
• It takes time to cycle down or up the wattage round and there is no round robin
• The device is firmware upgradable using either windows or mac. There is a reset button located underneath to restore the mod to factory settings if it screws up.
• RTC is the same as power mode it just changes around the display on screen to make “time” the main focus, although I’ve found this mode is the only way to display puff counter on screen.
• When the mod is off you can squeeze the fire button to display the time

Navigation:

• 5 clicks of the fire bar for on or off
• 3 click of the fire bar to access the menu (4 options are presented)
• Up or down buttons to navigate around and the centre Function button to select
• Quick press of the Function button to active/deactivate stealth mode
• Hold the Function button to move to the next mode on screen
• Hold up and down button to lock/unlock all buttons except for the fire bar

Main Menu Options:

• Colours – choose from 5 available
• Info – Displays battery voltage, firmware and hardware versions
• Mode – select between Power, Real Time Clock (RTC), Temperature Control (TC –Ni, SS or Ti), and finally Manual Temp Control TCR (Memory 1, 2 or 3)
• Set – 7 Sub menu Settings and exit option (see sub menu)

Sub Menu options:

• Lock – Use to lock the starting resistance of the coil at room temp, which is required for temp control modes
• ENU - Enables a temperature safety feature for Charging , whilst set to “ON” the mod will not charge if temp is below 23.F (-5.C) or above 113.F (45.C)
• Power – Used for Temp Control modes only. This is your maintenance wattage, you can use this on its own or use in conjunction with the pre heat function. Ordinarily I wouldn’t look to set this above 40W
• SUBPARA – Select what you want displayed as secondary information on screen (Amps/Time/Puffs). Note if you select Puffs it only seems to work when in RTC mode.
• Clock – Set Date and Time
• Preheat – This is an initial wattage boost between 50W – 100W between 0-2 seconds to ramp up your coil quicker. Note whatever you set here will apply to every mode, so be careful if you switch between coils. If you want to switch it this off select “Duration” 0
• Timeout – select between 5s / 10s / 15s / Off – I highly advise going for at least 10S in the event of an auto fire or an accidental button press.
• Exit – as it says on the Tin

 

[KingPin!]

Wattage (Power & RTC mode)

With a 0.2 second fire delay the Tessera handles the power modes well especially if you combine the preheat function to boost initial ramp up of the coil. Whilst I felt the mod was accurate in its target settings you are very much working against the mods internal battery capacity. At just 3400mAh it’s quite the challenge to juggle longevity and getting a decent vape from the Ello Tank especially if you haven’t got quick access to a charge point. For this reason I’d say stick to wattages below 70W because in just an hours’ worth of frequent vaping at even 55W I managed to smash through nearly half way.

It makes little difference whether you choose Power or RTC mode it’s just an aesthetics thing.

Closing on a positive note the mod doesn’t seem to drop off in performance noticeably right down to its cut off.

Temp Control

I only use SS316 for TC and typically never go crazy with large multiple core coils. With this in mind I had positive results using the following settings:

Single Coil: Simple wrap - 0.47ohms, 25W Power, 46W 0.5 seconds Pre Heat, TCR 110, 420.F

Single Coil: Clapton – 0.74ohms, 30W Power, 46W 0.5 seconds Pre heat, TCR 110, 450.F

Dual coil: Fused Clapton - 0.21ohms, 55W Power, 60W 0.5 seconds Pre Heat, TCR 130, 450.F

General Temp Control Notes:

• Locking in your starting coil resistance at room temperature is important on this mod (see my Modes and Usage notes above). Note: If you ever remove/replace the atomiser or its coil(s) you need to remember to manually unlock it again, unless going in to power mode.
• If you have recently removed & replaced the atomiser and resistance is currently unlocked (as per above point) you will be presented with the following two options “Same Coil” or “New Coil” upon pressing the fire bar. You need to hold the fire bar down then press either; the “Down” button to keep the current resistance, or “Up” to adjust to the new resistance. It’s worth noting none of this will happen if you have the resistance locked in.
• Remember to set the wattage in the “Power” sub menu (see my Modes and Usage notes above) which sets the heating maintenance level. I’d say there little reason to move past 40W in most cases.
• Although entirely optional I think it also helps to set the initial “Preheat” (see my Modes and Usage notes above). Think of this as the initial boost to get the coil up to temp which is why the power level above doesn’t need to be too high. Again it’s important to note this is a global setting applied to all modes so set it to 0 seconds if you don’t want to use it.
• I found sticking with TCR via M1,M2 and M3 to be more reliable than the standard settings although the values I had to set varied wildly compared with what I’d expect to use for stainless steel wire.
• Unfortunately if you want to muck about with settings you will need to drill down into the mode and settings menu each time

I think using a combination of Power and Preheat helps with TC on the Tessera. The standard SS setting was unreliable except for the single Clapton so I had to set the TCR well above what I’d typically use for SS (the typical range is between 088 – 098). Using the settings I went through above combined with those coil types I was able to get stable result on TCR so I’ll pass it. I wouldn’t say this is the best TC I’ve ever used but it’s not a complete fail.

Charging

It took me 2 hours 30 minutes to charge. I recorded the low cut off at (3.38V) and it displays full at 4.15V. The strange bit here is even though it displays full battery and flashes on screen, it actually continues to charge all the way to 4.2V so add another 30 minutes for this until the screen goes blank (3hrs).

As mentioned earlier it’s using a 2S Lipo battery pack (two cells inside). There is a 0.14V variance between them when discharging and a 0.3V Variance when charging until balanced at full.

The mod itself gets warm to the touch but not hot due to the ENU temperature monitoring taking place throughout. If it starts to warm up too much its stops and will only continue when its below 45.C… hence why it takes roughly 30 minutes longer than an external charging would and is absolutely fine in my book.

I noticed the mod retains it charging heat for a while after removing the USB cable though and if you use it straight after or use pass-through (charging whilst vaping) this is ever more noticeable.

Mod Pros

• Lovely paint job – especially If you like matching mod and tank set up’s
• Very Comfy to hold – will accommodate both small and large hand sizes
• Durable construction
• Screen size, brightness and layout
• Decent charging speed
• Power mode works well, it’s a very similar experience to the Joytech Espion
• Minor fire delay
• No gaudy branding - the mod itself is the centre piece
• Firing bar works really well in either hand
• Fairly intuitive menu system
• Handles charging well

Mod Cons

• Atomisers don’t sit exactly flush (although it does mean it won’t dink the lovely paintwork)
• Can be tipped over easily – with the angled panels on front or back, the tank is going to take the impact
• Temp Control is tricky to get working ok
• Could be susceptible to leaking/condensation
• Small battery capacity for wattage requirements
• Stays warm for quite a while after charging
• Screen is a finger print magnet and picks up scratches fairly easily
• Doesn’t automatically pick up new atomisers if you don’t press fire bar
• The Up/Down/Action buttons could have a little bigger

Final Conclusion part 2 - Tessera Mod

I found the Tessera to be decent starter mod, the fire bar action is absolutely top notch, its form factor is fantastic, the display and screen layout is easy on the eyes and the menu is not too overbearing for beginners. My cons are largely “what if” scenarios rather than significant flaws with the mod.

I do wish they had bumped up the internal battery capacity though to at least 5000mAh. I feel it needs it especially if you opt to use one of the higher wattage coils in the Ello tank, up to 70W this mod fits the bill well, however above that I feel the battery life really starts to become problematic to the point I’m vaping with pass through or recharging too often.



Thanks for taking the time to read my review, I hope the information serves you well…. until next time KingPin!

 

[UncleRJ]

Very nice review as always!

 

[KingPin!]

Very nice review as always!

Thanks Unc this one took bloody ages! ...bet it was a similar experience to read as well haha