Need Advice on Vape Gears and making them optimum

[Rawn]

Hey Gurus,

This is going to be a long one but here's the back story:

I come from a land where we do not have Vape shops and like any spoilt kid, when i get a chance to shop, i buy whatever is available just to have a bit of fun and experiments with Vaping.

I started out with 2 units of IPV D2 with Kanger Subtank minis and some 50/50 Juice. With OCC coils, it tastes great and i progressed to building and have gotten the hang of it.

Recently, i purchased a billow v2, with dual coils and a Hellboy Clone (Dripper) with more than a couple of premium juices flown in from the USA. All these juices and gears are part of my journey to flavour chasing and the want to taste all of the premium juices in it's purity, hence the Hellboy RDA.

I was dissapointed with the drippers and dual coils. Compared to the subtank mini, i was getting a lot less flavour. Here are a couple of suspicions:

1) Hellboy RDA - 80 VG/20 PG 6 mg NIC Juice - 0.3ohm/2.5mm - VERTICAL COIL height aligned with airholes - wicking organic cotton U shaped over centre positive posts for easy top dripping

What i have found is that the first hit is always choking. No matter how much i play with the airholes. I do smell the vapour, there is the same amount of vapour from the subtank mini using the same juice, however i do not get to taste anything even with subsequent hits. I do smell it. I do hydrate myself. I do not think it is vapours tongue as i have alternatively vaped the same juice on a different set up. My question is, why do everyone say that a dripper gives you that much flavour when i really do not taste anything. Another question is, to go back to basics, is how is vaping supposed to "taste" like? I could be spoiled by the subtank mini because i do realise that when i am vaping with the subtank, i do get tiny tiny droplets of e-liquid into my tongue of back of the throat which really enhances the taste. Is this what constitutes "taste" in Vaping? The minute droplets of e-liquid going back in your throat and tongue is the taste? If this is so, i do not think a dripper is going to have that kind of spit compared to a tank? Could it be that my IPV D2 needs to be switched to a higher powered box mod like the IPV 3Li or segelei 150w? I've tried different power settings on the D2, smell improves at higher wattages like 40W but still just a very slight thinge of taste from this RDA. Compared to the billow v2 with the same juice and same resistance at 22W, the billow has more taste than this dripper

2) Hellboy RDA - 80 VG/20 PG 6 mg NIC Juice - 0.6ohm/3mm - HORIZONTAL COIL height aligned with airholes - wicking standard organic cotton to base of deck

This build has a slow ramp up time. Is this due to the lack of power from the IPV D2? I know the IPV D2 can go up to 65 watts. Though it has the ability to do that, i can only get a few hits from this because it drains the battery. I have spoken to some of the other vapours that has both tanks and drippers, they mentioned that i should be getting flavour at about 40 to 45 watts.

3) Hellboy RDA - 80 VG/20 PG 6 mg NIC Juice - 1 ohm/3. 5mm - HORIZONTAL COIL height aligned with airholes - wicking standard organic cotton to base of deck

This has the slowest ramp up time ever. This build doesnt work for me. I decided to try this build after noticing how everyone is going on the non sub-ohm builds saying how it gives them the ultimate taste.

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All in all, i just need to progress from the sub tank mini and chase the wonderful world of flavours that everyone is mentioning. What am i doing wrong here? Do i need a bigger wattage box mod to open up the flavour chasing Avenue? The billow works great for a tank. Now i need to get the dripper working to be a connoisseur of e-liquids. Spent a lot of money on premium liquids, getting no returns LOL!

Hit me with questions and i'll be glad to share more information on the things i have tried. I need to sort this out before i start getting OCD

Help me obi-wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.

 

[bondo]

#1
VG doesn't carry flavor as well as PG so go back to 50/50. Higher VG produces more cloud than flavor.

#2
6mg is on the high side for sub ohm dripping and the reason for the initial cough. 3mg is a good starting point.

#3
You're kind of building backwards in a way.
You didn't mention the gauge and what wire your using but I assume it's kanthal so,..
If it's in the 26-32g range then try a dual macro coil. 2mm is a good starting point.
Aim for .7-ish ohm and tweak from there.

#4
65w is plenty to get you into the realm of quality dripping. I started my RDA career with an 11w MVP and a plume veil and had a fair ammount of success due to micro parallel coils.

The quality of your vape has EVERYTHING to do with how you build for the power you have at hand.
Do a little more research and find a good ohm calculator like steamengine.org
Good luck!

 

[Neunerball]

IMO, the Hellboy isn't a good flavor RDA. Personally, I think the Sapor, Hastur, Aeolus, or Manta V2 to be way better flavor RDAs. Even the Mutation XS V4 is a better flavor RDA, than the Hellboy.
However, in my builds, I have the wick touching the deck only, never as you described. That could be the reason for not getting the expected flavor. The air should be able to easily circulate all around the coils. I currently have 58 RDAs, and my go to build is a dual coil 0.3 Ohm build with a 24g Kanthal wire, 2.5-3 mm ID. I'm still getting good to excellent flavor (depending on the RDA). Usually, I'm running them, depending on the juice, between 45-55W.

 

[stevegmu]

Your gear and e-liquid are for cloud chasing, rather than flavor chasing...

 

[Rawn]

#1
VG doesn't carry flavor as well as PG so go back to 50/50. Higher VG produces more cloud than flavor.

#2
6mg is on the high side for sub ohm dripping and the reason for the initial cough. 3mg is a good starting point.

#3
You're kind of building backwards in a way.
You didn't mention the gauge and what wire your using but I assume it's kanthal so,..
If it's in the 26-32g range then try a dual macro coil. 2mm is a good starting point.
Aim for .7-ish ohm and tweak from there.

#4
65w is plenty to get you into the realm of quality dripping. I started my RDA career with an 11w MVP and a plume veil and had a fair ammount of success due to micro parallel coils.

The quality of your vape has EVERYTHING to do with how you build for the power you have at hand.
Do a little more research and find a good ohm calculator like steamengine.org
Good luck!

Hey Bondo

At current i only have 24 Gauge kenthal.

To get 0.7 ohms at 2mm with 24g wont be possible for me, thus i'll go get some 28 or 30 gauges to acheive the 2mm coils

Much thanks for the direction!

 

[Rawn]

IMO, the Hellboy isn't a good flavor RDA. Personally, I think the Sapor, Hastur, Aeolus, or Manta V2 to be way better flavor RDAs. Even the Mutation XS V4 is a better flavor RDA, than the Hellboy.
However, in my builds, I have the wick touching the deck only, never as you described. That could be the reason for not getting the expected flavor. The air should be able to easily circulate all around the coils. I currently have 58 RDAs, and my go to build is a dual coil 0.3 Ohm build with a 24g Kanthal wire, 2.5-3 mm ID. I'm still getting good to excellent flavor (depending on the RDA). Usually, I'm running them, depending on the juice, between 45-55W.

Hey Neunerball,

Thats the build i have currently, 0.3ohm dual vertical coil, 3mm ID. The wicking over the top positive posts is to accomodate for easy dripping. I just have to drip right dead in the centre, and it flows on to either one of the coils. However, i'll try removing the wicking in the centre.

How i came about to the 0.3 ohm build is on the billow. Ive got the same build on the billow, and would like to experience the flavour on the RDA compared to a tank, thus i translated the same build to the hell boy. Still, i get more flavour out of the billow than hellboy.

Much thanks for the info

 

[Neunerball]

Hey Neunerball,

Thats the build i have currently, 0.3ohm dual vertical coil, 3mm ID. The wicking over the top positive posts is to accomodate for easy dripping. I just have to drip right dead in the centre, and it flows on to either one of the coils. However, i'll try removing the wicking in the centre.

How i came about to the 0.3 ohm build is on the billow. Ive got the same build on the billow, and would like to experience the flavour on the RDA compared to a tank, thus i translated the same build to the hell boy. Still, i get more flavour out of the billow than hellboy.

Much thanks for the info

A smaller diameter (510) drip tip might also help, rather than the wide drip tip.

 

[Rawn]

A smaller diameter (510) drip tip might also help, rather than the wide drip tip.

I did switch the 510 drip tip on my kanger to the hellboy. It did help significantly, however still couldnt compare to the taste of the billow. Or am i making a wrong assumption that even though the hellboy is an RDA and when most people say that RDA beats tanks in terms of flavour, this is not the case?

 

[Rawn]

Your gear and e-liquid are for cloud chasing, rather than flavor chasing...

Well you could be right, because after all, i am basing this on an assumption that RDAs are better than tanks in terms of flavour, so i am chasing that BETTER flavour

 

[Zamazam]

If you want flavor, Get a Vulcan RDA, or a freakshow.

 

[Neunerball]

Well you could be right, because after all, i am basing this on an assumption that RDAs are better than tanks in terms of flavour, so i am chasing that BETTER flavour

Look at the chamber of the Billow V2, and the chamber of the Hellboy. A smaller chamber usually produces better flavor. That's why the RDAs I mentioned above are better flavor RDAs.

 

[bondo]

Pretty good info to get you headed in the right direction so far.
I've no experience with a hellboy so for all I know,it could very well be a cloud comp RDA.
My go to drippers are derringer,plume veil, samurai,rogue and freakshow mini. With the exception of the plume veil all are low profile flavor drippers. Like neunerball said,smaller chambers produce more flavor.

And yea,....I can see how it would be difficult to stuff 20 or so wraps of 24g in the hellboy...

 

[Rawn]

Hey All Gurus,

Thanks for pointing these things to me. I think i'm just gonna head off to do more shopping. However, all those things that you guys have pointed out, do really make significant difference in my pursuit for flavour.

I know there is no absolute, but hey one last question: I I need a reference dripper to taste the artistry behind the juices, should i get a plume veil or a Veritas?