Help getting into rebuildables.

[BigGunn]

I'm finally looking to make the step up from carto tanks and clearos and need help figuring out which is the best for my situation. I'm a total newb at it and my brother who has the experience to help just moved to Colorado, so no visiting him for lessons.

So here's where I ask for the opinions.

Which model has the easiest build deck for a clumsy, large-fingered ogre like me to learn the ropes on? Preferably one with a tank and not a dripper, though if it eases me in to it, I guess a dripper would be fine as well.

 

[UncleRJ]

Being a clumsy large fingered ogre myself, I would recommend the Kayfun Lite Plus.

If I can do it a mentally challenged chimp can.

Sadly the chimp may do a better job but my builds still work!

 

[RichS]

Hey, we're not all challenged, just the lower branched chimps.

 

[RichS]

The easiest dripper that I've run across is the SMOKtech octopus, not the best out there mind you but for me it was the easiest to learn how to build.

 

[jae]

Get yourself an RSST. Literally almost nothing can go wrong with those. Then you can move up to the Kayfun and/or Taifun.

 

[BigGunn]

Get yourself an RSST. Literally almost nothing can go wrong with those. Then you can move up to the Kayfun and/or Taifun.

Thanks all, I've been lookin at the Pyrex RSST, might just pull the trigger on it!

 

[Kang]

My first rebuildable dripper was a patriot. First tank was a KFL+. Either one of those 2 will be the perfect intro to RBA's. I can't speak for the RSST but the kayfun is a solid choice… just don't use too much wick.

 

[jae]

Thanks all, I've been lookin at the Pyrex RSST, might just pull the trigger on it!

I myself actually used to covet the so-called "Pyrex" RSST. However, my experience with glass has been, shall we say, less than positive. Same for my vaping pals. It seems that just about anything technically glass will get labeled as "Pyrex" - which is absolutely untrue. I can't tell you how many times i've cracked or shattered glass which was sold as "Pyrex" but was actually just shitty, brittle quartz. YMMV, but if you get glass, be sure to have a spare polypropylene tank... just in case.

The plastic tanks you generally see for RSSTs are polypropylene which shouldn't have any issues with harsher juices. (If it's crystal clear, it's probably polycarbonate which will be wrecked by things like citrus and cinnamon.)

Strangely enough, in my experience i find devices with polypropylene tanks seem to produce better flavor than devices with glass tanks, which is the exact opposite of what i expected. Personally, i'd much rather use glass, but dealing with cracked glass all the time is just too much of a hassle.

 

[UncleRJ]

I just recently purchase a "Quartz" tank for my KFL+

After two weeks of use the sucker cracked.

Heck I did not even drop the sucker.

Now I wonder if it was even made out of quartz.

Anyone know how to tell the difference?

 

[jae]

Here's a good photo of an RSST.

The silicone thing that looks like a witch hat is a super-easy-to-deal-with fill-hole cover. The tall screw and the screw on the deck are where you connect your wire. The hole is where you drop your wick.

Because it's a fully top-loaded tank RBA, you rarely ever need to disassemble it. Rigging it is about the easiest thing you can do, and if you get it wrong, it's just a matter of fixing it - not dumping all the juice, taking it apart, and starting over. For this reason alone it's the greatest tank RBA to learn on. It will also handle a massive variety of wicking media and there's plenty of room for a fat, messy coil. It's also not hard at all to connect up, with plenty of room for your fingers and tools (because it's on top and not buried inside of a thing).

It's straightforward, simple, and cheap. It works well. You get perfectly good flavor. If you need more airflow you can drill or ream out the hole they give you (in the top cap - not pictured). From here, you will want more once you get good. So get a Kayfun or a Taifun then, when the time comes for it, or whatever else is the latest and greatest at that time.

 

[jae]

I just recently purchase a "Quartz" tank for my KFL+

After two weeks of use the sucker cracked.

Heck I did not even drop the sucker.

Now I wonder if it was even made out of quartz.

Anyone know how to tell the difference?

Quartz is awful for tank material, and there seems to be no end to the amount of crap which is sold as Pyrex but is actually quartz. But there's really no way i know of to tell the difference until you look at it and it shatters as a direct result of pressure from your sight line. All you can do is ask the vendor and read the reviews, and hope for some accuracy and honesty.

 

[Kang]

The Science of Vaping glass kits are pyrex. I'm pretty sure everything else for the kayfun is quartz or worse.

 

[jae]

Some of my friends use these: http://www.spectrumtanks.com/

But since Pyrex is a Corning brand (manufactured by others under license), i'm not sure if that's exactly correct either. At any rate, supposedly they are borosilicate glass, which is what the older, better, pre-1998 Pyrex used to be made of.

 

[BigGunn]

Didn't know that about the polypropylene. That may be my best bet then. Just assumed glass and/or SS were the best bets for not being damaged by my liquids Just got it into my head that poly = bad for some reason.

 

[jae]

Didn't know that about the polypropylene. That may be my best bet then. Just assumed glass and/or SS were the best bets for not being damaged by my liquids Just got it into my head that poly = bad for some reason.

Polycarb, yeah. That's not good. That'll crack with the wrong juice. Polypropylene though, that stuff is tougher than any glass you'll find. You can drop your rig a hundred times like i do and still vape away. Using pure citrus if you like.

That said, SS is best, but you can't see your fluid level. Some people don't mind, but i don't like dry hits. Then again, i use the READYxWICK exclusively, so it wouldn't even matter that much for me, because that stuff just won't burn (though it doesn't taste amazing when firing dry). But for most people using cotton or sillica wicks, etc., being able to see your level is probably preferred. Even so, you can usually tell just by taste when you've hit rock bottom or are super close to it.

 

[BigGunn]

Welp, have an RSST in hand. Picked one up from Vapor Beast for like $20 shipped. Now just waiting on my kanthal and wicking material from Amazon.

 

[Savage_46]

Get yourself an RSST. Literally almost nothing can go wrong with those. Then you can move up to the Kayfun and/or Taifun.

I agree with rsst. Wick hole insulated, & tank is a cup design (at least plastic is, donno about the glass one). Those 2 features eliminate the potential for a lot of mistakes. It's practically impossible to short it out. With that out of the way, you would just need to worry about any potential coil hot spots. Plus there's a pretty good aftermarket support for upgrades too.

 

[jae]

I agree with rsst. Wick hole insulated, & tank is a cup design (at least plastic is, donno about the glass one). Those 2 features eliminate the potential for a lot of mistakes. It's practically impossible to short it out. With that out of the way, you would just need to worry about any potential coil hot spots. Plus there's a pretty good aftermarket support for upgrades too.

Exactly. The whole platform is just absolutely perfect for starting out. I actually started with the AGA-T2, which i loved well enough, but once i got my RSST it was so much easier on so many levels - especially the two you pointed out!

Now i'm using the Kayfun and Taifun more than anything, but i do have my RSST sitting right here, still full from last week when i was using it just to take a break from the occasionally-temperamental *funs.

 

[jae]

Welp, have an RSST in hand. Picked one up from Vapor Beast for like $20 shipped. Now just waiting on my kanthal and wicking material from Amazon.

Hey, let us know when you get the rest of your kit together! Really excited for you about this!

 

[BigGunn]

Will do! Currently eying that silver positive pin upgrade and the airflow control top cap

 

[Savage_46]

Check out fusion mods. I was directed to them the other day. They have a drop in chamber reducer for $10 IIRC.

Personally, I'd save the money for an airflow control. The cap is pretty thin, so it's pretty easy to drill through depending on how big you go in one shot. With my micro hand drill, it takes me about 10 minutes. That is unless you like to switch it up pending juice or current desire.

 

[BigGunn]

Kanthal came in today, so I ran to walgreens and bought some cotton. Very first coil I ever built, 1.6 ohms, wicked it up "auto-dripper" style, soaked the wicks... sooooooooo good

 

[BigGunn]

Japanese cotton came in today. Man this stuff wicks like a dream.

 

[pony]

Thanks all, I've been lookin at the Pyrex RSST, might just pull the trigger on it!

Theres also a newer version called the rbst. It looks a bit more complex but dont let that intimidate you.