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ORCHID MODIFICATION THREAD
- Thread starter TheWestPole
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I ordered 2 today and a few hours later got an email from FastTech saying they were told the tank section was glass, but its actually PC. Nice that they give u a chance to cancel the order first due to misinformation.
I did not cancel. Lol
I do have both the magma on veritas, unfortunately I'm at work so I can't measurebut to be honest as long a lung hits are possible and fairly non restrictive I'm in lol.
I have the orchid and magma and they are very close in air flow. The magma may have it by a hair but vape production is about the same and the orchid has a slight advantage on flavor. Orchid is the closest tank to a dripper I've used both in dual coil/vape/flavor/nicotine satisfaction and you don't have to refill for a while.
To me it is the best balance between dripper performance and tank convenience. Yeah, I love a good dripper at home but the orchid is my on the go device.
alex31804
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Thanks bud! I actually pulled the trigger on it a few days ago. But thanks for the response, and I saw the shit on calivapors (looking for orchid info) they gave you for mentioning a clone, and needless to say that was some bullshit. Glad to see you at the underground brotha!
Ha! Yeah, pretty sure that was my 1st post over there. Great welcome from a couple forum nazi's that got their panties all in a bunch. Haven't really spent any time over there, that forum is dead quiet and boring as hell.
Funny thing is since I threw it back at them there have been a few people asking about clones and those two haven't said a word about it.
Funny thing is since I threw it back at them there have been a few people asking about clones and those two haven't said a word about it.
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alex31804
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Haha I know! I read through the whole thread, some people don't nothing better to do than make a mountain outta mole hill. I don't even have a account there, definitely not since I saw all that.
DoctorIdiot
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I'm actually vaping on a v4 as I type.
I got a v1 right when they came out (still vaping, .4ohm twisted) a v3 about two weeks ago when they first starting appearing on ebay (absolute perfection, .5ohm macro coils) and now i have two of these v4s.
they each have their issues, but each share the same core strength: ridiculously great vapor production, airflow, and flavor. oh, and they drink juice like a highschool kid at a kegger.
my impressions so far:
orchid v1: introduced me to an entire new world of vaping bliss. dropped my kayfuns, nautilus, and even my drippers. this became my main, and my fogger 4.1 and 4.4 became my backups. but oh my god how i hate those screws. mine came with the ULTRA weak hex screws that all stripped instantly. I struggle to get the thing built and STAY built. I finally took to twisting 26 gauge kanthal just to give the screws something to bite into. this build works alright, so long as i'm gentle when changing out wicks. vapes like a dream, just a complete pain to maintain. I replaced the top cap with that fasttech top-fill, which greatly enhanced the overall usability.
orchid v3: WOW. it's amazing what REAL ACTUAL SCREWS can do for an atomizer. this thing is rock solid. i've put several different builds on it, not because it needed rebuilding, but just because it's a joy to rebuild on after weeks of struggling with my v1 (not to mention my foggers. who the hell builds an atty without post holes??). capacity is about .3 ml less than the v1 (thanks to the inner structure of the included "nano" style tank) but i don't notice. i fill up all my orchids once a day anyway, so it's fine. everything else about the vape is identical, and therefore amazing. this is what vaping heaven is like.
orchid v4: ok, so. the v4 is ostensibly just the v3 but with a longer chimney stem and tank, and therefore enhanced capacity. right now, i have no idea if that's actually true, because every time i try to fill this thing it leaks half the juice i put it, seemingly. It's got the bottom-fill port like the v3, but while the v3 is dead-simple to fill kayfun style, this thing seems to HATE taking juice into its precious interior. first i get killer backflow, like top-filling the v1. so i go slow, fine. but then it starts gushing out of the tip (holding it upsidedown). and i notice that the juice seems to sorta bunch up around the rim of the chimney, where it narrows down to the stem part. it's almost like there's a chokepoint and the juice can't really get past there. and in fact, as i hold up the v3 and v4, both half-filled, it really does look like the chimney on the v4 is closer to the PC window on the v4 than on the v4, so maybe there actually IS a chokepoint. the vape is still amazing, and if I can figure out how to actually fill this thing, it might be perfect. But i was expecting all the ease of the v3 (yep) with just capacity boost (yep) and no additional problems (oops).
so.
right now, the v3 is actually my favorite out of all these orchids. as soon as i finish off this half-tank in the v4, i'll try another fill method. I just opened my second v4 and measured the capacity using water. water via a syringe went into the bottom just fine, and it took almost 5.5 ml (!!) before overflowing. for giggles i went ahead and did the oldschool v1/kayfun topfill method and it took 5ml like a champ, so long as i covered both airholes while i filled. pretty dang impressive. if i can get the other v4 working perfectly (i really really hope i dont have to topfill) then I'll go head and build the second v4 and retire the v1. i think the v3 is sticking around for good though. old reliable now (two whole weeks, lol).
I will update as appropriate.
EDIT: i forgot to mention that the screws on the v3 and v4 are Philips-head, not hex. the spares for the v3 are also Philips, but the spares for both of my v4s are actually hex. so I guess i'll have to be good to these screws so i don't have to go back to the nightmare-fuel hex screws.
I got a v1 right when they came out (still vaping, .4ohm twisted) a v3 about two weeks ago when they first starting appearing on ebay (absolute perfection, .5ohm macro coils) and now i have two of these v4s.
they each have their issues, but each share the same core strength: ridiculously great vapor production, airflow, and flavor. oh, and they drink juice like a highschool kid at a kegger.
my impressions so far:
orchid v1: introduced me to an entire new world of vaping bliss. dropped my kayfuns, nautilus, and even my drippers. this became my main, and my fogger 4.1 and 4.4 became my backups. but oh my god how i hate those screws. mine came with the ULTRA weak hex screws that all stripped instantly. I struggle to get the thing built and STAY built. I finally took to twisting 26 gauge kanthal just to give the screws something to bite into. this build works alright, so long as i'm gentle when changing out wicks. vapes like a dream, just a complete pain to maintain. I replaced the top cap with that fasttech top-fill, which greatly enhanced the overall usability.
orchid v3: WOW. it's amazing what REAL ACTUAL SCREWS can do for an atomizer. this thing is rock solid. i've put several different builds on it, not because it needed rebuilding, but just because it's a joy to rebuild on after weeks of struggling with my v1 (not to mention my foggers. who the hell builds an atty without post holes??). capacity is about .3 ml less than the v1 (thanks to the inner structure of the included "nano" style tank) but i don't notice. i fill up all my orchids once a day anyway, so it's fine. everything else about the vape is identical, and therefore amazing. this is what vaping heaven is like.
orchid v4: ok, so. the v4 is ostensibly just the v3 but with a longer chimney stem and tank, and therefore enhanced capacity. right now, i have no idea if that's actually true, because every time i try to fill this thing it leaks half the juice i put it, seemingly. It's got the bottom-fill port like the v3, but while the v3 is dead-simple to fill kayfun style, this thing seems to HATE taking juice into its precious interior. first i get killer backflow, like top-filling the v1. so i go slow, fine. but then it starts gushing out of the tip (holding it upsidedown). and i notice that the juice seems to sorta bunch up around the rim of the chimney, where it narrows down to the stem part. it's almost like there's a chokepoint and the juice can't really get past there. and in fact, as i hold up the v3 and v4, both half-filled, it really does look like the chimney on the v4 is closer to the PC window on the v4 than on the v4, so maybe there actually IS a chokepoint. the vape is still amazing, and if I can figure out how to actually fill this thing, it might be perfect. But i was expecting all the ease of the v3 (yep) with just capacity boost (yep) and no additional problems (oops).
so.
right now, the v3 is actually my favorite out of all these orchids. as soon as i finish off this half-tank in the v4, i'll try another fill method. I just opened my second v4 and measured the capacity using water. water via a syringe went into the bottom just fine, and it took almost 5.5 ml (!!) before overflowing. for giggles i went ahead and did the oldschool v1/kayfun topfill method and it took 5ml like a champ, so long as i covered both airholes while i filled. pretty dang impressive. if i can get the other v4 working perfectly (i really really hope i dont have to topfill) then I'll go head and build the second v4 and retire the v1. i think the v3 is sticking around for good though. old reliable now (two whole weeks, lol).
I will update as appropriate.
EDIT: i forgot to mention that the screws on the v3 and v4 are Philips-head, not hex. the spares for the v3 are also Philips, but the spares for both of my v4s are actually hex. so I guess i'll have to be good to these screws so i don't have to go back to the nightmare-fuel hex screws.
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Try a couple chimney pipe orings on the V4, if its leaking out of the DT filling upside down its not sealing. Choke or no choke it can't leak out if the seal is good.
Does the top cap of the V4 have an oring in it? Or is it like the V1 without an oring built into it? If it does, red oring?
Does the top cap of the V4 have an oring in it? Or is it like the V1 without an oring built into it? If it does, red oring?
Very helpful comparison @DoctorIdiot.
Regarding the post screws, to my happy surprise, two of my V2 orders from FT came with Phillips head screws. Link to the exact part @ https://www.fasttech.com/p/1850900. Because both came with a spare set, I was able to replace the Allen heads on two of my other Orchids.
However, I have not yet been able to find another source for the screws. They are an odd size, between M2 and M2.5 and with coarser threads.If anybody knows the exact screw spec. and a third party source PLEASE POST!
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DoctorIdiot
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Very helpful comparison @DoctorIdiot.
Regarding the post screws, to my happy surprise, two of my V2 orders from FT came with Phillips head screws. Link to the exact part @ https://www.fasttech.com/p/1850900. Because both came with a spare set, I was able to replace the Allen heads on two of my other Orchids.
If anybody knows the exact screw spec. and a third party source PLEASE POST!
They are indeed an odd size. I've scoured many a hardware store and electronics store looking for the exact fit, and come up dry.
My v3 also came with philips-head spares, but would you believe they DONT work in my v1? i think that all the fiddling with the horrible hex screws probably screwed up the actual post threads beyond saving. the only thing that i think that v1 will ever be able to do now is take a pressure-mounted twisted kanthal build.
the top cap does indeed have an o-ring in it. black, not red. my fasttech top-fill topcaps have red o-rings, as do my replacement nano tanks, but all my other o-rings have been black, i think.
I think what I'll do is scour the parts pin for a few more similarly-sized rings and see if i can seal it down better. your point is well taken, and I should have thought of that earlier.
If doubling up the o-rings doesn't fix the problem, i'm going to try the old plug-up-the-airholes topfill method. if that DOES work, then i guess i'll take one of my other fasttech topfill topcaps to use on this thing. it'd be a shame to, because these topcaps are actually REALLY nice looking. my favorite overall RTA look since the kayfun lite plus (with the stair-stepped topcap and driptip).
Yeah, this is the first kayfun style stock top cap I've liked and not wanted to change out to a option cap. Not a fan of the stair step, I like a stubby look.
The FT is a good looking one too though, I have that on my v1. Changed out the red oring to a black chimney oring from the v1 though... it was a little tighter.
The FT is a good looking one too though, I have that on my v1. Changed out the red oring to a black chimney oring from the v1 though... it was a little tighter.
That's a shame @DoctorIdiot . Mine threaded fine on V1.
If you like, I can send you a V1 base with all good posts. Scrapped one early on putting in a bottom fill port.
I'm wondering what the total length of the V4 chamber/chimney is. And when assembled does the chimney extend past the top cap o-ring like it does in V1 & V2 (4mm)? If so, more tank possibilities, including Taifun GT.
(I'm getting a bit tired of adding Kayfun chimneys to Orchid chambers to get the length I want, and V4 chamber/chimneys could possibly get me covered in the mid-size tank range without modification.)I trust you're going to get that V4 tank filling working perfectly. There are so many tank options to give you the clearance you need around the chamber.
DoctorIdiot
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ok! v4 update time!
I drained the sucker, finally (the only one of my two v4s i've built so far) and played with the o-rings. it really felt like the built-in o-ring was making solid contact with the chimney stem, but i went ahead and added a Danco #36 o-ring right at the top of the stem itself.
I also changed the way I reassembled the orchid v4. I've generally been quite haphazard about which components screw into which, and in which order. the only time i've paid attention is when i was testing a 0.3 ohm build on my v3, when i did some fancy footwork to make sure the chimney didn't screw all the way down, so juice flow would be a bit higher.
anyway, for this attempt, I put the new o-ring on the chimney stem, then carefully and firmly inserted the stem into the topcap. after that, i screwed the tank body into the base, and then finally screwed the topcap with attached chimney down into the rest of the atomizer, simultaneously working the threads on the tank body AND the baseplate. it took a little fiddling to get both threads to catch at the same time, but it went down smoothly after that.
and then, the moment of truth. i covered the driptip with my finger, and then i filled the orchid up from the fill screw, being a little more careful to TILT the atomizer this time (45 degree angle, give or take) and go slowly, watching the liquid on the PC window, making sure it didn't wrap all around the window until the liquid level was actually that high. i kept going until just after the liquid disappeared above the window level. finally, i put the screw back in, and then i uncovered the driptip with my finger....
BINGO! not a single drop came out. I have no idea how much is down to the second o-ring, the more careful tilt-filling, the finger-seal on the drip-tip, or whatever. but this thing took every drop and is now vaping like an absolute champ.
I don't have an exact amount of liquid for this fill, but i have a good guess. I just made this batch of my butterscotch brittle last night in a 30ml bottle. I've filled the orchid v4 three times from this bottle, and it's now a bit over half empty. given the first two partial-fills-plus-spillage, and given my earlier measurements, I think it's pretty safe to say i've got right about 5ml of high VG juice in here, which is just amazing. there's still an air bubble floating around in there when you tilt it sideways, but it's quite small. I'd say that if you fill to just past the window, you're going get a solid 5ml with a bit of room for errors.
I've been playing with some of my other kayfun topcaps as well (mostly fasttech). I haven't made any measurements on capacity yet, but I have determined that they will all fit, so far. The o-rings on most topcaps do not fit as snugly on the chimney stem as the included cap, with the exception of that topfill kayfun cap from fasttech. not sure if this link is going to work, but if it does, this is the cap i've been referring to: http://www.fasttech.com/product/1815409-replacement-top-cap-for-custom-kayfun-top-cap-rba
I've also got a few other kayfun tanks that i might try with my second v4. once i confident about my first one, that is
I drained the sucker, finally (the only one of my two v4s i've built so far) and played with the o-rings. it really felt like the built-in o-ring was making solid contact with the chimney stem, but i went ahead and added a Danco #36 o-ring right at the top of the stem itself.
I also changed the way I reassembled the orchid v4. I've generally been quite haphazard about which components screw into which, and in which order. the only time i've paid attention is when i was testing a 0.3 ohm build on my v3, when i did some fancy footwork to make sure the chimney didn't screw all the way down, so juice flow would be a bit higher.
anyway, for this attempt, I put the new o-ring on the chimney stem, then carefully and firmly inserted the stem into the topcap. after that, i screwed the tank body into the base, and then finally screwed the topcap with attached chimney down into the rest of the atomizer, simultaneously working the threads on the tank body AND the baseplate. it took a little fiddling to get both threads to catch at the same time, but it went down smoothly after that.
and then, the moment of truth. i covered the driptip with my finger, and then i filled the orchid up from the fill screw, being a little more careful to TILT the atomizer this time (45 degree angle, give or take) and go slowly, watching the liquid on the PC window, making sure it didn't wrap all around the window until the liquid level was actually that high. i kept going until just after the liquid disappeared above the window level. finally, i put the screw back in, and then i uncovered the driptip with my finger....
BINGO! not a single drop came out. I have no idea how much is down to the second o-ring, the more careful tilt-filling, the finger-seal on the drip-tip, or whatever. but this thing took every drop and is now vaping like an absolute champ.
I don't have an exact amount of liquid for this fill, but i have a good guess. I just made this batch of my butterscotch brittle last night in a 30ml bottle. I've filled the orchid v4 three times from this bottle, and it's now a bit over half empty. given the first two partial-fills-plus-spillage, and given my earlier measurements, I think it's pretty safe to say i've got right about 5ml of high VG juice in here, which is just amazing. there's still an air bubble floating around in there when you tilt it sideways, but it's quite small. I'd say that if you fill to just past the window, you're going get a solid 5ml with a bit of room for errors.
I've been playing with some of my other kayfun topcaps as well (mostly fasttech). I haven't made any measurements on capacity yet, but I have determined that they will all fit, so far. The o-rings on most topcaps do not fit as snugly on the chimney stem as the included cap, with the exception of that topfill kayfun cap from fasttech. not sure if this link is going to work, but if it does, this is the cap i've been referring to: http://www.fasttech.com/product/1815409-replacement-top-cap-for-custom-kayfun-top-cap-rba
I've also got a few other kayfun tanks that i might try with my second v4. once i confident about my first one, that is
DoctorIdiot
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I'm wondering what the total length of the V4 chamber/chimney is. And when assembled does the chimney extend past the top cap o-ring like it does in V1 & V2 (4mm)? If so, more tank possibilities, including Taifun GT.
I trust you're going to get that V4 tank filling working perfectly. There are so many tank options to give you the clearance you need around the chamber.
Unfortunately my v3 still has a half-tank, as does my v1. but as soon as i vape one of them down, i'll measure those chimneys vs the v4. i do not have a taifun gt on hand, so i cannot test that tank, alas.
When it's all assembled, the chimney on the v4 does indeed extend past the o-ring on the included topcap. the driptip acts as a stopper for it, but it still sticks up about 1-2mm above the o-ring when the system is assembled without a driptip. when it's all disassembled, the chimney stem slides freely up and down inside the topcap o-ring. of the fasttech kayfun caps i have, the orchid chimney stem does NOT slide up and down freely inside any of them except the topfill cap. it slides into the o-ring, but they all have some sort of metal lip to stop the chimney stem short.
and yea, as you can see, i got it working quite perfectly. i'm super content now :-D
If the V4 chimney is not in use, that's the only measurement I need, total length. I know what the others are. Thanks in advance if you can measure it.
BTW, the Taifun GT stock tank is 40mm long, nano is 30mm.
DoctorIdiot
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I don't have my calipers or anything, but using my best available tools, I make the total height of the v4 chimney (including stem) to be 32 mm
Oooooo, that's damn close. Thanks, much appreciated. About the same as Orchid chamber w. Kayfun chimney. With a Taifun GT tank, won't quite reach the o-ring in Orchid or Kayfun top caps.
(Will reach the modified Taifun GT top caps I made though. )
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DoctorIdiot
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Oooooo, that's damn close. Thanks, much appreciated. About the same as Orchid chamber w. Kayfun chimney. With a Taifun GT tank won't quite reach the o-ring in Orchid or Kayfun top caps.
lol. mod on, brother.
if i take my whole population of kayfun-style topcaps, i've got probably a total variance of ~5mm from the highest to the lowest sitting o-ring, relative to the fixed point of the fully-screwed-down chimney. if you take into account the fact that you probably have about 3mm of potential variance in how high you actually want the chimney stem to sit (or at least that's how much play i've gotten thus far in experiments with juice flow) that's a total of perhaps 7-8mm of play on the top end, using kayfun tanks. from my earlier testing with my v1 and v3, that 7-8mm variance translates to something like .3-.4ml of juice capacity.
i recognize that you specifically are doing wildly bigger and different things, but i thought those figures might be of interest to some other hedge-wizards like myself
lol. mod on, brother.
if i take my whole population of kayfun-style topcaps, i've got probably a total variance of ~5mm from the highest to the lowest sitting o-ring, relative to the fixed point of the fully-screwed-down chimney. if you take into account the fact that you probably have about 3mm of potential variance in how high you actually want the chimney stem to sit (or at least that's how much play i've gotten thus far in experiments with juice flow) that's a total of perhaps 7-8mm of play on the top end, using kayfun tanks. from my earlier testing with my v1 and v3, that 7-8mm variance translates to something like .3-.4ml of juice capacity.
i recognize that you specifically are doing wildly bigger and different things, but i thought those figures might be of interest to some other hedge-wizards like myself
"Hedge-wizards," funnnnnny.
I'm okay with that 5mm variance in top caps, find it useful sometimes (like you said, juice flow adjustments, etc.). It's dumb though that Kayfun top caps have a hole diameter in the section between the o-ring and drip tip that's too small to clear the chimney. I just drill them all out to be like the Orchid, which has no such restriction.
Getting Orchid tanks out of the stock and Kayfun nano size (24mm) and into Taifun nano (30mm) and Kayfun stock (34mm) tank sizes is the major necessary improvement (V4!). Orchid sucks too much juice to be stuck at 24mm. Bigger than that is luxury not necessity. As you suggest, I obviously go for luxury sometimes.
Regarding tank length and capacity, back when I was figuring lengths of polycarbonate tube for custom tanks I did some arithmetic. You or somebody else might find the notes of some use so, copy and paste, voila:
1 cubic cm = 1ml
1000 cubic mm = 1ml
19mm ID tank x 1mm length = .283 ml (minus chimney)
19mm ID tank x 5mm length = 1.41 ml (minus chimney)
19mm ID tank x 10mm length = 2.83 ml (minus chimney)
Note: chimney displaces .02 ml per mm of length.
1000 cubic mm = 1ml
19mm ID tank x 1mm length = .283 ml (minus chimney)
19mm ID tank x 5mm length = 1.41 ml (minus chimney)
19mm ID tank x 10mm length = 2.83 ml (minus chimney)
Note: chimney displaces .02 ml per mm of length.
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DoctorIdiot
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"Hedge-wizards," funnnnnny.
I'm okay with that 5mm variance in top caps, find it useful sometimes (like you said, juice flow adjustments, etc.). It's dumb though that Kayfun top caps have a hole diameter in the section between the o-ring and drip tip that's too small to clear the chimney. I just drill them all out to be like the Orchid, which has no such restriction.
Getting Orchid tanks out of the stock and Kayfun nano size (24mm) and into Taifun nano (30mm) and Kayfun stock (34mm) tank sizes is the major necessary improvement (V4!). Orchid sucks too much juice to be stuck at 24mm. Bigger than that is luxury not necessity. As you suggest, I obviously go for luxury sometimes.
Regarding tank length and capacity, back when I was figuring lengths of polycarbonate tube for custom tanks I did some arithmetic. You or somebody else might find the notes of some use so, copy and paste, voila:
1 cubic cm = 1ml
1000 cubic mm = 1ml
19mm ID tank x 1mm length = .283 ml (minus chimney)
19mm ID tank x 5mm length = 1.41 ml (minus chimney)
19mm ID tank x 10mm length = 2.83 ml (minus chimney)
i couldn't agree more about the tank size. i've been vaping this v4 all evening now, and it finally feels like i've got a fog machine whose capacity matches its thirst.
your math on tanks obviously makes perfect sense, so my personal estimates have only two real explanations: 1) the internal fiddlybits within the topcaps take up a lot more space on some of them than it might otherwise appear. or 2) i'm terrible at estimating such things.
to be fair, i WAS doing straight tap water with a syringe, and that stuff seems to always find a way to leak or squirt or whatever in ways that some nice thick VG just doesnt.
so based on your calculations, and my "gut feelings" i think it's safe to say that you can, with enough fiddling and cap swapping, get anywhere from 0.3-2ml of extra capacity on a well-behaving orchid. and regardless, you can definitely get an easy 5ml out of the v4 without even trying. i was perfectly content with my jiggeredup 3.5ml in my v3, but i'm in vape heaven with my 5ml v4 now.
btw, for anyone who is interested: this v4 has dual 28gauge coils reading at 0.7 ohms, wicked with rayon, very very spare tails in the juice channels about 1-2mm down, and the chimney backed off the deck about a half-turn. i wick my rayon straight across, and then trim the tails at a steep angle, then drape the angled cut into the juice channels. i glue down the tails with juice, and trim some more if needed. i've gotten so that i usually get 3 out of the 4 perfect on the first trim now, since i do my foggers and orchids the same way. lotta practice with the ol' CHP-170s
btw, for anyone who is interested: this v4 has dual 28gauge coils reading at 0.7 ohms, wicked with rayon, very very spare tails in the juice channels about 1-2mm down, and the chimney backed off the deck about a half-turn. i wick my rayon straight across, and then trim the tails at a steep angle, then drape the angled cut into the juice channels. i glue down the tails with juice, and trim some more if needed. i've gotten so that i usually get 3 out of the 4 perfect on the first trim now, since i do my foggers and orchids the same way. lotta practice with the ol' CHP-170s
Props on your build. Currently vaping its fraternal twin: 28 gauge mini-coil, rayon w. 5mm tails ending at the juice channels. BTW, this build also worked perfectly top to bottom in the 15ml custom tank in post #30. Orchid is one user friendly power plant!
Been slow to realize this, but the way these Orchids are sucking up the juice it's TIME TO LOWER MY NIC LEVEL!!!!!
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Orchid V5 by KGO TECH announced on VU!
http://www.desire-ecig.com/Orchid-Atomizer-Clone-V5
Really, V5? Really? Gimmie a break!
http://www.desire-ecig.com/Orchid-Atomizer-Clone-V5
Really, V5? Really? Gimmie a break!
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Kayfun & 1/2 (?) There are 3 Kayfun metal sections & 2 clear ones on the Orchid base.
What did you use for the chimney extension?
DoctorIdiot
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Been slow to realize this, but the way these Orchids are sucking up the juice it's TIME TO LOWER MY NIC LEVEL!!!!!
errr.... yeaaaa... that was like Job Number One when i fully switched over to the orchid family.
I was on 6mg on my clearos and kayfuns, so i have tons of 6mg juice in my library. I'd already started DIY before the orchid came along, but the first day I tried to vape it with one of my standard 6mg juices, i almost passed out.At first i just started cutting my 6mg juices into 3-4mg blends, but that didn't really do the trick either. I realized that, not only does the orchid drink juice, but i also vape it differently. I inhale more deeply because it's effortless, and more often because it's delightful. I'm down to probably 1/3 my pre-orchid nic level now. And yea, the juice disappears with breathtaking rapidity, but it's just such a FUN vape!
Orchid V5 by KGO TECH announced on VU!
http://www.desire-ecig.com/Orchid-Atomizer-Clone-V5
Really? Really? Gimmie a break!
that's silly. it's the orchid v4 with a copper pin.... because lord knows the connection on all four of my orchids has been soooooooo shoddy.
ah well. I'm sure it ain't gonna hurt. But for those of you who'd rather not wait for whenever this thing hits stateside (or wherever you are) go ahead and grab the v4 (or v3) with confidence. the perfect RTA has arrived already
to tell you the truth, the drip tip is actually not my favorite. i know some people are more into delrin insulated drip tips than i am, but even so, I've got a couple that i purchased standalone that i like better than these. they are very very cold to the touch (well here in DC where we're having a cold snap anyway) and they take a LONG time to warm up, even when you are chucking clouds at 0.4 ohms and the atty itself starts to get hot. that being said, it doesn't actually BOTHER me at all. it might once the winter starts in earnest, but for now i barely notice it. and yea, it does LOOK absolutely perfect on this thing. The orchid v1 and v2 (and the original for that matter) are amazing for their functionality, but pretty awful for their actual design. the v4 nails both. hell, now that i brought my second v4 into the rotation, i rebuilt my foggers and gave 'em to the wife.
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this morning's orchid build update (yea, that was all just prologue)
i was reminded last night that i am not in fact perfect and that wick-trimming is something I still have to pay attention to. One of the four tails on my newest v4 build was just a hair too short. ...ok, it just barely touched the top of the channel. i noticed while trying to glue it in the channel, but figured it would be fine because i was riding on an orchid high yesterday. yea, no. it greeted my hubris with a shirtfront full of blueberry nut crunch. i smelled amazing, but looked like i lost a fight with a syrup bottle.
so remember, learn from the mistakes of DoctorIdiot, watch those tails!
That "V5" is not even a V4. It's a V3 as far as I can tell, with the same shorter tank, heavy top cap and insulated drip tip. This kind of marketing BS pisses me off and inclines me to reject the company prima facie, that is, I would not trust what they claim about a new center pin. Probably just plated or whatever. Not that I would actually want a solid copper center pin. Even the hardest spec. copper is too soft for that job.
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DoctorIdiot
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Yea wow, good eye: that's definitely the v3 tank on that fauxfive.That "V5" is not even a V4. It's a V3 as far as I can tell, with the same shorter tank, heavy top cap and insulated drip tip. This kind of marketing BS pisses me off and inclines me to reject the company prima facie, that is, I would not trust what they claim about a new center pin. Probably just plated or whatever. Not that I would actually want a solid copper center pin. Even the hardest spec. copper is too soft for that job.
Man that's sad. I don't usually have much of an opinion when it comes to clone makers, but I'd say that when it comes to orchids, I'm a tobeco man.
I've not got much in the way of copper in my rotation, but these brass-pinned v4s hit harder than just about anything in my collection outside of the occasional crazy build on my Veritas or magma. They all hit equally hard on my copper Manhattan, my El cheapo kamrys, or my dna30. Or indeed anything else aside from my somewhat fiddly Sentinel m16.
Ah well. I guess if this thing gets one more person to walk the Path of the Foggy Orchid, it'll have been a force for good.
strange you say that about the M16, out of all my mods that one is the best. as in never fails me. the others have all been ok but the M16 no matter how dirty or how many times I have dropped it, it always is ready for me.
on the matter of the orchid, any one here that owns one use the kayfun quartz kit? I have the V3 on order along with both sized quartz kit and want to know if anyone has a problem wicking? I have a kayfun so I can always use the parts but and just stick to the stock tank if it has a problem with wicking but I have a huge bottle of tank cracking juice. *sigh* it never ends. I might just buy two more kayfun's and live with a little tighter draw.
on the matter of the orchid, any one here that owns one use the kayfun quartz kit? I have the V3 on order along with both sized quartz kit and want to know if anyone has a problem wicking? I have a kayfun so I can always use the parts but and just stick to the stock tank if it has a problem with wicking but I have a huge bottle of tank cracking juice. *sigh* it never ends. I might just buy two more kayfun's and live with a little tighter draw.
You could always drill out the Kayfuns but the Orchid is much better.
DoctorIdiot
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oh believe me, it's strange for me to SAY that. the m16 was my first big-boy device, and i absolutely loved it. still do actually. with my foggers and just about anything else i put on it, it's magically delicious.
but for some reason i've never been able to make good contact between my m16 and any of my orchids. it may just be my particular clone, but the 510 pin is basically non-movable. when i put the thing together with a fresh 18650 and tighten it all up ultra tight, the orchids will generally hit just fine... for a little while. but after a few minutes, it's like things just loosen up or something, and it stops hitting well, or at all. i have no clue why. and again, it only does this with the orchids.
orchids DO have a slightly weird 510 connection, in case you've never seen one in person. the connector itself is about the same size as a kayfun lite, but while my kayfuns are all threaded about 80% of the way up to the baseplate (and my nautilus, and just about everything on my vapetray) the orchid's 510 connect is only threaded perhaps 60% of the way up. and the brass inner pin is sticking out about 1mm, instead of flush like the kayfuns. whether any of these details mean anything at all is a mystery to me, but it's something i've noticed about all of the orchids, each of which fails to make good contact on my m16.
i've got observations, not conclusions
also, i did order the quartz kayfun kits for my v1 orchid some time ago. they worked just fine, but it felt like the capacity REALLY took a hit. if you do go that route, i'd suggest using the fullsize quartz tank on the v4 instead of the nano on the v1-v3. or maybe using that fasttech top-fill cap to add back a little capacity. if you've never used one, you're going to be floored by how much juice this thing can drink, and you want every ml of space you can get out of it.
another angle to consider. I've got a couple of serious tankcrackers myself, which i usually put through my glass-tanked foggers. but now that i'm retiring my foggers, i think i'll be taking one of my v4s and going with the full-metal kayfun tank. sure, you can't see how much juice is left, but with the orchids you can always assume the answer is: not much.
I used the method in the first post here.
http://vapingunderground.com/threads/i-fixed-my-orchid-to-hold-more-juice.19769/#post-122152
WestPole I was really hoping that V5 would have the two piece chimney.
Sorry @Eric DeCastro, you are not going to like your Orchid-Kayfun quartz options with the V3 you're getting. Kayfun Nano quartz is the only one that fits the stock V3; and like @DoctorIdiot explained, it holds so little juice you will probably be unhappy. I too gave up on that option for that reason.
The full size Kayfun quartz tank is too long for the stock Orchid chimney. Your two options are to modify the chimney, if you are so inclined, or move on to V4, which accepts Kayfun tanks without modification.
To modify, however, you would have all the parts you need. The full size Kayfun quartz tank comes with a chimney that will do the job. Cut off the Orchid chimney, drill a hole in the top of the chamber to accept the Kayfun chimney, and epoxy together. Post #3 shows the kind of result you will get. If you don't have the tools, never mind.
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Getting more capacity from the cap is a good idea for a quick and easy increase. Unfortunately the FT top fill cap adds only .2ml over stock. That translates to (what would you guess?) two lung hits?
The style below looks a bit more promising re capacity, and one seemingly like it is included on V3.5 from FT. I have one ordered but until it comes in I won't know how much capacity it actually adds.
May be vulnerable to tank crackers, though I have never had a top cap cracked by a tank cracker.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221451636512?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
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DoctorIdiot
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Getting more capacity from the cap is a good idea for a quick and easy increase. Unfortunately the FT top fill cap adds only .2ml over stock. That translates to (what would you guess?) two lung hits?
The style below looks a bit more promising re capacity, and one seemingly like it is included on V3.5 from FT. I have one ordered but until it comes in I won't know how much capacity it actually adds.
View attachment 7555
http://www.ebay.com/itm/221451636512?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
You are right of course. The amount added is small, but when I was on my v1, especially when I was trying out those nano tanks, it felt like a significant marginal increase. And hey, when you are going from 1ml to 1.2ml it IS significant
(joke, it's not THAT bad with the nano tank... I think) And yea, the sorta of top cap you linked is much more likely to add capacity that you'd actually notice. I've got one similar in stainless steel, and it did add measurable capacity (though I didn't write that measurement down of course, bah) but I didn't like the looseness with which the Orchid chimney stem fit into the cap. I should have tried replacing the o-ring, but instead I just switched to the topfill cap. Also, it's worth nothing that you can only actually USE that extra capacity if your orchid has the bottom fill port. V1 owners need not apply
In other news, I rewicked my leaky v4 and actually put a decent amount of rayon down the channels this time (2+mm) just to try it out. I've been using very spare channelwicks ever since I had a burning issue on a fogger a while back, but I figured I'd give it a go, see if I can establish an upper bound to go with the lower bound I accidentally discovered last night. We shall see...
Sigmardin
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Shouldn't need to cover the drip tip when you full it. I noticed with mine (v4) it just needed the tip of my juice bottle to make a seal against the fill hole opening. The negative pressure you create with the tank and trying to fill it upside down without a nice tight seal will undoubtedly cause leakage. Mine just backed up right out the fill holes so I got pissed off at it and shoved the tip flat up against the hole and presto!
Interesting. Still waiting on my v4's to come in :/
No modes yet just received yesterday.
alex31804
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Just got mine in today. But I just gotta get use to wicking it correctly. Been having issues with it not wicking fast enough, which I'm pretty damn sure its from too wick in the channels. Other than that, I'm loving it. Nice flavorful mini plumes of clouds, the best comparison I have, is exactly what I was told, a magma with a tank.
Don't need to put wick in channels. Try short blunt tails ending right at top of channels. Works carefree every build for me.
alex31804
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I'm gonna try that tomorrow when I wake up. Thanks bud!
DoctorIdiot
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see, this is the one time i am going to have to disagree with you
(sorta)Each time i've tried zero channel wick, i've ended up with a floody leaky bastard that deposits gloopy liquid on my shirt like a friendly but incontinent songbird.
I have also definitely put too much wick in the channels before and choked the crap out of it, leading to nearly-dry hits.
my happy medium thus far (i'm running a v1, v3, and two v4s at the moment) is to wick'em to just barely tight with rayon, lay the tails nicely into the channels, and brutally murder the tailends with my clippers, leaving about a millimeter of angle-cut tail in the channel, cut thin enough so that it does not completely fill up the diameter of the channel (that part is keeeeyyy (i think))
but i can think of one good reason why TheWestPole and I might disagree on wicking, and it bears discussing here:
Wicking Material.
I used to use all cotton, for everything. I've still got my boiled organic balls, and I've got my japanese cotton pad things, which i still sometimes use in my wife's Kayfuns. I used top ramie for a while, but never could get rid of the sorta "grassy" undertones that I could (or believed i could) taste... Aside from that though, all cotton. But a few months ago I bought a little bag of rayon (cellulose) from a little store that apparently no longer exists (anasa vapes) for two bucks shipped (possibly why they went outta business??). I started putting it in all my drippers (i'm a magma and veritas guy myself) and kayfuns, and quickly realized that i had to treat it differently from cotton, but that the results COULD be much more to my liking.
I loved it, but I was still rotating with cotton for a while until i figured out how to get the rayon cut, rolled, and wicked perfectly every time. By the time I got to my foggers and then my orchids, I was 100% rayon. i did two fogger builds with japanese cotton when i was having flooding issues early on, but I quickly went back and just learned to channelwick better. then I bought that giant box of rayon from the beauty supply store and haven't looked back since.
The moral of this story? it's certainly not that rayon is "better". I happen to absolutely love it, yes. But there are plenty of other threads around to explain rayon and present the differing opinions, the strengths, the weaknesses, etc. No, the moral is that the wick material itself probably plays a huge role in the wicking style you need to do. if you are on (eg) cotton balls, you probably need to wick slightly differently from someone on japanese cotton, and a bit differently from a rayon guy like myself. i know with drippers, my rayon wicks look nothing at all like my cotton wicks did. Kayfuns on rayon are less dramatically different, but still different. But Juice Hawgs like the fogger v4s and the orchids? good god, you need to pay very close attention to the wicking material.
I haven't a clue what TheWestPole is using, though from his writing style he seems like a japanese cotton kinda guy (lol, whatever the hell that means). But I can tell you that in my experience with rayon wicks, you absolutely need a little bit of channel wicking to avoid flooding or dry hits.
One of these days I'll get one of the cameras down to my lab and do a full photo series on my orchid builds...
For now, I leave you with this expertly designed visual representation of my orchid wicks:
/=mm=\
The [mm] is the coil, the [=] is the small straight portion of the wick coming out of the coil, and the slashies represent the angle cut i make on each of the edges. i tuck those thinned out tail tips into the channels, like so:
|'|
... so beautiful, i know.