Replacement for Melo III

[klep215]

I am pretty new to vaping. I was trying to quit smoking and a friend of mine knows I love to tinker with things (building and overclocking computers, custom paintball markers, car restoration, etc...) and since he is an avid vaper suggested it to me as a hobby/nicotine substitute. I started off with a Kanger Dripbox, and really liked it, but decided to switch things up. I bought an Eleaf Istick Pico Mega kit with the Melo III tank, but am now becoming bored with it as well. I really like the box, but I want to switch the RTA to something I can rebuild and start to play with. I am also a little disappointed with the Melo III in the flavor department.

So I guess I am looking for guidance in finding a good RTA/tank that I can rebuild, is a good sturdy tank, produces both good flavor and good clouds. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Edit: I was looking at the UD Bellus, the Wotofo Serpent, most of the Geek Vape (the Griffin or the Avocado, etc...

 

[Lefty]

I have the Pico and almost never use the Melo III. I purchased a Wotofo Serpent Mini at the same time and that's pretty much the dedicated Pico tank now. Gives it a balanced look. It's actually shorter than the Melo III. Taller tanks look a bit odd on it.
Simple to build (it does work best with coils wrapped counter-clockwise due to the post arrangement) and good taste. Doesn't hold a lot of juice but top fill is easy.

 

[inspects]

You may want to try a Limitless Plus RDTA, holds about 7 mls of juice, velocity style deck. www.purecoils.com had the original version before they left out the drip tips in the latest batch. Purecoils may still have the original version in stock.

The Supreme RTA is also a good atty.

 

[Lefty]

You may want to try a Limitless Plus RDTA, holds about 7 mls of juice, velocity style deck. www.purecoils.com had the original version before they left out the drip tips in the latest batch. Purecoils may still have the original version in stock.

The Supreme RTA is also a good atty.

Aren't they both 25mm? Won't work on a Pico. Cap gets in the way. Maybe on the Mega IDK.
Edit: Just looked at the specs so maybe they will as the Mega is longer as well as wider. Something to be sure of though. I'd guess a larger tank would look more balanced on the Mega. Didn't realize they were THAT much bigger.

 

[klep215]

Aren't they both 25mm? Won't work on a Pico. Cap gets in the way. Maybe on the Mega IDK.
Edit: Just looked at the specs so maybe they will as the Mega is longer as well as wider. Something to be sure of though. I'd guess a larger tank would look more balanced on the Mega. Didn't realize they were THAT much bigger.

They are a bit bigger, but the space between the battery cap and the tank base is essentially non-existent. I'm pretty sure it's 22mm or no go.

Is there something wrong with the ones I was looking at (specifically the geek vape Griffin or avocado)? I think they're aesthetically pleasing. I would love to get some more input as well. This will be my first complete rebuild and am kina nervous/anxious lol

Thanks for the help.

 

[Lefty]

They are a bit bigger, but the space between the battery cap and the tank base is essentially non-existent. I'm pretty sure it's 22mm or no go.

Is there something wrong with the ones I was looking at (specifically the geek vape Griffin or avocado)? I think they're aesthetically pleasing. I would love to get some more input as well. This will be my first complete rebuild and am kina nervous/anxious lol

Thanks for the help.

Well some 23mm will fit even the original Pico - my Merlin does - barely. If there is any kind of knurling though, as with my Taifun GT II with a nano kit, it's a no go. If it will screw on and you like the looks once it does you're good. Both the attys you mention use a velocity style deck so coiling should be easy enough. The Griffin will need dual coils so it's a little more involved to get the coils balanced. The Avocado allows you to use a single coil if you want. No reason either wouldn't work for you.

 

[klep215]

I went with the Griffin, and am running into some problems now. At first it was leaking and I read up about it probably being a wicking problem, so I tried again and thoroughly packed the juice channels, but I'm still having some slight leaking, and now that my initial juice saturation is drying up some problems with dry hits. I'm assuming that now I've over packed the juice channels leading to decreased wick absorption, but it's still leaking a bit? anyone help?

 

[nightshard]

Too much cotton leads to dry burns, not enough leads to leaking.
It's not just the amount, it's the placement.
Watch some build tutorials on youtube and practice.

 

[Iliketurtles]

Main thing with the bottom airflow style of rtas is to make sure the wicking is not touching the air inlets. If it is then a small amount of liquid will leech into the air holes. As for packing the wick tight in the wick slots, don't think you could pack it tighter than I do and I do not get any dry hits ever from the Griffin. I also have the coils packed very tight with cotton, 2.5mm or larger inner diameter of coils will give enough cotton to fill the wick slots and if the cotton is rolled it is stiff enough to shape it so it does not interfere with the air inlets.

Make sure no cotton is over the lip of the air inlets. This is mucky AF from some proper vaping ....no leaks, no dry hits.

 

[klep215]

Too much cotton leads to dry burns, not enough leads to leaking.
It's not just the amount, it's the placement.
Watch some build tutorials on youtube and practice.

I've watched a few tutorials, and I followed them. Some say that the ring to hold the cotton in place is necessary, some say they leave it off. I currently have it on, is there any chance that that will help with the dry hits? Also, I set the Griffin aside for about 40min, and it doesn't appear to be leaking anymore, so that's a plus.

 

[klep215]

Main thing with the bottom airflow style of rtas is to make sure the wicking is not touching the air inlets. If it is then a small amount of liquid will leech into the air holes. As for packing the wick tight in the wick slots, don't think you could pack it tighter than I do and I do not get any dry hits ever from the Griffin. I also have the coils packed very tight with cotton, 2.5mm or larger inner diameter of coils will give enough cotton to fill the wick slots and if the cotton is rolled it is stiff enough to shape it so it does not interfere with the air inlets.

Make sure no cotton is over the lip of the air inlets. This is mucky AF from some proper vaping ....no leaks, no dry hits.

Thanks, and yeah, that's almost exactly what mine looks like. Mine jus has a TAD more cotton.

 

[Iliketurtles]

Thanks, and yeah, that's almost exactly what mine looks like. Mine jus has a TAD more cotton.

View attachment 60103

You can't be far away from getting it spot on then. Maybe you already are there...it usually takes a few goes until you get a 'feel' for the right amount of cotton. Think I used about 1/3 of a cotton pad each side in a 2.5mm ID coil, maybe a little more....it was very tight in the coils.

 

[klep215]

You can't be far away from getting it spot on then. Maybe you already are there...it usually takes a few goes until you get a 'feel' for the right amount of cotton. Think I used about 1/3 of a cotton pad each side in a 2.5mm ID coil, maybe a little more....it was very tight in the coils.

Thanks man, I'll tinker with it a bit

 

[sl4k]

Funny because I had a the similar disappointment with the Melo 3: the Pico Mega box itself is excellent but the tank is soooo boring....