UD (Youde) Bellus RTA Revisited - Single coil, MTL Flavor Chaser?

[iVapeDIY]

Have always been curious about this atty; it has polarized reviews where half saw it as the penultimate RDTA of 2015. Of those that had overwhelmingly positive reviews, half cheered its MLT and flavor chaser attributes ... that got me interested. Can you have a cloud-chaser atty and have flavor comparable to the single-coil performance of the Serpent Mini? Went on sale (US$11), sure ... worth the risk/ experiment, same as getting 30ml of INW Shisha Strawberry (lol).

Well, it is a PITA to work with ... very easily shorted given the chimney clearance. Using the single-coil adapter, all 26awg builds (7 to 12 wraps, 2mm to 2.5mm) disappointed; full of clouds, great airflow but muted flavor ... similar to review by @Squonk.

After testing a dozen single-coil builds with various AWG, diameter and wraps ... one combination stood out ...

• KA1 24awg 2mm 9.5 wraps 0.64ohms

Wow ... flavor (plus more cloud production) that matches or outperforms Serpent Mini (at a measly 14W - 20W) with similar build . With 7 holes open, it is a great MTL vape. Its side airflow design has another advantage ... condensation accumulation is recycled. Love this atty.

 

[iVapeDIY]

Update: Every 0.1mm that the coil can be raised over the air holes increases flavor intensity but inversely reduces vapor production. Having more airflow below the coil and more wick/ cotton due to increased height boosts flavor at expense of vapor production. There is an optimal position and inner diameter (given chimney constraints) ... an elliptical ('oval') shaped coil, if possible, could prove interesting.

 

[iVapeDIY]

Update: Experimented with dual-coil setup for comparison. Built dual coils (10.5 wraps, 26awg, 2mm) resulting in 0.52 ohm. Positioned coils above air holes, not centered, about 0.7 mm higher than aperture opening.
Wow! Optimal setup. Wicking is optimzed ... always wet. Cloud production is as good as it gets for relaxed MTL vaping. Since there is no JFC, a single coil setup is akin to a 50% JFC aperture. With dual-coil setup, JFC is always at 100%. Dense flavor with an idealized air mix ... like when you just cleared AFC of any condensation by blowing on apertures, but all the time.

It is still a PITA to build on (non-velocity 2-post deck) but worth it ... flavor is outstanding at a measly 19W. Using a wide bore delrin tip (not supplied) is essential to vaping on this atty; the cooling effect and vapor 'traffic' impacts the total flavor experience.