Got my new Kanger Topbox Mini - need help understanding it, please!

[Newbie vapor]

Hi there

I finally bought a Kanger topbox mini, just arrived today!

Quick heads up:
I've switched to vaping about 7 months back and have been using blu cig-alikes so far.
After consulting everyone on ecf, I now have the Kanger topbox mini starter kit.
Here's what I've got in the box that arrived:

1. Stainless steel 0.5ohm atomizer
2. Nickel 0.15ohm atomizer
3. A "Mini RBA plus" something
4. Clapton coil 0.5ohm atomizer
5. Also bought three 1.2ohm atomizers (was advised by the senior folk here since I'm starting out from blu ecigs)
6. 2 Lithium batteries
7. Bought a battery charger, came with a usb cable
8. They sent me "cotton"
9 A small screw driver kinda thing
10. Another usb cable


Where do I start now?!
I started watching youtube videos, but all they do is unbox the kit and use all the e cigarette jargon. I am watching this now

For now, one of the batteries is charging in my wall socket.
I figured I'd use the 1.2ohm atomizer first, so I learned how to connect it to the tank base.
I see there's cotton stuffed inside that 1.2ohm atomizer (at the holes). I say cotton now, because I see they sent me cotton, so I figure it might be cotton in them in that case?

The mini booklet that comes along with the box as pictures about what you do to the cotton with that mini screwdriver. Umm, I'm curious, why do I have to do this cotton thing?
Also, turns out, even without doing the cotton thingy, I'm able to connect all parts of the e cigarette It fits perfectly without it.
What do I do with that RBA that came along?

Can I just open that ejuice box, put some into the tank from the top (such that it doesn't spill onto the middle stem, learned as much ) and start vaping?

Please, please help!

 

[r77r7r]

To start, soak one of the 1.2 coils awhile and find out how to put the mod in Watts mode.

 

[rice721]

so, choose a prebuilt coil either items #1, 2, 4, 5, wet the cotton material on the prebuilt coil with ejuice...screw that on your "tank", screw your tank onto your box mod, place battery into said mod (hopefully charged by now), choose the right Wattage (for #1, 3, 4, 5) or temperature (for #2)...fill tank with juice, start vaping.

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Priming the coils is an absolute must. A couple drops down the open "chimney" of the coil head and a drop on each open hole where you see cotton is recommended. Fill tank and reassemble. Take a few UNPOWERED draws to pull juice into the wick (cotton) and let the tank sit for 5 minutes or so before powered draws. Start LOW power, most mods come set on factory maximum and will toast the cotton wick making the coil unusable.

 

[djsvapour]

I'd say get started with the 1.2 ohm (normal Kanthal) atomizers.

Worry about items 2-4 another time.

The 1.2 ohm 'replacement atomizer heads' (SSOCC coils) are ready to go. The cotton is for rebuilding, which you can try when you feel ready.

Charge (refresh/top up) the battery, put it in the mod.
Attach the 1.2ohm coils to the base.
Prime the coil - Squeeze some liquid into the holes on the side and some drop down the 'middle/chimney'
Assemble tank and fill. Let it sit for a while (5 minutes) and then plan the big moment!

Start low... use the up and down buttons (practice if you need!) to make sure it says 10w (thereabouts) not super-all-out mega power.

 

[djsvapour]

Also, you must say hello to the small screwdriver whether you use it or not. They are the 'prize' item, we love them. Blue is lucky, Green is even luckier.
(Not superstitious here at all).

 

[Clydde26]

Ok so don't get side tracked with the screwdriver rba and cotton those all go together exclusively. The rba stands for rebuildable atomizer essentially what your 1.2 coil is.. It is a casing for you to build your own with your own wire and cotton. That is a more intermediate vaping hobby that you can visit in the future.

 

[Newbie vapor]

Okay, so I "primed" the 1.2ohm coil, I didn't put any liquid into the holes, just the middle though. I will do that on the holes as well!
I connected the battery to the mod and powered it on (had to press the power button 5 times).
I also set the wattage to a 12Watts for now.

Just that, it said in the booklet that the mod should be able to identify when a new coil is connected - it didn't!
And on the LED screen it reads 0.3ohm 0.0Volts 12 Watts.

Any ideas?
I did charge the battery for about 2 hours now. Should I be charging it longer? Its a lithium Ion 2500mAh.

 

[Newbie vapor]

Also, you must say hello to the small screwdriver whether you use it or not. They are the 'prize' item, we love them. Blue is lucky, Green is even luckier.
(Not superstitious here at all).

Mine's blue!!!!!!!!!!

 

[suprtrkr]

Congratulations on your machine arriving. +1 on the answers so far. I, however, will give you a checklist:

0) Carefully find a prominent and honorable place for your Little Blue Screwdriver where it can oversee the proceedings. In vaping, Little Blue Screwdrivers are more important than guardian angels. They provide good luck and better karma for the vaping venture.

1) Put your battery on the charger. Put both of them on if you have a 2-or-more bay charger.

2) Select any one of your 1.2Ω coils and prime it by putting a drop or two of juice on the ends of the cotton visible at the sides, and 3-5 more drops down the "chimney" in the middle.

3) Install your primed coil in the tank base. Just tight enough please, run it down until the o-ring contacts and just a bit more. Too loose and it will leak; too tight and it will deform the o-ring and leak anyway.

4) Assemble your tank and fill it with your magical vaping elixir. Set it bottom down to allow the juice to fully saturate the wick (cotton).

-- Now we wait until at least one of the batteries is fully charged--

5) Remove the charged battery from the charger, replacing it with the other battery if you couldn't charge both of them at once.

6) Install the battery in the mod base. It makes a difference which way it goes, but if you get it wrong it won't matter as the mod won't turn on like that and then you will know what the problem is.

7) Refer to your instructions and turn the mod on.

8) Adjust the mod until it is in wattage or power mode, then set the power level to 8-10 watts using the up/dn buttons.

9) Install the filled tank on top of the mod. Check the screen to make sure it reads 1.2Ω for the resistance (you may have to tap the fire button to get it to read.) Open the air flow control ring all the way.

10) Take 2 or 3 "primer puffs" on the drip tip (mouthpiece). That means draw on it like you were vaping, but don't push the fire button. If you can find the air holes in the base of the tank (hint: they're on the air flow control ring), covering them with your fingers helps. The purpose is to make sure your wick is saturated completely.

11) Bow towards the Little Blue Screwdriver, push the fire button and take a hit.

12) Repeat step 11 ten or a dozen times, to make sure the machine is working and to "warm up" the new coil. Adjust the air flow control ring on the tank during this process to get the draw where you are comfortable with it.

13) Using the up/dn buttons, raise the wattage .5 or 1 watt at a time until you get the vape where you want it. Once arrived in the general power level you like, adjust by .1Ω steps to fine tune.

14) Vape happy!

And don't forget to remove the second battery from the charger when it is fully charged. It is not necessary to worry about the "Mini RBA Plus" something, or the cotton, at this point in time. (You should also have gotten some spare coils for the RBA as well; they look sorta like fine wire small springs with legs on them. Don't worry about them right now either.) That stuff is for building your own coils, once you get tired of paying Kanger and the local B&M a couple bucks every time you need a new coil. You don't need it now, but don't throw it away either. When you're ready, come back and we'll teach you how to use it.

Good luck and welcome to the club. I think you'll be astonished how much better a real mod works than Blu cigalikes. Cheaper in the long run, too.

 

[suprtrkr]

Okay, so I "primed" the 1.2ohm coil, I didn't put any liquid into the holes, just the middle though. I will do that on the holes as well!
I connected the battery to the mod and powered it on (had to press the power button 5 times).
I also set the wattage to a 12Watts for now.

Just that, it said in the booklet that the mod should be able to identify when a new coil is connected - it didn't!
And on the LED screen it reads 0.3ohm 0.0Volts 12 Watts.

Any ideas?
I did charge the battery for about 2 hours now. Should I be charging it longer? Its a lithium Ion 2500mAh.

What kind of charger did you buy? Most of them tell you when the battery is charged. The LED goes out, or changes color, or there's a display screen that says "charge full" or something.

 

[bwh79]

And on the LED screen it reads 0.3ohm 0.0Volts 12 Watts.

Some devices only read the resistance (ohms) when you fire them. Try tapping the fire button briefly and see if it doesn't change to an ohm reading somewhere closer to 1.2 (it may not be exactly 1.2 and that's alright, but 0.3 is way off base.)

 

[Newbie vapor]

What kind of charger did you buy? Most of them tell you when the battery is charged. The LED goes out, or changes color, or there's a display screen that says "charge full" or something.

I got this - Efest XSmart Single USB Charger
It does have a red light glowing atm

 

[bwh79]

I got this - Efest XSmart Single USB Charger
It does have a red light glowing atm

I'm not familiar with that particular charger, but I would hazard a guess that red means charging and green means done. Or it may just go out entirely when it's done. That's how most of them work, when they don't have a display that tells you more.

 

[suprtrkr]

I got this - Efest XSmart Single USB Charger
It does have a red light glowing atm

Try putting the other battery on and see if the LED comes on. If it does, then on that model LED off probably means charged. If it doesn't, it might mean the charger is broken

 

[Newbie vapor]

Congratulations on your machine arriving. +1 on the answers so far. I, however, will give you a checklist:

0) Carefully find a prominent and honorable place for your Little Blue Screwdriver where it can oversee the proceedings. In vaping, Little Blue Screwdrivers are more important than guardian angels. They provide good luck and better karma for the vaping venture.

1) Put your battery on the charger. Put both of them on if you have a 2-or-more bay charger.

2) Select any one of your 1.2Ω coils and prime it by putting a drop or two of juice on the ends of the cotton visible at the sides, and 3-5 more drops down the "chimney" in the middle.

3) Install your primed coil in the tank base. Just tight enough please, run it down until the o-ring contacts and just a bit more. Too loose and it will leak; too tight and it will deform the o-ring and leak anyway.

4) Assemble your tank and fill it with your magical vaping elixir. Set it bottom down to allow the juice to fully saturate the wick (cotton).

-- Now we wait until at least one of the batteries is fully charged--

5) Remove the charged battery from the charger, replacing it with the other battery if you couldn't charge both of them at once.

6) Install the battery in the mod base. It makes a difference which way it goes, but if you get it wrong it won't matter as the mod won't turn on like that and they you will know what the problem is.

7) Refer to your instructions and turn the mod on.

8) Adjust the mod until it is in wattage or power mode, then set the power level to 8-10 watts using the up/dn buttons.

9) Install the filled tank on top of the mod. Check the screen to make sure it reads 1.2Ω for the resistance (you may have to tap the fire button to get it to read.) Open the air flow control ring all the way.

10) Take 2 or 3 "primer puffs" in the drip tip (mouthpiece). That means draw on it like you were vaping, but don't push the fire button. If you can find the air holes in the base of the tank (hint: they're on the air flow control ring), covering them with your fingers helps. The purpose it to make sure your wick is saturated completely.

11) Bow towards the Little Blue Screwdriver, push the fire button and take a hit.

12) Repeat step 11 ten or a dozen time, to make sure the machine is working and to "warm up" the new coil. Adjust the air flow control ring on the tank during this process to get the draw where you are comfortable with it.

13) Using the up/dn buttons, raise the wattage .5 or 1 watt at a time until you get the vape where you want it. Once arrived in the general power level you like, adjust by .1Ω steps to fine tune.

14) Vape happy!

And don't forget to remove the second battery from the charger when it is fully charged. It is not necessary to worry about the "Mini RBA Plus" something, or the cotton, at this point in time. (You should also have gotten some spare coils for the RBA as well; they look sorta like fine wire small springs with legs on them. Don't worry about them right now either.) That stuff is for building your own coils, once you get tired of paying Kanger and the local B&M a couple bucks every time you need a new coil. You don't need it now, but don't throw it away either. When you're ready, come back and we'll teach you how to use it.

Good luck and welcome to the club. I think you'll be astonished how much better a real mod works than Blu cigalikes. Cheaper in the long run, too.

Gosh, this was such an awesome explanation!!!
Thank you so much!!

I am ultra excited. Still waiting for the battery to be fully charged! But I've filled the tank for now.

Yayyy!!!!!

 

[Topwater Elvis]

What specific " lithium Ion 2500mAh " batteries are you using?

The led on the charger will turn from red to green when the battery is charged. It may take quite some time to fully charge a battery, depending on the depth of discharge.

 

[Newbie vapor]

I got 2 LG HE2 18650 2500mAh - 20A batteries.

Also, how is "firing" different from turning on the mod?
I don't get the difference.

When I turned it on, it showed an incorrect ohm value.
I'm currently still charging the battery. But once its done and I turn on the mod, how do I "fire" ?

 

[Newbie vapor]

Some devices only read the resistance (ohms) when you fire them. Try tapping the fire button briefly and see if it doesn't change to an ohm reading somewhere closer to 1.2 (it may not be exactly 1.2 and that's alright, but 0.3 is way off base.)

How is "firing" different from turning on the mod.
The LED does glow and it shows an incorrect ohm value. How do I "fire"?

 

[Topwater Elvis]

You fire it by pressing the fire button / the main button that sends power from the processor to the delivery device.

Double check what is printed on the head to be sure you installed a 1.2Ω head.
If it is reading .3Ω and you've verified the head is marked 1.2Ω you most likely have a connectivity problem.

Do not over tighten the delivery device/'tank' to the power device / topbox.
You will crush / distort the insulator in the 510 connection causing an inaccurate Ω reading & possibly cause damage.