Max flavor out of MTL RTA?

[UncLeJunkLe]

Sounds like you might not be getting your wicking quite right. Even in TC mode your wicking has to be pretty good or you wil get muted flavours.
Try wicking your coils so you dont burn your coils in wattage mode and then move to TC.

I have to agree that your wicking may also be the problem. Your wick may be too tight in the coil, or the wick not be wicking fast enough or both.

Do you remove the top and bottom part of the cotton pad or do you leave them on? I used to leave them on but I remove them now as I find they wick better without the top and bottom pressed cotton on the pads. Remember, these pads weren't made for wicking, they were made for cosmetics removal and other non-vaping applications.

I don't vape in TC mode so I can't comment on that aspect of it.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

I take opinions on RTAs with a grain of salt. In the end I believe it all really comes down to coil placement and wicking.

There are loads of people on various sites who say the Wotofo Serpent mini is a terrible RTA because they can't get any flavor from it. I found it on super clearance and bought a couple totally prepared to hate it. But I love it. Only think I hate about it is that it's a very small tank so you have to fill it often and If don't like the coil leg entrapment system. But it's a great flavor RTA.

But I have only coiled and wicked it once since I started using it. Maybe when I recoil it and change the wick I'll do something different and it won't have any flavor lol

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

Wotofo Serpent mini. Short RTA with short chimney. Flavor is the most intense of all the tanks I have, which all have longer chimneys.

I've vaping that Serpent Mini at 18 watts on 1.2 ohm Kanthal 26 gauge coil - plain old round wire, nuttin' fancy.

Realize though, taste is subjective. What I am calling amazing flavor you might say is flavorless lol

But you have nothing to lose by raising the coil up as high as it can go to see how much of a difference it makes. Increasing heat by increasing wattage can also increase flavor. Start at your 20W and increase it by 0.5 watts at a time and see if you get better flavor as you go increase.

The MD has a way smaller chimney than the Ares 2, so that makes a lot of sense. Do you have a reason for using 1.2 coils, or 26ga? I was wondering if buying 30/32GA would do anything for my flavor, as I could fit the same 7 wraps in and get a higher resistance. I never really noticed a difference in .7 or 1 ohm wraps, though

 

[Superuser187]

I never used pods but coming from zlide tank to hellvape md I got much better flavour.....I am using 3mm 28ga ss316 and 7 wraps...I feel like 3mm coil gives me better flavour maybe cause it's bigger and in decreases the space inside the chamber I dunno.....I can chainvape more with it plus more cotton to stuff into the juice holes...I have the coil lifted from airflow and it's 3mm coil Soo u can't lift much I just lift it in same height as the posts that have the screws to tighten the coil.....anyways I think u will make it and find your sweet spot....I don't feel u do something sooooo wrong to not get flavour at all as u say.....I think u need to chill a bit and give it some time don't go buy another atty ....I have heard other people say that some pods offer great flavour...I don't know if u use the same juice but anyways those rtas u got are popular and many people get good flavour from them sooo don't worry....I also agree u maybe need to start wattage mode cause in my case with my vaporesso gen mod the temp control is not good in my opinion....maybe yours not good also.....
Just chill....rtas need time to find your ways and I was rushed to get to my sweet spot also and I feel like everyday I learn something more....maybe u got your taste buds burned

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

I have to agree that your wicking may also be the problem. Your wick may be too tight in the coil, or the wick not be wicking fast enough or both.

Do you remove the top and bottom part of the cotton pad or do you leave them on? I used to leave them on but I remove them now as I find they wick better without the top and bottom pressed cotton on the pads. Remember, these pads weren't made for wicking, they were made for cosmetics removal and other non-vaping applications.

I don't vape in TC mode so I can't comment on that aspect of it.

Yes, I remove them. It took me lots of trial and error before I finally got the thickness of the wick down. For 2.5mm coils I do 1.5x the diameter of the coil, so I take my 3.5mm coiling rod and press it onto the face of the cotton, and try to cut just slightly larger than the indent. Very slight resistance sliding through the coil

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

The MD has a way smaller chimney than the Ares 2, so that makes a lot of sense. Do you have a reason for using 1.2 coils, or 26ga? I was wondering if buying 30/32GA would do anything for my flavor, as I could fit the same 7 wraps in and get a higher resistance. I never really noticed a difference in .7 or 1 ohm wraps, though

Nah, I wouldn't go for that thin 30/32g wire. It heats up really fast and I don't think you'll have much success with solving your problem by using such thin wire. I used 32ga on the hippovape RBA head, but that's because the RBA is so small you can't really use anything thicker lol.

Why 1.2 ohms? That's just what I seem to prefer. Anything from 0.9 to 1.2 ohms seems to be what I like. Anything lower than that and I have to increase the wattage and that means the vapor gets too warm for my taste.

Why am I using 26ga? Well for the Serpent mini anything thinner than 26g is almost impossible to trap the coil legs. Wotofo messed up on the design of the coil leg trapping system on the serpent mini as far as I'm concerned but then again maybe they designed it specifically for use with thicker wire and exotic wires. But 28g is impossible for me to install on that deck.

I actually prefer 28g because the ramp-up time is significantly slower on 26g.

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

I never used pods but coming from zlide tank to hellvape md I got much better flavour.....I am using 3mm 28ga ss316 and 7 wraps...I feel like 3mm coil gives me better flavour maybe cause it's bigger and in decreases the space inside the chamber I dunno.....I can chainvape more with it plus more cotton to stuff into the juice holes...I have the coil lifted from airflow and it's 3mm coil Soo u can't lift much I just lift it in same height as the posts that have the screws to tighten the coil.....anyways I think u will make it and find your sweet spot....I don't feel u do something sooooo wrong to not get flavour at all as u say.....I think u need to chill a bit and give it some time don't go buy another atty ....I have heard other people say that some pods offer great flavour...I don't know if u use the same juice but anyways those rtas u got are popular and many people get good flavour from them sooo don't worry....I also agree u maybe need to start wattage mode cause in my case with my vaporesso gen mod the temp control is not good in my opinion....maybe yours not good also.....
Just chill....rtas need time to find your ways and I was rushed to get to my sweet spot also and I feel like everyday I learn something more....maybe u got your taste buds burned

I have tried 3mm 7 wrap 28ga before but I honestly don’t remember what they were like, because I keep changing so many different variables. I’m going to see if I can make wattage mode give me some good flavor with my current coil and then I’ll experiment with the 3mm. I honestly think the mod is my problem for TC, and I can’t get GeekVape customer support to understand what I’m asking for lol... They keep replying with useless information like appropriate temperature and resistance / foot of their wire.

You’re right, I wish I could just chill but it’s hard to go from enjoying vaping every day to being so stressed about getting it to work right lol

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

Nah, I wouldn't go for that thin 30/32g wire. It heats up really fast and I don't think you'll have much success with solving your problem by using such thin wire. I used 32ga on the hippovape RBA head, but that's because the RBA is so small you can't really use anything thicker lol.

Why 1.2 ohms? That's just what I seem to prefer. Anything from 0.9 to 1.2 ohms seems to be what I like. Anything lower than that and I have to increase the wattage and that means the vapor gets too warm for my taste.

Why am I using 26ga? Well for the Serpent mini anything thinner than 26g is almost impossible to trap the coil legs. Wotofo messed up on the design of the coil leg trapping system on the serpent mini as far as I'm concerned but then again maybe they designed it specifically for use with thicker wire and exotic wires. But 28g is impossible for me to install on that deck.

I actually prefer 28g because the ramp-up time is significantly slower on 26g.

Ah okay. I hate a warm vape and 28ga isn’t doing that for me, so I won’t change my wire. Thank you, makes sense. That’s pretty much what I thought, but it helps to have it validated lol

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

Also, do you guys lock your resistance? I usually do in both wattage and TC but I’m not sure what the norm is

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

You’re right, I wish I could just chill but it’s hard to go from enjoying vaping every day to being so stressed about getting it to work right lol

Did your pod break? I would go back to using that for the time being while you sort things out. Maybe it will help you chill a bit while you work things out lol.

I agree, don't keep buying RTAs looking for a winner. Learn to use what you have for now.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Also, do you guys lock your resistance? I usually do in both wattage and TC but I’m not sure what the norm is

I was not aware there are mods that allow you to lock the resistance in wattage mode. I thought that was only for TC mode.

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

Did your pod break? I would go back to using that for the time being while you sort things out. Maybe it will help you chill a bit while you work things out lol.

I agree, don't keep buying RTAs looking for a winner. Learn to use what you have for now.

No I just ran out of pods, and in Hawaii they’re like $15-$20 for 3 pods or I could wait a week and get them for $10 online. Plus the juices I stockpiled didn’t taste that great in my Novo. I think that’s part of my problem. Not knowing what I’m doing and not having juices that I’m familiar with.

I was doing most of my initial testing with my last bottle of my favorite juice, and it was only giving the right flavor at a TCR so high that my coils/cotton were burned after a tank. I also didn’t know how to wick right, so I ended up wasting a lot of the bottle.

Now I have a better idea of what I’m doing, but I don’t have that familiar flavor to really dial in my settings. I purchased a bottle of it online recently, but it must not have steeped long enough, because it doesn’t taste right no matter what I do.

I just switched to 20 watts and am getting better flavor with this current juice than I do in TC mode, so that leads me to believe it’s not my wicking, but indeed my TCR setting that I have been suspecting

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

I was not aware there are mods that allow you to lock the resistance in wattage mode. I thought that was only for TC mode.

Yeah the Aegis let’s me lock it in either mode

 

[Superuser187]

Alohaaaaaaaaaaaa......u remind me myself with my first rta it's not long it's just 1month ago actually .... I didnt had problem with flavour but leaks and a problem from factory with my hellvape md that I solved later..... I mean as u say I was changing methods all the time and coils and stuff but using rta itself required a lot of learning to wick it and so if u also change coils u add more to that...I suggest u first stick to one coil type and master your wicking to it first....doesn't matter what it is I mean cause I feel like maybe u change builds before your build breaks in...I mean the cotton need some time to give them flavour also....stick to a coil for now and just wick and use it for few days even if taste is not soooooo much and see how it goes....use then pod or just be patient for a while even with less flavour u can make it brother all gonna be fine...also the juice may be problem as I see u mention...temp control and building rta and all that maybe u put your self in the deep too fast happy vaping brothaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[MichaellMcCoyy]

Alohaaaaaaaaaaaa......u remind me myself with my first rta it's not long it's just 1month ago actually .... I didnt had problem with flavour but leaks and a problem from factory with my hellvape md that I solved later..... I mean as u say I was changing methods all the time and coils and stuff but using rta itself required a lot of learning to wick it and so if u also change coils u add more to that...I suggest u first stick to one coil type and master your wicking to it first....doesn't matter what it is I mean cause I feel like maybe u change builds before your build breaks in...I mean the cotton need some time to give them flavour also....stick to a coil for now and just wick and use it for few days even if taste is not soooooo much and see how it goes....use then pod or just be patient for a while even with less flavour u can make it brother all gonna be fine...also the juice may be problem as I see u mention...temp control and building rta and all that maybe u put your self in the deep too fast happy vaping brothaaaaaaaaaaa

Yeah man I think I’m just trying to figure out too much at once. I think for now I’m going to focus on flavor in wattage mode, I’ll worry about TC later. Mahalo

 

[Seiggy]

Is it a spool or premade coils? If it’s a spool I’d be interested in knowing where you got it. I’m trying to steer clear of premades

ElementVape - Vandy Vape Superfine MTL Wire SPOOL – 10 FT 5.48ohm SS Clapton Wire. They also have the Vandy Vape Superfine MTL Wire SPOOL – 10 FT 2.37ohm SS Fused Clapton Wire which I haven't tried yet. Another site you may like is WireOptim. Others may chime in also with whom they use for spooled wire.

 

[Jimi D.]

I cram a 3mm coil in a Vicious Ant Cyclone. I also use Nichrome 80 for flavor. Kanthal was the hype back a few years ago. So I bought a .... ton of it. Then I bought some Nichrome back a couple years ago, and haven’t switched since.

 

[Seiggy]

Also, do you guys lock your resistance? I usually do in both wattage and TC but I’m not sure what the norm is

I never lock resistance in Wattage mode. In TC mode, I do not lock resistance for DNA boards but do lock resistance for all others if that option is available. Also for my Ares 2, I personally use 2.5mm coils.

 

[Seiggy]

The one thing on my flavor chase that I did was to try Mesh. Personally mesh gives me more flavor than my MTL RTA/RDA's. Only issues with mesh that I have is, it drinks juice...At lot of it.... There are a lot of mesh RDA's, RTA's & RDTA's out there. Profile 1.5, Profile RDTA, for just a few I'm using. Yes, I'm using them in TC mode. Yes, I've even got into squonking to keep up with my flavor habit...... But this is off topic but something to consider down the road your walking.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

You've gotten a lot of solid info from folks.

I would add the following... my opinions and .

Adjusting coil height will affect flavor and throat hit. Some like their coil lower and some prefer it higher. My preference is ~1.5mm above the airflow (Kayfun's, Dvarw's) but I have a few RTA's where I go higher and also lower. All depends. Try higher and lower until you find your sweet spot and what works best for you.

You can dry burn SS316L coils. They should only be dry burned to a dim orange glow. Never light them up to a bright orange/red, ever. The guy at Adavanced Vape Supply has great info on this.

Coil ID is trial and error. I have some RBA's I like at 2mm, some 2.5mm and others higher. You need to find what will work best for you. So try some different ID's.

Wicking is a total "feel" thing. Getting the amount (thickness) correct in the coil requires some trial and error. Some RTA's do well with a little less and some do better tighter through the coil. It all depends. General rule of thumb is: too loose = flooding OR too tight = dry hits. You should "feel" resistance when moving your wick side-to-side within the coil.

Cotton versus Rayon. Many prefer one or the other. I switch off using both in all my RBA's. If using rayon; it requires approximately 1/3 more thickness versus cotton. Rayon contracts while cotton expands.

As others have suggested, 1st find your sweet spot with what gives you the best flavor and vape in wattage mode. Once you have that set then move onto TC. I vape both watts and TC equally.

With TC or wattage modes I never lock resistance on any mod. Don't need to. Especially if it's a DNA chip. Evolv recommends against it.

I have some GeekVape Aegis Solo's that I run in both TC and TCR modes. I never lock resistance. Works great. Their firmware is pretty standard across the product line as is the UI.

With vaping setups there is no best for all. It always comes down to what works best for each individual. And only you can find what works best for You.

Good luck