RBAs and other such nonsense...

[taymac54]

So I am relatively inexperienced in the vaping world, and I'm sure these questions have been asked and answered thousands of times. I love ECF, but there are SO MANY threads, it seems to get the answers I want, I have to be that guy that asks the same questions that have been asked over and over, and answered over and over by the same patient members of this wonderful library of knowledge. I finally got out of the ego twist game and got myself a vamo, literally like 12 hours ago. I love it so far, glad I made the switch to an APV. I'm not interested in learning more about why I should own a ProVari, and I'd rather not entertain the thought of a mech mod at this point, too much info to sort through.

So where I'm coming from is I started with some sort of ego pen looking thing that I can't even remember what it is called anymore. Joyetech something stupid, who knows. Bottom line is I was using it with atomizers and some little clear tank thing on the end that dripped into the atty. It took me about 2.5 minutes to get sick of it. not enough power, constantly flooding attys and having juice spit into my mouth. Since then I have tried clearomizers and cartomizers with not too much success, and moved on to DCTs. I love them, they are wonderful. But I hear much talk about atomizers and RBAs and other things I don't understand. What is an RBA, really? It seems like a tank, with an atomizer, and some type of wicking system, which seems pretty much like a clearomizer to me. Am I getting the concept right? Why do I want to try these systems out? Why does everybody love them so much? My local B&M sells Vivi Nova tanks, and I have trouble telling the different between a viva nova, a clearomizer, and an RBA. Can someone help me out here please? I feel like anything that involves an atomizer connected to wicks has issues with wick saturation and dry hits, etc etc. And once you put the word "tank" into it, I get confused. Someone set me straight please. Thank you for your time.

 

[notawoman]

Yeah, the vape world is very confusing at first. It sounds like you bought the ego-t, from what I've heard it doesn't work very well. Everything works on the same premise pretty much. There is a resistance coil wrapped around a wicking material that vaporizes e-liquid.

Clearomizers vary in types, some are disposable and others have replaceable coil heads. Some of the popular ones are kanger t3, kanger pro tank, vivi nova and the b.c.c.. I would stay away from the disposables, from what I've experienced they tend to be junky and you may end up throwing a lot away.

Atomizers are not for everyone, they only hold a few drops at a time but I think they give the best flavor and vapor of all. They tend to leak, but a drip shield can solve that. They are the best for switching flavors quickly as they are easiest to clean out.

Cartomizers work well too, but are not for everyone. When using them, they have to be topped off every once in a while. A lot of people punch holes or slot the with dremels and put them inside tanks. I haven't tried them yet but I would like to as I've heard they work nicely.


Rebuildables or RBA's are more for veterans, you really need to know what your doing. They all have to be rebuilt by wrapping a coil around some type of wick and installing it. I wouldn't advise this for you until you get more experience. But they provide some of the best flavor and performance. They also have tank versions commonly called genesis atomizers, but they are even more intricate.


It took me a while to understand everything, I read about devices and delivery systems and watched review videos until it all clicked. I'm sure you'll figure it all out too it just takes some time.

 

[Baditude]

Notawoman summed things up pretty well for you. I made a sort of picture dictionary of the more common juice delivery devices in the following link. It covers a description, pictures of them in use, and a video on how they are filled and used:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...k-what-primer-juice-delivery-attachments.html

I also wrote a cartotank tutorial: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3710-5-cartomizer-tank-setup.html

If you are happy with your cartotanks, don't feel the need to change to something else. I was perfectly happy using cartotanks for several months. I recently decided to try a couple of inexpensive genesis-style rebuildable tanks (AGA T2) and they do have quite a learning curve. I've gotten some pretty remarkable results with them, but still being a beginner with their use I have been getting inconsistant results, too. They take quite a bit of time and research to become effecient in their use, which I don't always have available to me. I am very familiar with my trusty cartotanks, and they are my mainstay.

However, if you don't mind tinkering with something new on the side while having a main delivery device that you can depend upon, get an inexpensive RBA. I'm glad that I did.

Below are some pics of an AGA T2 rebuildable tank.



The below video is a good demonstration of how to set up a Genesis-style rebuildable atomizer, to see what all is involved.