Rebuidable Dripper Atomizers
Once you’ve gotten comfortable with your experience, you may
want to branch out into using a rebuildable dripper atomizer (or RDA). With these, you can’t just pick up a pack of
replacement coils like you can with the tanks out there, so you’ll want to
learn more about coils and possibly building them.
But most brick & mortar vape shops offer coil builds –
some may even offer to teach you how to build your own – and a lot of websites
out there offer pre-built coils you can buy and install into your RDA
yourself. So I’ll talk about the basics
of coil building and Ohm’s Law in another post.
Right now, I just want to concentrate on how to choose the
RDA that’s right for you.
Authentic vs Clone
One thing you may want to decide upfront is where you fall
in the “Authentic vs Clone” debate. I
happen to own several RDAs – some are authentic and some are clones. But what does this all mean in the world of
vaping?
Authentic RDAs
Simply, an authentic is just that –
it is the authentic product built by the company that first created that design
and look. Depending on the brand and the
build of the RDA, authentics can run anywhere from $20 upwards of $100.
Some of the big names, company
wise, in authentic RDAs include Congrevape, Compvape, Indulgence, WoToFo, and
Council of the Vapor.
But what does this mean for you if
you’re shopping for an authentic RDA?
One important thing. Knowing the names of the companies can help
you know if the RDA you buy is truly authentic.
Other than that, the company names
are unimportant. No one really remembers
the names of these companies – they just remember the names of the RDAs made by
them. Names like Doge, Troll, Royal
Hunter, Mutation, El Cabron, and Twisted Messes are the RDAs you’ll be looking
at when you start shopping for authentic RDAs.
Clones
Clones are essentially just a copy
of the popular RDAs. Once an RDA gains enough
of a following, some companies start producing their own versions of them in
hopes of capitalizing on that popularity.
Some of the clones are nothing but cheap, cheap pieces of hardware meant
for these companies to make a quick buck but others are as close to being
perfect imposters as you can get (these are classified as 1:1 clones).
These clones are normally priced
much cheaper than the authentic RDAs they are copying.
The Argument
The main point of contention when
it comes to choosing an authentic RDA or a clone is what you’re willing to
support. Do you want to support the
company that originally designed the RDA and worked to produce the hardware in
the first place? Or are you willing to
sacrifice for the price?
It’s up to you.
Personally, I own both authentics and clones. If I like an RDA and I like the price, I’m
not picky about whether it’s an authentic one.
I’ll take a clone if it works and the price is right.
Design
When you go to buy your RDA, the most important aspect is
the design. The design of the RDA itself
is what will influence your experience with that RDA. Things like the number of posts inside the
RDA, the airflow, the space to house your coils, the depth of the juice well in
the deck, etc. are all things you will want to consider when you buy choose
your hardware.
Let’s look at each piece of the design of your RDA.
Top Cap
The top cap of your RDA is not just
for looks. While size and shape
definitely does determine how stylish your RDA is, the different elements that
make up your top cap also controls how well your RDA will work.
The top cap itself is normally two
pieces – an insert to control airflow and the top piece where your mouth
goes. This top piece can have an delrin
insulator inside to help conduct heat to keep your lips from burning.
Materials
Your top cap is normally made of
stainless steel or copper. If the cap is
a color other than that stainless steel color or copper colored, it’s an enamel
of some sort to make the cap itself match the multitude of mods on the market.
Tip
The tip of your top cap can be
made of stainless steel, pyrex (a type of safe glass), or delrin (a type of
BPA-free plastic). It can either be the
standard narrow drip tip, wide bore drip tip, or a chuff. All these different tips control the amount
of vapor that flows through the top of your RDA when you’re vaping. (In the case of the Mad Hatter RDA, the tip
of the cap is a hinged chuff cap. You
can flip the cap back without having to remove it to drip your juice on your
cotton.)
Height
The height of your top cap can be
an important decision. Because the top
cap is made of metal, a shorter cap height will heat up faster than a taller
one. These taller top caps are normally
referred to as being vaulted.
Fins
Some RDAs include a type of heat
sync fin in the top cap to help the cap itself stay cooler as you vape.
Airflow
The top cap itself is the home of
your airflow. This comes via holes and
slots machined into the metal to allow for good airflow in and out of the RDA. In a lot of the RDAs, the insert your tip goes
into has adjustable slots in it that you can use to block none, some, or all of
the airflow holes.
The airflow control function is an
important function for RDAs. The airflow holes will affect the flavor &
vapor amount. Generally, higher airflow = more vapor, and lower airflow = more
flavor. The lower the resistance of your coils, the more airflow you’ll need,
so if you’re going to be experimenting with different coil builds, it’s great
to be able to tinker with your airflow too. But what makes for better airflow?
·
Comes with different sized holes or not. Those
RDAs with different sized air holes will be a better choice, as they can be
used by different people, whose airflow requirements are different.
·
The position of holes. Those RDAs with
surrounded air holes will be a better choice, as the air can get in the
atomizer from different angle so as to keep the balance of flavor & vapor.
·
The method to adjust the airflow. Those RDAs
with airflow control ring will be a better choice, as it will be more
convenient for users to adjust the airflow.
Deck
The deck is the lower piece of your
RDA where you’ll install your coils, place your wicking material, and apply
your juice.
Depth of Deck
RDAs with a deeper deck (sometimes
referred to as the juice well) can hold more wick and liquid, and have a better
heat control to protect users’ hands hurting from overheat. But also, it will
be inconvenient to carry if there is a lot of juice in the atomizer. Tipping it at all in your pocket or a bag
when the juice well holds a lot of juice may result in a mess you have to clean
up.
Inner Posts
The posts inside your deck is
where you will install your coils, so the posts themselves are quite
important. They are made of conductive
metal to allow electricity to flow through the coils, allowing them to heat evenly.
The outer posts are referred to as
your negative posts and the inner post(s) are your posts are the positives for
your coil leads. Most of these posts
will have holes predrilled to make installing your coils easier. For predrilled holes, each post will have a
screw on the top that tightens down to hold the coil in place. If there are no holes drilled, you will have
to wrap your coil wire around the post itself.
Depending upon the RDA, the number
of posts will vary anywhere from 2 to upwards of 6 posts. The number of posts inside, however,
determines space left inside your deck to install your coils. More posts = less space so you’ll have to
watch the size of your builds.
The average for the RDAs you’ll
find in most stores is 3 or 4 (some “4 post” designs actually include a single
center post that is “divided” into two posts by having a wide center post with
2 positive holes drilled into it) posts inside the deck. With a traditional 3 post setup, you’ll have
to use the single positive for both coils in a dual coil build.
Warning: do NOT let the coils touch the posts as you
install your build.
Contact Pin
The contact pins are the threaded
pin at the bottom outside of the deck.
This is what you’ll screw into your mod to allow electricity to flow
from the mod itself into the RDA to heat your coils.
In order to have a better
conductivity, contact pins made usually made from silver (or silver plate) or
copper (silver and copper are 2 of the top metals for the electricity
conductivity.)
Outer deck
The outer deck may come with
airflow holes or slots machined into the metal itself. If you buy an RDA with these airflow
controls, you will have to watch how much juice you use and where you juice up
your cotton because it may leak onto your mod if you use too much juice.
As you become more advanced in your vaping and feel ready to
choose your first RDA, please do not let all this information overwhelm
you. There are people all over the
internet – and in your favorite brick & mortar store – who are willing to
help you with any questions or concerns you may have about these
atomizers. They were all once where you
are and understand the difficulties you may have choosing the hardware that’s
right for you.
Once you make the jump from a tank or clearomizer to an RDA,
though, you will never look back. The
hardware takes you to a whole new level in flavor and vapor production.
