GeekVape Zeus Dual or OBS Engine II for flavor tank

[expat42451]

Hi OhmzRaw
Your assumptions about any sort of exotic coil, price and availability wise here in Ecuador are correct. I havent tried but am going to look for Ni80 starting today.

As far as wicking goes understand about the sound. Running TC on SS316 I do hear a little of the sound after a long drag but not what I consider excessive. I have an OBS Cheetah RDA and an old Uwell D2 that I have found sweet spots on as far as build and wicking and they (along with a Serpent Alto) provide good flavor. All are built with either 24 or 26ga 316SS.
Thing with the Zeus dual I have found to be a little fiddly is getting coil height correct. I may have the current coils set a little high and am going to lower them later today. Never have used Ni80 wire so hope I can find some. Will update as I progress with this.

With 175% import duties on anything from outside here...as well as taxes on shipping-- resulting on $100 cost to send a letter packet from the US to Ecuador, things are pricey and not much is available.

Many thanks for the reply and interest.

 

[OhmzRaw]

Hi OhmzRaw
Your assumptions about any sort of exotic coil, price and availability wise here in Ecuador are correct. I havent tried but am going to look for Ni80 starting today.

As far as wicking goes understand about the sound. Running TC on SS316 I do hear a little of the sound after a long drag but not what I consider excessive. I have an OBS Cheetah RDA and an old Uwell D2 that I have found sweet spots on as far as build and wicking and they (along with a Serpent Alto) provide good flavor. All are built with either 24 or 26ga 316SS.
Thing with the Zeus dual I have found to be a little fiddly is getting coil height correct. I may have the current coils set a little high and am going to lower them later today. Never have used Ni80 wire so hope I can find some. Will update as I progress with this.

With 175% import duties on anything from outside here...as well as taxes on shipping-- resulting on $100 cost to send a letter packet from the US to Ecuador, things are pricey and not much is available.

Many thanks for the reply and interest.

If you have SS in your other setups and you are liking it then I think wire wise you're pretty good since SS is not a problem for you.

Since your wicking sound about correct, I would think that the only thing here making your experience negative would be the coil placement. Your could is placed quite high since you say that it's barely visible from the side. I would suggest lowering it a bit and testing it out again.

What flavor profile is your juice? I would like to test out a juice with a similar flavor profile in my Zeus Dual and on an RDA and see if I experience this muting/lack of sharpness on subtle flavor notes.

Check out my review: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/threads/geekvape-zeus-dual-vs-obs-engine-review.873309/

My review was done testing out a rather unique flavor profile. The juice I had in both RTA's was a dessert/Savoury kind of flavor that did have some subtle notes. My review accurately describes my experience with the RTA.

 

[expat42451]

OhmzRaw
Stainless is pretty much all I know. From the US but started vaping here between 4 and 5 years ago before any of the nice hardware we have now was around, at least here. Was a smoker and was beginning to have more problems breathing on climbs here (some between 3800 and almost 5000 m) than in the past. A friend from England was visiting, had a vape rig, I tried it and thats what made me start. The juices I get are imported, sold under a local name and 80%Vg. The juice that has a subtle flavor of vanilla and possibly cinnamon is called Cubano and, I am told made in Canada. This juice is great on an old Aspire Atlantis tank I have using a .5 ohm coil...this is not a rebuildable atomizer--Also very good on the Serpent Alto. I vape tobacco flavors, never have been able to develop a taste for desserts or fruits. A large part of this may be whats available here, we are really limited. As I am writing this one of the 3 suppliers I use here says they cant get the Nickle wire......think this is difficult you ought to try computer parts or amateur radio equipment here. I am going to look at your review and lower my coils a bit later. Again many thanks to you for your interest and time.

 

[OhmzRaw]

OhmzRaw
Stainless is pretty much all I know. From the US but started vaping here between 4 and 5 years ago before any of the nice hardware we have now was around, at least here. Was a smoker and was beginning to have more problems breathing on climbs here (some between 3800 and almost 5000 m) than in the past. A friend from England was visiting, had a vape rig, I tried it and thats what made me start. The juices I get are imported, sold under a local name and 80%Vg. The juice that has a subtle flavor of vanilla and possibly cinnamon is called Cubano and, I am told made in Canada. This juice is great on an old Aspire Atlantis tank I have using a .5 ohm coil...this is not a rebuildable atomizer--Also very good on the Serpent Alto. I vape tobacco flavors, never have been able to develop a taste for desserts or fruits. A large part of this may be whats available here, we are really limited. As I am writing this one of the 3 suppliers I use here says they cant get the Nickle wire......think this is difficult you ought to try computer parts or amateur radio equipment here. I am going to look at your review and lower my coils a bit later. Again many thanks to you for your interest and time.

Congrats on making the switch and it really sucks that Ecuador does not have access to all sorts of stuff. Worst case scenario, I would suggest buying from Fasttech. You can get premade fused Clapton wire for ~$6 with free shipping (very slow though) and even with a 175% tax it would be around $10.5.

Nickel is different from Ni80. Nickel isn't very nice and has a very very low resistance. I tried nickel once when it became hyped which was back when Joyetech launched their Evic VT device which had temperature control. After using it once, I don't think I would ever use nickel again.

Ni80 is NiChrome wire. NiChrome is made by using a combination of Nickel and Chromium and has a much higher resistance than nickel wire.

If Ni80 is hard to source, your Vape Shop should at least have Kanthal wire. Kanthal is another great option and probably the most widely available and enjoyed vape wire.

I unfortunately do not have a Vanilla, Cinnamon kind of flavor to test out right now in the Zeus and my Hadaly RDA. However, I have tested out a cinnamon roll kind of flavor in it. This cinnamon roll flavor didn't have any subtle notes so I probably wouldn't have noticed any lack of sharpness. I think I have a bottle of Ripe Vape's VCT with me which I will test out. VCT is basically a Vanilla, Custard, Tobacco blend. I will report back later.

 

[expat42451]

Yep My error on the wire. Have corrected that with the supplier and waiting to hear. Guess I show my age had to memorize the periodic table in school.
Regards.

 

[expat42451]

Lowered the coils per your recommendation. Also I noticed that the wicks were a little brown after only a couple of days' use. I watched a video earlier that specifically showed cutting the wicks where they extend very little of the way into the channel in the base (not describing this well) and mine went farther down. So re wicked. Easy to stuff the wicking in there and looks like its not the thing to do with this tank. As per your instructions I can see probably 25 % of the coil in the air channels. First few hits, definitely more flavor. I dont have the Cubano in the tank right now, went to another juice with a much more pronounced flavor but can tell the difference in it. Thanks very much for this help, so far seems to have made a discernible difference. Pair of coils shows at .29 ohms on the mod. Running at around 204C in TC mode, more flavor and barely warm vape. Coil placement and not over wicking are pretty important on this tank, maybe moreso that some of my others. Used Cotton Bacon for the wicks. Also there is less noise after a long hit. Given the color of the cotton I removed, I think the way I wicked the tank before was choking the coils off.

Thanks very much OhmzRaw for the great suggestions. I will report back after changing liquids.

 

[OhmzRaw]

Lowered the coils per your recommendation. Also I noticed that the wicks were a little brown after only a couple of days' use. I watched a video earlier that specifically showed cutting the wicks where they extend very little of the way into the channel in the base (not describing this well) and mine went farther down. So re wicked. Easy to stuff the wicking in there and looks like its not the thing to do with this tank. As per your instructions I can see probably 25 % of the coil in the air channels. First few hits, definitely more flavor. I dont have the Cubano in the tank right now, went to another juice with a much more pronounced flavor but can tell the difference in it. Thanks very much for this help, so far seems to have made a discernible difference. Pair of coils shows at .29 ohms on the mod. Running at around 204C in TC mode, more flavor and barely warm vape. Coil placement and not over wicking are pretty important on this tank, maybe moreso that some of my others. Used Cotton Bacon for the wicks. Also there is less noise after a long hit. Given the color of the cotton I removed, I think the way I wicked the tank before was choking the coils off.

Thanks very much OhmzRaw for the great suggestions. I will report back after changing liquids.

That is great news. I'm really glad that information has helped you out. Another thing to try is coming out of TC mode. Sometimes normal power mode will give you exactly what you want but if TC is your sweet spot then there's no need to mess around in other settings and sacrifice the benefits of TC.

I look forward to your update.

 

[expat42451]

Burned the coils, rewicked and a tank of Cubano. Flavor is much better. Running the Zeus on the Drag. I have not changed the power curves or any custom settings. Power control does fine but in chain vaping the latter hits are warmer where under TC, there isnt any difference I can tell. Cleaning the tank and coils and new wicking, a lot more of the subtle flavor is there, pretty impressive for a top air flow tank (although I am no expert in this). This is only the first tank but so far impressive. Still no Ni80 from anyone here let alone any other exotic wire. I found some Kanthal but dont think TC is possible with Kanthal and this mod. May try that in power mode. In any case what the Zeus does is pretty impressive. Thanks again OhmzRaw.

 

[OhmzRaw]

Burned the coils, rewicked and a tank of Cubano. Flavor is much better. Running the Zeus on the Drag. I have not changed the power curves or any custom settings. Power control does fine but in chain vaping the latter hits are warmer where under TC, there isnt any difference I can tell. Cleaning the tank and coils and new wicking, a lot more of the subtle flavor is there, pretty impressive for a top air flow tank (although I am no expert in this). This is only the first tank but so far impressive. Still no Ni80 from anyone here let alone any other exotic wire. I found some Kanthal but dont think TC is possible with Kanthal and this mod. May try that in power mode. In any case what the Zeus does is pretty impressive. Thanks again OhmzRaw.

That's great to hear. I'm really glad everything worked out. The Zeus Dual is such a great RTA once its running properly.

That is true, Kanthal cannot be used in TC mode. I would say give it a test in power mode and see if you like it.