The Petri RTA by Dotmod - A Review of the 22mm, Black Chrome Clone by Kindbright

 Hello again vapestars! Hope you all are doing well on this fine Tuesday. If not, maybe this will put a little cheer back into your vape: The Pti RTA!! (Petri RTA Clone)

                                          

Description (Listed on 3fVape):

510 threading connection;

Beautiful glass drip-tip for unmatched heat dissipation

Easy to wick deck

Elevated Airflow holes to prevent leaking

Tank Capacity: 2mL

Fully Adjustable Airflow

Diameter: 22mm

I had to add this quote because it is funny to me:

"If you find a product to be authentic, then it is not a clone." Huh, Duh😏

 Let's get something out of the way first. Yes, this is a clone. There seems to be quite a bit of controversy over the whole clone issue. We won't get into that can o' worms during this review, as I plan to cover the "clone wars" in a future article. Suffice it to say, IMHO clones allow the masses to experience vaping bliss without forcing them to to sell a kidney or take out a second mortgage on their homes. Certainly comment and let me know how you feel on this issue.


Now, on the this little beauty. I purchased this from 3fVape out of China for the price of lunch for two at MickeyDs. Not surprisingly, all of the Kindbright versions are currently sold out. You can see the different versions they have available here. I bought this under the guise that it was black. When I opened the package, I was pleasantly surprised. It is actually gun metal black!! Matches my v1 Arctic Dolphin perfectly (seen above). They do have an actual black version on there (see 2nd picture down on the left <+++), as well as gold and silver. Plus, there are two sizes available, 22mm and 24mm. For this review, I am covering the 22mm. I did purchase the gold 24mm as well, but had an issue (dropped a deck piece down the drain😢 ) when cleaning it. Let's just hope these things are 1:1, because I've ordered a replacement through Dotmod... SSSHHH.
  Update: I found out last night these clones are not, in fact, 1:1. I received my positive terminal from Dotmod yesterday and went to install it, but the screw to secure it to the base was smaller than the original. Farts. There is a plus though, the actual 510 pin theads are a perfect match and they give you a replacement pin, so all I need to do is drill and tap one of them so the other screws into it. Not sure if all of this is worth it but I enjoy these kinds of projects. It may be worth it just to say I have the only hybrid (Clone/Authentic) version of the Petri RTA!! More to come...

The initial inspection and breakdown needs to start at the 510 pin. I didn't read any reviews before tackling this baby, but I did learn that everything is easier when you loosen that 510 pin. The reason, it actually secures the deck to the base. You'll see the two opposing grooves that the sides of the deck slide into. This is the reason for loosening the 510. Those groves will ensure the deck stays where it needs to inside the chimney. Once the base and deck are removed, go ahead and tighten that 510 pin back up. This will keep the deck from swiveling on you when building. I feel I need to mention that others have reported needing to completely remove the 510 pin on the gold plated 24mm clone in order to get the deck out easily. We'll look at this when I review that one next.

Once the deck is exposed, you'll see the four post grub screws seated horizontally. This allows for their raised, "postless" deck space. Well designed, IMHO. Compared to the Sigelei Moonshot RTA, this design is so much esaier to work with, building and wicking wise. I have attempted several builds with varying results. The first pic on the right shows some fused, decored clapton wrap (stretched) I had sitting around waiting to be "aliened". Thought it would be fun to try, but it wasn't what I had hoped. Then I tried some left over twisted clapton/naked wire, but the ramp time was just too much to wait for.

 I finally settled on a nice and easy naked 27 gauge stainless steel. I love my odd gauge wires for some reason. Once the legs are to length, the screws secure the wire very well and the post holes are decent size. If I had to guess I'd say 1.5 mm x 2.5 mm (rectangular holes). Once secured, I find the coils sit at the bottom edge of the air intakes. The placement helps to accommodate wicking, but may not be as efficient since they aren't sitting directly and evenly over the airflow.

Once you have some desirable coil setup, you move to wicking. You will need to take your time and have some patience here. I found it easy and just made my usual cotton rolls (scottish roll technique), placed them through the coils, cut to where they just start to trail down into the side juice "wells" but spread out enough to prevent juice from getting through to the air flow. Too much wick covering those juice intakes didn't allow for proper wicking in a couple of instances, but normal wicking practices IMO. The only leaking I get is on fill-up. The process: remove top cap, fill, close top cap and quickly flip. I notice about 5-10 drops of juice leak out, normally. When no more drips, flip back over and vape it a few time to remove excess juice around deck. Has worked everytime. I heard mention on ECF of someone needing to pack some cotton around the deck and juice intake to prevent the leak on fill-up. I will give this a shot soon and update my results.

 All-in-all, I am glad I sprung for the clone instead of the authentic. It is a great RTA for clouds with it's massive airflow, but only so/so in the flavor department. The 510 pin assembly is a little wonky, there are some leaking issues on fill up (for me) and the fact that it only holds 2mL (22mm version) makes me want to shy away from the authentic. Interested to see a v2 in the future though!

Hope you enjoyed my review of the Petri RTA clone. If you have anything to mention, please comment below! Take care and vape on!

-LWClouder

A Billion Lives - A Documentary about the Ecig Industry, Big Tobacco and Big Pharma

 An estimated1,000,000,000 lives will be lost this century due to the negative health effects of smoking combustable cigarettes. One Billion!! Break that down with me for a minute. That's 10,000,000 lives lost each year for 100 years because of those damn stink logs! Going even further, that comes to 27,397 lives lost per day, 1,142 lives lost per hour and 19 lives per minute! By the time I finished my calculations above, we lost about 38 people. F that S in the B, as my friend would say.

 Of course these are just estimates, but the numbers really get the point across. There are too many lives lost on something that has a safer alternative. Of course we need to be clear here, since long term effects of vaping are not well known, vaping should be considered HARM REDUCTION. Nothing is 100% safe, but vaping is reportedly about 95% safer than smoking**.

 A big push to get this film into theatres is happening right now. You can visit Tugg to see where it is playing in a thatre near you. Don't see your city? We'll there is a solution for that! Create an account on the Tugg site and request a showing in your area. Yours truly just got one confirmed in Raleigh, NC!!! If you are going to be in the area on December 14th, at 7:30 PM, purchase a ticket here and come join us!! Tickets are $12.00 in advance (no tickets will be sold on-site so you must purchase your ticket(s) in advance to attend). All showings must have at least 95 tickets sold in advance to actaully take place. A refund will be issues to those who purchased tickets if that number is not reached. I am working to get some backing from local vape shops, but as of right now it's just me promoting for the showing in Raleigh. 

 Ideally, we want non-vapers to see this movie. The nay-sayers, the smokers, soul searchers and the like. Vapers want the world to understand our new found love. The saving grace that got us off those stinky lung darts. We all need to understand the role Big Tobacco and Big Pharma play in this game and why there is so much disinformation around vaping. We've got to do something soon because a billion lives are at stake! Spread the word and vape on!

-LWClouder

You can also scan this QRCode to visit the Ticket Reservation Site on Tugg:


**https://www.gov.uk/government/news/e-cigarettes-around-95-less-harmful-than-tobacco-estimates-landmark-review

Double Barrel 130w Box Mod – A Review

"Squid Shots Fired!!!

The smallest regulated high powered dual 18650 on the market! Designed by a US Navy veteran and avid vaper!

Features:

-Variable wattage (0-130 watts!)

-Steel body

-Bi-functional firing switch (also serves as a dial to adjust wattage)

-24mm 510

-Height - ~90mm  X  Width - ~45mm

-Safety features such as reverse battery polarity protection, and short circuit protection

-Wattage and battery level indication lights

-MSRP $120

A portion of all proceeds go toward nonprofits that serve Veterans!" - Quoted directly from manufacturer (dimensions are estimated)

 The first time I laid eyes on this mod I told myself it would be mine. It finally happened, thanks to Lucky Deuces Vapor Company for a great price! Of course it was a bundle deal, but did come with the Peacemaker RDA by the same company, Squid Industries. Check out the site, if you haven’t already, and read their mission statement. I definitely want to try their juice line and would love to see more hardware from them!

 On to the Double Barrel 130 watt! It is a strong contender but I have mixed emotions about this mod. To me, It’s like a good relationship. You have to take the good with the bad and remember to be happy. Let’s start with the good. Skulls!! I admit I am a sucker for skulls. Include an anchor and I’ll obviously open my wallet (seriously, though, I'm glad I did). I can really embrace the design after using it. It is light, but has a very sturdy feel to it.

There is a tactile, rotating fire button that engages and controls the device. It's something you don't see everyday.

This thing also has LED indicators that provide to you the power setting and battery life.

• Battery Light Indicators – Blue=<70% ; Green=30-70% ; Red=>30%
• ·        Wattage Light Indicators – 1 LED=5-30 watts, 2 LEDs=35-55 watts, 3 LEDs=60-80, 4 LEDs=85-105, 5 LEDs=110-130 watts
  
  

 You read that correctly, there is no screen (we’ll get to that in a bit). I actually like this feature as I did with the original K-Box by Kangertech. Conserves some of that power to allow more vape time! That battery compartment “door” is definitely a unique design that works well.

 And the obvious goodies, including short circuit protection, reverse battery protection, low/high resistance protection and low battery protection.

 This mod just looks like it will tear up an RDA! The form factor and “minimalist” design are definitely geared towards a particular type of vape enthusiast. The price is on par with quality, lower end boxes (Snowwolf, Hohmwrecker, Sig 150tc, etc). And the function is fairly good too... 130 watts are more than enough to heat my juicy wicks, the batteries are easily removed/secured, it fires on command and certainly gets the job done.

 Now the bad. Since there isn't a screen to show you resistance, you have to be sure to measure your coils before testing any new builds. This is not the end of the world since it brings us back to our roots, so to speak. You get to pull out that dusty old ohm meter!

 I'll admit I don't use it much anymore since I have plenty of mods that will measure my coil resistance. In fact, I have a couple of beater mods dedicated to building.

 If you can get past that, you then have to deal with the fire/settings button. I know, I know I said it was a good thing and it is. I like it being the only controller. But the problem is that when you press it to fire, you can accidentally turn the dial at the same time. Also, it doesn't stop rotating when you hit the min or max wattage. This requires you to rotate the dial until you get to a known wattage setting, then you can count (in increments of 5 watts) the clicks until you hit your desired wattage. This will only be an issue until you get comfortable using the mod.

 Next is the 510 connector. So far, I have only had an issue with one RDA not having long enough threads to make contact with the postive pin from the mod. But, this tells me there are other RDAs that run into this problem.

 The last (personal preference) issue I have is the graphics are printed/painted on. I prefer engraved, or at least laser etched, logos because print/paint is easily rubbed away after much use. I have not tried to remove the graphics, nor have I seen them affected by a weeks worth of handling. I have, though, run into some paint removal around the 510 connector (aka Atty Rash).

 Of course, the above list of good and bad are solely based on my opinions. You might consider some of my "goods" as not so goods. That is the beauty of the vape game. It's all about personal preference. What's right for me may not be right for you, and vice versa. I am happy with my purchase and can take the bad to enjoy the good. I am giving this mod an 8 out of 10 and really glad I added it to my collection!!

 Are you still interested? If so, you may want to think about pulling the trigger (pun intended here) quickly. This mod is limited production, with only 1000 offered worldwide. I found a few sites that had it before I purchased from Lucky Deuces (sadly, they have sold out of the mod), but those sources are slowly drying up. The only place I can find it available currently is Vape Naked, but I apologize as I don't have any experience purchasing from them. Hope you enjoyed my very first hardware review, I know I did. In case you are wondering, the deck you see pictured above is from the Recoil clone I just picked up from 3fVape (China). I'll be reviewing this clone very soon. Thanks for your time and vape on!

-LWClouder

Happened on a great find Vape Wild...

CHECK OUT THIS NEW COMPANY I STUMBLED ACROSS! www.vapewild.com @vapewild

WELCOME VAPOR OBSESSED'S NEW EXPERT!

Just want to welcome the newest author LWClouder! He is a veteran member at ECF and and (in my opinion) an expert and a blessing to this vape blog! I look forward to his contribution! Oh, and he is a coil building machine! 👍

Cigarettes vs. Ecigs, a never-ending debate!

Did you know electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are 95% less harmful than a regular cigarette? (1) Now, do e-cigs help everyone quit smoking...of course not! Do they help people who, in my opinion, are ready to quit? I have to answer with a resounding YES! [NOTE: WHEN I SAY YES I DO A PAVLOV'S DOG AND AUTOMATICALLY START LOOKING FOR THE NEIGH SAYERS CLAIMING E-CIGS, OR VAPING IS JUST AS UNHEALTHY!]

Although I subscribe to the theory that vaping is a healthier (if not healthy) alternative to smoking and / or means to quit altogether. I cannot be 100% sure. Hence the debate betwixt the pro and anti vapor...NOTHING CAN BE CONFIRMED IN EITHER DIRECTION! This is due to long term effects of vaping, be they good, bad or indifferent, impossible to find. Why you ask? Simple, e-cigs were not introduced until 2003...however, research and medical studies on tobacco - as cigarettes, cigars, dip, chew, snuff...yea, you get the idea, have been ongoing for years! BTW, there is no grey area in that department!

So...we debate and disagree at an uneven podium due to much less data being gathered not as a result of negligence or lack of interest...There simply must be elapsed time and monitoring e-cig users as they age. This is the only way health risks' can be identified by observing reoccurrences' in any health problems which may be a common denominator!

While I still think cigarette health problems and vaping health problems are like apples to oranges (as do many, many people) even the FDA is unclear (or should I say confused, maybe even influenced) as to whether or not the ingredients in e-cig juice vapor is harmful when inhaled.

To clarify what I feel is the most reasonable and opinion shifting evidence to support Vaping as safe is this: No smoke inhaled, only vapor; in cigarettes there are over 7,000 different chemicals and additives; e-cigs use 5 base ingredients.

More on this later, but for now I declare vapors 1 - cigarettes 0! Stay tuned!ò쪅ྀ࡙

IJOY Tornado RDTA (It's really an RTA FYI) Review & Info

Ok, I am very aware I'm a bit slow on the draw reviewing this tank but I am at the mercy of having to purchase what I review so until I am blessed with freebies to review I may be a little behind...SORRY!

So...IJoy's Tornado. I am quite pleased I ordered this RTA (or RTDA per IJoy).

It advertizes as a no drip RDA (as are all RTA's) with a power mode setting range of 30-300 watts! Not a typo...300 watts! If anyone reading this vapes at 300 watts, well, you are a unique individual! I feel the claim of such an insane wattage is a marketing tactic however I'm only speculating.

This tank comes in stainless or black.

Product features are as follows:

* 24 mm diameter
* Ejuice capacity of 5 mL
* 17.8 mm double post deck
* 24 kt gold plated 510 pin
* Huge delrin drip tip

Package includes:

* Tornado RDTA
* Ample O-ring supply
* Hex key
* Spare screws
* 2 twisted coils

The Tornado also give 2 deck options. The T4 & T6...the T4 (which I have) has 4 post holes on the two posts allowing for your basic dual build. The T6 has, you guessed it, 6 post holes providing the ability to construct a unique 3 coil build. I have to say that although this coil overkill seems like one could become the master cloud chucker I am blasting serious vapor with my T4...I can only relay information on what I'm educated on. The Tornados pro's are many. Huge vapor production, flavorful, large ejuice capacity and ascetics are smooth (I love the look of this tank!). Con's are not major. The odd twist lock/unlock fill slot is a pain IMO, The build deck is a beefed up Moon shot RTA from Sigelei so builds take getting used to. There also is no juice flow control so wicking this deck just right is a must or leaking can be an issue. In closing I really feel I must give this tank an A+ even with the few cons mentioned. If you pick one up and are not familiar with the Moon Shot RTA building method you'll probably need to check out a YouTube video on the details (It is nothing like the Sense or Griffin). Saying all that to say go buy a Tornado RTDA from IJOY ...you will be a cloud chasing monster! emp_Saved%2BImages_images%252815%2529.jpg" /> HAPPY VAPING FROM BIGROBBIE