RDA's

Rebuildable Dripping Atomisers (RDA's)

Enabling you to maximise your flavour and clouds, RDAs offer a customisable vaping experience. They give you total control over all of the materials that feature in your atomiser head. You will discover everything you need to build and rebuild your vape coils here at TMB Notes including RDAs from Vandy Vape, cotton wicking, tools and wire reels.

If you are beginning your DIY journey, it is important for safety reasons that you familiarise yourself with ohms law. You should also ensure that you know exactly how to build your coils and understand the implications of using each type of wire and construction.

What is an RDA?

If you are relatively new to vaping, you might be wondering what we are talking about! A rebuildable dripping atomiser (RDA) is a form of rebuildable which consists only of a build deck and top cap. RDAs do not feature an eliquid reservoir as you drip eliquid directly onto the coil between draws. RDAS were once incredibly popular but had begun to fall out of favour due to the inconvenience of dripping between draws. However, the arrival of squonk mods has seen many vapers return to RDAs. Most RDAs boast a squonk 510 pin which enables eliquid to be pumped through it. These can be utilised in conjunction with the built in eliquid reservoirs of squonk mods.

What else do you need?

In addition to your RDA you will require the following materials and accessories before you can get building:

Vape wires

Your deck could be set up for a single coil, two vape wires or more. Various types of wire are available including kanthal, Nichrome and stainless steel. Each is available in a variety of gauges (thicknesses) and performs differently. Our coils page features a detailed explanation of vape wires. If you are new to rebuildables, you should start by using Kanthal wire.

Wicking material

Your wicking soaks up the eliquid before it is heated and vapourised by the coil. It is important that your wicking material is free from chemicals and pollutants. These could impact your health and will certainly affect the quality of your flavour. Japanese organic cotton wicking is the most popular choice. You could also consider cotton bacon. Some RDAs are compatible with stainless steel mesh. This is not a suitable choice for beginners as it must be oxidised before use to avoid shorts.

Tools

You will require a small selection of tools to build your coils. Wire cutters enable you to cut sections of wire and to trim them once you have installed your coils. A coil jig helps you to wind your wires accurately and you should invest in screwdrivers with Philips heads, hex heads and flat heads. Angled tweezers will also prove useful.

Ohm meter

Most regulated mods that you might use with your RDA can read the resistance of your coils. However, it is best to check your coil resistance before using your RDA and an Ohm meter enables you to do that. It will also identify a malfunctioning mod before it becomes dangerous or lets you down and will identify hot spots in your coils.

Building your RDA

Coil building is an art and so it will take time to perfect your building skills. You might have to practice for some time before you produce a safe, usable RDA that delivers pure flavour and impressive clouds. The easiest way to learn is to explore the numerous video guides on YouTube. These provide step by step instructions together with useful hints and tips. Many guides refer to specific RDAs. Here’s a detailed guide to building the Vandy Vape Phobia RDA that you will find here at TMB Notes:

Don’t panic if your first attempts at RDA building are terrible! Practice makes perfect! There are a few things to be aware of if you are to build successfully. Your coil should heat evenly and from the inside. If it begins heating from the edges, something is wrong. Dark spots will appear where your coil is failing to heat. These can often be resolved by lightly tapping the coil with a flat head screwdriver. Don’t do this when heating the coil!

Ensure that no area of the coil is touching the posts apart from the legs and that no section of wire is touching the metal deck. To maximise flavour, position the coil as close to the air hole as you can. Start by learning to build a single coil and then move on dual coils which have greater safety implications. This is because when you install two identical coils, the total resistance is halved. In other words, two 1.0ohm coils produce a resistance of 0.5ohm.

Dripping can deliver an outstanding vaping experience but involves a learning process if you are to keep safe and maximise your enjoyment.