Earthling789 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 First off, I want to thank the folks at Gear Best for providing this RTA for my review! It arrived this morning, and immediately on unpacking, I noticed how beautiful the device is. The kit includes drip-tip and all three build-deck platforms (Compact, Standard, and Wide). Also included is spare o-rings, silica wick, three 26ga coils (@ 0.70 - 1.0 Ohm), and a tiny "blue" screwdriver (which is too small for the heads of the deck screws ). What is MISSING from the kit is the all-important ALLEN WRENCH!!! I have SAE and Metric Allen wrenches, and NONE of them properly fit the chimney section, so I am unable to remove it for proper cleaning (yet)!! Fast-forward... pre-assembly and testing build quality... Air-flow control valve is crisp and all holes line-up correctly Base threading is smooth and o-ring seals tight Drip-tip has double o-ring and fits perfectly, no wobble, not too tight All 3 build-decks fit snug and correctly Coil mounting screws have nice, wide heads, but one of them has/had a bur in the post, which preventing tightening on a coil leg until I cleaned the bur/threading... now it works as it should Adjustable 510 pin is nice, smooth, and does not bottom-out too high (actually can be set flush with 510 threads) Critical Failures with this clone.... RTA uses plastic for the viewing window, not Boro-silicate glass like the authentic (so, no using tank-cracking juices) Failure to provide an Allen wrench to allow consumer to remove the chimney section for cleaning or changing upper o-ring Screwdriver provided is WAY too small to effectively torque deck screws One machining bur found on the deck post, which the average consumer would not be able to remove because not everyone owns a tap/die set! I have it soaking in hot soapy water right now, and then it will undergo sonic-cleaning (since I can't remove the chimney). After a hot-water rinse/soak, Vodka soak, and air-dry, I'll do a build on it late tonight or tomorrow and report back on how it vapes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Thanks for the great review, Earthling! Your critical failures list would be deal breakers for me IF I were interested in getting an RTA. The plastic on the tank is a major thing, and the reason why I've gotten away from all plastic tanks. And why would they not add an Allen key to the "extras" if it's a custom size is beyond me. Small flat head screw drivers are easy to come by but it would be annoying to have one included that doesn't really work for the purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthling789 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Yeah, I think failure to provide the proper size Allen wrench is a huge FAIL on the part of this clone kit. I can deal with the plastic tank section, as I have glass tanks available for tank-cracking juices, but there are soooo many people out there (even veteran vapers) that continue to use tank-cracking juices in plastic tanks, and then complain about failure... The screws are Philips-head, size #1 heads, and the screwdriver provided is the standard #00 "blue" screwdriver, so it is basically useless. I would have rather had the Allen wrench provided, and lost the screwdriver! Everything else is fine, and workable. I can't wait to build it and give it a good vape! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthling789 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Okay... I'll probably never know how this vapes I got back home today, and things were dry, so I attempted to build the deck... Well, major fail! The non-conductive decks are too short, or the screw posts are too tall, because the screw heads do not contact the deck as they should, and cannot capture the wire. The screw posts stick above the top of the deck by just over 1/4mm, and the screws contact the posts, not the deck. I attempted to "raise" the deck slightly by putting the o-ring from a KPT2 coil-head under the deck, to keep it from bottoming-out (no the deck's outer-edge o-ring does not hold it that firmly in place), and that was not enough to keep it held firm above the screw-posts. At this time, it is not possible to attach a coil wire (smaller than 20ga?) securely. Now for the BAD news The non-conductive decks are apparently conductive!! As you can see from the image below, with the deck-base seated properly, and without a coil or screw attached, the entire base is reading a 3.31 Ohm resistance! Also, you can see (slightly) how the screw posts rise above the deck, where they should be BELOW the deck, so the screw heads can capture the wire against the deck. I'm going to continue playing with this, just to see if I can ever get it to work, but I must give this a HUGE Thumbs Down! Gear Best will be notified of my findings, as well, and let's hope this particular RTA is that one in 10,000 that is crap, but something tells me that it's not.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tug Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 At least it looks cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 At least it looks cool But what can you do with a cool looking hunk of non-usable metal? Glad you didn't have any money tied up in this thing, Earthling. If I'd bought it and it had this many problems, I'd be very... put out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthling789 Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Exactly, Tam... if I had any real $$ invested in it, I would have reason to be upset I think I've done everything within my power to make this work, but it is just too far gone... the build quality of the deck (at least) is probably the worst I've seen in ANY clone over the past year... and I have clones from good and bad cloning companies... I just hope my review will save anyone else from wasting their money on this particular clone, and maybe my comments will find their way back to the factory, so they can address the build-quality? If all of them are this poorly made, Gear Best will be receiving a lot of returns/complaints! Tam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crush02342002 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 But what can you do with a cool looking hunk of non-usable metal? Glad you didn't have any money tied up in this thing, Earthling. If I'd bought it and it had this many problems, I'd be very... put out. isn't that what metal art is?...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strangebrew Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I've ran three of four Squapes on the ohms meter; none show continuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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