Cobra RBA Clone Tastes Like Plastic

[Rixter]

I just got a Cobra RBA clone from FastTech and it performs beautifully, but no matter how much I clean the parts, every juice I run through it has the most horrible plastic/chemical taste I've ever encountered.

I've boiled all the metal parts, hot water washed the gaskets & plastic tank, torched the wick, and replaced the coil with my own Kanthal 32g wire, but it's still got an overpowering plastic taste to it. Even after only a single pull, that taste is in my mouth, and not even brushing my teeth and using Listerine gets rid of it!

I figure it's gotta be coming from the plastic tank, so has anyone here ever encountered something like this and know how to make it stop? Do you think an overnight soak in vinegar followed by a hot water rinse will kill the plastic taste like it does for a coffee maker?

Cobra RBA clone from FastTech

[Uma]

Oh no!!

Something is too hot, probably melting your insulators or tank.

I've never used the cobra clone, I'm not familiar with it's quirks, (I only know it's heavy, unlike the real mcCoy which is made out of Titanium). I don't know if FastTech has their own clone version of the clone or if it's the same one being sold in most discount vendor's places this past year. I wish I "knew" so I could help ya.

A vinegar bath is a great idea!! Also a Vodka or PGA (pure grain alcohol) works wonders too. In fact, many use the pga or vodka to get rid of the vinegar.

Is your wick hole insulated? If so, I bet that's what's melting. Take out the insulator. The first year (maybe still?) of Zenesis had the same burning with theirs from their insulated wick hole. There is a better insulator material for the wickhole, something like PFTE or some darn thing, I'll have to find it.

[Rixter]

Oh no!!

Something is too hot, probably melting your insulators or tank.

A vinegar bath is a great idea!! Also a Vodka or PGA (pure grain alcohol) works wonders too. In fact, many use the pga or vodka to get rid of the vinegar.

Is your wick hole insulated? If so, I bet that's what's melting. Take out the insulator. The first year (maybe still?) of Zenesis had the same burning with theirs from their insulated wick hole. There is a better insulator material for the wickhole, something like PFTE or some darn thing, I'll have to find it.

There's no insulator in the wick hole, and all the seals & gaskets look fine, so I broke it all the way down and I'm soaking everything in vinegar now. I'll rinse the parts with hot water followed by PGA when I get home from work tomorrow and post the results.

[Uma]

Good luck!!! I'll keep an ear open for others that have been similar shoes.

[Rixter]

When I took the parts out of the vinegar, all the gaskets were melted/misshapen, so I threw the whole mess in the garbage and decided that a sub-$10 RBA is probably not the wisest purchase I ever made. Live and learn.

[Uma]

Sorry to hear that. Did the Vinegar do that? I've used vodka on mine, before, then after dried, lube it with non-flavored vg.

Glad you found an even better replacement though!!! Ha! All good things come to they who vape.

[CascadianExotics]

Pretty sure you could go to the hardware store / eBay, and get new gaskets / o-rings on the cheap. Also, you can get a glass Chobra tank from www.IBtanked.com for around $6. Even with the "upgrades," it would still put this clone priced less than other cheap RBAs put there.

[Rixter]

Pretty sure you could go to the hardware store / eBay, and get new gaskets / o-rings on the cheap. Also, you can get a glass Chobra tank from www.IBtanked.com for around $6. Even with the "upgrades," it would still put this clone priced less than other cheap RBAs put there.

I thought about that initially, but after the whole unbearable taste thing and all the trouble I'd had with it and all the juice I had to flush , I figured that throwing it away was just what it deserved. Good riddance.

PS - I also didn't like the way that the tank had to slide over gaskets around the base and top deck (like a DCT). I prefer the AGA-T style where the tank is pressed against the base and deck gaskets. I probably wouldn't like the original Cobra either for that very reason.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Rixter