timwis Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the RAM BF Squonk Mod from Stentorian and distributed by Wotofo. The Stentorian RAM BF Squonk Mod was supplied for the purpose of this review by Ella from Sourcemore. Introduction Wotofo distributed 3 products brought to us by Stentorian, the first being the AT-7 over 2 years ago which i bought and it must be in the top 5 worse devices i have (it really is a piece of crap and i tend to be positive and optimistic about products), the most recent the Basilisk which has a Geekvape Nova look about it and between the two this device, the Ram BF Squonk Mod. The Ram is a mechanical single 18650 BF device which means there is very little to go over as there is no chip so i won't be boring you for too long. The Ram was released at a time when many manufacturers were producing devices in very large quantities (seems lessons have been learned as theirs more of a lean manufacturing approach of late), so still the Ram is very available but considered old stock so you can now pick it up around 50% of it's original price making it worth a fresh look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x Stentorian RAM BF Squonker MOD 3 x Empty bottles 1 x Manual ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Ram came in simple fold open thin cardboard packaging and on opening i found i had received the Green Resin version. The Ram comes in quite a few different Resin colour options with each one being unique due to Resins nature, there is also a Padauk Wood version which has a waterproof coating. The Resin versions have a matte coating to stop fingerprints and this coating combined with the Resin gives the device a slight rubberised texture. One side we have the removable panel with a rectangular (with curved corners) cutout to allow the pressing of the bottle, the opposite side is featureless. The spine again is featureless so moving to the front we have the 24K Gold plated fire button/switch assembly towards the top and "RAM" carved into the Resin at the bottom, but it's quite understated. The base has a Gold plated Stentorian logo badge which is actually the underside of the battery negative plate but overall very little in the way of branding on the device which will please most. Moving up top and to one side we have the Gold plated 510 plate with thick insulator surround to help limit any heat transfer to the device, the Gold plated BF 510 is spring loaded. The device is very box like but is quite small and lightweight, with it's large protruding fire button i found it comfortable to use either as a finger or thumb firer as well as being nice and portable. ___________________________________________________________________ Ram Specs: Size: 77 x 47 x 24mm Material: Resin (Padauk version available) Cell Type: 1x 18650 cell (not included) Bottle: 7ml PET Food Grade Thread: 510 spring thread Features: 1. 3pcs 7ml capacity food grade juice bottle 2. No need to refilling frequently 3. Bottom feeding design 4. 24K gold 510 connector 5. Security lock on fire button 6. PEEK insulation ring prevents the top from being overheated 7. Fit for all 22mm and 24mm diameter atomizers Colours: Padauk Wood, Various Resin Colour Finishes including Black, Purple, Green ___________________________________________________________________ Disclaimer This is a mechanical device, you use at your own risk and i am not responsible. Please do not use this device unless you have full understanding of both ohms law and battery safety, stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________ The Internals The Ram has very tidy internals and it's a nice simple design helped by rather than having a chunky piece of metal feeding down from the negative up top to the negative battery contact we have an insulated wire which is tucked away in a channel. Of course their will be those that might be tempted to point out this isn't a mechanical device as it has a wire but really do you want everyone else to know you haven't got a life! All the metal parts are 24K Gold plated and that also goes for the metal on show on the outside of the device. We have a wide band of insulator above where the switch mechanism makes contact and above a nice strong nut securing the 510, 510 plate and positive Gold plated metal sheet that extends to the battery positive contact, a really neat, nice job all round! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery It is to me and i imagine most people obvious by looking at the internals that the 18650 goes positive up but just because it's obvious to most their should still be clear visible labelled orientation and sadly the Ram has no labelled orientation whatsoever. The battery slides in place snugly without feeling theirs any danger of damaging the wrap which isn't always the case with mechanical squonk devices, we also have an installed battery ribbon for easy removal. The battery panel sits in place with an inner lip inside the device and is secured with a very large magnet which protrudes between the bottle and battery compartments, the panel fits very nicely and there is no movement whatsoever. ___________________________________________________________________ The Squonk Bottles You get 3 squonk bottles included (1 pre-installed) and while i would be the first to moan if their was no spare do we really need 3? I would understand the three bottles if they shared the same top with tube feed and the 2 spare came with solid lids to they could be loaded with juice for a quick bottle switch but sadly not, after saying that it still has to be a pro that 3 are included. I find a lot of squonk bottles can be too soft and much prefer the stiffer silicone bottles which i find just right, the ones included with the Ram are too much in the other direction for my liking being quite a stiff plastic although i have known worse. I do know a few people who squonk and they all prefer different tensions to the bottles so it is a preference and if like me you don't like the bottles they are a standard type fit so you would have no problem getting a bottle to suit you. Fitting the bottle is pretty standard, the bottle has a screw on lid which has tubing that feeds down into the bottle and protrudes out the top. The device has a pipe that extends down from the 510 and you simply fit the protruding tube over the pipe and the bottle then sits in it's compartment. It's slightly fiddly but the saving grace of the stiff bottle means while fitting juice isn't being squirted through the 510 but if you go for a slightly softer bottle i would suggest having your atty installed before installing a full bottle. To fill you simple pull the bottle out towards you to clear the floor of it's compartment and pull down so the tube comes off the pipe. Then simply unscrew the lid and fill making sure you leave enough empty volume for the feed tube. ___________________________________________________________________ Locking Mechanism The fire button/switch has a locking mechanism which is good to see although despite the thin band of knurling on the outside of the fire button it's quite difficult to get a grip and i needed to use a piece of kitchen roll that has a grippy surface. Turning the button clockwise locks the switch and no longer can it depress enough to make contact and fire, turning it anti-clockwise unlocks it! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Device I must point out i do not have equipment to test voltage drop and even more importantly i must stress once more this is a mechanical device without a chip giving safety protections so only consider if you have full knowledge of ohms law and battery safety. It's not that easy to get a good grip to turn the firing button to lock/unlock the switch mechanism without the aid of something with grip like kitchen roll, whether this over months of use loosens and gets easier to lock/unlock or it's isolated to my device i would be grateful for any comments by those that have used the Ram for a good while. I'm not really concerned about the locking mechanism as the switch has both a very sturdy spring and long throw so i just can't see this firing in my pocket which leads to my main con. The fire button is very stiff due to a very sturdy spring and there is a lot of travel to make contact so quite some force is needed to fire the device. I did get use to it and it's by no means a deal breaker but definitely worth mentioning and again if anyone has had the Ram and used it a lot has their spring become less stiff? Also i find the supplied bottles slightly too stiff for my liking but that is easily remedied so a con but not really a big deal. That being said i love the looks of the device and the Resin is very nice quality, it hits instantly and using it i can see the appeal mechanical devices have. You must make sure you use a quality 18650 with no damage to the wrap that can take the stress and do modest builds, their will always be those that like to test boundaries but personally i used the device with 3 different DL RDA's and kept my builds to between 0.3 and 0.5ohms and then tried the Berserker V2 MTL RTA with a 0.68ohm build as i prefer to stay on the side of caution. It gave just a great vape with all the RDA's i used and of course as the battery weakened so did the vape but that's the nature of mechanical devices, once the power got to the point the vape was too weak to satisfy me i simply installed a fresh battery! Finally the Ram will accommodate up to 24mm atty's without overhang so all your 22mm and 24mm BF RDA's will fit nicely. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Nice build quality Quality Resin Plenty of colour Resin options (also Padauk Wood version) Aesthetically pleasing Very tidy internals All metal parts 24K Gold plated No movement with removable panel when fitted Battery fits nicely Installed Battery ribbon Battery safety section inside manual 3 Bottles included 7ml capacity Device stays cool Lock mechanism Hits instantly 22mm & 24mm atty's fit nicely Cons Stiff firing button with long throw Hard to grip to lock/unlock switch mechanism No labelled battery orientation Bottles slightly too stiff (for my preference) Once again i would like to thank Ella from Sourcemore for supplying the Wotofo Stentorian RAM BF Squonk Mod for the purpose of this review. ___________________________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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