timwis Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 from Steam Crave. The Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 was supplied for the purpose of this review by Steam Crave. Introduction Steam crave are best known for their high quality, large capacity RTA's and RDTA's featuring multiple airflow options, versatility, and with the Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 we continue with multiple airflow options and also versatility in the form of offering both a MTL and RDL vaping experience! The Aromamizer Lite RTA is 23mm in diameter and essentially a combination between the Aromamizer RDTA and Supreme Lite. This second version of the tank see's upgrades to improve the MTL experience in the form of Peek airflow plugs and a 4mm chimney reducer. With the customary high build quality and an array of included extras let's give the Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 a good look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x Aromamizer Lite RTA whole unit (with DL drip tip) 1 x Spare 3.5ml glass 1 x 4.5ml bubble glass 1 x Spare o rings and grub screws 2 x Airflow peek plugs 1 x Stainless steel airflow chimney adaptor 1x Allen Key 1x MTL drip tip 1x User manual 1 x Steamcrave sticker ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics The Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 comes in cardboard flip open packaging with viewing window which Steam Crave tanks usually come in so the RTA can be viewed without opening the box. I received the Stainless Steel version, it's available in Stainless Steel, Black or Gunmetal, all versions come pre-installed with a straight glass, and the chimney reducer in place. The Construction is made from SS 304 and is the usual exceptional quality we have come to expect from Steam Crave with all machining, threading and tolerances spot on! With the chimney reducer in place we have an extra 10mm in height giving the Aromamizer Lite quite a tall appearance. The main aesthetic feature is the side AFC which offers different airflow configurations and protrudes from the rest of the tank giving it quite a funky form factor which can be added to further by installing the bubble glass, below the AFC we have an arrow to use for a guide for lining up the individual airflow holes. Top-cap and base has the same knurling we saw on the Glaz Mini and below the top-cap we have "AROMAMIZER LITE RTA V1.5" carved into the metal. Moving to the base we have the 510 threading with standard 510 pin and Peek surround, branding and safety stamps. ___________________________________________________________________ Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 Specs and Features: Diameter: 23mm Height: 59mm Capacity: 3.5ml (a 4.5ml extra glass tube included) Tank Type: Single Coil RTA Airflow peek: 2×0.8mm 4mm Chimney adaptor DL & MTL formats Single coil build deck Precise adjustable bottom airflow Thread: 510 Colours: Black, Stainless Steel, Gunmetal ___________________________________________________________________ The Problem With The Original And What The V1.5 Offers Different The way the airflow is set up is we have a double chamber which either side we have a separated airflow section with honeycomb airflow on the inner chamber wall but no outer chamber wall, this is created by the setting on the airflow control ring. The problem with this is there is a void the same size as the area took up by the complete honeycomb airflow section between the AFC and the airflow holes on the inner chamber. This means some loss of pressure and of course what ever the AFC setting the air has chance to spread between AFC and chamber wall so will allow some air to enter the holes which you are not intended which is pressure and airflow lost to it's intended target. When in DL mode it makes no difference because the large slot is the same size as the complete airflow on the chamber so the air goes through the honeycomb inlets direct and when using the narrow slot the system although in theory even here is flawed actually still works ok for RDL. The real problem is when using one of the two small holes for airflow where the void between these holes on the AFC and the inner chamber is vast in comparison and instead of having a directed jet of air you need for MTL all pressure is lost and the air just spreads between the AFC hole and the complete honeycomb inlets on the inner chamber which just doesn't give a great MTL experience. Steam Crave have come up with a solution which allows the same design to be kept while solving the problem in the form of Peek plugs that plug up this void and the plugs themselves have just 2 0.8mm airflow holes both of which will line up with one of the holes on the inner chamber honeycomb section. Now the honeycomb airflow has been put out of action and we no longer have a void between the AFC and inner chamber just 2 0.8mm airflow holes leading straight from the AFC through to the inner chamber for more precise MTL airflow control and no loss of pressure. Also the bore of the chimney is quite wide to suit RDL vaping so with V1.5 a 4mm chamber reducer is also included which suits a MTL set-up better. ___________________________________________________________________ What You Receive? You receive one completed Aromamizer Lite V1.5 with straight glass (3.5ml) and chimney reducer installed. You receive a spare 3.5ml glass and a 4.5 bubble glass. You also receive 2 Delrin 510 drip tips one for MTL and the other more suited to a RDL vape, of course you can fit your own. You also get a T-Piece tool, 2 Peek airflow plugs, plenty of spare o-rings and screws, paperwork and sticker. As always you receive a lot but again as usual with Steam Crave products you don't receive any Cotton or coils, some anti-clockwise wound coils would of been a good move! ___________________________________________________________________ It's Various Parts! The Aromamizer Lite RTA breaks down into all it's various parts very easily and is just as simple to reassemble. Up top we have the choice of RDL or MTL Delrin drip tips which can either be installed straight into the top-cap or the chimney reducer can be fitted first and then the drip tip fits into that, i like the simple way the reducer is installed which means it can be put in place or removed on the fly! Next we have the fill port plate with attached chimney which can be unscrewed form the top of the chamber allowing the glass to be removed. We then have the lower tank ring which is for sealing the bottom of the glass which just pops off allowing the removal of the Airflow Control Ring. The base unscrews which allows the deck to be pulled out of the chamber. This leaves the double wall chamber which both has a cavity between walls to allow juice to flow from the tank down to the deck and either side the honeycomb airflow design, when reassembling i installed the bubble glass for an extra 1ml Capacity. ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow I have basically explained the airflow in a previous section so to quickly go over it we have a 3 row honeycomb design either side and on the airflow control ring we have a slot the same size either side which then turns to a narrow slot which just lines up with the middle honeycomb row. When turning the ring in the opposite direction we also have 2 different sized small airflow holes which are just for use when using as a MTL RTA. To use for MTL you receive 2 Peek plugs to use instead of the honeycomb design, these plugs have 2 0.8mm holes for airflow. As well as lining these plugs up with the narrow slot (they can fall out if lined up with the large slot and this would give the exact same airflow anyway) the airflow can also be turned using the arrow underneath the AFC as a guide to line up with one of the individual holes for a much tighter draw. ___________________________________________________________________ Filling Filling is straighforward, just unscrew the top-cap which has the same heavy knurling as the base section and is the same as seen on the Glaz Mini. This reveals 2 generous kidney shaped fill ports for a quick mess free fill, once filled just screw the top-cap into position. ___________________________________________________________________ The Deck and Build The base of the RTA unscrews (we have heavy knurling for grip) to find like other Steam Crave tanks the deck just gets press fitted into the chamber, we have 2 indented sections on the opening for the deck and corresponding notches on the side of the deck so when fitting it interlocks in place lined up with the airflow. The deck has posts facing each other with terminals at a diagonal to each other with your leads entering the terminals from above (like with a postless deck) and hex screws fasten (my favourite) from the side. This gives me my biggest con and for me quite a major one and that's the position of the terminals need an anti-clockwise wound coil but a lot of people use pre-wound coils (i do the majority of the time) which all the ones i have used are wound clockwise, even the natural way when winding your own for most is clockwise. It means with pre-wound coils you need to bend the leads back on themselves which doesn't look the prettiest but usually can leave all the wraps lined up nicely although the two outer wraps can also get deformed, luckily it's not a beauty contest. I have done a total of 4 builds in this as i received it the same time as the Glaz Mini and i only ever take pictures of one build i do with an atty because it's time consuming and sod's law the build i photoed was by far the ugliest of the four as the coil got quite deformed when installing but surprisingly actually gave a really nice vape! Looking at both the deck and design of the tank i just can't see a reason why the posts couldn't of been done the opposite way and as this was an issue to many with the original i can't understand why it hasn't been addressed! Anyway either after wrapping an anti-clockwise coil or manipulating the leads on a pre-wound coil they need cutting to size (5mm) and then simply slot in the open terminals and tighten the screws. If using an anti-clockwise wound coil it will need quite some manipulating into position with a coiling rod and it's at this stage your end wraps can go a bit funky but usually not too bad and it does with a bit of persuasion go into the correct position. Wicking is quite simple, you have a well either side which on their sides low down have a juice port, after fluffing up simply place your cotton ends in the wells making sure they are full with cotton but not compacted down which will stop it wicking efficiently. Of course during the build a quick pulse and rake if any hotspots is needed and once done place the deck back in the chamber, screw on the base section and fill! ___________________________________________________________________ My Thoughts! I just wish the deck was designed the opposite way round so clockwise wound coils will fit straight in the terminals without a lot of messing about, after saying that once the build is done there really isn't a lot to complain about. Most tanks that are designed for a dual purpose are "Jack of all trades, but master of none" and while that was certainly the case with the original the V1.5 makes a much better fist of things. I just used MTL claptons and modest fused claptons for my different builds and i just can't complain about the flavour when using in either MTL or RDL format. The airflow is silent and smooth across the board which seems to be the case with most Steam Crave tanks. The Draw in RDL format is exactly that, some with the airflow wide open may call it a semi restrictive draw but there is still plenty of restriction, i preferred the one row open for the restriction i like which also increased flavour slightly. The Peek airflow plugs have really sorted out the loss of pressure problem and the V1.5 now operates as a very decent MTL tank. Lined up with the narrow slot so you get both the 0.8mm holes from both sides gives a quite loose MTL but definitely a MTL draw. You can then adjust to use one of the individual holes either side which gives draws almost as tight as the Glaz Mini offers so suitable for those that like either a tight or loose draw when it comes to MTL vaping. The Jury is still out on how much difference to the vaping experience the chimney reducer actually makes, i have tried it with and without and although i am presently using it with up until now i am struggling to notice much difference! So apart from the post configuration did i have any other issues? Yes but nothing too major. I personally just didn't like the drip tips especially when using the MTL drip tip with the reduced chimney, it just didn't feel great between my lips so simply swapped for one that was more comfortable. Also when the Peek plugs are installed if the airflow ring gets turned so the large slots are lined up with them they can fall out so spares should of been included, yes they could of been a tighter fit but then it would be a bit of a nightmare trying to remove them when you want to go back to a DL set-up. The only other con for me is common for Steam Crave tanks and at the same time i almost feel guilty saying it because so much is always included but no cotton or coils are provided and especially with the deck needing reversed wound coils having a few in the package would of been a nice move! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Excellent build quality (machining and threading spot on) Aesthetically pleasing (subjective) 3 Colour options Silent (both formats) Airflow super smooth (both formats) AFC adjusts with ease when on the device Easy build and wick (if you use reverse wound coils, if not hard work) Have had zero leaking or flooding issues Zero wicking issues (no dry hits even when testing chain vaping) Standard 510 drip tip fitting MTL Loose and tight draws RDL draws (semi restrictive to very restrictive) Very good flavour (both formats) Quick mess free fill Peek airflow plugs work great 4.5 ml capacity with bubble glass Included chimney reducer Loads of extras Cons Coils need to be reversed wound or some manipulation is needed (which is a pain) Didn't like drip tips (subjective) Peek airflow plugs can fall out so spares should of been included No coils or cotton included I would once again like to thank Steam Crave for supplying the Aromamizer Lite RTA V1.5 for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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