# S-ca1 Bottom Feeder



## Xhale (12/6/14)

aka 18500 Firebox squonker

I saw this device listed somewhere..cant really remember where, and as I know the Reo's are popular, if a bit pricey for my pocket, I was quite interested. Retail is 50pound, but direct from manufacturer is about a half that, shipped, inc taxes. MOQ is 10 units though, unless you give them a reason. I did, and they arrived 4 days later via dhl.

Some specs: max 15w, 8ml bottle, 18500 battery, threads made from cheese

Initial impressions were very very good, this is a high-end device, you would think. It is very well presented, colour manual (only one chingrish mistake! bonus) and it feels solid. It weights more than a Panzer mech mod. I think. I know I could throw it at someone, and they wouldnt survive, but the mod would. No rattles, no funny sounds..just a hunk of metal. Nice so far.

Things go a bit south when you try use it. The supplied cartos (said to be cisco atomizers...ok...) didnt have any air holes. I'm not kidding. None. Once you screw them to the bottle, they tried to get air from the bottle. See, this is why we cant have nice things. It is also why, when you make a good design and get china to make it, you go over there and make sure they do as you told them to. And dont use cheese for threads!

As my first bottom feeder, I did stare at it thinking I am doing it wrong...maybe a handstand would work better? Maybe if I tilt it a bit..? Nope...there's no air holes dammit.

Dremel.

Fixed.

OK, its squonking now! Hallelujah.

The menu system is simple. Its a push and wait system...if you wait on an item, it selects it. Five taps to power on once a battery is fitted (positive end goes in first), then three taps to get to the menu. Similar to vamo, you can change between vv and vw, and mean or rms mode. You can also silence/stealth mode the oled when vaping (it comes on when you push the vape button, shows you a quick info screen...watts, ohms, battery life..but you can go stealth mode)

The button is a bit quirky. I'm finding the placement ok and getting used to it, and it is clicky enough, but it is not very large, and needs a good press. Sometime mid-vape it goes off, because I released a bit of pressure subconsciously. Coming from mechs where I always modded the switches for hair trigger soft firing, its taking me a bit to get used to this. Not a downside, but a different side

There is a big, tapered juice well. Why? Dont know. Someone said kimberley hole was big, so the chinese tried to outdo them. It means the only things that fit are cartos. and some skinny dripping attys. Not even an igo-f would fit.

On the subject of bombs, there is no battery ventilation. None. Who said vaping was safe The battery slides into a sealed tube, the top cap is sealed. Mother of god help me when it goes boom!

haha. Love it.

The bottle is plastic, and then another good idea is to make the bottle receptacle threads out of metal (or cheese, I'm still not sure). This means after half a day of careful use, trying not to strip it while experimenting with different techniques, the bottle is now stripped.

Ah yes, cheese.
The top cap 510 connector ala kimberley hole's bigger cousin is made from ...chromed brass. Its also stupid, because with the sides being so tapered actually nothing screws down perfectly flat. And in most cases, screwing down against a perfectly flat surface is a good idea, as it prevents wobbles, which prevents wear on the threads. But this one wobble, and the threads are made from cheese.

Did I mention cheese? I'm starting to think it is actually peanut butter. If it lasts two days I'll take up pole dancing.

Some pictures.


the presentation is good, spot on, very happy with packaging and the general external feel of the device




the guts of the device, no hot glue to be found, compartments and little standoffs to stop everything from jiggling about. Nice. I stuck an 18650 into the battery compartment to show how much it sticks out. Ponders...ponders...yes, it'll work




some more pictures, bottom left you can see the supplied 8ml bottle screwed in, still stands proud. There is a peg inside which prevents the bottle screwing in too far and stripping. Its such a wise idea that the bottle doesnt screw in all the way, and still strips. As my maths teacher wouldve said "E for effort". Top right is my carto, which I had to supply my own air holes for. Sies.

Did you notice I'm still a bit upbeat about this? Its because I didnt want an 18500 firebox squonker. I wanted a project box to mod, and this is solid, well laid out hunk of metal. I'm in love. The bits that suck wouldve ended in the bin in anycase.

Part 2 to follow in a few days, subscribe, like, share, laugh, giggle..I'm a squonker too.

edit: Off to the modders section we go to start turning this whimpy kid into a beast
http://www.ecigssa.co.za/threads/s-ca1-18500-firebox-bottom-feeder-mods.2964/

Reactions: Informative 2


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## MurderDoll (12/6/14)

Loved reading your review. Looking forward to reading more. 

I see you have a fascination with cheese. Ha ha. 
Would this be like cheddar cheese hard, Gouda or shall we go extreme and say spread cheese?


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## Xhale (12/6/14)

you remember those lekka small sausage shaped tubes we had as kid as school, with cheese inside..then you make a little hole and squish and it comes out as a stringy thingy?
That is rated two ticks higher on the rockwell scale than these threads.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## MurderDoll (12/6/14)

Ha ha ha ha! 

Man we had awesome stuff as kids!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Rob Fisher (12/6/14)

Glad you didn't change you Avatar so we still know who you are. 

Thanks for the review! The weight and the fact you need tools to make it work kills it for me.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Silver (12/6/14)

As rob said, glad your avatar is still recognisable!

I enjoy your contributions and your knowledge is amazing


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## Xhale (12/6/14)

I forgot to mention the 510 connector pin is also vamo-esque, in that it is held in place by a rubber grommet and any up down movement is as a result of the grommet squishing. Not convinced this idea will last any longer than the vamo grommet does.

and sitting here with an small dripping atty on top, half a bottle of juice and a 18500 battery it weighs in at 285g!


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## Xhale (12/6/14)

Spent about an hour tonight fiddling with two things, the 510 connector height/juice well size
and a bottle upgrade. Both finished, 510 I am mostly happy about..I'll sleep on it and see if anything else jumps out at me......bottle upgrade worked 100% and very happy about that.

I'll carry on posting regarding this device in the modding subsection, as thats where we are off to
Me, and my squonker, Dasha

Reactions: Like 1


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## Alex (12/6/14)

Top class review @Xhale Formerly known as Vern??


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