# Just got an RBA - Help



## John (7/1/15)

Hi guys,

So I got my first RBAs this week (As I have mentioned in other corners of the forum ). I fired it up with some VK Grape and its so strong it made me cough up my spleen. What am I doing wrong? 

Is the Nic content of the juice too high? I'm sure im vaping at the right wattage, about 14w on a 1.0ohm single coil but please steer me in the right direction if thats off. This was on a Lemo

So I thought to try the Subtank with EC Cherry cigar and then I coughed up a kindney, or two. That was on a .5 ohm coil at 17w (I cant get it to go any lower for some reason)


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## Riddle (7/1/15)

What was the nicotine strengths of the flavours you tried. Also maybe post pics of your builds and setups. Then people will be able to advise you better.


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## John (7/1/15)

Sorry, I forgot to mention the VK Grape is 12mg and the EC Cherry Cigar is 16mg. The subtank uses the standard OOC coil and the Lemo uses the coil it came with, I just swapped out the cotton with the organic cotton that came with the subtank


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## Arthster (7/1/15)

The first thing I would check Is the ohm your running. The lower your ohms the hotter your vape.

Next check the coils in relation to the air hols on the top Cap. If they are same hight or above the air holes you will get a stronger thoat it. below the air hole will be less throat hit.


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## JW Flynn (7/1/15)

Hi there, welcome to the club, hehe, RDA's are the greatest!! IMO 

Two things, Nic can be a bit high, I have seen in my progression from tanks to RDA's that this has happened to me as well.. try a lower Nicotine strength and then also try and mix in some VG to make it more in the line of 70 VG 30 PG... The PG in it also contributes to the strong throat hit that you experience....

so in short, try a lower NIc, or simply go to dischem or your pick and pay, purchase VG Vegetable Glycerin (Pick 's Pay has Dolly Vardon Brand - From Tiger Brands) you can also get it from Dischem, dischem has the Dolly vardon one as well as their own dischem branded VG.... costs like 30 rands for a 250 ml bottle.. try diluting your e juice with this and see if it helps for the throat hit... 

be careful not to dilute it to much, you may end up ruining the taste of your e juice, only mix in a bit at a time, perhaps you have an empty bottle somewhere that you can use.. I do this as well and mix in about 1 3rd VG to 2 3rd's e juice...

Hope you get it right and enjoy your vape

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## John (7/1/15)

Arthster said:


> The first thing I would check Is the ohm your running. The lower your ohms the hotter your vape.
> 
> Next check the coils in relation to the air hols on the top Cap. If they are same hight or above the air holes you will get a stronger thoat it. below the air hole will be less throat hit.



The Subtank and Lemo are both RTAs so the air holes are directly under the coils. .5ohm in the subtank and 1.0ohm on the Lemo


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## John (7/1/15)

JW Flynn said:


> Hi there, welcome to the club, hehe, RDA's are the greatest!! IMO
> 
> Two things, Nic can be a bit high, I have seen in my progression from tanks to RDA's that this has happened to me as well.. try a lower Nicotine strength and then also try and mix in some VG to make it more in the line of 70 VG 30 PG... The PG in it also contributes to the strong throat hit that you experience....
> 
> ...



Luckily theres a Dischem just down the road, I'm heading over there right now


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## Arthster (7/1/15)

John said:


> The Subtank and Lemo are both RTAs so the air holes are directly under the coils. .5ohm in the subtank and 1.0ohm on the Lemo


 
Ah apologies from your post I thought you bought an RDA. Ignore my advice thats not going to help you much

Reactions: Like 2


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## JW Flynn (7/1/15)

John said:


> Luckily theres a Dischem just down the road, I'm heading over there right now


cool man, hope it helps 

LOL we are mixing our own flavours nowadays, only purchasing juice every now and then.. so we are mixing ours @ 6mg nic... when you get used to it, do not try a hit on 18mg nic especially an RDA, lol, it hit me right between the ears, and made me lazy as F@#$ LOL... when we do buy juice, we buy it in like 12mg, when the juice is 50/50 pg/vg so that we can dilute it and get the VG % up while still maintaining a good % nic 

Have Fun.. just be cautious as I said, do not over dilute it, you will start losing the taste of your juice...

Reactions: Like 1 | Useful 1


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## John (7/1/15)

Thanks bro @JW Flynn I'll play around tonight - will report back later


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## Rafique (7/1/15)

i have 12mg liquid that I use on the mAN, will adding some VG as you mentioned to give less of a throat hit. I find the 12mg abit to harsh when the coil burns irregular


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## LandyMan (7/1/15)

Rafique said:


> i have 12mg liquid that I use on the mAN, will adding some VG as you mentioned to give less of a throat hit. I find the 12mg abit to harsh when the coil burns irregular


Yes. It will smooth it out, so to speak


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## rogue zombie (7/1/15)

Also on the Lemo, your coil position might be a little high, resulting in stronger throat hit.

So push the coil physically lower to the airhole, not too low or it'll gurgle.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## free3dom (7/1/15)

If you are using the pre-built coil on the Lemo...FYI it hits like a mofo. Friend of mine (noob vaper) recently bought one and used it and he kept coughing each hit. But on my 1.0 Ohm custom built coil he was fine - exact same juice. I think the type of wire used in the pre-built might also be a contributing factor. It's a thick (i.e. lower guage) wire of unknown origin (pretty sure it's not kanthal). So maybe also try to get some 28G kanthal and build a coil with that (at higher ohms if desired).

Of course if that's what you are doing, then ignore this and go with a lower nic

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## John (7/1/15)

r0gue z0mbie said:


> Also on the Lemo, your coil position might be a little high, resulting in stronger throat hit.
> 
> So push the coil physically lower to the airhole, not too low or it'll gurgle.



@r0gue z0mbie I tried to move it off from the deck because I was a bit worried about it shorting out, its about .5mm off the deck now should I try getting it lower?


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## John (7/1/15)

free3dom said:


> If you are using the pre-built coil on the Lemo...FYI it hits like a mofo. Friend of mine (noob vaper) recently bought one and used it and he kept coughing each hit. But on my 1.0 Ohm custom built coil he was fine - exact same juice. I think the type of wire used in the pre-built might also be a contributing factor. It's a thick (i.e. lower guage) wire of unknown origin (pretty sure it's not kanthal). So maybe also try to get some 28G kanthal and build a coil with that (at higher ohms if desired).
> 
> Of course if that's what you are doing, then ignore this and go with a lower nic



I actually have a spool of 28g Kanthal. I was a bit worried about the quality of the stock coil - I think its as good a time as ever to practice building coils. Any tips about the diameter and number of wraps for me @free3dom?


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## Dubz (7/1/15)

@John if you're using 28ga kanthal I would recommend an ID of 2mm. If you have an android phone here is a link to an app that I use to calculate wraps of the coil for my target resistance. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.valsoft.vaperstoolbox&hl=en

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## baksteen8168 (7/1/15)

John said:


> I actually have a spool of 28g Kanthal. I was a bit worried about the quality of the stock coil - I think its as good a time as ever to practice building coils. Any tips about the diameter and number of wraps for me @free3dom?


What ohms are you looking at getting out of your build?


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## John (7/1/15)

Sweet! I have Vapers Toolbox already, It actually inspired me to develop a better Vaping app - hope to have it in the stores by around 2nd or 3rd quarter 2015


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## John (7/1/15)

baksteen8168 said:


> What ohms are you looking at getting out of your build?



I hadnt given it much thought to be honest - was going to aim for about 1.0-1.2ohm? What you think?


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## rogue zombie (7/1/15)

John said:


> @r0gue z0mbie I tried to move it off from the deck because I was a bit worried about it shorting out, its about .5mm off the deck now should I try getting it lower?



I think that is close enough actually.

Reactions: Like 1


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## baksteen8168 (7/1/15)

John said:


> I hadnt given it much thought to be honest - was going to aim for about 1.0-1.2ohm? What you think?


Good starting point. I tend to hover around 0.8 - 1.0ohm on a 2mm build. (2mm as i use 2mm ekowool)

On 28g for 1.0ohm you are looking at 13 / 12 wraps on 2mm ( I use a 2mm precision screw driver)
On 28g for 1.2ohm you are looking at 15 / 14 wraps on 2mm

(this is according to the "vapers toolbox" app on my phone.)


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## John (7/1/15)

baksteen8168 said:


> Good starting point. I tend to hover around 0.8 - 1.0ohm on a 2mm build. (2mm as i use 2mm ekowool)
> 
> On 28g for 1.0ohm you are looking at 13 / 12 wraps on 2mm ( I use a 2mm precision screw driver)
> On 28g for 1.2ohm you are looking at 15 / 14 wraps on 2mm
> ...



Sweet! I've got Silica wick that I bought off VK some time back for my PT coils - is that suitable? I read somewhere that it needs to be boiled? Is that accurate?


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## baksteen8168 (7/1/15)

I see you have vapers toolbox allready.

On my Kayfuns / Russians I tend to use a drill and twist 2 x 28g wires together. Around 8 wraps gets me to 0.9ohm. Flavour for me is also better off the twisted pair

Reactions: Like 1


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## baksteen8168 (7/1/15)

John said:


> Sweet! I've got Silica wick that I bought off VK some time back for my PT coils - is that suitable? I read somewhere that it needs to be boiled? Is that accurate?



I have not used silica before, but afaik you boil it to get the impurities off. I torch my ecowool before using it.


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## John (7/1/15)

baksteen8168 said:


> I have not used silica before, but afaik you boil it to get the impurities off. I torch my ecowool before using it.



Ok, I have a butane torch - and it sounds easier than boiling it ha ha. I've been watching some pretty insane coil builds on youtube but I think I'll start with regular coils for now, when I get that right then i'll start experimenting, Keep things interesting


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## John (7/1/15)

Ok so did a quick google search and it seems that ekowool is actually made up of silica


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## baksteen8168 (7/1/15)

John said:


> Ok, I have a butane torch - and it sounds easier than boiling it ha ha. I've been watching some pretty insane coil builds on youtube but I think I'll start with regular coils for now, when I get that right then i'll start experimenting, Keep things interesting


Hold up! I don't know if you can torch silica. lol. Just now you do and it goes poof. hahaha

Reactions: Funny 2


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## baksteen8168 (7/1/15)

John said:


> Ok so did a quick google search and it seems that ekowool is actually made up of silica



Then I guess it should be fine. Try torching a small piece to see if it works.


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## John (7/1/15)

baksteen8168 said:


> Then I guess it should be fine. Try torching a small piece to see if it works.



Im sure it'll be fine, I dry-pulse those coils till they're glowing amber and they hold up pretty well


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## free3dom (7/1/15)

@John on the Lemo there really is almost no wrong coil to build...I've done almost every permutation of single micro coil and they've all just worked great. Try keeping it at around 1.0 - 1.5 Ohm at first, you can dive into the crazy stuff later - first get a satisfying build, and that will 99% of the time be a simple micro coil with a 1.5-2.5 ID (wraps can be calculated based on your desired resistance).

Here is a link to the last single micro coil I built in the Lemo - it was a great vape 
And this one was the first micro coil I built in the Lemo (just out of the box) - also a very nice vape 

I have some silica, but I've honestly never used it - I stick to cotton. Never tried silica in a kayfun/lemo, but I'm sure it's just fine  
Let us know how it turns out

Reactions: Like 1


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## John (7/1/15)

You guys are awesome!

I got both the tanks humming like a navy destroyer heading into war. I must say, I now see what all the hype is about and I honestly can't look at my clearomisers the same again.

This is what worked for me:
Diluting down the juice with VG (and using better quality Vape Elixir juice)
Recoiling the head with a 2.0mm 1.7ohm micro coil (I was aiming for 1.2 but I think I added a wrap or two too many)
Wicking with cotton (The silica was a bit too loose in the coil and after 3 tries getting a decent coil I was over trying again lol)

It was a bit harsh at first but I let the Lemo stand for a bit and now its awesome. I wacked on the RBA bits on the subtank with the stock dual micro-coils at .45ohm and it vapes a bit hot so I'm gonna rebuild the subtank with a 1.0ohm+ coil tomorrow and see how that goes. Vapour production on both tanks is phenomenal and I got my lounge overcast in a few minutes lol. Flavour is not too bad even with the diluted juice, but could definitely be better. I'm running the Lemo at 10w and the subtank at 20w. I'll be sure to document my next build, I was way too eager to get it done this time haha.

So far so good  my next mission is DIY juice

Reactions: Like 3


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## free3dom (7/1/15)

Well done @John 

It truly is an evolution in vaping when you go RBA...glad you got it working. Now that you have a baseline you can start playing around to find your perfect coil - this is another fun part of vaping 

The dual coil setup (especially at .45) will run a bit hot since you need more power to heat them up properly.

BTW...using 28G with 2mm ID you should do 8/7 wraps to get to ~1.2 Ohm...but I frequently over-/undershoot and then just vape the crap out of whatever I ended up with

Reactions: Like 3


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## John (8/1/15)

Lol, what actually happened was I made a 9 wrap coil (because I don't count to well) and then realised I went too far with the last wrap so the free end was pointing the wrong way so I had to add another wrap to get to facing the right way. Learning curve, i'm sure my next build will be closer to perfect. Also I was wrapping the coil sitting on the couch watching TV with the missus (I don't know what the hell was going on in that episode of cold case). I think i'll do future builds downstairs in my workshop where tools are within reach and there are no distractions  

My first attempt came in at a whopping 2.7ohm  I used the wrong screwdriver, it was too thick

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ricgt (8/1/15)

Lemo vs Subtank (RBA section installed) what are your thoughts so far?


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## free3dom (8/1/15)

John said:


> Lol, what actually happened was I made a 9 wrap coil (because I don't count to well) and then realised I went too far with the last wrap so the free end was pointing the wrong way so I had to add another wrap to get to facing the right way. Learning curve, i'm sure my next build will be closer to perfect. Also I was wrapping the coil sitting on the couch watching TV with the missus (I don't know what the hell was going on in that episode of cold case). I think i'll do future builds downstairs in my workshop where tools are within reach and there are no distractions
> 
> My first attempt came in at a whopping 2.7ohm  I used the wrong screwdriver, it was too thick



Hehe, been there 

But really there is no wrong way to do a coil. Every attempt teaches you something about how to (or how not to) build a better coild and before long you'll knock one out while watching TV, making food, or walking the dog 

If you do go too many wraps just unwrap and put on the lead (with some pliers) to straighten it out again

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## JW Flynn (8/1/15)

John said:


> You guys are awesome!
> 
> I got both the tanks humming like a navy destroyer heading into war. I must say, I now see what all the hype is about and I honestly can't look at my clearomisers the same again.
> 
> ...


I dont know the percentages for vape elixer's juice, but I think that is already a pretty VG heavy juice.. do not dilute with VG to much as you could start loosing flavour on them pretty quick...


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## John (8/1/15)

JW Flynn said:


> I dont know the percentages for vape elixer's juice, but I think that is already a pretty VG heavy juice.. do not dilute with VG to much as you could start loosing flavour on them pretty quick...



It is somewhat muted but still there. Agree, these juices are a bit heavy on the VG. I used a 1VG:2EJ mix


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## John (8/1/15)

Ricgt said:


> Lemo vs Subtank (RBA section installed) what are your thoughts so far?



How did I miss this post?

Nice meeting you the other day @Rickgt  I cant give an honest opinion just yet but I love the build quality of the Kanger, its so well made. I'm getting to know the Lemo for a couple of days. So far I can say its a great atty and rebuilding it is a piece of cake! Also very sturdy and well made  I can see this being one of my favourite tanks - already thinking of getting another one haha.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Ricgt (8/1/15)

Yeah man likewise, hope you are enjoying the BEC Pro! For sure the Lemo is an awesome atty, maybe look at getting the Lemo drop to spice things up a bit. Speaking of descending down the rabbit hole, I couldn't help myself and have a billow and sub tank coming from the awesome folks at Vape club, will be able to do a 3 way comparison...

Reactions: Like 1


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## free3dom (8/1/15)

Ricgt said:


> Yeah man likewise, hope you are enjoying the BEC Pro! For sure the Lemo is an awesome atty, maybe look at getting the Lemo drop to spice things up a bit. Speaking of descending down the rabbit hole, I couldn't help myself and have a billow and sub tank coming from the awesome folks at Vape club, will be able to do a 3 way comparison...



Oooo, a Ménage à trois 
Let us know what you think of them

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Frank Zef (11/1/15)

John said:


> Sweet! I have Vapers Toolbox already, It actually inspired me to develop a better Vaping app - hope to have it in the stores by around 2nd or 3rd quarter 2015



Please tell us that you are building an iOS version too.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## John (11/1/15)

I'm starting on the iOS version


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## Arthster (11/1/15)

This is a little late in the tread, but maybe it will help someone. I noticed all the silica builds I have done left a funky after taste. I am not sure if silica wicks slower or if there is something to silica that affects me, but my best builds have been with proper cotton.


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## John (11/1/15)

I tend to stay away from silica for the simple reason that the wick I have is 1mm and I haven't built any coils smaller than 2mm ID thus far. The great thing about silica is that it doesn't burn but cotton is cheap as chips so one can afford to rewick regularly. I rarely vape a single flavour more than a tank full at a time anyway so I'd go through lots of silica!


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## Arthster (11/1/15)

I also found especially on the Kayfun that you can pack the wick into the juice channels easier with cotton then with silica. but again that''s just me, I know allot of people feel different to me. 

I agree with the fact cotton is cheap, and if you re wick often then its a winner. I personally rewick 3 -4 times a week.

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## John (11/1/15)

I find myself re wicking with every flavour change so basically every day lol

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## Arthster (11/1/15)

yeah then I would stay with cotton.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## SunRam (13/1/15)

JW Flynn said:


> I dont know the percentages for vape elixer's juice, but I think that is already a pretty VG heavy juice.. do not dilute with VG to much as you could start loosing flavour on them pretty quick...


Vape Elixir is 50/50 PG/VG

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 2


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## JW Flynn (13/1/15)

SunRam said:


> Vape Elixir is 50/50 PG/VG


That is good to know... always thought it was VG heavy as it produced more than normal amounts of vapour  Still loving the Black Cigar, not a daily vape anymore but ja, hit some up every now and then, love it...


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## SunRam (13/1/15)

JW Flynn said:


> That is good to know... always thought it was VG heavy as it produced more than normal amounts of vapour  Still loving the Black Cigar, not a daily vape anymore but ja, hit some up every now and then, love it...


The VG we use is pure and undiluted, hence making the liquid rather viscous. You often find VG which is diluted with distilled water, giving it the consistency of PG or somewhere in between. 
PS. Black Cigar is awesome, glad you like it.


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## John (13/1/15)

My favourite is stardust, hands down

Reactions: Like 1


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## SunRam (13/1/15)

Stardust is one of those, some people love it, and others find it awful! Definitely not for everyone.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Arthster (13/1/15)

I have a sweet spot for Pink Spot

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## free3dom (13/1/15)

Arthster said:


> I have a sweet spot for Pink Spot



I like it too, but sheeeesh it's sweet...only a little a time and it's delightful

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Arthster (13/1/15)

free3dom said:


> I like it too, but sheeeesh it's sweet...only a little a time and it's delightful



The after taste is fantastic though.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## free3dom (13/1/15)

Arthster said:


> The after taste is fantastic though.



Indeed it is...I think it would go great with waffles

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Arthster (13/1/15)

free3dom said:


> Indeed it is...I think it would go great with waffles



Dude I had waffles this weekend and didn't even think of that.

Reactions: Like 1


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## free3dom (13/1/15)

Arthster said:


> Dude I had waffles this weekend and didn't even think of that.



Well there's a reason to have some more waffles - score

Reactions: Like 2


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## MorganSa (15/1/15)

I usually go 3mg


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