DNA 40 Board impressions and discussions

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Paulie

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Hey all,

I received a Vapor Flask DNA 40 5 days ago and i have been using it since then and thought i would create this thread to discuss the DNA 40 as well as builds and devices.

Over the next few days i will post detailed reviews and builds as well as information around the device i am currently using.

Its important for all people who get the DNA 40 to go and read this thread before you do as it takes alot of understanding as well as troubleshooting.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/coil-builds/613433-dna-40-nr-nickel-builds.html

This is Evolve video on it:
http://www.evolvapor.com/shop.php

I have also attached the DNA 40 user manual since it doesn't come with one.

What i can say is that at first you will be frustrated but after a few builds you will be up and running.

Some of the information i will be discussing will be the following:
  1. Device and known issues with it?
  2. Quick fixes for the device
  3. Using Nickel Ni200 wire
  4. Understanding temperature control and how your device reacts to the build you have
  5. Wattage and temp control interdependence
  6. Quality of vape
  7. Testing your eliquids out to see how the are with temp control
  8. Tips and tricks to temp control
 

Attachments

  • dna40.pdf
    1.3 MB · Views: 22
Last edited:
Thanks @paulph201
Looking forward to your impressions
Am wondering about this temperature control and how useful it is - and what the Nickel wire is like
 
Awesome @paulph201 this is a really good idea and will prove very informative for anyone getting this mod. Looking forward to reading your reviews
 
The Vapor Flask DNA 40 "Authentic"

Since i had seen this product surfacing on the internet and also noted that all the Youtube Reviewers were all using and raving about them i immediately added this onto my wishlist. When the DNA 40 came out i knew that it would be the perfect time to get both. Unfortunately the VF sells out in minutes once they are released and i was unable to obtain one with lots of frustration!! I then found one to my surprise and waited patiently for it to arrive! The only time i was this excited for a mod was the first time i ordered my Reo Grand from Reomods!.

Then the package arrived :p

image_zpsa7bd4e3f.jpg


I then decided to test and use the mod in normal mode and found that the build quality was among the highest level i have witnessed for a mod.

image_zpsf5eff317.jpg


image_zps01397c55.jpg


2 x 18650 battery's in series can be used however only the following ones (vtc3, 4vtc and vtc5s) The others wont fit inside.

Issues known with the device

510 connector cables to close to each other
I experienced this issue and immediately emailed VF and got a very quick response and info on how to fix this. I was asked to remove the screws witch was very easy and push the negative (white cable) below the positive (red cable) down. This was showing me the error sometimes (shorted) Once i moved the cables the device works 100% and i was pleasantly happy with the service i recieved from vapor flask.

Initial impressions so far
This device is one of the best mods i have ever used. The buttons are well built and the battery life is exceptional good and i have been using mine for 3 days continuous and it still got 1/4 battery life. I think the DNA 40 board is helping alot also.

If you looking a a awesome design and a well built device i would highly recommend this device.

I will explain the DNA 40 in my next part of the review.
 
Last edited:
Thanks @paulph201 , great to see
Just letting you know I saw you said Vapor Shark in the top of your post !
 
@paulph201 what an amazing looking device! I'm so amped to experience the DNA 40 goodness. Where did you order it from?
 
Awesome! I'm thinking of giving the Vapor Shark rDNA 40 a try, but I've always been nervous of ordering expensive stuff from overseas
 
@paulph201 When will you have the review up?. I've been checking this thread in anticipation everyday!.
 
Hey all


Sorry im late with this but this start to the year been really busy!

So the DNA 40 .....

Nickel 200 wire
After receiving this wire from Ebay i played with it to see how strong it is and flexible. Straight from the start you realize how soft it is and how difficult it will be to use to build with as its very flimsy! I order the 28G and used it on my first build.

DNA Build
The first time i built a coil with this my DNA 40 would not work and immediately began to think my device was faulty! I then decided to do some research and saw that there is only one way to build with this wire and then decided to build the following setup:

2mm ID 6 ugly coil wraps and screw the build onto a different device and then fire it at 10watts .

Its important to not touch the coil once you have it on the atty.

After i wicked it and put it back on the flask and then it gave me the DNA 40 option (new coil or old)

I then setup the temperature to 450 F and then it worked very well.

Some of the things i really like about the DNA 40 is the stepdown, 40 wattspower and the screen menu options. Also the flavour is defiantly better and the vape is colder also.

Issues with DNA 40
I noticed that the board.

There are a few known issues with v1,2 and 3 but i heard 4 is alot better!
scrammed screen
dna 40 keeps reading voltage not temp
keeps giving dry hits


here a link to read on all the know issues

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/coil-builds/613433-dna-40-nr-nickel-builds-15.html


Summary
In short if you were to ask me the question should i go buy the DNA 40 now my answer would be no as its important to know the results and testing being done in the USA at the moment and also future technologies coming out. However in the future i defiantly see us all using temperature control and there even talk about them doing it through the 510 and not the atty so ppl will be able to use kanthal instead of nickel!

Hope this helps ...
 
Last edited:
Thanks @paulph201
That is exactly the sort of view I was looking for, I desperately wanted a DNA40 chip but seems they are still ironing it out to perfection. I also like the point you made of wiring straight to the 510 to enable kanthal use. I'm happy with my IPV2 V2 for now.

Can't wait for this technology to go widespread as it is the next level. Hope china manages to clone the technology in the next two years because that is how long I will hold onto my box mod before the next upgrade.

I find it amazing that I used to be into upgrading computers and gaming but now I've left that behind but Vaporizing has definitely filled the gap. Love that it is a new technology that is going to be evolving at speed for the next few years at least.

Guys like you make this an awesome place.
 
Just discovered on reddit.

Properly building on a DNA40 (self.electronic_cigarette)

submitted 8 hours ago * by redbeard10838/2010

If you experience issues with dry hits, underperformance, or your device won't stay locked on temperature control mode this if for you. I posted this in another thread, but thought it deserved it's own thread since I've been seeing a lot of people having issues with their mods. Let's get to it.

i've built a bunch of these chips so far. i got some first batch chips that were defective and it was a pain in the balls. since then i've had no issues once i got the hang of the conditions required for it to perform well. in my experience, the chip not locking onto temp control was a result of my build, not the chip performing incorrectly.

one thing to look at before you explode with rage is your coil build. If it's not perfect, your experience will undoubtedly suck. first thing to check are the screws. when i say screws, i mean the screws holding the coil to the deck as well as any screw that holds the atty together including adjustable 510 screws on the bottom of the atty. loose screws create internal resistance that really throw this chip for a loop. remember, you're dealing with such low resistance that things that would be unnoticeable on a kanthal build are magnified to the point of ruining your experience on this. here's some examples of attys that drove me nuts: 1. Lemo - I hated this thing at first. It read my 0.15ohm coils at 0.45 or three times the resistance it was. I got tons of dry hits. I had to take it apart and tighten down EVERYTHING and that problem went away. 2. Kayfun. Same misread on the coil due to an adjustable positive pin on the 510 connection. Tightened it up and it was perfect. 3. Any RBA where I didn't have a perfectly tightened post screw.

if that doesn't resolve your problem, time to inspect your coils. shorts aren't really picked up by this chip. it's so good at down regulating that it can (and I have) fire shorts without catastrophic failure. the best way to build is to wrap (as riptrippers would call it) a "standard" coil meaning the wraps are not touching. my technique is to wrap them very loose, once i have all my wraps, i just pinch it together and let it spring back. you should end up with nice, evenly spaced wraps with minimal effort. once you have your coil installed, turn off temp control, turn down your wattage, fire it til it's slightly glowing....basically enough to see if its heating up evenly. turn temp protection back on, wick it, enjoy it.

tanks are a total pain in the ass. if your wick isn't absolutely perfect, it will underperform on vapor production and 20 watts won't feel like the 20 watts you're used to on a kanthal build because your wick isn't getting juice to the coil fast enough, not cooling the coil, and quickly hitting the temp limit. i have an orchid that drove me insane for a few days trying to get it to work right. basically you have to get it to a point of being about to leak to get the best performance. i have a good wick in one right now that i'm able to rip at 25 watts set to 450 degrees without temp limiting....I'm in love with it so much my wife gets jealous. my advice would be to start with RDAs just to get the hang of it. building on a dna40 is like learning how to build all over again.

this might go without saying, but use steam-engine.org to calculate your builds. you want to be able to see that your target ohm is what your device is actually reading...or very close to it...within 0.02ish ohms. this can help you rule out internal resistance of the atty interfering with your experience.

as far as the nickel wire goes, in my experience, the only gauges you should buy are 28 and 30. anything thicker than 28 requires an insane number of wraps. even though the resistance is super low, the chip will down regulate. 2 volts on a huge number of wraps will be a shit vape. anything thinner than 30 is impossible to work with. for a single coil i've had good experiences with 0.2 ohm 28 gauge coils. duals i aim for 0.12ohm with the 30 gauge.

essentially evolv has put in zero effort in explaining how to actually use this thing which is probably why you've seen no reviews from the more popular youtubers as everyone is trying to figure out what to actually do with it. once i figured these things out, despite hating building with nickel, the DNA40s I've built have been working as they should. good luck!

edit added more details/examples.
edit2 thanks for the downvotes, keep them coming, bitches.

http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/comments/2rt3x8/properly_building_on_a_dna40/
 
Alex said:
Just discovered on reddit.

Properly building on a DNA40 (self.electronic_cigarette)

submitted 8 hours ago * by redbeard10838/2010

If you experience issues with dry hits, underperformance, or your device won't stay locked on temperature control mode this if for you. I posted this in another thread, but thought it deserved it's own thread since I've been seeing a lot of people having issues with their mods. Let's get to it.

i've built a bunch of these chips so far. i got some first batch chips that were defective and it was a pain in the balls. since then i've had no issues once i got the hang of the conditions required for it to perform well. in my experience, the chip not locking onto temp control was a result of my build, not the chip performing incorrectly.

one thing to look at before you explode with rage is your coil build. If it's not perfect, your experience will undoubtedly suck. first thing to check are the screws. when i say screws, i mean the screws holding the coil to the deck as well as any screw that holds the atty together including adjustable 510 screws on the bottom of the atty. loose screws create internal resistance that really throw this chip for a loop. remember, you're dealing with such low resistance that things that would be unnoticeable on a kanthal build are magnified to the point of ruining your experience on this. here's some examples of attys that drove me nuts: 1. Lemo - I hated this thing at first. It read my 0.15ohm coils at 0.45 or three times the resistance it was. I got tons of dry hits. I had to take it apart and tighten down EVERYTHING and that problem went away. 2. Kayfun. Same misread on the coil due to an adjustable positive pin on the 510 connection. Tightened it up and it was perfect. 3. Any RBA where I didn't have a perfectly tightened post screw.

if that doesn't resolve your problem, time to inspect your coils. shorts aren't really picked up by this chip. it's so good at down regulating that it can (and I have) fire shorts without catastrophic failure. the best way to build is to wrap (as riptrippers would call it) a "standard" coil meaning the wraps are not touching. my technique is to wrap them very loose, once i have all my wraps, i just pinch it together and let it spring back. you should end up with nice, evenly spaced wraps with minimal effort. once you have your coil installed, turn off temp control, turn down your wattage, fire it til it's slightly glowing....basically enough to see if its heating up evenly. turn temp protection back on, wick it, enjoy it.

tanks are a total pain in the ass. if your wick isn't absolutely perfect, it will underperform on vapor production and 20 watts won't feel like the 20 watts you're used to on a kanthal build because your wick isn't getting juice to the coil fast enough, not cooling the coil, and quickly hitting the temp limit. i have an orchid that drove me insane for a few days trying to get it to work right. basically you have to get it to a point of being about to leak to get the best performance. i have a good wick in one right now that i'm able to rip at 25 watts set to 450 degrees without temp limiting....I'm in love with it so much my wife gets jealous. my advice would be to start with RDAs just to get the hang of it. building on a dna40 is like learning how to build all over again.

this might go without saying, but use steam-engine.org to calculate your builds. you want to be able to see that your target ohm is what your device is actually reading...or very close to it...within 0.02ish ohms. this can help you rule out internal resistance of the atty interfering with your experience.

as far as the nickel wire goes, in my experience, the only gauges you should buy are 28 and 30. anything thicker than 28 requires an insane number of wraps. even though the resistance is super low, the chip will down regulate. 2 volts on a huge number of wraps will be a shit vape. anything thinner than 30 is impossible to work with. for a single coil i've had good experiences with 0.2 ohm 28 gauge coils. duals i aim for 0.12ohm with the 30 gauge.

essentially evolv has put in zero effort in explaining how to actually use this thing which is probably why you've seen no reviews from the more popular youtubers as everyone is trying to figure out what to actually do with it. once i figured these things out, despite hating building with nickel, the DNA40s I've built have been working as they should. good luck!

edit added more details/examples.
edit2 thanks for the downvotes, keep them coming, bitches.

http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/comments/2rt3x8/properly_building_on_a_dna40/
Click to expand...


Great find @Alex but for now i will still not use my dna40 as its way easier the other way lol
 
Alex said:
Just discovered on reddit.

Properly building on a DNA40 (self.electronic_cigarette)

submitted 8 hours ago * by redbeard10838/2010

If you experience issues with dry hits, underperformance, or your device won't stay locked on temperature control mode this if for you. I posted this in another thread, but thought it deserved it's own thread since I've been seeing a lot of people having issues with their mods. Let's get to it.

i've built a bunch of these chips so far. i got some first batch chips that were defective and it was a pain in the balls. since then i've had no issues once i got the hang of the conditions required for it to perform well. in my experience, the chip not locking onto temp control was a result of my build, not the chip performing incorrectly.

one thing to look at before you explode with rage is your coil build. If it's not perfect, your experience will undoubtedly suck. first thing to check are the screws. when i say screws, i mean the screws holding the coil to the deck as well as any screw that holds the atty together including adjustable 510 screws on the bottom of the atty. loose screws create internal resistance that really throw this chip for a loop. remember, you're dealing with such low resistance that things that would be unnoticeable on a kanthal build are magnified to the point of ruining your experience on this. here's some examples of attys that drove me nuts: 1. Lemo - I hated this thing at first. It read my 0.15ohm coils at 0.45 or three times the resistance it was. I got tons of dry hits. I had to take it apart and tighten down EVERYTHING and that problem went away. 2. Kayfun. Same misread on the coil due to an adjustable positive pin on the 510 connection. Tightened it up and it was perfect. 3. Any RBA where I didn't have a perfectly tightened post screw.

if that doesn't resolve your problem, time to inspect your coils. shorts aren't really picked up by this chip. it's so good at down regulating that it can (and I have) fire shorts without catastrophic failure. the best way to build is to wrap (as riptrippers would call it) a "standard" coil meaning the wraps are not touching. my technique is to wrap them very loose, once i have all my wraps, i just pinch it together and let it spring back. you should end up with nice, evenly spaced wraps with minimal effort. once you have your coil installed, turn off temp control, turn down your wattage, fire it til it's slightly glowing....basically enough to see if its heating up evenly. turn temp protection back on, wick it, enjoy it.

tanks are a total pain in the ass. if your wick isn't absolutely perfect, it will underperform on vapor production and 20 watts won't feel like the 20 watts you're used to on a kanthal build because your wick isn't getting juice to the coil fast enough, not cooling the coil, and quickly hitting the temp limit. i have an orchid that drove me insane for a few days trying to get it to work right. basically you have to get it to a point of being about to leak to get the best performance. i have a good wick in one right now that i'm able to rip at 25 watts set to 450 degrees without temp limiting....I'm in love with it so much my wife gets jealous. my advice would be to start with RDAs just to get the hang of it. building on a dna40 is like learning how to build all over again.

this might go without saying, but use steam-engine.org to calculate your builds. you want to be able to see that your target ohm is what your device is actually reading...or very close to it...within 0.02ish ohms. this can help you rule out internal resistance of the atty interfering with your experience.

as far as the nickel wire goes, in my experience, the only gauges you should buy are 28 and 30. anything thicker than 28 requires an insane number of wraps. even though the resistance is super low, the chip will down regulate. 2 volts on a huge number of wraps will be a shit vape. anything thinner than 30 is impossible to work with. for a single coil i've had good experiences with 0.2 ohm 28 gauge coils. duals i aim for 0.12ohm with the 30 gauge.

essentially evolv has put in zero effort in explaining how to actually use this thing which is probably why you've seen no reviews from the more popular youtubers as everyone is trying to figure out what to actually do with it. once i figured these things out, despite hating building with nickel, the DNA40s I've built have been working as they should. good luck!

edit added more details/examples.
edit2 thanks for the downvotes, keep them coming, bitches.

http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/comments/2rt3x8/properly_building_on_a_dna40/
Click to expand...
Wow, thanks @Alex. Far too involved for me....will stay with @paulph201's recommendation for the time being.
 
DNA40 Coil Build in Pics
Created 4 hours ago · 13 images · 390 views · stats

First off, pics were done with a decent camera with my new fantastic lens. Click them to zoom in. Here's the build we're doing. 0.12ohm dual coil with 30 gauge. 13 wraps on a 2.5mm bit.

Here are the tools. Having two bits are important for dual coils. after you install the first, installing the second is a ***** without it. If the lead off the second coil stabs the first one, it can deform it.

Here's 13 "loose" wraps for lack of a better word. Looks sloppy, but we'll fix it next.

Pinch the coil in and release.....

Boom! Some evenly space decent looking wraps.

Make two!

Install them! I take the leads through the post hole, up, and throw a wrap around the top of the screw. Slowly tighten until the coil feels secure. You will snap several before you get the feel for it.

Take a resistance reading. I aimed for 0.12 and ended up with 0.13. Close enough.

Turn off temp protection, turn down the wattage! If you leave it high, it will pop the coils almost instantly. As you can see there are no hot spots and they're heating up evenly from the middle. Good stuff. Don't forget to turn temp protection back on.

Wick it and juice it. Also, notice the size of these coils. This is 30 gauge and they look huge....because they are.

As you can see, even with 40 watts, it's pretty angry. Set to 450 degrees, it doesn't even trip the temp limit in use until it starts to dry out.

I'm not much of a dripper and prefer the convenience of tanks, but this setup makes clouds. (Plume veil, flip the barrel upside down, chuff top). The mod itself is a build I did last weekend in the fasttech mini enclosure. Two 600mah lipos in parallel makes for crappy battery life, but for the overall size and this dripper, it's pretty impressive for the size. Cost in parts is about 120 bucks. For ease of build and versatility, the 18650 enclosure is much, much better.

THE COCK STRIKES AGAIN!
 
Day one with the rDNA 40 went GREAT... Day two... not so much :(

Literally all of a sudden last night it just gave an INTENSE burnt taste... Vaped at 220C, 22W all afternoon and boom, suddenly it just went crazy on me.
Just wanted to sleep so I left it.
This morning still the same result.

I've rebuilt this thing at least 13 times now and something is still wrong :confused:
I've tried 2 and 2.3 mm coils, spaced and contact coils, adjusted the center pin of the squape to make sure it's making contact, tried less wick, more wick, less wraps, more wraps, taken out the battery so it clears any memory and I'm out of ideas now...

NOTHING I try seems to work?

It either tastes bad or pretty much instantly hits temperature protection even when it's completely cooled down:confused: and EVEN when is set as low as 7W??? I would take the wick out to see if it did actually burn and sometimes there is an every so slight discolouration if any at all:confused:

Yesterday my first try was instant success on the first try. Tried repeating that exact same process but it just doesn't work. The temp protection keeps getting triggered

Here's my latest coil.
I am seeing a tiny drop of liquid that leaked through the center pin onto the mod's pin. I'm thinking maybe that could be messing up the readings. Busy adjusting it now to see if it helps.
Problem is screwing it far into the squape makes it lose contact with the mod's pin
[facepalming like a baws]

51934cd64a3197e11d2e5f63ed3c59e5.jpg
 
Last edited:
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