Discontinued The RBT Milaana (unregulated single 18650)

[friedrich]

@KeroZen
Don't stay too long in the cave; the knowledge needs to build at least until someone starts producing a 4V 20A power supply that plugs into a car lighter!

On the other point,
I think there may be something wrong with the battery connection in my Milaana too. The copper piece often gets pretty hot (indicating a power leak?) and the required button hold time grows quickly. My guess is I'm lucky to completely finish two lightly-loaded stems with one charge (although to be honest… I haven't actually kept track ).

It's kind of frustrating and has encouraged me to use other vapes most of the time, but I sure do like Milaana's vapor on a fresh battery and its simplicity of operation. Hopefully there's an easy fix with the battery tab or something; I might mess with it tonight.

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

@DDave is DMan. Received my kit today -- beautiful set. Looking forward to playing with my new toys today. Thanks man!

 

[hweezi]

One charged up pretty quick, yes!

Yep, it's real friggin' deal.

Though I'm still happy with my decision so far, I'd much rather something now than later. I really like the size (while it's bigger than I was expecting), maybe the Zion would be too big. I can't see it as versatile with the added girth.

I'm very scared to break it to be honest.

Oh and the glue smell went away after the second load.

Just had a mini panic attack thinking i already broke it, battery wasn't secured enough ... going to bed now.

 

[Bravesst]

@KeroZen
Don't stay too long in the cave; the knowledge needs to build at least until someone starts producing a 4V 20A power supply that plugs into a car lighter!

On the other point,
I think there may be something wrong with the battery connection in my Milaana too. The copper piece often gets pretty hot (indicating a power leak?) and the required button hold time grows quickly. My guess is I'm lucky to completely finish two lightly-loaded stems with one charge (although to be honest… I haven't actually kept track ).

It's kind of frustrating and has encouraged me to use other vapes most of the time, but I sure do like Milaana's vapor on a fresh battery and its simplicity of operation. Hopefully there's an easy fix with the battery tab or something; I might mess with it tonight.

This happened to me the other day. The battery tab at the bottom of the hole (positive end), gets bent down or pushed to the side. You'll need some kind of L-shaped or hook to get under it and pull it up. Be sure you pull it up from the correct end (attached side, kinda tricky). Also be sure it's centered in the hole, so as to make a good connection.

That fixed me up 100% after things going cold and my copper cap getting hot.

@TheDudeNextDoor
got mine today too, sipping on the 14mm now... bit less taste is the first thing I notice.

The long stem is a taste monster!

 

[killick]

@anyone with a battery placement issue - maybe check to see if the indent on the battery lid is on the middle of the button top. Or at least not in the wee gap between the button top and the battery side. I guess this could be avoided by putting the battery in upside down, but then you'd have to suck through the air inlet. It makes sense, right?

Near disaster! Loaded a new battery and a fresh stem into Millie and went for a drive to the neighbors place. 2 miles away on the ATV. Got there, poked around, came home, and Millie is where she's supposed to be, but no stem! OMG, right? Anyways I caught stem just as it was rolling off the floor. Load was everywhere, but stem was safe and sound, with minimal cow poo on it. Earthy, musky overtones, with hints of pine...

 

[Copacetic]

@anyone with a battery placement issue - maybe check to see if the indent on the battery lid is on the middle of the button top. Or at least not in the wee gap between the button top and the battery side. I guess this could be avoided by putting the battery in upside down, but then you'd have to suck through the air inlet. It makes sense, right?

Near disaster! Loaded a new battery and a fresh stem into Millie and went for a drive to the neighbors place. 2 miles away on the ATV. Got there, poked around, came home, and Millie is where she's supposed to be, but no stem! OMG, right? Anyways I caught stem just as it was rolling off the floor. Load was everywhere, but stem was safe and sound, with minimal cow poo on it. Earthy, musky overtones, with hints of pine...

Shouldn't this be in the ethnobotanics thread?

 

[ZC]

Could you not have a titanium heater cover instead of glass?

I've thought about this as well and there are two obvious problems that come to mind.

One is electrical and insulation. The heater is essentially a stainless steel mesh filling up as much of the glass tube as it can, with mica inside it to insulate heat and to stop a short from happening. Having this rub up against a titanium tube would cause a short, so you'd need another insulator between the tube and heater. I don't think they make mica in tube form.

The other big problem is cost. A TI machined part is going to be time consuming to make and expensive. Especially in such small quantities.

Meanwhile, in bulk I doubt the glass in the Mi costs more than a buck or two.

And after all that, it'll absorb more of the heat than the glass and likely require more power to make up for the heater cover acting like a heatsink. At best, it'll change some of the thermal properties of the heater design and require tweaking.

I sure do like the idea of an indestructible Mi though.

 

[mrbonsai420]

When did you get yours?

@mrbonsai420 : please check the internal battery tab as suggested above, it could be bent and making bad contact. Otherwise I have no idea how the heater could develop such an issue without receiving a physical shock or something... or maybe it did overheat and the metal changed shape inside, lowering the amount of strands carrying the current in parallel?

--

I tried prying up the battery lead as directed, it seems to be making good contact with the + of the battery.
I was able to get high of fof it today but it's definitely not right. But using my driest herb, I was able to do a 15 second pre-heat and another 15 second draw with the button pressed the whole time! That's 30 seconds of straight button holding with a fresh battery to get a hit. I could no shit get a bigger hit off of this unit after 3 seconds pre-heat and a 3 second hit yesterday. I really don't know what changed but this thing went from being up there in power with the Daisy's, Supreme's and Evo's yesterday. Now it's more like a MFLB for real lol

I wonder if I really need to wait to hear from Sheila or RBT via email before sending it in or can I just ship it to them? I filled out the form but haven't heard back.

 

[ZC]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C9UUFHC/

Okay, I think this will work when paired with any power supply with enough power to run the thing. I have a 12v, 10A brick laying around that should be way more than needed. (If this thing pulls 120w something's wrong!)

I'll just need to adjust it to the right voltage before connecting it to the Mi.

Any concerns?

 

[GTAVaper]

I've thought about this as well and there are two obvious problems that come to mind.

One is electrical and insulation. The heater is essentially a stainless steel mesh filling up as much of the glass tube as it can, with mica inside it to insulate heat and to stop a short from happening. Having this rub up against a titanium tube would cause a short, so you'd need another insulator between the tube and heater. I don't think they make mica in tube form.

The other big problem is cost. A TI machined part is going to be time consuming to make and expensive. Especially in such small quantities.

Meanwhile, in bulk I doubt the glass in the Mi costs more than a buck or two.

And after all that, it'll absorb more of the heat than the glass and likely require more power to make up for the heater cover acting like a heatsink. At best, it'll change some of the thermal properties of the heater design and require tweaking.

I sure do like the idea of an indestructible Mi though.

I believe I mentioned this recently in one of the threads....either Milaana or Zion; but after using a 19mm PTFE (Teflon) plug for a claisen adapter I was thinking that this might make a great female heater joint for these vapes.

Anyone with a chemistry/lab background know if there are any drawbacks to using this material for the female heater joint in RBT vapes?

This would solve the problem of potential glass breakage as a result of dropping the vapes accidentally.

 

[ZC]

This is what I got from quick Google search about Teflon and temperature.

While PTFE is stable and nontoxic at lower temperatures, it begins to deteriorate after the temperature of cookware reaches about 260 °C (500 °F), and decomposes above 350 °C(662 °F). The degradation by-products can be lethal to birds, and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans—see polymer fume fever.

Those temps are a little too close to vaporization temps for my comfort.

It might be worth starting another thread to discuss further since we aren't supposed to talk material safety in these threads so that's all I'll say for now.

 

[cybrguy]

But using my driest herb, I was able to do a 15 second pre-heat and another 15 second draw with the button pressed the whole time!

This should NOT be possible on a fresh battery without combustion. Sorry, you better send it in.

I believe I mentioned this recently in one of the threads....either Milaana or Zion; but after using a 19mm PTFE (Teflon) plug for a claisen adapter I was thinking that this might make a great female heater joint for these vapes.

I personally would have no problem using this material on the female joint that won't even get that hot. The heat is inside the stem.

That being said, it would turn some off and reduce sales.

 

[DocGonzo]

I know from using the Herbalaire that Teflon swells with heat, too. Not sure if it would get hot enough, but if it did it could cause the stem to get stuck in the joint until it cools back down.

 

[cybrguy]

The female joint itself is just a socket to hold the glass stem. It really isn't a conduit to direct the hot air. For the most part the hot air leaves the heater and goes directly into the stem. I have never noticed the female joint getting hot at all. I'll play with it a little tonight to be sure and come back to this, but I'm certain it wouldn't get hot enough to swell.
(I have an HA too, so I know what you mean)

 

[Dramma Lamma]

Ok wait, are we talking about the ground fitting only being made of Teflon, or the whole stem inside the unit which is glass now getting replaced with Teflon?

If replacing all of the glass is what you guys mean, you do realize the heater is suspended inside of the glass stem down there right?

Its just wrapped up in a bunch of screen and jammed into a custom ground area within the glass stem. I can tell this by comparing the variance on my units. Also they fucked one up a bit which is a huge tell.

Its jammed up in there and does warm the glass a bit on its level, tho you are right no real heat builds on the fitting area of the glass.

You can tell the heat is building down there within the glass stem as after/during a long session the sides of the unit are warm to the touch.

I would not use teflon here, to handle the heater assembly directly.


If we are talking about the fitting only then, similar to how the wispr bowlpeice you could maybe use a silicone of a high grade, which was custom flowed into a glass piece. Allowing the heater to be held in glass still, but the fitting only could be another material.

^^The bowl I'm talking about for reference. ^^




Personally this is a moot point of discussion as if you were to construct the unit with a wooden cap over the top of the glass fitting which still allowed the stem to fit and cold air intake to function, then you would have a HUGE line of defense against the glass hitting the ground when dropped. This would also allow you to eliminate the glue as well. Frankly I don't see why it wasn't designed that way to start.


This would make it so the only thing that would break the glass is pure shock from a large drop which all glass items are prone to, hell users have dropped a jyarz that was fully assembled and the internal glass broke. Which is once again the purpose of the jyarz design to minimize that. Point is glass breaks under big shocks some times.

 

[friedrich]

I've thought that a simple straight bore with an o-ring seal might have been nice, sort of like the Daisy / Sticky Brick? Stems would be simpler, more like the Nano's straight stem and GonG.

 

[Dramma Lamma]

I've thought that a simple straight bore with an o-ring seal might have been nice, sort of like the Daisy / Sticky Brick? Stems would be simpler, more like the Nano's straight stem and GonG.

Yeah a slightly taller unit, with a deeper recess to accommodate an o-ring on top of the glass fitting is also a great design possibility.


Edit: I miss-interpreted your idea at first.
I get what u mean now and yeah that would work also.

 

[ZC]

So I recieved my @DDave kit and it was packed very well.

The fit, on the other hand, isn't perfect.

The 18mm stem doesnt even seat correctly in the Mi. Even with no screen on the end, it rocks against the heater's screen and doesn't provide a seal. It does look pretty awesome, but functionality wise, it's a dud for me.

The Reducer fits better. It rocks slightly but creates a good seal and stays in the unit, but it dislodges much more easily than my stock stems and could easily be dislodged on accident.

Then there's the 14mm baskets. The 14mm stems themselves fit perfectly in the reduceer. But the rim around these screens is problematic. It is ever so slightly wider than the lip of the 14mm male fitting it fits into. So once the stem goes into the reducer, it doesn't fit quite right. The screen gets stuck to the reducer, so when you pull the stem out it's still there, and what's more the screen ends up blocking the stem from being seated all the way.

I gotta say it's not quite where it needs to be in terms of fit. But hey, that's a beta product for you! I'm sure @DDave will work on it.

On the other hand, I just took my first couple of hits from the small 14mm stem and all I can say is holy shit! This thing hits HARD with small bowls. No heat up time needed. just press the button and start inhaling and there's thick vapor right away. Now the Mi really is a log on the go. Also, a log with nuance, thanks to the button.

I think if I pair this with my 14-14mm male adaptor and a water piece it's going to take me out of this world.




EDIT: O-rings and a straight bore would be great. I think the concern there is then the glass is too easy to come out, and if it slides out it could mess up the heaters shape.

But then you know, O-rings and a nice wooden washer to cap it off.

Really, there's just a ton of options that don't include glue, but I think the bottom line is all those options are more labor intensive and RBT is trying to keep costs down.

 

[flotntoke]

FWIW, I've found that a dental tool if you have one lying around is great to pull the bottom "spring" back up into place. I knew I needed to do mine when I had little heat/no vapor on a fresh battery. Also noticed the battery sat much lower in its hole. Usually on mine the battery top is sticking out just a bit above the top edge of Mi. When the spring needed adjustment it was below flush.

All this talk of other batts, AC power supply and teflon GonGs is interesting reading (sort of), but sounds to me like a step or two beyond tweaking. Would hate to see the competition to RBT, but maybe a better idea to design a better vape? Good luck with that. I think it would be very hard to outdo this one. But if you nail it, I'd probably buy one.

 

[HD Springer]

So I recieved my @DDave kit and it was packed very well.

The fit, on the other hand, isn't perfect.

The 18mm stem doesnt even seat correctly in the Mi. Even with no screen on the end, it rocks against the heater's screen and doesn't provide a seal. It does look pretty awesome, but functionality wise, it's a dud for me.

The Reducer fits better. It rocks slightly but creates a good seal and stays in the unit, but it dislodges much more easily than my stock stems and could easily be dislodged on accident.

Then there's the 14mm baskets. The 14mm stems themselves fit perfectly in the reduceer. But the rim around these screens is problematic. It is ever so slightly wider than the lip of the 14mm male fitting it fits into. So once the stem goes into the reducer, it doesn't fit quite right. The screen gets stuck to the reducer, so when you pull the stem out it's still there, and what's more the screen ends up blocking the stem from being seated all the way.

I gotta say it's not quite where it needs to be in terms of fit. But hey, that's a beta product for you! I'm sure @DDave will work on it.

On the other hand, I just took my first couple of hits from the small 14mm stem and all I can say is holy shit! This thing hits HARD with small bowls. No heat up time needed. just press the button and start inhaling and there's thick vapor right away. Now the Mi really is a log on the go. Also, a log with nuance, thanks to the button.

I think if I pair this with my 14-14mm male adaptor and a water piece it's going to take me out of this world.




EDIT: O-rings and a straight bore would be great. I think the concern there is then the glass is too easy to come out, and if it slides out it could mess up the heaters shape.

But then you know, O-rings and a nice wooden washer to cap it off.

Really, there's just a ton of options that don't include glue, but I think the bottom line is all those options are more labor intensive and RBT is trying to keep costs down.

I too recieve mine today. Unreal shipping time.

I'm going to try and have the reducer sanded down or cut down. And the 18mm stem also. I love the ideas and all just needs a couple little tweaks or sanding.
This is a great price. Unreal fast delivery. Thank you @DDave

 

[TheDudeNextDoor]

So I recieved my @DDave kit and it was packed very well.

The fit, on the other hand, isn't perfect.

The 18mm stem doesnt even seat correctly in the Mi. Even with no screen on the end, it rocks against the heater's screen and doesn't provide a seal. It does look pretty awesome, but functionality wise, it's a dud for me.

The Reducer fits better. It rocks slightly but creates a good seal and stays in the unit, but it dislodges much more easily than my stock stems and could easily be dislodged on accident.

Then there's the 14mm baskets. The 14mm stems themselves fit perfectly in the reduceer. But the rim around these screens is problematic. It is ever so slightly wider than the lip of the 14mm male fitting it fits into. So once the stem goes into the reducer, it doesn't fit quite right. The screen gets stuck to the reducer, so when you pull the stem out it's still there, and what's more the screen ends up blocking the stem from being seated all the way.

I gotta say it's not quite where it needs to be in terms of fit. But hey, that's a beta product for you! I'm sure @DDave will work on it.

On the other hand, I just took my first couple of hits from the small 14mm stem and all I can say is holy shit! This thing hits HARD with small bowls. No heat up time needed. just press the button and start inhaling and there's thick vapor right away. Now the Mi really is a log on the go. Also, a log with nuance, thanks to the button.

I think if I pair this with my 14-14mm male adaptor and a water piece it's going to take me out of this world.




EDIT: O-rings and a straight bore would be great. I think the concern there is then the glass is too easy to come out, and if it slides out it could mess up the heaters shape.

But then you know, O-rings and a nice wooden washer to cap it off.

Really, there's just a ton of options that don't include glue, but I think the bottom line is all those options are more labor intensive and RBT is trying to keep costs down.

Same fitting problems here as well. Still playing with the various setups, but the loose fit in all pieces is a bit disappointing. I am still NOT sorry I picked up the kit -- we may find a good fit yet, and it's still a good deal for the price.

 

[ZC]

Yeah I'm definitely happy I picked it up.

As a plus, the 18mm screens fit perfectly in my Joda piece, much better than the flat screen that came with it.

 

[herbivore21]

So I recieved my @DDave kit and it was packed very well.

The fit, on the other hand, isn't perfect.

The 18mm stem doesnt even seat correctly in the Mi. Even with no screen on the end, it rocks against the heater's screen and doesn't provide a seal. It does look pretty awesome, but functionality wise, it's a dud for me.

The Reducer fits better. It rocks slightly but creates a good seal and stays in the unit, but it dislodges much more easily than my stock stems and could easily be dislodged on accident.

Then there's the 14mm baskets. The 14mm stems themselves fit perfectly in the reduceer. But the rim around these screens is problematic. It is ever so slightly wider than the lip of the 14mm male fitting it fits into. So once the stem goes into the reducer, it doesn't fit quite right. The screen gets stuck to the reducer, so when you pull the stem out it's still there, and what's more the screen ends up blocking the stem from being seated all the way.

I gotta say it's not quite where it needs to be in terms of fit. But hey, that's a beta product for you! I'm sure @DDave will work on it.

On the other hand, I just took my first couple of hits from the small 14mm stem and all I can say is holy shit! This thing hits HARD with small bowls. No heat up time needed. just press the button and start inhaling and there's thick vapor right away. Now the Mi really is a log on the go. Also, a log with nuance, thanks to the button.

I think if I pair this with my 14-14mm male adaptor and a water piece it's going to take me out of this world.




EDIT: O-rings and a straight bore would be great. I think the concern there is then the glass is too easy to come out, and if it slides out it could mess up the heaters shape.

But then you know, O-rings and a nice wooden washer to cap it off.

Really, there's just a ton of options that don't include glue, but I think the bottom line is all those options are more labor intensive and RBT is trying to keep costs down.

This echo's all of my findings in my own custom vape designs. In convection vapes, a narrower airpath/chamber = more clouds from less effort. Less air volume to heat up continuously, hotter overall airflow through the material with less work from the heater and your lungs. On vapes that usually require stirring, I find going from an 18mm f to a 14mm f bowl removes the need for stirring too

 

[HD Springer]

im wondering if there isn't some type of spacer we can use on that reducer. One that will slide up the outer part of the reducer and rear under the lip. Maybe an high heat fat o ring maybe. I might look into some tomorrow.


Edit: my 18mm shorty is almost a perfect fit. I'm talking just a tiny tiny bit long. I used it and it works great. Just can't use the top hat screen with it.

 

[Bandoo]

This is what I got from quick Google search about Teflon and temperature.

While PTFE is stable and nontoxic at lower temperatures, it begins to deteriorate after the temperature of cookware reaches about 260 °C (500 °F), and decomposes above 350 °C(662 °F). The degradation by-products can be lethal to birds, and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans—see polymer fume fever.

Those temps are a little too close to vaporization temps for my comfort.

It might be worth starting another thread to discuss further since we aren't supposed to talk material safety in these threads so that's all I'll say for now.

Right, You don't want teflon anywhere around anything that goes into your body. That means vapes or fry pans. http://fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/teflon-pans/. etc etc flouride.
I would never buy anything like that. Teflon and health / vaporization is a oxymoron...