Cisco HH.357 and Aero atomisers

[prof beard]

Having read stuff on the forums and being as big a sucker for new atomisers as some are for new tanks, I ordered the following from Avid Vaper

AERO 510 Bridgeless Atomizer (Stainless Steel) at $11.99

HH.357 Cisco Spec Hybrid 510 Atomizer (1.5ohm, Stainless Steel) $21.99

HH.357 Long Barrel Hybrid 510 Atomizer (1.5ohm, Stainless Steel) $21.99

Shipping was $9.72, and I escaped any UK Customs etc rip-offs

As always, Avid's service was excellent - I was kept well informed and the stuff took a little over a week to arrive..

What was in the package?

The HH.357

This came in a little tin in a little snap bag, inside was the atomiser in a smaller snap bag and some padding:



The HH.357 looks like this:



and is well stamped on the base:



The inside looks very different:



The HH.375 also came with detailed instructions:

Please follow this user guide carefully for optimum performance.

1. Blow excess primer out only in the direction of airflow (in through battery connector terminal and out through drip tip/mouth piece end)
Do not rinse or clean out primer. It is needed for proper break in. Primer is 50/50 PG/VG

2. Apply enough liquid ( about 5 drops) until a slight gurgle is heard when you draw (cold draw / no power ) if no gurgle is heard add 1-2 more drops

3. Vape some short drags to be sure there is enough liquid and to test different draw speeds. Remember the pump works on vacuum, slow / soft drags are not going to create enough vacuum.

4. If you get a bad taste on first drag, add 1-3 drops try again.

5. A bad taste or light flavor/vaper from a drag means the atomizer is ready for 2-3 more drops, depending on liquid used. 2-3 for all VG. 3-4 for VG PG.

6. Continue to vape and top off with juice until flavor starts to intensify (you will know) atomizer will "hiss" after a drag when its ready to top off, or top off when you get poor flavor.

7. When you feel you "know" your atomizer go ahead and vape hard. Please be aware when your atomier is running dry, Enjoy!!!


CLEANING PROCEDURE:

A dirty atomizer can cause poor wicking and restrict the flow of liquid to the coil. Dirty wicking material will hold less juice and increase the potential for leaking.

For longer life clean your atomizers when you feel the performance drops or they are not wicking properly. High VG content, Dark jucies, and juices with high sugar content will need to be cleaned more often.

For cleaning use Ethanol/grain alcohol or vodka and let soak for an hour. Drip clean ethanol/alcohol into the atomizer from the mouth piece end and let it drip out the connector end, this would be the final "flush" before blowing the atomizer out and repeating steps 2-5. Step 2 would require 7-9 drops after a cleaning and blow out.

Do not let the atomizer dry out after cleaning, it needs to stay lubricated. Drop the required amount of drips of your juice or straight pg/vg for pre priming immediately after blowing it out even if you wont be using for a while. Never store the atomizer dry.

Do not blow air in from the drip tip / mouth piece end, EVER. Blow air only in the direction of airflow. In through the connector end and out through drip tip/mouth piece end.

Do not dry burn for any reason, any remaining vodka inside the atomizer will burn off after the first few pulls.

Low Resistance atomizers are not designed to be run on standard (cigarette sized) batteries and are known to kill or significantly reduce the lifespan of eGo | Riva style batteries. Older heavily used batteries and batteries with faulty protection circuits can be instantly rendered useless.

The HH.357 Long Barrel

This came in a snap bag (I guess the tin would have to be a fair bit bigger) and is basically the same atomiser in a 901 length case:



Otherwise it is identical:





The AERO 510 Bridgeless Atomizer

These are described as follows:

Cisco Spec 1.5ohm LR510 Bridgeless Atomizer (open center post)

The aero bridgeless atomizers are made with a Cisco Spec high performance Low resistance 1.5ohm coil with absence of a bridge and its wicking material creating an exposed coil. The aero's have some tweaks and adjustments that make this a better bridgeless atomizer. These atomizers are for dripping or bottom feeders only. These will NOT work with standard cartridges. These atomizers are not designed to be run on standard (cigarette sized) batteries and are known to significantly reduce the lifespan of eGo | Riva style batteries. Older heavily used batteries and batteries with faulty protection circuits can be instantly rendered useless.

There is pre-primer fluid (straight pg/vg) used in manufacturing of these atomizers, blow out any excess primer, drip 4-5 drops of e-liquid on any new atomizer, give the liquid 30 seconds or so to soak in and wet the coil, drop another 2-3 drops just before vaping. Do not run the atomizers dry as this puts excess stress on the coil and could damage the coil rendering the atomizer useless.

There is a learning curve inherent with LR atomizers and you need to understand how to use them properly and not damage them. I don't recommend these atomizers for users who are new to vaping unless they understand the proper use. There is no warranty on these atomizers and are guaranteed to not be DOA.

These atomizers carry no warranty. Each atomizer is metered before shipping, therefore DOA claims will not be accepted.

(I find the concepts of "guaranteed not DOA" and "DOA claims will not be accepted" somewhat contradictory )

The Aero looks like this:



Is clearly stamped:



And looks very similar to the 357 "down the end":



Using the atomisers

The Aero

OK - so I blew out the primer, dripped 5 drops of e-liquid into the atomizer. AS instructed, I gave the liquid 30 seconds or so to soak in and wet the coil, and then dripped another 2-3 drops...

I then screwed the Aero into my Apex Alpha Ultra (with RES) and fitted a Super T Whistle Drip Tip:



I then tried it - it was working and seemed "OK" for a brand new atty... I then stuck another 8 drips down it and left it to soak into the Ultra's RES...

On carrying on vaping the flavour and hit started to improve dramatically...

As it broke in, I tried switching for the Cisco 1.5ohm 306 I normally have on the Ultra (about 20ml old). The Aero is hotter, hit is very similar, and both give good flavour but the flavour is different... The Aero is "full flavoured" (and MUCH better on flavour than a regular LR 510) but lacks the subtlety of flavour of the 306.

I have noticed the Aero is delivering more nicotine than the 306 though... (he says as his head spins)

So - a few hours in: I like it - it's different - and I would think that 510 fans would be impressed (I'm not a 510 fan at all, but I like this). I think it will suit "feeder" users best as it munches the juice at a fair rate. It works really well with the Ultra RES. The real test will be how long it lasts, I think...

The HH.357

Ok, I followed the instructions carefully with each HH.357. Firstly I blew the primer out by blowing into the connector end. I then dripped in enough liquid (6 or 7 drops as it turned out) to get a "slight gurgle" from a cold draw.

I then took some short draws to test things out - everything seemed to be ok...

Short HH.357

I started out with this on my Ultra:



Well it worked, but to be quite honest, even after quite a while, it wasn't as good as the Aero. So I switched it to my Super Six:



This was MUCH better huge vapour and excellent (really excellent) flavour. Lastly I tried it on my Mako Minno with an Empire Drip shield:



This was basically the same, but the drip shield (which I could have used with the Super Six of course) tightened the draw, which made things better.

To be sure I was right about the HH.357 with the Ultra, I tried it again - still not as as good as the Aero on that - odd - it is so good on the two non-feed devices - I can't explain this.

Long HH.357

For this, I fitted a short 510 to 510 extender to the Super Six and then visited the long barrel HH.357 and an Empire Drip Shield. (the extender ensures the lower o-ring on the drip shield is below the end of the atomiser - hence no leaks and tighter draw):



This is, so far, great! It's like an LR901 on steroids! The longer barrel seems improve the vape over the sort version and a slightly longer draw can be taken without things getting too hot. (I must find my 901 to 510 adapter and put this on my old Mk 1 Screwdriver).

So, apart from being ferociously thirsty beasts, they are both good but I prefer the long barrel one - the acid test will be how long they last though. Can't understand why the HH doesn't seem to suit my Ultra...