SteamCrave RDTA Plus Special Edition review by SessionDrummer

It was only a matter of time before I finally got around to REVIEWING one of my beloved Steam Craves, and since @eStorm had mentioned this one publicly, there was no backing out. Regardless of how many SC’s I’ve already got stashed in my go bag, this Special Limited Edition Kit was TOO good, and too grand to NOT put something up. #IPaidForItMyself so read on, and see if you’re game for one of these massive kits.

Specs:

  • 30mm Diameter
  • Threaded Top Fill System
  • Two Large Fill Ports
  • 10ml E-Juice Capacity (5ml with short tank, 15ml with bubble glass)
  • Postless Build Deck
  • Four Mounting Terminals 3mm by 2.5mm Each
  • Side Mounted Hex Keys
  • Dual Wicking Ports
  • Chimney Threaded to Top Cap and Base (10ml tank chimney plus 5ml short tank chimney)
  • Dual Adjustable Bottom Airflow
  • 8.5mm by 4mm Each Airslot
  • Air Intake Screen Improves Flavor and Decreases Coil Spitting
  • 10.5mm Wide Bore Delrin 810 Drip Tip
  • Silver 510 Pin
  • Stainless Steel and Glass Construction

Main Kit Included:

  • Aromamizer Plus whole unit (with postless deck)
  • Spare 10ml glass
  • Vape band
  • Spare O ring and grub screws
  • Allen Key
  • 510 drip tip adaptor

Limited Edition Extras:

  • Series deck
  • Single coil deck
  • 15ml bubble glass
  • Bundle sale 5ml conversion kit ( including 1 pc short chimney part & 2pcs 5ml glass)

Nothing fancy, nothing special about the packaging, but, it’s all in there.

Behold the 30mm behemoth.

30mm Plus, Vape Band (woo hoo), Spare 10ml glass, 510 adapter, multi-tool, o-rings, grub screws, and user’s guide.

Broken down, the quality and workmanship become apparent.

The juice flow is very well thought out, and if this doesn’t flow enough juice for you, you’ll probably need an IV bag.

The juiceflow is easily adjustable via the bottom ring (locked – off for filling, unlocked – wide open).

Moving onto the airflow, WOW, dual honeycombed ports for smoothness.

Wonder where the airflow is hitting the coils ?? RIGHT where it should.

Filling is stupid easy, even with larger Cosmo bottles thanks to the large dual ports.

As typical for SteamCrave everywhere there should be an o-ring there is (or two), including on the top cap.

The included standard postless deck is very easy to build on and spacious. With the huge juice flow ports, easy wicking proved to be a reality.

For the testing I just threw in some simple dual core 5 wrap 3mm ID claptons @ .17 ohms, but you could go bigger.

I never measure, but just trim to fit with the coil legs. Guesstimated to line up with the honeycomb airflow slots.

When wicking I didn’t have to thin, rake, or angle the tails due to the very adequate space.

Typically you want the tails covering the holes, but I went a bit heavier to see if I could get any dry hits, and I did not. Covering the holes is the best way to go, barely coming through.

Small drip before the money shot could be had !!!

Lightly sauced, and ready for assembly.

Blue on blue ?? Didn’t look too shabby.

Now let’s just see what’s in the Special Limited Edition box !!!

Oh YES, there’s MORE. (2) 5ml glass tanks with a short chimney section, a 15ml bubble tank, single coil deck, series deck, more spare grub screws, and more o-rings !!!

The single coil deck was smartly done, with no need to insert anything to block off airflow.

The series deck opens up a huge range of options.

Testing/Usage:

Where to begin with this “don’t worry, it’s IN there” Limited Edition Kit ?? As a disclaimer I have been an avid SC user since the first version hit the shelves, and have almost every version stashed in my go bag at this point. I’ve been able to personally witness the improvments (if any) and/or pitfalls from versions to the next. I’d already been using a Plus in my daily rotation, but this special kit forced me over the edge to review it finally.

The quality of all of the parts were top notch, and as expected, being a newer version of SC’s tried and true designs. All of the threads, o-rings, and adjustment rings worked perfectly, with no issues, and/or leaking. The unit can be hard to adjust the juice flow when unpacking it, but after it’s juiced up, things loosen up a bit making it easier. The honeycomb airflow actually does work to smooth it a bit, and there was plenty of flow when wide open. Juice flow worked as expected, and even when slightly overpacking the wick tails, had NO dry hitting. Having only “officially” only used the stock postless deck, it proved to be perfeclty easy to build on like many others with trimming the coil legs before inserting as usual. Huge dual fill ports allowed for even my cosmo bottles to fill with ease.

Because I use an older version Supreme as my daily driver, it was interesting to compare/contrast that with this, being a much newer design. The outstanding flavor was about consistent with my older model, but the airflow was much improved with this version, AND smoother, so the honeycomb filters seem to actually work.
Pros:

  • Parts well machined, fit like a glove, with smooth threads, and great o-rings
  • Outstanding looks
  • Beyond customizable with the various tank sizes, and build decks.
  • Easy to build and wick with large juice flow, and smooth airflow
  • Easy top fill even for big bottles
  • Outstanding flavor

Cons:

  • Adjustment rings can be hard to move unitl lubricated (filled)
  • Can be somewhat hard to adjust juiceflow ring without moving airflow ring
  • Bigger (30mm) and somewhat heavier than many similar tanks
  • Only comes in two colors at the time of this writing
  • MUST close off juice flow (and air flow) when filling to prevent flooding

Conclusion:

If you already have a few SteamCraves in your arsenal, or even if you don’t, you may want to consider this kit. Outstanding flavor, clouds, easy filling, and about EVERY possible option you could want, I don’t see how you can go wrong with this grand of a kit. At the time of writing, it was off of sale at SteamCrave, but still listed @ $60.00 which is a steal for what you get. 15ml, 10ml, 5ml tanks with spares, standard/series/single coil decks, loads of o-rings/grub screws, gets hard to figure out if they forgot anything. 10/10.
#SteamCraveFanBoy

Thanks for reading !!!

8 Likes

Just like I said on the other site. Awesome review and now I totally hate you for making me order one of these toys :slight_smile:

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Hehe sorry @adary (and thanks by the way). @estorm kept riding me like a pony about this one, and it was getting embarassing because I probably have 15 SteamCraves at present, and haven’t reviewed a single one LOL.

Thanks for taking the time to read my mess !!!

4 Likes

You’re more than welcome!

I “only” have two steamcraves (both are the 25mm aromamizer supreme) and I absolutely love them, but after this review i realized that the 30mm might be better than my Voltrove, and that is not easy to achieve :slight_smile: So I just gotta have one :smiley:

4 Likes

TBH @adary I can’t say that it’s GROUNDBREAKING, especially if you’ve already been bitten by the SC bug, but for the price, I don’t see how you can go wrong with all of the different tanks, decks, etc. Now a single coil on this behemoth ?? Blasphemy ?? Unsure at this time, but the series deck, now THAT is going to make for some interesting stories !!!

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That’s actually one of my daily drivers. It’s hard to mess with perfection mate.

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It’s amazing and I got all three decks for it. Series deck is loads of fun i bet. You can make some crazy chunky 0.05 coils, put them in series and not get blown up :slight_smile:

i also set my eye on the Titan :smiley:

3 Likes

The Topside Dual serves as the perfect foil, preventing me from ordering this. I was a 30mm tank kinda guy for years, and this would have made it in the rotation without a doubt. Did you say it has a BF pin? That would make a fine 20ml capacity reservoir system on the squonker!!!

4 Likes

Great review mate, always in my rotation and in my top 2 tanks the other being the voltrove mini.

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No squonking. You probably wouldn’t miss it anyway !!!

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Thanks very much @woftam. Woo hoo, top TWO tanks !!!

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Great review on a great tank. The Plus has been in my rotation since the day it was released. Had to pick up the Special Edition as well, those extras are well worth it.

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Thanks a lot @Mjag. Obviously pretty late to the party for the Plus, but the extras like you said, just push it over the top. Thank you.

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Awesome review @SessionDrummer ! You and all the other enablers here forced me to buy one and I loved it so much I quickly bought another while the sale was still going. By far one of my all time favorite tanks and I use them all the time. For any potential US buyers, Steam Crave will ship from NY and it will be in the mail in a day or two. I thought if I ordered it would be coming from China but I think it was @Mjag told me they have a shipping department in NY. Pretty painless, no long wait and so worth it.

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Thank you very much @Jim22, and I can attest to that ^^^^.

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I really want one, but I can’t abide the color selection…that bubble glass option with a single coil though…fill er up once a day lol

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Grab a standard gunmetal, ss or black and bubble glass and single coil deck (you will get 2 bubble glasses in the kit where you only get one in the LE) and it will cost you about $6 more (of course you won’t get the series deck).

You could save a bit of coin on the tank itself by buying from 3a (not full kit i dont think it has the 20ml and the 5ml glass kits)
https://www.3avape.com/steam-crave-aromamizer-plus-rdta.html
then buy the deck and the glass from steamcrave

not sure if the shipping would kill any savings

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Or fasttech which has cheaper (free) shipping :wink:

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This is how it happens… Not long ago, I used that ‘abide’ phraseology and a number of you Yankees chided me about it. But I persisted and continued to use it. And now FA4 is using it, surely not just here but at other forums. Others will see it, adopt it as well, and it will spread like a prom date. “I can’t abide ” will soon be as common as LOL. You folks remember who started it over here!!!

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I’ll give you the forum credit lol but I’ve been saying that since I was a kid, it’s amazing how old westerns can give a 5 or 6 year old kid access to words and phrases that are all but gone from modern culture. And also, lest we forget, always remember that the dude abides.

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