Ehpro Kelpie RTA

Timwis

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Hi Ecigssa members, In this review i take a look at the Kelpie RTA from Ehpro. The Ehpro Kelpie RTA was supplied for the purpose of this review by Pearl from Cigabuy.

https://www.cigabuy.com/authentic-ehpro-...14587.html



Introduction

Kelpie, or water kelpie, is the Scots name given to a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. It has usually been described as appearing as a horse, but is able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil".
The Kelpie RTA is a collaboration between Ehpro and Vaping with Vic and is a very short RTA with a low chamber ceiling and honeycomb style airflow system in a shape of a half pike to surround your coil. The kelpie has a diameter of 25mm but with large post walls to incorporate the half pike airflow system and low ceiling it has a very reduced chamber and the build is closer to the mouth than with RTA's with more height, both factors should encourage flavour. There are other interesting things going on with this RTA so i will crack on!

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In The Box



Contents:

1x Ehpro Kelpie RTA 2ml
2x Pre-made Coils
1x 3.5ml Glass Tube
3x O-rings
1x Screwdriver
4x Philips Head Screws
1x Cotton
1x User Manual
1x Warranty Card
1x Certification Card

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Aesthetics

The Kelpie comes in cardboard box packaging with a dashboard shaped viewing window with Rainbow surround. As far as i am aware at present the Kelpie comes in just two colour options which are Stainless steel and Black, i received it in Stainless Steel. The Kelpie is a very short RTA which enables it to be fully TPD compliant with the 2ml straight glass but reduces it's capacity somewhat with a bubble glass fitted which increases it's capacity to 3.5ml which is lower than most RTA's. The Kelpie has a diameter of 25mm which adds to the stumpy look to the RTA but it does taper at the very base to be 24mm. The top section also tapers towards the top and both this and the base section has textured design which is for aesthetic appearance has grip isn't needed especially as the top has a slide open top-fill method, we have an arrow carved into the metal where you need to push. Up top we have a Goon style Resin 810 and looking through the glass at the chamber we can see an etched logo which includes a castle and horse head. The base has etched safety stamps and branding, the Gold plated 510 protrudes but wouldn't say it was hybrid safe. Overall the RTA is machined well and build quality is good, it's look is subjective but i find it's stumpy nature quite aesthetically appealing.



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Kelpie Specs and Features:

Size: 25 x 40mm
Capacity: 2ml (a 3.5ml bubble glass tube included)
Material: Stainless Steel/Glass
Designed by Ehpro & Vaping with Vic
Dual posts for easy coil installation
Honeycomb air slot for great flavor
Easy slide top refilling design
Innovative two ways to build the coil
Simple cotton wicking
Thread: 510 thread
Colours: Stainless steel, Black



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It's Various Parts

The Kelpie is uncomplicated consisting of the top section which is an all in one piece comprising of the sliding top-cap, juice port plate and air chamber and the base section which comprises of the deck with airflow system and the airflow control ring. Of course the tank is completed with a glass tube, the glass is sealed in place via o-rings top and bottom and the air chamber screws onto the outside of the deck to securely hold the whole tank together. To remove the glass, just remove the base section then pinch one edge of the glass while pushing up inside the air chamber with your finger and it comes free with no drama. The Kelpie has a 2ml straight glass pre-installed but a 3.5ml bubble glass is included which personally i immediately switched to as just looking at the RTA i got a gut feeling it's going to be thirsty. The pre-installed drip tip is a very nice resin 810 (you can also fit your own), but no 510 adaptor is included which when using the Kelpie i feel giving a 510 option should of been done as despite the huge dual cyclops airflow inlets this RTA is very restrictive. You get spare screws and o-rings, cotton and 2 nice looking coils but no specs given. Finally you receive an Allen key (no idea what this is even for) and a not fit for purpose screwdriver (went straight in the bin).



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Top-Fill

The Kelpie has a slide top-fill system which makes it quick and easy to fill the tank but i feel the top opens far too easy with little resistance and has no lock mechanism, i had no issues but it is a candidate for opening when in your pocket so a con for me. Their is a little arrow carved into the top-cap which shows where you push for the top to slide open with a very smooth yet loose movement, hopefully on future batches this is going to be tightened up. The juice port is very generous and not on a grommet, between the air chamber and the top-cap is a solid Stainless Steel plate and the juice port is machined straight into the metal, the port is a nice size and i had no issues when filling.



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The Airflow

The airflow control is very large dual cyclops with stopper which moves with very nice resistance. The air goes underneath the deck and is directed upwards to come out honeycomb airflow outlets on the bottom of the deck. We have five rows of 6 airflow holes which are on the base of a half pike shaped system so will give very good bottom coverage but also wrap round the sides of the coil. The holes are all the same size apart from the central row which will be directly underneath the bottom centre of the coil, these holes are slightly smaller to increase pressure, a simple but cracking idea. I have seen the half pike shape created by ramped post walls on many RTA's and they work well to both reduce the chamber and give a guide to coil placement, i have also seen this style of honeycombed airflow that follow the contour of the coil but not quite as exactly as this and with the central row having smaller holes which should give extra focus to where it is needed.



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The Deck and Build

We have 4 post holes on this single coil deck so it doesn't matter which way your leads go, also the positive terminals face each other as do the negative rather than being side by side so your leads can face the same way as you would insert a coil on most dual build decks. The deck is shaped like a half pike with the terminals being to the outside edges of each ramped wall. Each lead get's slid in from the side and the grub screws get tightened from above, each terminal has an outer lip to stop your leads popping out while tightening up, this is as versatile and easy to build on as a single coil deck can be, very impressed. There is plenty of access to trim your leads with them being on the outside of the deck and the half pike shape and airflow act as a perfect guide for coil placement. The only issue i have is the small philips grub screws seem poor quality and will strip easily so you must be careful and i would suggest using the philips attachment you get on a T-piece tool as this worked well but don't even attempt to use the supplied effort you are supplied with! Wicking is just as easy but does need doing a certain way. Cut your cotton ends short and just dam the top of the wicking channels with a fraction of cotton just poking down to get the capillary action going, don't fill the channels with cotton this will just choke off the supply of liquid to the build.



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My Experience Using The Kelpie

With the Kelpie's wicking done as explained it wicks like a dream but also ploughs through the liquid which means with it's low capacity it constantly need's filling and i would certainly advise using the bubble glass. The capacity is so low because of how short the RTA is which is one of the main factors that gives the Kelpie such good flavour so it's a con but i feel a con that's necessary for a bigger pro! With the bottom of your coil getting complete airflow coverage as well as air being encouraged to wrap around the rest of the coil and low ceiling making it a very reduced chamber with the large post walls mean't i knew the flavour would be good but the flavour i am getting is a bit special. I used one of the supplied coils which have a 3.0ID and look to be fused claptons but no specs are given, my build came out at 0.32ohm and gave a fantastic flavoursome vape at 40W, i feel with it's restriction the Kelpie will be at it's best with moderate builds between 30-50W, my kind of RTA. I did wonder why such big airflow slots but they are needed as the honeycomb airflow system really restricts the airflow down and i needed the airflow fully open and it's still a restricted hit so not for those that like bags of air. The airflow is also very smooth without a hint of turbulence but then i always find honeycomb style airflow systems the smoothest. With the Kelpie having plenty of restriction it would also suit the use of a wide bore 510 so a feel at least an adaptor should of been included.



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Likes

Good build quality
Aesthetically pleasing (subjective)
Bubble glass included
Versatile very easy single build
Honeycomb bottom airflow system
Can fit your own Goon style 810 drip tip
2 Coils and cotton included
Reduced chamber with low ceiling
Smooth restrictive airflow
Excellent flavour
Slide open top-fill

Cons

Top-fill, quite loose should be tighter
Grub screws poor quality, need to be careful
Low capacity, constantly needs refilling
Not for those that like bags of air
No coil specs given
No 510 adaptor included

I would once again like to thank Pearl from Cigabuy for supplying the Ehpro Kelpie RTA for the purpose of this review.

https://www.cigabuy.com/authentic-ehpro-...14587.html

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