I had a chance to see and use an interesting PV while at Vapercon 2011. This PV was named the Zenesis, and built around the atomizer known on the forums as the Genesis. Imagine an atomizer that is inexpensive, rebuildable, great with flavor, adjustable draw and Ohms- and a workhorse. It sounds too good to be true. I was intrigued. Luckily, my buddy Andrew bought one (the parts for the atty and also the Zenesis PV- see explanation below) and I had a chance to inspect it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on a fully charged battery. I do remember the vapor tasting really good, but I didn’t get very long to test it. Since the whole concept was new to me, it left me needing to explore the pros and cons of the Genesis atty. Instead of wading through tons of threads, I decided to go straight to one of the more experienced builders- known as Zen on ECF. I asked Zen why this seemingly wonderful device hasn’t caught on yet, and the cons of this type of “atomizer”. Here’s what he has to say…

Hey Troop, nice to hear from you! I know you said you have the Pros under control, but for review I’ll list what I feel are the most significant benefits, then I’ll get into the cons.

Pros:

1: Flavor is the big plus. There is no silica wick or polyfill to alter the taste of the juice. Stainless Steel mesh has no flavor of its own, so the taste of the juice REALLY comes through.

2: Cost of vaping: It can be rebuilt over and over again for under 20 cents each time. Kanthal wire on eBay is $4.50 for 75 feet… that’s enough to make over 200 coils (about 2 cents for each coil). Stainless steel mesh is $21.00 per square foot, and that is enough to make 128 wicks (just over 16 cents). The average person changing the mesh every month has enough mesh to vape for 10 years for $21.00 and if you change your coil weekly 75 feet of wire has you in good shape for nearly 4 years. In reality, a person can be vaping for under 20 cents per MONTH. Even if you are changing EVERYTHING once per week, you will still be spending under a dollar per month.

3: Absolutely no need for higher voltage. If you want it to vape hotter, use fewer coils… cooler, add coils.

4: No need to purchase attys or cartos. YOU are in control.

Cons:

1: Genesis requires patience to get it running right… each time you change the wick it needs a break in period of a couple of days, and that’s about once a month. By the end of the second day, these things are vaping machines.

2: The Draw on a Genesis Atty is not as stiff as a 510 and people that have been vaping a long time have a hard time adjusting to the lighter draw… stiffening the draw lessens the vapor a bit, and it’s better to become accustomed to the lighter draw than to stiffen it.

3: Every atty can dry wick on occasion, but when a Genesis hits a dry spot the throat hit is hotter than blue blazes. The good news is that just tipping the PV down clears the dry wick FAST. It’s a learning curve.

4: The Genesis atomizer isn’t for everybody. If you cannot manipulate small objects, have limited patience or you are all thumbs you should get the Genesis idea right out of your head. If you are fairly facile it is very easy to learn how to roll wicks and make coils, especially on the Zenesis which uses a straight vertical wick and coil… it actually is simple once you get the hang of it.

There are a few reasons why this atomizer has not taken off.

The Genesis atomizer doesn’t lend itself to commercially made PVs because it has a bit of a DIY nature to it. There is also an intellectual property issue that has been interesting. The original Genesis atomizer was developed by a fellow from France I believe, and he put it into open-source with the disclaimer: People are free to use this system, however, it is strictly not for profit… no commercial ventures will be allowed. This has made it so the only way to get a completed Genesis Atomizer is to participate in a not for profit co-op and build it yourself.

There are those that disagree with the IP issue and are making a profit on completed units. Folks have purchased them in the co-op, built them, and they now are selling in the ECF classifieds for 120 bucks a piece… the Co-op was 20 dollars for the metal parts, and you can see how inexpensive the rest of this is. Profit is certainly being made.

I’m on the fence with the IP. … I don’t ignore the specific request of Raidy to not sell Genesis Atomizers for a profit… When I have sold Zenesis PVs, I sell them without a pre-built atomizer, and then I show the buyer how to build the atty… in this way, I have not sold a Genesis Atomizer… I sell a PV with a juice tank and the ability to make a Genesis for yourself. I also tell you where to get the materials to rebuild, rather than selling the mesh and Kanthal. I don’t sell “stand alone” Genesis tanks and attys. And regarding sales, I don’t sell online. Each of my Zenesis mods have been sold face to face, in person with the buyer at vape meets and gatherings. Each one is made by hand, and I don’t make very many, so I prefer to show the buyer how to build the atty and use the PV. If I ever do a production run of Zenesis (and I just may), I will pick an online vendor that has a good reputation for patient and competent customer service… It’s important with a device like this. I hope this helps.

Zen

Videos of the Genesis Atty in action.

There ya have it! Now it’s time to build one!

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/194934-scubagen-mods-127.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/135786-some-homemade-attys-genesis.html