Cthulhu V2 RTA by CthulhuMod

Servants of the Great Old Ones rejoice for Cthulhu has risen again! Actually not really but check out our review of the highly impressive Cthulhu V2 RTA.

by VapeMaster
Dec 1, 2015

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Cthulhu V2 RTA by CthulhuMod

“Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”

― H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

CthulhuMod brings you the Cthulhu V2 a single or dual coil RTA that is in every way designed to be superior to their previous offering. Cthulhu (Ku-Too-Lu or Ku-Thule-Hoo) is a creation of H.P. Lovecraft who throughout the 1920’s created an entire mythos of malign and otherworldly beings known as The Great Old Ones that plotted to ensnare or annihilate mankind.

The first Cthulhu RTA was an excellent product offering superb vapour production and great flavour. The initial production run did have a few issues with machining and certainly the one I received for review wasn’t perfect (still a great vape mind you) but this was fixed with the ones that were manufactured later. I know this because South Coast Vaper from the forums has a later model Cthulhu V1 with buttery smooth threads and the one I have isn’t as good (I’m not bitter, much).

The new Cthulhu V2 offers many new and exciting changes. So let’s dive into the review for another encounter with Cthulhu.

Cthulhu V2 RTA features

22mm diameter
Medical grade 304 stainless steel and Pyrex construction
Cthulhu RTA V2 comes with two decks (single coil and dual coil)
Adjustable airflow. Increased airflow over V1
Larger deck than the V1
Velocity style dual coil deck (easy for coil building)
Access to the build deck without draining the tank
Juice flow control
Easier top-filling system than the V1
Lip around the oval air hole to prevent leaking
Bigger juice flow than V1
Easy to remove top fill cap
Includes two drip tips
Adjustable copper 510 pin
Available in stainless steel and also in black
Improved threads compared to the V1
5ml Juice capacity

What’s in the box?

1x Cthulhu V2 RTA
1x spare frosted glass tank. Main tank is clear and pre-fitted
Loads of spare O-rings
Coloured O-rings to customize your tank
Infamous blue Philips head screwdriver
1x Allen Key
Spare screws
2x pre-made coils
1x Wide bore stainless steel drip tip (pre-fitted)
1x Wide bore Delrin drip tip

This tank includes plenty of extras so represents very good value for the price. The reverse of the box features an authenticity code that you can check on the manufacturer’s website.

Cthulhu V2 RTA looks and build quality

If I recall correctly it was October 2015 when the postman brought me a parcel on a most gloomy morning. I had felt somewhat melancholy due to the dreary weather but my mood was lightened by the prospect of new and shiny vape related gear.

The sender was clearly marked as CthulhuMod (a reputable manufacturer of atomizers most arcane) and it had travelled considerable distance having originated from Shenzhen, China. The parcel was uninspired being nothing more than a plain cardboard box with a China Post label but the contents contained a small plastic container that held a rebuildable tank of intrinsic value. The tank initially appeared to be constructed of man-made steel and Pyrex and might have seemed unthreatening to a casual glance but I know this now to be merely a ruse or most nefarious deception. Scouring the surface of the tanks construction for hidden writings it dawned on me that it was certainly far more otherworldly and older than it might first suggest and I realised with uneasiness that I had accepted a gift from those that may be in league with the dark powers but as someone who has dared to read the unhallowed writings of the Necronomicon (under careful supervision by my regional cult leader in the local tavern) I proceeded on regardless.

Further investigation led me to discover the dread symbol of Cthulhu, Lord of the Great Old Ones that was present on the chimney and I felt a sense of trepidation come over me as I prepared to make ready the arcane rites that would be necessary if I was to build this eldritch tank without endangering my sanity which is always of paramount concern when meddling with the occult. Nevertheless I was giddy at the prospect of such great power and I was certain a superb vape would soon be mine! I suspected that as some terrible side effect of this ordeal I might become an unwilling servant of some monstrous alien, octopus headed entity that sleeps beneath the Pacific Ocean but I cared not. Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

― “This was the first indication of our reviewer losing the plot”. Dr Junglist, Department of Occult Vapes, Miskatonic University, Massachusetts.

The most noticeable thing about the new Cthulhu V2 is the much improved build quality, everything fits together much better than the V1 that I previously reviewed.

There are numerous changes and the V2 now features a new Velocity style deck to make dual coil builds easy. This kind of innovation is nice to see in an RTA and so far Steamcrave’s Aromamizer SC200 and the Cthulhu V2 are two of the tanks that feature it.

For those that prefer single coil builds a separate deck is also included and the decks can be swapped without a great deal of effort.

What’s more the channels have been widened compared to the V1 so the V2 now has even better juice flow. Build quality is excellent but the tank is now slightly more complex than the V1. There are a few more parts but not to excess like a Kayfun 4.0.

The Cthulhu V2 now features juice flow control but I did find it a bit difficult to adjust despite the knurling that is present especially if you try to adjust it while it is on your mod.

The top cap is smaller and far better threaded than the V1 that I reviewed in May and it fits really well which makes it easier for users when it comes to filling.

The airflow control is very smooth but perhaps a bit too easy to adjust. Of course this is favourable compared to the Cthulhu V1 where the airflow adjustment was very stiff. While it is easy to adjust it is not at all loose so the airflow ring will remain at whatever you set it to.

The Cthulhu V2 has a copper 510 pin for excellent conductivity and it is fully adjustable. Most importantly the tank fits well on all my mods and sits flush with no visible gap.

Once more like its predecessor the tank has the image of Cthulhu laser engraved on the chimney section. The steel construction and Pyrex feel very durable and if by any chance you do break the glass a spare tube is included although it has a frosted finish. The O-rings are decent and fit well making for a secure fit. The chimney is much larger than the V1 but this is understandable when you see the size of the new decks, the dual coil Velocity one is especially large but that makes it much better to work with.

The dual coil deck has decent sized post holes and uses grub screws that you tighten from the side of the post. It features two large air holes and four juice channels as well as a little metal ring that is used to secure your wick but if you feel it hinders wicking it can be removed. The single coil deck is different and is somewhat similar to Smok’s TFV4 RBA section, it features one large air hole, has two juice channels and uses Philips head screws.

I was left feeling very impressed by the changes CthulhuMod have made and it is reassuring that previous machining problems that existed in the V1 have been addressed because everything in the V2 fits together extremely well.

The drip tip is suitably wide bore just like the Cthulhu V1 and it fits well being secured by two O-rings. If by any chance you don’t want to use the stainless steel drip tip a Delrin one is also included. All the other drip tips I have tried have fitted without any problems.

Only one slight negative was that the tank did have a faint aroma of machine oil but this was remedied by a thorough wash in warm soapy water. Special mention must be made of the new and improved Allen Key that is included and it thankfully it is now fully useable and no longer the eternally bending key of Yog-Sothoth, like the one that I got with the Cthulhu V1.

Cthulhu V2 RTA airflow

Compared to the V1 airflow has been improved. At its most wide open setting it is very similar to the previous version but if you are someone who wants even more flavour it can be heavily reduced. You only need about 1/3 open to get a very flavoursome vape and even at this setting it is still a very loose draw.

Ease of build

“The Thing cannot be described - there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order. A mountain walked or stumbled.

If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings; but it was the general outline of the whole which made it most shockingly frightful.”

― H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

Building a dual coil is now a pleasurable task due to the Velocity style deck and with a bit of practice I think even a newcomer to rebuilding would be able to cope. One nice option is that you do have a choice of two decks and such flexibility is desirable since not everyone enjoys building or wants to use dual coils.

The only issue you might possibly run into with this tank is when it comes to wicking. You have to take care that you don’t overfill the wicking channels and in fact in most cases a trimmed down piece of wick seems to give better results. Anywhere between 50%-70% full is about right for the wicking channels. You ideally need to keep the ends of your wick just slightly below where the metal wicking ring is located. As mentioned earlier if you find it interferes with your build or that it is hard to work around then it can be removed. While it might be tempting to use 3mm internal diameter coils you would have to use more cotton and you may over stuff the channels as a result. In my opinion 2.0-2.5 internal diameter is about right for this RTA.

For my build I went with two identical coils. 8 wraps of 26AWG (0.4mm) Kanthal wrapped around a 2.5mm screwdriver. Final resistance of this build was 0.5ohm. I wicked it with Cotton Bacon and I did trim down the wicking somewhat so as not to clog the juice channels. If you saturate the wicking first it is much easier to manipulate.

After replacing the chimney and putting the tank back together I closed off the airflow slots and unscrewed the top cap. I filled it with Manbush’s Powwow Sauce to about 90% full and after replacing the top cap I held the tank upside down for five seconds before turning it upright and opening the airflow slots. I have so far not run into any leaking issues.

How does the Cthulhu V2 RTA vape?

Upon filling the tank with a favoured elixir I took my first vape and my mind was filled with images of otherworldly vistas that were juxtaposed with cyclopean masonry, the geometry of which appeared most bizarre and utterly wrong to the frailty of the human mind. Vast clouds of warm vapour swirled around me and I was quickly enthralled by the wonderful flavour but as I continued to vape on this most fiendish tank I could have sworn that the symbol of dread Cthulhu glowed a strange colour beyond the range of the known spectrum. I have no doubt in my mind that it did in fact speak to me in whispered tones while I was in this most euphoric state of being. It told me that there would be those who would seek to rob me of my most precious tank and even medical practitioners who might lock me away in some sanatorium for what they call madness, but I will not allow that! I will keep it safe and secret using it only in the early hours and when the conjunction of the stars are in their most perfect alignment I will enact the ritual and be risen up by the power and dark majesty of Great Cthulhu to finally take my place amongst the Great Old Ones!

― “Our reviewer has now taken a leave of absence while he receives some very necessary therapy. Out of kindness we have given him the use of an eGo battery, a CE4 clearomizer and some 3mg juice.” - Dr Junglist, Department of Occult Vapes, Miskatonic University, Massachusetts.

I started vaping at 25W on my iPV4s and gradually increased to 36W. Flavour was really good and in many ways much better than the Cthulhu V1. The undertones in the Powwow Sauce came through really well in addition to the delicious maple and custard flavour. Vapour production was seriously impressive and the Cthulhu V2 puts out some large and very dense clouds! As you might expect with a 0.5ohm dual coil build it made for a warm vape. I did find that I started to border on dry hits so I opened up the juice flow control a litte, but keep in mind that you have to be really careful with this because as I said earlier the one on this tank isn’t that easy to adjust and you can start unscrewing the rest of the tank by accident. It’s not so much a design flaw but more a case of something you have to get used to.

With the juice flow adjusted to my liking the dry hits were gone. I have had a good read on the internet and some of the feedback on the Cthulhu V2 suggests that it actually works better with spaced coils because it helps the wicking to keep up so that might be something you should try. Regardless of what works best the Cthulhu V2 makes for a very flavoursome vape and the large amounts of vapour will certainly keep cloud chasing fans happy.

I did try out the single coil deck and once again I used 26AWG Kanthal, my final resistance was 0.8ohm. This deck is a little more forgiving to wick but once again there is a metal removable ring. I do wonder if perhaps it is stifling the wicking and it might be a good idea to definitely remove it. It might be worth your while experimenting since I only have so much time to spend with these items plus I have more reviews to write, occult manuscripts to read and Deep Ones to summon.

The vape with the single deck isn’t bad at all. I was using Coyote Coconut this time but I did find for best flavour I really had to heavily close down the airflow. In my opinion despite the fact it caters for single and dual coil setups this tank really does perform best with a dual.

One thing I did forget to mention is concerning how long juice lasts in this tank. Unlike the V1 which guzzled your juice with no remorse the V2 is certainly a little more conservative although a dual coil build will certainly drain the juice faster than a single coil one.

Conclusion

Once again CthulhuMod have given us another excellent RTA. While it is true that the the juice control is slightly difficult to use and that some experimentation will be required in terms of coiling and wicking it is still a superb product! The build quality is vastly improved over the original and combined with the impressive performance on offer this tank is well worth purchasing!

The numerous changes suggest to me that CthulhuMod are a company that care very much about improving their products and you can clearly see that they have made this RTA more accessible to users without compromising on performance. In many ways it is vastly improved on the V1 so if you were tempted by the original but never bought it then certainly pick this one up. For users who might prefer something a little bit more sinister it is also available in black.

Many thanks to Joshua at CthulhuMod who kindly sent this to Planet of the Vapes for us to review - you can check out their website here.

Important Note

Due to the fact that I am typically in a rush to get eveything done on time you may notice that the upper O-ring in the tank looks wonky in the images. Rest assured it fits well normally, it was just a case of me being a complete muppet rushing to clean the tank and then badly reassembling in a hurry.

“We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”

― H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu

VapeMaster

Reviewer at POTV

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