OBS Engine II RTA | Key Features & First Impressions
OBS Engine II hands-on preview
The OBS Engine II is a second version of one of the most popular RTAs of the past couple years. It’s a 26 mm tank that holds 5 mL of e-juice. It’s 1.5 mm taller in height and 1 mm wider in diameter than the OG Engine, despite it holding 0.2 mL less juice. But at first glance, it doesn’t look much different than the original. That’s because most of the updates have been on the inside.
Colors: stainless steel, black
Price: ~$25
OBS Engine II specs and features
Specs
- Height: 56 mm
- Outside diameter: 26 mm
- Capacity: 5 mL
- Type: dual coil RTA
- Drip tip: 810
- Material: food grade 304 steel
- Thread: 510 thread
Kit Contents
- OBS Engine 2 RTA
- Spare glass tube
- Spare parts
- User manual
What’s under the hood?
Out of the box, the dual-coil deck totally confused me. It has a really unique two-post system that requires an inverted coil installation. That means the coils hang by their leads to be trimmed from above. I’m not sure if this is “new,” but I’ve never built on anything quite like this. Even after it occurred to me how to build it, there was a lot of readjusting to get the coils in and placed where I wanted them. It looks like a spacious deck, but it feels kinda cramped when I build on it.
The filling method is the same as the other OBS RTAs. It has a hidden side-fill ring that slides up for refilling with any size dropper. Setting the ring back in place reveals the three top-airflow slots. Although they come at 7.5 mm x 2.5 mm each, the airflow slots don’t provide as much air as they seem like they would. There is a fair level of restriction to the draw.
A key departure from the previous versions is the airflow-to-coil system. This is what really elevates the performance from the already-great predecessors. The air comes in from the top and down through the sides of the inner chamber to hit the coils from below. I’ve always had an affinity for atomizers with bottom-fed airflow, and the Engine is further confirmation that this is the best way to get great flavor.
Wicking the Engine 2 requires a bit more cotton than usual because the wick ports are large. Unlike the original that had GTA-style holes to wick, these are large diamond-shaped ports. This is not the RTA to have your wicks just hovering over the ports or it will biblically flood due to their size. That’s not to say stuff the ports, but don’t skimp on the cotton.
On one hand I really like what’s under the hood of the Engine II, but it’s a little trickier to get right than I think it needs to be. I’m not a fan of how to trap the leads, and I don’t like the Phillips head screws OBS used. All the screwdrivers I’ve tried often slip out and don’t catch in the screw firmly while tightening. It’s almost as if the screws are stripped though they aren’t. I have to push in firmly while turning the driver – more than what is typically required. It doesn’t feel as secure to me as building on the Velocity-style deck of the original.
Aside from the issues I have with the screws and the deck, the performance is what you’d expect from an OBS tank. Super solid performance! It provides rich flavor for days. My favorite juice has rarely tasted better out of an RTA at a similar power range (80-90 watts). But while I love the performance, it’s not a tank I would recommend to vapers new to rebuilding. However, if you are an experienced RTA user, you should really try this one out.
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