​Coilmaster 521 Tab Review

The Coilmaster 521 Tab has got to be one of the most useful pieces of vaporizing hardware for any coil builder in the vaporizing game. When I first started using the Coilmaster 521 Tab, I was still pretty new into building my own coils. But right away I started making my own coils and using the Coilmaster 521 Tab to achieve my desired resistance, pulsing my coils to get them ready for action. Some might worry that you need a bit more experience to really make use of the Coilmaster 521 Tab and perhaps to an extent this could be true, but using the 521 Tab throughout your learning process could very well help you define your abilities to their fullest potential.

Inside the nicely fashioned box for the Coilmaster 521 kit is the Coilmaster 521 itself, an information pamphlet, a small box containing the clip leads and USB, and an attachment for checking voltage of mechanicals and other various mods that will fit. The kit comes with everything you need to fully utilize the potential of the 521 Tab.

Though a clone of the Burning Tab Master, the Coilmaster 521 Tab is constructed with the fine craftsmanship as we see with other products by Coilmaster. It’s main casing is made from a high quality and durable black ABS plastic that should survive any of the abuse that some vapers out there put their equipment through. The 510 connection is a nice solid stainless piece with a spring loaded pin to assure a nice solid positive connection to the atomizer in use and so far I’ve had zero issues with it.

Just a little farther out from the center of the table top recessed into the outer ring are female connection terminals where the clip leads plug into for testing resistance of the coils before mounting them into your atomizer. At first mine were just a little bit stiff, giving me a slight difficulty inserting the plugs for the clips and removing them after use. However, after a bit of use they do free up and become a great deal easier to work with; Just be gentle and all should be well.

Around where the 510 connection is located there is a red LED ring that lights up when the 521 Tab is in use and it adds an eye catching look to the unit when powered on. After all, red and black always look great together. The OLED screen lights up with a nice bright blue display and this is where your various readouts can be seen. Adjacent to the screen, on the right opposite of the OLED screen, is a large rubber dome like button. This is the firing button. It takes a good fair amount of pressure to push the fire button making it so you don’t have to be concerned about accidental firing. There is also a two position switch on the side of the device just down from the fire button and this is for switching between firing mode and "checker" ohm meter mode. Both the button and switch are built of high quality materials and should function well beyond the life of the device itself.

The battery door is actually on the bottom of the unit and is held on by small neodymium magnets located at each corner, ensuring that everything lines up nicely to the main body of the device when the cover is on. Once removed, you find a nice cozy little seat for the single 18650 battery that the Coilmaster 521 Tab requires. As with most battery seats, there is also a fabric tab for ease of battery removal. It is highly recommended you use a quality 18650 battery that is properly rated for vaping, 20A or better rating should be fine to guarantee a safe vaping experience. It is not stated whether or not the 521 Tab is regulated in any way so I am assuming it runs much like a mechanical mod. Remember, always respect ohm"s law.

Having questioned whether the Coilmaster 521 Tab is regulated or unregulated I did some more pondering on the notion and being that there are certain safety features such as Low Battery warning, Reverse Battery protection, atomizer short protection, and a 15 second firing limit. These features all point to the fact that the 521 Tab really does fall under the regulated category, just without any options to change voltage or wattage that your coils fire at. Perhaps we will see a Coilmaster 521 Tab 2.0 in the future with even more option like variable wattage.

Specifications

• Resistance Measuring Range: 0.01 ohm to 9.99 ohms
• Voltage Measuring Range: 0.3 volt to 9.99 volts
• Lowest Resistance: as low as 0.2 ohm
• Connection: 510 with spring loaded pin
• Charging: 4.5 Volt/750mah Micro USB input
• Battery: Single 18650 Battery rated 20A or better
• Dimensions: 49.5 Millimeters x 84.5 millimeters x 69.5 millimeters
• Weight: 190 grams
• Material: ABS Plastic

So many of the features of the Coilmaster 521 Tab are something that every vaper will love. And for those who really get into the Do It Yourself aspect of coil building, you will see quickly that the 521 Tab’s features are exactly what is needed. The first, and possibly the only feature you will use regularly as I have, feature is the Ohm Meter for check the build of your resistance. This can be used a few different ways with the 521 Tab. By putting the switch to “checker” mode (it’s what the information guide calls it) we can simply screw an atomizer onto the 510 connection and view the resistance of the coil build installed in the atomizer, allowing you to make adjustments as needed. Another option for use in “checker” mode is to use the wire clip leads, plugging them into the top of the 521 Tab, and attach the clips to the legs of your coils before you even install them in your atomizer to see the actual resistance readout of the coil itself. Extremely handy feature if you are concerned or have reason to suspect that your RDA/Tank’s base is having issues. I’ve even used this feature to determine the kind of scrap coil wire pieces I have kicking around by testing resistance over length, makes it easy to figure out the type and size of wire.

The next most useful feature I’ve found is the coil burning or coil pulsing mode. This is the other main mode of the Coilmaster 521 Tab and it allows you a greater deal of space and room to do the heating, pulsing, and compressing stage of your coil building. With your atomizer screwed into the 510 connection, simply turn the Coilmaster 521 Tab to coil burning mode and use the fire button to fire the coils. Coilmaster has installed a little blue indicator light to the left of the OLED screen to let you know when the unit is firing, making it that much simpler to keep from getting burned or shorting out the coil accidentally.

Voltage checking with the Coilmaster 521 Tab is something I have not really taken advantage of as I have become accustomed to relying on the battery indicator on my vape devices themselves. Most of my vaporizers are regulated devices and I have a separate voltage checker for my mechanical unregulated tube mod, but for this review I have made the attempt of using the Voltage testing attachment. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Coilmaster 521 Tab is spot on compared to what my other meter reads. So I’d have to give two thumbs up for the 521 Tab when it comes to voltage checking. So many reasons that any DIY coil builder/vaper should have one of these, you will use the hell out of it.

The Coilmaster 521 Tab has a Micro USB port for charging only and comes with a short USB to micro USB cord so that you may charge your 18650 battery without removing it. As you may know from some of my other reviews, I am an external charger kind of guy myself and usually stick to my Nitcore charger, but for this review I did do one charge cycle using the USB charge on the Coilmaster 521 Tab. I had zeroo issues with it. The charge cycle took about 5 hours, so it definitely took longer than a purpose built charger but I feel that is to be expected. I strongly recommend that you have a purpose built charger to use for charging your batteries safely whenever possible compared to the built in charge function of many mods and devices out there.

I"ve actually been building coils on the Coilmaster 521 Tab for around 4 months now. I have to admit that the small ohm meter which comes in the Coilmaster Rebuildable RDA Kit has not been used since I started using the Coilmaster 521 Tab. Having the ability to build a coil or a set of coils to a specific resistance, install them, pulse them and heck even if you wanted you can even test vape them on the 521 Tab, all without the use of your actual mod is a dream. Yes, I said you can even vape with the Coilmaster 521 Tab and you can as it has the capability to be used as a table top mod. When I first realized that I could vape on this, I realized that you could consider this a box mod itself with a load of extra features, just in a non-typical shape. I have used it a few times, but mainly just to test how well I have my coils wicked. Anything past that, I would just swap my atomizer to my vaporizer of choice and vape away. I would not consider using the Coilmaster 521 Tab as a full time vaping device simply due to the fact it was designed more for building and not the actual vaping. Plus, it was not built with that use in mind, meaning that it’s form is far too bulky for one to want to hold in hand while vaping over long periods of time.

As mentioned before, the Coilmaster 521 Tab is a single 18650 battery device and in regards to battery life this would be something that comes down to the kind of battery you should decide to use. I myself use LG Hg2"s which are rated 20A for max amp discharge which is in the safe zone, but more importantly in regards to battery life is the 3000mah rating which does fantastic in the 521 Tab. I"d have to say I can perform ten to fifteen builds in a day off the use of this one LG Hg2 before needing to charge it back up, not that I have ever done so many builds in one day but you never know who is building what these days. Always remember that when it comes to vaping and vape devices you MUST respect all aspects of battery safety, otherwise you are not respecting your own safety, the safety of those around you, and when you have an accident due to lack of safety it reflect badly not just on you but the whole vaping community! So remember, Battery Safety First!

Another reason the Coilmaster 521 Tab stands out as one of the most must-have pieces of equipment in you vaping collection is affordability. The 521 Tab for all the amazing features it boasts is selling for only $32 USD on Wake and Vape, which is cheaper than most mods themselves and at that price you just can’t go wrong!

Pros

• Build coils to specific resistance
• Cost effective
• No switching between ohm meter and vape device to pulse coils
• Large easy to read OLED screen
• It"s an Ohm meter
• It"s a Volt Meter
• Can be used as a Coil pulsing deck
• Coil building deck
• Can be used as a tabletop vaporizer
• Safety protective features
• Clips to test coil out of atomizer
• Too many good things to list

Cons

• Nothing negative enough to list
• Cannot find a thing I do not like about this unit

Overall, the Coilmaster 521 Tab is so handy I never really put it away. It stays out on my vape table and has now become a necessary part of my vaping arsenal. If I decide to go to a friends house or if I go and chill out at one of the local shops and I am concerned that I might need to build a coil or two, you can be sure it gets packed up in my travel accessories. In my honest opinion I think every vaper should have a Coilmaster 521 Tab and you will understand why after you"ve built your first set of coils with it. The extra ability to reach the exact resistance you are looking for and do your complete build all on the Coilmaster 521 Tab helps to bring you to a whole new level of vaping. 

​Coilmaster 521 Tab Review