I seem to be writing the same thing about bottom coil devices lately, trying to stop people burning them. Usually they have heard wonderful things about them and try to turn them up to get them to perform like a smoke machine. This is the wrong approach that will ultimately lead to disapointment - first learn to run them to the specifications set out by Kanger on that little card they put in the box because you will find that they get more efficient as they warm up. This seems counter-intuitive at first, so you'll probably just go ahead and turn it up anyway...
The devices I have in mind are mostly Kanger products: Evod, T3S, Protank, mini Protank 2 etc. however the same things appear to be true for other devices such as the Vapeonly Mega and the plethora of Protank copies that have come along and actually use the Protank heads.
In theory, it's actually reasonable to think that all you have to do to be able to turn a BCC into a smoke machine is improve the efficiency of the wick, however pulling flavour wicks out of it is not usually the way to do it. The head is sitting at the bottom of the e-liquid so it must both hold the liquid back and deliver it to the coil; this is a fine balance and if you upset it you're going to introduce other problems such as flooding. The only way to increase the efficiency of the wick on a BCC is use a different wicking material such as cotton.
On yet another thread elsewhere someone was using the simple 8 watt rule (Volts = ohms+2 = 8 watts) to set the voltage for a factory coil (eg coil resistance 2.2 ohms, so the voltage was set to 4.2 V). This works great for rebuildables and dripping attys, for BCC devices... not so much.
To make it a bit easier for them I did a table with recommendations for 6 and 6.5 watts, and I should probably reproduce it here. The fourth column is current, just for information purposes.
I should probably note that there actually are times when you do need to mess with the heads on these. These are when you are using them in unusually cold conditions, or when you have particularly thick e-liquid. Phil Busardo in his most recent review of the Protank 2 found that its not necessary to make any modifications to the head even when using a 100% VG liquid. There may be exceptions however, though you should try adding a few drops of distilled water to a very thick juice to see if that helps at all.
I suggest that the first thing that should be tried if you are changing the head is turning the rubber cap on the head upside down. I was never a fan of this one but the fit-up on the Kanger head is so tight that it does not result in flooding if there's some real issue with the juice such as it being thick, or under very cold conditions. I'd also recommend this on the mini Protank 2 if you are having problems since it allows air coming out of the wick during use to get away from the head. There's not much space between the head and the side of the base and I've seen air get trapped on the wick when using the device heavily.
If you do decide that you need to remove a flavour wick, remove just one of the four. Any signs of undue flooding during use are a sign that you need to put it back in however - your problem was probably not wicking.
The devices I have in mind are mostly Kanger products: Evod, T3S, Protank, mini Protank 2 etc. however the same things appear to be true for other devices such as the Vapeonly Mega and the plethora of Protank copies that have come along and actually use the Protank heads.
fabricator4;10853929 said:DoogieTony;10853814 said:
Nevertheless, a true 8 watts on almost any bottom coil clearo will burn it after a while. If you like to chain vape you can get away with 6.5 watts for almost any length of time, but even then you can still burn them.
The analogy was to dispel the statement that "nothing can be made more efficient". The analogy isn't so far out though because a fair amount of heat builds up in the base, at which point they have a tendency to overheat if you keep hammering them. You could say they are less efficient when they are cold, and more efficient when they are warm and you'd be a bit closer to the truth. Why is it so hard to believe (and no I didn't believe it either, threw away the Kanger card, and made all the usual mistakes
What are the main problems you hear about all the time with these?
1) It worked OK for a while, then I got a dry hit and it tasted burnt
2) My coils only last a day, then it tastes burnt
3) I put a new head in but my juice goes dark and tastes bad after one tank
All the result of trying to run these at 8 watts for an extended period of time. Then people tell them to pull some wicks out (under the premise there is something wrong with the wicking) and you get:
1) It gurgles and produces almost no vapour
2) It works fine when the tank is full, but as soon as it gets to half it starts flooding
3) It just leaks and floods
4) It floods overnight and just keeps flooding
When you point out what Kanger's own recommendations are, and that they should return to that as a starting point, someone else *ALWAYS* chimes in and says "Oh, but I run them 8 watts" or 9, or 10, or even 11. If they only take the occasional puff, I can see that working. Chain vape on it and it's gonna burn though. Either that or their taste buds are permanently dead, or they've completely changed the head and it's resemblance to a factory made head is superficial only.
I get two weeks out of a coil with zero maintenance in that time. They are completely trouble and hassle free and all it needs is a wash and dry burn to get another 2 weeks out of it. Yes I might run it at 8 watts first thing in the morning when it is cold, but it's at 6.5 watts for the rest of the day and produces the same amount of flavour and vapour the whole day, and I can vape it down to almost the last drop. I will chain vape a couple of times a day, sometimes just to see the room fog up, sometimes because I really do need the nicotine, and sometimes because I'm in front of the TV or reading book and just zoning out.
I like fiddling and I've rebuilt these heads backwards and forwards. I've put wicks made of cotton in them, I've pulled wicks out and I've put wicks in. I've tried high resistance, low resistance, and contact coils. The fact is though, the factory coil at 6.5 watts is all most people are really going to need because it just works.
In theory, it's actually reasonable to think that all you have to do to be able to turn a BCC into a smoke machine is improve the efficiency of the wick, however pulling flavour wicks out of it is not usually the way to do it. The head is sitting at the bottom of the e-liquid so it must both hold the liquid back and deliver it to the coil; this is a fine balance and if you upset it you're going to introduce other problems such as flooding. The only way to increase the efficiency of the wick on a BCC is use a different wicking material such as cotton.
On yet another thread elsewhere someone was using the simple 8 watt rule (Volts = ohms+2 = 8 watts) to set the voltage for a factory coil (eg coil resistance 2.2 ohms, so the voltage was set to 4.2 V). This works great for rebuildables and dripping attys, for BCC devices... not so much.
To make it a bit easier for them I did a table with recommendations for 6 and 6.5 watts, and I should probably reproduce it here. The fourth column is current, just for information purposes.
I should probably note that there actually are times when you do need to mess with the heads on these. These are when you are using them in unusually cold conditions, or when you have particularly thick e-liquid. Phil Busardo in his most recent review of the Protank 2 found that its not necessary to make any modifications to the head even when using a 100% VG liquid. There may be exceptions however, though you should try adding a few drops of distilled water to a very thick juice to see if that helps at all.
I suggest that the first thing that should be tried if you are changing the head is turning the rubber cap on the head upside down. I was never a fan of this one but the fit-up on the Kanger head is so tight that it does not result in flooding if there's some real issue with the juice such as it being thick, or under very cold conditions. I'd also recommend this on the mini Protank 2 if you are having problems since it allows air coming out of the wick during use to get away from the head. There's not much space between the head and the side of the base and I've seen air get trapped on the wick when using the device heavily.
If you do decide that you need to remove a flavour wick, remove just one of the four. Any signs of undue flooding during use are a sign that you need to put it back in however - your problem was probably not wicking.
