Radius/Classic - Kabuki/Kayfun - Thanks/Comparison/Feedback

[VIRTWO]

I started vaping around a month back and switched completely to vaping 17 days 13 hours back.

I attempted a year back as well but did not succeed. Started with a Radius and Kabuki this time. Love both of them. Thanks to Provape and Zen I am smoke free now. Tribeca has become my ADV and I enjoy Castle long and Gold rush occasionally. I can't thank Provape and Zen enough for making these wonder full devices. I am finally smoke free after 15 years.

With FDA thing I got scared of getting forced back to smoking so decided to buy a backup along with a year worth nicotine supply. Never crossed 8w on Radius so bought a Classic with few 18350 batteries. Wanted to buy another Kabuki but sadly it is not rebuildable and I was worried about availability of coils. So bought a Kayfun 5 with MTL kit.

First thought was to get a cheaper tank but Kabukis quality spoilt me. Anyway, built my first build and surprise there is no flavor. Now, after multiple builds and experiments I am settled on 30g Kanthal 8 wraps 2mm coming to around 1.9 ohms, wicked with Cotton Bacon.

Kayfun is predictable. It always produces same amount of vapor. No gurgling, no leaks, and smooth. Wanted to make it along with Classic as main device and put Radius and Kabuki as backup (don't like looks of Kayfun and Radius together) but ended up doing the opposite.

Classic is perfect size but with 18350 runs out of battery too quickly. I can put larger battery but then it looks like a long pipe. No need to carry seperate charger or battery is a big upside with Radius. So, classic stays at home or goes out sometimes with Kabuki when I need smaller footprint.

I had big expectation from Kayfun but Kabuki has set the bar too high. Dropped Kayfun and got a small dent in Airflow Controller edge (no impact on performance). Call me crazy but then I did the same with Kabuki and nothing. It is a solid piece of steel, not even a scratch on it. Then to top it I could never get as good flavor from Kayfun as I get from Kabuki. I taste no sweetness in Tribeca or no Coconut in Castle Long when I use Kayfun. Kayfun excels in vapor and smoothness though. Kabuki has good and smooth flow when half full, becomes airy when near empty and it is tight when full.

Well since I already bought Kayfun I use it with Classic at home. Radius and Kabuki travel with me everywhere.

Don't know with FDI regulations any modifications will come in Kabuki but I really wish there is a rebuildable kit for just in case scenario. Anyway by the time coils are available I will keep using it. My Castle long is never seeing Kayfun again (until and unless I hit a jackpot and do some super build).

Again thanks Provape and Zen for making these wonderful devices. They are match made in heaven.

 

[Jim-]

I don't know, I think this Kayfun looks okay on the Radius. Just have to find the right top cap is all...

As to your K5 build, try 10 wraps on a 2.5 coil and wick it with some Rayon. Run mine at 8 watts. I get loads of sweet and sour notes and my ADV which is peach based is almost too sweet sometimes. As always, JMHO and YMMV.

 

[VIRTWO]

I don't know, I think this Kayfun looks okay on the Radius. Just have to find the right top cap is all... View attachment 587531

As to your K5 build, try 10 wraps on a 2.5 coil and wick it with some Rayon. Run mine at 8 watts. I get loads of sweet and sour notes and my ADV which is peach based is almost too sweet sometimes. As always, JMHO and YMMV.

Yup looks are very subjective.

I will try the build. Will update how it goes.

 

[VIRTWO]

Tried 10 wraps on 2 mm (forgot you mentioned 2.5). It came around 2.4 ohms.

Tried 5-8w but no good. It's smooth, lots of vapor but Tribeca is still without any sweetness.

Will try maybe 8 wraps on 2.5mm and see if it helps.

 

[VIRTWO]

Tried 8 wraps on 2.3mm drill bit. It came to 2.2 ohms. Went easy on cotton. Opened juice flow control by 2.5 turns. It's better than before.

 

[VIRTWO]

Did some more experiments and it seems 8 wraps on 2mm drill bit with very light cotton tastes best among all I tried. Running at 5w with smallest tunes from MTL kit and 3rd airflow.

I am suspecting wicking is the culprit. First few drags have flavor then it diminishes.

 

[d.g.]

First of all congrats on quitting smoking!

Pardon everyone if I am exaggerating, but there is no way you can get better flavor from Kabuki vs. a well wicked Kayfun. Granted I don't have a v5 but use all of the other Kayfuns.

I am wondering if you are wicking with too much cotton and if the coil radius is too small.

1- You probably have your coil too far away from the hole. Try using a 1.2-1.5mm gap between the hole and the coil.

2- I like my wicks relatively tight in my coils therefor I initially use a lot of cotton but then trim a lot of it so that I don't choke the coil or the air hole. I would try as little cotton as possible for the ends of the wick, especially touching the juice holes.

3- 5 watts is really low to get a good flavour I think although obviously it is different for everyone. I would say for mouth to lung vapers, 8 to 12 watts is a sweet spot, with ohms ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 or so.

4- You say that you initially get good flavour. That tells me that the coil is not wicking well. You might blocking juice holes if you are stuffing the cotton in there, be more gentle.

5- If you post a picture of your coil and wick before vaping and after vaping, I believe we can fix it. The color change in the wick generally tells the whole story.

6 - Maybe your air adjustment is not tight enough to suck juice to your coil.

7- Maybe you prefer the taste of the coil and cotton material that stock coils use.

8- I wrote all of this on my phone so I am sorry for typos etc.

 

[VIRTWO]

First of all congrats on quitting smoking!

Thank you!

Read multiple threads and watched several videos. Built a simple coil with 2.4mm ID using 28 gauge wire. It came to 1.4 ohms. Wicked it with even less cotton this time. Vaping at 6w. It feels way better. I can taste sweet taste now (Tribecca high VG 12mg) - actually sweeter than Kabuki now. 'am turning juice flow control by ~3 turns otherwise taste again goes away after few puffs. Just for context I take long puffs.

Problems/differences remaining:

• Vapor is very wet - will try to fine tune juice control
  
• TH is pretty high with same juice compared to Kabuki. This may or may not be a problem since amount of vapor produced is on higher side with Kayfun compared to Kabuki
• My nose starts running maybe because of high amount of vapor
• Vapor is pretty warm (compared to Radius+Kabuki at 6w)

I am wondering if you are wicking with too much cotton and if the coil radius is too small.

Yes it looks like it is a issue with wick.

Was inserting way too much cotton. Was rolling it and pushing it inside. Fixed that. Now cotton is going inside with little force. I think it will take some more tries to find the right amount.

1- You probably have your coil too far away from the hole. Try using a 1.2-1.5mm gap between the hole and the coil.

Actually was putting it way to close. Pulled it up in last build to ~1.5mm.

2- I like my wicks relatively tight in my coils therefor I initially use a lot of cotton but then trim a lot of it so that I don't choke the coil or the air hole. I would try as little cotton as possible for the ends of the wick, especially touching the juice holes.

Watched a video and now fluffing the cotton and trimming it. Was having pretty longer end previously.

3- 5 watts is really low to get a good flavour I think although obviously it is different for everyone. I would say for mouth to lung vapers, 8 to 12 watts is a sweet spot, with ohms ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 or so.

Tried but vapor become too warm. Or may be I was just trying to match Radius/Kabuki setup. Will try again with 8w with the latest build.

4- You say that you initially get good flavour. That tells me that the coil is not wicking well. You might blocking juice holes if you are stuffing the cotton in there, be more gentle.

Yup. The center part of wick was turning darker. I stuff less now (actually no forced stuffing anymore). This time I turned juice flow 3 turns and it seems to be getting wicked better.

5- If you post a picture of your coil and wick before vaping and after vaping, I believe we can fix it. The color change in the wick generally tells the whole story.

Will do that with next attempt

6 - Maybe your air adjustment is not tight enough to suck juice to your coil.

Tried the smallest possible configuration

7- Maybe you prefer the taste of the coil and cotton material that stock coils use.

Hmmn! Possible.

8- I wrote all of this on my phone so I am sorry for typos etc.

Thanks for taking the time. For newbies like me these tips/suggestions are treasure.

 

[d.g.]

I think you will get a hang of it but it is interesting that the color change occurs i the center part of the wick. It generally means wick legs are getting sufficient juice but;

1- the cotton is too tight inside the coil and the juice can't get in efficiently

Or

2- the coil itself lights up unevenly - are you "brushing" your coil using the tip of a screwdriver? There might be a hotspot on the coil.

Also, not sure how wet your vape is but actually that is a great thing. It is what everyone is aspiring for; the wetter the taste the better the flavor. Obviously if there is spitback it is not good.

 

[VIRTWO]

I think you will get a hang of it but it is interesting that the color change occurs i the center part of the wick. It generally means wick legs are getting sufficient juice but;

1- the cotton is too tight inside the coil and the juice can't get in efficiently

Or

2- the coil itself lights up unevenly - are you "brushing" your coil using the tip of a screwdriver? There might be a hotspot on the coil.

Also, not sure how wet your vape is but actually that is a great thing. It is what everyone is aspiring for; the wetter the taste the better the flavor. Obviously if there is spitback it is not good.

Well my little wet vape just ended and it started tasting bad. I guess it is the first case. I think I am using lot of cotton still.

BTW did not know wet is good. Don't get any spit back. I think I am just trying it to be like Kabuki.

What is brushing the coil?

 

[VIRTWO]

Tried another build. 6 wraps of 30 gauge wire on 2.4mm drill bit. It came to 1.7 ohms. Did not pinch the coil and left it spaced. Used even less cotton. It tastes good right now. Let's see how it works after a day worth use.

Some pictures of coil I just removed.

Pictures of new coil.

 

[d.g.]

That doesn't look good. I only use contact coils so I am not sure. I think the only explanation is that coil does not burn equally. There is too much heat at the center. I suspect the center reaches 8 watts much faster than the sides of the coil and therefor it burns.

The ammount of cotton seems to be right though.

Edit: you should copy paste your last post with pictures to the Kayfun 5 authentic thread. It is in the Heather's Heavenly Vape sub forum

 

[DougFNJ]

Congratulations on quitting. You are very lucky to come into this when great devices are available.

I love my Radius/Kabuki combo. You are so right about the flavor. I had a lot of issues with building on Kayfuns, it took a LOT of trial and error.

I have the V5 as well, you couldn't had asked for a better device for building on. I have been getting incredible flavor from it. This is the best experience I have had on a Kayfun so far. Looking at your photos, the 2 suggestions I would throw out there is to cut the wicks closer to even with the tank. I drew the lines and attached a photo. You want it right enough so it doesn't end up drooping in the coil when it wicks, but not too tight to burn.

The second suggestion is to purchase a coil master and a set of ceramic tipped tweezers. Coil master wraps a perfect even coil, the tweezers allow you to work with the coil while its glowing without shorting. The coil should glow from the center out when heating, and there should not be any dark spots. Grimm Green does a great demo as does pbusardo if you haven't seen their YouTube video reviews.

I use 26 gauge Kanthal to on 3 mm 6-7 wraps for Around 1 ohm. 1 or 2 more wraps would get me 1.2 - 1.3 ohms. 27 gauge with that setup would get you to 1.3 ohm.

Keep playing with it and you will find your sweet spot.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[VIRTWO]

Thanks for the suggestions. Will order coil master.

Will try cutting closer as you have shown in picture.

Currently got lucky in one of the builds (have MTL thing removed) and it is going good.

Once coil master comes will build a new one.