A thing to watch if you are flying.

[Falconeer]

This isn't actually one of my "amusing" spoof stories.

We flew back to the UK on Tuesday from Malaga to check out our house in Scotland as it's a riverside flat and the street was one of those affected by the recent floods. I had two devices with me ( iStck30ws with Nautilus Minis) and I'd filled both tanks before going into the airport. As we took off I had one in a shirt breast pocket and one in a pouch in my travel bag.

About half an hour into the flight I noticed a strong menthol smell - looking down I found most of the e liquid had leaked out of my tank via I think the air control and soaked into my shirt. Checking my bag I found the same thing had happened to the second tank. I didn't know this could happen; I don't know why but suspect it's to do with air pressure changes in flight.

Oddly enough my emergency ego powered e vaping pen didn't do this.

 

[Dean Harcus]

Interesting.
Last time I flew, my tank was nearly empty. No leakage acured. I may have to try and fill her up next time to see what happens

 

[EverPresentNoob]

its a well known thing. these tanks rely on vacuum in the tank to keep all the juice from wicking through and then flooding out the air holes. Even thought the cabin of an aircraft is pressurized, there is enough of a difference to make your ears pop, as well as the vacuum seal on the tank.

Funniest example I saw of this was when I was flying alone I got the privilege of sitting next to a lady and her baby. about half way through the flight she realized that she needed to make a new bottle of formula for her child so she grabbed a new can of powder... I tried to say something but she ripped the foil seal off the top before I could... Instant baby formula powder EVERYWHERE! The poor lady was mortified, the kid was giggling, and I as well as everyone within 4 rows were covered. Laughed it off as best I could and played with her kid while she broke down in tears and tried valiantly to clean it up.

So yea, beware the pressure changes.

 

[Falconeer]

Thanks EverPresentNoob - I really didn't know this could happen, but now I do I'll only fly with empty tanks and load up at arrival.
Thankfully a with a good clean and blow through both devices are back to working just fine. AS for the shirt...well!

 

[WattWick]

Heh lesson learned I guess.

I was supposed to spend November traveling Malaga - Cordoba - Granada... but an impacted wisdom tooth caused an infection and had to be removed. By the time I got it fixed it was already too late to go while still having time to spend there.

 

[JavaJunkie]

As the air pressure changes, the air pressure in the tank changes too. When the air expands (temperature changes, plane landing or taking off, all sorts of other things that can make air pressure change) the air inside the tank will expand. That will push on the juice and push it through the coils and out the airflow. Easy fix? Flip the tank upside down. Get the air pocket in the tank between the juice and the coils. As the air expands in the tank, it will push air through the air flow instead of juice. You might get some leaking from juice on the coils and whatnot, but you won't have a big leak.

 

[HauntedMyst]

If you double bag them, it won't happen. When I've flown and done that, no leakage what so ever.

 

[Robino1]

On mine, I take the drip tip off, stuff a bit of paper towel in there, turn mod upside down and put it in a side pocket of my purse. The pocket keeps the thing in the right position. No leaks when I do it this way. Leaking will usually happen during takeoff and landing. Not so much once altitude is leveled off. Once you have leaking, it is hard to stop even when you hit altitude.

@HauntedMyst I'm going to try the double bag tomorrow with my spare tanks that I always take. Even though they only have enough liquid to prime the wick well, they still weep a bit in their single baggie. No biggie, I just wipe them down before filling and using. I just get irritated with the process.

 

[VNeil]

Also minimize the air by starting with a full tank

 

[Robino1]

Also minimize the air by starting with a full tank

Tried that, didn't work for me. .
Might have been not completely full. Hard to tell on some of these tanks that only have the see through part in the middle section

 

[VNeil]

Tried that, didn't work for me. .
Might have been not completely full. Hard to tell on some of these tanks that only have the see through part in the middle section

The theory is that the less air the less change in internal pressure. It worked for me when I flew with some Kanger Subtank Mini's but might not work always

The best solution might be to board with an empty tank and fill it at altitude. As I recall, cabin pressure is around 8500' equivilent. That is a significant change in pressure, as many ears will attest

An even better solution: a dripper

 

[Robino1]

The theory is that the less air the less change in internal pressure. It worked for me when I flew with some Kanger Subtank Mini's but might not work always

The best solution might be to board with an empty tank and fill it at altitude. As I recall, cabin pressure is around 8500' equivilent. That is a significant change in pressure, as many ears will attest

An even better solution: a dripper

My upside down trick works for me every time. Watch, tomorrow it will fail

 

[IgnorantCig]

I didn't notice this when I flew a few months ago.

One suggestion might be to fly on a Dreamliner, if you have that choice. That plane has much better pressurization than other planes.

I also thought about stealth vaping when I flew last time, but I decided not to, as I figured that it's simply too risky and I did not want to cause any incident.

I found that the method of putting E-Juice on my finger and then putting it on my tongue worked out just fine, and I found my flight to be comfortable.

 

[edyle]

This isn't actually one of my "amusing" spoof stories.

We flew back to the UK on Tuesday from Malaga to check out our house in Scotland as it's a riverside flat and the street was one of those affected by the recent floods. I had two devices with me ( iStck30ws with Nautilus Minis) and I'd filled both tanks before going into the airport. As we took off I had one in a shirt breast pocket and one in a pouch in my travel bag.

About half an hour into the flight I noticed a strong menthol smell - looking down I found most of the e liquid had leaked out of my tank via I think the air control and soaked into my shirt. Checking my bag I found the same thing had happened to the second tank. I didn't know this could happen; I don't know why but suspect it's to do with air pressure changes in flight.

Oddly enough my emergency ego powered e vaping pen didn't do this.

yes its due to pressure changes.

keeping them upside down will prevent the leak.

 

[JMarca]

Use a dripper on flights along with a small bottle of juice you'll never have leaks.

 

[phanner]

...they still weep a bit in their single baggie...

Probably because they're empty and not being used

 

[Falconeer]

Thank you all - I did start off with them both totally full - thinking I'd quickly get a vape when we hit Newcastle - wrong wrong wrong! I'll travel with them empty in future but as I said somehow the El Cheapo Vape pen which I do keep for emergency use was the only one that didn't leak.

And once the wisdom tooth is fixed - I'd say do that trip of the Spanish Cities - Granada is beautiful albeit the centre is small - but OMG there is a bar there which claims to be the oldest tapas bar in the city - buy a couple of drinks and you'll effectively get a free lunch. The architect who designed Granada IMHO tried it out in Granada and perfected it in Malaga - the old town is simply magical, I love it to bits. To my mind though Seville is The City to visit - beautiful fusion of the modern with the classic and a fantastic cathedral and the Plaza De Espana designed to look like Venice for an international exhibition in the 20s....and of course there is that river with its walks and jazz bars If you meet Spanish folk half way, learn a wee bit Spanish and don't try to tell them how to run their wonderful country - they really will take you to their hearts!

 

[Falconeer]

I didn't notice this when I flew a few months ago.

One suggestion might be to fly on a Dreamliner, if you have that choice. That plane has much better pressurization than other planes.

I also thought about stealth vaping when I flew last time, but I decided not to, as I figured that it's simply too risky and I did not want to cause any incident.

I found that the method of putting E-Juice on my finger and then putting it on my tongue worked out just fine, and I found my flight to be comfortable.

Menthol snuff works for me!

 

[uab9253]

I take my tanks - cheap plastic Smoktek RBC's off the battery and store them upside down, usually in my laptop pocket. Just to make sure the seals hold, I usually "burp" them once we are pressurized and again after landing just to make sure the seals don't pop. But, yeah, the first time I flew I had leaks for days.

 

[catsitter]

I like to use old pill bottles, put a bit of cotton in the bottom, the full tank in upside down, and then a little more cotton. I've flown to European a couple of times now and never had a problem with a leak. Seems the pill bottle helps protect against pressure changes as long as you don't open them in-flight!