Just plain old time. Qorax gave me a great bit of advice last year when I was having trouble wicking the erlkonigin...."Put it down, put it aside and come back to it".
Attack of the (Kayfun v4) Clones!
- Thread starter KTMRider
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
Just a random tip that I've found works for me...
I've been cutting the wicks short... 21mm (for me based on my coil height) so that it doesn't touch the deck... A 3mm coil, tick fluffy KGD wick... Wicked and tucked gently into the chimney before adding juice. There's about a 1mm gap on each side of the juice well...
Wicks max VG juice amazingly well... No dry hits at all. I keep the air about 3/4 open and the juice pools below the wicks and the fluffy tails keep it from flooding.
I've been cutting the wicks short... 21mm (for me based on my coil height) so that it doesn't touch the deck... A 3mm coil, tick fluffy KGD wick... Wicked and tucked gently into the chimney before adding juice. There's about a 1mm gap on each side of the juice well...
Wicks max VG juice amazingly well... No dry hits at all. I keep the air about 3/4 open and the juice pools below the wicks and the fluffy tails keep it from flooding.
I just filled my K4 clone with my thickest juice, and it's thick. I shall see how it does and make some adjustments as necessary.
My findings: I made no changes to my build, 2 mm id, rayon, 20 watts. It worked well, flavor was muted some what compared to what it would be with thinner juice (my mix) but I could chain vape it with no dry hits. I'm sure I could make it work better by changing the build but am not going to go any farther with it.
Now for my next "experiment" This one I've done before but with a Teminator/Ody clone. I tried this once with a Taifun GT and it leaked all over the place.
This involves a K4 filled with thin juice but has no wick, currently it is upright and I've been taking drags off of it and it does not leak. Next I will place it on it's side.
10 minutes later, picked it up and hit it(vertical) a few times, no leaks or gurgles. Next, I will hit it horizontal, just might leak then.
I could not get it to leak, when I disassembled it the coil was still dry, I unscrewed part "A" from "B" dry there too.
My (expected) conclusion: Too little wick in the K4 plays no role with leaking, too much would perhaps would but I didn't do anything with that aspect of things.
Your conclusion; That's up to you.
Oh,BTW, no mod was being used for the no wick part...of coarse.
My findings: I made no changes to my build, 2 mm id, rayon, 20 watts. It worked well, flavor was muted some what compared to what it would be with thinner juice (my mix) but I could chain vape it with no dry hits. I'm sure I could make it work better by changing the build but am not going to go any farther with it.
Now for my next "experiment" This one I've done before but with a Teminator/Ody clone. I tried this once with a Taifun GT and it leaked all over the place.
This involves a K4 filled with thin juice but has no wick, currently it is upright and I've been taking drags off of it and it does not leak. Next I will place it on it's side.
10 minutes later, picked it up and hit it(vertical) a few times, no leaks or gurgles. Next, I will hit it horizontal, just might leak then.
I could not get it to leak, when I disassembled it the coil was still dry, I unscrewed part "A" from "B" dry there too.
My (expected) conclusion: Too little wick in the K4 plays no role with leaking, too much would perhaps would but I didn't do anything with that aspect of things.
Your conclusion; That's up to you.
Oh,BTW, no mod was being used for the no wick part...of coarse.
Last edited:
Just be sure #9 is tightened real good- otherwise if it's loose the JC may turn just fine but there may well be too much resistance.
If tightening #9 causes the JC ring to seize up, modify part #7 by thinning it. Mine started out at 0.044" (~1.1mm), taking it down to 0.028" (~0.7mm) allowed #9 to be fully tightened yet allowed the juice control (aka “JC”) ring to turn with just a little resistance. Some resistance is needed to keep the setting stable- too loose and it turns too easily. And obviously too tight and the JC will not turn at all. The biggest problem with the quick-fix of tightening #9 "just enough" to allow the JC ring to turn instead of thinning #7 is high resistance! #9 has to be TIGHT!
When I first built mine, I used a piece of nickel wire across the terminals on the build deck instead of a coil- this was to check for resistance and I found 1.4 ohms- WAY too much. After thinning #7 (and fully tightening #9) I rechecked and found 0.3 ohms. I chalk the 0.3 ohms up to the several threaded connections used between the 510 and the terminals at the deck, the use of stainless for the 510 pin, and to the steel spring- even though it's supposed to be silver plated (the original uses a beryllium alloy/silver plated spring).
So other than the above, knocking the chips out of the four juice holes in part #17 (I used a #59 drill bit to finish drilling the holes), putting proper ‘flats’ on both ends of spring part # 12, a thorough cleaning- and I do mean thorough- needs to be done to get rid of the oil smell and the machining debris. I recommend taking it completely apart before using, down to the deck screws and all O-rings (mine was missing O-ring #19 and would have leaked like a sieve had I not caught it, the spares kit had one thankfully) in order to get it clean.
Last edited:
Popping in to see if I can get any help. My tobeco clone has been working flawlessly, JC and all threads are just sweet.
Somehow today when I was disassembling it I got it stuck and after forcing it apart, something's been strange. When the JC is completely closed off, the JC section (where the 510 is) has a slight wriggle/wobble. It used to be real nice and snug when it was fully closed off. Any clue why that might be?
ETA: AH. Figured it out. Sorta. Apparently loosening the 510 pin makes that happen. Hmm
Burping out loud using Tapatalk
Somehow today when I was disassembling it I got it stuck and after forcing it apart, something's been strange. When the JC is completely closed off, the JC section (where the 510 is) has a slight wriggle/wobble. It used to be real nice and snug when it was fully closed off. Any clue why that might be?
ETA: AH. Figured it out. Sorta. Apparently loosening the 510 pin makes that happen. Hmm
Burping out loud using Tapatalk
Last edited:
^^^^^^^what ricks said^^^^^
Loosing the 510 screw should not affect anything other than conductivity and if it does there's another problem (9 being loose)
Loosing the 510 screw should not affect anything other than conductivity and if it does there's another problem (9 being loose)
Last edited:
I vape 100% VG, well 95%, as there's maybe 5% for flavoring and a few drops alcohol. No problem with lung hits. Now maybe I have "a good one", but I've had leaking and I've had dry hits before. And both were due to my mistakes.
Granted, it requires a little consideration. The main control point is the interface between the liquid feed holes on the deck and the wick. Too much slack, too much space, and it can leak, which was painfully self-evident after I looked. I've had the cotton clearing the deck too much, and then it has leaked.
Too little airspace, and you can clog it. I've had the wick too fat, turning into the consistency of mashed potatoes, and that's when I've had dry hits. Pretty logical too.
So I don't agree that it's the device that's so finicky, it's how you build her. And now that I'm building more sensibly, it's been my most flawless, best tasting vape ever. I use a 1.4 ohm 28G kanthal coil with a short rolled stainless steel wick, with cotton "barbells" on the ends and reaching down to the deck. If I leave the holes uncovered, it leaks. If I over-clog them with soggy cotton, I can get dry hits. It tastes best around 15 watts, but it will cloud bust lung inhales at 25 watts.
ALL VG, no leaks, no dry hits.
Prep upon delivery? Hot soap and water shake 'n bake, let it sit in soapy water for hours, then shake, rinse and dry, repeat, then do it with > 91% isopropyl or ethyl alcohol. Check all the holes and fit. Let the alcohol evaporate. Rinse with PG/VG, and let it sit overnight, pour it out, final rinse with ethyl alcohol, evaporate. Lightly touch the o-rings with vaseline using a toothpick, and she's ready to go. Some people dismantle them totally, no harm in that if you don't lose parts. But after all the soapy water and alcohol rinsing I never had any foreign taste.
Last edited:
Question ... Is high juice consumption due to wire size?
Noticed lately that after a vape, if I put the drip tip to my ear, can hear the coil sizzling juices a. good second or so after I stop. firing. Using 28 gauge kanthal wound on a 2mm, 8 or 9 wraps. And a mech, so I'm not talking high wattage.
I'm thinking 28 gauge is taking too long to cool down, burning thru juice I'm not vaping. And these kf4s are sucking juice down... I thought my gennies went thru a lot of juice, the kf4s top them.
All I have is 28 on hand, otherwise I'd try a different gauge, 29 or 30. Perhaps 28 is not the best gauge kanthal for these atomizers. Anyone tested different sizes for optimum coils?
Noticed lately that after a vape, if I put the drip tip to my ear, can hear the coil sizzling juices a. good second or so after I stop. firing. Using 28 gauge kanthal wound on a 2mm, 8 or 9 wraps. And a mech, so I'm not talking high wattage.
I'm thinking 28 gauge is taking too long to cool down, burning thru juice I'm not vaping. And these kf4s are sucking juice down... I thought my gennies went thru a lot of juice, the kf4s top them.
All I have is 28 on hand, otherwise I'd try a different gauge, 29 or 30. Perhaps 28 is not the best gauge kanthal for these atomizers. Anyone tested different sizes for optimum coils?
28 is perfect for single coil RTAs IMO... and it works perfectly in all my Kayfun's V1-V4. I ran 26 and 30 in my V4 over the weekend and as you'd expect the 26 was stupid... heat retention was too much for it. 30 worked great as well but i still find 28 to be the sweet spot for # of wraps, response time and heat retention. (this is on both mech and VV/VW devices)
Totally agree snow blind, I too have no issues with 28 gauge for performance on a single coil. Just trying to figure out why these heads are so high in juice consumption ... And the sizzling after I fire leads me to believe I may need a higher gauge ... Or at the very least, more supplies to restock my diy juice brews 
Totally agree snow blind, I too have no issues with 28 gauge for performance on a single coil. Just trying to figure out why these heads are so high in juice consumption ... And the sizzling after I fire leads me to believe I may need a higher gauge ... Or at the very least, more supplies to restock my diy juice brews
I honestly don't notice any more consumption vs my other Kayfuns... maybe you're just enjoying it that much more and as a result vaping the hell out of it?
Ol' Blue showed up today. I love the color of it. The picture doesn't do it justice.
Lol. Good point.
Comparing to the other Kayfuns can understand why there's no difference....all the same technology.
I''ve been using various gennies before the kayfun, seems like its just about twice the juice consumption. And gennies are notorious for sucking down juice fast. If I compare the kayfun to other bottom feeder heads, like protanks I used to use few years ago... It's a silly comparison, perhaps going thru 70% less.
The old quality vs quantity arguement I guess.
Comparing to the other Kayfuns can understand why there's no difference....all the same technology.
I''ve been using various gennies before the kayfun, seems like its just about twice the juice consumption. And gennies are notorious for sucking down juice fast. If I compare the kayfun to other bottom feeder heads, like protanks I used to use few years ago... It's a silly comparison, perhaps going thru 70% less.
The old quality vs quantity arguement I guess.
You could always just cut the power a second before you stop your draw. The extra air flow with no power will cool down the coil nicely.
A piece of a balloon or latex glove will give you the traction you need to take that bad boy apart, I guarantee it! I keep a few pieces around for just that.
Last edited:
Just to add something to the discussion/problem of dry hits and wicking, etc.- be real sure the four juice holes through the deck (part #17 ) are fully open. After trying various builds and wicks on my Tobeco in an effort to cure the occasional dry hit, I decided to check everything all over again. That's when I found the unfinished juice holes. They were partially open, but stopped just short of being fully drilled. To cure this I used a #59 bit in a pin vise to open them all up, the results were immediate- nary a dry hit no matter what I do and a dramatic increase in vapor after the first draw or two due to the wick being able to replenish w/o any obstruction. A tiny pin file might work in a pinch.
BTW, rayon is an excellent wicking material. If you've not tried it, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. There's an active thread on it for details- it's a bit different to use than cotton but nothing that can't be easily picked up.
BTW, rayon is an excellent wicking material. If you've not tried it, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. There's an active thread on it for details- it's a bit different to use than cotton but nothing that can't be easily picked up.
- Status
