Been using Protank for a week, what to expect?

[xerostatus]

So about a week ago, I found out there's a vape store locally so hopped in and.. whattayaknow, i walked out with a ego-c twist and protank (and some e-juice, obviously)
Just want to run by my "understanding" and some semi-questions i have so far:

Now, what appears like the "short term" consumables in this set up is:
- the replaceable bottom coil "heads"
- the e-juice (quite obviously)

And I presume, the "long term" consumable is:
- obviously, the battery
- maybe the protank itself if it ever gets physical damage or decide to spring a leak, but barring any unusual incidents, tank itself should be fairly "long term"?

Are the above presumptions correct?

And as far as the coil replacements for the protank, i know it's one of those YMMV kinda things.. But so far, I found myself going through about less than 2.5ml of juice a day. i.e. i can fill up the tank and have it last about 1~1.5 days. Just depends on the day of week, my activity level, where im at, etc. So at this rate, what is the average/reasonably expected lifespan of one of these replacement coils?

And Im as much of a DIY'er as much as the next guy, but I dont think im quite at the stage of my vape-life to be tinkering with rebuilding these things or messing around with wires and wicks and whathaveyou's. So for now, I'm going to keep a reliable stock of replacement heads, but would like to maximize the life of each if at all possible by user-input or maintenance, etc. So any tips on that would be helpful..

And finally, I understand that you "know" when to replace one of these coils is when you start to get a "burnt taste". My question is, what does that feel like? Sounds like a total noobie question, but I'm afraid my years of smoking cigarettes have nuked my sense of taste and sense of "what i am inhaling now is not good for me" (i used to smoke cloves in my youth, for cryin out loud >_<). So I'm always a little bit nervous that i might end up just vaping on a burnt coil, inhaling all kinds of burnt goodness without realizing it. When you say "taste", will i actually smell it, feel it on my tongue, etc? It's been about 1 week since i started using the first replacement head that came with the protank, and i recently changed flavors.. it tastes great, but im noticing a mild irritation-like feeling, like 1-2 days before you get a cold kinda feeling, in the back of my throat with each hit; am i facing the proverbial "burnt" taste, i.e. i facing impending coil-failure? Or just maybe a unique property of this new flavor i picked up?

I'm obviously hoping these coil heads last more than 1 week, but cant be sure since i am all brand new at this.

Thanks in advance for any input/advice/etc!!

 

[Renzuli]

Welcome , but regular cleaning , and doing a dry burn , to get rid of the burnt on gunk , will go a long way in improving the lifespan of the atty heads . As you notice the taste and vapor production , starting to wane . Time to give it a soak ( I use cheap vodka ) others just use hot water . Dry it oout as much as possible , then do a dry burn on the coil , until you see it glowing red . And you probably will have to replace the little flavor wicks . They are probably toast already . I just cut a small piece od silica wicking , and unravel it . I then use two pieces to place on top of the coil . Then put the little metal tube back in . Trim the flavor wicks somewhat close to the atty head .
When this proceedure no longer works , probably time to put in a new atty head . Mine last around two weeks . They are re-buildable , but that's for another time . Good Luck

 

[kbjoran]

I have three ProTanks and I clean them regularly. About every third drain, I disassemble them, run the center tube with the wick and coil under hot water for at least 30 seconds, then run the tank under hot water until it 'looks' clean. I set the parts on a paper towel with a Kleenex wrapped around the wick part (atomizer head). I let these sit for at least 8 hours. My ProTanks will never be replaced because, once the atomizer head goes (for me, it's just been oops...no more vapor), I just replace it. These things are literally tanks! It comes with a higher ohm atomizer head than I like so, when I order new atomizer heads, I order the 2.2 ohm. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Lafingriot]

Welcome to protank land! It is the best tank for fill and go. No fuss, tilt w flooding when In the pocket, solid build and no need to worry about juice cracking the tanks.
I own three tanks and they have all survived 4 foot drops onto concrete. Several of my friends also have protanks and have had two problems. 1. The O ring on the bottom cap has gone "missing" (i.e. down the drain when cleaning) which cause leakage. We fixed this by scavenging old o rings from unused vivi novas. I've been meaning to find out what size of the ring is and order a bunch to of spares to share
2. Only one has broken out of eight in use among my friends. This happened when he sat on a bench during a "smoke" break when is vamo/protank slipped out of his pocket onto gravell. Only a two foot drop but an edge musta cought the glass just right and it split in two. The glass is thick, 1/8 +. Moral is they are tough and rugged but can still break

I go though about the same juice, around a tank a day, or more when at the bar. I generally replace the atty heads once a week w heavy use. This is not because they don't function (far from) but they are not performing at their peak. My first atty lasted a month before I changed it, and the difference was quite noticeable. Nothing like a fresh atty to make ya smile. I rinse everything out every other tank unless changing flavors, which is an easy rinse

Enjoy your setup and vape on!

 

[Myrany]

WHen a head goes bad clean it if that doesn't fix it rinse it out good and dry it. Stick it in a baggie. Protank heads can be rebuilt. More than you want to tackle right now most likely but it isn't hard and later if you decide to try you have all those old heads to to get going again. If you decide never to rebuild then there are people here on ECF who I am sure would love to have them as spare parts.

Also drink lots and lots of water. Vaping dehydrates you.

Welcome to ECF and Vaping!

 

[PaulRevered]

Trust a smoker who rolled his own dutch tobacco for 20 years...you will know when it's "off". It will taste like you are smoking an alley cat's ***hole.

The advice to save your used coils is spot on. These are super easy to rebuild. I use 32 g kanthal and build them at @ 1.7 ohM. Another wrap and they would probably hit 2.2 plus.
I didn't like the Protank at first because the flavor was really muted. If this is the case you should try removing the top piece of wick that is just sitting on top of the coiled wick. It takes no special skill at all, just grab with tweezers and pull it right out.

 

[jfango]

How long a coil lasts has a lot to do with the kind of juice you are using. I use Alien's Hype and probably have the same coil in that tank last a month easy, but a tank of Copper Creek's House Blend is lucky to have a coil last more than a couple days before it gets replaced.

 

[davidegee]

They're easy to re-wick. Plenty of guides out there when the time comes. It's a little satisfying too!

 

[Benjaimin]

I live in Arizona, and its summer time.. the only problem I've had with the Pro Tank, is the glue that holds the glass to the top melts.. and it comes apart... easy fix but kinda annoying...

 

[Argusi]

I too, am on the boat with regular cleaning. Every 2-3 fills or when I change flavors, I take it apart (3 pieces) pull down the little gasket on the atomizer and place it in a small tupperware container and run it under hot water and swish it around a little bit. Then I let it sit until it cools off. I rinse it again in hot water, dry it off really well and refill. I imagine it would be better to let air dry completely, but I do it at night and don't have the patience.

I may or may not dry burn depending on the juice I've been using and how gunky it makes it. If I'm going to dry burn, I do it after the initial rinse and do one or two hot water rinse/swishes after that. Just be careful, you can pop the coil in theory, although I haven't yet.