Erlkonigin and Clone Comparison

[Richu75]

I just got my fasttech clone. It's SKU 2000400 and it's rubbish.

fasttech stated it te be 'minor parts not made of SS' but it's all plated brass. And badly plated as well.
I combined it with the mini conversion kit, and it leaks thru the seals.

I'll try and fix it with spare parts, but you should really steer clear of this one.

 

[capthook]

Bummer Richu. It's the ?only? one that says 'minor parts not SS'. Guess the 'minor parts' was a bit of a fib!
I have the mini-kit on the way too (it says 20.5mm), but seems it's been 'approved-tested' by others here for the 20.5 or 20.7mm.
(I was concerned it might not fit my 20.7mm, but apparently it should - will see in a couple weeks ha)
The dimenion of the one you got is listed as 20.9mm.
Maybe some beefed up (width) o-rings?

 

[Richu75]

Most of the time the 'minor parts not SS' means it has a copper positive screw or something. This is an all plated clone, except maybe the chimney.
Anyway, being bigger than the mini the plastic tank of the mini should have a tight fit to the base. Not leaking thru the seals.

I've put in a support call with fasstech, maybe it'll work out in the end.

Just a heads up to you guys, better not buy this sku.

 

[roxynoodle]

View attachment 420768


Actually, yes... just now.
Having just done a google image search on Erlkonigin, this is one of the image results. HA

My mullet wick! Yes, that was my first try at wicking and I think some static got involved when I took the pic . Old, dry farmhouse. It worked great though!

My wicks are tamer now, a tad.

 

[bassfiend316]

Just got my angelcigs order today. Blue "EK Style" tank...

First impressions:
Glad it was only $5. Top plate is not flat, has a heavy wave to it, so there's a gap between the two plates. The top part doesn't tighten enough to stop the tank tube from spinning. The positive screw was cross threaded in the post, so I had to use pliers and a vise to get the screw out and rethread it to a bigger size I had laying around. Before I could do that, I had to break the AFC ring because it was wedged in the hole sideways, not threaded on. Finally got that taken care of, decided I might as well build it. 2.4 mm, 28 ga, 1.8ohms, and a cotton wick (fat>skinny in the channels like recommended). Juiced wick, started getting excited...Go to put the juice ring on, SURPRISE it doesn't fit lol. Filed down inside of the ring so it would fit on. Finish putting it together, take a puff and it seems ok. Filled about 1ml in as a test, working good. Kinda liking this thing. Set it down to grab a drink, come back and my iStick is soaked and the tank is empty. Somewhere between working great and two minutes later it changed lol. So until I have more patience and more juice to waste, this is going back in the box...

Thinking the top plate/spinning tank is definitely an issue. may try thicker o-rings for the tank issue. Not sure what to do about the wavy top though. On the other hand, four new drippers came with Earl so I have other stuff to tinker with.

 

[Phone Guy]

Has anyone tried the new EK V2 from FT? With the glass tank and outside airflow control? I've got 3 Earl so far, only 1 of my bases comes apart where I'm able to remove the center post (with the air tube) the other 2 will not come apart.

I ordered the glass tanks (5 of them for like $5), but didn't want to buy yet another Earl at $20 just for the outside AFC. But would like to know if it provides a better draw and maybe quieter? My only complaint on my Earl's is draw too tight for me, and they make too much noise.

My Kayfun 4 (tobeco) is pretty decent... And I love my squape r. The squape reloaded has been my go to tank for the past couple of months, outstanding flavor, wide open air flow, great draw, easy build. Yeah it's heavy, yeah it only holds 4ml of juice, but other than that it's been awesome.

 

[jaxgator]

Thinking the top plate/spinning tank is definitely an issue. may try thicker o-rings for the tank issue. Not sure what to do about the wavy top though.

That's the reason your tank flooded, poor to no vacuum. If you can't get that top plate sealed, it's always going to leak on you.

 

[petemoss]

Has anyone tried the new EK V2 from FT? With the glass tank and outside airflow control? I've got 3 Earl so far, only 1 of my bases comes apart where I'm able to remove the center post (with the air tube) the other 2 will not come apart.

....

I bought this one: https://www.fasttech.com/p/2074900 which looks identical to the EK V2 from FT.(https://www.fasttech.com/products/3028/10010306/2184502-ek-v2-rta-rebuildable-tank-atomizer-4-0ml ). The base on mine won't unscrew and the 510 pin won't turn at all. The AFC ring works well and the atty is fairly quiet. I had some leakage through the air holes at the end of the first tankful. Now on my second tank and the leaking has stopped. Otherwise a very nice vape.

edit: ug, leaking again. Think jax is right, I'm losing the vacuum and it's probably due to the little o-rings in the fill port. They are not fat enough to seal.

 

[capthook]

Just got my angelcigs order today. Blue "EK Style" tank...

First impressions:
Glad it was only $5. Top plate is not flat, has a heavy wave to it, so there's a gap between the two plates. The top part doesn't tighten enough to stop the tank tube from spinning. The positive screw was cross threaded in the post, so I had to use pliers and a vise to get the screw out and rethread it to a bigger size I had laying around. Before I could do that, I had to break the AFC ring because it was wedged in the hole sideways, not threaded on. Finally got that taken care of, decided I might as well build it. 2.4 mm, 28 ga, 1.8ohms, and a cotton wick (fat>skinny in the channels like recommended). Juiced wick, started getting excited...Go to put the juice ring on, SURPRISE it doesn't fit lol. Filed down inside of the ring so it would fit on. Finish putting it together, take a puff and it seems ok. Filled about 1ml in as a test, working good. Kinda liking this thing. Set it down to grab a drink, come back and my iStick is soaked and the tank is empty. Somewhere between working great and two minutes later it changed lol. So until I have more patience and more juice to waste, this is going back in the box...

Thinking the top plate/spinning tank is definitely an issue. may try thicker o-rings for the tank issue. Not sure what to do about the wavy top though. On the other hand, four new drippers came with Earl so I have other stuff to tinker with.

Like jax and pete said, if the two fill port holes don't seal, it will leak.
They are sized at 3.0idx1.0width(csx-cross section). Would be nice if you could get 1.1 or 1.2 width orings in 3.0id, but I don't think that size is readily available.
A 'fix' in the Kayfun V4 threads is to use dental floss under the orings to raise them up. Worth a try.
Also, you say the tube spins. Maybe you just need to try tightening it down more, like with a pair of pliers.
My tube can spin yet still seal, or tighten down enough to not spin. The threads on the chimney that accept the top are/should be long enough to allow for full tightening

My juice ring was a whisker small also. I managed to get it worked on though - don't know if it will ever come back off though, haven't tried - ha!

Good luck

 

[bassfiend316]

Yeah I messed with it a little last night, cleaned up some threads and flossed some seals. Now I can plug the base and build enough vacuum to make the drip tip collapse a little. Unfortunately, my giant box of cotton is empty because the girlfriend and step daughter have been using it for makeup and not telling me haha so I can't rewick and try again yet...

Thanks for all the tips and help though. This forum is amazing because the people are!

 

[capthook]

Day 3:

SO - finally got that machine oil taste to disappear! Only took like 10ml of vaping ha!
(and that's after 2 complete washing/scrubbings)
Really liking it!

Guess I'll have to compare it to my fav: Kayfun V4

It's a warmer vape. Guess that's the shorter/smaller diameter chimney/smaller 'dome' chamber.
Not hot - just warmer. As a result, it gives a 'fuller' feel to the vape.
And the wicking is lasting for forever!
After 20ml - not needing a change. Looks like the K4 after like 5ml.
Maybe it's the primary wicking comes from the 'shoulders' rather than all the 'bendy' wicking of the K4.
Never had a problem with dry hits, but sometimes gurgles on the K4 - but none on this.
The premise of the wicking on this seems to be:
the juice will pour into the chamber - except the large 'shoulders' keeps it at bay.
So full juice flavor at all times seems improved on the Erlk.

I had removed the AFC ring. Seemed too fiddly.
Put it back in last night....BAM!
That was for me the final kicker into K4 flavor.
I have the AFC set 3/8-1/2 of a turn from fully tight.
And it makes the draw considerably quieter too.

Numerous more checks of the deck/coil/wick done by just twisting the base off.
Again, takes a firm grip and a towel etc. laid over it for grip is helpful.

The Kayfun V4 can be a bit fiddly, weeps juice from time to time, weighs a ton, is tall, and has a smaller juice capacity.
The Erlk is easy to use, doesn't leak as long as you fill correctly, super light and small, and a large juice capacity.
I love it fits comfortably in my shirt pocket.
And for me, the Erlk wins by a nose on flavor.
Looking forward to the mini-kit in a week or two!

 

[Phone Guy]

Unfortunately, my giant box of cotton is empty because the girlfriend and step daughter have been using it for makeup and not telling me haha

OMG! that would start a war in my house. Rule #1, the koh gen doh is for vaping only! No girl uses (unless it's vape rrlated). LOL (they can use the Rayon if they want... We got 3lbs of that!)

 

[Richu75]

Anyone have a link where I still can buy the erl mini (fasttech sku 1996900)?
Distributor on alibaba says it's out of production, no longer in stock.

 

[jaxgator]

From what I've read in this thread, they are no longer making the Erl mini and have no plans to do so in the future. Your best option is to buy a full size and get the nano kit separately.

 

[Phone Guy]

I tried to order the ek v3 from ft last night, couldn't use PayPal... LOL
The site will not accept paypal for that item. Once removed from cart, paypal worked fine

 

[Richu75]

Paypal blocks payment on some clones. Also coun't pay with paypal for ek mini

 

[LoveVanilla]

I tried to order the ek v3 from ft last night, couldn't use PayPal... LOL ��
The site will not accept paypal for that item. Once removed from cart, paypal worked fine

Yes, as someone else suggested to me, buy and then cancel another item of same/higher price. This will yield a "gift certificate" (basically a FT credit) which can be used for purchases without nagging from mommy paypal. Worked fine for me on a couple of occasions.

 

[Phone Guy]

Yes, as someone else suggested to me, buy and then cancel another item of same/higher price. This will yield a "gift certificate" (basically a FT credit) which can be used for purchases without nagging from mommy paypal. Worked fine for me on a couple of occasions.

That's a good sneaky idea - I like it!

I wonder if the v3 performs better?

 

[Mylt1]

well, got my order of 4 https://www.fasttech.com/products/2085900 along with 2 https://www.fasttech.com/products/2016000 and 2 https://www.fasttech.com/products/1797300 only to find that the shorty plastic nor the glass tank section fit the RTA. only opened one of the RTA's but the one i opened to play with is pretty nice. threading is nice and smooth, O rings on the top fill cap make nice contact with the cover and hold in place nicely even dry. the short chimney section fits nicely and threads on with 0 issues. i may be able to make the short plastic tank sections fit with larger O rings but they are going to have to be pretty big. will get the tanks cleaned up tomorrow and put a Ni200 build in them.

 

[roxynoodle]

well, got my order of 4 https://www.fasttech.com/products/2085900 along with 2 https://www.fasttech.com/products/2016000 and 2 https://www.fasttech.com/products/1797300 only to find that the shorty plastic nor the glass tank section fit the RTA. only opened one of the RTA's but the one i opened to play with is pretty nice. threading is nice and smooth, O rings on the top fill cap make nice contact with the cover and hold in place nicely even dry. the short chimney section fits nicely and threads on with 0 issues. i may be able to make the short plastic tank sections fit with larger O rings but they are going to have to be pretty big. will get the tanks cleaned up tomorrow and put a Ni200 build in them.

Weird. I would've expected the tanks to be too small because FT says that atty is 21.1mm.

My clone is 20.7mm wide.