Flooding, the problem that doesnt seem to be solved

[DaveP]

The air flow adapter for the Protanks is the key to better vapes.

With any atomizer the key is long slow, easy draws. In a tank, it's vacuum that prevents the juice from flooding the coil. Hit it hard and fast and you are telling the tank to feed MORE juice! Slow and easy 4 second pulls will stop that. If they don't then there's an air leak somewhere that's letting juice feed too fast. Maybe the glass to metal seal around the tank top is causing vacuum loss.

Kanger Airflow control valve for Protank-2, Protank-3, Aerotank – KangerTech

 

[ctruth]

It does help to remember to unscrew it from the battery at night and put it upside-down in a jar.

Good practice for when you get those full dentures....

 

[DaveP]

I find that upright storage is the key for most tanks. If I lay them down, they sometimes gurgle on the next vape.

 

[Berylanna]

I find that upright storage is the key for most tanks. If I lay them down, they sometimes gurgle on the next vape.

That has always been true for me...UNTIL NOW. If I store the newer one(s) upright, they are empty in the morning and there's a big puddle. Maybe the pyrex-to-metal connection doesn't have the right kind of O-ring.

 

[DaveP]

I actually had a flooding/gurgling problem with my Aspire Nautilus once that I couldn't cure. It turned out to be a crack in the Pyrex tank where the tube connects with the drip tip. When I tried to remove the threaded top cap it would turn about 1/16 of a turn and stop. I continued to turn it back and forth gently until I got it to unscrew. A sliver of glass cracked out of sight under the cap and was rotating into the silicone seal when I'd turn it, jamming the cap. That crack was leaking vacuum.

A new Pyrex tank fixed the gurgling for $7. I remembered it tapping hard on something as I walked by with it in my hand. That had to be when it cracked ... a freak occurrence.

If gurgling isn't insufficient air flow or condensation in the vertical tube there's a good chance that there's an air leak creating a no vacuum situation. If you can empty it and dry it, then seal off the drip tip socket with a finger and apply suction to the base where the atomizer breathes you might find a leak in the tank.

If it's an inexpensive clearo, sometimes the easy solution is to buy another one.

 

[tchavei]

My two cents

Been in this hobby (can you call vaping that?) in and out for like 4-5 years. When I started, leaking was so common that we had a saying at the office stating something like "Q-tips and cleanex tissues are vaper's best friends"

Anyway, I mostly managed leaking issues back then when I switched from poly filled tips to the 510 ego-T atty. That thing would never leak unless the cartridge was over a month old and all worn out. Yet I never was really satisfied.... when batteries would go low, the atty just couldn't handle them and you would start sucking in eliquid.

Now that I've returned, I see great improvements like mods, VV and VW and bottom feeder tanks that don't leak nowhere as bad as they used to (I'm from the time we would rip appart a CE cartomizer and use the inner post/wick/coil inside a pre-cut seringe body to make something like a "rudimentar" tank lol. Anyway... I think we will still see leakage problems in the next 5 years or so (unless the FDA and EU shuts this whole thing down) because its not as easy to fix as we might think. We can't make air tight devices because no liquid would flow in and its th same component that lets ejuice through that is also the main seal in any tank... the wicks... too much and you get dry hits, to few and you get gurgling... its a matter of balance. Problem is that we live in a dynamic world. You're working with AC at 23C and 30% humidity... you go outside and its 32C and 70% Humidity... you get into your car and... you get my point. Variables are changing and a simple wick just can't "adjust" itself to those changing conditions.

I'm sure that in the future some clever guy (chinese or any other) will come up with an alternatve to common wicks... something like a venturi type eliquid feeder that will let just an X amount of fluid go into the coil no matter what you do but until then, all one can do is get his hands dirty and rebuild, experiment and rebuild again. I've done countless rebuilds and I'm playing with wicks and coils. I had many suceed and other that failed miserably. I found out that what works for some on youtube videos just doesn't work for me because of hidden variables (ambient temperature, e-liquid, battery, etc). You just need to experiment until you find something that works for you.

All in all... this is a messy hobby... kinda reminds me of those old documentaries about cars... I'm pretty sure that in the early day, cars would break down a lot more, have wierd engine problems, fuel flooding etc... it took 100 years to iron most things out and there are billions and billions of cars out there... we are just a few millions and most of us aren't even interested in tinckering with this stuff... we just want to vape and vape well (I wish I could do the same). It will take years so unless you want to return to analogs (as I once have done and I still regret it), start working in solving your issues

Good luck

Regards
Tony

 

[underd0g]

Fantastic advice. If only everyone here on ecf followed your lead we'd have a world where each of us could discover vapping in their own way.

It's true that this "hobby" (yes it can be called that is just in its infancy. I'd say in 5 or so years from now there will be some tank that just works, similar to our smart phones. It'll have its own mini display or "fuel" level indicator with some kind of thing allowing the user to inject juice without the mess. My guess is the technology won't take as long as it did to perfect our vehicles because as tech grows, it actually takes less time then before to mature it. Take that with a grain of salt, even our mode of travel is still evolving.

Like anything else, the government will have its hands in it. I doubt however it'll be stopped purely because of how much is out there now. It's similar to alcohol, too many people wanted it and it was finally legalized. The same is true for green grass, that's also still in its beginning stage of legalization.

I'm thinking the tank won't even be a tank, it'll be something that you wished you'd thought of. Vapping as we know it will forever be changed.

My two cents

Been in this hobby (can you call vaping that?) in and out for like 4-5 years. When I started, leaking was so common that we had a saying at the office stating something like "Q-tips and cleanex tissues are vaper's best friends"

Anyway, I mostly managed leaking issues back then when I switched from poly filled tips to the 510 ego-T atty. That thing would never leak unless the cartridge was over a month old and all worn out. Yet I never was really satisfied.... when batteries would go low, the atty just couldn't handle them and you would start sucking in eliquid.

Now that I've returned, I see great improvements like mods, VV and VW and bottom feeder tanks that don't leak nowhere as bad as they used to (I'm from the time we would rip appart a CE cartomizer and use the inner post/wick/coil inside a pre-cut seringe body to make something like a "rudimentar" tank lol. Anyway... I think we will still see leakage problems in the next 5 years or so (unless the FDA and EU shuts this whole thing down) because its not as easy to fix as we might think. We can't make air tight devices because no liquid would flow in and its th same component that lets ejuice through that is also the main seal in any tank... the wicks... too much and you get dry hits, to few and you get gurgling... its a matter of balance. Problem is that we live in a dynamic world. You're working with AC at 23C and 30% humidity... you go outside and its 32C and 70% Humidity... you get into your car and... you get my point. Variables are changing and a simple wick just can't "adjust" itself to those changing conditions.

I'm sure that in the future some clever guy (chinese or any other) will come up with an alternatve to common wicks... something like a venturi type eliquid feeder that will let just an X amount of fluid go into the coil no matter what you do but until then, all one can do is get his hands dirty and rebuild, experiment and rebuild again. I've done countless rebuilds and I'm playing with wicks and coils. I had many suceed and other that failed miserably. I found out that what works for some on youtube videos just doesn't work for me because of hidden variables (ambient temperature, e-liquid, battery, etc). You just need to experiment until you find something that works for you.

All in all... this is a messy hobby... kinda reminds me of those old documentaries about cars... I'm pretty sure that in the early day, cars would break down a lot more, have wierd engine problems, fuel flooding etc... it took 100 years to iron most things out and there are billions and billions of cars out there... we are just a few millions and most of us aren't even interested in tinckering with this stuff... we just want to vape and vape well (I wish I could do the same). It will take years so unless you want to return to analogs (as I once have done and I still regret it), start working in solving your issues

Good luck

Regards
Tony