*GEM: A new RTA by MarkBugs

[TheotherSteveS]

I agree but at the time I didn't have any iso alcohol and this was a job where a q-tip wouldn't have been enough. I needed to completely rinse it out. Though I agree with you, in this case the liquid was soaked everywhere inside the brain center. To be honest the water worked surprising well but the rice is a good idea, just that I was in the mode of wanting to get it back together and didn't want to wait. Evaporation might have left the an iso alcohol residue on the inside of the LED screen, not sure though. But all is well and spotless clean.

To be honest, IPA doesnt play nicely with some plastics/glue etc. In this case, water was probably the best bet but I would certainly take out the batts and do the rice trick for a day or so just to get rid of mositure and make sure you wont damage the board!

 

[qorax]

I'd suggest in the future using iso alcohol and a q-tip. It will clean up everything much safer than with water and drys fast. You might throw your mod in a bag of rice to help absorb any remaining moisture.

Also water would corrode / oxidize parts of the internals, including stuff on the PCB. AVOID.

 

[TheotherSteveS]

Also water would corrode / oxidize parts of the internals, including stuff on the PCB. AVOID.

Agreed!! Certainly for cleaning the electronics, IPA is probably the best bet I think.....water will be ok for most of the rest as its Ti and ss but it will short the board and any copper for example will corrode. In this case it seems DT got away with it. Hopefully when fully dried out all will be restored!!

 

[BadTrainDriver]

I held off on the GEM for a while, resisting the urge, but it was finally too much...

Now that I have it, I wish I hadn't waited so long! What an amazing little rta! I dare say perfect, but it's the best I've got!

 

[qorax]

^Lookin' amazing @BadTrainDriver !

 

[DoubleTap1]

Agreed!! Certainly for cleaning the electronics, IPA is probably the best bet I think.....water will be ok for most of the rest as its Ti and ss but it will short the board and any copper for example will corrode. In this case it seems DT got away with it. Hopefully when fully dried out all will be restored!!

I admit I didn't know how this was going to turn out but considering the juice was already shorting out the DNA Board despite measures were needed. Using my air compressor did a fine job of removing the water. Putting it in rice over night most likely would have helped, but I was fairly confident I got it dried out. Only a tiny bit of moisture after reassembly showed on the LED Screen. However since it's obviously not air tight or liquid proof, the remaining moisture evaporated quickly and the screen was clear. The trouble with IPO is it evaporates too fast as was the electronic spray cleaner I tried first. It left behind enough residue that the firing button would not free up. The water rinsed away the juice completely. Under the same circumstances I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. It's bone dry and working perfectly.

 

[Dudditz]

So I have had no issue with my Gem since I have had it. I have been using the same build 6 wrap 28 gauge ni200 for months and greatly enjoying it. Starting last weekend I put a new build in the deck and filled the tank like I normally do. Right away the juice started slowly oozing out of the air hole. I have flooded the device in the past several times filling it and usually blowing in the air hole and pushing the excess juice out quickly resolves the issue. This time however blowing the juice out fixes it for a few drags and it instantly floods again filling the air hole with juice and resulting in heavy gurgles when I take a pull. I have taken the Gem apart many times analyzing everything and every time I put back together the same issue continues. Tonight I replaced the orings with new ones and this did not resolve the issue. At this point I am perplexed as to what is causing the excess flooding. The flooding is so bad its not vapable and if I let sit long enough it will completely fill the air hold with juice and possibly ooze out. So am I possibly missing an Oring? I looked over the manual and I don't see any that I do not have. I noticed air bubbles keep flowing out of the small hole in the base of the chimney, not sure if this is normal. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[jmarkus]

lets see the wick/coil. might not be enough wick?

 

[Yozhik]

So I have had no issue with my Gem since I have had it. I have been using the same build 6 wrap 28 gauge ni200 for months and greatly enjoying it. Starting last weekend I put a new build in the deck and filled the tank like I normally do. Right away the juice started slowly oozing out of the air hole. I have flooded the device in the past several times filling it and usually blowing in the air hole and pushing the excess juice out quickly resolves the issue. This time however blowing the juice out fixes it for a few drags and it instantly floods again filling the air hole with juice and resulting in heavy gurgles when I take a pull. I have taken the Gem apart many times analyzing everything and every time I put back together the same issue continues. Tonight I replaced the orings with new ones and this did not resolve the issue. At this point I am perplexed as to what is causing the excess flooding. The flooding is so bad its not vapable and if I let sit long enough it will completely fill the air hold with juice and possibly ooze out. So am I possibly missing an Oring? I looked over the manual and I don't see any that I do not have. I noticed air bubbles keep flowing out of the small hole in the base of the chimney, not sure if this is normal. Any ideas? Thanks.

My first recommendation as always is to clean everything ultrasonically to remove any problem residue. Second, there is an o-ring that is inside the chamber housing that goes up against the side of the build deck. Check that it isn't missing or damaged. After that, I'd probably run some tests. For example, see if it leaks with the AFC fully closed. If not, probably a wicking problem. Another test might be seeing if packing the wicking channels with a lot of wick stops the leaks. If not, there is likely an issue with the seal between the build deck and the housing.

Also, it may just be that a seasonal change in weather is part of your problem. From my own experience, one needs to use thicker wicks in the winter than in the summer. Maybe this is because of the fact that vapor pressure declines in the winter (as cold air holds less moisture) and that upsets the balance keeping e-liquid in its place. Regardless, as winter descends, the environment changes considerably (even in the home) and the same pattern of wicking may no longer work as it did before.

 

[Dudditz]

My first recommendation as always is to clean everything ultrasonically to remove any problem residue. Second, there is an o-ring that is inside the chamber housing that goes up against the side of the build deck. Check that it isn't missing or damaged. After that, I'd probably run some tests. For example, see if it leaks with the AFC fully closed. If not, probably a wicking problem. Another test might be seeing if packing the wicking channels with a lot of wick stops the leaks. If not, there is likely an issue with the seal between the build deck and the housing.

Also, it may just be that a seasonal change in weather is part of your problem. From my own experience, one needs to use thicker wicks in the winter than in the summer. Maybe this is because of the fact that vapor pressure declines in the winter (as cold air holds less moisture) and that upsets the balance keeping e-liquid in its place. Regardless, as winter descends, the environment changes considerably (even in the home) and the same pattern of wicking may no longer work as it did before.

Tonight I will run it through the ultrasonic cleaner and check that oring you mentioned. After reading through all the posts in this thread about flooding its possible I am not using enough wick. I am in Wisconsin and in the last week there has been a significant temperature difference and I have also seen temperature changes affect flooding in various tanks.

 

[hobbes4]

Also, try checking the oring where you screw in the 510 pin or hybrid pin. That one can get damaged on the threads of the screw.

 

[Dudditz]

Also, try checking the oring where you screw in the 510 pin or hybrid pin. That one can get damaged on the threads of the screw.

Turns out there is an oring located underneath the the base of the chimney about half way up. As far as I can tell the only way to get at this us from underneath the chimney. I took it out knowing this was going to be a good time getting a new one in there to replace it. I was amazed to see it had 2 small pivots in the sides of it. Considering the location of this oring its hard to imagine what could damage it however its possible if you have the higher of the 2 coils mounting screws not screwed down tight enough it could nick it. Regardless, eventually I got a new one in there and my Gem is performing flawless once again.

 

[Dudditz]

Also, try checking the oring where you screw in the 510 pin or hybrid pin. That one can get damaged on the threads of the screw.

I think you were referring to the one inside the base of the Chimney?

 

[hobbes4]

I think you were referring to the one inside the base of the Chimney?

No, if you remove the brass 510 pin at the bottom completely you will see a tiny o-ring in there. I had some slight leakage out of the 510 pin when i first received my GEM. I removed the pin and saw that the little o-ring was sitting kind of slanted so i re-positioned it, put back the 510 pin, and all has been good since. I noticed that all gurgling went way after this as well so that's another place to check for vacuum leak.

 

[Dudditz]

No, if you remove the brass 510 pin at the bottom completely you will see a tiny o-ring in there. I had some slight leakage out of the 510 pin when i first received my GEM. I removed the pin and saw that the little o-ring was sitting kind of slanted so i re-positioned it, put back the 510 pin, and all has been good since. I noticed that all gurgling went way after this as well so that's another place to check for vacuum leak.

Another one I did not know about. This is good to know, thanks for the clarification.

 

[h00ligan]

Oring
-----
Yes that's the same part that was shredded on one of mine. It's why MarkBugs is sending a new deck as it can't be user replaced. I think a small
Portion came out without it being seated perfectly. If you screw / unscrew too much it catches and shreds the tiny black o ring above the delrin disk

Wicking
------
If you haven't seen my post on wicking this tank take a look a couple pages back. It works like a champ To absolutely stuff the middle and cut it very short. Like when you think it's short cut it even shorter. I only like a token of cotton trail into the channels and then I surf the wick so much I risk blowing the coil setup to get it in there. Whe I used some thinner liquid I did leave a bit more trailing in the channels. But still not much.

Problem
-----

So what do you do to make the Tank more consistent on temp control setups. On the more advanced chipsets I'm having a lot of issues with very low ohm builds. Say .07-.11 It just bounces all over. And there isn't much room to do more wraps and I would like to avoid using thirty gauge.

It's disheartening I found a tank with such great flavor that is giving me so many issues with tc. It's also very common with these floating center pin designs. Most of them have the same issue. I'm open to the fact its my fault but you've all seen my builds. And they're not shorting. So...

I currently switched to a 9 wrap setup which is about as tight as you can be and requires a ton of work to make sure it's not going to be a standard contact coil. Though it appears to touch the pressure is distributed evenly. That seems to maybe be working s bit better.

I'm spoiled by the pure flavor of temp control

 

[TX Foilhead]

I held off on the GEM for a while, resisting the urge, but it was finally too much...

Now that I have it, I wish I hadn't waited so long! What an amazing little RTA! I dare say perfect, but it's the best I've got!

OK, how's that working out, I'm just about to pull the trigger. I'm not sure if there's enough room to operate the airflow easily when I'm filling the tank and how much extra hassle is involved with changing wicks.

 

[h00ligan]

You know I just realized that the gem is designed so that when the hole is closed it tracks airflow at s gradient

For whose who don't own one. Basically the inside leading up to their hole being wide open the metal gradients in kind of a c until it reaches the same thickness as the rest of the ring. Basically when the hole is closed the metal of the AFC ring is still separated from the main body until it meets back gradually. This is pretty genius.

Before I thought it was just the hole open or partially closed which wasn't much control. I feel stupid


Here is a pic for those who don't own one

Here's the hole. I thought this is either open or closed

Here is how it actually works notice the way that the metal is tapered from thin to thick so it still tracks Air in even when the hole is closed. Air control is at 12:00 the black dot is not the focus for those who don't own it and can't see what they're looking for.

Duh

 

[Freedom2Vape]

I noticed this - I turn the AFC so that it appears closed (just a bit past where the hole disappears) and it still provides enough AF for me to get a restricted lung hit. For me, that is where I get really great flavor.

 

[Matthee]

You know I just realized that the gem is designed so that when the hole is closed it tracks airflow at s gradient

For whose who don't own one. Basically the inside leading up to their hole being wide open the metal gradients in kind of a c until it reaches the same thickness as the rest of the ring. Basically when the hole is closed the metal of the AFC ring is still separated from the main body until it meets back gradually. This is pretty genius.

Before I thought it was just the hole open or partially closed which wasn't much control. I feel stupid


Here is a pic for those who don't own one

Here's the hole. I thought this is either open or closed

Here is how it actually works notice the way that the metal is tapered from thin to thick so it still tracks Air in even when the hole is closed. Air control is at 12:00 the black dot is not the focus for those who don't own it and can't see what they're looking for.

Duh

Brilliant, thank you.