got a protank...where's the flavor?

[geeve]

I am usually a top coil guy, but have been told many times not to give up in bottom coil. The only real experience I had prior was with a T3.

So tonight I picked up a protank. I was actually excited to give it go. Got home and loaded it up with some fire and ice, stuck it on the Vamo and...... hardly any flavor. Cranked it up a bit still nothing much. A little higher and burn taste. Okay so I turn it way down same result.

I then loaded my vivi mini with the same juice, put it on the Vamo and BAM! like sucking in a tube of binaca (perfect) Tried the protank again and not much flavor.

What am I missing here? I thought protanks were supposed to have amazing flavor. Any thoughts or suggestions on what I can try? I want to like the tank, it is nice and looks and feels good....but blah

Thanks

Geeve

 

[Dconnor]

I like them much better at 1.5-1.7 ohms, cotton wicks, with half of the flavor wicks than stock. For a quick fix, try removing one of the flavor wicks. If you have thicker juice, it might not be flowing well.

 

[stevegmu]

It is all a delicate balance of juice, resistance, power and technique. I've been using low resistance heads, priming them, using low power and getting great, saturated flavor.

 

[Susan W.]

Is that a Protank 1 or Protank 2? I didn't like the first version much. Muted taste and airy draws. I like the Protank 2 much better. I tend to like top wicking clearo better too.

 

[billo]

Try the I16. You may like it best.

 

[geeve]

Thanks everyone

It is a Protank 1.....

I can get over the airiness of the draw but the lack of flavor from it compared to my Vivi or iClear is killing my soul slowly. I may try to pull one of the wicks and see what happens, I am just afraid of flooding. I am using an 80pg/20vg juice in it so I would think it is wicking right. No burn taste unless I get up to 9.5 watts on a 2.8ohm coil.

I may finish this tank and retire it. At least I can say I tried again...

 

[MattMann228]

First off just wanting to say sorry, Not trying to steal your thread or anything, but I just bought a pro tank 2 and I am having the same issues. So I pulled off a flavor wick which made it better but not great and when my tank heats up it floods.

 

[geeve]

No worries Matt! That is what I am afraid of if I pull a wick out. I use thin juice anyway....

May just chalk this one up to a loss and know that I am a top coil guy for sure

Geeve

 

[MattMann228]

I use the same juice mix 80pg/20vg. and when I am in the house or the car where its cool it doesn't flood. but when I am outside where its hot and the juice thins out that's where I get the flooding problem. but I still wanted the flavor the everybody is talking about in the protank 2.

 

[Trayce]

I said this in other threads on this subject, but I had the same experience with the ProTank 2. No flavor. I vape fruit juices mostly (and a NET from Captain Black) and the CB NET was the only thing I could taste in it. When I put any other juice in it, I couldn't taste anything at all. Was very disappointing.

Around the same time I got an Aro Pyrex tank and that had great flavor. Just so happens the Aro head fits in the PT2 (even though Smoktech says they don't - they also fit in EVOD btw)... so that solved the problem for me. The PT2 tasted great with the Aro heads. Smoktech ARO/Tumbler Coil Heads Then I switched from silica to cotton wicking, and the PT2 with an Aro head and cotton wick is my favorite device now.

So if you don't mind ordering a couple heads to try the Aro, you might want to consider that. Otherwise I'd guess that re-wicking the Kanger head with cotton will also work, but that's sort of a hassle if you aren't already using cotton. (Most people use WalMart brand Peaches & Cream Ecru 100% cotton, boiled for 20 min and dried. Will taste cottony first few vapes, then nothing but flavor. Can also use CVS sterile rolled cotton, which people report does not need boiling. Or organic cotton balls. But the yarn is probably easiest as it's uniform.)

I would not retire the tank without giving one of these two solutions a try. Like I said, i nearly wrote mine off and now I absolutely love it. And again, if you don't want to bother with cotton, just try a couple Aro heads with the standard silica wick, which for some reason deliver much more flavor than the Kanger heads in my experience anyway.

 

[MattMann228]

will try. but I do have some 32 gauge kanthal and some cotton balls. just not sure how good my re-wrapping skills are. lol.

 

[Trayce]

will try. but I do have some 32 gauge kanthal and some cotton balls. just not sure how good my re-wrapping skills are. lol.

And the thing about cotton is it's kind of a trial process as different things work for different people depending on juice and whatnot. Also, not all 100% cotton is treated equally. Some cotton tastes HORRID like you're vaping a hamper and the taste does not go away. (Koger cotton balls are terrible. Joanne's Sugar & Cream 100% cotton is terrible [not PEACHES & CREAM at WalMart which many people use and like]. And Lions organic cotton yarn is terrible. I also didn't like Q-Tip cotton but some people don't mind it.) Some people also use Walgreens organic cotton balls and like that. So finding the right cotton is #1. When you do, the cotton taste is not bad just cottony until it goes away, but it goes away within 30s - 1m of chain vaping, usually without inhaling just to get rid of that taste.

Then there is the art of making a wick. Too much cotton and it floods because it wicks so well. Too little it floods because it lets juice past it. Using cotton balls or rolled cotton, some people only compress it and leave it fluffier and that works for them. Some twist and compress it into a long silica-like wick. Others use the Peaches & Cream Ecru yarn because it's already in a uniform, wick-like shape, so it's easier to work with and is consistent.

But the good news is, once you find what works for you, you can use it for all your devices, not just the Kanger. Drippers too. Everything's better with cotton. When wicked correctly you'll never get a dry hit or that burnt flavor even when chain vaping. Just don't dry-burn the cotton (i.e. without juice) like you do silica. And of course if you scorch the juice by vaping it too hot, that will taste burnt. But cotton will hold any sweet spot steady.

Good luck.

BTW if new to rebuilding standard coils you can find many YouTube vids demonstrating it from people like Grimm Green and P Busardo among others.

EDIT: If you use an Aro head in the PT2 be aware that after you have rebuilt the head and you put the stem back on, if the stem isn't put back on straight, when you try to screw the base of the PT2 back into the tank, you will get resistance against the threads [as the stem slips into the tube inside the PT2 and if at an angle, throws off the base from sitting flat on the PT2 because it's putting tension on it]. Don't ever force the threads. Tweak the stem to be straighter. When the stem is straight the base will screw on easily, just like when no head is screwed into the base.

 

[GoodNews!]

I'm posting on this thread to bring up a certain topic - in the OP's post, they said that the Vivi Nova gave them full flavor, while the Protank heads didn't.

Why is that? Personally, I've tried both cotton and removing flavor wicks in my Protank heads, and the flavor never improves whatsoever, it just "cleans up" a bit (without getting flavorful at all) and this seems to be more down to how my taste buds are interacting with the wire and silica that the Protank heads used - no matter how well it was wicking.

However, on the Evods that I sampled other night (like 20 of them), I noticed that the flavor came through about 5x more than a Protank, and not cotton-candied and sugary-powedery like the Protanks gave me in terms of juice flavor; rather, the juice flavor was very deep and almost too chemically. However, with the Evod heads, I also did notice tinges of metallic tastes and wicky tastes, though it was not a bad enough flavor that it would nessicarily scare a new vaper away. Yet the worst of the results I've gotton on my Protank heads, it'd scare a newbie away, while it presents a slightly experienced user like me with, at best, no flavor.

Could it be that one type of head is using Kanthal, and the other, NiChrome? Could it be different grades of silica? Could it be the different rubber grommets? All of these heads pretty much have the same flavor wick, so for one head to shine flavor through, and another not to give it at all, it seems mysterious. And, added to the fact, if we as users can just stumble across heads that work for us, and not having to re-wick and rebuild, obviously it presents much less hassle, and would allow vaping to reach more people.

 

[Talyon]

I'm posting on this thread to bring up a certain topic - in the OP's post, they said that the Vivi Nova gave them full flavor, while the Protank heads didn't.

Why is that? Personally, I've tried both cotton and removing flavor wicks in my Protank heads, and the flavor never improves whatsoever, it just "cleans up" a bit (without getting flavorful at all) and this seems to be more down to how my taste buds are interacting with the wire and silica that the Protank heads used - no matter how well it was wicking.

However, on the Evods that I sampled other night (like 20 of them), I noticed that the flavor came through about 5x more than a Protank, and not cotton-candied and sugary-powedery like the Protanks gave me in terms of juice flavor; rather, the juice flavor was very deep and almost too chemically. However, with the Evod heads, I also did notice tinges of metallic tastes and wicky tastes, though it was not a bad enough flavor that it would nessicarily scare a new vaper away. Yet the worst of the results I've gotton on my Protank heads, it'd scare a newbie away, while it presents a slightly experienced user like me with, at best, no flavor.

Could it be that one type of head is using Kanthal, and the other, NiChrome? Could it be different grades of silica? Could it be the different rubber grommets? All of these heads pretty much have the same flavor wick, so for one head to shine flavor through, and another not to give it at all, it seems mysterious. And, added to the fact, if we as users can just stumble across heads that work for us, and not having to re-wick and rebuild, obviously it presents much less hassle, and would allow vaping to reach more people.

I believe your phenomenon has to do with Lavender and soap. Please study the 2 and get back to me Ty.

Taste is subjective.

 

[DragonSG]

Rebuild it with microcoil and cotton properly..you can have anything you want.