How often do you Maintenance a Kayfun?

Status
Not open for further replies.

The Ocelot

Psychopomp
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 12, 2012
26,497
79,193
The Clock Barrens, Fillory
I chain-vape, so tend to re-wick whatever device I'm using the most every couple of days (which I often find it doesn't need once I get it open). So far I have only changed coils if I feel like building something else. I haven't changed the coil in my primary device in about 8 or 9 months. If it's very gunky I soak it in alcohol, rinse it under the sink, gently brush it with a soft toothbrush, then dry burn and re-wick.

For taking a kayfun apart and clean all the parts, this video is helpful:

Maintaining your Kayfun
 

edyle

ECF Guru
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Oct 23, 2013
14,199
7,195
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
So I was told that since kayfuns are rebuildable they tend to last longer than store bought coils and such. I am wondering when and how to maintenance it, how often do I replace the cotton? How do I know when the kanthal wire has to be replaced?

1: Rewicking:
Depending on how much you vape you could rewick once a week, maybe a month; depends on other factors too;

2: Recoiling:
The thicker the coil wire, the longer it will last. When you rewick, you dryburn the coil, and it gets to almost as if brand new.
 

ElConquistador

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Mar 24, 2013
1,538
3,308
Oklahoma
I use a notorious coil-gunker juice, so about every other tankful, I empty it out, clean it up, dry burn the coil, and re-wick. If I go too long, the vape starts getting kind of "harsh", not really burned tasting. The bad taste creeps up on you so you don't really notice it, but a clean coil and new wick is a night and day difference.

I'll replace the Kanthal when the mood strikes me, maybe every week or two. It starts looking kind of pitted with a hand lens after a while.
 

DavidOck

ECF Guru
Supporting Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 3, 2013
21,227
178,391
Halfway to Paradise, WA
Indeed, the coil can last a long, long time! It may eventually start to creep in in resistance value, or you might maul it when cleaning or rewicking, but otherwise, only if I want to wind something different.

Wicks... Depends on the flavor, mix, and power. Some of mine "like" a new wick every two or three fills, others five or six or so. If the flavor starts to get "strange" as elConquistador mentioned, time to at least rewick. And may well benefit from a rinse, dry and dry burn as well.
 

The Torch

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 12, 2012
1,091
1,634
Montreal
Lord... I must be crazy!

I rewick on average once a week or if I want to change juice flavor, a little more than once a week for the harsher and darker juices.
I do recoil every 2 to 3 weeks, else I feel I'm losing too much vapor. For lighter juices, I sometimes wait a month before recoiling, but I feel bad about waiting for so long.
 

VHRB2014

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 16, 2014
2,593
4,587
Nic`d Up in Oklahoma!
Ya, juice color will really determine how often you have to rewick. A peachy color to dark opaque, will probably foal the coil in a tank full or two. I used to like Highbrow Cigar and it would go maybe two tank fulls at most. Now we run very light colors, lemony to almost clear and get over a week to ten days in between re-wicks. And she`s a vapaholic, LOL.

As has been mentioned, the coil itself if taken care of, can last several months. That being said we use 33 gauge in our one KF and I use a loupe when rewicking, and we did change the coil after about three months because I could see deep-ish pitting on the surface, probably due to the very light gauge.
 

crxess

Grumpy Ole Man
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Sep 20, 2012
24,438
46,126
71
Williamsport Md
I Never change a good working coil. Why tempt fate?
Re-wick as flavor starts to drop off. Usually an indicator things are starting to get gunked up.
I rinse the tank under hot running water. Rinse the wick to see actual wear indications. Usually cleaner than expected. I run Rayon wicks. The coil is usually the part that needs to be cleaned and restored by dry burning. New wick installed and good to go for a few more weeks.
Oh, I rotate about 6-10 tanks depending on mood.
 

Phassat

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 9, 2014
358
314
Planet Earth
Erm, since my first setup on orchid I have never rewick.... I vape around 2 tanks per day... That's 8 ml, and change flavor from one day to another.... Taste maybe got distracted a bit but what I did was to close the air hole, suck up the juice to the cotton, chain vape, suck again... Then after taste seems diminishing and before it burnt, I fill in with other juice. Is it dangerous not to change the cotton? Or only an issue of taste?
 

The Torch

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 12, 2012
1,091
1,634
Montreal
Erm, since my first setup on orchid I have never rewick.... I vape around 2 tanks per day... That's 8 ml, and change flavor from one day to another.... Taste maybe got distracted a bit but what I did was to close the air hole, suck up the juice to the cotton, chain vape, suck again... Then after taste seems diminishing and before it burnt, I fill in with other juice. Is it dangerous not to change the cotton? Or only an issue of taste?

If you get vapor and no burnt taste, I don't see any danger in keeping the wick in, but just for kicks, you should try to rewick at least once... I usually get much more vapor and flavor out when I rewick. Also, dry burning the coil before putting a new wick in helps to get more heat out of the coil. Your mileage will vary depending on the juices you vape. I have a few juices that I definitely need to change the wick and dry burn at least once a wick for, else it will start tasting like burnt marshmallows or worse.
 

VapnWitch

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Feb 6, 2013
834
667
VA, USA
I have a knock off and it depends on how often I use it. If I'm using it regularly, I tend to change the wick once a week unless the flavor drops off before that. I rebuild maybe once a month, but usually more like every 6-8 weeks, because the juice I keep in it is light and doesn't gunk up my coils very quickly. I clean it out after every two fills and dry burn the coils a little, rinse again, then reassemble everything. I did clean it between every fill, but then I got lazy (and finally got it working well, so I was going through juice a lot faster).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread