Ithaka Clone Troubles

[ZeroOhm]

I wonder if some kind ECF vaper(s) could help me out I am pretty much a newbie to give you some background. I quit smoking about 8 weeks ago and don't have any real experience with vaping.

After reading many threads on ECF which I can only thank the fantastic vaper user base which the forum has, I started out with Kanger ProTanks and soon knew I had todo something to improve my vaping experience I needed a better vape I wanted the vaping nirvana I am pretty sure we all seek I knew I would be into vaping for the long haul. After reading and reading and then more reading, watching YouTube and browsing every forum I could, I decided to bite the bullet and given I have limited funds I was keen and desperate to buy more kit that would give me the vaping return I sought.

I read about clones and a little on designs, good reviews and somewhat impulsively ordered a GG Ithaka clone from FT back at the end of October it took the time it did to arrive when it did I was thoroughly impressed with its design and build quality and set to work to set it up. After the recommended cleaning regime with boiling, IPA, pipe cleaners and cotton buds. I had bought supplies Kanthal, Silica, EkoWool & non res silver wire & learnt with some success to join the wires and calculate the coil resistances my first couple of attempts worked if you could say that, I had watched many a tutorial but after wanting to rule out user error and the trickiness for a newbie like me working with no res-res, I bought some arc welded pre mades my coil making skills are to say the least in there infancy and rather crude at times although to my credit I used to be an electronic bench engineer so any technical challenge I mostly like and detailed worked I don't shy away from.

After some trial and error I got the Ithaka clone built, checked the coil for uniformity, checked the coil for glowing evenness, primed the wick and attached the chimmy/mouth piece and had a test vape wow after what I had known I knew then I had seen the light!

I attached the tank section and followed what I think is what todo, tighten the mouth piece to the closed position and filled from the top section with the top 2 pieces detached (larger piece that attaches to the top piece that connects to the clear tank section & the small piece the chimmy/mouth piece goes through) all is good at this point when I see the ejuice get to the the top of the clear tank section I stop. I then attach the larger top piece then I slowly attach the smaller piece. Everything is good at this point when I test vape everything sounds good to me no gurgling, air draw is good for me and the vape is blissful. I notice a lot of the juice I filled into the tank gradually disappears I presume into the bottom res section where it feeds the wicks. Vaping at his point is to me is just out of this world saturated, warm, and flavoursome for a silica tank it's heaven sent.

Now this is where my problems start if I try to fill it again, putting back together and re pressurising with a few vapes I almost immediately get gurgling and after some more juice comes out from what I can see from the 510 pin and it's all over I tried a few things by trying to blow out the juice but this appears to make things worse.

I am desperate to fix it and am so impressed with the vape I ordered a RH Hercules yesterday from GreyHaze UK given FT lead and delivery times I didn't want to wait until 2014

My vaping addiction has also made me order a KFL clone from Chinabuye 3-4 weeks ago I couldn't wait, loads of delays (excuses) which i still don't think it has shipped, so I found a UK seller and ordered another clone, I ordered a Taifun GT clone from FT too after kicking the smoking habit I am very edgy I don't want to return.

I only vape 100% VG juices which take a lot of time to steep I have lost a lot of juice it's tragic!

If anyone could help me out I would be more than grateful sorry for the woffle!



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[JeremyR]

Likely your problem is that your trapping the negative leg straight out under the ring causing it to be crooked. You want enough no res to go all the way around the threads creating an even seal around the trap nut. It can be pieced together if you use premades; they aren't long enough.

The other thing you should do is after you fill it stand it upside down on the mouthpiece for 3-5 min.

I have an oddy clone and it's the best device I've ever had.

(I don't want that protank, lol)

 

[JeremyR]

I just quickly snapped this pic of one of my coils you can see how the negative goes all the way around and meets up to itself. A small gap is fine

 

[ZeroOhm]

@JeremyR

Never seen that advice makes alot of sense will give it a go tomorrow as I live on the water and get back to the city. I bought some RH premades and need to check the length, I noticed that some of the premades pics had different lengths, here's hoping they are or I can just maybe extend the no res leads.

My joining skills are ok but it makes the coil construction a lot more tricky I have found, so I may need to buy more Kanthal, Ni-C (as I previously got silver no res and as you may know is soft, breaks easily and is difficult to work with) and probably a mini welder. If you know anywhere to get one? As I have got another ceramic GG clone on order

I may ask someone who has one to make some up to the correct length i would pay for that gladly.

I am currently using a SVD so I am currently running it in single coil config at 2.2 ohms but the vape is to die for no wonder you love your Oddy! I don't want to put my foot in it and start a flame war, but all the Kanger products I tried even after tinkering (rebuilding the coils, remove flavour wicks, re make with wool and cotton and different coil configs etc) were disappointing to say the least and don't even get me started on the issues I'm with you there!

Even my 1st attempt with the Ithaka clone, wrong length wicks, dodgy coil, poor joins reaped a vape that in my mind I could not believe the difference I knew then there was no looking back!

I Can't thank you enough for the help, advice and pics I am itching to try it out currently all I have to fall back on is the Kangers and once you have tasted the honey there is no way back so to speak.




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[jhelliwell]

Hope you get it sorted out. Probably the key is finding EXACTLY where the leak starts from, and targetting the O-ring or seal directly above it. After watching you rebuild it, and experiencing the most outstanding vape I have ever had, I can only hope you fix it.

As for me, you know I'm going to hit the button on the Kayfun Lite ..... It's just a matter of time...

 

[JeremyR]

Yeah i started with silver its brittle as h***, I'm using 24g no res a couple twists and a
Crimp with needle nose makes a really tight join. I've broken 32 try to break the join.

Like I said get your leg going around and cut a Piece to go the rest of the way tucking it in as you tighten to cheat it when you have a short no res leg.

You do have the oring under the top mouthpiece cap and it's tightened down flush right? Keep juice control closed for first couple vapes if you have a little gurgle then slowly start to open it as you go.

This is what you can do with 26 or 24 no res to join it. ( shiny one is 24g no res the dark is kanthal, this was a 2 strand I wrapped but do it with single strand 32 all the time)

Fold nores over the twist and crimp it

This will be hard with silver unless you double it up possibly by twisting it together to make it thicker.

 

[ZeroOhm]

Yeah i started with silver its brittle as h***, I'm using 24g no res a couple twists and a
Crimp with needle nose makes a really tight join. I've broken 32 try to break the join.

Like I said get your leg going around and cut a Piece to go the rest of the way tucking it in as you tighten to cheat it when you have a short no res leg.

You do have the oring under the top mouthpiece cap and it's tightened down flush right? Keep juice control closed for first couple vapes if you have a little gurgle then slowly start to open it as you go.

This is what you can do with 26 or 24 no res to join it. ( shiny one is 24g no res the dark is kanthal, this was a 2 strand I wrapped but do it with single strand 32 all the time)

Fold nores over the twist and crimp it

This will be hard with silver unless you double it up possibly by twisting it together to make it thicker.

Cheers man, sorted my problem complete noobie user error was filling with the top 2 pieces detached lesson learnt, never had a problem since. I may need to replace an O Ring but that's not difficult and checking the tank is sealed is pretty easy now. I build it, prime and test the coil, remove the 510 brass screw put my finger on the end and blow through the mouthpiece to test the unit is air tight, juice it with the top cap removed then fix the top cap tight. Never had a problem since, many thanks for all your help and tips have ordered some Kanthal and the thickest gauge Ni-C I could get here will give the joining a go and build a coil.

Cheers for the pictures too


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[JeremyR]

If you don't have the ring of no res your mouthpiece ends up crooked and the top cap won't tighten all the way. I take it you completed the negative ring?

I fill mine with both the top caps off just cause its faster. Goes back together fine. You should be able do it once you get
The hang of how it. But if you can fill that way and have no problems all the better.

Did you say Nichrome? Or did you mean no resistance nickel. What gauge were you able to find?
Congrats enjoy the vape!

 

[julpin]

I wonder if some kind ECF vaper(s) could help me out I am pretty much a newbie to give you some background. I quit smoking about 8 weeks ago and don't have any real experience with vaping.

After reading many threads on ECF which I can only thank the fantastic vaper user base which the forum has, I started out with Kanger ProTanks and soon knew I had todo something to improve my vaping experience I needed a better vape I wanted the vaping nirvana I am pretty sure we all seek I knew I would be into vaping for the long haul. After reading and reading and then more reading, watching YouTube and browsing every forum I could, I decided to bite the bullet and given I have limited funds I was keen and desperate to buy more kit that would give me the vaping return I sought.

I read about clones and a little on designs, good reviews and somewhat impulsively ordered a GG Ithaka clone from FT back at the end of October it took the time it did to arrive when it did I was thoroughly impressed with its design and build quality and set to work to set it up. After the recommended cleaning regime with boiling, IPA, pipe cleaners and cotton buds. I had bought supplies Kanthal, Silica, EkoWool & non res silver wire & learnt with some success to join the wires and calculate the coil resistances my first couple of attempts worked if you could say that, I had watched many a tutorial but after wanting to rule out user error and the trickiness for a newbie like me working with no res-res, I bought some arc welded pre mades my coil making skills are to say the least in there infancy and rather crude at times although to my credit I used to be an electronic bench engineer so any technical challenge I mostly like and detailed worked I don't shy away from.

After some trial and error I got the Ithaka clone built, checked the coil for uniformity, checked the coil for glowing evenness, primed the wick and attached the chimmy/mouth piece and had a test vape wow after what I had known I knew then I had seen the light!

I attached the tank section and followed what I think is what todo, tighten the mouth piece to the closed position and filled from the top section with the top 2 pieces detached (larger piece that attaches to the top piece that connects to the clear tank section & the small piece the chimmy/mouth piece goes through) all is good at this point when I see the ejuice get to the the top of the clear tank section I stop. I then attach the larger top piece then I slowly attach the smaller piece. Everything is good at this point when I test vape everything sounds good to me no gurgling, air draw is good for me and the vape is blissful. I notice a lot of the juice I filled into the tank gradually disappears I presume into the bottom res section where it feeds the wicks. Vaping at his point is to me is just out of this world saturated, warm, and flavoursome for a silica tank it's heaven sent.

Now this is where my problems start if I try to fill it again, putting back together and re pressurising with a few vapes I almost immediately get gurgling and after some more juice comes out from what I can see from the 510 pin and it's all over I tried a few things by trying to blow out the juice but this appears to make things worse.

I am desperate to fix it and am so impressed with the vape I ordered a RH Hercules yesterday from GreyHaze UK given FT lead and delivery times I didn't want to wait until 2014

My vaping addiction has also made me order a KFL clone from Chinabuye 3-4 weeks ago I couldn't wait, loads of delays (excuses) which i still don't think it has shipped, so I found a UK seller and ordered another clone, I ordered a Taifun GT clone from FT too after kicking the smoking habit I am very edgy I don't want to return.

I only vape 100% VG juices which take a lot of time to steep I have lost a lot of juice it's tragic!

If anyone could help me out I would be more than grateful sorry for the woffle!



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Owner of a real Ithaka here and a few clones , are you screwing the mouthpiece when you refill it?

 

[ZeroOhm]

If you don't have the ring of no res your mouthpiece ends up crooked and the top cap won't tighten all the way. I take it you completed the negative ring?

I fill mine with both the top caps off just cause its faster. Goes back together fine. You should be able do it once you get
The hang of how it. But if you can fill that way and have no problems all the better.

Did you say Nichrome? Or did you mean no resistance nickel. What gauge were you able to find?
Congrats enjoy the vape!

I confess due to very limited time and my usual location on a boat I haven't had a chance to take your advice and use your method, My only APV a SVD bit the dust this week and having to order supplies I only currently have a few hours a week for vaping development, as you said the pre mades I have are I think are about 150mm so not sure if they are long enough. Apologies yes I meant no res. Nickel wire
not Nickel Chrome res. as a matter of interest being a new vaper what are the pros/cons of res Nickel Chrome compared to Kanthal?

I ordered some of this Pure Nickel Non-Resistance Wire - 0.27mm (270 Micron or 29.5 AWG) we are quite limited this side of the pond, I am hoping it's thick enough to handle the previous silver wire I was using was 0.2mm.

My orginal method for filling was with the top 2 caps removed, but after watching a few tutorials including Busardos's and not having a needle filler I always did this and it always flooded I guess it's all about the pressure in the tank. The O ring in the top piece is not great but I sometimes use a 2nd O ring and this although not ideal (it sometimes rides down blocking the gap with the 2nd top piece) creates a seal and no more problems. Right now it has just the supplied O ring which is working just fine for now. Currently my coil is made and then wrapped around each post but with more care to eveness especially the lower post which only has the O ring as a fixing mechanism (indicate by the angled needle pliers in this pic

I took your advice and don't keep wrapping around the posts multiple times as to create a gap and carefully check for possible trapped wires when assembling the coil parts.

So far so good until I get supplies and can successfully make long enough no res-res wire lengths I can wrap that are stable enough to take the coil making process. There seems to be a few methods around including various knot tying methods which are not exactly easy for me even with real rope! I will attempt your method when time allows me.

I have recieved another Ithaka clone a RH Hercules which I believe is almost identical to the GG Ithaka clone I have from FT, I will get a chance to check it out and tinker when I get back to terra firma. I wasn't able to get lower res pre mades so making them myself as I did from the beggining will allow more latitude in my coil configurations.

Once again many thanks for the help, examples and knowledge I am most grateful.

 

[ZeroOhm]

Owner of a real Ithaka here and a few clones , are you screwing the mouthpiece when you refill it?

Yes I realised alot of my problems were newbie user error, I make sure I tighten it fairly slowy and test for airtightness, I find ejuice makes for a good sealer and lubricant I usually put some on all the threads when assembling after cleaning as I have had the bottom tank ring lock tight to the base then having to tape and used plumbing pliers to loosen as to not scratch and destroy it, seems to work ok so far.

This is my very first RBA coming from Kanger Protanks and iClear 30s i got with my SVD, having held and played around with a real GG Ithaka a little I can only marvel at it's build, finish and quality but the truth is I would never have (or would spend) the money on one. I realise its the perpetual clone/copy/ripoff argument I hear both sides. Intullectual property rights, copyright and research time and developement to design&make products like these but as someone said those fortunate, privileged or who have the money available to pursue there vaping will choose the bona fide item those who can't but still seek a vaping nirvana have little choice, of course there is some truth in what is most evident in alot of western societies of wanting everything now and not as previous generations may of done to save until they can afford the real thing. Being so new to vaping it's the best vape money I ever spent to date and the vaping experience is a different universe to what I had before.

I have already been bitten by the dragons lowest possible manufacturing costs with the SVD having the trigger switch mech fail in just 6 weeks If I could of afforded a ProVari from when I quit smoking just a few weeks ago I would of no doubt about it bought one and something tells me given there design, reliability and quality of there components I may well end up spending as much if not more in far eastern APV's that break due to there low(est) manufacturing costs time will tell but I have been around long enough to trust my hunch.
But i can put no price on my health and having kicked puff the dragon vaping has a learning curve which has many lessons I have to learn.

I look forward to the other clones I have on order KF 3.1, KFL and a Taifun GT I always seek a sweet spot in price, quality and the best possible vape.

Apologies for my woffle, I realise there are alot of heated discussions on someones hard work versus those who copy everything for better or worse.

 

[JeremyR]

Some nice pieces you got on the way.!

 

[ZeroOhm]

Some nice pieces you got on the way.!

Can't wait for my Vapemail! It's going to be a ride but I know it will be worth it!

Cheers onces again for your time, I am sure I will hit a few brick walls and will be asking more questions shortly

if you don't mind me asking what vapegear do you use? How long you been vaping? Fave juices?

 

[JeremyR]

Sigelei zmax telescope v3 , tobecco oddy clone, diy hangsen tobaccos , vaping a year
And a couple weeks, I follow a $40.00 /month average vaping budget. That's why I can't get all the toys I want. I'm vaping to save money and still smoke something. I'm a little envious I was just looking at the ehpro kf 3.1

 

[ZeroOhm]

How is the Zmax? I would like to make my own juice but given where I am it's not possible, i guess it's like baking you can make it just how you like it once you have skill to make your own nice juices. I have a good friend that is getting into it and sampling his recent juice he is really starting to make some tasty juice! Vape addiction is most evident especially with so many affordable clones around but like you i have to pace myself and place a budget on what i spend! Most of the vapers i have spoken to have said they have spent more on vaping gear but as i have said there is no price on your health maybe not your bank balance

I have recently been having a nightmare with vaping gear stuff breaking, sellers and poor design it has been somewhat frustrating but i enjoy vaping alot.

I got an MVP to get me through until i can save some money as my SVD hasn't done so well its trigger switch has collapsed. It's non standard to unlike your Zmax from the PCB pics.

I wanted some decent tanks so i can play around with configurations and fancied the KF for the reviews and all, will need to get some metal tanks i'm nervous about the fragile plastic ones not to mention the risk of tank cracking!

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