Kanger Mini SubTank tech support, please?

[motherofhavok]

Hi Friends!

So, the old man and I just got our pretty new sub tanks in the mail today. Previously, he was using a Davide, and it was a nightmare. He literally went through coils every other day, so we ended up just rebuilding them so we could keep up. I was using an Aspire ET-S BVC and love it, but wanted more capacity, and the ability to switch out drip tips. So, we decided to upgrade.

Problem is... It's just not really working well. He can't use the 0.5oHm coils because no matter what wattage he sets his battery to, the vapor is way too harsh, and sends him into violent coughing fits. This will probably get better once we get some higher VG juice with lower nicotine. Probably an easy fix, I hope.

Mine, on the other hand, is so frigging loud, I can't stand to use it! It makes an extremely loud popping sound, and after the loud POP!, it is very crackly and whistles. When it pops, it spits juice into my mouth. It says to use the 1.2oHm coil between 12-25W, but I can only use it between 8.7-14.1W. The higher I crank my wattage, the more it spits, and after 14.1w, the vapor goes from warm to blazing hot and suffocating!

I really don't think I have a faulty unit, but I can't figure out the problem. Somebody brought it up on Reddit, but the only advice was to try the 1.2oHm coil, and turn down the wattage. I already keep it very low, and am using the 1.2oHm coil. It pops and crackles regardless of airflow setting. When I say it pops, I mean you can hear it from two rooms away. What do you more experienced users think the issue could be? I like the flavor and vapor production, so I don't want to buy another tank, or revert back to my little tank. I want to love this one.

Thank you you in advance. Happy vaping!

 

[motherofhavok]

UPDATE: I thought that maybe, just maybe my iStick 30W was to blame, so I gave it a whirl on my FUhattan. No dice. Still a popping, crackling, hissing nightmare with good flavor and excellent clouds.

 

[shreduhsoreus]

What is the juice ratio you're using? I've had it happen to me when using 50/50 blends on one coil. I mainly use 70%+ VG now and haven't had it happen.

 

[motherofhavok]

Okay. I'm using 50/50 blends. And yes, one coil. Im using the stock prebuilt coil head right now. We JUST ordered over 200mL of assorted juices the day before we ordered our subtanks. Almost all of it was 50/50. Do you think the juice is just wicking way too quickly? I get more crackle in my RDAs with 50/50, but not this much.

Does the RBA coil crackle as much as the stock OCC coils? With all the airflow on this tank, I don't think I'll ever have a stealthy, quiet vape, but if I can clear up the loud pop, and all the spitting, I'd feel at least 200% better about it.

 

[underwhelmd]

iStick: I can tell you from experience that there is way more popping from both 1.2 and .5 coils when using an iStick as opposed to any other mod I have here. It's NOT the tank and it doesn't matter which juice...pops. Although, 3mg max VG has less popping than 70/30 or 50/50. if I got into the reasons why, it would sound like a rant against iStick, so not going there.

Coughing from harsh hits: drop the nic level way down. Don't go above 6. I was comfy with 12, pre-Subtank days... I'm using 3 now and find 6 too much.

Hot? use a drip tip made out of anything but stainless steel. try glass or delrin. You wouldn't think it would make a difference but it really does.

Best of luck dialing in your preferences. cheers.

 

[gpjoe]

I use an iStick30 with a Kanger Sub Mini and I don't get any popping at all. Been using the .5 ohm coils at 10 watts and it gives me a ton of vapor (on par with a single coil dripper on a mech mod). All I ever hear is some crackling but that is to be expected - no spitting whatsoever. That is using max VG liquid. The only negative it that I get an occasional dry/burnt hit with max VG when I chain vape.

I would use the sub ohm Kanger coils and dial your wattage down.

 

[gpjoe]

Just tried my Subtank Mini with max VG and .5 ohm coil at 8 watts and it still gave me a lot of vapor and flavor. Don't worry what the recommended wattage says - start at 5 watts and increase in 1 watt increments till you find your sweet spot.

 

[shreduhsoreus]

Does the RBA coil crackle as much as the stock OCC coils? With all the airflow on this tank, I don't think I'll ever have a stealthy, quiet vape, but if I can clear up the loud pop, and all the spitting, I'd feel at least 200% better about it.

The RBA seemed to get a bit less popping with 50/50 juice for me. I haven't really got any popping out of any of the coils or the RBA since I started vaping higher VG blends.

 

[vincom]

use whatever watts ur comfortable with.
popping seems to settle down after using it awhile but idk why, its like a breakin period or theres too much juice sitting atop the coil when initially priming it, but like i said idk why

 

[motherofhavok]

iStick: I can tell you from experience that there is way more popping from both 1.2 and .5 coils when using an iStick as opposed to any other mod I have here. It's NOT the tank and it doesn't matter which juice...pops. Although, 3mg max VG has less popping than 70/30 or 50/50. if I got into the reasons why, it would sound like a rant against iStick, so not going there.

Coughing from harsh hits: drop the nic level way down. Don't go above 6. I was comfy with 12, pre-Subtank days... I'm using 3 now and find 6 too much.

Hot? use a drip tip made out of anything but stainless steel. try glass or delrin.

Okay. I feel I wasn't very clear. Sorry for that. I tried the tank with a mech mod, and it's NOT the iStick making it pop. I do understand that the iStick runs a little differently than other devices. I saw a really useful PBusardo video that explained the difference in it's power delivery.
We will be dropping the nic, but my husband bought 12mg for himself, because he can handle it in his RDA. He was more of a 18-24mg person in his clearos. He tried my 6mg, coughed like crazy. I think our 50/50 juices are wicking and evaporating too quickly. I think a thicker juice will ease his coughing fits.

I do plan to get a few extra drip tips, but I don't understand how that will make the vapor cooler? I'm having issues with the vapor getting too hot. I assume that is the fault of my battery. I just dialed down the wattage. My sweet spot is 8.7-14.1W. 5.0-8.6 gives wispy, dissatisfying clouds.

I have thicker, lower nicotine juice on order. I'm almost positive that switch alone will make the inhale smoother. But the popping? Ugh! Hopefully, thicker juice, or using it in RBA mode will help. I'll update once I've tried both. I'm not the only one having this issue, but unfortunately, I just haven't seen a real "fix" for the problem. This isn't your run of the mill, heating your juice too much crackle. This is like popping packing bubbles right next to your ear.

Thank you, everyone for your help and insight. I'm just feeling more and more frustrated. Hopefully, I can get this issue resolved.

 

[rustafar]

The popping sound is probably from the use of distilled water as a thinner in the ejuice .
I use max VG and all I get is sizzle.

 

[Mactavish]

Glad to find I'm not alone. Just got my Kanger NANO. Bought it so I could try my first sub-ohm Vape, as a week a go I got the iStick 30 watt. Before that I was using the iTaste VV/VW, which only goes to 11 watts. I don't mind the crackling sounds, after all I am now pumping more watts,
BUT, the popping is CRAZY!
Happens every time, even when firing it a 2nd time right away, often sending juice into my mouth. Firing it while looking at it away from my mouth with a strong back light, I can actually see a shot of vapor and juice shoot out the top of the supplied drip tip. I know how to prep new coils, tried two .5 ohm coils, and two 50/50 juices. Later I will try 100% VG, as I have a bit, but don't like the idea of the tank dictating what % juice I have to use assuming that solves the popping anyways. I tested at 8 watts, not as bad, but then went to 11 watts, and POP! The reason I bought this tank was to get into the higher wattages subohm fun.
I think I can rule out the iStick 30, as I tested on my old GG mech mod with a fresh Sony VTC5, same POP. Besides, supposedly the electronic firing issues that plagued the iStick 20 watt version were resolved with this 30 watt model, though PBisardo has not yet done a review of this model on his scopes, and I don't have that test gear. I decided against the Atlantis tank, even though most of my atties are are Aspire products, I wanted a smaller 18mm size, like my Nautilis Minis, and there are only .5 ohm coils for the Atlantis. The Nano seemed like the perfect size, holds 1ml more juice then my Nautilis Minis, and gives you the option of the 1.2 ohm coil, which I have not tested yet, but like the juice issue, changing coils does NOT solve the mystery. So far it's kind of a deal breaker, as this popping is not minor, it's really crazy, along with the juice getting into my mouth, and having to constantly clean the drip tip and where it is inserted on the tank top. Tried other drip tips as well. Heats not an issue, I read it's a "warm" Vape, understandable at these higher wattages.
I'll follow this thread in case there are any more theories, suggestions, or possible solutions. My first Kanger product has yet to impress me.

 

[Paramaniac413]

A longer drip tip gives the vapor a little time to cool off. It also puts more space between you and the coil, so if there is any spitting, you don't get hit with the hit juice. I have 100%vg in my nano and something thinner in my mini (don't know the ratio). I use a long tip with both and have no problems as far as spitting or super hot vapor (as long as I don't crank the wattage). I have a 0.5 coil in my nano and a 1.2 in my mini. Both sizzle, but no huge popping unless it has sat all night - then I'll get a pop first thing in the morning.
The Nano:

The Mini:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mactavish]

That's a solution to a problem I didn't anticipate having. In my case in buying the Nani was to go small, my own preference, so adding a long drip tip is not the answer for me. I have gone to a very slightly longer, not much, glass tip. This because I don't like metal tips in my mouth, as well as I can see and judge when the juice spitting has collected enough to clean it, which unfortunately is far too often. Knowing your PG/VG might be helpful in the process of elimination, but personally I prefer a 50/50. So far I've spent a few hours now reading online for the "popping" issue, and while not wide spread, it could be some ignore it, or take the advice I've seen around, which is firing it once quickly away from your face, then vaping. Something I have to do each and every time with the .5 ohm stock coils.

Below I'm pasting part of a well written review, from late last year (2014), in regards to the original Kanger, whatever they called the first large 25mm version, as you can see its certainly not a new issue, but it's still a mystery to me as to what else could contribute to it, since for my tests, it's not the battery, so I'll have to look at more juice type mixes as I go along. I could even get used to the loud pop, if it didn't spit juice out along with it.

PASTE (from another site review):
"I don't like that the tank spits a bit of juice after sitting a few minutes when I first hit the fire button. I have frequently gotten juice in the mouth as a result. This could possibly from the rushed revisions of coil development during the last month before release. Perhaps the BPDC coils didn't do this, but this is a small issue with the OCC that the tank was released with. I now combat this with pressing the fire button before putting the drip tip to my mouth so I don't get that initial popping juice in my mouth. Overall, I would rather that I didn't have to vape that way and I could just use this like the other tanks I have that don't spit."
END PASTE

 

[rbferg]

I had an issue with my original 1.2 ohm OCC coil popping and spitting. I tried the .5 coil and it did not pop or spit so I picked up a new 1.2 and no more popping or spitting. I'm pretty sure the original coil had a bad seal from the factory. I'm using the 1.2 between 12-15 watts and this coil seems to be good to go. Good luck!

 

[Mactavish]

Not sure what seal you are referring to?
I did notice the two coils that came with the Nano have RED gaskets/seals on the bottom pin, all the extra coils I bought in the foil packs have WHITE gaskets. Not sure what if anything that might indicate, but the popping on the .5 ohm coils happens on both styles. There sure is not much cotton in them. I have to get some cotton and try re wicking the coils myself to see if I can solve this, looks easy enough, though one should not have to bother.

 

[vincom]

The Mini:

where did u get the tip, or do u know who makes them, was it a good fit

 

[rbferg]

Not sure what seal you are referring to?
I did notice the two coils that came with the Nano have RED gaskets/seals on the bottom pin, all the extra coils I bought in the foil packs have WHITE gaskets. Not sure what if anything that might indicate, but the popping on the .5 ohm coils happens on both styles. There sure is not much cotton in them. I have to get some cotton and try re wicking the coils myself to see if I can solve this, looks easy enough, though one should not have to bother.

I was referring to the seal (gasket) in the top of the coil where the coil meets the center tube (chimney). This is a guess on my part from allot of reading as a new 1.2 ohm coil solved my issue. My original OCC coils came with RED gaskets and all my replacements have been White gaskets? There has been enough of this issue reported (myself included) that I wonder if there is or was a QC problem? Let us know if adding cotton helps and I agree you should not have to.

 

[Mactavish]

Thanks referb
I placed the base with .5 coil on the battery, NO tank, plenty of juice still fresh in it. Very bright flashlight, and hit the fire button ...... POP. Repeatable in two seconds, every time.
All I could really see was it seemed to come right from the center of the coil, like a tiny firecracker sending a plume of vapor straight up, this can travel pretty high as I can see it through my glass drip tip. This gives my the extra juice in all the drip tips I've tried so far, and just adds to the condensation that naturally builds up over time.

 

[rbferg]

Thanks referb
I placed the base with .5 coil on the battery, NO tank, plenty of juice still fresh in it. Very bright flashlight, and hit the fire button ...... POP. Repeatable in two seconds, every time.
All I could really see was it seemed to come right from the center of the coil, like a tiny firecracker sending a plume of vapor straight up, this can travel pretty high as I can see it through my glass drip tip. This gives my the extra juice in all the drip tips I've tried so far, and just adds to the condensation that naturally builds up over time.

That's exactly what my original 1.2 ohm coil would do. I never got popping or spitting with my .5 coil but I have read about it happening. There are so many variables that could cause pops/spits, but I'm sure my issue was the OE coil.